Winter Park vs. Beaver Creek
Fred and I went out to Winter Park 12 years ago. Jessica was maybe 4 and Emily was barely 2. Jessica learned to ski there. We stayed in a condo that we had found in the back of Ski magazine. 12 years ago, there was literally nothing there. What we loved about the mountain was Mary Jane. There are two sides to the area, one being Winter Park, the other Mary Jane. A fantastic mountain for skiers. Bumps galore. We decided to return this year.
There has been tremendous growth there. There is now a town, many places to stay and a variety of places to eat. We got there and everyone had a visceral reaction to the place. It isn’t high end by any stretch of the imagination. The accommodations weren’t so great. There was no wifi. We really should have had a car although they told me I wouldn’t need one. The restaurant we had dinner at the first night made Emily ill. The next morning we got out to the mountain and tried to find a decent breakfast place and wasn’t exactly impressed. Things were not looking good. We hit the slopes.
Four of the five of us board. Although I can go either way. I love to board the big wide open terrain but love the bumps on skis. I went out on a board the first day. It was an awful experience. I got caught up thick spring snow on a mogul run ( the majority of the mountain has bumps ) and took off my board and walked down. Then we tried another way and the same thing happened. I lost it. I literally sat in the middle of the run and bawled. I haven’t done that since college when Fred took me down a small tight shoot as I was just beginning to become a better skier and 3 little kids flew by me and I lost it.
We went down to the main place on the mountain to eat lunch. The food was again, awful. They didn’t even have green tea. This was not going to work out. Fred asked me the magic question "Do you want to leave"? I was thrilled, I wanted to leave this afternoon and go somewhere else. Emily couldn’t have been happier. She thought she was the only one who was miserable.
We made a few phone calls, went back and packed our bags. Had a car take us over to Beaver Creek where we have gone for years. We all woke up this morning happy as a clam. Although the skiing isn’t great because it is so warm and it hasn’t snowed in a while, everyone feels at home.
Perhaps it was the stress of moving last week and I really wanted to be more pampered, perhaps it is just reality. I did realize something about myself this trip which is I have gotten used to certain ways of how we live our life. 12 years ago, Winter Park was right for us, now it isn’t. Times have changed. It isn’t good or bad it is just reality. Sometimes, it takes something to happen in order for reality hit you in the face.