Tag: Copper Mountain

Closing Out Ski Season Number 2

On By Outdoorsy LadyIn Skiing, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I discovered skiing in the 2015/2016 season. I took three lessons at Copper Mountain in Colorado and was officially hooked. This past year, my husband and I upped the ante and went with the Rocky Mountain Super Pass. This pass gave us unlimited days at Copper Mountain, Winter Park, and El Dora. Perks included a few days at Crested Butte, and six days at Steamboat Springs. We made it out to the snow about a total of about 10-12 times. We definitely got our passes worth. Last weekend we closed down Steamboat Springs. There was very little snow left overall, but I enjoyed that last chance to practice some turns. We were able to hang out with some new friends in a condo walking distance to the gondola. One of our new friends was taken down the mountain by ski patrol (She’s okay! Minor calf tear.), and ate like a queen at Laundry. Spring skiing is not my favorite thing in the world because I’ve been so spoiled by powder, but I seriously relished those last few turns of the season.

As I reflect back on learning more about the sport and the adventures of the past season, I feel a little bit more accomplished. I’ve definitely come a long way from where I started, but I also have so far to go to keep getting better. It’s an excellent metaphor for how I feel in my legal career at the moment. I feel like I have come a long way as a lawyer, but I have so much left to learn.

Skiing has taught me patience, pushed me out of my comfort zone at times, and helped me see some of the most beautiful views. I hope to be out there with those 70 and 80 year olds still on the mountain for a long time to come. My New Years resolution was to go down a black on purpose. I’ve been on 3 or 4 now so I achieved one resolution!

I was looking back at some photos, and thought I would do the highlights of the 2016/2017 season.  The first highlight is skiing fresh lines at Winter Park on New Years Day with my husband and dear friends. Definitely a great way to start out 2017. They took me on a run in the Mary Jane territory where I felt like I could ski anything depsite being out of my comfort zone on some of the larger bumps.

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New Year’s Day. Hello 2017.

Next, we tried El Dora outside of Boulder. This place felt very local. The mountain challenged me and was steep in parts. Also, I loved that they had a Twitter feed to explain traffic and parking.

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How we spent Super Bowl Sunday.

In February, I enjoyed a relaxing ski day at Copper Mountain with a friend. We agreed that some days its kinda nice not be scared out of our minds. Our significant others like to push our boundaries with skiing, and get us out of our comfort zone. It was nice to just ski greens and blues with no pressure for a day.

 

 

Steamboat Springs for the weekend was a dream. I mean I could not ask for a better experience. We went skiing with about 10 friends. We were all scattered all over the mountain. I found my Huevos on the Huevos run on Morningside. That was my first tree skiing experience. I had some epic wipe outs, but I can see why the Steamboat claims the champagne powder title. Skiing here was my very first powder experience. I’ll definitely be back.

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Huevos. Powder Daze.

The turning point in my technical ski skills this season happened during our Crested Butte trip. My husband had a conference call the Friday we arrived. I decided to go for a mid-season group lesson. I showed up for class where it there were two groups – one very beginner, and one very advanced expert crazy North Face people. I clearly did not belong in either group so I ended up being the only intermediate person with a private lesson. (Yes, I know I hit the jackpot that day.) I had a great instructor. He really beat my wedge out of me, which helped with confidence going down the steep stuff. He also taught me how to slide down tricky terrain to get out of dangerous conditions. One of my favorite parts of Crested Butte is the Umbrella Bar mid-mountain. Also, Crested Butte wins the nicest bathroom mid mountain award. Yes, that is a very important and nice perk. Either way, Crested Butte was a great town. Very local. Very friendly feeling. Also, the place where a fox came walking up to us in the parking lot.

Last great memory was spring skiing with a T-Rex, watching a camel cross the ski resort, and seeing a beaver hang out by the lift.

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Long story short, Colorado ski season 2016/2017 ski season was over before I knew it. It’s been a great season. We already purchased our passes for next year, but now we move over to hiking, camping, and climbing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Boots – North Face Shellista II Mid Boot Review

On By Outdoorsy LadyIn ReviewLeave a comment

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Well, the time has come for my first review. I want to let you know that any opinions expressed on this site are my own.

I was looking for a good pair of snow boots to survive my first winter in eight years. Living in Southern California I got very used to waking up every day, and knowing that I was going to pretty much be fine temperature wise with whatever I decided to wear that day. I knew it would even out at about 77 degrees in Los Angeles area. I never gave my footwear a second thought. We were in a drought after all.

I knew we were moving to Denver right at the start of winter. We moved in the weekend before Thanksgiving. I still thought my California boots would be fine. My parents had given me a gift certificate to REI, and I was really holding out for something necessary. Within days of arriving in Denver I quickly realized snow boots were necessary mostly because of the ice on the sidewalks. I loved the look of the North Face Shellista II Mid Boot. I was looking for three things: (1) comfort; (2) waterproof; and (3) fashionable, of course. When I got the package in from REI – I admit I experienced a bit of shoe love.

They were a bit stiff at first, but the rubber eventually broke quite well. The grip on the bottom is fantastic. I did wear these boots quite a bit this year. I went snowshoeing, hiking, and shoveled the driveway quite a few times this winter. I will say that these boots did fulfill their promise. They kept me warm, dry, and they look darn cute too. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on them. I wore them on a road trip from Denver to Boise. We pulled off a rest stop in Wyoming, and I notice three women kind of staring at me. One of them surreptitiously  walked up behind me, looked down, and audibly whispered to her friends “those are North Face.” I laughed inwardly. I  would have gladly told her where I got them, if she asked.

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Snowshoeing at Copper mountain.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the boots had a small crack in the rubber in the back. I was a little disappointed because of North Face’s reputation. I know they will still take them back at this point because I’ve only had these boots for six months. On the one hand, I could just superglue the crack shut, but on the other hand, these were not cheap boots. I see these boots as part of my winter closet for a few more years. Aside from the crack, these boots have been really good to me. I can almost say that I survived my first Colorado winter, but I’ve been told to hold off on that proclamation until May or June.

You can buy the boots here

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My Season As A Ski Bum

On By Outdoorsy LadyIn Skiing, work outs2 Comments

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I have a confession. I was a ski bum (read: unemployed because we just relocated cities) this season – and I kinda liked it. The snow, the challenge, and the views really attracted me to this sport. I really pushed my comfort zone this season. I gave myself many pep talks before going down my first blue hills. Also, my loving, completely well-meaning fiancé accidentally introduced me to my first black diamond. Luckily,  I survived and was proud of myself for taking on the challenge. My first ski season is coming to an end, but I’m so excited because we already bought our passes for next year.  

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 The views are always spectacular.

I went skiing for the first time in 2014 in Whistler. I know what you are thinking. Yes, I was a very lucky girl. I had a bit of a rocky start though. We went over Thanksgiving weekend. As an aside, this a great time to get a good deal to go Canada; especially if you leave on Thanksgiving day while everyone else is eating turkey. We took a bit of a gamble because it was Whistler’s “opening weekend.” There was not a whole lot of snow on the ground. Powder was definitely scarce. There was quite a bit of ice though. So my ski first lesson was essentially on ice.

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This Iconic Statue is the Whistler Mountain Inukshuk, created for Whistler as a Symbol of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The second day at Whistler, I decided to join Ben up at the “big kids lodge” on the top of the hill. I convinced him to let me ski a green run with him because after one lesson I thought I had this whole skiing thing down. I sure did not have that whole skiing thing down. I ended up on my back with my skis still going down the hill towards trees. Not the experience I was going for.  When I finally made it down to the lift to get back to where we needed to go I was so happy/relieved. The entire lift ride back to the gondola Ben was explaining how to get off the lift because my only ski lesson had occurred on the “magic carpet” where no lift was necessary. As we approached the unloading area, I was getting ready to follow all of Ben’s well laid out instructions when the lifty started saying something to us.  Well, I was so bundled up that I couldn’t hear what he was saying so I was trying to figure out what was going on, but I ended up missing the unloading point completely. I was still on the lift when it started turning to head back down the mountain. Ben started yelling at me to “jump” so I did…from about four feet off the ground. I loved Whistler, but I left with a few bruises – mostly to my ego.

Fast forward to this past winter, and my first ski season living in Colorado. We bought a Subaru when we moved here because we wanted to be as Colorado-ish as possible. Luckily, our Subaru came with two ski passes to Copper Mountain. I love Copper. It has a whole side dedicated to beginners. I loaded up on ski lessons. This time I took it slow and tried not to get ahead of myself. The instructors so far have been phenomenal. They push you without scaring you for life. I’m 30 now, but I totally want to be the 95-year old still skiing down the hill. I only discovered skiing recently, but I feel like it is a sport that I will continue with for as long as I can. I also LOVE the whole Après-ski concept. So far, my favorite is a glass of nice wine with a side of hot tub. I have a feeling I will be investing in a pair of skis very soon.

 

Here is a Après-ski cocktail recipe for the next time you find yourself in the lodge, sitting cozily by the fire, and peacefully unwinding from a day on the slopes

INGREDIENTS

    • 3 ounces hot strong-brewed coffee
    • 1 ounce Frangelico
    • 1/2 ounce Licor 43 (sweet citrus- and vanilla-flavored liqueur) or Navan
    • 1/2 ounce Cognac
    • 1 large dollop of unsweetened whipped cream
    • 3 coffee beansNow, in a mug, mix the espresso with the Frangelico, Licor 43 and Cognac. Top with the whipped cream and garnish with the coffee beans.