The End. (Or the beginning?)

We woke up, packed up, and shipped out by 11:30.  (ok,  so we weren't anxious to leave, and got a pretty late start!)  We decided to drive over Loveland Pass instead of through the tunnel on I70, trying to prolong our sweet goodbye to the Rockies.

As I type this, we are driving south on I25, nearing the New Mexico border, the mountains to our west suggesting that we could turn around and start another week or another month.  But it is time to get back home to Austin,  and end our adventure.  At least for now.  For those who have been reading regularly,  I hope you have enjoyed following our experience,  and I also hope you will consider lighting out on your own adventure someday.

Almost all of us live in only one place.  Thats what we call "Home".  But there's no rule that says living somewhere else for a short while has to be a "Vacation".   Honestly,  this has been a great experience I would recommend to anyone who can "work from anywhere".  As many of us become empty nesters, serial wanderings like this can be a great lifestyle, without the investment and limitations that come with 2nd home ownership.  When you have a lot of money tied up in a 2nd home, guess where you'll go?  Almost every time!  WIth working wanderings,  you don't have to wait until retirement to start really living your fantasy lifestyle.

Can you really live out the fantasy of living for a while in a destination location like a ski resort (or beach resort, or a new city, in a foreign country,  or on a sailboat or....?)  Within limits, clearly you can.   Here's some tips:

1. You need to gave a phone, high speed internet connection, and an airport within a few hours drive.  (So a sailboat is probably out unless you can be within a digital cell signal range, like in the US Virgin Islands.)
2. Ideally, go somewhere you can reach by car;  having your own wheels lowers the cost, and let's you haul up all kinds of stuff you don't want to spend a whole month without!  (of course, I wouldn't need a car if I had a sailboat!  Hmmmmm.....)
3. Getting up early helps you stay on top of your work-related responsibilities..  You can get a lot done while the family sleeps, and wrap up early enough to enjoy your fantasyland (eg, my cross-country skiing, or fishing, or whatever you're there for).
4.  Staying a couple time-zones west of your work team helps even more when combined with #1.  Helps reduce calls scheduled at the end of YOUR fantasyland day.   (if you work for a west coast firm,  head to Hawaii!)
5. Take 3 and 4 day weekends during your adventure.  I took 2 4-day weekends,  and so was able to have 8 days of fun and only took 4 days of vacation.  Combined with taking some afternoons off, you will have plenty of time to enjoy your trip without sacrificing your job. And not having to travel anywhere saves you a ton of time and maximizes the time to experience your new "home" away from home.  
6. Rent for a month.  You can get really good deals, and the rental market is very soft right now due to the economy.  Staying for a whole month helps reduce the impact of the inevitable illness, bad weather, injury, or emergency and unavoidable business trips that will come up.  
7. Invite friends and family to join you and your fantasy life!  They will love it and it makes the whole experience more enjoyable and memorable.
8. Finally,  BLOG about your experience!  Even if nobody reads it,  you will have a journal with photo's that you can print out, even make into a book, to keep your memories fresh and remind you to get out and go again!

Well,  thats it for the Month in the Summit.    Thanks for staying,  come again!

-- Karl

Jan. 31, 2010

Driving over Raton Pass, on the Colorado/New Mexico Border.

Day 32: The Last Run; and the Snow Sculpture Festival

Today was our last day in Breckenridge. And what a month it has been!!! (Never have I typed so many exclamation marks, day in, and day out.  I hope you'll excuse me.)  It flew by so fast, but it also feels like we've been here for a long while. At least I can look through 32 days of blogs, and relive my month and see it all again in slow-mo.

We started out skiing together with Kristin, who arrived last night.  We were thrilled to enjoy another sunny day on the mountain, while constantly aware of the poignancy of the moment, saying goodbye to our favorite trails, lift operators, peaks, and views.  "Emotional" doesn't come close to capturing the essence of our feelings;  a mixture of awe, gratitude, respect, contentment, happiness, and, finally, regret for having to leave this wonderful place that has carved out a very special place in our hearts and our lives.   (ok, I will stop here before I start to cry.....)

After a late morning break (aka "Second Breakfast" according to the Hobbit tradition),  we split up.

Translation:

"Do NOT kill yourself in the back bowls,  or you will be in SO much trouble!"

It was finally time for me to experience the Whale Tale;  a massive and steep bowl of scary proportions.  From the top of Peak 8,  I traversed north along the ridge at 12,900 feet,  finally dropping down to the steep and deep.  It was a milestone for me, and for the guys I hooked up with along the way,  all of us in total awe of the scenery and the skiing terrain.  After dropping a thousand feet,  I had to pick my way through some rock outcroppings and find the next leg of the descent;  now big, soft, fluffy bumps, and still quite steep. But the soft snow forgave my many mistakes, and I skied down to the treeline to find my way back to the T-Bar and the Imperial Lift to do it all over again, smiling and feeling so alive!

After a huge lunch,  we all skied together again, challenging the meadows and chutes that, only a few weeks ago, Lynne and Kristin had thought were well above their skill levels.  They both did great, sking/riding terrain they had rarely attempted before, and both rising to the occasion! (There go those exclamation points again.  Sorry.)

On the last run,  I was crying and smiling at the same time, all the way down.  Life is so, so, good.

Buit Wait! THERE'S MORE!

After we finally agreed to quit, we went to walk through the International Snow Sculpture Competition.  The detail and artistry was amazing;  I wore my Ullr helmut and unintentionally became part of the spectacle!

Here's a few of the many amazing snow sculptures on display.

Needless to say,  this was a fitting end to a month of wonderful experiences.   Also, as you probably suspect, I am starting to work through the calculus: what would it take to be able to live here, and still be able to live in Austin, while enjoying a "real job" that can support all this fun?  

Tomorrow, as we begin our drive home, I will reflect on the fundamental question with which I started this blog a month ago:  Can you live out your fantasy?   (I promise to keep it clean!)  Will it fulfill your dreams?   Or is it out out of reach?  Can you do it and still perform your job??? 

Stay tuned for the very last blog entry of a Month in the Summit!  (oh, I can hardly wait to see what I have to say!)  

-Karl

Day 31: Zen and the art of skiing HIGH!

(No,  not THAT kind of high.  Too old for that.)

Today was a beauty!  One of the few full weekdays I have taken off;  and it was well worth the scads of unread emails in my inbox that greeted me when I returned to "our" house.  We skied with our Nikon D5000 DSLR (equipped with a 70-300mm zoom lens!) for the 1st time,   so I have some nice pictures to share! (All other downhill ski shots in my blog have been shot with our Olympus point-and-shoot.)

After lunch, we went to the top; up to double-black-diamond territory.   In an inexplicable lapse of common sense, and forgetting for a moment that I am just one month shy of 55,  I took off my skis to scale the summit of Peak 8 from the top of the Imperial lift,  to 12,998 feet. 

Since there is at least 5' of snow on top of the mountain,   let's just call it 13,000 feet, ok?  From here, you can see almost all of Summit County and beyond;  it feels like you can touch the deep blue sky!  It finally hit me how high I was,  when I realized I was looking down over 1000 feet to the top of the Copper Mountain ski area! 

Check out the picture below!  This shot looks down on the town of Breckenridge,  but also down on to the lower ski slopes of Peak 8.  It looks like it was taken from an airplane, doesn't it!?  (and remember, this was taken with a very long lens!)

Uh, wait a minute.

  I have to ski down from here?  

Looking down on the black slopes of Peak 9 and 10.....

After taking these photo's, I put the camera away, finally recovering my breath after the steep (and scary as hell) climb from the top of the Imperial lift.  I clicked into my bindings, and faced a man who looked like he had seen a ghost,  turning to me as his son dropped over the cornice to begin the adventure back down.   We looked at each other,  and he asked, "is this the easiest way down?"  I pointed to the north where you can ski along the top backbone of the 10 Mile Range to Peak 7,  and the famous Whale's Tail.  "Afraid so.  I think this is as easy as it gets! See you at the bottom!"  I had never skied anything this steep before.  It was an exhilarating ride that eventually got me back down to the tree line, only after 1000 feet of steep!  Wow!   Feeling free; feeling alive.  

Afterwards, I appreciated the simple truth of the Buddhist notion of "living in the moment".  When you are experiencing something as intense, and awe-inspiring as this, daily "troubles" disappear. 

Don't sweat the small stuff. 

Life is good. 

Live it.

 Love it!

\

Day 30: Happy Anniversary to us!

Today was our wedding anniversary!  24 years ago today,  we were married in Telluride Colorado (we were living in Germany at the time, and Telluride sounded like as good a place as any to get hitched!).   It turned out,  that was the day the space shuttle Challenger exploded in the skies above Florida;  not an auspicious start to our special day, to be sure.   We paid our respects to America's fallen heroes and made the best of it.


Now, 24 years later we are back in the Colorado Rockies,  enjoying a fine winter's day.  After work,  we went cross country skiing in the neighborhood.  The day kept became warm and clear,  and our smiles tell the tale of a good workout in the most beautiful of settings.

Then to celebrate our 24 year love affair,  we went to dine at the Keystone Ranch, whose reputation as the finest restaurant in the Colorado is well deserved!  The food and service were exceptional (as they should be at these prices),  but the ambiance holds the trump card.  After dinner, we retired to the "Living Room"; a huge log room with a massive fireplace built in 1868 as a wedding gift to the couple who were settling the valley.  We met a charming couple and their friend,  and talked over Grand Marnier Soufflé and wine.  If you are ever in Keystone or anywhere in Summit County,  do yourself a favor and dine here in this amazing setting! You won't regret it!


-Karl

Day 29: The Mountain Pine Beetle

Today I went into Denver to meet with a client (Visa; thanks to IBM mainframes, they can authorize your credit request from anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds, and then process the payment with the banks and vendors, all while preventing most fraudulent claims in real-time.  Amazing!).  As I drove to Denver, I was reminded by the view of entire mountainsides of brown forests that I had promised myself I would post a blog about the deforestation of the Colorado Rockies before my visit was over.  We only have 3 more days, so now is the time.  I will keep it short;  I don't want to depress anyone, but the facts are scary.

Many tourists come here and marvel at the beautiful red trees!  Then someone has to tell them the news:  they are all dead trees.   \When I lived here in the 80's,  there was some noticeable disease and death of pine trees caused by the Mountain (or Western)  Pine Beetle.  A lot was written.  Nothing was done.   During the last decade, warmer temperatures have decreased the normal winter mortality rate of these little critters.  The result is rampant death of huge swaths of mature lodgepole pine forests.  Entire mountainsides are dead or dying,  in part because these forests were seeded after gold and silver  miners were followed by the loggers in the late 19th century; the trees are all the same (vulnerable) age, and there is little biodiversity to create natural barriers to the spread of an infestation.

What can be done?   Not much, really.   Thinning the forest can help protect healthy trees, but that takes a lot of money.  And we are talking about millions of trees.  There are some treatments but the costs are  also prohibitive or unsafe.  Application of Verbenone,  a natural pheromone, costs $17 PER TREE.

This view from our deck is typical for Summit County.

The green trees will be brown in 1-2 years, except for fir and spruce in higher elevations (~ >10,000 feet).

Where will it end?  Sadly, Scientist are forecasting the complete annihilation of mature stands of Lodgepole Pine in places like Summit, Grand, and Eagle Counties in Colorado. And the beetle is starting to infect other species, such as the Ponderosa Pine along the Front Range.

According to Wikipedia,  "The current outbreak of mountain pine beetles is ten times larger than previous outbreaks.^[15] In Wyoming and Colorado in 2006 there were 1 million acres (4,000 km²) of dead trees. In 2007 it was 1,500,000 acres (6,100 km²). In 2008 it is expected to total over 2 million acres (8,100 km²).^[16] It may be the largest forest insect blight ever seen in North America.^[17] Climate change has contributed to the size and severity of the outbreak , and the outbreak itself may, with similar infestations, have significant effects on the capability of northern forests to remove greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.^[18]  And from the Rocky Mountain News, 2008: "Every large, mature lodgepole pine forest in Colorado and southern Wyoming will be dead within three to five years, killed in a mountain pine beetle infestation unprecedented in the state."

"Every Large, Mature Forest will be Dead"

OK, have I scared you yet?  But Wait! There's more!  What happens to an entire forest of dead trees?  It  burns.  What happens when an entire state forest burns?  Colorado doesn't want tourists or potential real estate investors to know,  but it is entirely possible, if not likely, that massive fires will consume millions of acres of these dead forests in the coming decade.
In fact, a fire is the only way the forest will regenerate;  Pine cone seeds do not germinate until subjected to at least 130 degree heat.
Ok, I have fulfilled my promise to pass on the word of this terrible situation.
Tomorrow, I will go back to enjoying the beauty of these mountains, and what is left of their forests.   The spruce,  firs and aspen trees will eventually reforest the slopes.  But not in my lifetime.  Perhaps in generation or two.

So, let's not debate whether global warming is man-made.  Let's take responsible action to reverse the trend.

Day 28: Buckle up! We're going to the top!

Today started out sunny and relatively calm.   Lynne and I started early to join up with our adventure guide, a 6' 6" 20 year veteran of Breckenridge ski school named Dave.  Much to Lynne's surprise and my delight, we headed up to double-black-diamond slopes on the top of Peak 8.  Wow! What a view!  The highest lift in North America,  at 12,840 feet.   And the slopes down from here are really steep!

Up here, the wind really blows. And you don't want to expose ANY skin to the danger of frostbite.   I grabbed my little camera and pointed in the general direction of a mountain (not that hard to do, actually,  can't miss).  I couldn't see the screen at all in the sunlight, not through my goggles.   And Wow! What a lucky shot!

Dave went to work on us immediately, trying to cure us of 25 years of skiing habits which were holding us back.  By the end of the day (and it was a LONG day!),  I was skiing huge bumps on the steepest slopes I have ever attempted, and skiing them with confidence,  if not not grace!   What a great day!

Tomorrow, I have some meetings with a client in Denver.  Then, this weekend is the international Snow Sculpture Festival here in Breck.  http://www.townofbreckenridge.com/index.aspx?page=532 Then, we load up the Infiniti and head back to Austin.

What an adventure this has been.

Day 27: Cold Days. Warm nights.

Ok, so the weatherman was feeling optimistic again; it was freezing cold and windy as all hell,  although the sun did shine for most of the morning.  The entire mountain was shut down for several hours this morning;  too much wind to run the lifts.  Lots of avalanche prevention mortars filling the morning air.  Ah! Winter in Colorado!

But we got in some good runs, nonetheless.  After lunch, we rode up a lift with Leslie Stafford from LA;  she manages the Breck Ski School.  First, she explained that the $220, 4 person max, "lesson" they advertise is really a license to learn;  all year long!  Not a half day, not a full day.  No!  Unlimited Ski lessons, all season.   Then she explained that the $119 Adventure package is really a full day semi-private lesson slash mountain discovery adventure.   So basically,  you get a $650 full day private lesson for $119, shared with a friend (or spouse! ;-) )  These guys need to hire someone to fix their ads!  We've been here for >3 weeks, seeing their advertising every day, and never understood the offers!    A cardinal sin for us marketing guys!  While it normally requires 48 hours to make a reservation, Leslie made a call and got us in;  most likely it will just be the two of us (Phil and Kay leave for Austin tomorrow).  

Tonight, we all went out to a nice dinner at the Blue River Bistro.  Laid back, Casual,  gourmet food.  During a night like this with friends like Phil and Kay, you realize something important.  It doesn't matter how many runs you make.  You will never remember how many vertical feet you skied (although "There IS an App for That".) or how well you navigated the moguls.   No, you will remember the moments with family, or with friends, when it all just feels RIGHT.  Intimate. Real. Meaningful. Funny. Touching.  Moments that last forever,  even though they take only a few minutes.  Precious minutes.  Thanks, Phil and Kay, for coming to share the moment.

Till tomorrow.   Only 6 more days till we leave for Austin.  All good things.......

Day 26: Snow, football, and COLD!

We finally got the snow.  Southern Colorado got 2-4' (that little ' thingy means FEET!) of snow, and we finally got some super fluffy snow here;  8" yesterday and ~4" more today.  The bad news is that it was  frigid, with wind-chills well below -35 degrees.   So,  we knocked off early, came back to the house to watch some football.   (What the hell was Brett Favre thinking when he threw that pass? )

Sorry, no mountain pictures;  taking out my camera on the mountain today would have been instant frostbite! And if I had taken a picture,  it would look like a 1950's television broadcast: snow on snow.   But we've been asking for it for 3 weeks and we are finally getting it!   The snow was so soft,  you couldn't feel your skis.  (Or was that an effect of having frozen feet?  Who cares?  It was still fun!)

Tomorrow is my last day of the 4 day weekend and Phil and Kay's last day of their visit;  partly cloudy and warmer,  with lots of fresh snow. Wahoo!

Day 25: great skiing (this is getting repetitive, isn't it?)

It snowed off and on during the day, which made for an exciting day;  timing the ski runs vs. the hot cocoa. We managed to balance the need to stay warm vs the need to tear it up.   Kyle and I went for mostly black and double black diamonds, and frankly the mountain kicked my ass.  But we had a blast; probably the best skiing of the month.

After another round in the hot tub, this time in heavy snow, Phil and Kay took us to dine at the Hearthstone,  and we had an amazing meal (Colorado Lamb for the n'th time!) accompanied by fine wines (can you believe they have Schweiger Vineyards Cab on the winelist up here?). What a wonderful restaurant!

Entrance to the Hearthstone Restaurant in Breck.

Tomorrow, we get to ski and watch football all day!  Can it possibly get better than this???

-Karl

Day 24: Back to downhill skiing

After a week of Xcountry after work, I took the day off today to ski with Phil and Kay.  Kay woke up feeling the effects of the altitude,  so she wisely stayed in house (for those who haven't seen the house,  check out Moving Day).     We had a sunny morning, followed by a raging snow storm that lasted 2 runs.  By the time we ducked into a cafe to call it quits,  the sun came back out to tease us into returning to the slopes.  Of course, when we succumbed and came back outside,  it started snowing again!  ;-)  We just laughed and went to the car,  back to the house, and directly into the hot tub and sauna.  Ahhhh.   Life is good.

By the way, for those who are not yet skiing in a helmut, ahem, Phil, I strongly encourage it.   Safe, warm, and usually with built-in headset for skiing to your fav' tunes!   Consider it Sonny Bonno's legacy and give it a try.  A mind is a terrible thing to waste!

Think SNOW!

-Karl

Day 23: Friends come a' calling

Spent most of the day working, but got in a nice xCountry over lunch.  What a great way to break up a workday!  (by the way,  I just realized that you can click on any image and get a really nice full screen image.  Just press back arrow to return to the Blog.    These guys at google are good!)

                                                                          The Lunch Break @ Breck

While I was "at the office",  Lynne went out to a consignment sporting goods store and picked up a pair of snow shoes.   She really enjoyed tromping around the golf course, and as you can see, she intends to take the sport of snow shoeing to the next level!

                                        The latest Snow-Sport craze is born !!!

After a very nice dinner downtown in Breck,   we came home to tub.   The weatherman,  who had been forecasting over a foot of snow this weekend, pulled in his (Ullr) horns and backed off to forecast only a couple inches. We decided it was time to call on the Norse God of Snow, Ullr himself!  Since I promised you all photo's of Phil performing his soon-to-be-famous Naked Snow Dance,  it naturally occurred to us that my Ullr Helmut should be worn during the dance.

Unfortunately for the voyeur in the audience,  Phil's choice of Helmut placement was a bit unorthodox. Even more unfortunately,  Lynne and Kay demurred and declined to join in the ritual.  

Let's hope it works!  WE NEED SNOW!!

Day 22: A normal workday

A normal workday,  except for the amazing winter wonderland outside my office window.   We did take an hour to drive around and see the neighborhood,   the Highlands, and talk to a local realtor about the market.   The Highlands, which includes the golf course community where we are staying,  consists of ~600 homes/lots perched high above the Blue River valley,  with amazing views of the 10 Mile Range and Breckenridge's 4 mountains.  The house next door to us is on the market at a great price, and we had thought it was typical of the kind of prices/deals that are available in this down market.  No such luck. It is being foreclosed because it has issues.  The nicer homes are still very expensive ($300-500 /foot).   So,  we are thinking that renting a month in the winter, and a month in the summer, is a much more affordable way to have "2 homes"!  Let someone else deal with the hassles and carry the financial burden and risk!  

"They" are forecasting the 1st significant snowfall since the 1st week of our stay.  Our dear friends Phil and Kay Rawlins arrive tomorrow;  perfect timing to ski the powder this weekend!  We will be crossing our fingers, and Phil claims to practice a mean snow dance that can bring it on!  (pictures promised)

-Karl

Day 21: Three weeks in, and so far, the fantasy holds up!

Yes, Toto,  we aren't in Texas anymore.

It's been 3 weeks since we crossed the Kansas - Colorado border, and 3 weeks since we have been in a different world, not just a different state.   Every day has been a mini-adventure, and when we string them together they weave a story of wonder and awe.  And the daily physical challenges of skiing and cross-country.  All the while, I've been able to keep up the hectic pace of being an exec at a major US corporation.   It isn't impossible, after all.   It just takes discipline,  and a great team I can depend on.

Sometimes I ask myself,  "Self, why did you leave Colorado;  17 years ago?".  (17 years!  Has it really been that long?!?!?!)  The answer isn't very satisfying.  "Because "they" wanted me to." ("They" = HP/job/career/advancement/money).  Not that we haven't had an amazing life, living in Boston, Minneapolis, and Austin.  But there remains plenty of time left,  God willing,  to enjoy the wonders of this mountain place that feels so much like home;  as a visitor for now.  Perhaps as a returning resident in the future.  It's all good.

When we lived here in the 80's and 90's,  we had a vacation home in Silverthorne; ~15 miles from Breckenridge.   It was a family magnet that created volumes of memories and experiences and love.  In the short 3 weeks we have been here,  we are re-living that same magnetism and joy of family.   Kristin was here for 2 weeks,  and will be back after her 1st week of her final college semester at Colorado State University (Biomedical Sciences).   And the "Lange Gange" visited us to enjoy the snow and mountains, our niece and nephew having grown to young adults with amazing talents,  and their own sense of self.

After the Lange family left for home, we suddenly realized that this was practically the 1st day we had alone in our new temporary home.  I finished work (ok, I am technically "on vacation") around 3 and we went out to ski the trails.

After a hot tub, we went to an amazing restaurant in an old Victorian home in Breck; the Hearthstone. http://www.hearthstonerestaurant.biz/.  The food was a fabulous end to another great day of our adventure and fantasy-come-true.

We are so blessed.

-Karl