This year, my aunt, uncle, and two cousins were nice enough to invite my mom and I on their ski trip to Beaver Creek.
I always love traveling with my family because there is never a dull moment, to say the least.
For those of you that haven't heard of Beaver Creek, it is a mountain town about 30 minutes outside of Vail with an elevation of 8,100 ft.
Lucky for us, we all were able to get on a seasonal flight that flew straight into Vail, opposed to having to fly into Denver and drive 2 hours.
We then arrived in Beaver Creek, ready to take over the Westin.
Our condo room had the prettiest view. Which excites me because morning coffee with a view?? Yes please(!!!)
I have been to Colorado to ski many times, but this is the first time I have had the chance to visit Beaver Creek. And let me tell you, I was impressed(!!!)
I do have to say though, the only thing I didn't like about Beaver Creek was that they made you wear helmets when you were skiing. (I hate helmets so much)
After a nice day of traveling and relaxing (two of my favorite things), we were ready to hit the slopes. Our hotel was really convenient because it had a gondola that took us straight to the slopes. Which was nice not having to load up a car with all our equipment and drive there and back.
We all started off easy (aka the greens) because its been a while for all of us.
I quickly learned that Beaver Creek mountain is huge. Im not one to really plan out exactly which slopes I want to go down, I just kinda go. Which in my case, got me in trouble a few times. Im not gonna lie, I went into skiing this trip pretty confident. Should I have been? Probably not.
I'll admit to it, I lead my mom and I down a few black diamonds. And it was one of those moments where you have to sit and really think about how you are going to handle the situation in the moment, in the midst of freaking out on the inside but trying to stay calm on the outside. In my moms case, she took off her skis and slid down on her butt. In my case, I just took 15 minutes to get down this slope that took other people about 30 seconds to get down. (lol)
Also, I learned that you can be hot and sweaty even in 15 degree weather. Which I really never thought could happen.
All in all skiing day one was really fun. Exhausting, but still fun.
Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention the part where my whole family skied to the complete wrong side of the mountain and had to take a 15 minute shuttle just to get back to our gondola. This goes back to how big beaver creek mountain is, and the importance of a map.
Skiing day two was a little easier because we kinda got a better feel of the slopes. This was nice because we could take our time and enjoy the mountains more.
My favorite part about skiing is the view from the top. Half the time I think I would be perfectly content just sitting at the top taking in the view even more than skiing. To me, I think one of the most tranquil things a person can do is sit on the top of a mountain, breath in the fresh crisp air, and take in the world.
I have always loved the mountains but I think I have found an even greater love for them this trip. Although I don't know how I would feel actually living in the cold for that long. I think it takes a special type of person to be able to live in the cold like that.
On our last day, my mom and I rented a car and drive to the Denver airport because I had to catch a flight back to California (yay school). Even though the drive took a couple hours, it was actually really cool getting to drive through the mountains. But I also do appreciate a good car ride with an even better view.
I had such a great time with my family and I am so grateful that I was able to be apart of this trip with them.
Until next time,
Brooke
