USA 09/10 – Beaver Creek Day 8 – More great weather
USA 09/10 – Beaver Creek Day 8 – More great weather
We began our 8th day here at Beaver Creek slowly – although we woke up at a similar time, a Law & Order: SVU marathon caught our attention and slowed us down considerably. Ed got a little frustrated with our progress and hit the slopes without us, but we joined him just after 11am once the episode we were watching finished.
Looking up the valley from Grouse
The weather was perfect, but cold, yet again, and the endless blue sky was a good sight to see (although the snow level was gradually diminishing with all the nice weather). We headed towards the Centennial chair where we encountered the biggest crowds we had seen since last weekend – about 2 minutes waiting in the queue – but it was really insignificant in the big picture. We cruised around for a while before heading to Grouse Mountain, a part of Beaver Creek that we had not yet explored (mainly because a sign had been erected which read “Experts only: all black runs with moguls ONLY”). Luckily there was no queue here at all (hmm… any good reasons why?), and once we got to the top the view was incredible.
We skied down the run, a blue run the whole way, and didn’t encounter a single mogul (go figure), and enjoyed it so much that we headed back to the top for another run. By the time we had done this loop again, it was after 1pm and time for lunch. We headed, as was well becoming habit, to the Spruce Saddle, and enjoyed yet another typical ski lunch (always with a side of fries…hmm). We enjoyed the warmth of the lunch spot before heading back out to explore some new territory – Pip had selected a run called Mystic Maze from the trail map, and we set out determined to find it.
Pip carving it up
The first time around we only caught the very bottom of the run – the trail map had mislead us slightly and things didn’t line up as perfectly as it had promised. The second run, however, we found it where it began, and set off into the trees – Mystic Maze was a glade run through the forest. While it concerned Pip at first, she had a good time once we got through – not before taking a seat in a mound of powder then struggling to stand back up again. We only skied a few runs before it was 3pm and we decided to make the (relatively) long run home. It was 3:30pm before we got back, but by the time we did, we were all fairly worn out.
A quick TV break before a visit to the hot tub was next, and because of the chill in the air (about -16C) it was still possible and very easy to freeze hair just by getting it wet. We stayed in the water a short time before once again getting swamped by a large family. After returning to the room, we got ready for dinner and made our way out into the cold, heading for the main village area.
Pip and Ed on Mystic Maze
Tonight’s cuisine was Asian – supposedly at Beaver Creek’s “best restaurant”. While the food was nice, and the atmosphere, well, quirky, we did discover that the entree dishes were much better value than the mains, and that the kids menu was again the best value choice of all. The most interesting dish was mine – a $22 tiny piece of butterfish that, while nice, was nowhere near a $22 dish.
After dinner we had a quick visit to some shops before making the short journey back to the hotel room through the now even colder evening. The remainder of the evening was, as was becoming tradition, spent in front of the TV and on Skype to those back home.
Hope you’re all surviving the weather back home – it’s only about 60 degrees difference in temperature!
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