Mindy & Bella Learning a Lesson

It was 10 degrees when I woke near 7am. Snowed a little more overnight too. Met David in the Inn lobby. At the time, he was the only person in the lobby enjoying the free breakfast and coffee. Said he’d been in the lobby since 530am. Had to laugh. Enjoyed a quick cup of coffee then headed out for my run. Ran the same old route into town and back. Cold but comfortable.

Back in the room by 8am. Soon off to breakfast. Pretty sure that David was off to the slopes before the rest of us. Mindy & Bella had private lessons booked for 1030am. They headed that way while I met David atop Sunrise. Snow was plentiful and powdery. Coming down really hard too. Loved the powder. I consider myself blessed to get powder in NY two years in a row. Rare!

David and I skied lots of runs: Independence, Champagne, Morning Star, Eagle, etc. David fell a few times and as a result was a tad discouraged. The deep snow was a new challenge for him. One of those days when the snow/slopes dictates how one skis. Oddly, Champagne was hard and crusty. We later learned they had some overnight snow making problems on Champagne as well as others.

The time went fast. Got a text from Jacob around 11am sharing that he was ready to meet us. David and I skied over to meet him at the bottom of Sunrise. In the end, I headed back to the room to fetch my flask of rum. David and I planned to mix it with his Bailey’s. At the same time, David swapped goggle lenses to the brilliant yellow for better visibility. We ran into both Mindy & Bella on Sunrise with their instructors. Did our best to leave them be so not to disrupt their lessons. My job was to meet Bella at HV lodge at 1140am. Mindy’s lesson was set to go until noon.

By the time we had Jacob in the fold and skied back over to Cindy’s (just outside the HV lodge), it was 1140am and time to meet Bella. I didn’t have to wait long. She and her instructor, Bob, were soon within eyeshot. I thanked Bob after he gave me a quick overview of Bella’s progress. I didn’t tip him. Wasn’t sure if that was expected, or if Mindy had already done so ahead of time. Before heading inside the lodge for lunch, Bella and I quickly perused the ski shop. I bought nothing. We headed up to the top level of the HV lodge hoping to meet David & Anita in the T-bar. But much to my dismay, the T-bar was closed. At first I supposed it wasn’t set to open until noon, but an HV employee shared what we feared, only opened on weekends moving forward. Boo-hoo! We headed down a level to the ULR bar area, which looks much more pedestrian, but still serves good beer. The biggest difference is that the food is from the cafeteria. We got one of the very last tables in the common area.

Shortly after 12 noon Mindy met us there. That was just after David and I fetched beers at the ULR bar. Having drank S.T. IPA all week, I decided to have something different. Went with the S.T. XXmas ale. Very spicy! Mindy took the kids to the cafeteria to get food. I asked that she get me something hearty – her choice. She opted not to drink. Wanted to hydrate instead. We hung out there for an hour or so. For the first time all week, and something I almost never do, I unbuckled my ski boots. Felt good to let the dogs bark!

Headed back out for more skiing fun. At times through the afternoon the snowfall was extreme. The forecast said we should expect as much as 8” of new snow. And because it was so cold, only about 10 degrees, it was all powder! We skied hard for a couple more hours. David took a couple more spills, his spirits somewhat dampened with the tougher conditions. He later shared that he now understood what I’d told him prior, that sometimes the snow or hill conditions dictate how you ski versus just letting it rip on the groomers. But I was still impressed with his skiing. By no means would anyone guess him a beginner. More than anything, his legs were tired.

Speaking of tired legs, all of us were tuckered even before 4pm. I’m pretty sure we headed back to the Inn around 345pm, though Mindy & I agreed that after hot tubbing, we’d be coming back out for some night skiing. Both kids were quickly in bed and asleep. Mindy & I headed to the hot tub with our cooler in tow. This time we took the growler of Bodhi we bought on Saturday, December 21st. It was so cold on the deck that it was slushy!

Just as it was all week, the hot tub was a hoot. Met lots of cool folks, most from Canada – ehh! We outlasted all of them, but I’m not so sure that’s a good thing. We were pruned beyond recognition.  OK, that’s an exaggeration. David met us in the hot tub however briefly. Said he talked with some folks on their way back to their rooms that asked him if he was with the chatty couple in the hot tub. Really, Mindy being called chatty? Before heading back to the room, Mindy and I spent another 10 minutes in the dry sauna.

Now nearing 6pm, we were back to the room. Both kids were sound asleep. Despite the cold, as promised, we slipped back into our ski gear and headed out for some more turns. By then it was only about 5 degrees. We dressed for it though, and quite frankly, I was comfortable. We were supposed to meet David out there too, but he got out ahead of us. And just as we were heading up the Sunrise lift, we got a glimpse of him peeling off the trail and back to his ski-in room. Just prior, I caught a quick glance of him skiing somewhat awkwardly. Later he and Mindy agreed that he had a case of spaghetti legs. It’s good to know when to say when!!!!!

Mindy and I skied several runs and had an absolute blast. Not only were there next to no lift lines but despite the continuous snow, skiing under the lights enhanced visibility. We skied 6 or 7 runs making our way all the way over to Tannenbaum before heading back. All totaled, we skied only for about an hour, but it was very efficient thanks to no crowds. Time to shower and ready for dinner, which we tentatively made plans for John Harvard’s @ the Tamarack.

The kids were finally awake but still in bed. To speed things up (wink-wink) Mindy and I showered together. That felt great! David agreed to drive to dinner. Said he’d pick us up outside our room. He had to scrape and warm the Prius first, though. The kids decided not to join us. Wanted to lounge in bed, instead. They asked that we bring back Burger King. Sure!

Cold, cold! About a 30 minute wait for dinner at J.H.s. No biggie. While waiting, I enjoyed a S.T. IPA. Mindy gave Anita the nickel tour of the Tamarack. Can’t recall our servers name, but she was young and new. Very nice – sweet. I went with the meatloaf and taters – comfort food. Had a 2nd beer, too. Pretty sure that everyone enjoyed their meals. Still haven’t tried the Sheppard’s pie which seems to be on the all local menus. Sounds good, though. Maybe next time. David graciously picked up the dinner check. Thanks David! During dinner David shared that he was enjoying skiing, but could never love it like I do. Said he prefers golf. Reading between the lines, he had a tough day on the slopes. And knowing his personality, he expected better results from himself – his own biggest critic. I only offered a few words of encouragement.

By the time diner was in the bag, it had to near 9pm. And by then, just the rest of the week, I was all but ready for bed. However, we still had to stop at the Burger King directly across the street from the Inn to pick-up food for the kids. There must’ve been 5 or 6 cars in the drive-thru line so I headed inside to get their food. Long wait for the chicken tenders – as much as 25 minutes. I was patient. As one might expect, most of the clientele were teens or young 20 somethings.

Called it a night. David & Anita dropped us off at our room. Good night! See ya for breakfast. Shared our plan to pack and load for home before skiing come the AM. David shared that they were all but packed already and that he would likely hit the slopes before loading the car. It was expected to be really cold come morning – subzero cold.