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March 18 - 31, 2002

Monday, March 18, 2002                                                                Breckenridge, CO

Christine and I enrolled in ski lessons for today and tomorrow.  I found myself alone in my Level-9 group with the same instructor that worked with me last month.  Phil has a real subtle way of finessing the extreme terrain.  It was great to get to ski with him again.  Another pupil joined my private lesson after lunch, making us a threesome.  The weather turned nasty as some snow blew in, but I still got a lot out of my lesson.

Christine found herself in a small Level-7 group that included two other students.  She found herself skiing some very challenging parts of the mountain including several trips up the Peak 8 T-Bar, in spite of the weather.  We were both pretty tired after the long day of skiing.

Tuesday, March 19, 2002                                                                Breckenridge, CO

We showed up for our second day of lessons, and again I started out getting a private lesson.  Christine was with two new people in her small group.  The weather was great and I got to cover some pretty challenging conditions that pulled me out of my comfort zone.  Christine’s group was upgraded to Level-8 after lunch, to her disappointment.  Christine has a very conservative approach to skiing that allows her to be content not skiing all terrain in all conditions.  She has been exposed to many advanced skills now and is likely to develop them further on her own without being dragged all over the mountain.  We have both improved our skiing dramatically this season, and are very proud of our results.

By Christine: Joe is correct, I didn't really enjoy this afternoons skiing lesson.  I like to improve my skills on steeps including my turning and parallel.  I also like working on my bumps on black hills.  Unfortunately they assume just because I can get down black bump hills and not kill myself that means I must be ready for double black runs which usually include, a much steeper terrain, bigger bumps, more trees thrown in for good measure, and if we are really lucky a hike to get there.  That's not my idea of fun, and unlike some people I am ok with saying No, I don't want to go there.

Wednesday, March 20, 2002                                                    Breckenridge, CO

Christine and I were so glad to be in lessons yesterday.  Ski School gets to cut in front of all the lift lines, and the lift lines Monday and Tuesday were the worst we’ve seen.  We repeated our early Sunday arrival and beat the lift lines today by being on the mountain well before 9:00 AM.  Most of the crowds skiing this week were beginner/intermediate skiers.  They remained on the easier bottom half of the mountain, so Christine and I found short lift lines on the top of the mountain.  I got eleven runs in before noon.  We quit and went home for lunch and some piddling.

Our RV resort had its weekly wine and cheese social this evening.  It was fun to catch up with people again.  Christine began to come down with one of her severe sinus headaches, so we made it a quiet evening.

Thursday, March 21, 2002                                                           Breckenridge, CO

We have officially done some spring skiing now.  It was windy, but quite warm and sunny on the mountain today.  Christine’s headache had subsided enough for her to get out and ski today.  We timed our afternoon to hit après ski at the Breckenridge Brewery.  We enjoyed several pints of fine beer and some discounted appetizers.  By the time we got back to the RV, however; Christine’s sinus headache had returned with full force.  She cocooned into bed as I quietly passed the evening.

By Christine: This is the first bad sinus headache I've experienced since coming to the mountains in mid-January.  In this small space I am even more thankful for how considerate Joe is during these headaches.  He is content to put on the headphones and watch TV all evening so I can take in the much needed silence and dark at the back of our bed.  Heading into day three of a headache is never a good feeling.

Friday, March 22, 2002                                                                   Breckenridge, CO

Christine awoke somewhat improved, but decided to play it safe and not ski today.  I went out by myself and really burned up in the high temperatures.  I’m going to have to figure out what layer I can leave behind on these warmer days.  I put in a day of skiing, but felt the effect of six straight days of aggressive skiing.  I was glad to drop our skis off at the ski shop for tuning and know that I wouldn’t see them again until Sunday. Tomorrow is our regular Saturday break from skiing.

I spent a little time today remembering that I began my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail on this day five years ago.  My Atlanta friends, Harlan and Anne, drove me up to Springer Mountain, Georgia and dropped me off at the beginning of the 2160.2-mile journey to Mt. Katahdin, Maine that would be my life for the following 200 days.  I have covered a lot of ground since then and every step of the way I thanked God for the blessing that my life is.

Saturday, March 23, 2002                                                                Breckenridge, CO

We did our usual running around today and enjoyed eating dinner out and seeing a movie: “Gosford Park.”  It was a hot sunny day, and we were glad to be off the mountain.

Somehow I caught another cold and suffered the sore throat and congestion that resulted.

Sunday, March 24, 2002                                                                Breckenridge, CO

We really piddled around this morning.  We got such a slow start that Christine decided to not ski and stay back to work on her term paper due at the end of this week.  I was well into my cold, but decided to ski anyway.  I had underestimated my condition and struggled with a low energy level on the mountain.  I just worked on my bump runs until my legs gave out.  I picked up some cold medicine and went back to the RV to watch the Oscars with Christine.

Monday, March 25, 2002                                                                Breckenridge, CO

We awoke to a couple inches of new snow and agreed to go ski Arapahoe Basin: The Legend.  A-Basin is at the highest elevation of any ski area in North America.  As one of the lift attendants remarked—it has sickly steep terrain.  We spent the morning warming up on some of the groomed runs when I realized that one of my skis wasn’t touching the snow very much.  I stopped and removed my ski to find out that the front half of the ski was severely bent.  This accounted for why my skis weren’t turning very well.

We quit for the day after five runs and I began investigating my options for my skis.  I have to send my skis back to Head (the manufacturer for them) to determine whether any warranty applies.  In the mean time I will have to rent some skis to finish out the season.  Today was my 46th day of skiing, and I’m really committed to logging 50 days.  We have also agreed to hook up with some friends visiting from Charlotte, NC on Sunday.  Otherwise we would probably be tempted to pack up and hit the road right now.  We’ve had a great season of skiing, but we’re both getting a little tired of being in the same place.  We’re itching to be on the move again.

I think I determined what caused my ski to bend.  I dropped off my skis for their weekly tune-up this weekend and asked for the release tension of my bindings to be increased.  This is the safety device that allows your skis to come off during a fall before any damage is done to your legs.  The setting of my bindings didn’t reflect my now advanced level of skiing, and they were popping off prematurely in the bump runs.  The tuners increased the tension to a level determined by my ski level, weight, height, and boot size.  I didn’t ski very hard Sunday, but I had spent the day on the bump runs.  I must have hit a bump hard enough to bend the ski, where in the past it would have popped me out of the bindings.  The skis weren’t strong enough for the new binding setting.

Tuesday, March 26, 2002                                                                Breckenridge, CO

I left Christine behind to work on her term paper (due Friday) and I went on in to Breckenridge to ski.  I shopped around for a good rental price, but was very disappointed.  High performance skis rent for $35-45 per day, and I couldn’t stomach paying that much.  I rented a notch below the high performance grade and got a set for $23, but didn’t really care for the skis that much.  They were far too flexible for my size and the terrain that I ski.  I came back to the RV disappointed and began considering my other options.  My cold is still bringing me down a bit too.

By Christine: As you have realized by now, I am spending more time in the RV.  The headache last week knocked me out of contention for 50 days of skiing.  Luckily, that was Joe's goal and not mine.  I am enjoying some of the quiet time to work on this terms paper, which is not flowing as easily as the past papers have been.

Wednesday, March 27, 2002                                                    Breckenridge, CO

Christine and I had several plans today that didn’t include us skiing.  We drove the RV into Breckenridge and walked around to several of the vacation rental complexes to collect information for planning a group ski trip here next year.  We picked up rate cards and floor plans and checked out various locations.  We could have a large group next year that includes all our friends that joined us at Vail, and many more.

Later we drove into Frisco to a second-hand ski shop so that I could look for a deal on some skis.  I don’t want to shell out $300-$500 for a new set of skis until I hear whether Head is going to warranty my bent ski.  I figured that I might be able to buy a used pair of skis for less than what I’d have to pay for rentals over the next few days.  With the help of the store staff I found a pair of 195cm Rossignol Viper 9.9 skis that were nice and rigid.  They were in very good shape and the bindings mounted on the skis fit my boots without having to be re-mounted.  I bought these skis for $120, leaving them there overnight with one of my boots for the staff to set up the skis for me.  I will pick them up in the morning on the way to A-Basin.

I felt pretty good about the ski purchase.  The skis were probably 3-4 years old, but still had a lot of life left in them.  Regardless of what Head does now, I have a fall back pair of skis.  We ran a couple more errands and returned to our campsite for the weekly wine and cheese social held in our campground.  This would be our last.

Thursday, March 28, 2002                                                            Breckenridge, CO

We drove back into Frisco to pick up my new (used) pair of skis on our way to ski A-Basin.  I was met with a surprise at the ski store.  The person setting up my skis had found a flaw in one of the skis that none of us had seen yesterday.  A 3-inch section of ski edge was de-laminating near the tail of one of the skis.  This can be a serious condition depending on where it occurs on a ski.  I realized that I could repair the problem with a little epoxy, but right now I just wanted to ski.   The flaw was only on one side of the ski, and being at the tail of the ski made it less of a concern.  When I learned that the store was willing to drop the purchase price from $120 to $35, I figured I couldn’t really lose—and I wanted to ski today.

Most skis are interchangeable between the right and left feet.  When turning on skis, almost all the pressure is put on the inside edge of the downhill ski.  This means that the outside edges of the skis get far less use.  Most skis wear pretty evenly because a skier doesn’t pay attention to which ski gets put on which foot.  I’ll be able to contain the damage on the one ski by always wearing that ski on my left foot, keeping the flaw on the outside edge.

We had a sunny day at Arapahoe Basin, but the wind was really gusting.  It had been rocking our RV through most of our sleep last night, and continued to blow across the mountains.  I cautiously tried out my new skis and quickly learned that they skied very differently from my Head skis.  The Rossi’s are a little longer and a little less shaped (parabolic), which makes them slower to turn, but better at holding an edge in the hard-packed snow.  I took it easy on the first few runs as I gained confidence in them, then I hit the bumps.  These skis are so stiff that they really performed well for me in the bumps, though I still could not turn as quickly.  The stiffness helped keep me centered over the skis and provided better resistance for my 220 pounds.  I ended the day feeling pretty good about the skis that I now own for the price of one day of rentals.

After skiing, we drove down to Keystone and parked the RV so that we cold both shower and clean up before going out for a fine dinner.  There was still one microbrewery-restaurant in the area that we hadn’t yet patronized.  The Great Northern Tavern in Keystone is really an upscale dining experience for a brewpub.  Christine had the salmon and I had a pistachio encrusted walleye, along with a couple pints of beer.  It was a good meal as we looked back on our ten weeks of ski season that we were now winding down.

Arapahoe Basin.jpg (70214 bytes)

Christine with the bowls of Arapahoe Basin behind her.

Friday, March 29, 2002                                                                   Breckenridge, CO

Christine finished her paper this morning and e-mailed it to her professor. We had a beautifully clear day for our final day of skiing at Breckenridge.  It was very warm and the mountain was very crowded!  We’ve decided that Spring Skiing just isn’t what we expected—quickly deteriorating conditions and massive crowds of poor skiers.  I think that we’ve become ski snobs.  We would prefer to suffer the colder temperatures of January and February and get to ski light dry powder without any crowds.

We took advantage of the nice conditions to take some action pictures of each other.  I even had Christine shoot me going off a jump in the terrain park.  It was a good picture of me in the air.  It’s a good thing that she didn’t shoot my landing … it wasn’t pretty.  It was our last day of skiing at Breckenridge this year, and it was a good one.  I’m starting to like my new skis, now that I’m getting used to them.

We returned to the campground and took advantage of the warm temperature for Christine to give me a haircut outside.  It feels good to have our ski season winding down.

Joe Jumping.jpg (53646 bytes)  Joe Bumps.jpg (63680 bytes)  Chris Bumps1.jpg (44842 bytes)  Chris Bumps2.jpg (48991 bytes)

1) Joe catching some air.  2-4) It's hard to see the bumps on these pictures, but trust us these are bump runs at the top of Chair 6 at Breckenridge.

Saturday, March 30, 2002                                                                Breckenridge, CO

It was such a nice morning that we took our bicycles out for a long ride to gape at the trophy homes built along the hillsides out here.  It’s fun to dream about what features might be included in a home of our own in the future. 

We took care of some shopping and then caught an early showing of the movie: “The Rookie.”  We both thoroughly enjoyed this sentimental film for all audiences. We got out of the movie in time to stand in line in front of Christy Sports in Dillon.  Christy’s has been advertising their April Fools sale for the past month, and we were hoping to score some good deals.  We spent some time in the store last week checking out what was available.  The sale is so popular that there was a sizable crowd lined up outside the store awaiting the 4:00-8:00PM sale. 

We bought some ski helmets and a bag for our skis to travel in, all for 50% off.  They were some great deals.  We’ll be able to use this stuff for many years to come. 

Sunday, March 31, 2002                                                                Breckenridge, CO

Today was our last day of skiing this season.  It was my 50th day and Christine’s 44th.  I had set the goal of skiing 50 days at the beginning of the season, and it felt good to realize this goal.  We easily hooked up with the visiting Mitchells from North Carolina.  They came out with their two teenage sons and three friends of the oldest son.  I worked with Norm back in Charlotte and always enjoyed his company, so it was a real gift to share our final day of skiing with him and his wife, Bette.

We skied with the Mitchells at Keystone on a beautiful Easter Sunday.  We even stopped to take part in a mountaintop worship service.  The temperatures were warm and the snow was soft.  Christine and I just relaxed and really enjoyed having one final day on our skis.  It has been such a great season.  I calculated our average daily cost for lift tickets at $10.07 per person … not bad!

Christine and I showered and cleaned up in our RV before joining the Mitchells in their condo for some après ski beers.  Norm and Bette joined Christine and me for dinner, leaving the guys behind with pizza.  We chose to go to Pug Ryan’s Steakhouse and Brewery again—and I again had the Rocky Mountain Trout Almondine.  This is the third time that I’ve ordered this meal, and it was just as satisfying as the first time.  The four of us lingered over dinner as we made the most of our time together.  It was such a great day and evening, made all the better by sharing it with Norm and Bette.

Bette_Christine and Norm.jpg (47236 bytes)

Continue with April 1, 2002...

If you have any questions about this website or want to contact Christine or Joe for any reason, please email us at christine@lustik.com or joe@lustik.com.