2023 Spring Break Ski Monarch

We went Spring Break skiing for the first time this year. Snow god had blessed us with incredible ski conditions during our week at Monarch. The Friday before we left, Will texted me the snow report. Monarch has just got a huge snow storm. It was still snowing during the weekend and Monday. 

We left the house on Saturday at around 8am and arrived at our rental property near 7pm MST. This drive has become so familiar to us. After we found the entrance to our rental house, we were happy to open the door to a new and cute house. 

Sunday morning, we walked out of our bedroom and were greeted by the view of sunrise on Mt Shavano through the window. This house is lined straight with a perfect view of the majestic mountain. During daylight, we were even more impressed by our lodge. 14000 County Rd 220, Salida, CO. Vicki Mallon

We picked up kids' skis at Mt Shavano ski shop and realized how busy spring break week is for skiing. Groups of visitors came to the shop. Without reservations, skiers were turned away. Monarch Mountain was also much more crowded than the week before Christmas. All of us picked up skiing from where we left a couple months ago quickly. 

Monday was a great ski day with fresh powder. After a fun day of powder skiing, we drove to town for grocery shopping and dining at the Boathouse Cantina. After we parked our car near the river, we found a surfer practicing in the Arkansas River! It's not common that we see skiers and surfers on the same day. There were also rafting guides training in the river. With surfers, rafters and bikers, Salida was booming with outdoor activities. 

Tuesday was Will's birthday! Weather warmed up and it was a beautiful sunny day to ski on Will's birthday. We took a few family portraits with an iphone propped by a few rocks. And we ate ice cream to celebrate our lovely daddy. 

We went soaking in Mt Princeton Hot Spring on Wednesday. The key was to arrive early before 10am to secure a creekside pool. We soaked for about three hours and ate their pizza in the pool again. We struck up a conversation with a family from Chicago. 

After the hot spring, we stopped by the Jumping Goat farm. Kids asked me why we were going to a goat farm. I said it's for investigation of my retirement activities. We bought some freshly made goat cheese and patted the goats there. The goat farm happened to be for sale. However, after smelling the goats, I scratched goat farmer from my possible job title. 

We went to Buena Vista river park. It has two bouldering parks there. Both kids loved testing their climbing skills. When we arrived home, we still had daylight. One great thing we discovered about spring skiing was we had so much more light! We used the time to hike the trail on property. The trail went along a ridge in the property for 0.3 miles until it ended at CR220. That makes the property probably more than 5 acres. This much space gave us so much privacy even with the open design of the house. 

We loved the house. The big floor to ceiling windows, the custom woodworks and brand new appliances. The house is also floor heated so it is not dry and the temperature was consistent. I also loved their modern fireplace design. It turned out the owner and her neighbor did the whole thing. I texted her that if we were to build a house in Colorado, we would love to have her help!

Thursday and Friday were another two powder days! Every trail became a playground with 5-6 inch of snow coverage. We made our fresh track and flew through the soft snow. For days, we drove by Mountain Spirit Winery down the road. We made a stop on Friday and did a bit of wine tasting. Both kids brought their books and read when we tasted wine. :-)    

Saturday we left at 8:15 MST and arrived home at 8:40 CST. We had Arby's at Raton for lunch for a change and curly fries were a big hit with the kids! After dinner at home, we all went for a long night's sleep. What a wonderful family ski trip in the books! 

Notes:

• Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at the front end of spring break were much busier on the mountain than Thursday and Friday
• Jackson wore size 21 ski boots and skied on 120cm skis (he'll be ready for longer next year)
• Norah skied on 110cm skis (didn't get her boot size)