Let it snow Let is Snow Let it Snow

The loud music didn’t come as quite the surprise as yesterday morning's concert. The living situation has officially taken me back to my college days; numerous people sleeping on the floor, mattresses removed from beds and being used as sleds both indoors and out, loud music 24 hours a day, and hot showers a rarity.


This is what ski trips with friends are all about. By today, the new faces we first met at the airport merely 2 days earlier are now like old friends. They've seen us eating breakfast in our pajamas with bedtime hair. They’ve seen us eat snow as we toppled out of control on the mountain and swapped stories of previous ski trips and life in general. Throwing 11 people in a 3 bedroom condo brings closeness and friendship at a lightening-like pace.

The mountain we chose to ski today is the Canyons. We could have literally walked to the gondola that would take us to the mountain but we chose to drive since hauling skis and poles while walking in ski boots is not a comfortable option. The snow continued to fall hard and fast which guaranteed us fresh powder. Riding the gondola up, we could hear the avalanche bombs being shot into the mountainside. It was then we learned all the snowfall brought on a severe warning for avalanches at the top of the mountain, and some of the runs would not be open because of the danger. While this was mildly disappointing to the group, it didn’t stop us from taking the chairlift as high as we could go.

My legs groaned in protest with the first turn. The powder covered my knees as I made my way down the hill. This resort (Canyons) is more scenic than Park City, where we skied yesterday. I enjoyed the tree lined runs and scattering of mansion-like homes nestled in the woods. My body quickly learned it was going to be another brutal day on the slopes and just accepted the pain that would course through me for the next 6 hours.

With the same schedule as yesterday, I stayed with the boys for the first half of the morning. It was with our great pleasure at the top of the mountain, ski patrol decided to open a run that had been closed for the first half of the morning. The group excitedly made the first tracks of the day down the run. The snow was so incredible that even the best of our guy skiers had trouble negotiating their way through the 3 foot deep powder.

I took time out from one run to make my way to the lodge for a little quiet time. I grabbed a cup of Starbucks, took my seat at the base of the mountain, and let the snow fall quietly around me as I sipped the warm goodness. I watched people skiing down the mountain and enjoyed the silence as the snow soaked up the sounds around me. The group joined me a short time later for lunch.

The afternoon skiing with the girls proved a bit more exciting than the morning with the guys. As the day wore on, we grew tired and may not have been paying as much attention to our turns and stops as we had earlier in the day. As the three of us unloaded from the chairlift, we toppled onto one another causing a 3 person pile-up. During the pile, my boot hooked itself onto Jami’s boot. We were literally unable to disengage ourselves from one another. In the process of disengagement, my pole became lodged between Jami’s legs and she wasn’t sure if she should feel dirty or violated. Michelle’s snowboard was lying comfortably on top of me and it took a good 3 minutes of us lying in a heap laughing before we could be on our merry way.

While deciding which route to take, it may have been my bright idea to cut through a patch of trees. Little did we know at the time, this wasn’t a run, but really just a patch of trees. It was a hard run and maybe 2 out of the 3 girls ended up sliding down on their butts because it was nearly impossible to ski/board down it. Once we reached the bottom, our goggles were fogged beyond belief; we were completely exhausted, and couldn’t stop laughing.

At this point we realized the mountain had closed.  There were no other skiers around, and we were literally stuck on the mountain. We needed to take a chairlift to another portion of the mountain in order to ski down. The ski lift closed at 3:30…and it was now 4:15. Luckily, the lift guy decided to be nice and open it back up, or else it would have been a long cold night.

The guys were mildly concerned when they made it back to the vehicle and we weren’t there. They figured we would have stopped skiing hours ago, not be the last ones enjoying the powder.

Back at the condo, we decided to test out the 4 person max on the hot tub. Yes, 11 of us climbed in and found a seat. There were plenty of legs tangled up in the middle and we may have knocked a little water out onto the floor. We decided to have a quiet night playing Catch Phrase and enjoying hot cider.  A few guys took their turn skiing behind the mini-van, but that didn't last too long...

 I didn’t complain at the thought of being in my warm pajamas by 8:30pm, in front of the fireplace, playing games with my adventuresome friends. Outside, the snow continued to fall on our cozy condo nestled high in the mountains.