Breckenridge - Day 2

Sunday, December 26, 2010

It was our plan to ski 3 of the 4 full days we would be here at Breckenridge and to spend 1 day at Vail (only 30 miles west). And that is exactly what we did. On our first full day, we attacked the Breckenridge slopes. We skied Peaks 7, 8 and 9 -- spending most of our time on Peaks 7 and 9. Because Peak 10 is mostly expert runs, we stayed away from that area on our first day. My favorite runs are the intermediate runs - designated on the slopes and on the ski map with blue squares. In contrast, expert runs are designated with a black diamond. And a double-black diamond signifies the most difficult runs. We stayed away from those.

Breckenridge is a beautiful mountain, and our first day here was a clear sunny day. The blue skies above the snow covered terrain created a beautiful contrast. And we skied really hard. We were on the slopes by about 8:45 a.m., and we skied until about 2:30 p.m. Since this

was our first day, we broke a littler earlier than we might have otherwise.

One of the great benefits of our entire trip was that Chad, who now lives in Colorado and regularly skis at Breckenridge and Vail, was our personal guide. He took us on all of his favorite runs, and he kept us moving around the mountain efficiently so that we avoided the crowds and got in the greatest amount of skiing. It was truly wonderful to have Chad as our guide.

Following of day of skiing, we trekked, cleaned up, and headed into town for an early dinner. We had reservations at a restaurant called Relish -- which had been recommended by a friend of mine. We were not disappointed. We had a great meal in a wonderful, cozy environment, and we enjoyed our first stroll down Breckenridge's Main Street.

We turned in early this night. I think we were all still adjusting to the two-hour time difference, but we were also exhausted!

Breckenridge - Day 1

Christmas Day - December 25, 2010

We have returned to embarking on an annual ski vacation between Christmas and New Year's Day, and this year, we headed to Breckenridge, Colorado. I skied here with friends about 20 years ago. I remember very little about the mountain (in part due to age and in part because I have been fortunate to have skied so many

mountains in between), but I do remember having a great time, and I recall enjoying the town of Breckenridge as well.

This year, we were accompanied by my friend Annette and we were further joined by her son, Chad, who is now a Colorado resident and is completing an engineering master's program at Colorado University.

The town of Breckenridge is located about 80 miles due west of Denver - an easy drive. The town of Breckenridge is quite small, basically consisting of one main street lined with shops and restaurants. And the Breckenridge Ski Resort sits immediately next to and west of the main street.

The Breckenridge Ski Resort terrain is made of up of "Peaks" 7 thru 10, and we rented a condo (pictured here) near the base of Peak 9. We had thought that the Peak 9 lifts would be an easy walk from the condo. Well, we could walk there, but it was not necessarily "easy" -- especially with ski boots on and skis and poles in tow. And so, we typically took a shuttle bus to the slopes in the morning, and walked back to the condo in the afternoon.

Following a delightfully on-time flight, we arrived at Breckenridge late in the afternoon on Christmas Day and spent the remainder of the day getting settled. We unpacked, rented ski equipment, grocery shopped, enjoyed a homemade dinner of spaghetti and salad, and got our bearings. We also acclimated to the elevation. Breckenridge is one of the highest ski resorts in the country -- with its highest ski slopes rising to over 12,000 feet above sea level. We were all lucky. Although the high altitude caused some of us to suffer an occasional low grade headache and to experience an occasional shortness of breath, overall, we fared very well.