Our March Copper Mountain Visit

We had a great time snowboarding at Granby Ranch, but it is not the biggest of places. So even back while we were in the planning stages for this trip we knew that Winter Park was just down the road and thought we might take a day to go there or something like it just to get in a little bit more variety while my family was still around. Well as Katie mentioned in her last post we ended up using our last day with Blake and his family around to go tubing instead, so we weren't going to get in any more days with them. But as it turns out my dad had an appointment in Boulder on Friday to stick around for. So it worked out really well to go tubing on Wednesday because we could let our achy bodies rest a day and still have all day Thursday to do whatever we wanted with my dad still around. 

We decided to head up to Copper Mountain instead of Winter Park because Katie and I still had one day left to use of our four day pass. It just meant a little further drive Thursday morning. But that was well worth it to save on the price to two full price lift tickets. So we set off early Thursday morning taking a really beautiful drive across on US 40 and down CO 9, neither of which I had ever taken before. 

It was again a really beautiful sunny day. Copper ended up being a lot more crowded for a Thursday then we would have expected. But we were still able to make the most of it.

Riding up in the chair lift together

Katie and her now more refined snowboarding skillz

Dad following behind, blindly trusting where we were taking him.

My dad can attest that Copper is much bigger than Granby Ranch. He was very thankful that he did his first two days back at Granby after his 10-ish year hiatus from skiing. But he still had a great time on the longer and bigger runs. We just took our time to get down and took lots of breaks. After lunch he got in one more run with us. He then spent the rest of his afternoon relaxing at a sports bar watching NCAA basketball and drinking some beer while Katie and I finished off our day out on the slopes. Definitely not a bad way at all to end a day out skiing, and Katie and I had a really good afternoon together exploring some of the harder runs that she was too intimidated to try the last time we were there. She really came a long way this season... Go Katie!

Taking a little break, snappin some photos

Katie having another really good day so she was all smiles.

Dad making his way down for his final run. 

Katie and I surprisingly stayed out on the slopes til last chair at 4. Somehow our bodies lasted that long even after being out two days already that week. We then met up with my dad at the base and drove our way to Idaho Springs to make the obligatory stop at Beau Jo's for pizza and beer. It was delicious as always! From there we parted ways, and Katie and myself made our way back to Nate's parents' house where we were crashing for a couple nights.

Oh Beau Jo's Pizza, you be so tasty.

This was probably our last day out snowboarding this season, which is crazy! It's crazy to think that the "snowboarding" section of our trip is already over since we had been looking forward to it for so long. It was really, really cool to see how much Katie improved each time we got out. And I had a ton of fun since I had always wanted to trip like this where we could hit up multiple spots on one long trip out West. I don't know if we'll ever be able to do something exactly like this again, but I have a feeling we'll look back fondly at this time adventuring together with friends and family and want to at least try to do something like it again in some capacity. 

Snowboarding at Granby Ranch - Day 2

Our second day of snowboarding at Granby Ranch had just as much sunshine as we had snow the day before. So it was a quite a lovely day. Several of the main trails were groomed, but there were still runs left untouched with chopped up powder leftover from the day before. I was a little worried that the powder would harden up from the cold night, making it less fun to ride in, but luckily the snow stayed just as soft as the day before. 

Group shot on our very sunny second day out.

After a few warm up runs Blake, Katie, and I went over to the more difficult side of the resort to try out the blue and black runs that were a bit more untouched. Katie went off on her own for a bit to run things at her own pace, so Blake and I ventured off together exploring different parts of the mountainside. I did my best to cut into any untouched powder I saw and had a blast doing so. We even decided to try out a run through some trees that looked extra "interesting". As it turns out "interesting" meant extra challenging. We both took some good falls, mostly controlled to avoid running into a tree. But we survived and had good fun.

Blake emerging from the heavy tree section we decided to take.

After our adventures on the harder side of the resort, we met back up with Barbie and my dad to do a couple runs and then head back to the condo for lunch. 

Blake having some fun as he heads in.

Katie RAWRing me as I try to snap a picture

Barbie and her "skiing wing man" for the day...aka my dad... following the rest of us down to lunch.

Google decided to stitch together some pictures to create a scene that didn't really happen all at once. But I still think it looks cool

Katie was doing so awesome she even decided to do some runs through the trees with me. That is where the freshest powder was and she wanted a bit more of a challenge. She killed it!

An aerial shot from the lift of Barbie and my dad

An aerial shot of Blake

Chair lift RAWRs

We did indeed keep a closer eye on the time and got my nephews out of their class right at 3 so that we could have the whole last hour to ski with them. We could see vast improvements even from the day before. Part of it may have been that the groomed trails were easier to navigate. But you could tell their confidence was up too since this was their second day out. They both did awesome. 

Eli wanted do a run with Uncle Brandon and Aunt Katie so he could go fast and not stop as much. So we also rode up on the lift together.

Eli really liked to go fast!

But he was still willing to make some turns to maintain at least some control

Eli finishing off our run together full speed ahead.

Cael wanted me to watch him for a run too, so this meant we also got a chance to ride up on the lift together.

Cael making his way down like a champ with Blake trying to keep up.

Cael didn't spin around and ride down backwards once. In fact he didn't even have a single fall on our run down together. He improved so much from the day before. It was really cool to watch.

Family picture

It was another great day of snowboarding with my family. We ended the day again with some relaxing time in the hot tub, showers, a homemade spaghetti dinner, and more games. Bed time was welcomed by all since we were all worn out from our day of fun activities.

Snowboarding at Granby Ranch - Day 1

After much anticipation, it was finally time to go snowboarding/skiing with my dad, my brother, and his family. It had been quite a few years since I had gone out with my dad, and I'm pretty sure I had never been out with my brother at all. So to get out on the slopes with them and my sister-in-law and two nephews was very exciting for me. 

Katie, my dad, and Blake making their way down the run together

For our first day of snowboarding at Granby Ranch we lucked out and got some very fresh snow on the ground before we even took our first lift. So I was eager to get out. And on top of that it snowed the rest of the day. So we had the real light fluffy snow to float through throughout most of the day.

Barbie, Blake, and my dad on the chair lift behind us. 
You can see how hazy and snowy it was.

Katie taking a break in the fluffy snow.

I made a snowboard angel.

I'm pretty sure Katie and I enjoyed the fresh snow the most. On a snowboard it just feels like you're floating along almost effortlessly down the mountain. Even areas where it had been skied out, the snow was so light it still felt smooth if you kept up your speed. The rest of my family didn't enjoy the fresh snow quite as much. There is a definitely a different technique for riding through powder, and it usually involves less use of your edges, which is what I think they were more used to. At least any falls they had were softened by the snow.

My dad making his way down through the snowy conditions

One other thing worth mentioning was how awesome Katie did on the slopes. She really got her confidence up in Utah with having so many good days. Well this day out things got even better. She really liked the fresh snow. I think part of it was that if she fell it was not very likely to hurt, so she could be more bold in what she tried. And probably an even bigger part was because the fresh snow was just so fun to snowboard through. 

Katie doing awesome

One of the perks of doing this kind of trip at Granby was that the ski in/out condos were very affordable. This means that when we wanted to take a break or go in for lunch we could just stop back into the condo. Our condo wasn't quite as ski in/out as many other condos in the area, but it was a very short walk across the road. This was especially nice the first day since we were all a little bit damp from being snowed on all morning. So while we ate lunch we could let our gear dry.

Barbie, Blake, and my dad making their way down for lunch.

Katie with me on the lift on our way back up to snowboard more after lunch

Barbie enjoying herself as Blake and my dad get ready for the next run.

Cael and Eli spent most of their day in ski school. But their lessons ended just in time to be able to ski the last hour with us before the slopes closed. Well it would have been a full hour had we not lost track of time. But we did manage to get them out for one run with us and we resolved to be more timely picking them up the next day so we could get in a few more.

Eli taking the lead while Blake helped out Cael

Blake and Cael making their way down.
This was Cael's first time down the non-bunny run. He handled it like a champ.

Cael took a few falls, but it was probably mostly due to the awkwardness of the fresh snow. Most of his falls came after spinning around and riding backwards for a few feet. It may not have been intentional but it was still impressive.

Eli zooming his way down the run. 

Eli and Katie waiting for the group to catch up.

And that was our first day of snowboarding/skiing. I was certainly sad when the lifts closed down. There was so much more untouched snow to explore. But it was nice to head in for the night since we had a whole other day on the slopes ahead of us still. That night Katie, my dad, and I made use of the condo hot tub to soothe our tired and sore muscles. Then after showers we all went out to a BBQ place for dinner. It hit the spot. When we got home we played some games including our favorite game we've talked about before: Hanabi! We even taught Cael how to play. Eli watched and learned and played with us the next day. It was a great way to end a lovely day.

Snowboarding in Park City

We've had a great time snowboarding in Park City. Katie and I purchased 3 day passes that we had to use within a 7 day period, so we tried to take full advantage of each day we were out. But the resort is massive. I think even though we tried to catch first lift and stay till most of the lifts closed, we barely even scratched the surface. Here are some pictures from our time snowboarding in Park City.

Group shot on the lift

The rumors are true... Jill can ski!

Katie finding her groove

Jill and Katie making their way down the run together

Almost there

Despite pushing her to try harder runs sometimes, Jill was all smiles.

Katie waiting for me to stop taking pictures.

A much deserved break after a busy morning of boarding/skiing.

A unique view thanks to a gondola ride across what used to be two separate resorts.

The mountainous view off the backside of Park City Resort.

Riding the Orange Bubble Lift where there is a literal orange bubble that comes down to help protect you from the elements. We thought it was quite fun.

I got to have a gondola cabin all to myself, so of course I took a picture.

One of the main things we didn't like about Park City was how flat or even uphill some sections are. Here in the picture Katie did not carry enough momentum to get up to the mid-mountain lift area, so she just took her board off and walked the rest of the way.

Third day out and one of our last runs in Park City, still having a good time.

Taking in the view one last time.

Overall we had a great time snowboarding in Park City. We did not have the greatest conditions, especially the third day, but we still got lots of good runs in. And it was so awesome that we got to spend some time with Jill on the hill as well. I wouldn't rank it as the best place I've ever been snowboarding out West, but it is certainly hard to beat the easy access to so many giant resorts. I would certainly return if the opportunity arose.