Check out of the hotel, load up my gear, clear the snow and ice off and away I go. Keystone is only 4 miles away and I'm dying to explore it some more as my first day was a short one. Well, some days, nothing is ever simple...
Did I mention that the Elantra needed new tires? Badly? As soon as I hit freeway outside Denver International Airport I could hear -- that sound like a semi was following me. I glance at the odometer to see it's got nearly 50K miles on the clock. Should have turned around right there. In fact, should have turned around and spent the extra 80 bucks to upgrade to an SUV. Dumb.
I get out of the hotel just fine, but the road from Dillon to Keystone goes up a hill. A relatively steep one. And there's been no sign of snowplows and not a lot of traffic. Within 15 feet, I'm finding I can barely get the car to move at all. Traction control is on, I've got it floored and I'm barely moving. Not only not good, but friggin' scary as I'm on a boulevard with nowhere to turn around. I've got the flashers on and I'm watching the rear-view mirror the whole time to see if I'm going to get rear-ended. I white-knuckle it up to the first light, bang a left U-turn and head back downhill to the hotel.
Back at the hotel, reality starts to sink in. Not only might I not get to ski today, I wonder if I'll be able to get over Loveland Pass and back to Denver for my flight? Ruh-roh. A quick chat with the hotel owner reveals the Summit Bus, which picks up just down the street and runs to Keystone. Sweet! After sitting at the bus stop with some other folks for a half hour, a local sticks his head in and informs us they've shut the Summit Bus down due to weather. Crap.
I wander dejectedly back to the hotel, where I run into the owner. He thinks that since the plows have now been out, and traffic's picked up that I can make. So, what do I have to lose? I came out here to ski.
I set off and immediately, things are better. Not perfect, but manageable. Still a little spooky, but I get there, score a good parking spot in the River Run lot. I'm HERE! And it's only 10am, so I didn't lose much skiing! My day is turning around!
What I arrive to is 6+" of fresh powder, with some fresh tracks still to be scored and now crowds. YAHTZEE! This is an awesome way to cap off my trip! Some quick calculations about travel, rental return, etc. and I figure that I can ski until 2-2:30. Not a full day, but a solid one!
I'd skied Keystone a little on Day One (after arriving late thanks to a delayed outbound flight) and I liked it well enough. But today it was just awesome. Great variety of runs, easy to get around, fast lifts with little or no line. All good! Snow is still falling, filling in tracks, but it eases up (reducing my panic about Loveland Pass) as the morning goes on.
And now on to Keystone. As I've mentioned before, I'm a low-maintenance skier. Great skiing doesn't mean the mountain has to be HUGE, or that I need 8,346 gourmet lunch choices. I want good skiing, great scenery, and most of all a cool vibe. This is part of what I like so much about Caberfae Peaks here in Michigan. Cool people and a mellow vibe. That's what Keystone's like, only with some really excellent terrain!
Around 2pm, the snow picks up and I realize it's time to beat it back to Denver. I've got a two hour drive that could involve some sketchy conditions. Plus, after 130,000+ vertical feet skied in 5 days, I'm feeling pretty satisfied.
The drive back is OK, with the exception of coming down the eastern side of the Continental Divide. Visibility is roughly to the front bumper due to snowing and blowing, but fortunately the roads aren't especially slick. I make Denver in time to have dinner and a couple of very tasty beers at the New Belgium Hub at DIA.
5 days. 4 ski areas. 3 breweries. 130,000+ vertical feet skied. And one brain cleaned out, re-energized and ready to dive back into work!
-Sean-
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