"The snow was perfect, it snowed several times while we were there. We got in too late Friday night to ski or go out to eat, so we stopped at the gorcery store and got some food to cook and made a late dinner & just relaxed. Saturday morning we decided to sleep in. Everybody was being lazy so we just hung out, watched the Masters, cooked some more, hung out, we were going to go out to dinner but decided to get some more food to cook and we made a fantastic dinner.

Me: "What about the skiing? How was it?"

"We didn't even bother skiing.

(Now: picture me with my head cocked to the side trying to process this while doing my best impression of the "Victrola dog" in those old magazine and TV ads.)

"We were enjoying hanging out by the fire, cooking, eating, watching the snow fall outside, using the hot tub, we had a great time!

Ok, end of story. But I haven't told you the punch line yet since you may be assuming this was a group of non-atheletic geriatrics who really didn't wan't to be bothered: this was a group of about 10 guys, most of whom play sports, who are graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in about 4 weeks, AND this was a kind of last get-together pow-wow and bacherlor party for this group of friends since one of the guys is getting married in June, no kidding.

So: What do a bunch of wild college men about to graduate do the last ski weekend of the season? They have a "great" (their word) "no stress" (their word) "relaxing" (their word) weekend doing absolutely: nothing.

(There is hope for the future yet, Ladies and Gentlemen, when good solid guys like these know when to simply kick-back and recharge!)

Like I've said before and I'll probably say again, some vacations you have to work too hard at aren't really a vacation at all. And our condo is a great place to just be at, and to just "chill" at, when you just simply need to get away for a while.

:-)

Okay, it's all about logistics and weather - nobody knows at the start of the season what the end of the season is going to hold weather wise, so workers contracts extend only to a certain point at which time the resorts have to fold up, shut down, dig out, yadda yadda yadda. I think the fact they're leaving Breck open another week is pretty cool, maybe it's a new trend for "Vail Resorts" - the company that owns these four resorts.

Of course, as usual, A-Basin up the hill from Keystone will be open until ski season starts next year (seems like)! (Ok, ok, this is a gross exageration, but Arapahoe Basin is usually open into June which, you gotta admit, is kind of aberrant sounding).(And they "only" have a 74 inch base - difference is, it won't melt since they're so much higher in altitude than everybody else around here).

Has it been the "perfect" season? "EPIC!" as you may recall I wrote about one tourist saying to me? Well, the skiing's been really d*mn good this year despite somewhat of a slow start, that's for sure! (If you were reading my blog months ago and read my rant "Dude, Where's My Mountain?!?" you'll recall we were skiing on rocks and dirt well into a couple weeks of ski season starting!) But now, I know absolute die-hard skiiers that are actually - dare I say this - *ready* for summer so they can relax! (You see, in Colorado, snow is to many locals what a light is to a moth: we just can't help ourselves: we keep trying to "hit it" until we burn out!) So - in many ways, and ways that will be seen and felt downhill from here when the snow melts into gushing white-water rapids, water for farming, water that may flood some places way down stream - there's snow out the yin yang, "fo'sho", but Epic?

Well - may be. Yah, it may have been "one for the books" after all!

And the cool thing is - we get to relax now, hang up the gear for a while, fix up what needs fixin', and do it all over again next year, and I can hardly wait!

New rates will be going into effect - I already have about 15 people clamouring for Christmas and New Years, and first week 2009, so if this is you and youre reading this - I will be getting back to you as soon as I can - I'm still sorting out all the flurry of calls and emails we got the last two weeks while I was travelling.

For the rest of you who came, saw, and "made the Mountain your bitch" (!): Thanks for your support, we look forward to having you with us again sometime, have a peaceful wonderful summer, drop us a line sometime!

Thanks,
Butch

The ski season is over this weekend, but by June we will be getting into Colorado's fantastic second season, and - I swear, nobody believes me until they try it - summers in the Colorado high country are WON-DER-FUL, no kidding, no sales pitch, no, not even hype, this is FACT!. If you stay with us or with somebody else, fine, but make some plans to come on up and escape the city heat this summer - the temps will be perfect - they always are - the sky will be a perfect postcard blue - it always is - and you just cant run out of fun and relaxing things to do with your family and friends!

On second thought: STAY HOME!!!!

:-)

(Just more time I get to use the condo for my family, and we're ready for it!!)

(But, ok, we can share. Give me a call and I'll get you so fired up for a cool Colorado summer vaca that youll be totally stoked!)

I BELIEVE!
We've got some serious honkin' snow here, baybee! Now with the new 8 inches we got in the last 24 hours, we are "big pimpin" !

So, yah, freshie pow-pow conditions on beau-ti-ful packed powder = OMG the skiing is GREAT! Saturday I ripped through 6 runs on Schoolmarm waiting for my daughter to suit up before I knew what hit me! (and it wasn't that she took so long, but I was just having so much fun passing the time!)(Plus talking to folks while riding the lift is a gas!)

I'm not too concerned [yet] about our view issue because on paper it looks like there will now be an open plaza with a fire pit in front of our condo, but we'll see what takes shape as the plans emerge. New buildings will block our view of skiiers coming down Schoolmarm, I think thats going to be a given, but we will probably have even a better view of Peru since the ticket booth in front will be gone in place of this plaza thing they're planning.

We'll keep you posted! The slopes aren't going to be any farther away, so we're still in a way-cool location and we're still a couple hundred bucks a night cheaper than Keystone charges for the same condo at Chateaux d'Mont, so I imagine there'll still be plenty of people ready to enjoy our location and ammenities!

Oh, one last thing I read from Vail Resorts said the plans to make over Mountain House are explicitly NOT to make it all commercialized like River Run, but to keep it residential and great for families!

That's what we like to hear!

plan 1

plan 2, we like this one!
red circle is our condo, lines show field of view.
The dark gray buildings will be ALL NEW.

He hit North Peak first - went down Prospector (after going down Mozart from the first mountain to the second one where Prospector is to the left off the lift to the top) and found one track by a snow board on otherwise perfect untouched powder, "It was heaven" he says. Then he went over to Outback Mountain (Keystone's third mountain back) and said the snow was incredibly beautiful with foot-deep champagne powder and - get this - he was the first one laying tracks on a couple different runs back there! He said he was tree-skiing through this lucious powder and it was like being in a dream - something you'd see in a magazine or a Warren Miller film: just incredible! We're similar skiing styles, not extremeists, good blue & maybe blue/black skiiers, so I was very happy for him (and totally green with envy!!!).

Here's a tip for you folks reading this blog: get your ski legs on by doing a few runs on the front mountain (Keystone Mountain), but before you start tiring out, head for North Peak and then the Outback Mountain as soon as you can! There's MUCH less traffic back there since most recreational skiiers won't make the effort or bother with going back there (or maybe they'll do a couple runs on North Peak to feel "dangerous" then head back to Keystone Mountain!), but there are PERFECT blue (and maybe one or two green, and yes, lets of fun and insane black and some double black) runs back there I promise you'll smile over and dream about later!

I Can't Wait To Get Back Up On The Mountains At Keystone to sample all the new snow we've gotten lately!

You? We still have that week open at the end of this month so if you're feeling the urge, go ahead, give in, give me a call & lets book you into our condo which is right by the Peru and Argentine lifts and you'll have the ski trip of a lifetime!

Weather reminds us of who's in charge, and all we mere mortals can do is be "sane" enough to not react or overreact when the going gets a little tough, but be resolute, careful, humble, and forgiving of others who are not. We had part of a group coming in from the south get stranded in Denver last night, now safely ensconsed at the condo with a warming fire to cheer them, our private hot tub to party in, and night skiing to shake it all up - and fireworks tonight at midnight to bring in the new year!

It's all good - and we hope the new year brings you nothing but good also!

January 14th, 15th, and 16th are still available also. If you have a few days you can play hooky from work and get away, this is a GREAT time of year to beat it on up here and get in some of the best skiing in the country!