Breckenridge
Sunday 2 January 2005

Weather

Conditions

Story of the Day

For day 2, we chose Breckenridge. After a great deal of careful checking of web sites, we found the best deal on lift tickets and purchased multi-day tickets from the machine the hotel lobby. We were up early and had plenty of time, which was a good thing because finding the parking at Breckenridge was not easy. We followed signs towards Peak 9 close-in parking but that was full. Eventually, we found our way to the Peak 8 base. The signposts were not at all clear. It did have the virtue of being real close-in parking. It was only a few yards from where we parked to the ticket booth. At the start of the day, the weather conditions were excellent, with sun shining from a cloudless sky. Parking much closer this time. Worked out best deal on lift tickets.

On our first run, we realised that the weather was deceptive. Despite the sun it was really cold.

Nicely groomed snow under Colorado lift	Groomed snow under Colorado lift
The top of Colorado Super Express lift	Spruce

After the first run, we decided to cross to Peak 7 and explore the runs there. After one more cruise, we decided to try the nicely spaced trees and bushes in Ore Bucket to the left of the main runs. This was very pleasant with good snow conditions. We did find ourselves at the top of a rather steep rocky section, but a short traverse got us to somewhere more comfortable. The run out on Monte Cristo was much less pleasant. It had not been groomed overnight and the uneven top surface was frozen hard.

The top of Independence Chair on Peak 7	The top of Independence Chair
Ungroomed terrain in Ore Bucket

Going up Independence chair, there seemed to be a short ungroomed area with a few trees near the top. Following our success on Ore Bucket we decided to try that. Again, snow was in good condition and we dropped out part way down Lincoln Mead for the run to the bottom.

Independence Chair through the trees	Independence Chair through the trees
Terrain under the top of Independence Chair	The top of Independence Chair

After a few more runs on Peak 7, we were forced to return to Peak 8 to answer a call of nature. There are no facilities in Peak 7.

Vista Haus restaurant

Colorado chair and Vista Haus

After a brief stop for the loo and a drink of water, we headed across the resort towards Peak 10. From the top of left E, we took Sizzler, despite warnings at the top of bare patches and rocks. This was not a great problem.

The top of E lift

The top of E lift

On Peak 10 we looked carefully at The Burn, an area of trees. The snow conditions looked pretty good, so we decided to give it a try. Skiing was comfortable at the top but much steeper with trees closed together at the bottom. We survided, but did not go back for more!

Chris about to turn into "The Burn"

Ten Mile Station restaurant

After a brief stop for coffee, we took an interesting run down to the bottom of Peak 9. There was a warning at the top of the run about poor conditions; this time the notice was more than justified. The run was rated green and there were people starting from the top in snowplough turns. There was not enough snow and the beginners were in for a nasty surprise part way down, where there was a very poor section with a bumpy chicane and a long almost flat run out. We managed to keep going. Others were facing a long walk.

Quicksilver a high speed six-pack lift serves the main nursery slope in the resort. The lift may be high speed, but stopped frequently to cope with pile ups at the top.

Broad slopes under Quicksilver	Broad slopes under Quicksilver
Under Quicksilver

Back over in Peak 8 we traversed across until we found a run that looked interesting. Rounders is rated black, but apart from one steep section in the middle, did not justify its rating.

Grooming

Back at the top of Rocky Mountain we took another black run Little Johnny. This proved to be ungroomed moduls and some bushes, so as soon as we were able, we crossed across to Rounders.

The queues on the two express lifts from Peak 8 base were quite long, so we looked for an alternative route to get to the Vista Haus for lunch. We started with the slow Lift 5 and then skied down to the midload on Peak 8 Super Connect.

Outside Vista Haus

After lunch we headed back to Peak 7 for a few more runs until our legs gave out. We made it a little longer than on the previous day.

Peak 8 base area

Peak 8 base area

Back at the hotel, we were in for a shock. When we got back to our room, we were told that we needed to move, because the 2nd floor was about to be refurbished. To compensate we were offered a "loft suite" in the area where refurbishment was complete. We were not convinced that our room was quite finished, with the shower head hanging off the wall, bare wires and broken heating units. We did have a larger room, but with a spiral staircase to get to the bedroom. Later in the week this proved to be difficult. Initially, we found that the wireless network did not work, but eventually, contacted technical support and got it sorted out.

Our renovated room!	Our renovated room!
Our renovated room!	Our renovated room!

Runs

Last updated: 7th February 2007