The last time we went skiing was in 2009, and Lady CurbCrusher was getting antsy. So we decided that we should take a month off from camping and head out west. After our last experience at Keystone, Colorado, we decided that we’d try going back. Of course having a free ticket on Southwest Airlines helped narrow down the destinations. Orlando to Denver is a non-stop flight option, and as we learned last time getting from Denver to the Keystone is not too difficult.

Lodging —

We found a condo in the Jack Pine complex located in the River Run area of Keystone through Summit Cove Properties on the web. This was the same property company that we used last time, and they made it very easy to select them again. After looking through their properties on-line, I called to make some specific inquiries and found out they had a special discount for returning guest. That basically made what was a good value, an excellent value.
We were able to get a two bedroom condo, so that it felt like we were home since everyone had a room they could retire to. The location was great, maybe a hundred yards from the River Run Gondola, with ski lockers on the ground floor, and garage parking under the building. One feature the CurbCrusher gang loved was that the condo came with a humidifier for every room. Yay. We were able to fight that nasty dry air that we dislike so much by releasing a constant stream of humidity into the air. Free wireless make the trip even better for Little CurbCrusher since as has reached her teen years, she finds it hard to be “off he grid.”

Activities —
Well, you are in the Colorado Rockies, so this means skiing. We skied every day at Keystone, and took one day to head over to Arapahoe Basin, which is only about four or five miles from Keystone. Since we planned the trip to A-Basin this year, we spent more time and explored more of the terrain there. Nice wide runs there make it a pleasant place to ski.
The last day there, Little CurbCrusher and I tried snow boarding. I have always been jealous of snowboarders because of the comfortable looking footwear they have versus skiiers. So we signed up for a half day lesson and I learned to love my ski boots. I think a half day is to little time to try and learn to snow board, I think a full day would have been needed to get to the point where we would have been able to navigate down the bunny slope. I’m glad I tried it, but I think I’ll stick to skis. Little CurbCrusher on the other hand thinks she would like to try snowboarding some more.

One of the evenings we went Tubing at Keystone. Keystone has tube runs that are iced down, and very steep. The ride probably last 20 – 40 seconds, but you are moving. Then you get to ride a “magic carpet” lift back to the top. We probably got about eight or nine runs in during our hour on the tubing hill. There are also a couple of lanes where you can go down up to five at a time. It was a blast whether you went down tied to someone else’s tube or by yourself.

Finally, one night we went on a sleigh ride to dinner. It was nice, but cold. We gathered at the Keystone ice rink, and then rode an old bus over to a place where the horses and sleigh were waiting. It was about a thirty minute ride to the cabin where dinner was served. After dinner, a cowboy sang some songs and then we bundled up for the trip back.

Equipment Rental — We rented our skis from Mountain View Sports in Keystone again. They were a short drive from the condo and their prices were great, about 40% off what we had seen online at the other places located at Keystone. The skis we got this time seemed much better than the one’s we had gotten on the previous trip, and when Little CurbCrusher and I wanted to swap out skis for snowboards for the last day, they were very accommodating.

All in all, the CurbCrushers had a fantastic, week and all that’s left are our pictures:
Keystone not skiing
Ski Keystone
Arapahoe