We took 10 days hunkered down at home, flew to Colorado, and spent a glorious week skiing and enjoying the view of the mountains. It was a tough travel day, mostly because it was so long, but we made it through that and were able to enjoy the time at high altitude. Poor Porter couldn’t sleep the first night from altitude insomnia, (me too) but it got better. Snow on the first day of skiing made for beautiful powder and fun runs. Crested Butte was so impressive–just a hulking mountain in the middle of other mountains.
Seamus, Gilbert, and Porter all had a lesson–Seamus and Gilbert’s ended up being private lessons since they were the only ones signed up on the day, but they had the same teacher and she was great about making the lesson tailored to what the child wanted to learn. Jumps and trees for Gilbert; moguls for Seamus. Porter worked on Hockey stops and learned about when you should make a wish on the lift–when you’re in chair 1, or when your chair stops on a wheel. Harlan skied with Patrick, making some turns down the mountain, but often sliding down in his pizza. That was nerve-wracking for me, and I couldn’t watch.
The resort had great protocols around mask wearing and distancing. We ate lunch outside a couple of days.
When I was a kid, we got pins for our ski jackets from the different places we skied. Now though, people put stickers on their helmets. Each kid got a sticker, but I accidentally put my sticker on Seamus’s helmet. Oops. I said, “Why does this stuff always happen to you?” And he said, “I know. It does.” Everyday about 11:00 Harlan would get cold and need to reboot for a hot chocolate. We brought some with us, but he needed resort hot cocoa and a fire. I couldn’t be annoyed though, because he was so cute. He initially said, “I’m so cold. I don’t want to ski anymore and I want to go back to the condo.” But post hot cocoa, he was all smiles and ready to go back out. He said, “I’m really sorry I said I don’t want to ski anymore. I’m ready now.”
Our friends came over from Denver for a couple of days, and we all had a blast playing games and chatting. All in all, it was a great trip, despite the travel difficulties. At one point my rental car wouldn’t start, and Patrick had to get jumper cables and then I drove it to Gunnison to swap it out with another car so we’d be sure to make it back to Denver. Even though that was annoying, I was rewarded on my drive by the sight of a beautiful bald eagle sitting sentry above a snow-covered field. The Gunnison River was also half frozen and steaming. Amazing!
Our trip home was remarkable in its unremarkability. Easy pack out, easy drive, easy airport, easy flight, easy drive home. And now we hunker down for a bit in case we picked up anything on our travels.
Academic Leigh Speaking 