Saturday – more bluebird days 40F and clear blue sky. The mountain needs feeding with some more snow.
Pictures are of the Ice Castle we visited last night with Hal, Carol and Angela – our landlords.
Pick car up from Enterprise after yesterdays failed pick up. Mind you one hell of a deal, 3 days at the weekend for $36 and to top it all I get a full size Hyundai Elantra, very swish.
Decide against driving to the ski slopes as it’s absolute mayhem with the Sundance Film Festival so catch the bus in and have a lazy couple of hours skiing. Busy due to all the crotch droppings, but worth it.
In the afternoon it’s the liquor store, Walmart, Bread shop for some of their amazing granola and then Whole foods for a salad. By the time we get back it gone 18:00 so we pass on going to 
atch the Half Pipe Championships. Try out HBO and pick up a full feature length film with Larry David (Clear History), like a Curb Your Enthusiasm on steroids. Also sample a some beer and wine just to stock me dehydrating.
Sunday – another bluebird day.
Up at the crack of swallows and have the benefit of driving tot he slopes. Not really all that much in it as the bus service is so frequent.
By 10:00 I’ve cracked off 6 awesome runs on corduroy and am ready for a well deserved coffee break. Then pick up another 4 runs and back home well and truly knackered.
Popped into the National Ability Centre to volunteer to take disabled and blind people skiing and in the summer archery – no this is not a joke, they are in blue. The centre here at PC has a Worldwide reputation for excellence in sports for the disabled. Isn’t it neat that they don’t call it a “National Disability Centre” but instead the “National Ability Centre” – mind you 
ot that they can spell it that well. When you see some of these guys ski you get to understand why they use the word ability. No legs or blind and they put me to shame.
Then for a bit of exercise with Wendy we go for a 2 hour stroll around town, look in at a great looking Mexican and then it’s Starbucks in PC with all the pretty people. You’d think they were giving it away, coffee that is. The pretty crazy people are posing and marauding everywhere. Interesting you seem to get two distinct sorts the eye candy brigade dolled up to the nines, pretty and don’t they know it.Then you get the nerds who look like they’ve escaped from a deep dark cellar where they operated the IT help desk, dressed by someone from the Salvation army clothes stall a Sartorial Schizophrenia, and are in such desperate need of some TLC and human contact.
At this rate I’ll be both knackered and asleep by 20:00, another chance to fall asleep over Silent Witness. Will I have the energy to climb the apples and pears as noddy passes big ears – moved to 09:00 these days until we get our high altitude legs.
Monday – another bluebird day.
Is this heaven? Up at 07:00, wondering why so early, is it worth it?
Eagle lift for 09:00, eagerly awaiting opening; Temptation for first run of the day, sun and corduroy; King Kong lift; King Kong; Silverlode lift; Jonesys for virgin corduroy, steep start among those awesome Aspens and then a long smooth well groomed velvetty finish, just like a good coffee; a few more runs then time for coffee. Then more, more, more and home around lunch time after an awesome mornings skiing.
Is it worth the early start? You bet. All that and awesome mountain scenery for just £5 a day. Beats any gym membership.
Anyway time to notch up a gear ready for Kurt. Last week was gentle start, just blues. This week need to tackle the double blues and push these old legs in a 16 year olds body some more. Skies are now behaving and feeling very comfortable and at one with them and as for for my 15 year old antique boots, they’re still as responsive and comfortable as the day I bought them. Like a pair of 10lb fur lined slippers.
Back home and take Wendy down to Salt Lake for her drug test. Salt Lake is covered in smog and you get a terrifying view of it as you drive down from the clear blue skies of the mountains into what looks like a 1950’s pea souper from above.
Yes’ they took just one glance at Wendy at the hospital interview and decided she was a druggy. Typical of her age and the Little Missy jeans were a dead give away. Hopefully they won’t detect the brandy problem! She can manage the pee test but they have to call in a head nurse and then a doctor to get any blood out of her. She comes out with holes in both arms where they tried to get blood out of the stone. Sadly they have no Mickey Mouse plasters.
Take the car back and have a pleasant walk (as if I don’t get enough exercise) back home.
Tuesday – another bluebird day.
Wendy’s hitting the slopes again. She’s that keen she’s 200 yards ahead of me, just galloping to the bus stop. Can’t wait to get on the slopes.
Amazing isn’t it there are all these special SFF buses for the pretty crazy people, and they’re almost always empty and one every 5 minutes. Yet they, the pretty crazy ones, decide to mount the ski bus, so skiers can’t get on. Meanwhile there are empty SFF buses everywhere.
Have a pleasant morning skiing; stop for coffee; then to the corner store for lunch. Wendy has a ginormous Philly Steak sandwich and I can’t resist a Chezc Pilsner. Sinner that I am, as I break the 2nd commandment of retirement – “Thou shalt not drink during the day”. The temptation was just too great after such an awesome and heavenly day.
Amazing isn’t it in this day and age full of the wonders of IT you get a tab at the end of the meal that doesn’t add up. Can you believe it there are cash machines that can’t add up. Instead of $19.53 it’s $19.55. I point this out to the waitress – one of those Victor moments. No of course it’s right she says. No it isn’t says Victor. She goes back in and comes out with the tab, still wrong but 2 cents for me. The manager says it just rounds the bill automatically. And just by coincidence it rounds up. Hmm! It’s not the 2 cents it’s the principle, they could at least warn about rounding on the tab and better still round down.
Mind you at least this tab doesn’t do the maths for an 18%, 20% and 22% tip. Gone are the days 
of being content with 10%, easy on the brain, or 15%, a tad more taxing, for really great service. Funny old thing isn’t is, everyone screams highway robbery at taxes that at least in theory go to improve society, yet accept without even a glance at a calculator a 20% tip. So the other night our waitress must have dolled out at least 3 tabs an hour at say an average of $60, thats $180 at 20%, thats $36 an hour, plus assumedly minimum wage of say $7 an hour giving a total of $43 per hour at a 37.5 hour week for 48 weeks thats $77,000 pa. Average wage is $44, not bad if you can get it. Sadly we (yes both of us not just me) really struggle with this tipping lark although I have to admit that service here is so much better 
than in the UK, but 10% is my normal limit for good service, it must be the English Victor in me.
Well that’s enough of the Victor moments for the day, better quit while I’m still intact. Time to go home and finish clearing the deck. Play with the awesome snow blower that just blows all leaves and loose snow off the deck.