January: Midway’s magical month of snow

January 31, 2017 By

I haven’t had a winter like this since I was a wee lassie growing in Canada. The Heber Valley has had an endless barrage of glorious, fluffy snow and I don’t want it to end. Sadly, we’re kicking off February with 40-degree temps but I’m hoping “Ambruary” won’t let me down.

Since moving here late-September, we’ve tried to limit our schedule to church and the occasional activity. Bode played soccer in the fall and has continued with Webelos. Hadley has weekly Young Women activities and Science Club (she’s thrilled to be doing a snowshoeing field trip today to learn about how animals adapt in the wintertime). It’s a bonus to have world-class mountains right in your backyard.

But now we’re full speed ahead. The kids are doing a six-week downhill ski rec program on Saturdays that will end mid-February. Bode and I Nordic ski twice a week at Soldier Hollow while Hadley has volleyball at the same time. Bode (and maybe Hadley) started piano last week and as much as I try to limit extracurricular activities so we can maximum family time, being busy is working well for us in the winter.  I hate the thought of them hunkering down down with their technology during these dark and cold winter nights.

Here are a few January highlights:

Snowshoeing

I’ve never done so much snowshoeing in my life! Our texting group is 35 women and growing and I’ve loved getting to know these fabulous women.

Wasatch Mountain State Park

Dutch Hollow

Ice Castles

Just when I thought our resort town couldn’t get any cooler (literally), we spent one evening exploring the Midway Ice Castles’ crystal grottoes with shifting translucent white and petrol blue lights in scalloped ice. 

It would have been a scene out of a Russian fairy tale had I not biffed it GETTING ON (not off) the 50-foot ice block slide. My bruised ego and butt are more of the Brothers Grimm genre.

Skiing

I ventured out to Park City with some ladies a few weeks ago and we’re doing round 2 tomorrow. I enjoy being by myself for most activities but downhill skiing is not one of them. I love hanging out on the lift with these fellow Snowmamas!

I’ve enjoyed spending every Tuesday and Thursday Nordic skiing with Bode at Soldier Hollow Olympic Center and had an epiphany last week: As much as I love downhill, I actually prefer X-country skiing. I find it much easier to connect with nature and the workout is intense. We tried skate skiing for the first time last week and if my knees weren’t shot, I’d probably trade in my classic skis for skate–that gets your heart pumping like nothing else! 

This week, Soldier Hollow is hosting the USANA FIS Nordic Junior & U23 World Ski Championships 2017. It has been so fun to see 750 athletes from 40 nations in our little community.

Of course, nothing will ever compare to the time I was on a flight with the Austrian Men’s Ski Team. Hubba. Hubba.

Interlodge

We’ve been trying to ski Alta for more than a year and last week was finally our time! Until it wasn’t. We drove up Sunday after church, settling in for the night at Goldminer’s Daughter Lodge. And then an intense storm blew through, Little Cottonwood Canyon was closed due to avalanche danger and “Maximum Interlodge” was declared. Interlodge means you’re on lockdown indoors but “Maximum Interlodge” also involves staying away from windows and doors. 

Many details to follow on this crazy 24 hours but suffice it to say, we did not ski.

Sledding

We had a grand ol’ time sledding Lime Canyon on Martin Luther King Junior Day.

So much so that when my friend Sarah announced she was throwing a sledding birthday party for her son, Charlie, I volunteered. She had posted some cool pictures of her husband Ben’s secret haunt toward Cascade Springs and I wanted IN.

The powder was thigh-deep in places and we hiked about a half-mile to the start of the hill (not to mention hauling sleds up and down).

It wasn’t as idyllic as it looked, believe me. Case in point: Bode’s awesome wipeout.

And then the real misery began as we were hiking out. As Sarah and I cut trail through the deep snow for a half a mile, her husband and I pulling the injured birthday boy and cold friend on their sleds while she sacrificed her gloves and carried two sleds and helmets in 17 degrees, she commented,

“I mean, really. This is next level crazy.”

And then she glanced over at me, Miss Maximum Interlodge, and said nothing.

I think they’re onto me.

Filed Under: outdoors, skiing, Utah

Time Travel

January 26, 2017 By

I occasionally like to check my “On This Day” Facebook feed to see what I was doing 1, 2 or even 5 years ago. Today’s reminder was a cool one: Seven years ago today is when I learned I had won the Microsoft Office’s Winter Games Contest and would spend 10 days hobnobbing with celebrity athletes including Bonnie Blair and Wayne Gretzky during the 2010 Vancouver Games.

I’m thinking I need to do several strolls down memory lane next month to keep all the fun alive!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Sledding Lime Canyon in Midway

January 26, 2017 By

Despite living in the gorgeous Heber Valley, I’ve been surprised by the lack of information about quality places to sled. Soldier Hollow offers the longest tubing lanes in Utah but it’s lift-serviced and costs money. Beyond that, there are small pockets of hills whose locations the locals won’t disclose. And who can blame them?

So, I was happy to hear someone recommend Lime Canyon as a great place to sled in Midway. Located a few miles behind the Zermatt Resort, we found a powder-perfect playground on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with our friends, Zoie and Jonas.

Bode: future sled model

We had a blast but we arrived at the hill just as the shadows were creeping in and the lack of sunlight made it cold. Bitterly bold. So we only lasted an hour.

Yes, there is such a thing as too much powder when sledding!

The Slow Crawl to the Summit

The tween declared “I’m too old for sledding,” and I vehemently disagreed, taunting her that I’M never too old for anything.

Until she turned the sledding hill into her personal skeleton track and I declared I’m too old for THAT.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, outdoors, Utah

Updates from the Edge (of glory or insanity?)

January 23, 2017 By

January has been a blur and I can’t believe we’re almost into my favorite month of the year: Ambruary (so it was affectionately named by a friend due to my birthday, anniversary and Valentine’s Day within the same week).

There have been a lot of happenings so here are a few updates.

Return to Winter

What I’ve loved the most about living in Midway is our return to winter with fun ice skating, sledding and skiing, oh my!

I’m incredulous that just five minutes from our house is the Nordic ski venue for the 2002 Salt Lake Games. Bode and I have had a blast skiing at Soldier Hollow twice a week for his lessons and am sad that will be wrapping next month. But I’m not sad about all the trail passes I’ve been accruing from volunteering.

We didn’t budget for downhill season passes so we enrolled the kiddos in the local rec center’s program for six weeks of half-day lessons at Sundance Ski Area. It would be totally ideal if not for Hadley. She’s a level 6 skier and wants to tackle the moguls and harder runs. We signed her up for Level 6…but she’s the strongest skier there and so they’ve bumped up some other kids (like Bode) who are definitely not level 6 and have consequently dropped the level of difficulty. It justifiably infuriates bored Hadley to ski easy runs all day and so I’ve been on the phone every week either demanding a refund or that they give us what we paid for: level 6 instruction. They have three more weeks to get their act together or Hadley might combust.

Bode and I had a memorable mother-son date skiing at Park City and as a total bonus: he didn’t get sick. Twice. And make use cancel our trip. Yes, Beaver Creek: I’m talking about you.

My friend Julie texted to see if anyone wanted to ski Park City so last week, we had our first Snowmamas: The Next Generation meetup. It was so fun to skip out during the day and ski to our heart’s content. We’re going to try to make it a regular thing if life doesn’t get in the way. 

You know, those inconveniences like family, responsibilities and jobs. 

The Jobs

I announced a few months ago that I was taking a new part-time position with an awesome travel company that plans luxury vacation to Central and South America. I loved the owners, loved the company but just didn’t love what I was doing. It didn’t tap into my skillset at all (lots of numbers, spreadsheets and details) whereas my talents are writing, community building and marketing. I was feeling trapped because I didn’t want to bail on these wonderful people but also knowing I couldn’t give the position my all. Our family has a lot of daunting things ahead of us: putting in our yard, building out our basement and trading in my 2003 Honda Pilot.  And even though I wasn’t making very much  money, I still had a regular paycheck so, I stuck to it.

I got my out when the owner recently emailed me a questionnaire about my feedback thus far with the job. I had forgotten we were on a 3-month trial period and I was relieved when we both reached the consensus that the position just wasn’t a good fit for me. Now, onto something that is!

My friend Krista and I met at the Chicks Who Click conference in 2009. She was the brilliant Marketing Director at Park City Mountain Resort and I was building my empire at The Denver Post. :-) I helped her launch her groundbreaking Snowmamas community, the first of its kind in the ski industry and we’ve wanted to collaborate on a new project together for years…but the timing was never right.

Well, last year she left her job as Sr. VP at Powdr and with my recent move, we are finally making it happen with our new community, OutdoorsyMoms.com! Many more details to come but in the interim, follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter as we build this community that will go behind encouraging moms everywhere to play outdoors but to also form deeper connections with each other and ourselves.

Onward and upward for 2017!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: skiing

A Friday the 13th Snowshoeing Adventure

January 18, 2017 By

Wasatch Mountain State Park is literally right in our backyard. Since we moved to Midway in late-September we haven’t had a lot of opportunities to explore with the exception of the Dutch Hollow Trail System…it seems every time I plan or attend a hiking or snowshoeing event, it is there!

I started a private Facebook group for “Heber Valley Outdoor Families” and posted that the state park was hosting a Friday the 13th Full Moon Snowshoe event.  We had a lot of interest and decided to just do our own thing to avoid paying the $7 and I’m so glad we did; the state park had more than 100 people RSVP. Welcome to mountain living!

Since I’m unfamiliar with the trail system here, I knew I wanted to go somewhere with great views so that led us to the Heber Valley Overlook Loop at (where else) Dutch Hollow.  We had received more than two feet of fresh powder that week so conditions were optimal and a fun challenge for snowshoeing.

I made it a date night so it was fun to have The Husbands along with one exception: men are all about competition. Suddenly, our leisurely snowshoe hikes of yesteryear were gone and we were huffing and puffing our way to the top. But once was reached our two different summits, we chatted, laughed and played in the snow as we gazed down at the Heber Valley. Sadly, the full moon was ensconced in clouds but that didn’t make the evening any less gorgeous–there is something so surreal and raw about venturing into the backcountry at night.

Disclaimer: This selfie took almost as much time to take as the hike itself. But both were totally worth it!

Filed Under: outdoors, Utah

The Broadmoor’s Bliss: Part 1,205

January 18, 2017 By

We first went to AAA Five-Diamond The Broadmoor when the kids were ages 3 and 1. Almost a decade later, we still can’t get enough and it’s truly our favorite Colorado vacation.

When The Broadmoor Magazine’s editor gave me my latest assignment, I was thrilled. “Growing Up Broadmoor” is to be a reflective piece about all the many wonderful memories we’ve had over the years. It’s turning out to be more difficult to write than I thought because there are so many grand gestures and beautifully small nuances that are a part of our DNA. We love and appreciate that special place like no other.

Usually when I’m on assignment, we’re busy with activities related to the story. The Ranch at Emerald Valley. The White Lights Ceremony for the holidays. Outdoor adventures with Broadmoor Outfitters. This time, we were simply coming back “home” after moving away…and that will be my lead-in for the story.

We arrived on New Year’s Day, just as their 12 Days of Christmas was wrapping. We delved in head-first: Casting protective enchantments a.k.a learning to cast a fly rod, which was no less magical than at Hogwarts.

Hadley got a fancy camera for Christmas so she and Jamie attended the photography seminar held from The Broadmoor’s acclaimed photographer, Mic Garofolo. We adore this man! He has been the most delightful paparazzo as he’s followed us around the resort taking pictures of our family for years. He’s so generous that he offered them a private session the next day and she is SUPER excited to delve into learning more about photography.

It’s been four years since we’ve been to The Broadmoor around the holidays so we loved checking out their Gingerbread Village, which was actually a life-sized candy train in honor of the the 125th anniversary of the Pikes Peak Cog Railway Steam Engine, the world’s highest cog train.

We were thrilled to finally stay in the renovated West Tower and it was just as beautiful as we imagined despite the crummy lighting in this picture. And Bode’s awkward pose.

As we settled in, I heard Hadley scream “this is the best mirror EVER!”

As if she already didn’t spend HOURS getting ready, this built-in TV just made it 10 times worse.

We’d hoped to take the shuttle to see the Winter Lights at Seven Falls but it closed early due to the holiday so we drowned our sorrows at our favorite restaurant, The Summit. Hadley tried escargot for the first time, and we all indulged in Beef Tenderloin au Poivre, Slow-roasted Monkfish, Cinnamon Crème Brûlée and Apple Mille-Feuille as we discussed Jamie’s no-sugar challenge.

That began upon our sad, sad return to reality.

The next day was uncharacteristically low-key. I arose early to do my traditional solo hike up North Cheyenne Canyon. I chased the sunrise and the entire canyon was glowing when I arrived at the base but was gone by the time I’d hiked far enough for a view. 

Life lesson for 2017: Don’t blink or you’ll miss it but what remains is pretty darn spectacular.

Meanwhile back at The Broadmoor….

When you have a tomboy mom who is clueless about being a real girl, I highly recommend their spa’s introductory makeup tutorial. 

And also their 50-minute massage (Jamie) and glorious facial (me).

Following lunch at the Golden Bee English Pub, we split up. While Hadley and Jamie were at Mic’s photography session, Bode and I headed over to Broadmoor Outfitters where we went on a scavenger hunt. I’ll admit I wasn’t too enthused but as it turns out, scavenger hunts have gone high-tech and are much more fun than those of my youth. We downloaded the app, Scavenger Ox, and set about to discover The Broadmoor in a hilarious new way.

The resort is know for its upscale clientele so Bode and I aren’t proud of some of the things we did that included asking a stranger for a piggy-back ride and singing “Let It Go” whilst outfitted with my own Elsa braid graphic but it was all worth it for the win. Err…right?

That evening, we bowled to our heart’s content at PLAY. We’re out of focus in this picture and my eyes are closed but that’s just a detraction from the fact I bowled my worst game ever: 49 in the eighth frame.

And the fact that on our fun final round, Bode actually bowled BETTER with his eyes closed and with his left hand.

Somehow because it was at The Broadmoor, it all just made sense.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel

Monarch Mountain: A perfect family ski vacation

January 11, 2017 By

I learned to ski on a tiny two-lift hill within Calgary, Canada’s city limits. As much as I love exploring large ski areas, I feel drawn to these smaller homegrown resorts that are solely about the skiing without the pomp, circumstance and inflated prices. A place where everyone knows your name…and that I don’t drink beer and my name is not Norm.

Monarch Mountain is such a place. Located 150 miles from Denver via U.S. 285, this small ski resort has soaring elevations, stellar family terrain, unbeatable views and big snow (it is second only to Wolf Creek for the biggest snow totals in Colorado). Unlike Summit County’s sardine-packed resorts, Monarch has no neighbors and there’s nothing fake about it—including the all-natural snow.

Click here to keep reading about our many adventures on the mountain, as well as our glorious stay at Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, outdoors, skiing, travel

Midway Mountain Mamas

January 11, 2017 By

Following an almost perfect reunion tour of Colorado, I almost dreaded our reentry into the real world. Would we be sad we moved here and pine to go back?

When we drove into our little valley, this sunset was blazing over a foot of fresh snow. A well cared for Fat Kitty greeted us at home and a thoughtful neighbor had plowed our steep driveway.

Deer Creek Reservoir

It isn’t Colorado but it’s still pretty darn great.

Fortunately, we were forced to launch back into school and work immediately so there was minimal time for mourning.

A huge dump of snow also brought frigid temperatures so I reminded Bode of what my Canadian forefathers said: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”

We repeated that 100X during his Nordic ski lesson.

Hadley is the kind of kid who does not like to be jam-packed with activities. She loves and needs her down-time so we didn’t enroll her in anything for the first four months we moved here. She resisted my pressuring to take ski lessons with Bode but asked to play volleyball so she started the local rec program last week. Almost immediately afterwards, I took her over to the church to play basketball with the Young Women. Since I have brain damage and a difficult time saying “no” (and an over-easy time inviting myself to new situations), I stayed to play with the girls, my first game in 20 years. I had forgotten about how much fun basketball is!

When I woke up the next morning? NotSoFun.  This darn knee will be the death of me!

That morning was sunny and -15 degrees.

Bode: I sure wish I didn’t have to walk to the bus stop.”

Me: (Sipping hot tea wrapped in a blanket): “Yeah, me too.”

It’s a tough world being raised by a Canadian mom.

Before the holidays, I started a Facebook group “Heber Valley Outdoor Families” for any locals who want to get out and play. Around the same time, my friend Sarah went snowshoeing and asked if anyone was interested. Her texting group is 35 women strong and growing. We had our first adventures this week! It was really cold when I left the house on Saturday morning but had warmed up to a balmy 0 degree by 10 a.m. That didn’t stop this tough bunch of ladies and we had a blast breaking trail in the glorious snow.

Yep, I’m missing Colorado but it’s tough to feel sad when we live in such an amazing place and are making wonderful new friends.

Filed Under: outdoors, skiing, Utah

A Colorado New Year

January 9, 2017 By

As we were making our plans for the Winter Break, I looked at the looooong 2.5 weeks ahead of us and declared a road trip to Colorado was in order. Of course, the kids were game–they miss their friends desperately. Jamie was slower to bite but when when I received a magazine assignment from The Broadmoor to sweeten the pot, he was ALL IN.

We stayed two nights at my beloved Colorado Chautauqua’s darling cottages, two nights with our friends the Larsons and two nights at The Broadmoor. Our trip wasn’t too long, nor too short, it was just right. #CallMeGoldilocks.

Tired boy, warm fireplace

We had a rough reentry to Colorado. There are two driving routes–one through Colorado’s mountains and the other through Wyoming. Colorado’s mountain passes are sketchy in winter and Wyoming’s winds and ice are what nightmares are made of. We checked the forecast and declared Colorado was the better route and all was going smashingly until my friend Tina texted me that I-70 was closed down at Vail Pass. Now, I’m not going to start a tirade of my bitter hatred toward this freeway which is a billion dollar NIGHTMARE for Colorado’s tourism industry. We decided not to take a long detour and just hope for the best and miraculously, Vail reopened and traffic was moving! Until we arrived in Frisco (outside of Breckenridge) where we went at a snail’s pace for hours thanks to ski traffic.

We arrived much later than anticipated, checked into our cottage at Colorado Chautauqua and headed straight to dinner at their historic Dining Hall. It’s my favorite ever patio dining ever and in the winter, there were cozy fireplaces and charming Christmas decorations as we downed cornbread with apple butter, shiitake mushroom risotto and gourmet burgers with fresh tomato preserves and horseradish ranch. We went to bed completely exhausted but full to the brim.

I’ve been missing my Colorado hiking trails so much, especially since my friends and I hiked the Mesa Trail straight through to Chautauqua last summer.  Though Colorado hadn’t received much snow up until that point, it was cold and portions of the trail were icy. So, that morning when I woke up in my cozy cottage, I literally had to drag myself out of bed. And I’m so glad I did.

That network of favorite trails has raised my children. I first discovered it with my mom hiking group when Hadley was 3 months, I almost passed out trying to climb it when I was pregnant with Bode, I’ve struggled up steep pitches pushing them in their double stroller through snow, we’ve participated in their memorable theater hikes and I’ve loved seeing them reach summits of their own.

But that day was the first time I witnessed the sunrise there, making me believe I’d never really SEEN Chautauqua until that moment.

We met Tina and her kids at Country Road Cafe and happily stuffed our faces with Crispy Waffle-battered Sweet Potato Fries topped with eggs, ham, cheese, hollandaise and honey drizzle. 

We’d planned to skate Evergreen Lake but it was closed due to Denver’s lack of snow so we took the kids to their favorite bouldering location at Three Sisters/Alderfer in Evergreen.

It warmed my heart as as were hiking back to the car and Hadley pointed out the Bluebird Meadows trail sign and reminisced, “Do you remember when there was a blue bird sitting on this sign?” So many wonderful memories.

More wonders: so many friends organized parties for us. We dropped Bode at his buddy Porter’s Nerf Fun War Blowout, Hadley went to a girl’s night out part at her friend Maeve’s while Jamie and I had game night with her parents and Bode got invited for a sleepover with his besties. As we pulled up to the house, I saw the silhouettes of four ecstatic boys–Nicky, Vinnie, Curtis and Zach–waiting for him and their sheer joy of being reunited was one of my favorite moments of our trip.

And then I’m sure these gamers stayed up until I-don’t-want-to-know-how-late.

The next morning, Jamie, Hadley and I went for one last hike at Chautauqua before checking out, whereupon we disagreed about who was the most out of shape.

Hint: It wasn’t these two billy goats.

My friend Eva organized our 2nd Annual FHE Showdown with several families at the church. Last year during the inaugural event (read all about it in the FHE Musical Chairs of Death), Jamie and I had just made the decision to move but did not tell anyone for a couple of months. We walked away from that insanely fun evening saying “How can we possibly leave these amazing people?” We still feel the same way after a night of dodgeball, blood, games, basketball, a ripped shirt and a competitive game of musical chairs whereupon Jamie was dethroned.

Kids musical chairs

Adult musical chairs

Fortunately, he didn’t throw out his shoulder playing dodgeball; he only saves that for marshmallow wars (see previous Musical Chairs of Death post).

Clear Creek

We had a low-key and fun New Year’s Eve with friends, took a memorable walk along the now-frozen Clear Creek and I got up early for a walk in Van Bibber Open Space. This was the outdoor playground closest to our home and I pondered how many hours have we spent jumping, splashing, bike racing and tree climbing there?!

Then I got tired of my deep, effusive thoughts and spent the rest of my explorations cracking ice puddles like the five-year-old I am.

We went back to Arvada 2nd Ward for church and it felt like the rest of our trip: like we never left. I had so many hugs and “welcome homes” from those beloved people.

I asked Bode his thoughts about coming back and he said it was both better and worse than he anticipated. The better: wonderful friends organizing sleepovers, game nights, lunches, Nerf gun showdowns, girls night out, Country Road Cafe breakfast, Chautauqua and Evergreen hikes, comfy beds and late nights. The worse (according to Bod and us all): Leaving.

But one thing that was confirmed is that Colorado will always be home.

Stay tuned for fun at The Broadmoor.

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Hadley

Soldier Hollow’s Youth League

January 5, 2017 By

When you live 5 miles away from the cross-country skiing venue of the 2002 Olympic Games, you’d better believe making it a part of your lives is a priority. The problem? I’m the only one in our family who loves to Nordic Ski. I grew up on the groomed track of the golf course across the street from my house and love love love that I’m finally living in a place that has a real winter.

Jamie claims he (somehow) got a concussion going 0.001-mile per hour the first time I took him cross-country skiing in Canada. He’s reluctantly skied a few times but claims it’s too much work and not as fun as downhill. Hadley took to it right away. When we were in Crested Butte a few years ago, our guide told her if she was local, she’d recruit her to train with the Junior Olympic Nordic Team. The problem? She had a horrible experience last winter at Snow Mountain Ranch so the one with the most potential refuses to go.

Fortunately, there is Bode who is the most easy-going bloke around so I enrolled him in Soldier Hollow’s Youth League. For just $150, he gets a season pass, twice weekly lessons for almost three months and rentals. For every two times I volunteer, I earn a free trail pass and rentals of my own.

Pinch me, this place is a dream.

Bode’s good buddy Eli is enrolled as well and I was thrilled to learn two other friends have kids in the exact same class. I know Midway is a small town but what are the odds? Bode is a strong downhill skier but has really taken to Nordic as well so I foresee many adventures in our future.

So, this is how we’ll be spending every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon this winter.

Sunset after the first day of classes

Already, 2017 is shaping up to be a good one.

Filed Under: Bode, outdoors, Utah
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