January 20
Since Mike was tired today I was able to go out with all the kids to ski while he stayed back with Madeline. We left a little earlier than we did the day before and made our way across the mountainside all the way over to the Two Elks Lodge area and down Poppyfields so that we could show Andrew and Abby how cool skiing is at the Blue Sky Basin. We were so happy that we didn't have to wait in a long line at the Skyline Express Lift today. Once we got to the top at Belle's Camp we got some water and went to the bathroom. Then we headed once again to the Big Rock Park run and were somewhat disappointed that they had groomed the bottom half of the run. The day before it was so powdery which made it so much fun. No big deal...we headed up Pete's Express Lift so that we could ski the runs over there. Since we had Abby, we let the boys go off and do the Revolution run while the girls tried the Star run and had the best time skiing through the BEST powder in and out of the trees. It turns out that this was the coolest place to ski. Being able to ski in the trees but then pop out onto a wider trail anytime we wanted was so much fun. The girls had fun following me in and out of the trees. Even Abby was able to keep up with me and Emma. After doing that run several times and meeting the boys at the bottom of the lift we decided to take Abby on the black Revolution run. She did really well but there were still tears since the small steep section scared her. We had fun anyways and decided to head all the way back down to the Skyline Express Lift so that we could go eat lunch at Belle's Camp. There were SO MANY PEOPLE at the top and it was hard to find a place to eat even though there was a ton of places to eat outside. The weather was actually quite warm today and so it wasn't too cold to sit outside. The boys opted to sit in the snowbanks on the outskirts of Belle's Camp while the girls and I found a few open spots at the end of one of the tables. We didn't spend too long eating but nevertheless, we enjoyed our sandwiches, chips and hot chocolate. After a decent amount of time resting and filling up our tummies, we headed out again to ski Big Rock Park and then headed over to the lifts we had been doing all morning. We did one more run with Abby through the trees on the Star run but quickly realized that she was worn out and was starting to fall apart emotionally. After quite a frustrating and slow run I left her at the Dawg Haus eating area at the bottom of Pete's Express Lift with some money for a treat and my cell phone so that she could rest while we did a few more runs. Emma and I joined the boys and decided to go down Revolution. It was as good as the day before but we were even more confident this time. The second time going down it Emma and I even tried going in some of the trees on the steep sections and then I took pictures of the kids going off the jump at the bottom of the steep section. It was a fantastic way to end our awesome day at Blue Sky Basin. After picking up Abby we all headed back to the Tea Cup Express Lift so that we could head back to Lionshead Village. On the way down the least little section I got ahead of Abby and right after I turned the corner onto the catwalk she fell. I had the sense to stop at the curve and wait but was getting worried when I didn't see her after 5 min had passed. Luckily another guy had helped her with her binding which had apparently been a little messed up. The line at the lift was a zoo by the time we got there as everyone else was heading back to the front side of the mountain. We took our usual route back to the village and when we finally made it back we couldn't find Peter until we saw him talking to one of the Ski Patrol guys. Apparently he was going too fast down the already steep and icy bottom section and got a warning. The patrol guy was nice, according to Peter, and there wasn't a fine so we just laughed about it and reminded Peter to be more careful in the slow zones at the bottom.
Since Mike was tired today I was able to go out with all the kids to ski while he stayed back with Madeline. We left a little earlier than we did the day before and made our way across the mountainside all the way over to the Two Elks Lodge area and down Poppyfields so that we could show Andrew and Abby how cool skiing is at the Blue Sky Basin. We were so happy that we didn't have to wait in a long line at the Skyline Express Lift today. Once we got to the top at Belle's Camp we got some water and went to the bathroom. Then we headed once again to the Big Rock Park run and were somewhat disappointed that they had groomed the bottom half of the run. The day before it was so powdery which made it so much fun. No big deal...we headed up Pete's Express Lift so that we could ski the runs over there. Since we had Abby, we let the boys go off and do the Revolution run while the girls tried the Star run and had the best time skiing through the BEST powder in and out of the trees. It turns out that this was the coolest place to ski. Being able to ski in the trees but then pop out onto a wider trail anytime we wanted was so much fun. The girls had fun following me in and out of the trees. Even Abby was able to keep up with me and Emma. After doing that run several times and meeting the boys at the bottom of the lift we decided to take Abby on the black Revolution run. She did really well but there were still tears since the small steep section scared her. We had fun anyways and decided to head all the way back down to the Skyline Express Lift so that we could go eat lunch at Belle's Camp. There were SO MANY PEOPLE at the top and it was hard to find a place to eat even though there was a ton of places to eat outside. The weather was actually quite warm today and so it wasn't too cold to sit outside. The boys opted to sit in the snowbanks on the outskirts of Belle's Camp while the girls and I found a few open spots at the end of one of the tables. We didn't spend too long eating but nevertheless, we enjoyed our sandwiches, chips and hot chocolate. After a decent amount of time resting and filling up our tummies, we headed out again to ski Big Rock Park and then headed over to the lifts we had been doing all morning. We did one more run with Abby through the trees on the Star run but quickly realized that she was worn out and was starting to fall apart emotionally. After quite a frustrating and slow run I left her at the Dawg Haus eating area at the bottom of Pete's Express Lift with some money for a treat and my cell phone so that she could rest while we did a few more runs. Emma and I joined the boys and decided to go down Revolution. It was as good as the day before but we were even more confident this time. The second time going down it Emma and I even tried going in some of the trees on the steep sections and then I took pictures of the kids going off the jump at the bottom of the steep section. It was a fantastic way to end our awesome day at Blue Sky Basin. After picking up Abby we all headed back to the Tea Cup Express Lift so that we could head back to Lionshead Village. On the way down the least little section I got ahead of Abby and right after I turned the corner onto the catwalk she fell. I had the sense to stop at the curve and wait but was getting worried when I didn't see her after 5 min had passed. Luckily another guy had helped her with her binding which had apparently been a little messed up. The line at the lift was a zoo by the time we got there as everyone else was heading back to the front side of the mountain. We took our usual route back to the village and when we finally made it back we couldn't find Peter until we saw him talking to one of the Ski Patrol guys. Apparently he was going too fast down the already steep and icy bottom section and got a warning. The patrol guy was nice, according to Peter, and there wasn't a fine so we just laughed about it and reminded Peter to be more careful in the slow zones at the bottom.
January 21st
Today was our last day in Vail and it was another beautiful morning. Peter and Abby stayed behind to rest and help me pack up the car while Mike took Andrew and Emma out skiing in the morning. They went up the normal route from Lionshead Village and skied down Hunky Dory, which they LOVED. They said it was the best run of the day since they had just groomed it. They did Northstar before heading to the back side of the mountain. Northstar apparently was not good because the moguls were deep and ice. Once they were on the back side of the mountain and into the Blue Sky Basin, they skied down the Grand Review run and LOVED it. They also skied down the Slot run and the black Hornsilver run before heading back to meet us at Vail Village. Overall, they had a great morning and by the time we all met at 11:30 we were all ready to head home.
