1st Ski in Vail, Colorado
Page 3: April 5, 2008

Ski Time! I along with Patrick have never skied. I have water skied once. So this should be interesting. I had a ski coat, ski goggles, ski gloves and was just going to wear jeans. Patrick visited one of the shops to pickup outer wear and all other items he would need for the trip. In the parking deck was a ski shop where we rented the ski gear. That would prove to be a BIG MISTAKE. Because of our level of experience we would all have to walk 2 miles each way to where we get instructor training. YOU DO NOT WANT TO WALK ANY DISTANCE IN SKI BOOTS; I WILL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN. Bill Caskey was the only one out of the four of us who has skied. So he would make a run, check up on us, take a couple of embarrassing pictures and then return to the slopes. For $109.99 each, I purchased lift tickets and an introductory ski class. I was just going to buy lift tickets and learn on the fly, but the girl working behind the counter (who ironically enough was also from Marietta, GA) talked us into taking an introductory ski class on a bunny hill. While a little rude, Atlanta style, she probably saved my life, or at least a few bones. The training class which I expected to last about an hour or two lasted a total of three hours. Our instructor pictured far below in Blue actually had me skiing relatively very well on the Bunny Hill. I will have to wait for another day for the larger slopes as I was completely dead at the end of this and knew I had another 2 mile walk (or preferably a helicopter airlift) back to my shoes and the car. I think I was suffering a little altitude sickness in hindsight. Someone mentioned that earlier and I laughed as I have been to the top of Pikes Peak before, but he may have been right. The whole afternoon brief light snow showers passed through, adding a little fun. While the temperature was around 22 degrees, because the air was so dry, it felt like the lower 50s or the 40s in temperature. I got a little hot in the ski coat. While I was completely dead at the end, skiing was very fun and I will try to do it again once a year. Colorado was a great place to ski because of the Dry air.

One Side Note: Patrick and I left Vail to head to Aspen, CO for our haunted room for the night. Bill’s girlfriend had so much fun they stayed the whole weekend and she got three days of lessons and is now doing great. While in classes they meet another Atlanta Resident, who I dated a little as a friend during the summer of 2008, but because of our conflicting travel schedules it did not work out. She traveled on weekends for work and I traveled during the week for work.
Good Luck C.. !

Paul J. Lossner