shuttle bus driving and snow boarding

First month in the job completed without accident or serious incident , but to say it's been at times exhilarating would be an understatement. Snowmass has had just under 10 feet (119 inches according to the official statistics ) of snow falling in December being an all time record since records began in 1935. Over 8 feet have fallen at village level - we're at just over 8,000 feet with top lift at 12,510 - and consequently road conditions have been `exciting` to put it mildly. I still get nervous at start of most shifts. Pulling out of the depot and facing your first 30 pasengers and then immediately heading down the steep Snowmelt drive from the Mall is rather like the first drive from the first tee of a particularly demanding golf course. It's easier once you're warmed up.

I work 5 days a week with 2 day and 3 evening shifts. Each shift is approx 7.5 hours with an hour break in the middle. I'm on different a route each shift and in a different type of bus ( with different controls, types of rotor chains, disabled access lifts , airbrakes , heating systems etc ,etc ) on almost every shift. There are probably over 40 buses in the fleet with about 15 full time drivers. It's all run exceptionally efficiently , buses in tip top condition all the time , first rate supervisors and generally a first class operation. The service provides free transport around the village ( around a 6 mile radius of the centre of the village ) for everyone - skiing guests and locals alike. There are 8 different routes most running every 10, 15 , 20 or 30 minutes depending on the route. Buses hold, when full and people standing whole length of bus, between 25 and 50 people. Ski racks on side of bus , but boarders have to take their boards on board. A lot of stops , a lot of people not knowing what bus they should be on , a lot of questions, tightish time schedules to make, instructions coming from supervisors on 2 way radio, a 2nd phone in radio system giving the public an on demand service after a certain hour in the evening , and a lot of traffic at most hours of day and evening but partic at peak times in early morning and late afternoon . In a typical shift you could be transporting up to 500 people . The fact that it's free helps generally the disposition of most passengers ! 95% express gratitude on getting off. That's an awful lot of `you're welcome`s ` in response but far better that way. I'm enjoying it .

Of course there are tedious aspects, but amply compensated by the views of the snow and the magnificent mountains that I have as constant companions. And at night it's views of the lights of the armies of snow cats snaking their way up the mountain grooming ski runs for the beginning of the next skiing day. More mundanely , it gives Mary and me access to a brilliant health care scheme - year round even though my job is seasonal. The benefit of working for the government ! On the debit side I'm aware continually throughout every day of the colossal responsibility. Big buses , a lot of people, a lot of children and a lot of potential hazards. More of those perhaps in a future instalment.

Mary I hope will write about her work experiences shortly. Also challenging , but in a very different way. How she stays warm enough I don't know. We have fun recounting to each other the day's events and of tales of all the interesting people we've come across respectively each day .

Aspen on New Year's Eve was pretty spectacular. A stunning firework display against the backdrop of Aspen Mountain. Snow piled up feet high on the sides of downtown streets and hard packed snow everywhere on all streets and sidewalks. Temperatures remain permanently well below freezing and down to somewhere towards -10 F at night. Mostly fine days with lots of clear blue skies between storms.

Snowboarding for us both has been fun and we now have much less difficulty with the blue runs we've graduated to. Boarding in powder the other day at Buttermilk was a highlight. Champagne powder - it's quite something. We're at the same level broadly and although returning a little battered and bruised , we keep at it . New challenges and all that ! It's tele- skiing next year we hope.

Photos above are a selection of last 2 weeks activities. The last photo was taken just above Meadow Ranch and shows Mount Daly in background - as well as the construction cranes at the 60 acre development site which is, and will be, the new base village at bottom of Fanny Hill. Quite impressive really.

snow,snow,snow

4 feet or so of new snow has fallen since last entry. Temperatures now dropping dramatically . -7f at base and -14f on mountain. Jobs going well although doing more hours than we'd like ideally. Shuttle bus driving proving challenging in pretty severe conditions. 2 day shifts and 3 evening shifts. Sometimes with fixed chains and always with rotor chains which you can apply at flick of a switch to get you out of tight spots. A different route each day ( therefore I have 5 different routes ). Each has its own particular challenges. Each bus has different features which takes a bit of getting used to - different rotor chain application, different disabled lift mechanism, different retarder ( particular braking system operated independently from foot service break ), etc. All buses carry skis on side of bus , so huge care needs to be taken that passengers are not still removing skis from rack when pulling out into ( sometime ) busy traffic flows. All in all , a lot to be concentrating on while coping with 2 radio intercom systems . Instructions on route change , particular passengers tp be picked up at different locations, serving the ` on demand ` service that applies after a certan hour in the evening , etc. A lovely lot of colleagues though and good team spirit.

Mary continues her varying jobs for Skico - mall bus si loading - see pictures - , car park directing , `booth 2` manning , ski corral ( ski storage system ) , cider serving at top of mountain and generally proting Aspen Ski Co as part of the guest services team. She loves being outside all day and enjoys , as I do, the contact with people . All sorts and all nationalities. Again v good team spirit and interesting people to work with.

Ski conditions are as good as Aspensnowmass remembers in early December. Phenomenal amont of new snow. Back to back dumps as they refer to them transformed the resort. I get 2 full days and 3 half days ( crucially mornings to take advantage of powder days ) to ski , M gets 3 days. We had great day at Ajax ( Aspen Mountain ) last Monday and at Snowmass the day before. Slopes ( beacause the area is so vast ) almost deserted .

Digging out car 7 clearing deck a constant battle. See photos for a ` before ` and ` after ` with the Buick. Our car continues to cause amusement in the village. We love it. Bless Grandpa Jay !

Our snowboarding activities also continue ( slowly ) , but we're both v much novices . A great way to spend an hour or so if no more time available . We'll get there ! Can now link turns and made it down from mid station on Village Express the other day without too many mishaps.

We're both keeping up our music practicing but with more difficulty . M's violin lessons with Heidi have started again . My oboe lessons with Debbie have not . Will do soon though I hope if she'll have me back . RTO concert seems a very long time ago.

As I write this with sun pouring in and clear, clear blue skies , I hear the squeaking sound of ski boots on the snow outside the house being a sign of v low temperatures.

I've put together a selection of photos . Haven't learnt yet I'm afraid how to caption them or post them in a more usable friendly manner. Meghan - help !

ski season opens - big snowfall

Our first full week back has been eventful . M has been back at work for guest services and doing a sterling job of `booth 2 ` carparking duties. The tree house stint is a difficult one for her though due to extreme cold and her particular spot gets no sun.

I've had a pretty severe blooding as Snowmass Village shuttle bus driver with some testing driving conditions. 3 night shifts under my belt - 3.30 to 11.15 with an hour in the middle . A lot of fun though and rarely a dull a moment. All the buses are slightly different and 2 radio systems to work as well as coping with passenger enquiries , traffic and snowy road conditions. Challenging . A terrific lot of colleagues though all of whom are hugely supportive.

Over 2 feet of snow have fallen in last 48 hours. That on top of a good base on the mountain led to some wonderful skiing today. We had an hour boarding ( or trying to ) before heading up on the Village express and then to Big Burn. Fabulous .

The photos of our deck at Meadow Ranch and those taken on the mountain give an idea of the sort of snow storm that is standard for this time of year and which is invariably followed by a week of sunshine - albeit very low temperatures day and night.

Back in Aspen late November 07

We flew to Newark ( via Frankfurt - never again ), and drove up to see Duncan & Katy at Ithaca , northern NY state. Enjoyed some good walking, cycling, eating and drinking with them for 3 days and lovely to see them. We returned to Newark via Croton - on - Hudson where Carolyn Lamb (an ex Dunfermline HS teaching colleague of Mary's) and her delightful family live spending one night with them. Back to Aspen just before Thanksgiving to find it starting to snow an hour after we arrived . Didn't stop M though getting out on her mountain bike not hugely successful ! We still need a lot more snow though. Straight into Aspen Ski Co work for M ( see smart new uniforms) and bus driver training for me for Snowmass Village ( see bus on Owl Creek Road ). Thankfully passed 2nd and final part of CDL test ( pretty nerve racking ) and now have full CDL licence. Start in earnest for full time seasonal job in 2 days time - 2 days and 3 evenings (3 till 11). Plenty of time for powder days hopefully. Thanksgiving dinner with Mike & Gigi Potter our neighbours who kindly looked after Meadow Ranch for us while we were away - see turkey cooked on rotating spit - quite delicious and with every trimming you could imagine. A happy time is Thanksgiving over here and goodness what a lot we had/have to be thankful for .

Oct & Nov in UK

The remainder of our 2007 UK stay passed far too quickly. We had a brilliant 3 days at Howtown in the Lake district with Meghan & Jane (see photo at top of Hallam Fell of site of resting place of GSR and NMR ashes) following Richard Coleman's 50th birthday weekend at Crieff (see photo at top of Ben Chonzie , one of Scotland's lower Munros - thanks to Keith Griffiths for pointing out that it is not the lowest - i.e. mountains over 3,000 ft) , a 5 day golf tour at Sandwich , Beaconsfield, Harrowgate and Hexham (see photo of Jean & Chris at their golf club there ), the RTO concert at Cadogan Hall ( you can search on BBC Radio 4 website under The Really Terrible Orchestra and get Sandy's Today programme interview with Jim Naughtie and/or search under Channnel 4 News - again under The Really Terrible Orchestra and get the video clip , with terrible music included , of our rehearsal just before the concert ), a visit to Jeremy Coleman at Cambridge, and then a last few days in Edinburgh ( remembering a particulrly good dinner out with Barbara and Bill, & Jane and Johannes ) and in Braemar (see photo of John & Jane Butters in the Mearns - Lewis Grassick Gibbons country in Aberdeenshire). All in all , a huge success and a very special visit ` back home ` to see Meghan and Jane , family and friends.

North Berwick

We had a brilliant week in this lovely East Lothian coastal village catching up with old friends and playing golf. Achieved significant milestone in having Meghan & Jane play golf with me at Muirfield. Back then to Braemar for a family wedding , followed by visits to Kilconquhar with my sister Jean and family and then Edinburgh for a RTO rehearsal for the forthcoming London concert at Cadogan Hall. Back again to Braemar with friends Vic & Susie Wood to stay and a day's stalking with Morrone tenants Brian & Cath Giles. Need help though from Meghan as to how to attach photos. Watch this space!

2 more Munros

Brilliant day on hills with Meghan & Jane.
Cycled up to Geldie lodge ( now permitted by NTS and no stalking on Sundays ) and then walked from there to summits of Carn an Fidhleir and An Sgarsoch. See below the stunning views of the high tops of the Cairngorms.

first blog entry

Welcome future blog readers.

My daughter Meghan has kindly set this up for me in response to the comments of a number of people she has met in the last year who expressed an interest in what Mary & I had been up to .

So here we go . First day in the history of this blog was a day with our daughters Meghan & Jane who have taken a week off work to be with us here in Braemar, Aberdeenshire ,and my sister Ros and her 3 children Jeremy , Timothy and Jessica who drove up from Aberdeen for the day. We enjoyed a brilliant day by Scottish standards and walked through from the Linn of Dee road back over Morrone Hill to Morrone with spectacular views of the high tops of the Cairngorms.