Returning to the Mountain
Aug 21, 2007 · 08:47 AM · permalink
After a relatively innocuous ten years of living in Colorado, I’ve decided to once again strap on the sticks and get back on the mountain. There are a couple of reasons I’ve come to this decision.
First, I gotta do something. I learned at a young age that my body needs to be active. I feel much better physically as well as mentally when I am. I keep telling myself I’ll start playing soccer again; but I don’t. I keep telling myself I’ll go for a jog; but I don’t. And now with winter right around the corner (I know it’s still August, but time flies faster for some of us), the time is ripe to get back out there. But I’ve got to get moving now, because I’m starting from scratch.
Second, the social scene. I grew up in California and learned to ski on a relatively tame mountain where the black diamonds would be easy blues on any Colorado peak. Once I started skiing here in Colorado, all the trips were with my step-dad. As much as I like him, being a 17-year old hanging out with your parent just isn’t all that fun; probably one reason I stopped skiing in the first place. Now that I’m older, I have plenty of friends that ski and/or board, so I can look forward to spending some fun times with them.
But I’ll tell you this much, along with the butterflies I get in my stomach thinking about a new adventure in my life, my wallet has already started wheezing a bit at the thought of the upcoming ski season. Skiing is not an inexpensive endeavor. Just glancing around the net, I know I’ll be spending around $400 on a ski pass alone. That HAS to be the best way to go, right? Roughly ten times up the hill and the pass is paid for. Then all the ski gear, of which I have none. Pants, jackets, goggles, helmet, gloves, and of course, skis.
So now I begin my search for bargains. I’ve got until sometime in December to get my pass (because we all know the best skiing is in the spring, anyway), so with some creative budgeting and planning, I should be able to make this all work.
You forgot reason #3: Apres Ski. :)
Don’t count on being able to buy a pass through December. I think the Five Mountain pass (Vail/BC/Keystone/Breck/Abasin) only sells until mid-October. But if you don’t think you’ll go out 10 times this season, think about one of the many 4-packs the various resorts have. Much cheaper if you don’t go a lot.
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