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Arrive and depart from Aspen Airport |
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No "go-arounds" here - this 7000' runway at 8000' is nestled right in the mountains between the city of Aspen and Snowmass Village. |
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Welcome to Snowmass Village and excellent skiing |
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We had lots of snow, a little sun, and a very good time! Keep lookin' - we'll show you. |
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Let's go skiing! |
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Kyle was off for a lesson his first day. After that, he became the group leader, that we tried our best to keep up with! |
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John and Gene with view of Big Burn in background |
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First day, while Kyle was in his lesson, John, Carlos, Gene and Joe skied the mountain. In these pictures, we are at mid-mountain, below the Big Burn |
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Gene and John at Ullrhof's |
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Ullrhof's is a popular mid-mountain restaurant, known to our group as Marty's (if for no other reason, it's easier to spell) |
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John, Pepe and Carlos |
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Nice hat, Pepe! |
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View of upper floors of our guest house |
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Thanks to the generosity of the owners, Ray and Judy Niro, we have had use of their beautiful home in Snowmass for over 20 years now! This used to be the main home, but... |
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Main house from guest house driveway |
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...Now the larger main house sits to the west of the guest house |
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Expert on day two, of course! |
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Ok, day two begins, Kyle has had his lesson, and he begins to lead the way! |
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Only Kyle's second day |
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A wrong turn here will lead you to Campground's black diamond runs! We took the easier route... |
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Here comes Kyle! |
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Skiing fast on his second day. Make sure to check out video clips, below |
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View from skiing down toward the village |
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Gene and Kyle above the village |
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Gene and Kyle on peak of Elk Camp |
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Kyle was doing well, so we moved from the west side of the mountain to the east side, and went all the way up to the top of the mountain - Elk Camp, one of the greatest views anywhere on earth. |
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Gene and Kyle on peak of Elk Camp |
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A nice day, but some clouds obscured some of the spectacular view. |
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Kyle on peak of Elk Camp |
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By the way, we are at 11,325 feet above sea level here |
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Kyle on peak of Elk Camp |
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No fear, just "lets go!" |
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Kyle and Gene on Peak of Elk Camp |
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Looking east here, toward Long Shot |
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Gene and Kyle on peak of Elk Camp |
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View skiing down Elk Camp |
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Now we begin to ski down the great Elk Camp runs. View here to the north |
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View skiing down Elk Camp |
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Gene and Kyle skiing down Elk Camp |
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Notice the powder - "piece of cake" for Kyle! |
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Outdoor lunch at Suzanne's below Elk Camp |
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We did not get as much sun and warmth as we hoped, but Saturday was nice and we lunched outdoors. |
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View from breakfast bar |
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Back to the house after skiing |
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Dinner and a movie |
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Gene impressed us with his culinary skills for two dinners - here Kyle and Betty relax watching a movie. Sorry - this is a cell phone picture, so quality is limited |
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Weber grill snow covered on patio outside kitchen |
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A fox visits us |
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Notice the heated and snow-free patio! |
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On his way ... |
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But he or a friend stopped by another day! |
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Down to see the working dogs |
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One day after skiing we took a trip down to Krabloonik to see the sled dogs. |
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Krabloonik |
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You can pick out Kyle in the yellow |
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Krabloonik |
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In addition to skiing, you can take a dog-sled tour through the mountains |
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Kyle on the gondola up to Elk Camp |
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Snowmass had made many improvements, some contraversial, but this new gondola which replaced the slow, cold lift up funnel is a winner! |
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Wise guys riding the gondola with us |
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Twins? Can anyone tell these two apart? |
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Joe tries his best to keep up with Kyle |
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Homage paid on Naked Lady run |
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Naked Lady is one of the nicest intermediate runs near the center of the mountain. As we guys do each year, we stopped at the appropriate spot to pay homage. |
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Boys playing in the snow on Sneaky's |
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Back over to the west side, Kyle zipping down the blue run on the Big Burn (elevation: 11,835') - see video clip, below. |
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Kyle and Gene at Ullrhof's
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Warming up with hot chocolate after a blustery, cold moring of skiing through blowing snow. |
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Carlos at Ullrhof's
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Champion "shredder" (snow-boarder) who thought Kyle would join him on the "dark side," but Kyle saw the light and stayed with skis. |
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Kyle and Joe at Ullrhof's
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John and Betty at Ullrhof's
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Joe and Betty in John's eyes |
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Gene and Kyle about to enter the woods |
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Read closely, Joe and Gene could only enter if accompanied by a responsible child, so Kyle got us into the woods. He took the tunnel he found, but the bigger boys skied around it! |
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An older ski lift as a resting bench |
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While we were waiting to be picked up to go home at end of the day |
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New white bear and front window view |
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in the living room at Niro's |
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Bears guard the fireplace |
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Our happy group of Skiers... |
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John, Betty, Carlos and Joe across the back
Gene and Kyle in front |
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Return in the summertime? |
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This shows the only approach into ASE, bascially following Rt. 82 southeast with Buttermilk and Highlands in the background. Departing flights take off the other way, to the northwest. |
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