With that and no other 88 type complications we were off and surprisingly thru security in about 7 minutes. Got to love smaller airports and easy checkins, as we went from front door to sitting on the plane in less than an hour. We were off and of course Southwest got us to Denver early so we were at our friends house in enough time to see the Aggies go out to a big lead and then of course almost blow it. Mrs Seater and her friend then ran 16 miles in prep for the Houston Marathon this weekend, while the husbands got to watch our friends kids while we watched football. Later that night we rang in the new year and then it was off to Vail early Sunday morning. We skied Sunday afternoon thru Tuesday evening at Vail and had a great time despite the lack of snow, no back bowls, and warm temps:
Top near Eagle's Nest
Looking South at the lack of snow
Mrs Seater (left) and her good friend riding lift
Notice the dirt on the edge of the run
Ski Patrol Dog with deer leg he had just "rescued" from an avalanche
The ladies showing off where they were skiing
On Wednesday it was back to Denver and back on Southwest. Again no issues and no additional bag fees, lost bags, eaten bags, etc. Once again our flights were early and we rolled into Reno before heading to South Lake Tahoe.
Saw this plane at the next gate
View of Vail from about 28,000 feet and climbing on the way west
Then from Thursday thru Monday we skied at Heavenly, Northstar at Tahoe and Kirkwood. We met my mom and brother and his wife there to celebrate my mom's 65th birthday.
This is a view from a lift at Heavenly
Similar view from lift at Northstar and Lefty's Atomic Nomad Skis, sadly they only came in purple
On Saturday Mrs 'Seater and I decided to take a day off of skiing and go for a hike. We started above Emerald Bay and hiked up towards South Maggies Peak.
We passed this frozen stream on the way up
Nice view of Emerald Cove on way up
1000' above the trail head we came upon frozen Granite lake
Mrs 'Seater taking a break
View of Granite lake and Lake Tahoe
About 200' from the top we ran into this and decided to turn around as we were in tennis shoes
View of Granite Lake, Emerald Cove, and Lake Tahoe
View of Heavenly from Comet Express Lift
Notice lack of snow
Sunset view from Deck of Condo
Again on the way home, no bag fees, no overweight bag fee, flights were early, and although we had to stop in Las Vegas we didn't have to change planes.
Takeoff from Runway 1R at Vegas
Lake Powell
Are the 88's still out there?
All in all a great trip despite the lack of snow. Still got 7 days of skiing in.
The shadows were playing tricks on Mrs. Lefty's face that day....