Holiday in the Valley - day 3 - Heavy Snow!!!

Like a kid at Xmas, I rolled excitedly from bed just before 7am and went quickly to the sliding glass door with a view looking out over the slopes. Everything covered in a fresh 4" of snow. And moreover, it was still coming down.

Like the day before, I quickly changed into my running attire and headed out the door for my Ellicottville run. Burrr! It was cold too. It couldn't have been more than 20 degrees. I snapped down a quick cup of orange juice at the buffet then headed out taking the same trail as the morning before. Only this time I took to the opposite side of the street where there was a sidewalk the entire way into town. The only trouble was, it was coated in 4 inches of snow. I hadn't gone 200 yards when I looked up and saw a snow plow coming my way on the sidewalk. After seeing no traffic coming from behind, I quickly bounced out into the street to allow the plow to pass. Only in Ellicottville would they have snow plows for the town's sidewalks! It had belt treads much like the trail groomers.

From that pint forward, the walk was scraped the entire run. I was giddy with excitement for the wintry ski day ahead. For my money, the snow couldn't have come at a more opportune time. I was back by to the room and in the shower by 745am. I alerted Mindy to the freshly fallen snow. She was happy but just a quickly back to sleep. By 805am I was off to breakfast and blogging in the main lodge.

This time I grabbed a table near an electrical outlet so I could blog without worry of losing the battery, which was down to 15% life. The place filled up quickly and two couple joined me at the table. I didn't mind. Soon, Mindy and the kids showed up but had to sit at a table across the room. We laughed that we were both sitting with strangers. Mindy and the kids got the table from the two Columbus guys just as they were leaving.

When the opportunity presented itself, I joined Mindy and the kids. Wednesday's breakfast was all carbs, no eggs or sausage, only waffles, cereal, muffins, bagels. I enjoyed two fresh waffles they were good.

Back in the room we quickly changed into ski attire and were in line at Sunrise by 10am. Jacob was eager to show us his stuff, though figured he would venture back to Creekside to practice his technique. We encouraged as much. Whatever you need to gain more confidence.

He did well enough that he decided to hang with us instead of going to Creekside. We took him down Laurel, Tannenbaum, and eventually Crystal, the first two being more scenic than technically challenging. Jacob was doing progressively better which each ensuing run. In fact, by lunch time, he was turning both to the right and left and completing full runs without stopping. He's still very careful, just as he was on skis, but he was definitely getting the hang of it.

Meanwhile, the snowfall was awesome. At times it snowed so hard one could see only a few feet ahead. It was gorgeous. We played until 1pm when we headed back to the room for lunch. We hung out there for about 60-90 minutes before heading out again. It continued to snow at a remarkable clip making our trip that much more enjoyable. They were making snow all day too, something we anticipated given the lack of ideal conditions up till now. We held out hope that they might open some of the other runs before the end of the week.

We took a late afternoon break in Yodeler after doing Crystal about 5 or 6 times in a row. It's a good run for working on technique. Jacob was showing lots and lots of progress. Unfortunately, Jacob lost one of his wrist guards while de-gearing in Yodeler. We checked in lost and found and back tracked all his steps. Crap. We still owe Kenny $20 for the pair. Not wanting to risk a wrist injury, Mindy headed into the Yodeler gear shop to see if they sold them there. They did. In fact, they were only $15.

As evening set in, the crowds thinned. If there's one thing we've learned about Holiday Valley, the crowds, no matter how big, tend to leave as darkness sets in. We skied until about 5pm before going in for another hot tub break with the promise of heading back out for more skiing soon after.

Once again, Jacob opted not to hot tub. It was just Mindy, Bella and me. This time Bella befriended two boys in the pool and was playing monkey in the middle. We did the same thing as the day before, hot tubbed for 20 minutes then hopped in the sauna for about 10 more  minutes.

I enjoyed another beer before gearing up and heading back to the slopes. I had a good buzz! We skied until almost 8pm with Jacob doing Cindy's top to bottom for the very first time. Mindy and I let Jacob & Bella lift and ski together for the first time. They did well. No fighting/bickering that we could see.

I showed everybody the short cut back to our room, which was to ski to the south end of our building. Saving us about 5 steps and several paces to our front door. Mindy showered. I only freshened up before heading to the Depot for dinner. Jacob was equally excited about the dining at the Depot.

Even though the Depot is within eyeshot, Mindy wanted to drive. After all, it was cold and snowy. However, before heading out, and for the first time all winter, we had to scrape and warm the Pilot. I enjoyed every second of it, too. A novelty if you will.

We were seated at the window table again. We've been to the Depot maybe four times and have been seated at the window table three times. This is the place adorning all the Stone's memorabilia as well as many, many others. I was bummed to learn that they were out of the Southern Tier Old Man. None of the other beers sounded remotely good. I opted instead for a Jack & Coke. The kids each ordered Mt Dew. Mindy had a Sam Adams Winter lager. I was surprised when all four of us declared an hankering for wings.

Jacob and I split a basket of 20 hot while Mindy and Bella split a basket of 20 mild. They were quite good. I drank two Jack & Cokes through dinner. And yes, it was still snowing.  I drove us back to the room which again was right across the street.

I opted for only water once back in the room to further ensure another easy early rise. I'll bet all of us were out by 1030pm. Good night snow fall!