[Journal entry for Thursday, January 16, 2014; Beaver Creek Ski Resort, Colorado] Dallas and I skied at Beaver Creek Resort, which is about thirty miles west of Frisco Colorado along Interstate 70. The morning was clear with temperatures in the low twenties, Fahrenheit. The landscape is draped with recent snow, still clinging to the trees, yet the total accumulation is low, just two feet or so. The tall mountains along the highway are impressively tall, steep and rugged. We pass many outcrops of red sandstone, flat-lying or gently tilted.

We are late in arriving, owing to sluggish start, and shell out the $33 parking fee for the garage at Beaver Creek Village, near the lifts. We get lost among all the hotels, shops and condos on our way up a couple of terraces. A doorman lets us transit the lobby when we find our outdoor path blocked by his hotel.

I am using my telemark skis today. We take the gondola, but find that the ride is short and that it services only beginner and intermediate slopes on the lower mountain. We then take the Centennial Express Lift and the Cinch Express Lift up to the summit. This area has wide intermediate trails, bordered by evergreen trees. We take several runs and then make our way over to the Larkspur Bowl. This part of the resort reminds me of the front side of A-Basin, for it contains a wide, treeless expanse of snow, bordered by a high ridge on one side. We take several runs down through the center. I also try to ski down the ridge, but make the wrong turn and wind up in Three Tree Gulley, a narrow expert trail full of moguls. I pick my way slowly down until finally I reach the better groomed trails in the center of the bowl.

Dallas and I have lunch on the deck outside the Talons Lodge, at the base of the Larkspur Bowl. The air is cold but we are warmed by the sun. We meet two women, Information volunteers, who advise us to try Ripsaw and Harrier, said to be steep but well groomed. We find Ripsaw without incident and have fun skiing it. It’s steep headwall is comparable in slope to the one on Keystone’s Starfire trail. We get separated on our way to Harrier, so I ski it alone. It is narrow and winding, reminiscent of Keystone’s Wild Irishman trail. I traverse the mogul field at the last section, rather than exiting at a catwalk, going slow and making it to the bottom without incident. I then ski to the Village and wait for Dallas at a previously agreed-upon spot, but she doesn’t show until it’s time to go. At 3PM, an attendant walks by with a tray of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies and gives me two.

About three and a half hours.