As Warm as Florida

Monday, March 9, 2026

Beaver Creek

I survived night 1 of the perpetual party (last night). It included birthday cake to celebrate Parker's birthday today. The forecast for today was for temps to peak out at 55 in Avon. I checked temps a few minutes ago (5pm MST) and the temp in Flagler Beach was 70 and the temp in Denver was 70.  I'm not sure the snow is going to last the week. 

It was a crap shoot what to wear today. We got overheated yesterday so I decided to leave the new jacket that my sisters got me for Christmas 2024 because they thought I wasn't warm enough. I traded that for a t-shirt, a nylon long sleeve, and the Yeti flannel Kayla got for me. It was 37 when we got to the lower BC Express and probably a bit cooler at the top of Bachelor Gulch. The layers were a little thin in the am and a little thick in the pm.

Quinn gets the money shot of the gang of 9.

We skied Bachelor Gulch in the morning to let Parker and Brooke catch up. Chelsea got a lesson today. I can't wait to give Ari lessons.

Team meeting with cognac on Cabin Fever at 10am.

Me taking pictures of you taking pictures of me

The birthday boy in his Shorey jersey

Sis and son

Parker and Brooke on their childless ski day

Cam and Quinn, the not so newlyweds

Garth on Cresta. Not a ton of snow over on Arrowhead but the snow making worked wonders. The thin strip of snow in the background is the path to the lift.

Nieces, nephews and spouses

The ladies

Beer break, with lunch on the side

Quinn and I enjoy the sunshine

Fun times with the gang

Yet another team meeting, with liquor

Cam and Quinn partake in the Jamison

After lunch we did upper Little Brave to the $10 million dollar run. That's not really the name, but we call it that because of the proliferation of $10 million dollar ski in/out homes. Here's what it looks like.

Then we headed over to Grouse Mountain so Catherine could get her mandatory bump run down Screech Owl. I was concerned conditions would be thin with rocks in every trough since Grouse only opened a couple weeks ago. Fortunately conditions were much better than I expected and the bumps were little hero bumps rather than the giant VWs that are usually there. 

The boys on Screech Owl. 

The rest of the crew peeled off to pick up Chelsea from her lesson and have some complimentary chocolate chip cookies. Garth agreed to ride to the top and ski the Birds of Prey downhill. There's long flat that then leads to the brink which is a hard left turn to a 45 degree slope where the racers get up to 60 mph into a hard right. It's an easy ski but terrifying to think about racing it.

Entrance to Birds of Prey downhill

Entrance to The Brink

View from the top of The Brink

View from the bottom of the Brink and Garth making his way down

I gained a new appreciation for what World Cup downhillers do.  To ski Birds of Prey full throttle is an impressive feat that requires nerves of steel and a lot of training.

After Birds of Prey we hopped on Larkspur and took the long traverse over to Bachelor Gulch and the down Leave the Beav - the long road down to the Lower BC Express and the Gondola to town. Garth and I were gassed as we walked back to the condo. Now it's party time. Sopapillas for dinner which is Parker's traditional birthday meal.

My sissies in the kitchen

I'm thinking we'll call it pretty early - it was a hard party day. Garth and I racked up 21,000 vert and the rest of the crew a bit less.

More tomorrow.