Bring On The Snow!

46 inches of snow + thousands of acres of trails and back country terrain + the best winter job i could imagine = Livin the dream!

what can I say, life is grand! i have been here at Crystal Mountain for a little over two weeks and the snow has not stopped! my job is amazing! i begin every morning around 6:15 with my alarm and a BIG cup of black coffee! my housemates and i ( 8 awesome guys) make breakfast, pack up lunches and layer on the warm layers. we are out the door by 7:15 to head up the road about 3/4 of a mile to the ski patrol base/office. we boot up, have out morning meeting by 8 and are on the mountain by 8:20 ready to open. we each take a run and set up all the needed signage and rope-lines that were taken down for the nightly grooming on some runs., the rest of the day is spent on other projects, guest relations and talking with our guests and letting them know whats going on around the mountain as far as whats open and closed and our plans,helping guesta with injury and accidens , and did i mention skiing powder almost every day! i have a tough life!

my technical skiing ability has sky rocketed already! the terrain here is steep and beautiful! imaging skiing the steepest terrain you could imagine, with 50 lbs of bamboo and a 15 lb spool of rope on your back to mark off closed areas! haha as had work as it is most days, its a good hard! Its all worth it for those 6 perfect powder turns you may get at the end of the day!

I work with some great people, all with exciting stories and adventures and not to mention all the experience is many different areas.

although I am one of the youngest patrols this season, i do not feel out of my league. I learn something new every day about the mountain and patrolling as well as skiing, snow science and avalanche awareness and explosives!
Yes i said explosives~! on morning when we received new snow on top of our week base, we go out at 6am n the dark and get ready for first light to throw bombs to set off avalanches or slides to prevent them from happening while guests are on the mountain. and yes we are safe, I went though beacon and search training before the season started, and continuously practice these skills.

I have Sunday and Mondays off. most time i sleep in, ski for a few hours and then relax! what a wonderful life. my house is good. i have my own room, obviously in a house full of guys, as well as my own bathroom. we all get along great, and live well together. being the only woman in the house, i organized a family dinner night, monday nights, netflix for the house and a secret santa / winter fest gift giving extravaganza!!! (to be PC).

Washington here I come!

I flew back into Denver yesterday, and relaxed in a hotel room for the night to just take a personal day. with all the stress of trying out for a new job, getting a new job, quitting my job, going home for thanksgiving and now about to drive the 1,300 miles to Enumclaw Washington, i needed a day to rest. I have a few last minture errands to take care of here in colorado and then tomorrow afternoon, around 3:00 i will start the drive! theres little snow on the mountain yet but lets keep our fingers crossed!
well during my trip home i was very busy, seeing friends and family, organizing my stuff to take back and doing the turkey day festivities. So it was great to see some of you and im very sorry i didnt not get to see everyone i hoped to! im hoping to make it home again in April or May, maybe....
The life of a seasonal worker....theres no telling start or end dates, but at least im doing what i love!

Halloween!!!

Another month just about gone...whoa! well this past weekend we had a fall festival here for families and their younger children. we lef hikes, carved pumpkins and went on hikes. at night we had campfires, costume parties and a carnaval. everyone had a lot of fun, all the staff even dressed up in costume. This year i am a purple fairy with clothing and accessories i colected from the thrift shop. i;ll post a pic soon! we are having a staff costume pasrty here on thursday night, im sure we will all end up at a bar afterwards for some extra partying! I just LOve Halloween!

after the what felt like a never ending weekend we cleaned up sunday morning and they gave us teh afternoon off as a thank you and good job. so with the afternoon off and plently of sunlight 12 of us packed up quick and headed to loveland, a ski area 45 min away as ripped up the slopes for a few hours. there is only man-made snow so the conditions arent wonderful but its nice to be out on the snow this early in the season. after we closed down the ski area we hit up a saloon for dinner and some drinks. we made friends with the owners of a local establishment in Georgetown and are now forever friends and welcome back anytime! we make quite an impression!

Wednesday i have the day off so i am going down to denver to pick up my car. it has been cleaned, checked out and got new tires and is all ready for me! im soo excited!

I am heading to Washington State in a week from today for a weeks training for a ski patrol position at Crystal Mountain! I will do some first aid training on top of what i already have, some avalanch training, and some day in the life training to see if i work for them and they work for me. but im excited and nervous all at once. i really want this job to work out becasue it could provide alot of future opportunities with summer mountain guiding in the casaide mountains. i am flying for the week but if it alll worls out i will drive myself (and all my stuff) the 1,200 miles to the mountain where i will have housing and a job. im hoping to make some stops in Salt Lake city and portland to visit people and just hang out to cut the drive up.

MY NEW CAR!!!

Here is a picture of my new car. Its a 2005 Subaru Outback 2.5 liter engine with AWD 4-doors and automatic transmition. ! bought it on Monday from a dealership in Denver. It still need to be checked over cleaned, get new tires and brakes so i will be able to pick it up next week sometime!!! this is my new baby and Im sooo excited!!! well now the challange is manking all my monthley payments, but with very few other expensises I believe i can do it! whoop whhoop for a new car that is going to run and without any other hassles...lets hope!

9/12/2008 snow adventures!!

Rockin out the top of the pass! notice the golf club....yeah i wasnt golfing i didnt have poles yet so i "borrowed some mini golf clubs for balance! not to shabby!

Mee and ben at the top of the pass in the 10 min of nice weather we got while up there. the riding was stealer though! September 12th, we got a dusting down at camp so three of us headed up into the mountains to corona pass to check out the early season conditions. we found 6 inches of fresh powder and some great views. not a bad way to spend a day off in september in my book!!!

Doing a seal entry into the Arkansas river in Salida, CO on the first week white water kayaking trip!!!

AT the peak of Mt Guyot, 13,370 feet! after a 8 hour assent we finally made it with all 12 campers! whata view!

ITs me! on the way down from climbing my 1st 14,000 foot mountain. Mt. Demacrat at 14, 132 feet abaove see level

Ahhh colorado

Monday
October 6, 2008

well well well its about time i let you all know what is going on in my llife. I am working for the YMCA of the rockies in Granby Colorado, just minutes away from winter park town and ski area. i am an outdoor education instructor, teaching middle school kids water forest and beave ecology, teambuilding, rock climbing, archers, outdoor living skills night hikes and much more. i love what im doing it is super rewarding and i love the kids but the YMCA of the rockies is just not a fun place to work, it is also inbetween seasons (summer and winter, they dont have much of a fall) so we are just salve labour around here..

My mom aunt and grandma just left this morning after a 5 days visit. we had a great time, toured all around, went to hot springs in the next town, toured rockey mountain national park and had lots of fun. it was great to see them since i ahve not been home to the east coast in 4 months.

i am currently looking for a ski instructor/ ski partol job somewhere for the winter. the snow is startng to fly and i am feeling the ich already! i need to be on the snow!