March 21-29, 2009

People asked me, how was the weather in Taos? I tell them it was warm and sunny, cold and cloudy, snowy, calm, and there were wind gusts of over 75 miles per hour. How was the snow, they ask? I tell them it was soft and mushy, icy, packed powder, and there was epic powder up to our knees! We definitely saw every snow and weather condition you could imagine in one week, but it was all good.

We arrived Sunday without a hitch and were greeted with a fireworks display and torchlight parade on the mountain for the Ernie Blake Birthday celebration. Monday morning, those of us who signed up for lessons were on the mountain early to get placed in our groups – at least those of us who weren’t at the medical center being treated for altitude sickness! With a base elevation of over 9,000 feet, there were quite a few of us who visited there for treatment. Fortunately, the medical center was right there and they were able to get everyone back on the slopes quickly.

Monday night, we boarded vans to take us to Roger’s house for dinner. Along the way, we stopped at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge - awesome views. The house was a beautiful Southwestern style house, with a whole room dedicated to his extensive wine collection. The food and drinks were terrific (loved the giant margarita dispenser!) and Roger and his family were wonderful hosts. Great party!

Monday night, after we arrived back at the Inn, the winds began to howl and knocked out the power for most of the night. It looked like we might not be able to ski on Tuesday, but by the time we got up in the morning, the winds had died down and the lights came back on as we were eating breakfast, so the day was saved.

Wednesday night we did a group dinner at the Bavarian Lodge. Great German food!

Thursday was the day of the epic snow. It snowed all day and the snow just kept getting better as the day went on. It was one of the best ski days I ever had – I didn’t want to get off the mountain. Thursday night we headed to the bar at the Edelweiss Lodge for Karaoke. Candice Gonzalez said she always wanted to do Karaoke, but was always too afraid to try. After a couple of quick martinis, she got up the courage and hit the stage. She shouldn’t have feared because her rendition of Grand Funk’s "Some Kind of Wonderful" had the whole place up on the dance floor. Definitely the hit of the night!

Friday was the last day of lessons, which ended with a traditional visit to a little shack on the mountain, where the instructors brought out a funny looking glass contraption filled with martinis and a bag of olives. Each person took turns tipping the glass container to pour the martini into their mouth and toasting Ernie Blake. The lessons were wonderful (even without the martinis at the end) and I highly recommend them to anyone who goes out there.

Friday night we had everyone bring their leftovers for an impromptu party in our condo. It was supposed to just be a quick cocktail hour, but it ended up turning into a big party with dueling I-Pods (Jim Masterson, John Flaherty and Candice Gonzalez) spinning tunes for your listening pleasure, high-altitude kitchen dancing, and sing-alongs (with Candice reprising her now famous rendition of "Some Kind of Wonderful"). A perfect ending to a great week!

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