Just looked at Vail's webcam...

[LoneAspen]

... and shouldn't have because now I want to ditch this place early and head back to the mountains. Blowing snow, ski lifts, mountains...

Official Vail® Ski Resort Web Cams | Mountain Cams | Vail.com

God, I miss the mountains. I'm so ready to leave Silicon Valley. I wanted to be back in Colorado for this upcoming ski season, but the timing just doesn't work out.

*sigh*

[Sarah in SC]

Oh wow, that is so pretty! And I'm not even a skier!

[W2R]

Brrrr! Pretty, but BRRRR! It looks exciting, cold, and amazing up there to me.

I am not only NOT a skiier, but also I haven't seen snow like that in years.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneAspen God, I miss the mountains.

I hear you.
Last year we booked a week at a ski resort for what should have been a good time, but when we got there they hadn't had any fresh snowfall for days and none fell during our week. Not bad, but not what I expected.

Two weeks later, they were having absolutely record snowfall and conditions were incredibly good. I couldn't stand it so I immediately went back out and had the time of my life.

This year, we're playing it safer. I'll wait until conditions are really good, then take the trip. More expensive that way, but so, so worth it!

[Ronstar]

Very nice! Many moons ago when I was single, some buddies and I spent a week skiing in Vail. It snowed several inches a day, every day we were there. It was fantastic. I'd like to go back, but DW is not a winter sports (or winter anything) person.

[hakuna matata]

ahh--Vail
brings back old memories. When I was working I had a project up there for 5 years running, so I was up there all the time. Nice area, pricey but nice!

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Brrrr! Pretty, but BRRRR! It looks exciting, cold, and amazing up there to me. I am not only NOT a skiier, but also I haven't seen snow like that in years.

Gee, I was thinking that it would be nice to be that warm today! I don't think it has been above zero all day. I'm 60 or 70 miles southeast of Vail.

Hermit

[RockyMtn]

I'll take todays 80 in Scottsdale over the 3 degrees in Denver right now. Vail is going to need a lot more snow than what they got today based on my drive through the mountains on the way to Arizona. Was pretty bare a couple of weeks ago!

[powerplay]

Beautiful snow on that webcam! So glad to be able to see it on the internet. I sure don't want it to look like that in my area, but we may have some snow or freezing rain tonight or tomorrow. Not a skier so am happy for those who like to ski and can go to the ski resorts.

[LoneAspen]

I was going through some of the other resorts to see which ones might cams taking moving images (not just still images) and Copper Mountain has a few good ones.

In fact, Copper has some of theirs pointed at places where people are skiing down, and also inside some of the training facilities like where snowboards learning jumping techniques.

Copper Mountain - Mountain Cams

Was fun to watch them all for a few minutes. Oh, to be 23 years old again with good knees!

Can't wait to get back there. I WILL be there for the 15/16 ski season!

EDIT: Didn't realize how cold it was in Colorado right now, at least in the Denver area. Brrrr! I'd still rather be there than here, though!

[MRG]

It was cold out there, we left Estes Park this morning a day early. Highway 36 was snowpacked all the way to Boulder. Truck said it was 0, winds blowing snow all over. It got worse as we headed east on I-70. Down to -1, almost complete white out conditions towards Kansas line. Glad to be back tonight.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

[harley]

I don't see what the draw is. I looked at the webcam and all I could see was a black screen with some sort of white stonehengey-looking thing. Oh well, I'm heading south on Sunday. Maybe then I'll feel better about looking at snow.

[LoneAspen]

Copper's Center Village cam shows the base area near one of their lifts. You can see all the people walking around with their skis and snowboards, all dressed up in winter clothing, snow all around, riding the lift, skiing down the mountain:

Copper Mountain - Center Village HD Cam

*sigh*

I swear, I want to walk over to my boss' cube today, hand in my resignation effectively immediately, and jump on a plane back to Colorado. If my company's stock price was double what it is today, I'd do just that (and I'm not joking).

[W2R]

You know, eventually you will get too old to enjoy skiing. I think you should immediately take some vacation time and GO. You need to enjoy this now, while you still can! So what if it delays ER by a couple of weeks. I can tell you that for me, age 66 (my present age) would be way too old for this sort of thing.

Can you do that? Maybe you could make up some sort of excuse to make it seem more urgent to your management. Tell them you are feeling extremely burned out and having panic attacks related to work issues, or something like that.

[harley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneAspen If my company's stock price was double what it is today, I'd do just that (and I'm not joking).

I remember a big Megacorp meeting in NYC back in 1999. It was a major reorg and my Director got hosed big time. At the time our stock price was ~$67. As we were walking back to the train station he told me "As soon as the stock hits $70 I'm outta here!". Of course, it never went more than a couple pennies higher, and he ended up working 4 more years.

I'll say to you what I said to him then, just as a warning. If you have so much of your net worth in your company stock that it controls your choices, you might want to reallocate (if you're allowed to).

[jabbahop]

During college I took off a year and was a ski bum in Vail. Unfortunately it wasn't a very good snow year but taught me that ski bum wasn't the career I wanted ;-)

[LoneAspen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R You know, eventually you will get too old to enjoy skiing. I think you should immediately take some vacation time and GO. You need to enjoy this now, while you still can! So what if it delays ER by a couple of weeks. I can tell you that for me, age 66 (my present age) would be way too old for this sort of thing. Can you do that? Maybe you could make up some sort of excuse to make it seem more urgent to your management. Tell them you are feeling extremely burned out and having panic attacks related to work issues, or something like that.

I could, as finances and PTO time wouldn't be an issue (I have 6 weeks of PTO time built up). However, because I'm in a critical role in Support, people would continue contacting me even though I tell them I'm not checking email, or even turned off my phone. And as much fun as the break itself might be, coming back to a weeks' worth of BS that would pile up in my absence wouldn't be worth it.

I'd rather just suffer through the home stretch I'm in until I'm fully vested and can quit (which will be early next year), and then I can do what I want, when I want, with no boss or job hanging over my head.

As far as health, I'm in my late 40's and (thank God) in good health. My knees are a little wonky, but no more so than when I was in my 20's and skiing. I just avoid bumps (always hated moguls anyway) and go more for nice green and blue runs. I'm more of an easy going cruiser - I just like to get out on the mountain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley I'll say to you what I said to him then, just as a warning. If you have so much of your net worth in your company stock that it controls your choices, you might want to reallocate (if you're allowed to).

Valid point, and yes, I do need to diversify, but I'm going to let what I have ride a little bit more before I do, because I do truly believe there's more upside where I'm at. I'm not just saying that because I "drank the Kool-Aid", but because I see both the good and the bad, and still believe there's upside. Once I leave, I will probably take anywhere from 30-50% out and diversify. I still want a significant amount in the stock because I do think it will continue to do well over the next few years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabbahop During college I took off a year and was a ski bum in Vail. Unfortunately it wasn't a very good snow year but taught me that ski bum wasn't the career I wanted ;-)

I wouldn't want to do it unless I'm FIREd. But one thing I've always wanted to do is spend a season in Vail with no job or boss hanging over my head. Maybe "bum" is the wrong word - think "man of leisure" instead

[HFWR]

I'm okay with "bum"...

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R You know, eventually you will get too old to enjoy skiing.

There is a poster at my favorite ski spot that reads "You don't stop skiing because you get old -- you get old because you stop skiing!"

I routinely find myself riding the lift with people in their 70s and even 80s. And they are generally better skiers than I am.

I have to admit that almost all of these senior skiers are men. I don't know the reason for it. My guess is that older women may be more prone to injury (broken bones) due to osteoporosis, so they avoid activities like this.

[CherylGrrl]

I semi-retired at 43 and moved to Tahoe specifically because I wanted to ski more than once or twice a year. At 60, I go 2 or 3 times a week and never get tired of it. When you ski regularly your skills improve to the point where you don't worry too much about falls as long as you ski conservatively.

The issue about broken bones is to wait until there is good snow and lots of open terrain, and go early and leave when the hordes show up. After noon there is a much higher likelihood of a drunk/high snowboarder running into you!