Unexcused Absences

With forecast highs in the 40′s, spring skiing has officially arrived! Fortunately, our crew chiefs from the Talon Crew saw the same forecast, and called us a couple days in advance. “How about a ski day at Vail, we’ll pick you up on our way from Grand Junction (a few hours west of here)?” So we gathered our gear, and arranged a ski day at Vail with Sean and Kevin.

Spring day at Vail

In return for free parking (Sean’s mother lives in the town of Vail), we offered to cater lunch (spicy Italian sausages) at the grill-your-own spot at the top of Blue Sky Basin. As an added bonus, my friend Adam happened to be in Summit County (about 45 minutes east of here) and agreed to meet us at Vail for the day.

And what a day! Absolutely cloudless deep blue sky from horizon to horizon, 50-mile visibility, and nice warm temperatures – remember my “Degrees of Cold” post from a month ago?

I can’t stress “warm” strongly enough. While I didn’t do that well in my chemistry courses, I do know at some basic level that cold weather is necessary for prime ski conditions. That doesn’t change the fact that I simply love spring skiing. Yes, the snow is melting. Yes, the ski season will soon be over. But my body is finely tuned to the tropics, and no matter how hard I try I just can’t get used to really cold weather.

So while this day marked the beginning of the end of our winter adventure, it was deeply appreciated nonetheless!