The ski hills here in CO have been open since late October already and with each day the snow gets steadily better and better. Today was my first day of skiing this season, it was also my first day of skiing in Colorado or, for that matter, anywhere outside Canada! Me and Dean (of Weminuche fame) went up to Keystone which is right on the Continental Divide and by all accounts a great hill. Today was also one of those days with amazing weather, clear blue skies with only a trace of cloud and warm temperatures that feel spring-like rather than fall-like. So, predictably, it was an excellent day to be on the slopes.
We crossed Loveland Pass (the old route across the Divide before the Eisenhower tunnel was built) and came down the other side just before Dillion to Keystone. The parking lot was reasonably full already, it was 9am after all, and we found a spot and got ready. Ski hills here aren’t like the hills in AB and BC, they are definitely more… commercial I’d say. My feeling is, that since most of the hills around Banff are in the National Park they have remained only ski hills. Here in CO the resorts (not ski hills) are technically on National Forest property, but National Forests being less restrictive than National Parks small villages have sprung up around them. It’s not necessarily bad, it’s just different from what I’m used to and I think after a while it will get to get a lot of fun, especially in the apres-ski scenario!
So anyway, we catch the gondola up to the top of the hill and set off on the first run. The sun is shining the sky is blue and all is right in the world, at least, it is in my sphere of the world anyway! Turns out that they only have two lifts and three runs open, one of which is the terrain park but the snow is decent and it’s a gorgeous day so no one is complaining! For the first time in a long time I’ve got a season pass again to a ski hill and so it takes some of the pressure off of the day, you don’t feel like you have to ski for hours to get your monies worth and when the hill started to fill up around 1pm we decided to take off… besides, I can only ski so many green runs in a day!
A great half-day of skiing certainly beats no skiing and we topped if off with beer and pizza at a local legend of a place called Beau Jo’s in Idaho Springs. Fantastic! I can’t wait now for more terrain to open and more snow to fall… it’s gonna be a great winter (c:
