January 4, 2009
Today was a beautiful, clear day. It was a great day for skiing because Steamboat had just received about 8 inches of snow the night before making the conditions on the mountain much better. According to a local, this was the first snow in about a week and some of the runs were getting a bit icy. It was also a very cold day due to the snow. The temps stayed around -4 throughout the day. It was cold. Very cold. Cold enough to freeze your nose hairs. Luckily, Mark and I brought the right clothing, and we were able to completely bundle up to cover all exposed skin. Our faces are the hardest to keep covered, but we had the right gear for it.
Joanna took ski lessons at Steamboat last year, so she spent the day remembering how to ski on the easy runs. Mark took the same ski lesson that Joanna had last year so that tomorrow we would be at the same level. Due to the cold weather and end of the holiday week, the mountain was very empty. In fact, many times I found myself alone for a few minutes on the runs. With the clear skies we could see for miles and the snow covered landscape was gorgeous. Every other corner seemed prettier than the one before. I brought my little camera with me, so I was able to take a few pictures. Only a few because my fingers froze when I took them out of the glove to get the camera. =)
Mark had fun, too in his class. There were only a few people in the class, so they all got plenty of ski time in and by the end of the day he was at the same level as Joanna. At the end of the day we were sore and exhausted. We came back to the condo to spend the evening. Our condo is quite large. I would guess it’s at least 600 square feet if not a little bigger. The bedroom has a king size bed, dresser, and plenty of room to move around. The kitchen is the size of a decent apartment kitchen with a bar area that leads into the dining area complete with dining table and chairs. The dining room opens into the living room which has a couch, a loveseat, a coffee table, fireplace, and TV. We feel right at home here. We ended up finding a marathon of House on USA and relaxed with our leftovers from last night for dinner followed by hot chocolate.
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