Skiing... In July

You had to know this was coming. With Matt's ridiculous obsession with skiing that consumed our all of our weekends during the winter, it was only a matter of time until he managed to ski in all four seasons. This year, we actually went skiing IN THE SUMMER! Colorado's crazy, huh?

We had tons of crazy snow in the high country this winter and spring, and it managed to stick around (barely) at Arapahoe Basin Ski and Snowboard Area through the month of June. When Matt heard the news that A-Basin was going to stay open through July 4th, he HAD to go. And when I say "HAD" I mean he took an entire day off work and un-summer-ized our skis just to head up there on July 1st.

No ski traffic in July!

Of course, just because there's still some snow lying around, doesn't mean it's the most ideal conditions for skiing. Temperatures were consistently in the high fifties, so the snow was slushy and gross, and most of the runs were closed because there just wasn't enough snow. But A-Basin managed to keep one small area covered enough for the public to ski and ride safely.

On the lift up! Where's all the snow?

While we started the day in pretty typical spring skiing gear, we quickly realized that we would need to shed some layers before we got way too hot in the almost-60-degree temps.

On the lift in ski pants and light jackets.

Losing the jackets.

And finally, breaking out the shorts.

Many of the skiers and boarders were doing runs shirtless (the men) or in bikinis (mostly the women). Matt and I weren't quite that brave, but we really wanted to be able to say, "Yeah, I've been skiing in shorts."

We so crazy!

Matt, enjoying his last ski day of the season.

One of the fun parts of spring/summer skiing at A-Basin is skimming "The Pond." As the snow melts, a small pond forms on one of the runs. Early in the spring, people are actually able to skim all the way across the pond (sometimes). By the time we went up, there was no chance that anyone would be able to make it across. But that didn't stop some of the crazy die-hard skiers and boarders.

He's skimming... and then he's not. But notice: he manages to keep the beer he's holding from going under. Priorities.

After skiing, we had some mediocre barbeque, looked for marmots when driving over Loveland Pass, and headed home.

So, my final thoughts on skiing in July: not great skiing, but an awesome experience.