I grew up learning to ski on the glorious slopes the Midwest has to offer, and spent a couple weeks in Colorado as a kid enrolled in ski school. Other than that, I hadn't done a ton of skiing, so I expected to be a total mess on the slopes. Turns out, I picked it up pretty quickly and ended up making it down some black diamonds before the trip was over!
The majority of my time was spent at Heavenly in South Lake Tahoe. My first day went something like this:
Day two I graduated to blues and explored different slopes Heavenly had to offer. My favorite slope was the Galaxy, which I later learned is where Sonny Bono died. Of course I'd have more fun frolicking in the face of death... The view of the lake and surrounding mountains made just about every run a scenic adventure.
Day four included a side trip to Kirkwood, which is more of a the local option when it comes to ski resorts in the area. We were there on a Saturday, and it was hardly crowded. Kirkwood got some 25 feet of snow in the last month, but it started to get pretty mushy toward the afternoon. Except at the top... where it was soooo cold and windy. It was miserable, and made even the brutal days of the Chicago winters seem tropic.
After three days trying to keep up with a girl who grew up skiing the Austrian Alps, I mustered up enough courage to make it down a black diamond at Kirkwood. All smiles at the top! (Insert helmet joke here).
My reality check came when I arrived in Chicago after five great days of skiing, warm weather, good company of friends old and new (even some B-towners), hot alcoholic beverages, and a little gambling. I practically needed to snow shoe my way to find my car back in Chicago. It still hasn't moved... and I don't think it's going to until April. Yuck.
I can't wait until Skip Trip 2012!
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