Tag Archives: ski

Thank you for the dances

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I asked my skis to the prom, and she showed up in an irresistible powdery gown.  We’ve shared dances at Lake Louise (1 day, cross-country), Crystal Mountain (2 days), Mount Hood (2 days), Hoodoo (1 day), Mount Bachelor (2 days), Telluride (10 days), and Crested Butte (2 days).  The bumps, curves, slopes, face-plants, and turns are exhilarating.  Our relationship is getting serious.

But, our relationship is an unusual, open one.  My skis must soon rest and yield to my fling with canyoneering ropes and kayaks.  I promise to return for another winter dance.

Park City, UT

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Catching some Spring skiing in Park City. There are 3 ski resorts in town — Deer Valley, Park City, and the Canyons.

For lodging, Jordanelle State Park is within 15 minutes drive. The hot showers and laundry are nice perks after a sweaty day on the slopes. For Deer Valley, the Jordanelle Express gondola is a 5 minute drive away. This gondola area has abundant free parking. Furthermore, the solicitous staff will give you a ride to your car, lift your skis onto the gondola, and offer free overnight ski storage. Katherine skied her first double blue run here — Orion.

Park CIty ski resort is right in town. They cater to families with a variety of terrain parks and lots of “adventure zones” for glade skiing. The adventure zones are marked with cute snow monster sculptures like these.  History buffs will also enjoy the old mining buildings.

Photos from Park City ski resort:

The Canyons is the largest of the three area ski resorts. It feels the most like an alpine resort. While Deer Valley and Park City have high desert plants, the Canyons is filled with spruce trees. If you like intermediate cruiser runs, the whole mountain is open to you. The grading system here felt one notch easier than Telluride.

Logistics

Shopping: The Market at Park City is conveniently next door to the State liquor store. This liquor store has a a good selection of local microbrews.

Laundry: Ying’s laundry in Park City, or the laundromat at Jordanelle.

Parking : All the ski resorts offer free parking for daytime through early evening. The large lots have plenty of room for RVs. Park City also has several city lots that offer 4 hours of free parking.

Reverse Snowbirds

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RVers are often called snowbirds because they travel south and downhill in Winter to stay warm. Quartzite in Arizona is a popular destination, for example.

We must be confused, because we can’t wait for snow. Here are our goals for the Winter season:

Go back to school at Telluride ski school. We got the limitless lesson alpine season passes and can’t wait for the first day of class.

Go fly a kite, in the snow. Kiteskiing, aka snowkiting, uses a stunt kite to pull a skier across flat or gently sloping snow or ice. It’s the winter version of kiteboarding, and will hopefully prepare us for Summer kiteboarding on Hood River. For lessons, the programs in Utah and Colorado look attractive.

Snowshoe or ski hut to hut. Possible locations are the San Juans and Rockies. If we can improve our skiing enough (to double blue) in time, we may be able to take a backcountry safety and avalanche course in combination with hut to hut skiing.

Get our axes in gear at the Ouray ice climbing park. We’ve never ice climbed before and look forward to learning from a local guide. For spectators and advanced climbers, the biggest events of the season are the Ouray Ice Festival and Chicks With Picks.

 

Destinations

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Here’s our rough goals for the first few months of the journey:

  • Ski more:  Initial destinations include Telluride, Taos, Denver, Tahoe, and Salt Lake City. We’ll be posting ski reviews and tips for travelers.  We welcome recommendations regarding places to overnight park the van near these ski resorts.
  • Work:  We’ll continue our professions on the road and will refine the craft of a mobile workspace.
  • Get smarter:  Attend a naturopathic oncology conference in Phoenix. Seek out hacker spaces, Maker groups, inventor clubs, and conferences.
  • Reconnect:  Visit with family and friends in California, Arizona, and Colorado. Connect with colleagues as we travel.
  • Serve:  Katherine pursues clinical private practice, medical mission work, technical writing, and outreach on behalf of the naturopathic profession.  Peter contributes to the Apple II vintage computer community through Juiced GS and Kansas Fest.