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| Snowbird had a variety of condos and resorts close by- ours was
called Hellgate, but it was much nicer than I imagine the Gates of
Hell to be. |
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| The interior of our condo was decorated in a very rustic, mountainy
style. Krissy aptly described it as the "Grandma's Basement Look".
There were little wooden carvings of skiers, dolls, dusty National
Geographic magazines, and comfortably lived-in furniture. |
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This was the view that greeted us every morning (with varying degrees
of snow and fog)... not bad at all. |
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We parked right across the street, in a Superior Snow Avalanche
Area. Sweet. At least it was a rental car...
Hellgate had a shuttle that ran to both the nearby ski areas (Snowbird
and Alta) and the people were very cool and accomodating to our
often-uncertain schedule. I would return to Hellgate in a second-
everything was great, and we saved a lot of money compared to the
big resorts just a quarter mile up the road. We even had a hot tub
in the basement, which came in very useful. Visit www.hellgate-alta.com
if you might find yourself in Utah sometime soon!
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| We had terrific weather- fresh powder every day, with intermittant
fog that would settle in and then burn off over the course of an hour.
This is the top of Chickadee, the little run for young kids and those
just learning to ski or snowboard. |
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On our first day at the mountain, the classes were full, so we,
being the intrepid snowboard students that we were, decided to just
rent the gear and give it a shot on our own. |
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Note the excited smile, rosy cheeks, and relaxed posture... Chickadee
was ours to conquer! |
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| "Whoa... WHOA!! .... HOLY- OOF!" |
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| Making down the hill without any major injuries and without mowing
down any little kids became a notable accomplishment. But bit by bit,
we did start to learn a little... |
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| For example, don't try to take pictures while on your board. At
least not yet. |
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| If crashing were an art, I'd be the unsung genius with minor head
trauma... |
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From our little bunny hill, we could see the big scary mogul double
black diamond runs that other people were enjoying. The whole ski
resort scene was new to me, and it was great people watching. The
place was crawling with good looking guys, but my options for opening
lines were limited...
"Oh, you're going to go down Thunder Basin and Satan's Bedroom
and Dead Man's Pass? Ok, well I'll head back over to Chickadee,
where I'll crash getting off the lift and maybe catch up with you
later..."
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Our second day, we got into a class taught by Krista (awesome teacher
from Atlanta) and a bunch of girls determined to learn this snowboarding
stuff.
Most of us had at one time or another suffered through a "lesson"
by a boyfriend or spouse, which usually involved renting a board
and ending up on top of a hill with instructions like "Don't
be afraid to go fast." and "Just lean back a little...
now turn... turn! TURN! TURN NOW!!" ("HOW???") and
"Ooo, that looked like it hurt. Don't do that again."
We were all at the same level, though, and had a great session
where we pretty much mastered our toe and heel edges. Progress,
at last!!
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Remember that fog I mentioned? Now you see the mountain... |
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Now you don't. |
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| Our second day of lessons had us connecting our turns and doing
s-curves down Chickadee. Woohoo! For anyone wanting to learn, I'd
advise lessons (or learning from a compassionate person who took lessons)
and several consecutive days of practice (crashing) to really get
a feel for your momentum and balance. Once it comes together, you've
got it, and suddenly you realize how much MORE fun (and less tiring)
it is to make it all the way down the hill without tumbling. |
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| But really... as you lie there, scooping snow out of your ears,
wiggling fingers and toes to check for paralysis, you can't help but
think that of all the places to be sustaining repetitive bodily damage,
this one must have some of the best scenery. |
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| Finish off the day with a soak in the hot tub, a cup of coffee with
a dash of Bailey's, and a nice fuzzy blanket. |
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| As a bonus, our condo had a fireplace, as seen here from the loft
bedroom. |
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| Sadly, we did eventually have to leave our little rustic haven and
head back to civilization. The sun was blazing and the sky was clear
the day we left, and the fact that we'd finally mastered the basics
made it even tougher to pack it in. |
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We had some time to kill in Salt Lake City before our flights left,
so we visited the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints temple. |
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| The architecture was amazing anyway, but to think that it was built
over a 40-year period in the 1800s made it even more incredible. |
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| The gold statue on top is an angel whose name I can't remember... |
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| Right across the street from the temple was the Conference Center,
where the Tabernacle Choir practices and performs, and which also
played a big role in the Winter Olympic Games, held in Salt Lake City
in 2002. |
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| The auditorium was astounding. It seats over 21,000 people and,
being only four years old, is full of high-tech digital controls and
features. Photos don't really convey the immensity of this room- it
was amazing. |
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The rooftop of the conference center is a giant garden with fountains,
benches, and reflecting pools, not to mention a pretty incredible
view. |
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I suppose the fleeting nature of vacations is part of what makes
them so great. If we woke up every day to the beautiful Utah scenery,
we'd probably grow so accustomed to it that we couldn't help but
take it for granted. I'd be willing to give it a shot, though.
But I'll probably wait until the bruises fade.
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