I wasn’t originally planning on skiing this year, but things fell into place perfectly! I try to go every other year; I went in 2020 and 2018. So technically 2021 wasn’t my year. But, we cancelled our February Caribbean trip so I was able to squeeze in a few days of skiing. More about Winter Park and COVID coming at ya!
Almost every other year I ski 4+ days, so skiing only 2 days was a bit of an adjustment. I skied the heck out of those two days, closing in on 44 miles of shredding. Both days were a bit cloudy in the morning, but after lunch the sun came out and kept us warm.
It’s funny, looking back on the pictures from last year, I can hardly tell the difference. We all wear the same outfits. I joked that we can’t buy any new ski equipment because we won’t be able to find each other on the mountain! 😛
Skiing Winter Park
I did lots of blues, a few blue-blacks, and one black diamond. I was way less ski-ttish this year and felt really confident. I did fall once, but it was when we were going really slow. I just sort of tipped into a fluffy snow bank and popped back up. The funniest fall though, was Dave doing a couple summersaults on the bowl. I missed it totally but turned around just to see him pop up. (No tree collisions this year.)
Winter Park and COVID
Obviously Winter Park Resort is taking lots of precautions due to COVID. We had to wear a mask getting on/off the lifts, the restaurants on the mountain didn’t offer in-door seating, and you had to reserve your lift ticket in advance. Overall it didn’t have a huge effect on the trip. I always wear a neck gaiter anyway, but found it was easier to just wear a regular mask while skiing.
Around Winter Park there were differences too. Masks were mandatory (even for moose) in all the shops, grocery stores, and restaurants. We still supported the local places, but did takeout instead. And I introduced my mom to my favorite village bar, Vertical Bistro & Tap. 🙂
Running in the Mountains
Even though skiing is incredibly physical, I still got a few runs in with my mom. I missed a few of the training runs for the Carmel Half Marathon training, but I believe running 2 miles at 9,100 feet is equivalent to 6 miles at sea level.
