From August to December of 2008 we lived at our co-workers rental house on a plateau west of Buena Vista facing the magnificent Mt. Princeton, Mt. Yale, Mt. Columbia, Mt. Harvard, and all of their lowly adjacent peaks. Winter was decent as far as snowfall accumulation goes, not at all like 07/08 Winter, but there was certainly enough that we could XC ski around our yard and down the street! So, here's Brian and Toby getting back from a little expedition.
Here's me enticing Toby after my arrival back from our Yard XC Ski Expedition!
At the end of December 2008 we made the decision to move to Leadville, CO about 30 minutes North of Buena Vista, where we could be closer to downhill skiing opportunities and live near one of our close friends, Zak. Brian was able to continue taking online classes during the Winter/Spring and I began working remote for my job full-time at home! In our new home, during January, we had a backyard visit from a little fox!
Zak, for his 2008/2009 Winter job was a Snowcat Skiing Guide for the Chicago Ridge, which operated in coordination with Ski Cooper, where Zak was also a Ski Patroller. We decided to ski at Cooper before they opened for the season, so here's Brian and I posing at the top of our ascent about to take off our skins and ski down toward the triple chair.
Zak along the way was pointing out cool features about the snow, things he learned from his AVY 2 class, and here he is waiting for us to semi-gracefully remove our skins and ski down.
The three of us Brian, Zak, and I tried often, and suceeded a handful of times to XC Ski on the Mineral Belt Trail, which is an 11.6 mile paved bike/running trail within and around the town of Leadville ,which during the winter months they groom for XC skiing.
It was rather hard to breathe most of the time, not only because we were skiing at above 10,200 feet, but as you might guess we were laughing most of the time!
Brian, Toby, and I XC skiied toward the 10th Mtn Division Hut, and I say toward because we started late in the afternoon and didn't have time to reach it all the way. We did however stop at a nice big open area and practice our beacon searching skills! Practice makes perfect!
Here I am, heading back to the trailhead, it was getting dark pretty quick.
Brian and Toby -10th Mtn Hut Trail Hike
For another skiing adventure, which we wore our Tele gear this time for better control after flailing a bit on the 10th Mtn Hut Hike, we headed up toward the Belvedere Hut north of Leadville toward Copper Mtn.
Toby didn't have such a good time on this trip, as he was running so close behind Brian that he sliced his foot on Brian's ski. But thanks to his professionally trained Wilderness First Aid parents, we were equipped to treat him on the trail with a little puppy bandage!
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