snowshoethissnowshoethat

what more could the state of colorado possibly have to give? don't answer that, not just yet. i can't get over how much there is to explore and it's not like i'm sitting around thinking about the one great weekend trip that happened two summers ago when i first moved here and reliving that. to have a passion is to purse something with intent. deeply. along with so many other Coloradans there is a true pining to be outside. there isn't much to explain here, just that this is how you are wired and what you long for. i suppose i have a crush on the rocky mountains and sometimes they like me back. isn't it rather amazing that people live in flat places with no geographical flux around them? and more than this, they are okay with it. perhaps there is proximity to such terrain. how dare i be so presumptuous? don't answer that either.
great news here: the means to pursue the passion of this so called outside life can come in so many forms. you can hike it out, ski down it, run through it, climb up it, bike around it, float down it, snow shoe into it and these are just what come to mind. i'm partial to a few but always willing to give anything* a shot.

so, the weekend before last we went on a hut trip. not until two months ago did i actually know what a hut trip was so don't feel unfit if you don't know either. apparently and supposedly there are a network of cabin like huts that connect vail to aspen. and here in the rocky mountains they are the 10th mountain huts, 29 of them to be exact and built for the men who trained there during WWII. pretty sweet if you ask me. well, we snowshoed in with 7 new friends and gained around 2,000 ft. over 6 or so miles. it was tough, but not like the hate-my-life-rightnow-why am i doing this for fun-tough. just the ordinary great accomplishment feeling where you are still in decent spirits. we blazed through new snow, got the hut heated, melted and boiled snow for water, played cards on an elvis deck and chatted with new friends all the while up in the mtns. in the middle of nowhere colorado. and thanks.


*by anything i mean almost anything, where right now i'm not sure there is anything i wouldn't try but not just anything.

snowfriends

"wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe"

two great friends came. one from the northwest. one from south texas. we ventured to the mountains and skied at keystone, one of my favorite spots. there is a way back part of keystone and takes some time to reach but feel like you are in the depths of the mountains and far away from all built infrastructure, except of course for the crucial ski lifts [but those can stay]. here you are free to wander in all the silence of snow capped nature.

[Manda rockin' skis]

[Court on her new board]

glenwoodsprings

so we have a fun list. a list of fun things. fun things we want to do. the list is long. things we think will be fun. and most usually they end up following though. this past weekend was nothing shy of that. great fun.
since we have 10 days to expend at Vail and Beaver Creek we thought we better use them since the snow will soon be gone and these are both unbeatable places to ski. you could spend a whole season at Vail and still not touch every run, it's THAT big. trying to get lost is always the objective when riding there. just when you think you've seen enough on the front side of the mountain you finally cat-walk-it to the back and embark on a new plethora of white trails. a world of bowls and moguls and trees to play in. you could take one named run and never ski the same line twice.

so we decided to stay in Glenwood Springs which is a mountain town west of the two ski resorts and has tons to offer. a town of about 8,000 and not trying to grapple with the showiness of other colorado ski towns. i just found out that Amtrak makes a stop at Glenwood, must be a heck of a great place. Not far from outstanding skiing, tons of mountain biking in the roaring fork valley and all things water on the colorado river. the laid back folk, and a hostel for us to stay in rather cheaply is exactly what we enjoyed. and, after a hard day of riding nothing sounds better than soaking in the hot springs. it's an entire pool of natural water full of salty minerals, diving board included. you betcha we froze our butts off to wait in line behind the 8 year old's to get a few good cannon balls in. nothing like jumping off a diving board takes you back to that childhood feeling. though jumping off of a diving board wasn't on the "fun list" it was a small surprise and these sorts of things happen when undertaking adventure.

[winter aspens of beaver creek]

[the view from copper mtn.]

on winter:
there is a privacy about it which no other season gives you ..... in spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself

i once spoke about seasons. how seasons are an amazing attribute to a place and its specific locality. when a city can offer the residents 4 distinct seasons, i am allured. thank you denver for doing just this but my heart is longing for warmth. spring just needs to hurry on up.don't get me wrong i'm all excited for march skiing and great powder and attempting to wear shorts while flying down a hill of snow but the trip south to mexico hasn't curbed this desire long enough. that is why a trip to moab, ut is in the works. all for some red rock climbing, miles of mountain biking trails, camping along the river and least of which 70 degree sunshine in the desert. it seems that in the depths of the winter i finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. does summer time seem to set you as free as it does me?
as i looked back to what i described my season of life to be, i've realized since a year ago how i have lived through that season and on into others. not always so boldly obvious but that there was a time needed for that spell of my life. if i gave thought and limited words to the current season i would say: a time of never-looked-at-before-reflection with a side dish of simplifying material needs and a glass of looming educational dedication..hmmm, seems odd. but maybe that is just the winter speaking.