Mother Nature Delivers for Christmas

We are sitting in front of the fire, bundled in our t-shirt quilts, and exhausted from a great week. Mother Nature timed this one perfectly. It all started on Monday afternoon with a several day storm that dumped at least 4 feet in the mountains, including our neighborhood. The sun came out on Christmas Eve, then another storm arrived for Christmas before the cold temps settled in over the weekend.

We had to work earlier in the week, but snowblowing and shoveling kept us entertained. We did three separate snowblow sessions on Tuesday and after a mechanical issue on Wednesday morning, had to do a couple more to keep the front clear. Meanwhile, I shoveled the back in hour-long workout sessions. The last few years we haven't had much snow, but this storm system reminds us of winters past and we are hopeful for 2016.

Skiing over Christmas break is usually a challenge. You need to get to the mountain early and ski hard before the crowds really start building around 11. The severe weather this week helped keep the crowds away, but there were still days that our patience was tested. In fact, the issue is not the tourists but Vail's management of Park City. I'm trying to be positive and give them a chance to improve, but the inefficiencies and lack of leadership are extremely frustrating. It's a common topic on the chairlift, especially with the locals. For now, it seems the best plan of attack is to fill out the email surveys and hope they take notice.

We are very thankful to Mother Nature and our local ski resorts for giving us this amazing playground out our front door. Seeing photos from friends on the East Coast and Europe, we realize how fortunate we are to have a white Christmas. We just wish they had come to visit so we could share a few powder turns and laughs with them to celebrate the holidays. Plus, some help with the shoveling would have been nice!