Thanksgiving Rush

A quick announcement for those of you who are staying away from the resorts: Peak 9 is officially open with eight beginner and intermediate runs, and three lifts to service them. The Peak 8 Superconnect is open without any runs under it, but at least you will be able to run back and forth between your blues and blue blacks.

Skiing, Biking, Learning

Those are the three things I've been doing since posting. Well, maybe there are a couple more in there- working, sleeping, eating, you know, the usual. Those, however, are the most important. And, I thoroughly enjoy those three together.

Skiing: A couple of friends came up from Fort Collins two weekends ago and we headed out to the Basin (as us locals call it...I mean, it sounds far more "in" than A-Basin and exponentially better than Arapahoe Basin. So if you're visiting and are heading up Loveland Pass to ski, make sure it's the "Basin" you're referencing. [Just a tip])

Roxanne, Me, and Keeley in the short lift line. Can't you tell?

Luckily it was Keystone's opening weekend, so the lift lines at the Basin (see how I slipped that in, doesn't it sound like I'm in the know?) were pretty fast. We headed up the Exhibition Lift and headed straight for the Norway lift. The snow was decent, the day was unbelievable and we were having fun. In the lift lines we were practicing our best pick up lines and luckily a guy heard us and decided to use it on me on the way up the lift. Another guy turned around in line and told us we were "a hoot," which of course, we already knew as we had accompaniment from the chair in front of us while we were singing Don't Stop Believing the run before.

I mean, we just look fun.

I had to head out early to get to work, but for the first day of skiing, I was satisfied. Especially when dinner was ready for me, complete with table setting and tea lights when I got home that evening.

Biking: The next week was warm and sunny so a friend and I headed out to a trail in Dillon and rode our mountain bikes again.

Sara stuffing dog food in her bike bag. We like to attract bears.

The mountains were brilliant against the blue of the sky and the trees actually looked green.

Looking at Baldy and Quandary from across the county

(I guess most of the trees still look brown)

We both agreed it felt good to be out on our bikes before the snow really comes. The most exciting part of the ride though, was when we found a bear track. I used to bike alone quite often on the trails behind Summit Cove, and being afraid (ok, terrified- it might be a phobia) of bears, I would constantly be finding "bear tracks" in the mud. On closer investigation they were always footprints. But, truly, this time we went back and it looked like this: bear print. There was only one, but the ground was pretty hard.

Smiling before finding the bear print

Sara and Maddie, the real reason we had dog food

Skiing (again, it's what we do): Last Thursday was Breck's opening day, as Andy posted, and we definitely walked our eight minute walk up to the base and enjoyed some pancakes. Neither of us could ski that day, we had to be at work, but Timmy and Margo from The Main Street Outlet took one run and said it was great for opening day. I headed out on Saturday and though it was crowded, we took three runs and enjoyed getting out for the day.

Learning: Saturday night was the Colorado Avalanche Information Center's Benefit Bash (yes, those are two separate links). The only thing anyone could talk about during the day on Saturday was the benefit, so I figured I should go check it out. It was a fundraiser, complete with sick give aways like free skis from Fat-ypus, a sick ski company here in Summit County, and gnarly backcountry skis from G3, as well as trekking poles, packs, coffee, and jackets. Pretty much anything you need when you want to say, "yeah yeah gnar gnar shred some pow pow" and send it off a cornice. Anyway, everyone who is anyone in Breck was there- I swear I saw everyone I know in this town, including my cousin, which I was stoked about. There were vendors set up such as- Mountain Outfitters, Mammut, and Berthoud Pass Backcountry, where you could check out their products and they could feed you all their techy info while you sipped on your three free drinks and ate free food with your 2000 closest friends, all while it dumped outside. I would say that is a damn good night.

P.S. Check out this awesome blog from a college friend living in Crested Butte. Please don't defect blogs now that you've read his, though:
Tales from the Midcountry It's also linked on our sidebar.

Breckenridge Ski Resort Opens Tomorrow!

Breckenridge will be opening tomorrow, November 12th for the 08-09 ski and ride season! Lifts will start turning at 9:00 am and there is sure to be a line starting early with devoted locals and front-rangers all wanting to be on the first chair. Just like last year, Breck is opening Peak 8 first, so park in town and ride the Gondola up to the base.

On a good year you would find me at the lift at 7:00 am, not to ride up, but to skin up to the Vista Hause. A little morning exercise to get the blood flowing and the legs burning. Unfortunately I busted up my knee and I will need to wait a little longer before I hit the slopes this year. Anybody know a good orthopedic?! What I will be doing is taking the five minute walk from my house to the Peak 8 base to enjoy some free pancake breakfast courtesy of The Breckenridge Ski Resort. Pancakes will be served at The Bergenhof deck starting at 8:30.

Breck will open with more skiable terrain than any other Summit County Resort, with 108 acres on 4 runs including Springmeier, Spruce, Trygve’s and lower Crescendo. The tall-t's are sure to be out too, highs in the upper 40's will bring plenty of skiers and boarders to the upper Park Lane triple jump line.

See you there!.........kind of

First Skin of the Season

Brett, Sara, and I headed out for the first skin/snowshoe of the season on Wednesday. It was a gorgeous mid-fifty bluebird day. Although the snow was a bit hard and rutted in some places, we couldn't have asked for any better for the beginning of November. We hiked up to Francie's Cabin, as Sara hadn't been there yet and the basin it's in is hard to beat. Getting ready to head out


Brett is stoked be in the woods, especially in his Sedition II Gore-Tex Softshell jacket and Park Cargo pants


Sara looks like a pro already, I however, look like I have a crazy foot.


Montana, Sara's dog, wondering when we're going to catch up


We had to be creative in getting a group shot. I'm rocking my El Cap Temple 1/4 zip, which is made of 100% recycled fabric. It's wonderfully breathable and kept me dry the entire hike.


Brett's Patrol Pack and the ridgeline between Mt. Helen and Father Dyer peak. Check out this brief history of Father Dyer. He was quite the mountain man.


After hanging out on the hut's porch enjoying the warm day, after last week's frigid temps, we packed back up and headed for our "ski" down. The snow was less packed than the route we took up, but that meant that there were some rocks that were simply dusted with snow, rather than covered and we did a little tip toeing (as much as you can tiptoe in skis) down the trail. By the end our quads needed some rest.



I was so glad to be getting out and doing something fun. This shoulder season has been spent moving (literally my posessions to Breck) and working. Not much adventuring has happened in the last month, so this was a much needed mountain fix for our souls.

Speaker Series Success

It’s the end of October again, the snow is dumping on the high country, and The North Face has started hiring again. The store picked up three new hires, Kyle, Jeff, and me, Sydney.

(Snow in the summer is so exciting)

I’ve been jonesin’ over this job for a while now- Andy and I have been friends for two years now and most of the previous employees have become close friends. Not only is the store in a sweet location with awesome people (employees and employers all included), it has a blog. That, for me, was the ultimate. Not only is there outdoor gear (which I live to wear while out skiing or mountain biking), but I can write about it too? Awesome. I am a creative writing major from CSU (go Rams) and have wanted to get into writing about gear and the mountain life. I’m stoked to (mainly) take over the blog, though hopefully my coworkers will share their adventures also.

We just finished with the Speaker Series and it was a wonderful success. Over 400 people attended, blowing all of the other cities attendance records out of the water. It began snowing heavily during the meet-and-greet, where people were milling around, chatting with friends as well as Conrad and Jimmy. We walked outside to make it over to the Riverwalk Center for the presentation and were shocked at the amount of snow that had fallen. Winter is officially here and we can finally bring out our skis. My friend from Fort Collins was in and asked if I thought this snow would keep people away, but of course it’s Breck and just the opposite, it stokes people up! The presentation was amazing and awe-inspiring. To think of spending that amount of time and energy into climbing in such conditions is just incomprehensible. After the presentation we took a group picture for 350.org to send to Congress as that day (Oct 24) was the International Day of Climate Action. 350.org is a site dedicated to creating awareness about necessary climate change and is lobbying to reduce the standard for emissions from the current 387 parts per million down to 350 ppm. The North Face has become a partner in their campaign and is working to create support for 350.org.



(Andy, in his Crimptastic Hybrid jacket with the 350.org pumpkin that Austin carved for us.)


After the presentation, the North Face Breckenridge staff and a couple of friends headed over to Giampietro Pasta and Pizzeria for dinner and fun. Jimmy, Conrad, Brook from The North Face corporate, and Lynsey Dyer joined us. It was an evening filled with wonderful Italian food (it’s a must stop in Breck), drink, and laughter. After the night was over we went outside and had the first snowball fight of the season.

The holiday season is close, so make sure to check out breckgear.com and begin ordering your gifts. Ladies take a look at the Mossbud Hoody. It's luxurious and beautiful on. I get tons of compliments on it every time I wear it. In fact, I have it on today and it's the perfect Sunday, feel-good-about-yourself top. It's a must on your holiday list.

And as always, stop on in at the store, we love to see you and hear about your latest adventure.