Christmas to New Year

Well the film was excellent. Set in the future (2154AD) THE SYSTEM is still up to it’s old tricks, trying to mine a rare but invaluable mineral called unobtainum (so clearly the writers aren’t taking themselves toooo seriously), on a Planet far far away … called Pandora. The indigenous people are ten foot tall, blue-skinned and, apart from the tail, look and behave in a remarkably human fashion and maintain sophisticated social and belief systems centred around the spirits of ancestors and the living force embodied in all living creatures (and trees) on the planet. Bad news then that the epicenter of this system (a wonderful tree with waving, multi-coloured, spaghetti-like filaments), is placed on the mega-lode of unobtainium - so the natives must be persuaded to move away to enable the mining company to dig it all up. In an endeavour to persuade to Na’vi to move, the Company create semi-native creatures by combining the DNA of a human and a Native which involves the human bit lying in a sunbed while the combo-creature is alive and talking to the tribesmen. Just such a person is the hero, a paraplegic actor called Sam Worthington, who steps into his twin brother’s (same DNA) shoes / sunbed, when needed on his demise. His is the role of trying to integrate /ingratiate himself with the tribe and arrange a Diplomatic solution that involves them moving to another area (or else – although the exact terms of ‘or else’ are not revealed to him).
Following a long tradition of such exploitation films (think Little Big Man and Dances with Wolves), the interloper becomes enamoured with the simple and meaningful philosophy of the natives and changes sides, and as an optional extra, falls in love with the chief’s daughter (no surprise there then). The inevitable conflict between the huge forces available to the Company and the seemingly pitiful resources of the Na’vi ensure a wondrous battle to the death. The special effects are superb, the scenery vibrant, colourful and vaguely reminiscent of underwater seaweed forests with some wondrous animals and plants to populate it (including dragon-like rideable flying creatures, six-legged horses and my favourite, a hammer-head rhinoceros).
The parallels with what I mentioned in last week’s blog are so strong that I reread it with a glow of smugness. Clearly this is a piece of cinematic prowess (costing a mere $500m and ten years in the making) that is treading on familiar toes, with the natives wearing long braided hair, dark - ( well actually - in this case blue, but who’s quibbling?) skinned natives chased off their traditional hunting grounds where they rode horses and lived in a respectful equilibrium with the plants and animals. So, perhaps James Cameron is preaching a well-known sermon, in this case it has been preached in an exceptional manner and with enormous skill. This really is an excellent film.
Meanwhile, while whole planets are being plundered for profit, the really big news in downtown Vail was that the donkeys that had been scheduled to play a supporting role (supporting Mary actually) in a Christmas Nativity, made a bid for freedom and legged it down the railway track, now closed for the winter, towards Denver. With only 176 miles to go they were recaptured and the Vail Two, now infinitely more famous than their human actor counterparts, were then persuaded to play their part in traditional fashion (I just hope they got top billing and demanded extra carrots).
What is odd about being in a culture that is so similar to our own, is that every now and then, when you have been lulled asleep to the possibility of difference, something pops up and screams at you. Along with the old notion of two countries divided by the same language there are any number of examples. We came off the piste the other day and went indoors to a restaurant. Immediately your nose runs at the temperature difference and, if you are mustachioed, the breath-icicles melt. At this point, up walks one of two dedicated staff and offers you each a large tissue and indicates the large bin provided for disposal. Now what is that but excellent, thoughtful service?
And how about the telephone call I took the other day? It was a recorded message it has to be said, but it told me that because the holiday period clashed with the normal rubbish bin collection day, the collection for this week and next (Christmas and the New Year week), would be one day later. ‘Thank you and have a nice day’! Now how about that for service?
The almost inevitable ‘I hope you have a fun day’ was varied by a ‘well thank you for coming here’ when I mentioned to the woman with the pass-screening gizmo that this was our first time to the resort. Such genuine goodnaturedness seems endemic.
Along with the cultural differences, there are strange imbalances elsewhere. For instance the drainage system comes with dire warnings as to what will happen if anything other than human waste and minimal paper is flushed. So – they can send a man to the moon (40 years ago), but you can’t put a tampax down the toilet. In shops, when paying with a credit card, you are asked for a signature, not a PIN number. They don’t do PINS here, yet it was harrumphed in UK as the only thing that would save us from a financial fate worse than death, so where does the truth lie?
Such strange anomalies keep us amused and amazed and make life in the slow lane interesting.
Our skiing is loosening up as we get back into the swing of it. Unfortunately Sue swung too far and too loose and fell, seemingly innocuously, onto her arm on a moderate ‘going home’ type run, and is now in severe pain and unable to lift said arm above a mild curse position. The idea is to wait and see if it eases before going through the Hospital / x-ray / medical insurance route. Meanwhile I have been skiing solo for, I think, the first time ever. Very strange it was too with no-one to share the admired views or to hope will persuade you not to try the horrid-looking mogully run.
Note to self – don’t leave apples or other fruit in the car and expect to eat them when you return at the end of the day. They will be frozen so hard you could play baseball with them (apart from the bananas which can be whittled to produce a working boomerang).
While on the subject of things freezing, having noticed a magpie and a coal-tit flying about the house, I put out some bread on a piece of wood outside the kitchen window and Sue contributed some leftover rice, to feed the little darlings. The following morning I spotted the coal-tit on the wood. It tried to peck – failed, walked round the food, tried to kick / scratch - failed, limped around the bread and rice and flew off nursing a bruised toe and beak - oh and probably a pride. Things get real cold, real quick here!
The next bit will make uncomfortable reading for one particular friend who habitually scans UK petrol pump prices, rather as other people keep an eye out for ornate buildings, Pub names, or particularly fine trees or views.
I had to put some petrol in the car the other day. The bill was $39.16 for 13.69 galls at $2.859 per gall ie approx £1.73 per gall or .40p per litre.
At this point it would be wise to check Nigel’s pulse rate.
It is little wonder that the rest of the world is finding the US population reluctant to raise fuel prices. At the same time, our car returns about 16.5mpg with its 4 litre automatic engine. Advertised on the TV last night was the new Dodge Heavy Duty pickup, THE RAM (has to be in capitals there is so much testosterone attached to it). It has a 6.7litre Cummins Turbo Diesel producing 350 bhp which is enough power to pull a wallet from a Scotsman’s pocket, as they say, but I’ll bet you have to stop the engine running when at a Petrol Station to get any petrol in the tank. No wonder they need to secure oil reserves, wherever it shows up and whosever backyard it’s in.
On a similar subject, and to give a sense of balance lest anyone should think that the US were alone in these activities, it would appear that Maggie Thatcher was correct in her surmise that the Falklands were worth defending at all costs. However, far from being for the much-vaunted and honourable ‘defending fellow UK citizens from the nasty invading Argies’ reason, it was for the rather more prosaic reason that, as has been revealed recently, there is an enormous amount (over 60m barrels) of oil under the ground, just off the coast and comfortably within the waters claimed by UK. Nice one Maggie!
Well, the New Year is almost upon us and we are joining our guests in a meal in Vail at a smart restaurant with a good reputation and an enticing menu. The intention is to get the bus so we can make merry and enjoy the finest celebrations and fireworks that Vail has to offer. When in UK we have in the past pulled ourselves off the sofa at 10.30pm and headed off to Malvern to walk up to its highest point, the Worcestershire Beacon, with whoever we can persuade to come, and watch the fireworks as they go off over Herefordshire and Worcestershire as we sip from our chilled Champagne in our plastic flutes. We will see how this year pans out.

We explore further

The meal at the recommended Juniper Restaurant was delicious, but even though the main course was half price, the rest of the menu more than made up for it. Drinks for instance, with a 15 yr old Macallam Whisky at $25 a shot. Now I’m not saying it isn’t a nice drop of scotch but it does seem a bit steep and there were bottles of wine for $1000+ for the real connoisseur. I’m glad to say that neither of us could tell a $1,000 bottle of wine from a $20 so we won’t be troubling the wine waiter there. We will probably go again and combine it with a film as the Cinema is just over the road.
We had the difficult problem of appropriate tipping at the end of the meal and it seems that tipping is a common problem. In the local daily paper there was an article on the proper etiquette. It suggests 15 – 20% of a meal tab, at least $1 per drink served in a bar and in the event of there being offers, ‘remember to calculate the tip on the original bill before the discount’! On the vexed question of what to do if you get a complimentary drink, the answer is: Some bartenders say $1 per free drink is OK. Others say it’s best to leave $2 to $3 per draft, or about half the price of the cocktail. If you have a tab and the bartender sends several complimentary drinks, estimate the total tab without the freebies and then leave at least 20 % of that figure. All of which seems to me to say that the Americans are completely uptight about being seen to do it right and probably because it reflects on their vital statistics – income and net worth.
Actually our first guests left a generous tip, made even more so by their absentmindedly leaving a bottle of Champagne, the next to be tested, in the fridge. We will have it on Christmas day and toast their unknowning generosity.
We went for a drive around to get the flavour of the countryside, as we do. Our runaround is a Ford with a 4 litre engine and automatic stick-shift change but very easy to drive and we trundled along at about 45 mph and viewed the unfolding mountains, passes, plains and dams. First impression of Colorado is – big. If pressed for greater detail I would venture – very big. The Rockies are huge with lots of distinct ranges of mountains within them, each with there own character and history. The rocks vary in colour enormously as they are basically limestones and sandstones with volcanic intrusions which have given rise to the pockets of gold, silver, lead and copper which have all been mined at some time or another. A rather more exotic mine we came across was after molybdomen. I need to Google what to do with any Molybdomen I should come across as it’s a while since A level Chemistry. We turned off the main road to a town called Red Cliff (main feature … try and guess) which probably had a population of around about 150. However it did have natural gas, which was pretty impressive considering its location. It also had a small road sneaking off out of it and up a valley so off course we had to investigate. It wound its way up and up heading for ‘Shrine Pass’. The snow got thicker and thicker on the road and we changed to 4 wheel drive. On and on we went until the only tracks ahead of us were from snowmobiles. Then we quit with a promise to come back and follow it all the way over to its 11,000 top and down the other side.
We rejoined the main road and headed off to Leadville (principle mining product?) which had two parallel streets and houses and stores, bar and banks, straight out of a cowboy movie but absolutely still in current use. Great spoil heaps and a Museum of Mining (closed) pointed to its past as a mining centre, but there seemed to be lots of people about and I just wondered what they all did for work.
There are reputedly Wagon Train trails to follow which require nerves of steel and a 4 x 4 (or a canvas-covered wagon, two horses and an enormous amount of perseverance/fear). It is when you consider what the pioneers must have had to contend with that you appreciate the drive and courage needed to force a way over or through these mountains. That’s so long as the Indians stayed away. The Indians are a bit of an embarrassment to the Americans and it shows in ways that you can see if you look. In the State Ski Museum of Colorado in Vail, there is lots of info about how the valley was developed in several stages as a ski resort with the help of key famous figures. These featured in various world Championships and Olympics and the walls are covered with paintings, potted histories and examples of the skis and gear used. Fascinating stuff for the ski buff. There is also a 2”x 2” photograph of a Ute Indian with a four-line paragraph and it says that there were Indians here in the valley and surrounding mountains but they left when the gold and silver were discovered.
What a wonderful understatement that is ‘they left…’ I can just see it. The Indians saying to each other, hey guys, there’s loads of gold and silver here, let’s not stick around here like we have, but let’s get out of here quick. No mention of being forcibly removed from hunting grounds held for hundred of generations so the incomers could get rich, nothing uncomfortable like that. When we asked in a museum for info on where we could find native Indian culture, the answer was that we would have to ask to the Forest Service because they would know. It’s almost a case of ‘Indians, what Indians?’. They are convenient when it comes to a little cultural inspiration though, check out the headdress chairs.
The countryside is outstanding with a desert dryness causing very little in plantlife apart form a hardy grass, some tufty shrub jobs that live in flat river / lake basins, and pine trees that seem to go right up to the sky. It’s a curious thing but in Europe the tree-line is at about 1,700m (about 5,500ft), here they are growing at 3,500m (11,500ft). In France the highest bit we got on to was Aiguille Rouge at 3,600m and that was the top of a pointy mountain with hardly enough room to put a viewing platform. Here we go up to the top of the lift and get off at 3,500m and we are surrounded by trees, there is a restaurant, an information booth, picnic area, warming room and a 25-piece Salvation Army brass band (actually I lied about the band but you get the picture).
A day exploring Vail, which is about 9 miles down the road, revealed just what a fabulous place that is to ski. The average annual snowfall of 348” ( 2007/08 had 463”) helps of course as does the vertical rise ( or fall depending if you’re on a lift or a piste) of 3,450ft. At least 193 named and groomed pistes of varying degrees of difficulty and you can see why some people swear it‘s the best in the world (you have to bear in mind when this sort of thing is said that the Americans have a World Series comprising of … er East America versus West America). It is pretty stunning though and we thoroughly enjoyed zooming down on groomed pistes with a fresh covering of about 4” of powder snow.
On the one lift we noticed a rather curiously dressed pine tree next to the chair lift. It was decorated with an enormous number (indicating a long-term phenomenon), of strings of beads of all colours and what can only be described as ladies frillies of varying degrees of substantiveness. It must have been chilly enough removing a string of beads while on the chairlift to throw into the tree, the thongs cause an imagination overload. A thong for Europe came to mind but of course this is USA so it would be a thong for the World.
While exploring the town of Vail we came across a wonderful ice carving which is due to be joined by others during a sculpture week, I fancy this will be immensely interesting. Then we came across three beautiful sculptures, a sleeping bear that looks as though is has been deflated, a group of children having a snowball fight, and a Herculaneum figure straight out of a Marvel comic. Magnificent all.
We had one of our evenings off and returned to the house of the marguerite. Sue once again went through the ‘no cheese please’ bit with the waiter who assured her that the tortillas wraps of fish didn’t have any cheese so would be OK. Sure enough when they came they didn’t have any cheese on, but to make up for it, the rice and pureed beans were smothered in melted cheese! Ah well - perhaps next time. We did have a jumbo marguerite costing $13.95 and worth every cent (I’m trying to adopt the local patois) and my meal was both excellent and relatively cheeseless. It was snowing as we set out walking to the restaurant and by the time we walked back there was a good 6” of fine powdery snow everywhere and it was as if a blanket had been laid across the roads. The traffic noise was negligible and we wandered back through the Nania-like streets which have fairy lights in enormous quantities wound through each tree. The fairy-light salesman had clearly been on, and won, an enormous bonus.
The snow-ploughs were out in force, tearing around the streets and ploughing within inches of the kerbs. It was very skilful and also plain to see why there are no cat’s-eyes in the roads. We are off to the cinema tonight for a late night showing, possibly of Avatar, as we have a day off tomorrow so can lie in.
Finally I would like to wish my reader the very best for the Festive Season and hope the New Year brings wonders anew.

First Ski

We went and got our skis and a very helpful Matt sorted them out. My set come to my chin, very short by French standards, and should be much quicker to turn. A nice sideways profile should mean good carving which is long high-speed turns when going straight down the slope, great fun once perfected. Sue’s were similarly short so it was interesting to find that they did exactly what Matt predicted, turning well and carving beautifully. The sun shone, the sky was blue and the piste was firm with a covering of about 3” of fresh snow with nobody else on the snow. You should all be really jealous by now! It was lovely and the legs soon remembered what to do.
When we returned to the Chalet the garage doors wouldn’t lift. They are on some radio-controlled gismo and the electricity was missing. On checking all around, both Chalets were out and in the garden there were 8 men standing in or around a big hole in the ground, doing things with huge power cables. Apparently the pit had filled with water and the old (1980’s) joints had given out. Some 2 ½ hours later it was switched back on and we were able to start cooking for the evening meal. What we didn’t realize was that in replacing the 4” thick, 5ft square concrete lid, they had sideswiped a telecommunications box and uprooted it and all its cables. So no TV, at all, in the street. Nice one fellows!
A telecableman came today to fix it and will be billing the Power Company. Meanwhile the Hot tub which had been serviced last week, wasn’t heating so I arranged for an engineer to come and fix it. He turned up when the power was off and reappeared today, once to diagnose a faulty relay then again to install it after returning to the store. At last – we are operational, so in theory we can sit in the hot tub with the lights on and watch the TV (on any of 69 channels).
One of the effects of the skiing was to highlight the fact that I needed a chiropractor to shuffle dem bones. There is one in Avon so off we set. He offers a walk in (and wait) service for $50 which includes a loosening-up session in a vibro-chair followed by an efficient and effective session on the traditional padded trestle. Only odd thing was that it was in full view of the waiting patients and visible through the window from outside. I suppose the theory was similar to that found in restaurants where you are always seated next to the windows to give the impression of activity to passers-by to tempt them in. Very strange, and the involuntary yelps of surprise as my vertebrae were clonked back into place must have been demoralizing or at least less than reassuring for the waiting people. A bit like sitting in on someone else’s dental session as they undergo root canal work. Still it sorted me out for which I am both grateful and $50 poorer. As he also does deep sports-type massage we negotiated a rate for any of our guests and a bonus for ourselves for multiple referrals.
The valley in which we are situated runs from Denver in the East through to California in the West. The river in this part is called the Eagle River and joins the mighty Colorado on its way westwards. We have all seen pictures of the incredible Grand Canyon and most of us realize that it was cut by the Colorado as the surrounding land rose tectonically, and the debris carried away to the coast. Not any more! I have been reliably told that the mighty Colorado river no longer runs to the coast, in fact it doesn’t even make it to within 50 miles, because quite unbelievably (for me at any rate) it is all used up in California for irrigation and the fresh water requirements of the enormous urbanization of the desert. It simply runs out and a dry river bed carries on, on its own. How sad is that?
One of the joys of being Super Maintenance Boy is getting things to work that didn’t previously. I recently fashioned a specialist tool from a wire coat hanger which enables me to retrieve things(?) from the bath plugholes. When Sue reported a sluggish exit of water from the bath, I swung into action and retrieved sufficient hair to make a modest wig or, with the addition of two small buttons, a life-size model of a guinea-pig. Yeeuch!
The first guests are a pleasant family from Scotland and have been to the Chalet many times in previous years. They are a wonderful source of information for us regarding the skiing and also are pursuing a detailed and exhaustive survey of the Californian ‘Champagnes’. We are pleased to have been included in this and we can report that the French Champagnes have serious rivals.
Unfortunately one guest had his skis taken from outside the restaurant at lunchtime. Usually a strict adherent of the ‘swap a ski because no-one wants an odd pair’ strategy, on this occasion he didn’t and they went. Strangely the American pisteurs cared and were very helpful (no Gallic shrugs here I’m pleased to report), and provided a coupon to have a temporary pair gratis for the duration of his holiday. How good is that? In fact it has been our 100% experience that everyone from the petrol pay desk clerk, through the ski pass saleman, to the Hot Tub Man and the TV Cable Man have been unfailingly cheerful, helpful, polite and have sincerely wished us a good experience for the rest of our stay.
We were exploring Edwards, which is a small town a few miles away, and taking some stuff to the thrift (Charity) shop for the Boss. If you want cheap ski gear this is the place. Boards, skis, clothing by the mile, boots, shelves of gloves, mitts and hats, it was all there and ridiculously cheap eg $100 for a really smart pair of skis with good edges and bottom rails and including bindings.
We wandered into a shop that specialized in Antique Chinese artifacts. It was a veritable cornucopia of Oriental beauty and cunning design, with some wonderful hairgrip / headdresses. A child’s seat, with an adjustable table in front of it, caught my eye as did the document cases made of very thin strips of wood about 12” wide and cut like a veneer with round wooden disks of about 3” circumference, at each end. They had a button and leather lace to secure it. They looked just like the sort of thing an ancient and very valuable piece of parchment should have been stored in.
The richness of the colours of all the wooden pieces of furniture was amazing as was the price put on a pretty non-descript Mah Jong set in a plain box with a warped front. At $2,500 my flabber was well and truly ghasted. On this reckoning, our set in it’s heavily-carved box and fluted racks must be worth something like $3,000 at least. I think I recall paying £120 for it. The lady was charming and we chatted for a while as she told us of where we can follow the original wagon trail through the area, which can be driven in a 4 x 4 if the driver has the nerve, and some of the local sites. She pointed out a restaurant that had a 50% discount offer on and this is where we are going tonight for our night off. Just as soon as we finish our G & T’s. Again our afternoon was covered with well-wishes as we departed.
The town of Avon has some of the most wonderful sculptures featuring horses but it also appears to cater of other more exotic tastes. I thought we had discovered some exclusive gentleman’s club based around a mutual interest, but it turns out that it is simply an Off-License named after the locally much-featured large-toothed mammal.

Finding our feet

Newly Arrived

We are now resident in Avon which is sandwiched between Vail and Beaver Creek. The journey was pretty much as we thought (feared) with a start at 3.30am for a two and a half hour journey to Heathrow, a 10.15am flight that arrived at 1.30pm local time after an 8 hour flight to Chicago. Then a frustrating drag through immigration which left us about half an hour before our 3.25 flight to Denver that arrived at 5.30 with another hour lost. Then a two hour coach drive and we finally arrived at about 8.30pm. Bearing in mind we are now 7 hours behind UK this was equivalent to 3.30am (UK) and so a 24 hour trip! We sat chatting with the owner and eventually got to bed around 11.00pm (6.00am UK) We slept really well!
The Chalet is a recent build and is spacious, putting the rabbit hutches we were used to in France into sharp contrast. Each of the rooms has at least a double /queen/ king size bed with room to walk around it without going sideways. The baths are novel, no more than a foot deep and looking like ceramic drinking troughs.
First job was sweeping the snow from around the house. It was about 8”deep and I used a large broom, sweeping it away and leaving the path dry because it is very dry powder snow – very novel. Apparently I need to plan on making piles of snow of up to 9 foot when it really starts to snow. On one occasion, the owner ‘lost’ her car during an overnight stay in a hotel in town. In the morning the carpark was completely clear of cars including hers and level with snow. It was then pointed out that the cars hadn’t been stolen but were actually still there - it had snowed overnight and covered them all!
Then the serious work started, cleaning, finding out where things are, sorting out laundry etc etc.
I knew I had arrived when I had my marigolded arm in the first toilet.
The next day was taken up mainly with a Walmart supershop. It is huge and has everything from plumbing fixtures to food via clothes, electronics, banking, etc,etc. This included some pretty forlorn-looking lobsters who were mimbling around a glass tank with their claws rubber-banded, waiting for Armageddon to arrive. As in ‘Armageddon two lobsters for tonight honey’.
There are some wonderful brass sculptures scattered throughout the town of Avon, celebrating the Native American culture as well as the white settlers’. The rodeos, bull riding, gold mining, horse capture etc are all represented with amazing lifelikeness and movement. Apparently the Indians come into the town for wonderful craft fairs with their blankets, jewellery etc and the mountain men (who live in the mountains) come down with the furs and pelts from their trapping. Pictures of them look as if they have been directly lifted from the set of Paint Your Wagon, but are apparently recent photographs. The town is in a valley with rounded, pretty low hills on the one side but with the Rockies getting serious on the other side. On the way from Denver we went over two passes ie the lowest bit between two mountains. The first was 11,100 ft and the second 10,500ft and the town here is at 7,500ft, so the term ‘pretty low hills’ is a bit relative!
I am in awe of the strength and perseverance of the settlers who pushed westward through this area to California with their wagons. Apart from the height, lack of roads, and potentially 6ft overnight snowfalls, the temperature is currently 8 f and is pretty cool but is only thought really chilly when it gets to - 40 f. That is seriously cool. Just at the moment we are having - 20 f temperatures which is equalling a 1912 record for the time of year and layering for the slopes means up to six layers and avoiding the open chair lifts because of the risk of frostbite before you get off at the top. Back to the wagon trains, apparently you can follow parts of the route in a 4 x 4 trail so that is one thing to try, but only if the heater is working.
We had an excellent Mexican meal last night as a treat from the boss. Mexican is strong here with everything being written in English (or what passes for English) and Spanish, rather like the use of Welsh in UK. I had a spicy-diced chicken with red peppers and the girls had tortillas filled with lamb and pork. Curiously, in addition to the ingredients listed on the menu, lamb, tortilla, etc. it was standard practice to slam on extra beans, melted cheese and rice. As Sue particularly couldn’t deal with the cheese and had taken great care in the selection of the meal with this in mind, there was a short but pointed exchange regarding the addition, indeed smothering, of the meal with the unwanted extras. The meals were taken away and replaced by what was on the menu, tortilla with pork / lamb and a visit from the owner / Chef who wanted to know why the meals had been returned. He just couldn’t believe that the extras were not wanted and what WAS wanted was just exactly what was on the menu, no more and no less. Anyway it was all very good food and we had the most enormous Margaritas I have ever seen. Think sandcastle bucket in glass on a stalk and you have some idea of the size. It was delicious with salt around the lip, loads of ice and oodles of flavour from the marg bit.
We walked back in the most biting cold I have experienced since being on top on Ben Nevis in winter and hit the hay early as we still have lots to do tomorrow (ie more marigold moments).
We have now cleaned and prepared both Chalets and have just got back from taking the boss over to the other Chalet at Breckenridge which is about 35 miles away. It is a most magnificent new build with huge beams, large open spaces, well-appointed rooms and wonderful fittings. Must have cost an arm and a leg but the effect is pretty sound with superb views all around of the mountain.
Having dropped her off, we drove back and are now in sole charge of the two Chalets here while waiting for our first guests on Saturday. Pretty scary but we are a lot better prepared than last year so how bad can it be?
I’ll tell you next week.

New Adventure

Having completed our first Ski Season in France and survived with only flesh wounds, we were determined to go one better.
So, after a summer spent with a well-known Company buying gold and making curtains (guess who did what), we applied for and got, a post in Colorado!
Really exciting and promising a wholly different experience with a lot more autonomy and control over our work, very pleasant owners to work for, and the prospect of waist-high powder snow and temperatures of -40 degrees F/C (interestingly the two temperature scales coincide at minus 40 - one for the Quiz night).
Having had to pay a fine because I forgot to SORN the car last year, this year we are equipped with 'A LIST'. This has had loads of things added and very few removed on completion, as is the fate of most lists, but we are fairly confident that come next Monday it will be completely finished (or completely ignored).
Medical insurance, US visa, cancel LoveFilm, order in the wood for whoever is in the flat, check out long-lost cousin living somewhere in Montana, put out the milk and cancel the cats, it's all such a rush!
We had a wonderful pre-Christmas meal with all the children and partners/friends at the end of November with a superb piece of beef, plenty of fine wine and excellent company. The crackers provided the cabaret as they held whistles of 8 different notes, requiring only a Baton (supplied ) and a conductor(me) to whistle our way murderously through some innocent Christmas carols and festive tunes. We will have to take them with us.
We now have a string of farewell meals ahead of us, final checks on the list, a pre-dawn spin down to Heathrow, and then it's look out Denver - here we come!