Getting Ready for Colorado

In 9 days I’ll be heading to Colorado for a 4 day ski trip.  I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this. My buddy Mike from NY called me a few months ago to see if I wanted to join him and a group. The last 2 years they went to Killington ant this year they decided to go out west due to the more reliable snow. I quickly said yes. Mike is one of those guys who’s great to be around. He’s got a great sense of humor and we both like all the outdoor stuff.  So, I’ll meet up with him at O’Hare in Chicago and we’re on the same flight to Denver. I just heard that he’s also got 2 of his neighbors coming so I think the whole group will be about 8 people.

Well, I love to ski but I haven’t been since I moved here in 1999. (I don’t count the afternoon at the local bunny hill 2 years ago).  I’m also the old man in the group (turning 50 next month). I have no intention of killing myself to keep up with some of these guys. Mike says the same thing and he’s 42. These guys are some of the best skiers he’s seen. So, we’ll let them take the steep slopes and we’ll take whatever we’re comfortable with and meet up at various times. I think he’s glad to have someone his speed to ski with.

The young group is crashing at "Uncle Bob’s" place. (Whoever that is). Mike and I will be staying at the LaQuinta where there’s a real bed. More important than that is that I can’t stay up all night drinking beer and whatever else and still have an enjoyable day. The hotel will let us break off when we want to. Mike’s neighbors are following our lead as well so it will really be more like 2 groups.  

So I pulled out my equipment yesterday to check it over. I flat filed the rust of the edges of the skiis just a bit and wiped off the dust and cobb webs.  The bindings look great. Actually, everything looks great since I bought the skiis 6 years ago and have only skiied on them 3 hours. I put the boots on and made sure the socks work with them. Then I popped them into the bindings and made sure the release is set properly. I found my old ski bag – can’t believe how cut up those things get after only a couple of uses. Everythng is sitting in the hallway right now, ready to go.

Later in the day I called my friends Randy and Kelly in Indiana. I think this is the first time since I visited in the fall. Time flies. It was good to catch up. Their daughter, Lindsey, is getting married May 12 so we’ve got our calendar marked for a visit then. We also decided to make tentative plans for a summer hike up in New England. Kelly’s health seems to be improving. Her hair is growing back and she’s able to work a few days a week. She still has severe body aches and they just bought a hot tub – yet to be installed. They’re still enjoying their place on the lake. Can’t wait to see them again.

Namaste