a-basin: colder than a witch's ...

According to weather.com, it was one degree fahrenheit when we left
Longmont on the way to the mountains. It was a good deal colder in the
mountains themselves ...

(My desire to go skiing seems to be clashing with our available
transportation. Both are front wheel drive; mine a tiny convertible,
his a big ol' sedan. But chains are a major pain, and snow tires are
expensive, and unnecessary for most of what we do. I'd like to get a
subaru, either wrx wagon or outback, but I currently owe more on the
convertible than it's worth ... so it will be a while.)

Anyhoo, we were hoping that we wouldn't need chains to get to A-Basin,
and fortunately, we didn't. (Btw, anyone know of a Longmont-accessible
way to find out the vehicle requirements for I-70, Loveland Pass, etc?)

Arriving at the Basin, we found that there were plenty of spots
available in the lower parking lot, which at 10:45 is probably a good
hint that numerous skiers have heeded the better part of valour. I
don't think I've ever been able to park so close to a lift in my life.
We arranged to dress with a minimum of door-opening, but still numbed
our fingers putting on our boots.

Lines? What lines? There might have been a handful of people ahead of
us. In my eagerness to get going, I somehow managed to lose a pole
while getting into the chair. Pathetic. Anyway, we rode up Exhibition
lift and retrieved my pole from the kind people who came up after us.
The sign at the bottom of the lift claimed a wind chill of negative --
NEGATIVE -- 55 at the summit.

Brief summary of current A-Basin lift/run status: The Exhibition and
Lenawee lifts are open. From the top of Lenawee, you can ski down
Lenawee Face to Dercum's Gulch. From the top of Exhibition, you can ski
down Ramrod or High Noon. Two greens are also open: Sundance and Molly
Hogan. (A-Basin's website "Runs Open" menu item is really handy. Is
there any such beast for the snow.com web monstrosities? I haven't
found it.)

We took one lower mountain run and one top-to-bottom run before ducking
into the lodge. At this point, my hands and nose were extremely
painful, and my toes were starting to complain. I looked for some glove
liners in the shop, but couldn't find any that seemed like they would
help. We sat in the lodge for what had to have been an hour, sipping
coffee and reviving our frozen extremities. Finally, the moment of the
truth arrived. Rather than leaving after only two runs, we decided to
brave the mountain again. By then, the clouds had finally backed away
from the sun a bit. What a difference the sun on your face can make!
We skied top to bottom a few more times. My fiance's feet were starting
to bother him again, so he went to warm up the car while I went on one
more short run.

Extremely cold days can be a lot of fun, especially if you have a season
pass and therefore don't feel any pressure to "get your money's worth"
from the day. The lift lines are shorter, that's for sure. Today was
my second ski day of the season, and on my third run of the day, I
realized that I had somehow reacquired my "ski legs." Skiing felt right
again. This is a good thing.

--
monique
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