Snowboarding Breckenridge and Winter Park,

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I flew into Denver Thursday about 1:30 and made the two, or so hour drive through the mountains to meet my family in Breckenridge. Mom, Dad, Maleka and Maleka’s little friend Natalie. It was a beautiful day driving up through the mountains, and it got me excited to get on my board. By the time I had gotten to the condo the girls and Dad were in the pool. I decided to join them there after dropping my board off to get edged and waxed. We met Ryan from California and Emily from Minnesota in the pool. They were throwing snowballs up over a 20 foot wall where three hot tubs were located. I could not resist so I joined in on the fun, jumping out of the pool, grabbing handfuls of snow, and then launching them over the wall at people who are decidedly more adult than I am. They, of course, grew tired of our bombardment and told management on us, when we saw them coming we went underwater and swam to the indoor portion of the pool. After a few minutes of laying low we went back out and started playing again. This time doing tricks into the water with the other two judging performance or size of the splash. We dried off and headed to the arcade after that.

Maleka wanted to play me in air hockey. I know she is eight and I am 31, but I have this ridiculous competitive side to me. I beat her 8-0. What is wrong with me? After the arcade we showered and went to a fondue place in downtown Breckenridge called Swiss Haven. It took us a while to get seated so we made conversation with the proprietor who was from Italy but living in Belgium. Having been in both countries I started chatting with him. Going over the few words I knew in Italian and speaking a bit in my rusty French. We discussed of beers and other pleasantries. Fondue takes a while to eat but is a pretty fun activity, especially for the girls they really enjoyed it. My patents, read Mother, enjoyed the tradition that if you lose something in the fondue you have to kiss. My favorite part is the melted chocolate dessert fondue. I had taught Maleka how to say thank you in Italian so when we left she told the owner “grazie.” To which he gave a very excited “prego.”

Back at the condo we decided to play some putt putt golf, at which I am pretty terrible. After a few holes of embarrassing myself I jumped on Guitar Hero for a bit of redemption.

We went back to the room, us adults were pretty tired so we tried to go to bed. I was sharing a room with Maleka and Natalie who would not leave me alone and when I finally got them into their bed they were nonstop giggles. I ended up separating them. Maleka sleeping in my bed and Natalie in her own.

Woken up by two girls early that next morning we all headed for a sub-par brunch at a place in the complex called Spencer’s. It didn’t really matter that breakfast was poor, it had snowed some that night and was still coming down. So I was ready to get on the mountain and draw first line in the fresh powder. We got ready and headed out. I was impressed with the girls, it was only Maleka’s second time and Natalie’s first time on skis; they typically left Dad and I behind as they went straight down the mix of blues and greens, holding a half wedge position all the way down. I had one of my best jumps ever when they took me through the terrain park. We took a short lunch break and hit the slopes again. We stayed mainly on peak seven, riding long, steep blues. Visibility went to nothing near the top and the wind made it cold enough that we decided to call it a day and head back to the condo, and more importantly the hot tub.

Dad was out there for a sports medicine conference so he ran to those at about 4:00; after we had hit the hot tub and the steam room. I laid down and took a nap while the girls entertained themselves while Mom sat on the couch watching Fox News, which seems to never turn off in her presence. When Dad got back we took off to dinner.

That night we went to Fatty’s Pizza. Mom and Dad each started off with a pina colada, because they are huge drinkers. Maleka and Natalie were pretty quiet, the hostess was thoughtful enough to seat them with an activity place mat and some crayons. Fatty’s had some pretty solid pizza. Not as good as Beau Jo’s but pretty solid none the less. Natalie had to buy a sweatshirt for her Mother so we went to a shirt shop on the way back. So we wondered around a souvenir shirt shop killing some time before heading back to the condo.

Back at the condo Dad decided he needed to go hit the exercise room, Mom and I watched so stupid ghost hunters reality show on TV, and the girls watched TV in our room. Everyone was pretty worn out, except for Dad, that guy works out more than anyone I know. We went to bed pretty early. Dad had meetings early in the am and I had to pack up and head to Winter Park. The rest of the family was heading to go visit the grandma’s in Benkelman and Haigler, NE. I said my goodbyes and took off.

They had just opened the pass when I took off for Winter Park. I made the drive in about an hour and a half. It was another beautiful and sunny day. I was driving to meet up with Steven, Erin, Tyler and Ashley. They had just left their condo when I pulled into Winter Park, so I just met them at the base of the park side. I was introduced to Tyler’s brother Trevor and his wife Jessica, aka picture lady. After everyone was strapped up or in we hopped on the ski lift and took off up the mountain. Tyler was having a pretty rough time for his first time. We took him down a blue where he managed to do a pretty ungraceful splits and strain his MCL. The rest of the day was pretty rough for him. Luckily Ashley, his fiancee, was able to stay with him and take care of him. Steve, Erin and I were urged to go on with out them and do some more serious riding. This worked out great. We were able to go at a faster pace and not wait for the newbs. We all had a great day. We made a few runs and took a break at the base of Mary Jane and had a couple of Mary Jane ales each and split a huge plate of nachos. If you are ever in Winter Park go have a Mary Jane ale, the mountain is the only place they serve it. After our break we decide to make a trip all the way to the top on Panoramic. The snow was a bit choppy at the top but perfect about halfway down the mountain. We quit about 3:00 that day and headed back to the condo.

I introduced Steve and Erin to turboshandies that afternoon. We got a bit inebriated before and while playing some Catchphrase in the condo with the rest of the group. Someone had the bright idea to do a tequila popper before we left which was the beginning of the end of the night. We made our way over to Hernando’s after that. There was a 45 minute wait so we decided to spend those 45 minutes at a sports bar across the street, before heading back and having pizza. Ashley wasn’t feeling well and elected to head back to the condo. Trevor, Jessica, Steve, Erin and I had some pizza. (Everything after this is a bit blurry) Evidently we went back to the sports bar after pizza. At some point it was just Steve, Erin and I and we had made our way over to the Pub, which was across the highway from the sports bar. Allegedly we made it back to the condo about 12:00 to end our night. From what I remember we had a great time.

The plan for Sunday was that Steve, Erin and I were going to ride one more day. The rest of the group was going to take off by 9:00 am. Which they accomplished. We finally got up and around, showed and dresses after they left. The Cordovas did not think they were going to be able to handle riding that day and thought it best to just head back to Denver. I tried to stomach McDonald’s but was unable to, but while at breakfast I got a text message from one of the servers from Hernando’s, Leah, she wanted to go ride with me that day if I was up for it. So I met Leah and her friend Margie at the mountain. They were celebrating Sunday Bloody Sunday with Bloody Marys. Not really my thing. I was trying to hydrate. I rode with them for about an hour and half, before heading off on my own. I was looking to enjoy the mountain. They were wanting to hang out at the base, drink and soak up the sun. I headed up a few times and just enjoyed the mountain by myself for the day.

I headed back to Denver about 3:00, caught my 7:00 flight, got home about 10:30 Sunday evening. I have work on Monday and Tuesday, leave for Iceland on Wednesday. So stay tuned.

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Photos

Maleka and I
At Breckenridge

Maleka Asleep
I woke up to her drooling on my arm the next morning.

Steve
Looks like he is ready to moon me.

Mary Jane Trail
Steve, Erin and I

Erin and Steve
He is stealing my pose.

WP
Beautiful day out.

Comments

[Sheena]

I'm in Denver right now... This is making me want to leave the airport and find the nearest mountain... :)

[Rachel]

Breckenridge Snow!
I loved this post about your trip to Breckenridge and Winterpark! It looks like you hit all the local hotspots! Fatty's is one of my favorite pizza places next to Giampietro's (you'll have to try it next time you visit). Have you heard how much snow we've had up here lately? Best snow for opening season that we've had in over a decade! Have you made a trip back to the area since March? It's great snow! Happy Holidays - Cheers!