Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

FINALLY.  I've lived in Colorado for the better part of the last 40 years, my lady for over 17 years.  Until last Sunday, 23 Sep. 2012, neither of us had been on the Trail Ridge Road between Estes Park and Grand Lake, CO.  This is perhaps akin to living in central Paris and never having …

Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 (the movie)

This movie, based on Ayn Rand's novel, was both thought provoking and enjoyable.  When it ended I thought, darn!  I have to wait one year for Part II to be released, and two years for Part III!  (If the producers keep on schedule, and I hope they do.) I've read 'Shrugged' a couple of times …

The End of Ski Season

You won't believe this. Last Thursday morning my 72 year-old ski bud who I ski with at Copper Mountain a lot called me at the condo. He and his wife had gone to Steamboat for a couple of days early in the week, he to ski, she to relax. On his first run he got …

Skiing as it should be

Dateline: Copper Mountain Ski Area, 29 March 2011. 12" of snow in the last 24 hours, 24" in the last 48.  12F in Silverthorne this morning, meaning the snow should be reasonably light.  (Warmer spring temperatures generally mean spring snows will have a higher water content and thus be heavier in weight and require more …

Awwwwesome Skiing, Duuudes!

(A layman's primer on great ski snow, for my coastal friends.) This winter in Colorado has been drop-dead gorgeous for skiing.  What makes for good ski snow, my flatlander California friends might ask?  LOTS of snow, concurrently with cold temperatures.  The quantity of snow covers all the rocks and trees on ski slopes.  If you've …