Day 25: Doug's Sign-Out

The epic season has finally come to an end for me sadly.  It has definitely been one of the most incredible experiences of my life.  Brian and I took advantage of something we might never get a chance to do again, which was ski bumming for a month.  We did nothing besides wake up, eat breakfast, ski the best mountains in the world all day, hot tub, dinner, sleep, and do it all over again the next day.  We were living the skier's dream out there and I wish it never came to an end.

Hopefully Brian's stocks skyrocket or I win the lottery and we can just keep living the dream forever.  I had a blast over the three weeks I spent in Colorado.  I skied at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone, covering 270,776 vertical feet in a total of 20 days on those four mountains.  The skiing conditions varied drastically over those 3 weeks, but most of the time they were perfect.  I skied in powder, on groomers, in -20 degree weather, blue skies, and slush.  The best skiing of my life so far was definitely our first weekend.  Brian, Whitt, and I had the special treat of skiing after a storm that dumped two and a half feet over three days, and it was incredible.  I learned that once you ski powder, you'll have a lifetime addiction.  Although skiing is great, nothing else compares to waist deep powder.  Whitt's addiction was so bad that on his flight back to Baltimore, he pictured the clouds as powder and pretended in his mind all the way home that he was skiing powder.  The presence of friends and family on this trip has made it just that much more special.  Brian and I enjoyed our guy days with Whitt and Baird and our family days with our Mom, Dad, our sister, Uncle Dave, and Ciocie.  Each was a completely different experience.  Guy days were hard-core skiing, bagged lunches, drinking, and store brand dinners.  Family days were groomed blue trials, Two Elk lunches, relaxing, and gourmet dinners.  This vacation with my brother was the perfect mental break after my first semester of college.  I enjoyed all my time out there and it was a sad departure on Saturday from my winter home.  I want to thank everyone for following our blog and hope that our experience has inspired you all to take the opportunity to ski bum for an entire month.

(P.S. Our epic passes don't expire until the ski season is over...Brian, I'm thinking of hitting that Chilean resort over the summer.)

Doug's Total Stats
Total Mountains: 4 (Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone)
Total Ski Days: 20
Total Vertical Feet Covered: 270,776