The Elk Mountain Range is home to many things: Aspenites, Crested Buttians, Magpies, Black Bears and Elk being the only things I can think of at the moment. So, in an effort to allow all these things to coexist, the Aspenites and Crested Buttians close down their ski lifts so that the Elk can migrate along the mountain range without disruption.
This leaves us with an interesting phenomenon come mid-April, when the ski resort becomes "our National Forest" again. This means that we can pretty much do whatever we want without fear of getting our pass pulled.
This past weekend, a couple of my friends decided that it might be a good idea to snowmobile to the top of the longest black diamond run on Mt. Crested Butte with their mountain bikes (technically the bikes are trikes, and they are actually handcycles that have been developed for paraplegics to use for mountain biking) and ride down said black diamond ski run. Mind you, we still have a pretty substantial base of snow (60" and melting fast). I volunteered to skin up on my teles so that I could document this nonsense, and immediately was appointed the task of driving the snowmobile back down the mountain. I have never driven a snowmobile, so I was given my first lesson at the top of Mt. Crested Butte, and then sent on my merry way. I opted to take the easier way down, while my friends, Jake (who is a paraplegic) and Craig (who is not a paraplegic, but has an obsession with these handcycles) bee-lined it down International. Mind you, I have a hard time bee-lining it down that run on my snowboard...so watching these guys was a bit scary, and since, as far as we know, this sort of thing has never been tried before...anything could happen. But, we all made it down safely. And a good time was had by all.
The town is empty. all of it's seasonal citizens have left, and it's full-timers are all on vacation to warmer climates. It's a bit lonely, but it is nice to have an entire ski resort all to myself.
5 comments:
Crested Buttian - that is one of the best terms I've heard in awhile!
What's a dinocab?
i had at one time decided that if i was to create a silkscreening operation...i would call it dinocab or baconid. I have an obsession with bacon and also an obsession with dinosaurs. and i thought that there must be a way to create a logo with rotational with a design that could be read one thing one way and the other thing the other way. that sentence makes perfect sense to me, but i don't think it makes sense to anyone else.
This is awesome. I want to be a ski bum. Maybe I shouldn't have had a kid.
hey Mandy - have another :)
it's hard to argue with bacon.
or dinosaurs, for that matter.
well, if it's any consolation, i would sell my soul to be able to have a house of my own. there has to be a balance.
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