Lewis & Clark...Climbing the Rocky Mountains

The weather was calling for 60 degree temperatures in Denver CO...and temps in the upper 30's up into the mountains. We would soon find out, that there is really no telling what the weather will do in the mountains.

The "climb" from the valley of Denver...to the lower mountains was downright jaw dropping...only to be surpassed by the climb into the upper elevations. Words cannot do justice to this amazing scenery. You need to make sure you have a full tank of gas when you get started, and have a lot of faith that not only YOUR car...but all of the other cars and trucks around you have been carefully tuned for good working brakes...for the steep descents. At our highest point just before Loveland Pass, we reached 10,000 feet elevation....and then descended to steep, snow blown roadways. The weather went from sunny and warm in Denver...to blizzard like conditions in the peaks. (below is footage from the beginning of the climb out of Denver - to Breckenridge)

Soon, we found our exit for Breckenridge - and had our choice of 2 primary roads....Main Street or Park Ave. Most of the skiiers were already on the slopes for the day - so we had the town of Breckenridge to ourselves. Paddy taste tested the coffee in various coffee shops up in the high altitudes...and concluded that it was "pretty good". We checked into our cabin at Park Meadows - which is located 2 blocks from - Park Ave...and 2 more blocks to the gondola lift. At the end of our ski day, we could ski straight from the 4 mile run slope...directly to our cabin. How cool is that??

Took care of remaining details, got fitted for skis and boots, and made a trip to the grocery store. Our biggest athletic activity was getting winded climbing 2 flights of stairs. We're at 9600' eleveation here. Where the heck did all the oxygen go??