Merry Christmas!

Just a little something to get you in the festive spirit...some photos from snowy Crested Butte...we skied last weekend and here are some of the photos we took...here I am at the top of the Paradise lift..it was a bit steep, but I got down pretty much in tact...most of the time!!! The views from the lift and the top were amazing!





This photo is from the lift in an area where they were blowing snow (cos we really need it after we only got 81 inches a couple of weeks ago) and the one on the right is after they blew snow up by the Ice House where I work. The tree still looks the same a week later!









oh yeah, we went for Apres ski in town afterwards too, so some of them are from a little later in the evening!!! (We love Happy Hour!)
The town itself looks lovely, especially as it starts to get dark...we are going out for dinner Christmas Eve to really get in the mood and enjoy the lights..







Here is the tree from "happening" down town Crested Butte...




We are having fun...working too much..but getting to ski some too...















I do think the tree we bought is a little big for the space we have though! We are dealing with it however, and it now looks lovely since it finally dropped enough for us to decorate it!...the living room looks really small and bare - it isn't, the tree is just very big!!! Well, I guess it is bare since we haven't had chance to put any pictures up yet...or find them!



We're getting there though...! I am happy to report that the condo looks less like a moving station a week on. Far fewer boxes laying around now we have finally had some time to sort it out a bit...just think, by the time we leave for Europe, we might have opened all those boxes!!! It was worth the move though, we do like the condo, and we certainly have more space!



Merry Christmas...I'm off to light a roaring fire, settle down, drink a rather large eggnog and brandy and look forward to the white Christmas they have forecast for Colorado - cheers!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

Well, the snow definitely arrived - 81 inches in less than 7 days - the majority of it in two!!! We were a little snowed in for a while, and certainly had a hard time digging the car and truck out...the mound on the left is my car - it took me about 5 days to dig it out!!!



Here are a few more shots of the snow...it is certainly adding a festive feel despite the fact that it is harder to get around...!








The skiing has been great though, and it's just as easy to get the shuttle from town up to the resort...it takes about 5 mins and drops you off right near the lifts....it's very handy, especially since we now have a locker with all out gear in so we don't have to haul skis and boots up there...just get into town jump on the bus, change and hit the lifts...


To take advantage of our winter up here, Nick and I both decided to get jobs with the resort. The bonus is that you get an associate ski pass for free, meaning you can ski whenever the lifts are open. So if we are early arriving or finishing, it's no big deal to get ready and ski a few runs...guess there'll be no excuse for not improving our skills this year...especially since we both have to actually ski to get to work! Nick is working at Rustica in the Paradise Warming House. They serve lunch and also dinner...guests are driven up on a sleigh for the evening meal...I am working at the Ice House . We also serve lunch and dinner...the difference is that our guests have to ski in (for dinner too), and I have to ski down after dinner has been served - yep, in the dark! Nick is fortunate in that he can go down on the snow cat or a snow mobile...not sure how my skiing in the dark skills are, but I guess they had better be good...or get that way quickly!!! This is my commute, and a couple of photos taken from the restaurant deck.









We are also in the process of moving to the larger condo we own. It sometimes seems our lives never slow down enough for us to just relax and enjoy them...what's that? Oh, yeah, Lisbon and England were fun...yes, yes, so were the Bahamas...ok we don't have it that rough!!!:) ...Anyway, we thought we would now have plenty of space after living in a 450 square foot studio for 6 months or so...WRONG!!!! I think we have far too much furniture and "stuff" for that ...but in our defense, it is kind of hard to move from a 2100 square foot house with two large bedrooms, large open plan kitchen/dining/living room and study, to a small, two bedroom 950 square foot condo!!! Guess we will be sorting through and getting ready for a yard sale!!!

We do think it will be worth it though - these photos are some views from the deck this afternoon...the large mountain is Whetstone; the one we climbed this summer. And two minutes away is the Slate river..Nick is just upset that it's frozen and he can't go and throw a fly in at the moment...sure there'll be plenty of time for that next summer though!!!


If I don't have time to update this before Christmas because we are skiing...ahem, working too much...

We wish everyone a healthy and happy holiday season, full of warmth, love and laughter...and keep your fingers crossed that it snows for us on Christmas day when we are skiing!!!

The snow has finally arrived!

A quick note from Crested Butte.

Ski season is officially here and I have managed to get out twice so far. The first day was mainly man made blown snow, but yesterday it had already started dumping and the skiing was a lot of fun! So far CBMR, the resort is reporting 15 inches of snow in the last 24 hours and it's still coming down...probably explains why it took me over an hour to dig my car out this afternoon!


Here were the conditions when I went out for a walk at lunch time....






by the time I was heading back, it was a blizzard and there had to have been an extra couple of inches...




The snow is pretty wet this time around...not sure if these photos are very clear, but you can see that the snow is actually blue inside there is so much moisture in it...







And just as an aside, here is a photo we took of a bald eagle last week. There were five of them hanging out in the area at the time just north of Almont on the East River. Nick said he sees them on a regular basis when he is driving to and from Gunnison...it must be a good fishing spot...I'll see if they are still there in the next week or so with the snow...pretty impressive to see them up so close though...