Who wants to go skiing?

In the middle of the best snow season for Colorado's ski resorts since I've lived in the state, I find it harder than ever to commit myself to even a day trip into the mountains. It's not that I don't have time - I live in Denver and don't have a job. Money is a realistic issue, but I suppose if I wanted it badly enough, it could happen. I've just been so spoiled, it doesn't seem worth it.

Last season, I lived in Telluride working a ski lift. This means I got about 115 days on the mountain during an epic southern-colorado winter. During work days, I enjoyed a two-hour ski break, only 30 minutes of which were unpaid. On my days off, I'd wake up at 8:45, eat a pop tart, put on my ski clothes, and walk 50 meters to the lift, where I'd cut in front of the masses and grab first chair. I'd ski hard for about 4 hours, stop into the bar where a pretty girl I know worked, and eat and drink free pizza and beer. If I still felt like skiing, I'd head back out for the afternoon, but when you have a free pass there's no pressure to "get your money's worth." In the afternoons I'd poach a hot tub with friends, grab supper, and shoot pool for a few drinks in town before riding the gondola back home. Repeat the following day.

Now, there's an entirely different process. At least a day or two previous, you have to find someone else interested and able to ski on the same day. You have to buy a lift ticket at king soopers for discount, or if you forget, get butchered at the window. if you're lucky like me, you might have friends working at resorts who hook you up, reducing your personal financial hardships.

Next, you have to wake up at 6:30, grab a bite, and hit the road. Normally, its only about 1.5 hours to the nearest resorts, but with denver rush-hour traffic on weekdays and ski traffic on weekends, you can plan on adding 45 minutes to 2 hours. If you get stuck, it's conceivable that you'll spend 3 -4 hours in traffic if there's fresh snow on the road. All of a sudden you're stuck with a $55 ticket for one day of skiing and you've already missed the most important part - first tracks. Adding to the frustration, you still need to find a parking spot. You can pay more and be within walking distance, or park for free 5 miles from the nearest lift and wait 20 minutes in the cold and blowing snow to ride a crowded shuttle bus with 70 of your cheapest friends - if you're lucky. More realistically, because you're parked in the farthest lot, there are no spaces on this bus, and you wait longer.

So now you've got to ski ALL DAY because you've purchased a day pass. Because you were in such a hurry this morning, you forgot to bring lunch and must pay $21.75 for a 2-hour old, burned 1/4-pound burger and half order of fries. You can't afford water. This means that at 3:30 when you're tired (because you don't have anymore calories to burn and are severely dehydrated) and cold (because the day you selected last week turned out to have a high of 6 degrees F with clouds and a 35 mph wind), you force yourself to take "one more run," and you fall, tearing you ACL, MCL, and LCD, in front of the Hawaiian Tropic girls, who are doing their annual winter photo shoot.

So on top of paying for a day pass and a day's gas, you also have a hospital bill and owe the guy next door a new TV.

Who wants to go skiing?