PVS has made an annual trip to Snowmass since 2000. I think we first went in 2003, but we've gone every year since (I think) 2011. This is the first year that Jim decided not to make the trip even though he hasn't skied in many years. Undeterred, I contacted friend Bonnie Sweeney to see if she wanted a roommate. She did! We had a grand time together and I have no excuse for not getting a picture of her to include here.
Here's proof that I skied!
Since breaking my knee at Snowmass in 2022, my skiing has been somewhat curtailed. I did ski last year, but was only able to get out about three half-days. This year I signed up for a half-day private lesson (ka-ching!) to see if that would help my technique enough to stave off the pain. It helped, but I still only made it out four half-days.
Nevertheless it was a good four days!
And there was plenty else to keep me busy.
One afternoon Rosemary and I took the bus down to Aspen to shop and visit the Aspen Art Museum. We headed up to the viewing deck to check out Aspen Mountain and some nice folks took our picture.
(It wasn't warm enough to make the entire trip without coats -- we had left them downstairs.)
The major exhibit was The Rainbow Body by Ugo Rondinone.
From the exhibit's write-up: The thirteen fluorescent, life-size wax casts of dancers in the gallery ... are impervious to viewers, but pulsing with vitality. Candles cast in bronze complete the scene, resting nearby on the bright yellow gallery floor. In Rondinone’s tableau, a stained-glass clock channels light through an adjacent nave—a lens to mark the passage of time as his dancers are captured in a state of deliberate stillness.
The dancers are cast in wax and painted in vibrant colors, but the candles on display in one corner of the gallery are cast in bronze and also painted in vibrant colors. Turns things upside down.
The exhibit was striking and great fun.
Rosemary posing in the adjacent "oculus."
We had to wear the charming booties to protect the colored floor, which was part of the exhibit.
Rosemary is a demon shopper who always makes the rounds of the Aspen consignment shops. She finds fabulous and inexpensive hand-me-downs from the rich and famous of Aspen.
As for myself, I discovered a while back the the rich and famous generally do not wear my size. This year, however, I discovered this one-size-fits-all alpaca (?) poncho perfect for tossing on to walk to the dining hall here at Kendal.
It was also perfect for keeping me warm in our chilly room during the afternoons. I took my Cricket violin to practice during the times when I didn't plan to ski. This little fiddle is perfect for traveling and I don't have to stress about cranky airlines or potential damage to my regular instrument.
The Snowmass Mall always has ice sculptures in this area.
For once the weather leaving Aspen was crystal-clear. I was fascinated by the patterns created by the ridges. South-facing slopes didn't have as much snow cover.
Many years ago Jim and I changed planes at O'Hare through this connecting tunnel. We never forgot the lights flowing and glowing. At that earlier time, there was a recording at the end of the moving sidewalk that said "Keep walking-ing-ing-ing." It was surreal and we've joked about it ever since.
I never found the tunnel again in all the years since until now. The lights still flow and glow, but the recording now says something really creative like "Watch your step leaving the walkway." It's still pretty cool.
It was a fun trip, but I was glad to get home to Jim.
Click your "back" button to return to the previous page or click for our picture album.