Mount Rose ski trip!

 

“玫瑰、玫瑰，我爱你！”

I would like to dedicate this song to Mount Rose, the place where the FC family had an epic ski trip to end year 2013! Ok, I confess that Panda and I totally tagged along for this one - we had no plans to travel in December other than that home trip. But when the FCians said they were driving up to Mount Rose and Reno to ski... how could I resist!!

Since we are on a budget life here, there's no way we could afford too many nights of hotel stay. The gang was planning on a 4D3N trip, which was too much for us. So after much discussion with Panda, the finance director, we decided to attempt the impossible. Drive up to Mount Rose at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning to join the gang, ski the whole day, stay one night at Reno, ski the next day, then leave the gang and drive back before it turns dark. Woah. Pushing our bodies' limits.

In the end, the plan turned out really well because I got too excited the night before and couldn't sleep much. We woke up at 3am, decided to change and have breakfast at McDonald's (except that it was too early for the breakfast menu). Then it was onwards to Mount Rose, stopping only once to buy Starbucks as we got nearer to Lake Tahoe.

If there ever is a thing called 'sleepily excited', this is it:

And then 4.5 hours later, we arrived! We even got there before the rest of the gang! Woohoo!

I, being uber excited, bounced off almost immediately to rent my skis and practised on the bunny slopes before taking the ski lift up to Ponderosa. The thrill of zig-zagging down a run, especially the first time where you don't know how steep it would be, was electrifying. I loved the adrenaline rush!

Then the gang arrived around 11am, after a hearty breakfast. (Apparently, the buffet breakfast at Peppermill Resorts, where we were supposed to be staying, was reallllly good!) After renting their skis, they joined the beginners class with little Z following them. Over the two days, they moved from beginners class to next-step class, and we took the ski lift up to do the green slopes over and over again. They liked it!! I'm so happy to find skiing buddies!!

Although it was only a short 2D1N for us, I was really having the time of my life, skiing two days in a row. Panda, the ever patient husband, said he had a great time napping in the car too while waiting for me. He was awarded "The Best Husband" award by the gang - LOL! Well, thank you for carrying my shoes around, and for helping me get food and water! My feet was blister-less this time because of "The Best Husband".

We started the return journey at 4.30pm, when the slopes closed for the day. It was perfect timing as the sun was setting and we could see how beautiful Lake Tahoe is.

One of the things I'd miss when I go back for good this year, would be the amazing road trip scenery!

(Post-script: I forgot to mention that Mount Rose's package - ski lesson, equipment rentals, lift pass - easily costs half the price of that of NorthStar and Heavenly. That's what made it so awesome! The only thing for parents with kids is, there's no sledding allowed! We did see a small area for kids to play with snow about 5-min drive away. )