tap the rockies!

i survived colorado without any broken limbs! it was absolutely glorious. the views were breathtaking (literally) and the skiing was just amazing. they have what they call "champagne powder." it's like skiing on fluff.
this is breckenridge, one of the moutains we skiied at. it has 4 peaks and all 4 are HUGE! we skiied one day here, did 9 runs, including 1 ungroomed trail that was covered with moguls. i was hyperventilating by the end.



this is keystone, the place erik and i actually stayed at. it has 3 peaks, also HUGE! we skiied 2 days here. the first day i did 8 runs total, including a lesson. my instructor took me out on a black diamond (we're talking steepness of biblical porportions!) and we had to stop halfway down for me to catch my breath because of my "sea-level upbringing." the other day we skiied here we did 16 runs (!!!) including a couple ungroomed trails (also by accident.) this picture is of north peak and we went down all these trails except for the two in the middle with trees. you can't see them, but they're covered top to bottom with moguls. um...yeah...not this time. and that's me on the bottom!
one of the days erik and i took off to go hiking and sight-seeing. this is an overlook of lake dillon, which was frozen and covered with snow. you can see the avalanches on the mountains in the background, which was pretty cool.









we went up loveland pass, which is a road that follows the continental divide and is actually closed half the year due to avalanches. we got lucky and were able to hike up one of the mountains. i sprinted up to the summit, which was over 12,000 feet high (so i could say i was actually on top of the world) and found out what it feels like to have a stroke.






and this is vail. it's cute, but definitely not as glamorous as i thought it would be. we didn't ski here (apparently only the creme de la creme can come here) but we did snoop around town. mostly ski gear stores and fur coat stores. these people love their fur coats!

all in all, i must say it was one heck of a time. i highly recommend it, even if you don't ski. just to see the sights and hike the rockies makes it worth it. the microbreweries aren't half bad either!