February 7
Vicki wanted to do the Upper and Lower slot first thing, so I said yes, though I wasn’t up for the steep trail. As we entered Lower Slot, I began to float through the two inches of new snow on top of groomed snow, and the run turned out to be much fun. We battled poor visibility for much of the morning but found good snow on several trails, and all in all, we had a good morning.
Tonight, we will go to the Lamplighter Happy Hour, where the food is reasonable and good. We meet our group in the lobby in a few minutes. Since 2/3 of the group went to Aspen Highlands, it will be fun to hear about their day.
Dinner was fun with happy hour prices. Our waitress from Indonesia had been in Snowmass for 28 years and skied 100 days a year. The petite woman was the best waitress we had encountered yet. Getting servers to give us separate checks in Snowmass has been hard, but it was no problem for her. Vicki and I split a burger and fries, and the group shared an enormous mud pie.
People have asked me if I've had after-effects from my crash a couple of years ago. Neurologically, I don't think so. On the slopes, I notice I'm more cautious and get angry quickly if anyone comes too close. Though I collided with another senior at low speed, the most significant danger on the slopes is the 20 to 30-year-old snowboarders who like to ski straight down the hill at high speed.
I always remember my friend John McCarron when skiing. John, a psychologist, moved from San Diego to Telluride years ago with his wife, Jane Reldan. He was a passionate, highly skilled skier. In addition, he climbed all the fourteen thousand-foot peaks in the lower 48. A fine psychologist and person, John died of a brain tumor in 2003. He was 54 years old.