Skiing trip recap
Thus begins my usual format of bullet-points!
-Steampunk
Allow me to be perfectly clear, with all of (the very slight amount of) humility I can muster. Out of maybe 2000 people on the mountain any given day (times five days), I was the only one with distinctive eyewear. I brought along my steampunk goggles, and by doing so established my individuality in a way I didn’t expect. No one else wore anything like it. On New Years Eve, I made sure to wear my tuxedo t-shirt, a button-down shirt, dress pants, and my steampunk goggles on the slopes. I was almost certainly the best-dressed skier on the mountain, if only underneath my winter gear. I remain amused by all of this, because my family mocked me mercilessly about the goggles before we left. It was nothing short of GLORIOUS to tell the truth when we all met for lunch on the slopes the first day.
“Allison, everyone loves my goggles here. Basically, everyone but you, and that means you’re wrong!”
“Who, exactly, liked your goggles?”
“Everybody: lift attendants, children, my ski instructor, young attractive ladies, and this weird old guy from Florida. You know, everybody!”
It became a running gag with us.
“Justin, any attractive young ladies admire your goggles today?”
“Na, just the lift attendants.”
If I ever go skiing in warmer weather, where I don’t need snow pants, I’d love to ski in my full steampunk outfit from head to toe. With a cravat, naturally. A man needs to have dreams*!
-the glory of the slopes
Oh, how I love this state! If I never again ski in Wisconsin and only stick to Colorado locations every couple of years, I’d be perfectly happy with that. There is real appeal in exploring the slopes, and never going down the mountain the same way twice. There is always an opportunity to ski down a more difficult blue slope, as well as an easier green if my legs were tired or if I just wanted to enjoy the sights. Ice still freaks me out, and I can only manage a black diamond by going at a snail’s pace (so what’s the point?), but all-in-all the mountains were all wonderfully maintained and ideal for both speed and control. I really couldn’t ask for anything more.
I think I my #1 moment was my second last day, as I skied down a difficult blue on my own. Somehow, I managed to get in “the zone” and I swayed with my music as I slid down the mountain at a splendid pace. Maybe dancers make good skiers? In any case, by the end of the trip, I was willing to try any blue route and a handful of blacks. The ones without moguls were actually quite fun and I mostly blended in with the skiers who really knew what they were doing.
-new and old
One thing that amused me, intellectually, was the change I could see between now and 1999, when I last skied. For one thing, helmets are everywhere, which is awesome. If you recall my posts from Indiana last summer, the #1 injury for the ER was motorcycle accidents without a helmet. I was never called to the ER - not once - for someone wearing a helmet. So I give a lot of credit to modern ski culture for making helmets popular. Helmets = good.
The other big thing that I love is ipods. Although there were walkmans and portable CD players in 1999, no one really seemed to bring them on the slopes. Now it’s plenty common enough to bring an ipod with and rock out on the snow. I absolutely love it. Beats Antique, My Little Pony soundtracks, Girls Dead Monster, and Cute is What We Aim For are my current favorites for the sport. You’re probably reading that last sentence and thinking about how much of a hopeless geek I am. Meh. Oh, Of Monsters and Men and Florence and the Machine get honorable mentions.
-good family times
Being with most of the family and the Shrupps was good on its own. We had a lot of laughs along the way. Paul Shrupp is closer to my brother than me, but Eric had to go back to Denver for work after two days with us. At dinner, Paul’s commentary on Eric’s behavior was so funny I accidently did a spit-take… right across the restaurant table where his girlfriend was sitting. I think I ultimately apologized to her about five times, and the damage was minimal (thankfully, I was drinking water at the time).
I didn’t get as far as I’d imagined, with respect to my books or movies, because we were so actively engaged as a group. We’d spend the morning/afternoon skiing, with time for rest and showers between that and the dinner hour. Then we’d share a meal and then go out as a group or play cards until 11:00 or so. I must say, I like the sorts of vacations where you never need to kill time for long. Traveling with good people is always a reliable way to achieve that.
-hot springs
We all had one grand rest day, where no one skied. We decided to take a drive to hot springs, which is basically the best way to allow our bodies rest before getting back to the slopes the next day. The hot springs were the trip’s highlight for a lot of us (but not me - skiing was too awesome). Imagine piping hot water surrounded by stone walls. Some pools were warmer than others, and one pool was nearly freezing (for the contrast). So you’d submerge yourself into hot water, with the railings remaining covered in ice. As your body enjoyed the warm water, you’d start growing icicles in your hair. So awesome.
Eric was sill with us at this point, and a few of us would take excursions to the far shore of the cold pool. Then we’d run up the snow to a point, then run back down to warm up in the near-freezing water. For my last time, I panicked a little bit and rubbed a chunk of snow all over my body like a big white bar of soap. Then, with my entire torso in tortuous pain, I got back in the water and swam back to the warm pool. I recommend this form of relaxation to anyone. Also, my confidence in my ability to join the polar bear club totally got a boost. Sarah Allen from capoeira tried to get a few of us to go back in 2010, but the other men got to me. They said that Sarah had a great time because she lacked external reproductive organs - a most vulnerable thing with respect to cold. The argument made sense at the time. Perhaps when Sarah gets back from Brazil, I could take her up on it. I’m starting to think that I might handle it!
-New Year’s Eve
Ugh. I was unfortunate enough to go to a bar on New Year’s Eve. We were all hanging out, and people started getting ready for bed around 10:30 pm. While I didn’t much care either way, I realized that my brother really cares about going out on New Year’s. As a gesture toward Brotherly Goodness, I offered to go out with him and Marissa (his girlfriend, if that’s still unclear). OH MY LORD DO I HATE BEING A THIRD WHEEL! I spent the whole time in awkward confusion as I pretended to enjoy myself with my shitty alcohol. Eric and Marisa had a good time, and that’s what I signed up for. But for the whole time, I busied myself by people-watching. There was one cute girl about my age in a red dress who knew every move to Thriller - zombie attack and all. That was totally worth watching - I nudged Eric’s shoulder for that one.
Thankfully, the end came quick. For some reason, the bar’s last call was around 1:20. We were out the doors at 1:40 when the music ended and we were home by 2:00. Small miracles and all. The bus ride home was awesome, though! We were all crammed like an African taxi to the airport, and Eric needed to duck and squirm past people to get to the door as our stop was one of the first. I chatted up some people shoving their way into my clavicles and parts of my rib cage. Is it weird that the bus ride was the most amusing part of the evening? I must say, I kicked off 2012 in a much classier way: spinning plates at the Miramar Theatre in steampunk gear. I should plan for something special for 2014 - it’ll be a big year for me.
Well, that’s about it for the trip. Now I’m off for my winter retreat for my upcoming deaconate. So just as I’m coming off of eight days without internets, I’ll have another six of technological isolation. It actually feels kind of nice! With any luck, there will be pictures before too long.
*Dreams: the kind that are synonymous with goals, not unconscious thoughts during rest.
-Steampunk
Allow me to be perfectly clear, with all of (the very slight amount of) humility I can muster. Out of maybe 2000 people on the mountain any given day (times five days), I was the only one with distinctive eyewear. I brought along my steampunk goggles, and by doing so established my individuality in a way I didn’t expect. No one else wore anything like it. On New Years Eve, I made sure to wear my tuxedo t-shirt, a button-down shirt, dress pants, and my steampunk goggles on the slopes. I was almost certainly the best-dressed skier on the mountain, if only underneath my winter gear. I remain amused by all of this, because my family mocked me mercilessly about the goggles before we left. It was nothing short of GLORIOUS to tell the truth when we all met for lunch on the slopes the first day.
“Allison, everyone loves my goggles here. Basically, everyone but you, and that means you’re wrong!”
“Who, exactly, liked your goggles?”
“Everybody: lift attendants, children, my ski instructor, young attractive ladies, and this weird old guy from Florida. You know, everybody!”
It became a running gag with us.
“Justin, any attractive young ladies admire your goggles today?”
“Na, just the lift attendants.”
If I ever go skiing in warmer weather, where I don’t need snow pants, I’d love to ski in my full steampunk outfit from head to toe. With a cravat, naturally. A man needs to have dreams*!
-the glory of the slopes
Oh, how I love this state! If I never again ski in Wisconsin and only stick to Colorado locations every couple of years, I’d be perfectly happy with that. There is real appeal in exploring the slopes, and never going down the mountain the same way twice. There is always an opportunity to ski down a more difficult blue slope, as well as an easier green if my legs were tired or if I just wanted to enjoy the sights. Ice still freaks me out, and I can only manage a black diamond by going at a snail’s pace (so what’s the point?), but all-in-all the mountains were all wonderfully maintained and ideal for both speed and control. I really couldn’t ask for anything more.
I think I my #1 moment was my second last day, as I skied down a difficult blue on my own. Somehow, I managed to get in “the zone” and I swayed with my music as I slid down the mountain at a splendid pace. Maybe dancers make good skiers? In any case, by the end of the trip, I was willing to try any blue route and a handful of blacks. The ones without moguls were actually quite fun and I mostly blended in with the skiers who really knew what they were doing.
-new and old
One thing that amused me, intellectually, was the change I could see between now and 1999, when I last skied. For one thing, helmets are everywhere, which is awesome. If you recall my posts from Indiana last summer, the #1 injury for the ER was motorcycle accidents without a helmet. I was never called to the ER - not once - for someone wearing a helmet. So I give a lot of credit to modern ski culture for making helmets popular. Helmets = good.
The other big thing that I love is ipods. Although there were walkmans and portable CD players in 1999, no one really seemed to bring them on the slopes. Now it’s plenty common enough to bring an ipod with and rock out on the snow. I absolutely love it. Beats Antique, My Little Pony soundtracks, Girls Dead Monster, and Cute is What We Aim For are my current favorites for the sport. You’re probably reading that last sentence and thinking about how much of a hopeless geek I am. Meh. Oh, Of Monsters and Men and Florence and the Machine get honorable mentions.
-good family times
Being with most of the family and the Shrupps was good on its own. We had a lot of laughs along the way. Paul Shrupp is closer to my brother than me, but Eric had to go back to Denver for work after two days with us. At dinner, Paul’s commentary on Eric’s behavior was so funny I accidently did a spit-take… right across the restaurant table where his girlfriend was sitting. I think I ultimately apologized to her about five times, and the damage was minimal (thankfully, I was drinking water at the time).
I didn’t get as far as I’d imagined, with respect to my books or movies, because we were so actively engaged as a group. We’d spend the morning/afternoon skiing, with time for rest and showers between that and the dinner hour. Then we’d share a meal and then go out as a group or play cards until 11:00 or so. I must say, I like the sorts of vacations where you never need to kill time for long. Traveling with good people is always a reliable way to achieve that.
-hot springs
We all had one grand rest day, where no one skied. We decided to take a drive to hot springs, which is basically the best way to allow our bodies rest before getting back to the slopes the next day. The hot springs were the trip’s highlight for a lot of us (but not me - skiing was too awesome). Imagine piping hot water surrounded by stone walls. Some pools were warmer than others, and one pool was nearly freezing (for the contrast). So you’d submerge yourself into hot water, with the railings remaining covered in ice. As your body enjoyed the warm water, you’d start growing icicles in your hair. So awesome.
Eric was sill with us at this point, and a few of us would take excursions to the far shore of the cold pool. Then we’d run up the snow to a point, then run back down to warm up in the near-freezing water. For my last time, I panicked a little bit and rubbed a chunk of snow all over my body like a big white bar of soap. Then, with my entire torso in tortuous pain, I got back in the water and swam back to the warm pool. I recommend this form of relaxation to anyone. Also, my confidence in my ability to join the polar bear club totally got a boost. Sarah Allen from capoeira tried to get a few of us to go back in 2010, but the other men got to me. They said that Sarah had a great time because she lacked external reproductive organs - a most vulnerable thing with respect to cold. The argument made sense at the time. Perhaps when Sarah gets back from Brazil, I could take her up on it. I’m starting to think that I might handle it!
-New Year’s Eve
Ugh. I was unfortunate enough to go to a bar on New Year’s Eve. We were all hanging out, and people started getting ready for bed around 10:30 pm. While I didn’t much care either way, I realized that my brother really cares about going out on New Year’s. As a gesture toward Brotherly Goodness, I offered to go out with him and Marissa (his girlfriend, if that’s still unclear). OH MY LORD DO I HATE BEING A THIRD WHEEL! I spent the whole time in awkward confusion as I pretended to enjoy myself with my shitty alcohol. Eric and Marisa had a good time, and that’s what I signed up for. But for the whole time, I busied myself by people-watching. There was one cute girl about my age in a red dress who knew every move to Thriller - zombie attack and all. That was totally worth watching - I nudged Eric’s shoulder for that one.
Thankfully, the end came quick. For some reason, the bar’s last call was around 1:20. We were out the doors at 1:40 when the music ended and we were home by 2:00. Small miracles and all. The bus ride home was awesome, though! We were all crammed like an African taxi to the airport, and Eric needed to duck and squirm past people to get to the door as our stop was one of the first. I chatted up some people shoving their way into my clavicles and parts of my rib cage. Is it weird that the bus ride was the most amusing part of the evening? I must say, I kicked off 2012 in a much classier way: spinning plates at the Miramar Theatre in steampunk gear. I should plan for something special for 2014 - it’ll be a big year for me.
Well, that’s about it for the trip. Now I’m off for my winter retreat for my upcoming deaconate. So just as I’m coming off of eight days without internets, I’ll have another six of technological isolation. It actually feels kind of nice! With any luck, there will be pictures before too long.
*Dreams: the kind that are synonymous with goals, not unconscious thoughts during rest.