Travel on Marco's Blog

Colorado 14ers: Mount Shavano

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Sat, 31 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Deal

After a very successful climb of Mount Oxford, I decided it was time to try something ambitious: a whole week of climbing Fourteeners. As I knew, there are several clusters of them: the Front Range and Sawatch ones were easy to climb from Denver; the Elk Mountain ones were all too hard for me at this point; a cluster in the South comprised the Sangre de Cristo Range; and the final cluster were the San Juan Fourteeners, some of the most beautiful landscapes on Earth.

Colorado 14ers: Mount Oxford

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Fourth time is the charm! I had been ‘dreaming’ of hitting the third 14er in the group since summiting Mount Belford a few years prior. But it never worked out. Would I have it in me to make it happen on this beautiful occasion?

The Great Annular Eclipse of 2023

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I am still remembering the Great American Eclipse of 2017 with fondness and surprise. Even to a trained physicist like me, the sudden disappearance of the sun for a few minutes in the middle of the day was surprising, even startling. It’s probably my fondest memory of a natural event, together with the sight of lava falls on Hawai’i, the Big Island of the state.

But there was a much more convenient eclipse happening in 2023. It happened in October, in the middle of Colorado’s Mud Season, and on a Saturday. The weather was forecast to be absolutely perfect, warmish and sunny and with no clouds in sight. Still, was it not going to be a letdown after the Great Total Eclipse? I mean, we all had heard the song, Total Eclipse of My Heart. Had anyone written anything about the Annular Eclipse of the Heart?

Snowboarding Trips

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 10:30:48 -0700

The Great Canada Snowboarding Adventure

The Grand Tour of the North

Colorado 14ers: Mount Missouri

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

After seven seasons of hiking 14ers, finally one with a group I really liked hiking with! Mount Missouri was a bigger challenge than expected, but certainly a lot of fun and a great workout.

Steamboat During the Bomb Cyclone

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 16:40:41 +0000

It was (and still is) an amazing snow season, one of those you can tell tall stories about to your grandkids surrounding the fireplace. But the crown of the worst storm of the many definitely goes to the one that dropped a blanket of white from Aspen to Chicago. It marked the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded in Colorado, with some of the worst winter winds recorded.

What a better day to do a road trip? I collected my friends in Vail Valley, from which you can drive directly to Steamboat without going over the famously finicky Rabbit’s Ear’s Pass, and we decided to have a good time in the blizzard. To be fair to us, it wasn’t exactly that we planned to be in a blizzard: we simply had heard there was a storm system coming, the season was ending, and we wanted to all go to Steamboat. Changing the day invariably meant the trip was going to fall apart, so Bomb Cyclone it was.

My Private Keystone

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 16:02:29 +0000

The previous post I spent dissing the EPIC Pass, but praising its mountains. Vail will always be one of my favorite places on Earth, despite being sick of high prices and breaking-down lifts. Breckenridge will always be my go-to place for a party (waiting for the Plunge!), but I’ll never reveal my secret stashes there, not even if you tortured me with a ski stick (yes, that’s what they were originally called!).

Crested Butte Weekend

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Sat, 24 Mar 2018 21:53:32 +0000

It’s been a tough year for travel. I had to deal with a lot of work, and if I found the time to snowboard, I rather shot up I-70 to my favorite haunts than drive for hours and days just to slide down a mountain I didn’t know. I mean, I am some 75 minutes from some of the finest resorts in the world, do I really have to fly to marginally better or really just different mountains?

GTotN: Conclusion

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 15:18:45 +0000

It is Presidents’ Day 2016 as I write this. The sun has come out and it’s going to be a warm day in San Diego. The yellow jacket is staring at me on a chair opposite this computer, while the board and gear are still firmly lodged on the living room floor. It’s a mess, a glorious mess.

This adventure was amazing. I saw places I would remember forever, had more fun than I thought I could have, was less stressed out than I thought I would by the constant need to move, move, move.

GTotN Day 6/7: Holiday Inn Boise Airport and flight home

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 15:01:38 +0000

To the West, the airport, to the right the Holiday Inn. I was happy about that, because I really didn’t want to deal with any kind of traffic in the morning.

Location for the Holiday Inn is perfect, and the rooms are really nice. In fact, this was probably the nicest room I’ve stayed at during the entire trip. The only downside: I got a Hotwire room. Some hotels have the nasty habit of giving guests the crappiest rooms just because you ordered it with a discount.

GTotN Day 7: The long way home

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 14:48:34 +0000

One thing I failed to mention in my write-up of the snowboarding day in Big Sky is that it was “unseasonably warm.” It was mid-February, when temperatures should have ranged from 15 to 38 (low high). Instead, it was 38 to 50. Locals told me it felt like May.

I had checked the weather before going up the mountain and made the right (if scary) call: only the Tesla base layer and a cotton sweater on top. That my usual uniform for spring skiing, and it was way too much for the day. I wish I had brought the convertible jacket (the one where you can separate the shell from the inner lining and wear it as a full protection jacket, a shell only, or a light jacket with not shell).

GTotN Day 6: Big Sky Resort

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 14:10:43 +0000

The shuttles come only once an hour and I wanted to be on the mountain early. To make sure I wouldn’t miss it, I was out and about around 8, for a departure at 8:35. I thought I was going to freeze my heini off, but it was actually temperate.

The bus arrived and I boarded with a small bunch of people. The driver then left at the appointed time and we started winding our way up Lone Mountain Road, the main road towards the lifts.

GTotN Day 6: River Rock Lodge and Big Sky, MT

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 05:07:12 +0000

Big Sky is an odd resort. I occupies a wide valley that ascends until it hits a capping mountain, Lone Mountain. There are several villages, each with its own character. The main base area is called Mountain Village, and actually has a whole mountain below itself. There is a village called Moonlight Basin, which is new. There is a Hidden Valley. Just below that one is Town Square. There is a Golf Course. There is a Meadow Village. There is a crossing and a Canyon Village.

GTotN Day 5: Jackson to Big Sky

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 04:38:09 +0000

i was a little apprehensive at first. The final part of the drive from Sun Valley to Jackson Hole, the Tetons, had been steep and fraught with danger. What would the drive to Big Sky look like? I knew there was a canyon involved, but how steep would it be?

The weather was nice, and as I point out in the previous post, I felt Confident. First, the crossing of the Tetons. Not a problem, except for this lady in the Forester ahead of me that slowed down to a crawl (20 mph) whenever there was water on the road or a turn. Given that it was 37 and we were crossing the mountains, there were lots of turns and lots of water!

GTotN Day 4/5: Jackson Hole

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 04:27:47 +0000

Sometimes, you experience something as wonderful and you realize it might not be as good next time around. You were euphoric with the excitement of the discoverer, and there is no way next time you’ll have as good a time.

Turns out that may be true in general, but not in this case. I remembered Jackson Hole as a wonderful, amazing place. The second time around, it was the same thing, but better.

GTotN Day 4: Lexington Inn and Jackson, WY

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 04:05:31 +0000

As the brochures ask, is it called Jackson, Jackson Hole, or Teton Village?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the Arctic wind. Jackson, WY is the town. A very nice town, indeed. The low-lying valley of the Snake river around the Tetons is called Jackson Hole. So Jackson (the city) is located in Jackson Hole the area. Teton Village is the name of the base area of the ski resort, which is named after the area, Jackson Hole.

GTotN Day 3: Sun Valley to Jackson Hole

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 03:46:25 +0000

The drive from Sun Valley to Jackson Hole was 4.5 hours planned. Leaving the first resort at closing time would have gotten me into Jackson after 8, which is something I didn’t want, since the last part of the drive involved crossing the Tetons.

I left early (sue me), after lunch. As usual, I had packed the car and checked out, and since the lot was so close to the hotel, I just moved everything to the lot.

GTotN Day 2: Sun Valley Resort

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 03:33:54 +0000

From the hotel to the entrance to River Run Lodge I had a 9 minute walk. In fact, getting from the Lodge to the parking lot was shorter than from the end of the lot to the resort.

Sun Valley is incredibly friendly. It advertises it won “Best of” awards in a number of categories, like speed of the lifts, kid friendliness, etc. None of them are technical wins. There is no, “Best lift” award, or “Most difficult terrain.” Sun Valley wins the heart, not the muscles.

GTotN Day 2: Best Western Tyrolean Lodge and Ketchum, ID

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 03:08:54 +0000

I didn’t really get a chance to connect to the place when I checked in. I just picked up the room keys and walked up the stairs, then dropped dead tired into bed.

It was in the morning that I activated my snow sense. I got the coffee maker out and started my day by brewing a 12 cup batch and checking email. The hotel WiFi was pretty crappy, and the LTE gizmo turned out to be on AT&T, not Verizon as I wished.

GTotN Day 1: San Diego to Sun Valley

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 02:57:29 +0000

The Alaska flight to Boise leaves San Diego at 3:40p from Terminal 1. It was a Sunday, so the late afternoon was a perfect time to go. What do you know, it was also the first day of a heating trend and I found myself leaving town with the first long stretch of beach weather arriving. It’s been a cold winter, this year, with barely a day making it to average temperature.

GTotN: Planning

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 02:03:25 +0000

Why did I pick the three resorts on the list? Why Sun Valley, Jackson Hole, and Big Sky?

Mountain Collective had added Sun Valley this year, with Lake Louise and Thredbo. I dreamed of going to Lake Louise, but an international trip comes with its complications: if you rent a car, you cannot cross borders. You need to bring your passport, and that makes things a lot more complicated in case stuff (including the passport) is lost or stolen.

The Grand Tour of the North: Seeking Fresh Powder Edition

marco@mrgazz.com (Marco) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 01:09:18 +0000

For the past three years, I’ve started a collection of all Mountain Collective Pass resorts. For those who don’t know, the Mountain Collective is a group of resorts not owned by the big juggernaut, Vail Resorts. These banded together to offer an alternative.

The Pass works very simply: when you buy it, you get two “free” days at each of the participating resorts (and a third free days at one resort you designate when you buy). After that, you get 50% off tickets at the same resorts. It’s a fantastic deal whether you plan to go to many resorts or not, especially because it’s relatively cheap. Three years ago, it was $349 at the beginning of the season, this year $389.