Hills and Vails
Last week I hit the ski trails with @lp211, @sylvan_popovici, and the rest of my family in Vail Colorado. Though I have been inactive on iNaturalist for a while, I intend on continuing using it. This was the second time I have been skiing in around seven years. Despite that, I was able to get to two black-diamond trails on the last day: Wildcard and the aptly-named Tourist Trap. I made it down Wildcard, but ended up skiing backwards and hitting a mogul on the other. Another tourist trapped.
On the first day, after learning to carve, I overestimated my capabilities and insisted I had enough energy to do another run. I ended up twisting my knee on Simba Run. At the beginning of that day, I didn't even know how to make turns at all. The second day, we started by going down Born Free. Apparently it had moguls. I made it down almost until the first green section when I lost control in a terrific crash in which all my gear went flying, including my helmet-mounted GoPro HERO10, which came loose. (I was uninjured and collected myself while the others waited for me. This was not my first spill, though it may be one of the more entertaining.) We went some more on Compromise and others, and then came down. We were pretty sore at the end of each day, but by the third day, we were knocked up into shape. We started by going up Gondola One up to Mid-Vail, then we took Mountaintop Express Lift to the Timberline Catwalk. From there, we took the Sourdough Express Lift to Elk Lodge, where I charged my Enduro Batteries and prepared. To start, we went down greens like Tin Pants and Flap Jack, then Sourdough and Boomer. After that we did Poppy Fields to Orient Express Lift in Blue sky Basin and came around to rest and have lunch. Getting down, we went on Flap Jack to Northwoods Express Lift. Then we went down into Game Creek Bowl, where we took Lost Boy, and then Wildcard. Finally, I needed a break, so we took The Meadows to Mid-Vail, where we snacked some. Then we took Gitalong Road, Riva Ridge and Tourist Trap. There'll be no Compromise today. I almost made it down Tourist Trap, but near the end I took too sharp a turn and slid backwards down a mogul. Down.. down... down. Eventually I lost a ski and slid to a stop. I was ready to go again. We finished my going down via Mill Creek Road, Gitalong Road, and Vail Village Catwalk.
I Praise the Lord that, In the end, it was a most energizing and joy-filled trip, despite the all the small setbacks and injuries.
P.S. Thanks @alexcp847 for the cookies.
Notice: this post was initially posted on February 17th, 2024. It posted incorrectly the first time around. Here it is, reposted.
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