THE SKIHAWKS DO VAIL
FEB 2009
What
can we say – Even if the
snow was not the premier quality we might have expected, the Skihawks who joined Sandee & Mike Miner
in Vail
had six great days of skiing! We started with a spring skiing stint
with 3 days
of bright sunshine and folks trying to find a place to put all that
extra
clothing. Things cooled down a bit with a few winds later in the week,
and
despite some skied out runs, Mike Miner scouted the mountain for the
runs that
had the good stuff.
In a few words, here are
some
paraphrased comments for all the enthusiastic participants: "Lodging at Lionshead made
everything so convenient; snow was hard but very skiable; the music at
the
French Bar, “Centre V” where we all danced for hours was the best!!”
“Playing that “Oh Heck” card
game was a hoot; participating in Sirjit’s birthday party was very fun;
the
Beaver Creek information tour was fantastic; and skiing the back bowls
–
priceless!”
“Camaraderie of the group
Sandee’s leadership and social skills made this trip the best.”
“Getting on local TV at
Centre V and Todd Suddick winning a prize from the TV guy"
"Loved snowshoeing at Beaver
Creek.”
“The group just jelled very
well.”
“The ‘Luv girls’ (Suzette,
Monique & Bun Bun) conquered Blue Ox with ease!”
“According to ‘Monique’
(Mona) skiing next to Dean is very dangerous.”
“According to Dean, skiing
down slope from Mona is very dangerous.”
The great, unsolved mystery: Leon’s
missing
6-pack of pink grapefruit. Like OJ, he’s pledged his life to find the
culprit.
“Vail
was all a Sandee trip
could be; from fun-loving roomies to sunny spring skiing and boarding.”
“Skiing was wonderful and it
was a daily morning delight to look into 305 and start the day with
greetings
from the Luv girls.”
“2 weeks at 10,000 feet!
Wahoo!!”
“Even
the bus trip back was a
hoot. Plenty of wine, snacks and pizza, and Sirjit showing us his
videos of our
wild-dance evening, where Dean did improvisational dance and Candy did
the
Cucaracha. In the first case – forgettable. In the second – inspired!”
There was more than downhill
skiing on the trip to Vail. One day Suzanne Fell went snowshoeing
at
Beaver Creek, and the next day she persuaded three of us—Jean Graves,
Cynthia
Hammer and Sandee Miner-- to join her. We caught the bus that
took us
from Vail to Beaver Creek for just $1 as all of us were over 60. There we got outfitted with
boots and snowshoes and purchased single rides on the Strawberry Park
Express,
taking us to McCoy Park, an area reserved for snowshoeing and cross
country
skiing. While it was a struggle for all of us to do any uphill
climbing—remember this is at 10,000 feet—we enjoyed the beauty of the
area and
the fabulous view of the neighboring mountain range while eating our
picnic
lunch.
The return trip was even more
exciting as we wended our way downhill through an aspen forest.
We then
decided to eschew the chairlift down, choosing instead to hike the 3
mile,
2000’ descent. Tired but satisfied, our timing was perfect for
catching
the 4 p.m. bus back to Vail. Amazing, that that evening we all
had the
energy to dance and celebrate at Surjit’s birthday party.
Dean Wilson
