Snowmobile Saturday

Snowmobiling...not much of a workout, right?  Wrong!  I found that out Saturday when I went snowmobiling with Telluride Snowmobile Adventures.  I went out with my guide Ben and his friend Andy on an intermediate snowmobile tour.  We covered over 15 miles through trees, twists, turns and incredible scenery.  My favorite spot on the tour was the Alta Ghost Town.

Alta Ghost Town

I also loves maneuvering through the trees.  Steering the snowmobile through turns, some uphill and some down, was a big upper body workout.  Got a little bit of core and leg work to since you do have to lean into the turns.  Ben used the phrase "Sneak a cheek" to describe how you should lean into the turn.  In other words....scoot half your booty off snowmobile in turns!

Back side of Gold Hill Chutes

I did start the day with a long dog walk down Main Street, past Town Park and in to another residential area of Telluride and enjoyed some beautiful moments of the sun rising over the mountains.

Hike & Ski In Same Day At Telluride

On a beautiful chilly Friday morning, the folks at The Hotel Telluride recommended I go up Jud Wiebe Trail for a nice hike.  They said I would get a combination of dirt, mud, and snow.  It's a locals favorite hike.  So off I went.  As I went higher I did get into some snow and ice.  I also got some incredible views of Telluride.

I was on a time schedule and the snow and ice slowed me down a little on the hike.  To do the whole hike it takes about an hour and half but with the snow and ice it takes about two hours.  So I made it almost to the top and had to turn back down to make my ski time.

Well on the way down, even though I was trying to be careful in the snow and icy spots, I slipped on ice and fell flat on my back and slammed my elbow into a rock.  Not exactly what I'd planned!  Thankfully I hit the rock just below the elbow and didn't break a bone.  But I have a huge bruise and swollen elbow/arm from that adventure.

Some of what I hiked through on Jud Wiebe Trail

So I hurried down as fast as I could after my spill and got ready for skiing.  It was a beautiful spring day for skiing at Telluride!  I actually covered a lot of ground as we road up Sunshine Express then skied over to Prospect Express to the where you can start hike to go up Palmyra Peak.

Palmyra Peak

From there we skied Galloping Goose, after a spill at top of run from my boots not fulling clipping in to bindings from packed snow.  Then up Gold Hill Express to Revelation Bowl and down to Woozley's Way and lunch at Bon Vivant.  After lunch we skied down after a fun afternoon on the slopes! 

Mush, Mush

Yesterday I went dog sledding with Dog Sled Rides of Winter Park.  This was a different adventure from the first time I went dog sledding a little over a year ago.  I was hoping to drive my own sled but that's not what this outfitter does.  Instead my friends Catrina and Nancy and I were bundled up in sleeping bags and sled covers and sent off on an adventure with a musher and 7-8 dogs.  The musher drove the sled and we just sat back and soaked up scenery while enjoying the ride.  In this workout the dogs definitely were the workers.  We went on about a 45 minute ride and covered about 5 miles.  The dogs will do 1-3 runs a day depending on their abilities.  Some of the dogs have trained for the Iditarod.  These dogs are born to run and going dog sledding is a great chance to see that.

After the ride, we got a chance to play with dogs.  You can tell they are very happy.

Skiing First Back Bowl In Vail

Yesterday I got to ski my first Vail back bowl.  Actually got to do two first:  ski a bowl and ski a natural half-pipe.  I went out on a shoot to show the beauty and accessibility to almost any ski level of the back bowls.  We ended up skiing for about three hours for the shoot.  We did a couple of runs then took lifts and catwalks over to China Bowl, my first bowl.  I had a blast following my guide Chris Lai down the bowl.  Love that I made it down without falling!

In China Bowl with Mount Holy Cross in background.

From there we headed over the Blue Sky Basin for more skiing and to check out the view of the bowls, including China Bowl.  In the Basin, we skied the Cloud Nine then back over to Lionshead.  Cloud Nine was fitting since it is my favorite ski day yet!

Snowshoe Saturday

Saturday I did a first - snowshoe in Rocky Mountain National Park.  I went with some friends and did a shoot.  It was an absolute blast.  Mileage-wise we didn't go that far - about a mile and quarter to mile and a half.  But racing with kids across the frozen Bear Lake I got in a little extra.  We also did do a little running through the powder and snowshoeing uphill to get to Nymph Lake.  Snowshoeing burns 350-550 calories per hour.  I love the workout!

Skiing Breckenridge

Saturday I skied Breckenridge with my friend Hope and her 16 year old daughter Chrizney.  It was Chrizney's first time to ski.  She'd taken a lesson Friday.  But it took us awhile to get down our first run.  I certainly saw some big falls.  In the cold and wind, I became Coach Jen as we slowly got down her first run.

There's something to be said to watching someone try something for the first time.  The first day of skiing for Chrizney turned into a much better experience once we did some of the ski school runs.  Her last run of the day she made it all the way without a fall or even a wobble!

Skiing Powder Day at Beaver Creek

Sunday was a powder day at Beaver Creek.  9" of new snow fell Saturday night and early Sunday.  So two friends and I headed out to feel the burn in our legs from skiing powder.  It was a blast!

Check out my Powder Day! Skiing Beaver Creek Swept Away blog for the video of my powder day at Beaver Creek.

Party Prep Workout

My friends Melissa and Carl and a couple of others had grand plans this morning to hike the hill that is across the street from their house in Breckenridge.  Well wind gusts of 50mph plus starting at midnight lasting through 10am this morning, including peak gusts of 100-126mph 5-6am and whiteout conditions 7:30-9am put an end to that hike outing.  We'd all had no sleep and power went out for about 6 hours.

So instead I got my workout today doing party preps that consisted of putting together an outdoor heater, carrying chairs down stairs, and carrying ice bags, bottled waters, and other party necessities up stairs.

Wasn't exactly the workout I'd planned but oh well blame it on the weather!

That hike will have to wait for another day.  I'm almost 6 months in to my year long blog (Jan 3 is halfway mark).  Cheers to 2012 being a year of getting in shape, eating better, enjoying better health and most of all just keep moving!  Happy New Year!