Snowboarding season has officially begun. Our local resort, Sunlight Mountain, has not opened yet, but several resorts at higher elevations have already opened. My brother, Brody, his friend, Eric, and I couldn’t wait any longer. I like to call our eagerness to get on the slopes “Winter-Wonderlust”. This past weekend we decided to go to Copper Mountain where we met another friend, Sawyer.
Copper Mountain is an hour and a half away from where we live, so we planned on getting up early and heading out. Copper opens at 9 am and closes at 4 pm, so we hoped for a full day up there.
On the way there the roads were icy and slippery, especially on Vail Pass. Brody drove at a slow comfortable speed. We also had to stop a few times because the windshield wipers weren’t working very well, so we had to get out and wash the windshield with snow.
We got there at 11 am and luckily too because it turned out the lift tickets were more expensive than we thought. It cost $94 for one adult for a full day lift ticket. But we got the half day lift tickets for $74. If you order online you can get a full day pass for a lot cheaper. Next time we will definitely be doing that.
Having only been to Sunlight every year, I was surprised by all the different things Copper Mountain had. Like the lifts that were got on they all seated 4 adults. Sunlight’s are only two or three. They also had a nice bar that came down that you could rest your skis or snowboard on. The lifts were also a lot faster and you were at the top before you knew it. At Sunlight, it feels like it takes 20 minutes to get to the top which isn’t as high as Copper either. Sunlight is 9,895 feet at its peak and Copper is 12,313 ft.
Copper is a really big resort! They only had 10 of their 140+ trails open! 4 of 23 lifts open and we still didn’t get to it all! Mainly because we stayed in Center Village, where we like the powder and terrain park!
The thing I love about snowboarding is the freedom it gives you! I can go anywhere and do anything, I am the only thing that holds me back. But I like to push myself and go beyond my limits. I had some close calls and almost crashed bad.
One, I was flying down a steep hill, and it was later in the day so it was getting icy, and my board flew out from under me. I landed on my stomach and kept sliding down the mountainside, penguin style only I was facing uphill. I couldn’t see if anyone was below me. I couldn’t stop or slow myself down with my hands so I pushed up and caught my board, almost falling backwards. It was actually really fun and there was no one around me.
The whole day was a lot of fun! Brody got a few tamedogs. We found some powder. We went through trees. Just the four of us having a great time!
Traveling has brought Brody and I a lot closer, and I think it’s really cool that we can make plans like these to go off together and have a good time. I can’t wait for more days with my family on the mountain!
-Kady