When you get more than a generous amount of snowfall in your city, why would your vacations also revolve around snow. Well, in your own city, you have to clean up the drive way, and clean up your car and drive to work, every day. You tend to forget that snow can be fun too,given the fact Winters stretch for a cool 7 months. So you need to take off every now and then and pack in some fun. Go and get some Rocky Mountain High.
That's exactly what we did. We had made our reservations to go Snowmobiling in the Breckenridge area of the Summit County of Colorado. Its a beautiful Ski town, picture perfect in every way. It was a regular weekend. Two of Hubby's colleague's (Arka and Subha), who also lived close by, decided to join us in all the fun in the snow. We started off from Kansas City in a Friday evening in March 2010. A seven hour drive to take us straight to our motel. yes, those were pre baby days.
As the weather forecast had been clear, we had rented a sedan to take us to the mountains. But all the clear weather, gave way to a nasty blizzard. We took frequent breaks, but we knew we had to go on, as our reservations for the snowmobiling were at 9 am,and we just had the night to make the trip.
By the time we reached the motel, the sun was on it way up. We took a quick shower and went straight for the Motel Buffet. Hot Sausage and eggs surely can do wonders for sleep deprived folks, who want to go ahead with their plans of adventure sports. The blizzard had dumped a fresh load of snow on the slopes. We had been asked to wear clothes,which were water resistant as the snow mobiles can go quite deep into the snow at times. So we were dressed in ski pants and a few layers below our water proof jackets. The Ski pants were a great idea, I must tell you. Once you're toasty, in extreme weather, you are ready to have fun.
We had to drive to the Snow Mobile Base Camp of the company operating the tours. I did not have my driver's license at that time, so I had to ride pillion with my husband. I did not seem to mind. My Vertigo had already started to raise its ugly large head. We got fitted for helmets and water proof boots. Some complimentary hot chocolate and then it we started off with our cameras ready.
Our tour instructor and guide was Chuck. He started off by showing us the basic operations of teh snow mobile and how to signal if anyone got stuck anywhere. He explained to us that we would have to drive in a single file up the powdery tree lined slopes up to the Alpine meadows up above. It was just like loads of and loads of fresh powder had been dumped by a giant talc maker. Once we reached the Continental Divide, then all the snow mobilers could drive as fast as they wanted to, but stick to their lanes. It packs in the most beautiful views of the Colorado Rockies and their highest peaks,in all their splendor. And then we would have to make our way down. Chuck was leading the party of 10 riders.
We started off well. Loads of pictures were taken. But then our friend Arka, who was right behind Chuck, had strayed off on the side and with just a bit of reckless driving. The snow mobile endured some injuries but thankfully Arka was safe. Chuck had to go to rescue not only Arka from the deep snow but also fix the snow mobile, so that the tour could continue. I have a candid video where they boys are all talking about how their buddy got stuck. I must say all the boys are very camera shy and kept mumbling the same thing over and over again. I was more interested in having them talk about how big an adrenaline rush the ride was,but they were lost for words I guess.
You wanna know how deep the snow was, where we got stuck? Take a look. If the 6 foot plus man is so deep in the snow, think of me.
It was time to drive again. The gradient was changing at every turn. The slopes were lined by trees,where Chuck showed us many bear claw marks. Bears like to sharpen their claws on the trunks of some trees and they leave behind pretty deep marks. As we got higher and higher, the wind seemed to have increased its bite on our faces.
I took one turn at the the Continental Divide, where the snow mobiles were driving in full throttle. But I must add that as a pillion rider, its hard on your butt to endure those speeds in that cold weather. So I decided to explore a bit on foot, while the boys went on another run. Knowing me, I found some canine friends soon enough, who surely gave me a lot of company.
Once you had reached the summit, its hard to miss the breathtaking view which is all around. In those days, IPhone did not come with the panorama camera option. If you took a total 360 degree turn,from where you were standing. the grandeur of the Rockies would have you floored. The snow covered mountains almost had a purple and pink glow at some places, where the sunlight was creating its magic . The best of the Colorado Rockies was there in front of you and we could have literally stood there for hours, admiring them. But when you are on a tour, time ticks faster.
The drive down seemed a bit giddy for me,as I was riding pillion,and not exactly enjoying the adrenaline rush of the driver. It was almost like a roller coaster ride, when you begin to go down the snow covered slopes. I was glad that I had taken my motion sickness medication.
Once in town we hit the Outlet Mall for some shopping and generally walked around the picturesque ski town. For our dinner, we decided to go with some local recommendation. Our instructor Chuck had recommended we head to the historic joint known as THE MINT. We did just that and I have a whole post dedicated to how fun and interactive our dinner was.
The next morning it was time to drive back to Kansas City, but we did stop at the Monument Rocks in Kansas. Am sure that calls for another post,as we ventured into Canyon territory once again with that detour.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THE POST:
DINNER AT THE MINT : http://journotalk.blogspot.com/2011/11/staking-it-for-steak.html
SNOWMOBILING IN BRECKENRIDGE: http://www.breckenridgesnowmobiling.com/index.html
