An early start makes a perfect day

Today was my day off. I woke up at 6:45 to prepare the crock pot with Dana for our pork roast dinner. Phil picked me up at 8:00 to head into the Village. It was blue skies and sunny.

[ Looking out the window early morning ]

On arrival to the Village, Phil's car thermometer read -22F. It was cold and dry. We got got onto the gondola shortly after opening and proceeded to hike the "Elevator" to the top of the Crags. There was nobody ahead of us so we broke trail. There were four of us; me, Jacki, Phil, and his roomate Andrew.

[ On the gondola ]

[ Cold and sunny ]

[ Top of the gondola - gearing up for the hike ]

[ Jacki climbing the elevator ]

[ Phil and his roomate Andrew ]

[ Nobody in front of us, nobody behind us ]

[ Jacki ]

[ At the top; Me, Jacki, Andrew ]

[ Everybody this time; Me, Jacki, Andrew, Phil ]

[ Putting on skis for the traverse ]

We dropped into a new section that I had never skied and it turned out to be amazing. We went through a section of rocks that opened up into an incredible wooded section. The snow was light and probably thigh deep. Perfect for dropping off rocks and stumps.

[ Following the ridge to the Crags ]

[ Jacki never stops smiling when she skis ]

[ Almost there ]

[ Me and Andrew getting ready to drop in ]

Afterward we took another lap up the gondola and then a lap on Thunder. We skied until about noon which worked out perfectly...that's when the clouds started to roll in.

I had a relaxing afternoon in town with Brandon. We ran some errands and hung out for a couple of hours. I think it's the first day I've been in town during the day in weeks. It seems like I leave before it's light and get home after dark most days.

An early hike was the perfect way to start the day.