Was still awake at 7am so decided to get up and have an early breakfast. Went to Columbine Cafe and ordered eggs, toast, bacon, hash browns and bottomless coffee for $11!
With breakfast out of the way I returned to RML to get changed and stretch, and was on the bus to the gondola by 9:15am. I exited the gondola at Peak 7 and headed across to Peak 6. It was a much greyer day than yesterday and quite windy but the snow was still excellent and the sun came out as the morning wore on.
Breckenridge lies on a mountain range called the 10 mile range which comprises 10 peaks. And in a feat of creativity the local forbears decided to name the peaks 1 to 10. There is a similar range in Austria and the Austrians not being possessed of American practicality named their range the Wilder Kaiser and one notable peak is called the Kaiser Gebirge.
During my time in Breckenridge in the 90's the ski resort spanned Peaks 8, 9 and 10 with hiking access (but no lifts) on Peak 7. Today the development has spread to include lifts and base lodge facilities on Peaks 6 and 7.
My quest for the day was to tag all 5 peaks. My first run took me to the top of Peak 6. I was feeling more aclimated, less short of breath so I figured it was a pretty safe quest for day 2.
Peak 6 is exposed and it was quite windy so one run sufficed. Likewise one run on Peak 7 was enough. Next on the agenda was Peak 8 and a ride up the T-Bar to the Horse Shoe Bowl. Horse Shoe Bowl is so named because it's shaped like a horse shoe. Although quite a short run it's very steep and rivals anything at Mt Hutt for technical difficulty. Accessing the bowl proper necessitates navigating through a field of large bumps with hidden rocks waiting to tear out an edge. Once in the snow was sublime. The windy conditions had blown in snow and the steep walls of the bowl were coated in a soft layer that the skis sunk into like soft butter.
After three exhilirating runs down horse shoe bowl the steep slope turns were starting to feel good, and it was time to head in for lunch.
At the bottom of Horse Shoe...you'll have to trust me on that.
I'll try not to go into too much detail about lunch but it can't go without comment. I ordered a chicken somosa burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato and caramelised apple. The burger was served up on wrapping paper in a plastic basket. The bun was open and closing it proved too difficult so I decided to attack it with a knife and fork. There's probably some post 911 federal law that restaurants must dull their cutlery because I am yet to find a knife that can cut. In fact the bread seems to always come out on top. Today was no exception, my first attempt to slice (quite forcibly because I have experience with US knives) through the bread resulted in the basket (oval shaped) jerking over and almost spilling the contents on the floor. The guy who decided an oval shaped basket would be a better option than a dinner plate is probably the great-grandson of the guy who named the peaks. In the end I discovered the best approach to dismantling the bun was to pin it down with the knife and tear it with my fingers.
After lunch I bought a coffee and cookie...$11!
The rest of the afternoon saw me complete my quest and put in a couple of runs on Peak 9, and one on Peak 10 before returning to Peak 8 to close out the day. I skied down 4 O'Clock and pulled up outside the RML at 4:10pm so all in all a pretty full day.
A quick trip into town to purchase the Spyder Bromont jacket I've had my eye on.
And then a leisurely stroll back to the hotel taking in the alpenglow scenery.
It's been great to spend a couple of days in Breckenridge. It was nice to go back after almost 20 years and take in the changes while enjoying the things that have remained the same.
Mason, Claire and Jim arrive tomorrow, so the intensity is gonna go up a notch or 20.
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