Visitors and Blizzards and Fun, Oh My!

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of friends and family and a frenzy of snow. We couldn't have enjoyed it more. First, an influx of Dartmouth buddies, including Pete, our token crazy Canuck. He made the trek to Telluride all the way from Beijing and we are pretty sure he appreciated the chance to finally breathe some clean air. It didn't hurt that he got the chance to flash his considerable snowboarding skills and his even more impressive drinking talents. We really loved hanging out with him, as Lauren had never met Pete before, and it had been too long since T.J. had the chance to spend some quality time with his former crew teammate. We look forward to continuing the adventure when we visit Pete in Beijing this summer!

T.J.'s Mom and Dad (Debbie and Michel) arrived just in time for a nice high pressure system, which meant cold temperatures and bright azure skies. Mom was slightly shaken by the approach to the Telluride airport, which is the highest commercial airport in North America and is perilously perched on a mountainside opposite the ski resort. We had really been looking forward to their arrival, and not just because we got to eat at restaurants that are a bit pricey for our pockets. Of course, we skied together every day and remained awed at the prowess of the polar queen and the speed demon. Every year, T.J. thinks he can out-ski his Pops, but he'll probably have to wait a few more years for that. Much to our delight, the weather gods intervened and blew in a huge blizzard, which closed the airport and "forced" the folks to stay an extra day. And what an extra day it was!

There is truly no greater pleasure than sharing a super deep powder day with the man who taught you to ski. We had an amazing time together and delighted in watching each other's grins as we tore up the mountain.

Fortunately for us, the parents' departure did not mean the end of the snowfall. In fact, Telluride has been experiencing its best winter in at least 15 years, with a record 9 feet of snow in January. We have assumed the heavy burden of skiing all that powder. It is a tough job, but we all have to make sacrifices.

In addition to skiing almost every day and attending to our other jobs, we've also been trying to get out and sample the nightlife in town. Last Saturday night we had a spectacular and tasty dinner at Allred's Restaurant, located a quick Gondola ride up to 10,535' at the mountain summit.