Pinch me! I must be dreaming...more....
Most every day we wake up, look out the window and shake our heads with the thought that "Wow, we actually live here!?!?" With the amazing mountains, weather, recreational and cultural opportunities, outstanding school systems and strong community ties there is not much more one could ask for. Sometimes we take it for granted and it is actually not until we travel elsewhere that it really hits home that this place is "really special". As East Coast transplants we sometimes miss the ocean, but more that lack of lobster to cook on the beach around a roaring fire, however Amazon has made that all more accessible (the lobster, but not the ocean part - yet). The trade-off though has been amazing and we never looked back as every day we continue to embrace all that is offered here and we have only just tipped the surface. Ski resorts as a whole have fared well across the country this year. The East Coast has had an abundance of snow, and skiers & riders have flocked back after a year of basically no snow. Killington hosted the women's World Cup race in November to crowds in excess of 30,000 over 2 days; a real testament to snowmaking and community coming together to make it happen. Mammoth Mountain and the Sierras have already received over 50 feet of snow and Mammoth has announced it is staying open for skiing and riding until at least July 4. The traffic on I-70 to Vail and other front range resorts continues to grow, the Winter Park Train has been incredibly well received by Denver skiers and running at capacity. Utah Ski areas are experiencing strong seasons and I witnessed that first-hand while visiting my daughter Presidents' weekend as the crowds and traffic were in full bloom. And, with positive winters all around it is so great to see Aspen stand alone and be such a positive influence on the community as well as to others while providing such an amazing recreational experience. While November started off slow it has been amazing since with a strong January, Christmas week and XGames went off without a hitch and the community and resort prepares for the world to see Aspen in March with the World Cup Finals. It was also great to hear that Aspen continued to show good will even to its competitors, when recently Jackson Hole Resort had a bad break with a prolonged power outage that shut down the resort for 4 days (unheard of for that length of time). During that power outage Aspen Ski Co allowed any Jackson Hole pass holders to come and ski and ride at Aspen for no charge during that period - a nice gesture. Weather forecasters are predicting a lot of snow here in March and April, the second half of the season is almost here and hopefully Aspen will keep extending the closing dates as they did last year. Get out - ski and ride, experience World Cup and all its festivities and concerts, try a new restaurant, take in a show and keep smiling as you live in one of the coolest places in the world!