2011-12 Season: Winter Park Day 1

First day of the 2011-12 season and it was at Winter Park, Colorado. Conditions in Oregon are such that our local ski area has yet to open. Six months to the day since our Father's Day Skitackular at The Pass. We'll be lucky if The Pass opens by Christmas given the weather patterns.

We came out to Colorado for Kayla's graduation ceremony. After three different colleges, a two-year detour through Steamboat, and lots of hard work, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Metropolitan State College of Denver. Way to go Kayla!


We were fortunate that long-time pal and ski buddy Dave was able to take the day off and willing to pick us up in downtown Denver. And a big thanks to Dan for hooking us up with a couple of free passes. That's the way to do it!

Conditions at WP were marginal at best, but we made the best of it. Big portions of the mountain were closed and we spent the day cruising the groomers.

Dave tears up the corduroy on Cramner.

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Dave finds out that he's about to be a proud father!

Dave and his wife Kris found out today that after five years of waiting they'll be adopting a little girl from China. Congratulations Dave and Kris!

Dylan jumps Dave.

Dylan spent most of the day playing in the Railyard. Some things don't change much.

Not bad for the first day of the season. We'll be getting a couple more in while we're in Colorado.

Even though conditions were less than ideal, it's always fun to go back to Winter Park. WP is where I spent my formative years skiing (I actually started at Hidden Valley, a now decommissioned ski area in Rocky Mountain National Park). I was fortunate enough to have neighbors that were into ski racing and parents that were kind enough to sign me up. I raced on the WP team from 72-72 through 76-77. That was the year Mary Jane opened and I got a lot more interested in skiing with my crew than racing.

Next up: Keystone Resort.