Colorado

It was the last day of our trip to colorado, and was time to pack our car, fix our flat tire, find a lost room key, and check out of the hotel. We finally took care of everything that was broken and or lost, and headed to Monarch Ski Resort for a significantly shortened last day of snowboarding.

It was already the afternoon and since ski resorts in Colorado close early in the evening due to lack of light, we bought a half-day lift ticked. We had been to Monarch a few days earlier in the week, so we knew exactly what areas of the mountain we wanted to explore before we had to leave for home. We spend the first part of the afternoon taking long runs through trees in the woods that would intermittently meet with main ski trails. The second half of the afternoon was spent in the terrain park were we beat ourselves up on man made rails and jumps. Beaten, battered, and somewhat frustrated with the lack of finesse in our riding, the end of the day had come and we were exhausted.

The resort was closing in thirty minutes but there was time for only one more run. We took the main lift to the highest peak it could reach. We both knew that we wanted to hike to the back bowls of the mountain before we left for home, so we unstrapped our snowboards, and started walking. Within ten minute of hiking to the peak I was sweating bullets, I never though I would be so warm in minus ten degree weather. Half way up the mountain my friend and I stood hunched over clutching our chests in exhaustion and agony. When we finally reached the absolute peak of the mountain, both of our jackets were slug over our shoulders, shirts were untucked, hats were off, and I was saturated head to toe in sweat. The peak was windy and loud, almost so much so that it was difficult keep balanced when standing straight up. Once we strapped in to our boards, we looked out on what we had come here for. Acres of untracked snow sat in front of us thanks to the heavy snowfall the night before. We were the last and only ones at the peak and everything was at our disposal. The last run down the mountain took us forty-five minutes. By the time we had reached the bottom of the hill the resort was closed and most of its employees had gone home for the day. We got in our car, which stood alone in the parking lot, and packed our gear up after the best day of our trip.