my recent vacation - story time
So some of you know for the last week or so, I was on vacation. Definitely a vacation to remember. 1 week in Colorado skiing. (I've been a ski instructor since 1991 at Mt. Brighton, which was bought by Vail 5 years ago, so skiing out west is free). There were 21 of us meeting in Colorado for skiing. 13 of them were Mt. Brighton Ski instructors.
We were supposed to be gone Friday - Thursday, but did not return until Saturday. We dealt with the worst avalanche season in recent history and the strong blizzard since 1973.
We arrive at airport and load up on the airplane, only to sit for about an hour and then return to the gate as there were mechanical issues. Michelle wakes up and says "wow that was a quick flight" and then I told her that we never left the ground.
my 6 YO daughter has a runny nose, draining into her throat and coughing non stop. NOTHING would work.
Also, I read on Google that the Southwest Airline Mechanics are in a work slow down, as they cannot actually go on strike. So no chance in hell our plane is going to be repaired. Nine hours later we are on a different plane headed to Colorado.
When we get to Denver, the new called this the worst avalanche season in recent memory, multiple highways are closed etc...
we go to the car rental place. I rented a mid-size SUV, like a Ford Explorer. All they had was a Hyundai Tuscon with about 50hp. They assured me it was good in the snow. My skis barely fit! We leave my daughter with my sister in Littleton, CO (Denver suburb near foothills) and head off to the mountains.
We head up to the Condo in Frisco, but cannot go to Vail or Beaver Creek or Aspen as the highway is blocked by avalanches (multiple). So we skied Keystone and Breckenridge for a few days. The highways were cleared and we headed to Vail,but 4 minutes before we got to the highway, they closed the highway due to another avalanche.
Now I learned about avalanches. It's not just snow! The avalanche rips the trees from the ground and boulder the size of the cars. it takes days to clean up.
So we ski Keystone and Breckenridge. The 2 ways to get to A-basin were blocked by avalanches. we couldn't go to vail or beaver creek due to avalanches blocking the highway.
Now when I say avalanche, I mean the highway is now buried in 13' of snow according to the news channel. A couple days later we made our way to Vail. It was fantastic! Then it started snowing... Hard. Michelle and I decided to bail.
Then the "BOMB BLIZZARD" hit. Not just any blizzard but the lowest recorded barometric pressure blizzard since 1973, meaning it was going to be bad. And it was. The Airport recorded 97mph gust winds with a sustained 60mph wind. (yes the snow drifts were impressive.
After skiing a few days and having a blast with all our friends (at one time there were 13 Mt. Brighton ski instructors in our condo) we decided to head back to Denver before the Blizzard got really bad. Well the 1 hour drive took about 6.5-7 hours. At one time, we sat on I70 for over 2.5 hours without moving as I watched the snow accumulate. Michelle walked up to the police blocking the traffic and was told to get comfortable as it will be a while, and possibly overnight. (fabulous) The Plow trucks weaseled their way through the traffic and plowed a path around abandoned vehicles. Everyone followed the plow trucks, single file. We finally made it back to my sister's house in Littleton, CO. We were getting ready to head home, but...
Then the government decided to ground all Boeing 737 MAX 8 and Max 9. Just so happened that our return airplane was now grounded. Maybe they could get a replacement airplane?
Then all the flights to and from Denver Airport were cancelled due to the blizzard. They were hoping to open sometime on Thursday, but did not re-open until well after our flight was scheduled. It is hard to land/take off in an airplane with almost 100mph winds and blowing snow. So no chance of flying back as scheduled.
Due to all the cancelled flights, we were initially told no flights available until Tuesday. So we consider driving back to Michigan, but a couple issues. First we would be following the blizzard across the Plains, which was not a good idea. Second the main highways were still closed on Friday. Third, the car rental place wanted to charge like $600.00 for us to take the rental to Michigan. Too dangerous with my 6 yo in the hyundia
How about a train? Weather usually doesn't stop them. So we check Amtrack online, over $1400.00 to ride the California Zepher from Denver to Chicago. Forget that.
The next day, Michelle worked her magic and got us on a flight on Saturday. We show up at the airport and the plane is there, but no crew. So we were delayed as they were waiting on a crew to show up. lay-over in Chicago for a couple hours then to Detroit.
Ironically, all our luggage showed up in Detroit!
It was a great vacation with a lot of great ski friends from Michigan, Colorado, California etc... Skiing only the VAIL owned resorts, was fantastic! the back bowls at Vail, the groomers at Keystone. Trying to avoid the crowds at Breckenridge. My only regret was that I did not get to go to Beaver Creek skiing. (highway was blocked by another avalanche)
Glad to be home!
