Hitched and Rolling

Days 5/6 – Breckenridge, CO

We woke up at Bean’s house on Saturday morning. Bre made some breakfast sandwiches and we cleaned out the van and started some laundry while Bean hit the slopes for a couple morning runs. Jenny is out of town visiting her folks for thanksgiving so we didn’t get to see her unfortunately.

When Bean got back from skiing we all decided to go for a hike. The hike was a solid climb but it was an absolutely beautiful day. We hiked with Bean and his neighbors and friends, Miles and Christy. Duke was loving it. We climbed up almost 1000 feet, starting on a forest service road and then onto a hiking trail. There was a light dusting of snow that was only really present in the shade.

When we got the top Bean requested that we not look to our right hand side until we reached the peak. I complied. The view from the top was stunning. Like a postcard. Duke seemed to enjoy it too. Bean said that he sometimes does this hike before work, and that it usually takes him around an hour. What a way to start the day. Bean has clearly optimized his life for outdoor recreation, and as far as I’m concerned that seems like as good a thing as any around which to optimize. The smell of the forest somehow reminded me that I was out west and the chipmunks eventually caught Duke’s attention as we sauntered back down to our waiting vehicles.

Saturday night was a special night in Breckenridge, at least according to Bean and his friends. There was an annual event taking place, the Friends of CAIC Fundraiser. CAIC stands for Colorado Avalanche Information Center, and is apparently some kind of nonprofit that measures and tracks avalanche conditions. My understanding is that CAIC provides some kind of informational resource that Bean and his Breckenridge ski friends treasure quite dearly. What most of us think of as “skiing” these guys call “resort skiing” which is to say that they distinguish skiing at a resort as merely a subset of the wider sport. What they seem to prefer to “resort skiing” is “ski touring” which, as I understand it, involves climbing up mountains, usually multiple thousands of feet, and then skiing down on one’s own route. Without chairlifts or ski patrol or predetermined runs at all, this group of alpine pioneers depend heavily on the CAIC’s guidance when it comes to figuring out what is safe and what isn’t.

Before heading to the big event we went to a fancy seafood restaurant’s happy hour where we had some delicious oysters. Bean and Miles’ friend, Connor, was our waiter which was really fun because it felt like he was part of our table. After dinner we walked over to the fundraiser. I didn’t really know what to expect. The event was held inside an amphitheater type building and was vaguely reminiscent of a farmers market or a science fair, in the sense that basically all of the activity was divided into “booths”. Many major ski brands were represented by booths, where employees from the brands were giving out free gear. Importantly, there were more than a handful of beer booths, where local and regional beer companies were dispensing their product. Admission to the event came with two free drink tickets and for some reason those tickets flowed suspiciously easily. I’m not really sure where the abundance of tickets came from, but Bean and his friends somehow had seemingly dozens of tickets. The tickets flowed so easily, in fact, that I decided to switch to non-alcoholic beer, for fear of not being able to keep up. I’ll blame the altitude. Either way I think I made the right decision because in the morning I was feeling better than most. 

Sunday morning Bean wanted to go “resort skiing” for a couple runs so Bre and I joined him in taking the town gondola over to the mountain’s base. On the gondola we met an interesting guy named Eric who taught AP Bio at the local high school and was from my hometown of Bethesda, MD. Upon arriving at the resort base, Bean went up for 2-3 runs and Bre and I split a breakfast burrito at a small bar near the lift line. After our activities had wrapped up the three of us reunited and went back down the gondola to the parking lot where we caught the free Breck bus back to Bean’s house.

In the afternoon the three of us took a lovely walk into town where I got some much needed supplies (a new wallet because Duke had eaten mine a few weeks ago, and some sunglasses), and had lunch. On the way into town we took a scenic trail and Bean showed us the town’s new mountain bike course.

After our afternoon stroll we went back to Bean’s and napped. In the evening Bre made a delicious pasta with spaghetti from an amish market we had visited in Ohio and spicy tomato sauce prepared and canned by Bre’s friend Brittnee.

We were all exhausted and hit the hay around 8:30 Sunday night so as to tackle the new week head on. All and all a great weekend in Breckenridge with Bean. We charged up our batteries (literally and metaphorically), did our laundry, showered, and generally basked in the comforts of stationary life. Tomorrow we continue west.