Summit County and, in particular, A-Basin are really fun and exciting places to hang out. I never cease to be amazed at the beauty and scary power of Mother Nature around here. I was just thinking about how much I had done or seen in the last 24 hours. When I left work yesterday, I drove by the forest fire still smoldering near Keystone. The K-Max helicopter was making water drops on it. I met some friends down on the Blue River for a late afternoon paddle down Boulder Canyon. The rapids were big and fun. We shared a bunch of laughs enjoying a beverage at the takeout watching the sunset develop on the Gore Range.
This morning I knew today was going to be interesting when I opened the kitchen blinds and saw a crazy colored sky with a flaming orange sunrise from all the smoke from the Arizona fires. After getting to the Basin, I put on my skis and headed for Montezuma Bowl. Great spring skiing, again. I bumped into an old friend, CJ Mueller, and his buddy Jay. We skied a couple of runs and rode together on Zuma a couple of times. More laughs and stories. CJ told me he had just seen the mountain goats wandering around Little Lenawee. He has a love for skiing and the mountains that is inspiring. Chef Rybak and Meredith are hosting their first "Summer Wedding" at Black Mountain Lodge this evening. Should be some great alpenglow photos from that one. Because they are great people, staff from New Belgium Brewery just raffled away one of their Vintage Cruiser Bikes in the 6th Alley Bar. I suppose Kay and I will close out the day on our deck with a glass of Pinot Grigio watching the firey sunset over Buffalo Mountain. Pretty nice place to be. I wish each day was about 8 hours longer this time of year. Too much to do out there. I hope you get in a few more ski days.
