First Time Skiers + Mountain Life
I think I have finally cracked the code to winter birthdays.
In elementary school, you miss out on bringing snack buckets to school if you’re born in the summer. But, then for the rest of your adolescent and adult life, you miss out on grilling, pool, patio, and camping parties if you’re born in the winter. I have always been at a creative loss of what to do to celebrate my birthday (PS, I don’t crave much nor do I love the bday attention). Luckily I have a really great husband, friends, and family who all exceed my expectations year after year. But, I have wanted to try skiing for years now and it has never been the right time.
BUT THIS YEAR. We skied. And a brand new bar was set for the rest of my years.
As per all of my trip stories and posts, Zach is far more into photography than I, so it is important to note that all of these were taken on our Iphone 12’s and the well-edited ones were contributed by him :)
Prarie
First things first, if you live by me and you want to ski in Colorado, you have to put in the leg work of driving across Nebraska. Long and lonely at night but lovely and bright in the morning.
City
And then you have to make a pit stop in Denver to see your friend. In a pandemic, it’s the most important to see each other and catch up on all the things!
In true Denver fashion, she breezed right into the Milk Market after a workout and introduced us to Bruto Tacos (cooked outside in the upscale and fully utilized alley on the tiniest grill hoisted up by two cinder blocks and sporting the best logo design I have ever witnessed for a taco stand).
Mountains
And then you have to keep on trucking through the front range to get to any of the ski towns. And while there is so much to look at for you, your driver will be concerned about the Subaru engine in these new territories but will do a phenomenal job cruising up and sailing back down the highways.
And then finally you will arrive at your mountain town!! And if you opted for a ski destination off the beaten path like us, that mountain town will be quaint (except for maybe a few touristy western saloons) and have bright victorian homes packed down under feet of snow.
Hike
IMPORTANT! If you are still with me and you came from where I did - across the Nebraskan prairie, stopped for lunch in Denver, and then ascended up to Leadville sitting at 10,000 feet all in one day, you’re probably going to have a couple of altitude headaches at the least. Hopefully, it’s no more than a headache, but still, you should take a day or two before doing high pace activities (or enjoying caffeine or alcohol). We recommend a little hike in the woods. Don’t worry, there are a thousand trails outside of your town.
Hot Springs
Regardless of how you are feeling, take time to drive through the mountains, spot some bighorn sheep on the ridge, and go to any hot springs!! What a dreamy afternoon we had sitting at the edge of the mountain in 104-degree rocky pools under heavy snowfall amongst the wideeeeee variety of other hot springs bathers. We went to Cottonwood Hot Springs Inn and Spa outside of Buena Vista.
Finally, SKI
And then finally you get to the best part. If you’re a first-time skier, do yourself and all of your future ski mates a favor and sign up for lessons. It’s not that much of a commitment and you will get personalized feedback and you’ll remember the words of your sensei for the rest of your minutes on the mountain.
Unless you’re braver (or more impatient) than us, spend ample time on the bunny hill. Not that I know bunny hills, but at Ski Cooper, there happens to be the longest magic carpet (ski conveyor belt) in the state so I’m thinking the beginner’s slope is pretty extensive here.
But then, BUT THEN, you’ll finally work up the confidence to get away from the lodge to see what all the fuss is up at the top of the mountain (hello hilltop yurt cafe?). And you’ll brave it down your first ever run starting at 11,000 feet back down to 10,000 feet! And it might be horrifying when you cannot figure out how on earth people use the same techniques learned on the bunny hill to gain control while screaming down the mountain (or toward a group of trees…).
And out of necessity, you’ll learn how to carve (not sure that’s the correct term here) back and forth across the slope and your super focus and fast heartbeat will now be from exhilaration instead of terror.
And if your legs are trembling from new muscles being used excessively or if it’s snowing so hard that you can’t see ten feet in front of you, you’ll probably still want to do another lap after you you’ve come gracefully sliding in at the bottom of the run.
You’ll know you did it right when you graduate to an intermediate run for your very last go at it. And it will feel incredibly fast and wonderfully final when you slide back down through the bunny hill where it all began :)
Apres Ski
And whatever you do next shall be warm. Get a rental with a hot tub, fireplace, and a sauna if you can!! Or at the least, pull on your warmest sweater after a warm shower.
And then every morning after you leave, your little legs will have flash backs to the feeling of whizzing down the mountain scooping back and forth in control (but also a little bit out of control) and you’ll tell everyone ever back home how you wish you could go back down.
