In addition to awe-inspiring natural scenery, I enjoy the visual delight of unexpected combinations of multi-colored ski togs against crisp white snow, along with the international assortment of people who ski Colorado. In fact, a sidebar pleasure on the slopes and in the lodges is people-watching. And people-listening.
Overheard in an Apres-Ski Hot Tub in Avon, after skiing Vail:• One high school boy to another, discussing the terrain park: “You have to face your fears.”
• A skier from Maui: “I don’t want to grow old on Maui. There’s no good health care. I want to move to Colorado. Those 70-year-old guys in the jumpsuits out there on the slopes?
They’re having
fun.”
• A University of Denver student on living in Colorado vs his native Connecticut: “The only thing I miss is the seafood.”
Overheard on a Bachelor Gulch Chair Lift:• Two skier buddies from Great Britain, discussing President Barack Obama:
“After the last guy, they need somebody with a three-digit IQ.”
A Conversation in the Gondola:• A middle-aged skier from Los Angles with his high school-aged rider nephew from the east coast, explaining why they met for spring break in Beaver Creek: “He wanted to go to the beach, but I said, ‘You’ll have plenty of opportunities to go to the beach, but a week of spring skiing in Colorado—now t
hat’s a great vacation.’”
I know I'm a bit early with the Easter Bunny sighting, but so was Beaver Creek. The resort, evidently to entertain springbreakers, had this charmingly chilly snow sculpture at the summit of Beaver Creek a few weeks ago. Hard to tell from this angle, but getting off the chair lift, one could make out the long floppy ears stretched out to the sides. This wee skier lends scale to the sculpture. With fluctuation between blizzards and bluebird days, not certain how the rabbit fares today. Vail reports 42 inches of snow in the last week, which makes for spectacular spring skiing.
