On Durango Mountain...

03/18/10. Wing. It’s going to be another beautiful morning on the mountain and another beautiful afternoon after that. The Granby Methodists have left and I think the adults will be glad to get home. They sure worked hard for those kids, shopping and cooking and driving and praying.  Don’t know if the kids even noticed.  Just one more group coming to the Lodge next week and the season will come to an end. Sona and her crew from Placitas will be back for the umpteenth time to close out the season with a bang. It’s always a lively time with Sona and I’m glad I’ve got a few days to rest up.  Steve is finishing up his winter chores, stacking wood, fixing doors and servicing the alarm system. He will be reluctantly taking some time off in April and doesn’t really know what to do with himself. Ditto Eddy, who plans to help Louis, the bartender, put wood floors in his trailer. Neal plans to head to Phoenix to get his Mercedes serviced and I’m going to do some car camping in the desert. Everyone will be glad for the break before the busy summer ahead.

03/17/10. Wing. Happy Birthday Megan and Happy Paddy’s Day to the rest of you! Don’t forget to wear your green. It’s a beautiful spring day on the mountain and the temperature is supposed to reach 54 degrees.  Better wear your sunscreen and expect some slush at the bottom of the slopes. The lobby is full of young Methodists waiting for the adults to give the go ahead to load up the vans. Today is thier last day of skiing and they are determined to get as much as they can. Last night they built a fire  and had a tech fest while sitting on the couches watching it burn, playing on thier computers and texting each other. Lots of input and output and getting ready for the Singularity.

03/16/10. Wing.  The Lodge is full, the condos are full, spring break has arrived. The sun is shining and it’s warm outside.  It even feels hot in the office and I think maybe its time to open up the front doors and give the place a good airing out.  The Methodists are not wasting any time and have already headed up to the slopes. All except for a couple of the ladies who are heading down to Wal Mart for supplies and have absolutely no intention of putting on skis at anytime whatsoever.  The whole neighborhood is alive with the rush of people onto the slopes and into the stores. Patty says they have eaten the shelves bare at Needles. The mountain baby seemed unconcerned with any of it. And why should she be?

03/15/10. Wing. Here come some more folks for the shuttle. Just can’t seem to get time to crank out the blog this morning. What with food deliveries, shuttle runs and beeping smoke alarms it’s been a busy morning at the Lodge. Spring break is here but the Methodists are not. They got caught in a snowstorm in New Mexico and had to bivouac for the night along the way. If all goes well today they’ll pull in around 2 this afternoon.  Lots of other folk made it though and a very impressive group of young females set right to it playing in the snow and sliding down the snow banks.  If all goes well next year I may get Eddy and Steve to build a mini luge run through the woods. That’ll be fun!

03/14/10. Wing. The Lion still roars. Can you believe it, it’s snowing again! Big flakes nearly obscure the condos and make me wonder if summer will ever come to the mountain. Spring is just a temptress who changes her mood on a whim and makes you long for the some thing just a little different. Right now that thing is sunshine and a little green on the grass or maybe just a leaf on a tree down in the valley. That will come in time but it’s still a ways off up at elevation. Daylight savings has everyone confused and there is no activity on the mountain, in the lobby or at the Lodge. Hope the folks from Granby don’t show up early, Neal still has lots to clean. Haven’t heard from Conce who has promised breakfast. I think she’s hesitant to call after waking me up at 7 the other morning. Yes, I like to sleep in to 7:55 some mornings and don’t take kindly to late night or early morning calls when I’m trying to do it. Seems like 10 hours of the day ought to be long enough to answer questions about DVD players and to give directions which are already on the web site anyway. He’s a grouchy lion in March.   

03/13/10.  Wing. The Christian Scientists are leaving and the Lodge will be empty tonight. They are enjoying a “Last Breakfast” in the break room before they leave the nefarious regions of Purgatory for parts unknown. Tomorrow we fill up with 1^st Methodists who’ll be staying four nights. We certainly seem to attract Christians. It’s interesting to see how the culture of faith varies from one group to another. Finally made it up to the ski hill yesterday and am headed back up today.  With any luck I should be able to get up there quite a bit during these last few weeks.  Conditions are great and I'm ready to get outside. Better late than never!

03/12/10. Wing. Another glorious day and the final day of skiing for the Christian Scientist Singles.  Couldn’t ask for anything more. And just maybe I’ll get to make some turns as well. Mickey, our CPA, is coming up to talk about taxes and we’ve decided to do it on the slopes. Why not? It’s hard to stay inside when the sun is shining. Meanwhile inside the Lodge, Eddy is banging away at the old tiles in the women’s room and getting ready to put the new ones on.  Neal is wielding his new brush with resolution and some authority.  Admit it, there is no end to the good it will do.  

03/11/10. Wing. So much for hitting the slopes. Got busy yesterday and went nowhere. Still, the Lodge is a pretty good place to be stuck for a day. But today is another day altogether and maybe I’ll be able to get out and make a few turns. Who knows? The sun is shining and it’s going to get warm. It is a wonderful day to be outside. The church group went to town last night and almost everybody is headed up to the slopes after a breakfast of turkey bacon and eggs. Turkey bacon?!?!  Neal just showed with a car load of goodies. It’s kind of crazy but a good thing when your housekeeper gets excited about cleaning supplies. Meanwhile, there’s a backup on the computer as the entire neighborhood wants to use the “guest” terminal this morning. And now the van won’t start.  Guess we’ll have to press the truck into service.

03/10/10. Wing. Bright, sunny, glorious day on the mountain. Everyone was longing for sunshine and here it is. It already feels warm and I’m going to have to go up and make a few runs myself.  Spring is here and spring fever can’t be far behind.  What’s up with that anyway? Everyone gets excited and happy about nothing.  Just better go with it. Eddy’s brought his ladder from home so he can change some light bulbs. He’s lost all my ladders under the snow and blamed the guys shoveling the roofs. The ladders are missing all the same.  Steve continues his battle with the ice on the sidewalks and will be gainfully employed doing the same all week. Neal is taking his sweet time cleaning the units which is a big change from all the pressure he was under last week. It gets busy again next week so he’s enjoying the break. Moises is back again today and is busy hitting a ball in the air with a ping pong paddle. I just finished folding a million t shirts and am ready to hit the slopes. 

03/09/10. Wing. Cloudy and colder this morning. The smell of eggs and green chilies permeates the lobby and the breakfast room is full of happy singles eating omelets and planning their day. Sounds like they’re headed to Trimble Hot Springs tonight after skiing. John and June have tromped over from the condos and they’re already on their way up to slopes. Eddy’s manning the shuttle and has headed down to Needles to fill’er up and buy a can of oil. $7 they charge for one quart! Moises stayed home today and his mother took the day off so she could keep an eye on him. School schedules and work schedules don’t mesh too well. It’s pleasant to have him hang out at the Lodge but not too interesting for the 10 year old boy.

03/07/10. Wing. Snowflakes in the forecast for the entire week and it made a good start last night. Two inches on the ground and still snowing. It’s local’s day today with discounted tickets at the ski resort and boy are the locals going to be happy. Supposed to drive up to Silverton for breakfast at 9 but I’m not sure how that’s going to work out with the snow covered roads. The single’s group is up and already cooking breakfast in the break room. The bacon smells pretty good from here in the office. But it’s coffee I need this morning. Took Sheldon and his buddies to town last night and from the looks of the hot tub this morning they kept the conversation going after we got back. Bruce sent up some kind of weight lifting contraption from Albuquerque and the three of them spent a good while putting it together yesterday afternoon. Guess I’m going to have to get burley.

02/24/10. Wing. A little under the weather here and it’s killing me to sit inside and let all this fresh powder go to waste.  Not waste really because everyone with any ski sense is getting some. Bruce and Greg are heading up from Albuquerque today to grab their share. They’re going snow cat skiing in the backcountry with the San Juan Ski Company and boy have they timed it right. It’s cold and partly cloudy and the powder will remain soft and light for days. By way of contrast, the ice has already started to build up in front of the townhomes and Steve has already been spreading salt at the entrances. Neal got pulled over for speeding on his way to work but got off with just a warning. I think his little red Mercedes may be just a little too much of an attention grabber for Durango. He’s trying to catch up on work so he can have tomorrow off before the weekend comes around. Eddy’s taking the lovely Brigit and her man Jorge up to the mountain and I’m surprised they’re going up it’s so cold. I finished Jorge’s book a couple days ago and from the sounds of it, it got plenty cold in Germany in the 40’s once we started bombing.  So maybe they’re used to it.

02/18/10 Wing. Beautiful sunrise over the low south ridge and the day has begun. The weatherman says a storm is coming in at 11 am but I think he may be premature. Hard to say just yet as our sky views are somewhat limited. It’s supposed to continue through the weekend and then dissipate in time for the Bush/Van Kirk wedding on Sunday. Peter Hurwitz and his son made it in late last night and are all alone in the Lodge until then. A big change from the activity of the last few days. No more chocolate chip cookies, no more shuttle runs back and forth to the mountain all day long, no more snowball fights in the parking lot and no more kids jamming the hallways playing card games at night. At least until Sunday.  Jorge Jensen, who is staying on the mountain for a month with his beautiful wife Brigit, is giving a talk tonight down in Durango about the childhood autobiography he wrote.  He grew up in Germany during the Second World War and was a volunteer for the Hitler Youth. Since then he’s become a mad scientist and has been working at America’s top secret laboratory down at Los Alamos in New Mexico. 

02/10/10. Wing. Beautiful cold mountain morning and the Olson’s are here bright eyed, bushy tailed and ready to hop on the shuttle at 8 am. Can’t blame them. Another couple of inches fell last night and the snow conditions couldn’t be better. There was no one at the Bonsai when I dropped them off and it’s been pretty deserted up there all week. Which means no lift lines and private runs for those who do manage to make it by the ticket office.  Eddy is busy framing out a new window for the living room in #103, Steve’s got plenty of snow to move and Neal’s got plenty of beds to make. They won’t need me for much today. Am thinking about making a few runs myself a little later on.  But first I’ve got to make some oatmeal and read what the Durango Herald has to say about the world.

02/05/10. Wing. Clear skies at the dawn but it has clouded up quickly and everyone is excited about the possibility of new snow. Marty Delgeorgio came up last night with his son and a couple of his son’s buddies. This is the first stop on the boys big ski adventure. They plan to bee bop from ski hill to ski hill and end up at Whistler for the Olympics. But when it comes to ski bumming they’ve got nothing on Charles Huff. Charles is up from Houston for a month and a half sleeping on couches and scamming tickets. He’s a real artist and a hero to those who admire the art.  Made a run with him yesterday and am sorry to report that there’s another flatlander who can beat me down the hill.

02/03/10. Wing. Hazy daze and it could be a lazy one too! Wouldn’t mind taking a few hours to curl up with a book by the fire. Supposed to snow just a little today and a little more tomorrow and it’s hard not to miss the sunshine we got while tromping out a new snowshoe trail yesterday.  Supposed to go back out today and tromp around a little more. But there’s plenty of work to do if you’ve got a mind to do it.  Steve has arrived and is planning to spend lots of time spreading salt and chopping ice. Eddy plans to finish up the tile work in #103.  Neal is back and helping Eddy but I think he may end up down in the laundry folding towels.  We all have our given chores. Given by me, who wants to do nothing but build a fire in the lobby and read about how Iago manages to destroy the pretty world in which he lives.

02/02/10. Wing. Briged and Jorg have returned to the high country for a month of skiing and have come bearing a gift of home made sour cherry jam. Home made with 25% less sugar. Wonder if they just ran out. I’m going to try it on a bagel a little later. It’s always nice to get presents. But I’ve already got everything I need (more or less) and it can be a challenge to figure out what to do with something new. The best presents are those you can give to someone else because you know they want it. That happened to me once when I was bartending. A friend at one end of the bar gave me a ball cap with his company logo on it. His corporation had gone bust in the Savings and Loan debacle and it was his last company hat.  Tom, at the other end of the bar, was a powder man, living on the mountain for the summer. He came up to blow deep holes in the living rock for planting the huge utility poles that follows the highway from Durango to Silverton. As Gene handed me the cap Tom allowed how he admired it.  So I passed it on to him without so much as a pause to see if it fit on my own head. Felt lucky that day.

01/31/10. Wing. The Boike’s have sold their condo and are headed back to the flatlands today. They had a pretty good run of five years or so and seemed to enjoy themselves while they were here. But all good things must end. Hopefully to be replaced by other good things. Such as a walk back from the Schoolhouse under a full moon giving way to downhill skiing on the freshly packed powder giving way to piano jazz at the college in the afternoon. Hopefully, and without unpleasant incident. Steve is here again and will be working on the Guest Directories between shuttle rides and tending the home fire in our “massive stone fireplace”.  He’s got lots of copies to make and people to call but his biggest challenge will be to fix the color copier.  Me, I’m just waiting on my ski buddies to show. I like the way that reads!

01/26/10. Wing. Supposed to cloud up and snow today but yesterday was a lovely day and all of the homeowners who made it out and up onto the slopes came back happy and chatty.  Saw Barney in the parking lot this morning when I dropped of the first shuttle load of guests but I bet he and Sharon are the only homeowners who make it up today.  Eddy’s already hard at it over in #103 working on the tile after nearly a week’s hiatus to deal with the storm. Neal’s come back to work to give him a hand and hopefully they’ll make some good progress this week. The housekeepers are here as well and they are going to be very disappointed to learn that Steve is taking my truck to town to patch a leak in one of the bobcat tires. He’s had a devil of a time with the machine this go round and he’s not the only one. Seems like all the snow removal equipment is made to break down when you need it the most. I hope this is the last issue with the bobcat this year. Fat chance!

01/20/10. Wing. And Snowing! The ski area is reporting 18 inches in the last 24 hours and it’s still coming.  Terry is out in his loader clearing the roads. He looks as happy as a clam (I guess that’s before you eat ‘em) perched high above the accumulated fun in his glass cab.  It’s a heated and he sits in the middle of the storm in his shirtsleeves listening to music and watching the flakes swirl around him as he goes about his appointed task. With any luck I’ll get a chance to watch the flakes swirl as I whirl through the fresh powder down the blue runs. Supposed to make a few runs with Joe Barnes and Vince Lipani, at least that was the plan at dinner last night. They may decide they need a day to acclamate to the altitude after they see what it looks like outside. And what do you know. Here comes Joe wanting to use the computer for some urgent business. Maybe we'll get out tomorrow.

01/10/10. Wing. Why yes, it is another beautiful mountain morning. Very quiet in the lobby except for one little old lady looking for her boots.  No one else is thinking about boots quite yet. It was a very nice wedding and a heck of a reception.  Now the guests will make the trek back from whence they came, some a long ways and some a short ways. All moving away from this precious moment in the lives of Steve and Lauren. It will be quiet at the Lodge for a while and the next big thing is the homeowners meeting on the 23^rd.  Can’t have a crisis every year so there’s not too much interest. There’s still lots plan and talk about.  So the few will decide for the many.

01/07/10. Wing. No snow yesterday but it’s partly cloudy this morning. Weatherman says don’t get your hopes up.  OK, I won’t.  Too much to do anyway. The Aggies seem to be enjoying themselves and are making full use of all the facilities in the Lodge which is gratifying. Eddy says they must be showering before they get in the hot tubs because they are much cleaner than usual. Chock one up for reading ability and comprehension. For some reason most folks ignore the “Please shower before entering hot tub” sign. Now they are starting to gather out front for the quick trip up to the lifts.  June’s the only other rider today so there’ll be plenty of time left over for paperwork, my favorite thing. NOT. 

01/01/10. Wing. Yes it is VERY quiet in the Lobby and I can’t even believe I’m here.  The restaurant was busy until well past midnight and had their biggest night ever. The food was outstanding and the service was pretty good as well. Our small group sat down at 10 and Richard honored us with his custom brand of service though  we left before we had a chance to hear him sing anything. We of course did our part to liven up the dining room with a chorus of “Lucky Me” and were rewarded with a modest round of applause. Afterwards we hung out around the bonfire and Mitch set off the fireworks Pete and Bruce had sent up from New Mexico.  A most excellent display and great way to draw a line between the old and the new.  But now it's back to the daily routine, running the shuttle back and forth to the ski area then down to Needles to fill it up with gas, cleaning rooms and fixing whatever breaks. Today it's a hot water heater in #308 and a toilet in #103. How will 2010 be any different than 2009? God only knows.