Unexcused Absences

We’ve been at Beaver Creek two weeks now, since driving out in mid January, and we seem to have brought winter with us. The four weeks before we arrived saw a grand total of 15 inches of snow, while the two weeks since our arrival have seen 42 inches of the stuff! I feel no shame in taking full credit for bringing winter with us from the East.

Our situation is in some ways even better than last year, since now we’re “returning seasonal locals.” The place we’re staying, The Seasons Condos, is a brief walk from both the Riverfront Gondola and the Avon Station bus terminal, either of which will get us promptly up the mountain. Favorite wife did a fantastic job scoring this condo for the season, it’s walking distance to _everything_. Heather has joined me in Race City, so we now have lockers and skis in the same place. And because we know the lay of the land, so to speak, we are much more efficient in our pursuit of discounted food and beverage!

A big deal – pitcher and pizza for $15

Great deals and tips we’ve found so far this year are (these are in addition to the ones we found last year):

• $15 dinner at Crazy Mountain Brewery in Edwards; a pitcher of any one of their craft beers and large one-topping pizza – deal of the century, considering the large pizza alone at Markos’ Pizzaria right across the street is more than $15.
• Free wine tasting at the Beaver Creek Village Market every Friday, 4-6pm.
• The “Manager’s Special” rack at City Market
• The updated/augmented Skier Shuttle bus loops through Avon, makes a last stop at Avon Station (right in front of our building) and then makes a beeline to the Beaver Creek Village every 15 minutes in the morning. Piece of cake to get to the hill!

Most of the ski instructor and race department gang is back from last year, so we already know almost everyone we work with, and I’m back on the Coyote Cafe race team, which is by far the coolest (if not quite the fastest) team in the Beaver Creek Town Series races.

One other fun thing that’s new is the Epic Photo program. Look for the green-jacketed photographers at numerous places around the mountain; they’ll take your picture, then scan your EpicMix pass, and that afternoon when you get home you’ll have an email with links to your photos. And it’s all free! Of course it’s $20 to download a high-res copy, but unlimited free medium-res photos are pretty sweet nonetheless.

Sunny day

Cute

Us!

Free hot chocolate at 9:30am (Kent, Heather, Suzanne and Alexandra)

Kent posing for the Epic action photographer

Heather, in uniform, on a powder day

Kent's nose enjoying the fresh snow

Beaver Creek Resort. We are back, just over one year later, to the location of our original Unexcused Absence. Much like last winter, Kent works in the Race Department and teaches skiing during peak times or when clients request him.  Heather also works as a ski instructor while training for her PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America) Level 2 certification. On days off, we ski!

We feel fortunate to continue our rather self-centered lifestyle for at least a few more months. We constantly discuss how to navigate modern life with its costs and responsibilities while spiritually maintaining our Unexcused Absence lifestyle — unchartered territory for us!

Snowing in Avon

We’re currently ensconced in a cozy condo right in the heart of Avon which looks out directly at the slopes. With little snowfall during the month prior to our arrival, we feel we can certainly take credit for the three storms which have brought snow since our arrival.

We still have lots more to say about our trip to South Africa, and will be posting more on that during the next few weeks.

For now, we wanted to let folks know that we’re currently based out of Beaver Creek, that it’s snowing, and that we’re looking forward to seeing both our visitors and our old friends over the course of the winter.