USA 09/10 – Beaver Creek Day 4 – More exploring

Our fourth day at Beaver Creek started at a similar time to yesterday – 8:15am – however it did take us a bit longer to get ready and hit the slopes this morning. Morning TV took our fancy and so everything moved just that little bit slower. The weather did not look as nice out today, but it was still calm and relatively clear – just far less blue sky to be seen in any direction.

Back to Redtail

We did make it outside eventually, but after 10am, and took our usual route along the skiway to the village, then up the Centennial Express. On previous days we had mostly explored to the left of this lift, but today, we went as far as was possible to the right – to the Arrowhead area and the Arrow Bahn lift. Ed wanted to ski to the Larkspur Express, but when we arrived, the lift was stopped – with people stuck on it. We were probably 2 minutes after being stuck on there with them, so it was lucky we took our time getting onto the slopes.

In the end it took us a bit of time to get over to Arrowhead, as the run down from one of the lifts (about half way there) was 5.8km to the Arrowhead village base area. We did a few runs here at Arrowhead before heading back to the Bachelor Gulch area for lunch (one gully over). I was taking it particularly careful after putting a rather nasty gash in the bottom of my brand new skis yesterday – but that didn’t stop us skiing through trees on the odd occasion.

Crossing the bridge

Unlike previous days where we had eaten on the slopes, today we ate at the Buffalo Bar which was part of the luxurious Ritz Carlton hotel at the Bachelor Gulch base area. It was still pretty close to the slopes (ie, about 10 steps from the snow), but further away than the Spruce Saddle had been. Lunch was nice, and although the (total) cost was similar to that up on the mountain, the food was much nicer here. We spent a bit of time relaxing in the heat before heading back out just after 1pm.

We didn’t stay in this area for too long before heading back towards the Centennial and Birds of Prey lifts on the main mountain. I ventured into the trees a number of times and tried my very hardest not to do any more damage to the base of the new skis – I did find a few good runs, and managed to capture some of it on video. Today we gave in relatively early as we were all quite sore and tired, but before we did, Ed decided to take the more difficult route down (Assay) while Pip and I took a much easier option down Cinch and Gold Dust. While prior to doing this run, Ed was considering skiing more while Pip and I headed back to the room, when we met him at the bottom, he was certain about packing it in after discovering the number of moguls that Assay contained.

Up the valley

After returning to the room, we settled down on the couch to watch (more) TV – a CSI:Las Vegas marathon was the show of choice this afternoon. About 5pm (after it was dark) we headed for the pool and hot tub (pronounced hawwwt turrb). Tonight, not only were both already uncovered for us, but the hot tub was much (much) hotter tonight. In fact, it was way too hot – so hot that Pip and I only survived about 10 minutes, and then didn’t feel even the slightest chill as we dried ourselves off outside. Ed took a bit longer to get back to the room, chatting with some other hot-tubbers for a while before dragging himself out.

Ed decided to eat the leftover pizza from a few nights prior, and have a quiet evening in the room. Unfortunately, there was only so much leftover pizza, and so Pip and I walked to the village to find some food for ourselves. In the end we ate pizza too – (healthy, yes) – but no doubt ours was much tastier being nice and fresh. It was cold outside, so we walked quickly between the restaurant and the hotel – no shopping tonight – and relaxed for the remainder of the evening.

While the weather wasn’t unpleasant today, it wasn’t great for photos with an overcast sky. There are only limited photos, but I’ve tried to include as much video footage as was worth watching. If you do want to see the photos, they can be found in the gallery; or you can see the video version below in the photo mash-up.

About the Author

Scott

Web designer, graphic designer, coder, scripter, photographer, musician, performer, entrepreneur (and the list goes on) based in Adelaide, South Australia. Scott loves to experiment with new ideas, and OnSno.com is his creative dumping ground.