Ski season 2020/21

 COVID made this an unusual season, but thankfully with all the state, Skico and TOSV protocols in place we enjoyed another fantastic 5 months working and skiing. Bus driving for me was a challenge because of the mask wearing regs. and the plastic screen surrounding the driver’s cabin. Made communication with passengers sometime impossible leading to mutual frustrations. But working a 4 day, 36 hour week this year made the season just fly by . Mary also on a 4 day week with our days off more or less coinciding. We skinned up to Cliffhouse Buttermilk every Friday morning for the $6 cooked breakfast and usually to Bonnie’s on Ajax or Gwen’s at Snowmass on one of the other days. Fabulous conditions, although we seemed always to be working on the major powder days.

End of season now and we head to St Simons Is , GA to see 98 year old Betty for a week 

Hoping desperately to get back to UK and Ireland in the summer/autumn. First though a 4 day camping and mountain bike guided trip to North Rim of the Grand Canyon and a visit to Sun River, Bend , OR with Duncan and family at beginning of June.

Early season skiing 2020/21 up to 31/12/20

 

Dec 31, 2020

We had 4 glorious weeks cycling around Aspen, often just to our favourite coffee shop in Aspen, Victoria's or Cici's in historic Basalt.  Feeling very fit having just returned from the trans am trip and raring to go for the the new ski season and resumption of our winter jobs.

Had hoped to upload pics but blogger has changed format, so failed . This may be the final post ! 

For access to our trans am San Diego, CA to St Augustine , FL see

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/23005

Winter season

This taken today March 24 on our daily, post coronavirus, skin and ski. A deserted Aspen airport in background.

And this was our reward at top of Buttermilk. Aspen Highlands and above the gong, Pyramid Peak.

 Two flasks of coffee and a couple of home made blueberry muffins in the sun and a delicious ski down

Ski season 2019/20 started with a bang and ended in a premature and disastrous thump. Magnificent early season snowfalls ( a near all time record for November ) gave Mary and me fabulous powder skiing and boarding on deserted slopes right up till Christmas when it started to get busy. Busy though for Aspensnowmass is is a very different type of busy from European resorts. These great conditions carried on throughout Jan and Feb , but not that many powder days with 10'' or more of fresh snow which has been a feature of previous good snow years.
the two of us had 2 lovely days skiing Sun Valley, ID again courtesy of Mary's employers Aspen Skiing Co who own the Limelight Hotel there.  So 3 nights in luxury at no cost!
Harry came out to ski for 10 days and as usual we had a terrific time with him.  A model guest.
Then my nephew and grand nephew Alastair and Rutherfurd Cairns from Savannah , GA. Another big success and they got by huge good fortune they last 4 days of the season.
Between times M and I beavered away at our seasonal jobs and skinned up the mountain on at least one of our days off each week, downhilling or boarding on the other - mostly at Buttermilk with which we're in love ! Deserted slopes , right pitch, big varieties of runs , treed and otherwise.
Then THUMP, evening of Sat March 14, the Gov of Colorado announced the compulsory closure of every resort in the state with immediate effect. Since then we've looked like a ghost town.  M and I still skiing every day either here or at Buttermilk, climbing on skins, enjoying a flask of coffee and a muffin at the top and skiing down. Occasionally with some of my bus driving pals but more often just on our own.  Bliss !
Here are some pics. Mostly out of order , but give a taste of what we've enjoyed on the last 4 months.

TOSV bus driving pals Jaimie, Jonathan and Brady

This is one of the whisky poles they gave me as present.  Hollow shaft - I filled one with Bruaichladdich and the other with a good blend.  Jamie here getting stuck into the former with some enthusiasm!

Post coronavirus - M skinning up towards top of Sam's Knob

a post virus empty Coffee Pot

back to the beginning of the season - Buttermilk in late November

Ditto

....and again

Sun Valley, ID with Art on First Tracks

M fills this almost daily - hungry little tits. Make short of this in a 24 hour period.

Got diverted , but no big deal. Aspen to LA and LA to Haley, ID

Looking south from the top restauraunt at Sun Valley

And looking the other way back to the town of Ketchum

The base of the ski mountain at Sun Valley

Harry skiing as neatly and as keenly as ever. Powder snow came a day or two later much to his delight.

We persuaded him to do the full moons skin up Buttermilk followed by a terrific dinner at the top.  Skiing down in the dark.

Rutherfurd and Alastair at top of Buttermilk

R - Aspen gondola

A - ditto

A skinning expedition post virus to the Wine Cabin at top of Sam's Knob with Brady, Jaimie andJonathan

Post virus x-country ski trip from Ashcroft to Pine Creek Cookhouse ( closed ). I narrowly avoided a major collision with an aspen tree a little earlier.  The things ( gifted to me by Lee a month ago ) are like matchsticks !

M doing a little better with the wind behind

One of the more "hairy' days bus driving in the season.  On this occasion I could only watch as my colleague Phil Bob started sliding down ( initially sideways ) Snowmelt Road at the start of another loop from the Mall depot.The underfloor heating on the occasion of this ferocious storm just couldn't keep up.

X-country skiing with Martha S from Snowmass to Buttermilk

The Red Barn makes a nice contrast

Martha and Mary

St Simons Island, Georgia

We're used to going to Asheville NC to visit Betty. After 19 years in Deerfield Retirement Community there, Betty has moved to Thrive retirement Home in St Simons Island, GA,  where Mary's sister Jane and Tim have a house, so that's where we went on our way back to Snowmass. Flights in and out of Jacksonville just over the GA/FL border made it easy. Janie and Tim were exceedingly generous in allowing us to stay in their lovely house right on the water. And from that base we were able to devote our week to Betty's needs of one sort or another and entertain her as best we could. Jane's dogs , Emma and Margaret are a huge hit with Betty, and they knew exactly what was required of them. Tried bridge , but not so successfully this time. Many lunches out combining with doctor's, dentist's and optician's appointments .  She's a remarkable 97 year old. Well on track to reach the century I'd say.

Recovering from a bad nose bleed

Margaret and Emma

The usual dawn walk with the dogs

Janie and Mary at a good dinner spot

This huge container ship carrying 2000 or more Hyndai cars capsized after its cargo shifted

And a massive salvage operation gets underway

From the pier at St Simons Island.

Another pre-dawn walk on the beach

Margaret on duty

The view east from Janie's house.  Tidal right up to the deck.