Mountain Picnic

Andy and I had quite the adventure yesterday. After attending the early service at church, we returned to our apartment, packed our bags, climbed into our skiing gear, and hit the slopes. It was a beautiful day-blue sky, sunshine, comfortable temperatures-who could ask for more. We had decided the day before that we would ski back in Blue Sky Basin so we took the necessary lifts and trails in order to make our way to the back bowls. (Check this link if you are unfamiliar with the mountain: http://vail.snow.com/VailAssets/files/winter_content/WinterTrailMap_08-09.pdf) By the time we finally made it to our destination it was about noon. We weren't hungry yet so we decided to hit a few runs then return when the grills were open. (Oh yeah, we brought meat along to grill at the top of the mountain--more about that later.)

We had a lot of fun cutting back and forth across the mountain and through the semi-wooded areas. After a little while Andy suggested that we explore an area he had never experienced but had heard others talk about. A nice long chair lift later we were positioned near the desired run. I personally was a bit nervous about the run given the fact that it was a black diamond, aka most difficult, and I am at most an intermediate skier. The view however was worth it. We could see all the way to Copper Mountain which is on the other side of Vail Pass. As the car drives, Copper Mountain is about 25 miles from Vail! It's amazing what you can see from 11,400+ feet!

So, back to the fact that this was a black diamond run. The thing we found most interesting at first was that even though it was a busy day on the mountain there was hardly anyone else skiing in that area. It seemed like a nice run. About halfway down the nice snow turned crusty and bumpy. Andy and I stopped and surveyed the area, attempting to find a nicer way down. In the distance we saw a nice groomed trail so we began to ski in that direction. The funny thing about looking at something far off in the distance is that it can be quite hard to judge the depth of something until you are standing right over it. It turns out that there was indeed a nice trail, on the other side of a gully. A gully with a 6-8 ft drop. Imagine our surprise when we made it to what we thought was the end of the trail and discovered that in order to make it to our destination we would have to jump over a cliff of sorts.

So there we sat, wondering what to do next. Andy decided that the best course of action would be to take his skis off and poke a hole in the snow with his pole in an attempt to figure out just how high we were. After poking a cute little tunnel in the snow he determined that we were probably only 8 ft from the bottom. That didn't seem like too great a height so I removed my skis, through my skis and poles over the edge, then scooted/jumped over the edge. Andy was in disbelief. I simply stood up, turned around, and told him it was his turn to jump. Before he jumped though I was able to capture a couple of pictures...

Andy looking over the edge after my very successful and thrilling jump.

Getting ready to jump...and avoid the skis and poles that went over the edge before he did.

"Here I go!!" Andy made it over the edge without a problem and with a smile on his face.

So by the time we finally jumped over the edge, gathered our skis and poles, and made it down to the nice groomed trail below we were feeling quite hungry. We decided to head back over to Blue Sky Basin's famous Belle's Camp. Belle's camp is basically a cabin at the top of the mountain where you can go and sit by the fire, grab a glass of water, and eat lunch. Although the fireplace is definitely a perk, the thing that really draws skiers and boarders alike to the area are the outdoor grills. What could be better after a long day of skiing then a freshly grilled steak, burger, or hot dog?!?! Yes, in fact, people pack a variety of meats and fixings in their backpacks and ski on over to Belle's Camp for lunch. There are a couple of big grills and plenty of picnic tables scattered around the side of the building. It reminds me of the beach in the middle of summer except instead of grilling in their bathing suit people are standing by the grill in their snow gear. Oh, and you certainly can not beat the smell of meat on the grill. Seriously, if you close your eyes and forget about the cold, you can almost make believe you are at the beach!

Our meat of choice was a nice juicy steak. We also packed some pudding in my Nalgene bottle...talk about crazy and random. Here are some pictures from our grilling adventure:

Picnic tables filled with hungry skiers and riders. The Belle's Camp cabin is the building on the right. The other two buildings are chair lifts.

Andy staking out a place on the grill.

Flipping our steak over!! For the record, it was delicious and cooked to perfection!!

That about sums up the day. A day filled with skiing, jumping, grilling, and so many great times we will not soon forget. We definitely have a great life!!