How We Survived Our First Winter in the Mountains

This year during our roving retirement, we spent Christmas until the beginning of March in the mountains of Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. Our intent was to ski in the US because we couldn’t ski in Europe as planned. Here are our impressions of our time in the mountains. Specifics on various locations can be found in these articles, Crested Butte a Genuine Old West Town, Telluride is Bougie and Beautiful, Beaver Creek and Never Fail Vail, Hanging Out in Breckenridge and Frisco Colorado in the Winter, and Singing on the Slopes of Park City.

The Grand Plan

Ever since Diana and I met in Apres Ski Club, skiing for an entire season has been on the bucket list for me. Diana had skied the prior winter in Megeve France, so I could barely wait for my turn.

The original idea for this winter was for a couple of weeks in Tahoe and Utah followed by a European Ski Vacation, hopefully without too many Griswold moments. But Covid closed access to skiing in Europe, so Plan B was an Epic Pass Ski Tour of the Western US. Armed with our season passes, we would roll from town to town from Christmas to Easter, taking in the best of what we found.

Diana’s ACL injury forced her out of Ski Queen contention for this year, but we chose to hit our planned spots anyway. I was able to get more days in and we could both survey the various towns for visiting another year.

Timeshares Rock

We spent 5 of the 9 weeks in timeshares, at an average cost to us of $140/night. These were all ski-in/ski-out, 1 or 2 bedroom units with full kitchens at mid-to-high quality facilities. Most places even had a free ski valet close the lift. We rented two of the weeks and stayed where we owned or traded for the others.

This is why I keep extolling the virtues of owning or renting a timeshare. Just a basic hotel room in these places ran $300-900/night. If you can work it right, there is great value and comfort to be found in a timeshare condo with a full kitchen.

Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’

Our normal (non-winter) rolling stock fits in two school-size backpacks, two roll-aboard bags, and one 24″ checked bag. The winter version adds skis, boots, and winter wear for two. I’ve become pretty good with playing bag Tetris on bell carts and in rental cars, but it is quite a load.

One downside to this plan was we seemed to be constantly moving. We found ourselves in a new bed roughly every 5 days since we left Nice at the end of November. We’ll be looking to move ourselves and our stuff less frequently going forward.

“37 Days In The Boots” by Colonel Blue Feet

We were hoping that taking every third day off from skiing would be enough rest. That didn’t really work for us. Although my ski legs did come back after the first week, 37 days on the hill took its toll. Next year, we’ll target 3 days of 5 or so. Of course, the best-laid plans… Freshies will NOT be ignored. It should be noted that everywhere we went, the locals took the opportunity to tell us what a crappy snow year this was. So there is more snow to look forward to.

I was able to warm my core and soothe sore muscles with hot tub time (covid permitting). But owing to her injury, Diana couldn’t participate. As the winter wore on, the constant cold grew tiresome. Perhaps next year we’ll scoot down to Mexico for a mid-season winter break.

Another downside to spending so long in the high mountains is the dry skin and noses. Both of us had issues with dry, cracked hands and nose bleeds, but Diana is more bothered by this than I am. Additionally, Diana felt mild altitude sickness periodically despite being at elevation for a long period of time.

The Rockies Are Beautiful In Winter

Not really a surprise, but touring Utah and Colorado provided spectacular winter views. We were treated to beautiful mountains, valleys, and rivers around many bends. The charming towns welcomed us. The snow-bound aspen groves delighted. We never tired of catching a glimpse of wildlife in-situ. Great nature to behold.

Where would you like to spend winter?