Vacation Tales

[cement]

I wanted to start a thread about stuff we do for vacation, and figured i'd hide it down here since it might have personal pictures.

Anyways, here is a start.

I took my son down to Taos Ski Valley while he was home for spring break. It's about a 5 hour drive south of here, and we had a free ski day there so we went for it! Taos is a pretty town, but we were there for the skiing so we drove thru pretty fast.

We hiked Kachina Peak, that requires a long trek along the ridge line before actually climbing the peak. We had great weather and the views were incredible! the snow was a little cooked, but it was still a sweet run!

the trail map view

a picture from the start

prayer flags at the summit

it was a really nice time with my son (he's 18 and a freshman at college) This is something we will remember for a long time.

this week is my daughter's spring break and my wife and I will take her to Crested Butte thursday night. It's really reasonable if you stay in Gunnison, and they have half price tickets until the end of the season there now. I hope the snow holds! Actually, there is a big storm coming Thurs night, so I hope we can get there! the place we booked will let us bring the dogs so that will save a bunch too.

 

[TouchDown]

Wow, just wow. That's awesome!

 

[ktulu]

Cool pics, cement.

My older brother worked at Crested Butte a few years back, bartending. He moved up there with his girlfriend. His old flame down here drove up there and got him - they have been married for almost 10 years with 2 kids. Makes for a funny story.

 

[benbo]

That's impressive. How far is that hike? Don't you sink into the snow? Do you have to carry your ski boots and skis?

 

[cement]

it's probably a mile, and you wear your boots so they don't freeze. I made a huge mistake by leaving my pack in the car, so I carried my skis on my shoulder the whole way. I had a torqued back the next morning, but my best friend alieve fixed it.

 

[Dleg]

Awesome! I hope I can do something like that with my son, someday. (Although now I realize you are far more hard core a skier than I ever was.)

 

[cement]

Actually, just hiking a 14er together is a great bonding experience. It's just takes longer to get to lunch when you hike back down!

and don't worry Dleg, if we go go skiing I'll be gentle!

 

[ODB_PE]

Actually, just hiking a 14er together is a great bonding experience. It's just takes longer to get to lunch when you hike back down!
and don't worry Dleg, if we go go skiing I'll be gentle!

I was going to ask if you skied down from the peak, I suppose you could? (Main Street?)

I never skied Taos but I learned to ski nearby at Red River. Never got too good though, I was old enough that I had lost what little daring I was born with.

 

[cement]

I skied main street, and though it is marked as a double black (extreme), it is really what I would rate an easy single black for the run itself. I think they mark it harder because it is a long hike with some cliffs off the sides. The runs before it are very challenging and they don't want people getting in over thier heads on the way to the "easy one".

I saw a guy coming down main street doing stem turns. not pretty, but adequate.

 

[FLBuff PE]

Let me know if you ever get over towards Snowmass...we'll go out and get some good runs in! Looks like you had a great time. I'm jealous. My parents were here this past weekend, for their first grand-daughter visit. My mom and I went skiing on Saturday. I can ski just about anything (not always well), but my mom is far below me in ability, so I did not do anything extreme, mostly blues (yawn). Sutarday was a banner day over here, and I wanted to do something similar to what you and your son did, but mom would not have been up to it. Oh well.

 

[cement]

my wife used to have a conference at Snowmass every year over New Year's so we would get a free room and use the 4 or 7 front range deal. We love to hike the Hanging Valley Wall, but I have to say that the cruisers on the big burn can be fun too. I'll give you a PM if we get there next year. We are suffering from Snowmass withdrawl!

Have you done the Higlands bowl hike? The flash picture they have of the hike along the knife edge with fixed ropes is pretty cool! Visit My Website

you want to hear a :suicide: :brickwall: :smileyballs: ?

we had friends in from back east recently, and they were staying at Beaver Creek. so we go for a ski day with them, pay $92 each for lift tickets, then cycle around the same lame groomer run all day.

 

[ktulu]

Big Mountain

I am a fan of Whitefish, MT

 

[FLBuff PE]

my wife used to have a conference at Snowmass every year over New Year's so we would get a free room and use the 4 or 7 front range deal. We love to hike the Hanging Valley Wall, but I have to say that the cruisers on the big burn can be fun too. I'll give you a PM if we get there next year. We are suffering from Snowmass withdrawl!
Have you done the Higlands bowl hike? The flash picture they have of the hike along the knife edge with fixed ropes is pretty cool! Visit My Website

you want to hear a :suicide: :brickwall: :smileyballs: ?

we had friends in from back east recently, and they were staying at Beaver Creek. so we go for a ski day with them, pay $92 each for lift tickets, then cycle around the same lame groomer run all day.

I have not hiked the Wall yet. A friend of ours took a tree to the spleen on the Wall and ended up in the hospital for a couple of days. Ever since that, the wife won't let me do it alone. I've hiked the Cirque. I was looking at the Cirque on Saturday, and was longing to go up. I love Campground on powder days. I have been to Crusty Butt a couple of times, but it's been at least 10 years since I've been there. My company is doing a lot of geotech work for Crested Butte Mountain Resort for the redevelopment of the base. I agree that cruisers are un, but not all day. As far as Highlands is concerned, I have not been up to the bowl. About 4 seasons ago, 4 or 5 people died there, and again, the wife is paranoid. However, if you guys come out, I'll have a partner, so she will 'let' me go.

ktulu: I have never been to Big Mountain, but I've been to Big Sky...loved it!

 

[cement]

Big Mountain
I am a fan of Whitefish, MT

that's slated for next year's spring break, if he doesn't go off with buddies :sniff:

About 4 seasons ago, 4 or 5 people died there, and again, the wife is paranoid.

that was before it was included in the resort and was considered backcountry. It is now patrolled with avalanche control. the only in bounds avalanche death I know of in Colorado was the wet slide on alley one at Arapahoe Basin three years ago. still, it is a good idea to buddy up. we don't do any out of bounds skiing until the snow pack stabilizes in the late spring.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Awesome pics Cement!

We are moving this summer, so between the expense of that, and the fact that you don't have vacation time built up at a new position, I don't expect we will take any major trips like that.

But I do hope to take some daytrips and overnighters around my new neck of the woods. There's lots of stuff to do around greater Boston, plus it's a lot straighter shot to the White Mtns or coastal Maine from suburban Mass. thatn where I am now. I would like to get back to Cape Ann as well. I went there as a kid and loved it.

 

[MA_PE]

Awesome pics Cement!
We are moving this summer, so between the expense of that, and the fact that you don't have vacation time built up at a new position, I don't expect we will take any major trips like that.

But I do hope to take some daytrips and overnighters around my new neck of the woods. There's lots of stuff to do around greater Boston, plus it's a lot straighter shot to the White Mtns or coastal Maine from suburban Mass. thatn where I am now. I would like to get back to Cape Ann as well. I went there as a kid and loved it.

You forgot the Cape of Cod. You should bike down to P-town.

 

[cement]

Cape Ann, is that the North Shore area?

We used to go camping on Hermit Island in Maine. I can still picture the cliff top campsite we landed one year.

 

[Dleg]

I think there's enough information in the above posts to make me CERTAIN that I won't go skiing with cement, next time I make it back to CO in the winter.

It looks like I'll be in CO for a few weeks in June, though. That will be our first family vacation since July 2006. It's just so damn expensive to travel from out here.

 

[FLBuff PE]

I think there's enough information in the above posts to make me CERTAIN that I won't go skiing with cement, next time I make it back to CO in the winter.
It looks like I'll be in CO for a few weeks in June, though. That will be our first family vacation since July 2006. It's just so damn expensive to travel from out here.

Where are you heading in our lovely state?

 

[Dleg]

We'll be staying with my family in Littleton. Probably won't be getting out for much in the way of "adventure", but lots of kid-friendly stuff.