It's been a few days since I had a chance to update the blog. On Wednesday night I picked up Josh and Brad in Denver. Denver is a very nice, small city just on the edge of the Colorado Rocky Mountain Range. The streets and downtown area remind me a lot of Nashville TN. Denver has more non-profit companies than any other city in the United States, and is also the smartest city in the country per capita. The food is rated as some of the best with the local cullinary institute placing many great chef's in the community restaurants. Unfortunately we couldn't stay in Denver long because we had hotel reservations in Frisco, CO placing us in closer proximity to Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, and A-Basin. Brad and Josh were both very excited to get out in the snow on Thursday. With 6" of fresh snow on the slopes we set out on an epic journey. By 2:00 on Thursday we had the idea to hike up to the top of a peak that was a little ways off the beaten path. The hike was much more than we had bargained for. Each step was a risk to drop into an open gap beneath the snow that could be as deep as chest high. On several occasions we were forced to pull one another out of the snow, but in the end it was all worth it. 1500 ft later we had reached the peak where we decided we would drop down into the untouched powder. This was an experience for all three of us, and the rush that came from flying through the snow on the side of a jagged rocky mountain face was equal to anything i've ever enjoyed. After the day was over we piled into the VOLVO for the ride home. We realized quickly that the altitude, wind, and snow had worn us down immensly, and the hike also had something to do with it. Either way we were all three in bad shape. Splitting headaches plagued us, and soar muscles kept us bed ridden for the remainder of Thursday night. Friday and Saturday brought much of the same with fresh new snow in Breckenridge, and Vail. Outside of a minor mishap in Vail where Josh and I were ticketed for using someone else's lift tickets the week went wonderfully. The highlight of the week thus far came tonight when the HEELS punched their ticket to San Antonio. This has huge implications for me because had they lost I would have been heading back to Raleigh on Monday morning. The plan now is to drop off Brad and Josh at the Denver airport and head East on 70 and then South on 35 through Kansas and Oklahoma all the way to the Final Four. Look's like that ticket I bought back in January was a good investment! Next stop... Austin, TX. I'll have a few days to hang out down in South Texas before the games next weekend, so who knows I have my eyes set on getting into Mexico before it's all over.
