Skiing over Christmas weekend was awesome. Our parents came to visit us for 4 days as their winter vacation. That means Ronia and I got to ski with our dad, who we grew up skiing with but haven't skied with in a few years. We enjoyed the last few days of no lift lines before peak season hit and lucked out with a nice big storm. We got about 10 fresh inches of powder on Christmas day, which was my first Vermont powder day (that I can remember)! On my dad's first day skiing we skied by a shelter that is a part of the Appalachian Trail/ Long Trail, Cooper Lodge. I hadn't seen it since my Long Trail hike two summers ago, but it looked just how I remembered it. Inside, however, had way more beer cans than I can remember. Because the hut is used in the winter as a hidden skier rest spot, the build up of empty cans and bottles was quite unsettling. People can do whatever they want when they ski, but at least carry out your empties! My dad had the fantastic idea to bring trash bags with us the next day and pick up & ski out the trash in Cooper Lodge. We did just that, and while it was a little more of a challenge skiing out big trash bags than we expected, it was a fun activity and helped to keep the cabin healthy so that others could enjoy it. With the peak of peak season happening now, my sister and I are looking around to find things to do other than wait in lift lines. So far, we've had an awesome first half of the month skiing, but now its going to take a little more creativity to fill our time in order to navigate around the huge crowds. Regardless, it's better than sitting around at home so no complaints!
I am spending my winter break this year skiing and snowboarding in Killington, Vermont, with my sister, Ronia. She got us a wicked $100/week deal at an amazing rustic resort 5 minutes from the ski area, and with student price season passes. a month as a ski bum just got way more feasible. The hotel we are staying at is called Cortina Inn & Resort, and it is just a mile down the road from Pico Mtn Ski Area, Killington's sister resort. The place is above and beyond for our purposes, it has so many amenities that we are definitely taking advantage of. A hot tub and pool, sauna, game room with ping pong and foosball, full industrial kitchen, workout room, and even free chocolate chip cookies at the front desk are all a part of the daily routine. We are having a ton of fun living in a hotel, especially with a kitchen at our disposal. We have not yet eaten out or bought food at the mountain, instead we prepare lunches every morning and cook dinner every night. Keeping this winter break low budget (after how much I spent last summer) is a goal of mine. So far, so good. Because it is not yet peak season, the hotel is basically empty. It has probably about 250 units and we believe only 3 to be currently filled. In a week, this will all change, but for now, the hotel is all ours and we are loving it. I've only been here for a few days, but I have been on the slopes all of them. My first two days I skied and today I snowboarded. I choose which I will do based on the day's conditions, the temperature, and what kind of trails I want to do. I love blue square cruisers on my snowboard, but on skis I prefer more challenging trails. I am a much better skier than I am snowboarder, because I have been doing it longer. I was put on skis at 5, and by 2nd grade I wanted to learn to snowboard. I tried snowboarding at 7, fell a ton, hated it, and quit. I kept skiing, and worked at snowboarding intermittently, but by the end of my 7th grade season (age 12) I would say that I had reached intermediate level on the snowboard and could get down a blue square without falling. Since then I've been able to pick one or the other for any given day, depending on who I'm with and other factors mentioned previously. In high school my sister and I did alpine ski team, which I credit with making me a much better skier. Ski team combined with my winter spent in Breckenridge, Colorado last year, where I only brought skis, makes my ski experience far outweigh my snowboarding experience these days. Nonetheless, I still enjoy both so much in different ways and I love having the choice of one or the other. Similar to the hotel, the mountain itself is currently really empty. There are literally no lines for any lift, and the trails are beautifully deserted. We are dreading the crowds that will come after Christmas, so we are enjoying the mountain to ourselves for now. Being at Killington as an adult is so much fun. As a kid, my dad, my sister, and I would spend 3-5 days at Killington every Christmas. I always wished the vacation could be longer, and this year finally I got that dream ski trip that lasts almost a full month. I am looking forward to spending every day either skiing or snowboarding at my "home" mountain.
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