Snowmass, Colorado

January 17 - 24, 2009

Florida Ski Council Trip

With Snowmass reporting a record December snowfall, all our trip members were anxious to go skiing. The pre-trip party hosted by Jeannie and Cal Staubus was a well attended festive affair with lots of food and drinks. People were ready to ski, race, party and in general have a good time.

The real adventures began with our arrival at the Aspen airport when we found that about a dozen bags did not make the last leg of the trip with us. Luckily, the bags arrived later that evening while we all were at the FSC registration event. Some of us also had crazy taxi drivers, literally, that gave us stories to tell right from the start of the trip.

Sunny blue skies, mid-30 temps, well groomed slopes… If there ever was spring skiing in January, this trip was it! And if the lack of lift lines and wide open terrain at Snowmass was not enough, several ventured to Aspen and Aspen Highlands for more challenging runs and still no lift lines. After skiing, the hot tubs were the popular place to meet and make plans for the evening. Everyone was having a great time and the locals were very happy to have us there.

Tuesday was a picture perfect day for a mountain picnic and ski racing. Our race captain, Don Swem, did a great job leading Space Coast Ski Club to a 3rd place overall with Brice Crossley, Tom Venezia, Rick Schmid, Jeannie Staubus, Carol Fredricks and Ernestine Beattie putting together a winning combination. Ernestine was also the fastest FSC female in her age group. Overall, almost half of our group of 63 participated in the races and for many this was their first racing event. There was lots of cheering and smiles as each crossed the finish line. With the large participation came great results. Our club won 4 Nastar Silver medals (Rick, Jeannie, Carol and Ernestine) and 5 Nastar Bronze medals (Brice, Tom, Lloyd Lewis, Greg Nordheim and John Beattie).

At the Thursday ‘Tacky Prom’ themed FSC dinner, Tom Venezia again showed us his winning ways with an open shirt, retro suit, and John Travolta dance moves. As a best male costume finalist, Tom was a crowd favorite. However, the biased European Olympic judges did not agree and selected a more conservative finalist.

Everyone needs a day off and several took advantage of local offerings. Some enjoyed shopping and dining in Aspen, some enjoyed spa treatments in Glenwood Springs, some took yoga classes, and some ventured to Buttermilk to catch the action at the X-games.

Fresh snow started arriving on Thursday and by Friday morning, everyone had fun making fresh tracks. However, the snow kept coming and Aspen airport had to delay or cancel flights. One part of our group had to make a detour to Denver via a 5 hour bus ride to get home. But all ended on a good note. Our group made it home safe and sound and without any injuries. It was a great week to be long remembered.

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