You Hear that, Ed? Bears. Now You're Putting the Whole Station in Jeopardy

Busy week for the missus and I.

Monday through Thursday was a blur due to work, but by Thursday evening the dust had settled, and I was able to take a much needed break and accompany my lovely wife to "Beaver Night." While it sounds like something you'd find on Cinemax at 3AM, I assure you, you're way off.

Beaver Night entails meeting Lauren's class at the Aspen Center for Everinmental Studies at dusk to tour the many beaver ponds dotting the grounds. Here's the gang circled around their esteemed leader. Oh, and Lauren's there too.


Friday night Lauren and I went down-valley to Basalt, where we dined at a Chinese restraurant called Zhengs. It's no Olive Garden, but it's lovely in its own right. Lauren ordered the diddled-eyed joe, while I had the damned-if-know (extra points to anyone that knows where that's from). After dinner, we were treated with traditional fortune cookies. Mine read simply, "You will be aroused by a shampoo commercial." Very Zen.

As we made the 12 mile drive back to Aspen, Lauren got a call from her friend Natalie. Natalie, who also moved to town in late summer, had shared Lauren and my dismay at having not spotted a bear during our numerous forays into the surrounding wilderness. It seems everyone in the valley has had a run in with a bear while out on the trails, save for Natalie, Lauren, and I.

And then there were two. Natalie, while cruising down Cooper Street in the center of town, turned a corner to find a five foot brown bear lumbering towards her. Lauren and I sped downtown with the hopes of catching a glipse, but sadly, the bear was nowhere to be found. Perhaps we should have checked Starbucks.

Oh, it probably bears mentioning (no pun intended), ski season officially started on Saturday, as Aspen Mountain cashed in on Monday's 16 inch dump and opened early. I got out for a few runs, but 2500 locals on 150 acres equals a dearth of snow after about 20 minutes. So I packed it in aroudn 11, and today opted for the quiet, desolate backcountry. Good times.

Seeing as though we're official now, it's probably time I lay the ground rules for tracking my ski days this winter. Here's what I've come up with so far:

1. A "day" must include more than 1 run if accessed by a lift. If hiking for my turns either on the resort or in the backcountry, 1 hike/run will suffice.
2. A day can only be considered a powder day if the ski report lists more than 6 inches of fresh snow if skiing at the resort, or anything above boot height in the backcountry.

Following these guidelines, I find myself at 6 days and counting.

SKI DAYS: 6
POWDER DAYS: 1