Dopes on Slopes - Year 4 Recap

Another year of Dopes on Slopes has passed. Things were quite a bit different this year and of course I had a lot of fun, but I will admit there were some things that I didn't like.

For instance, in the past, we all stayed in these adorable wood cabins/condos. Each cabin had a loft with a queen sized bed, a fireplace in the living room, a bedroom that held 2 sets of bunk beds and a third bedroom with a queen sized bed. Additionally, there was a couch in the living room with a bed that folded out. So, technically, you could fit two couples, 4 single people and one or two people on the couch if necessary. We also had full use of the rec room which was where we held our meetings, ate dinner, played pool, foosball, played in the hot tubs and just chilled. It was a real intimate setting with couches and windows. You could look out at the beautiful snow during the meeting.

Unfortunately, the rec room had a padlock on it this year because of new management and even the owners of the condos aren't allowed to go in. They are in the midst of a big lawsuit, so we decided to stay at the Cedar Breaks Lodge instead.

As you can imagine, rooms were more expensive and we had to pay for the conference room to hold our meetings. We didn't get to keep the conference room to ourselves the whole weekend, they didn't have couches, instead they had tables and chairs. So, it made for a less intimate and more business like setting. I was bummed about that.

Another good thing about staying at the condos was that you didn't pick who was in your condo, it was kind of set up randomly, so it was a great way to meet new people and bond with someone you may not have talked to back in Vegas.

Of course, the upside to staying in a nice hotl is that we were in an actual hotel, so we didn't have to empty the trash on Sunday morning or strip the beds or bring our own sheets etc. We also had nice ass flat screen T.V.'s with cable, a maid that brought clean towels and I assume there was room service although I didn't partake.

Another thing that put a damper on the trip was the HUGE storm we got Saturday. It started snowing around the time I did my second run down the mountain (10:30 a.m.). My hands were going numb, I had to take a break and eat something at the cafe and the next thing I know, I can barely see the chair lift. We were in the midst of an all out whiteout! Crazy! We had to cancel the relay race, a bunch of the lifts were closed and eventually I had to call it a day and head for the hills. Thankfully, my buddy Jordan had a 4 wheel drive truck. So, he scooped me up and took me back to the rental place to turn in my skiis and poles. Otherwise, I would have had to take the shuttle and that would have taken ages.

So, I didn't get to ski as much as usual and that was disappointing because it's usually the highlight of the trip. On the other hand, I didn't get a black eye, I didn't draw any blood and I didn't get stuck at the top of a Black Diamond Slope. If you've been reading along, you'll remember that all of those things happened to me in the past three years. I also didn't win any awards for bigggest crash or "yardsale" in ski terms.

I also didn't charge the camera like a dumbass, so my pictures are limited this year. But, here's a few...

Me and Rachel...







Me and 2 really cool people I met (can't remember their names)...




Part of the Catchphrase Crew - I seriously had a blast playing with these guys...




Me and Jamie...




Beginning of Saturday before the storm...




Halfway through the Day Saturday (around the time we called it quits)...







Of course, I forgot to pack a swimsuit, so when everyone was soaking in the hot tub, I snuck upstairs and took a nice 2 and a half hour nap...




The Orange County Crew (and awesome guys that let me room with them)...




Seriously, this is just 2 hours after it started snowing and it continued snowing all through the night.




Brianhead is situated at 9,000 feet, so trying to get down the hill on Sunday was NOT happening unless you had chains on your tires. Luckily, my ride had chains and we were in the back of the caravan. There were about 10 of us that followed each other down the hill and being in the back was wonderful because they led the way and packed the snow down for us. Apparently, the Sheriff sits at the bottom and if you don't have 4 wheel drive or chains, you get a $1500 fine. Wow! So grateful I didn't take my car.

We had to stop at the bottom of the hill to take off our chains and we ran into the cutest damn dogs in Perowan (mormom country)...




I know I say this every year, but it's amazing how the elevation affects your body. I was out of breath just walking down the hall, I had a headache for a good portion of the time and I felt so out of shape. One of these years I'll get used to the high elevation.

In the mean time, it was 70 degrees and sunny today. A much needed change from the weekend. I'm happy to be home.