Skiing with locals vs Skiing with friends

It's an epic powder day in Vail. It's a Sunday. It feels like half of Denver left home at 6am to make first chair. What to do? Hook up with some locals to hunt out the best skiing lines and shortest lift lines. And what better locals to hook up with than three people who have all been skiing Vail longer than I have been on this planet. Gus, Chris and Kim - a mad tele-shredder - acted as our guides and they certainly did deliver.


The very first run had us traversing thigh deep pow, getting out of the public's view as quickly as we could, then dropping into a gully, looking for the gaps between the stately aspens. With thighs already burning and grins already a mile wide, we snuck in another lap before the lift line became our enemy. On the chair ride up I sat there in utter confusion. Names of runs and lifts were being thrown up and shot down faster than I could follow. Before I knew it we were billowing our way down another steep and deep face that I never knew existed. They clearly weren't worried about giving away their secret spots; they were skiing so fast and hard there was no chance I'd remember the particular tree you had to duck behind, or the rocks you had to drop between to find these places. The secrets didn't stop on the hill either. Chris and Kim were kind enough to share a top ranch bar that made killer nachos and margaritas.


It's a run of the mill day in Vail. It's a Friday. Friends you haven't seen in almost two years are only an hour's drive away. What to do? You get the hell in the car! So my next day off took me back over the Vail Pass to Breckenridge to drop in on Jes and JD, two friends who were in town for the week. Staying in a log cabin, keeping warm by a pot bellied stove, playing cards, cooking hearty stew and drinking tasty beers made me feel like we were in a outdoor clothing catalogue. Living up to its reputation, Breckenridge provided us with enough wind to power a small town for several weeks. Despite the sweet conditions in the bowls, the wind attempting to tear one side of our faces off on the T Bar got the better of us after three runs and we headed to lower elevations to play in the cheeky bumps. The six pack chairs also allowed for better conversation, so everyone was a winner.


Two entirely contrasting days, two entirely satisfying results.