Snow Snow Snow

Unexpected and great trip skiing up in Steamboat this weekend. My company does a quarterly team-building thing (and don't think it's one of those horrid, you-must-go-and-be-happy-about-it situations, TUSC actually does some pretty fabulous stuff like skiing, evenings out at the theater, that sort of thing.)

I had not initially said that I'd go; since I'm not working at the moment, it didn't think it would be kosher to go along on the fun stuff, you know? But when I met the group for lunch on Friday, not only was I told in no uncertain terms that I should have rsvp'd, but that there had been a cancellation so I had better come.

Called the Adorable husband at noon, and by two he had gotten off early from work, packed, and dropped the dogs off to be kennelled. Think he wanted to ski? Naah!! We still had to wait around for the 3M window-film guy to give us an estimate, but we were out of the house at 4 and into Steamboat by 7:30 or so. Not too bad. Some dumb schmuck on the way into the ski area decided that SNOW = SCARY and drove 30 f-ing miles per hour the whole way down...with about seventy cars behind them. Yes, drive carefully, but that was ridiculous. If you're that afraid to drive in the (barely blowing) snow, STAY HOME.

Skiing was great -- eight inches of new powder. I know this only by second hand testimony, as I do not ski at all. I spend the day lounging about the hotel and warming my feet by the fire, waiting for everyone to come back off the slopes. The whole group met for dinner in the restaurant at the top of the gondola -- and then were stranded up there when the wind picked up and they closed down the gondola. THey were tranporting people down the mountain in open sleds pulled by the Sno-Cats (a half hour trip in the howling wind!), but we waited long ehough that the gondola re-opened and we got down in a few minutes without freezing to death. I rather wanted to go down in the sled, but no one had brought up appropriate clothes (most people didn't even have hats) and we'd have been bloody cold!

The Adorable Husband took a snowboarding lesson Sunday morning, and I was quite put out that I didn't have a camera. First lessons are supposed to be pretty hairy and most people spend more time laying on their faces in the snow than actually boarding. He did pretty well, though, and thinks that this might be a better long term snow sport for him than skiing. Easier on the knees. I spent the morning getting my head rubbed and being massaged with hot rocks. Lovely.

Nothing much else to report. It's sunny again today, and what remains of the snow is quickly melting off. Gotta love Colorado.