Time for a test drive

Since we got to State College and started working on the van, we have dedicated 100% of our time to the van. As we were finishing up with the bedframe, we kept seeing amazing snow reports from the Rockies, with more snow to come…so we decided it was about time to give the van a test drive.  We had bought the Mountain Collective ski pass earlier in the season and still had some free passes left to use at Aspen/Snowmass, Alta/Snowbird and Jackson Hole.

We finished up with the bed frame around 7PM on Thursday (March 27th), threw a spare mattress in the van, quickly packed our gear and by 9PM started the 26 hour drive out to Colorado to ‘test out’ the van and bed frame.

Long story short… Bed frame was AWESOME. Solid as a rock. As far as the car goes, we had a few dashboard lights come on, but don’t expect any to require major work. We’re very happy with the insulation and sound dampening as well.

We took I-70 west and swung by St. Louis, Missouri on the way out. We took a look at the Gateway Arch, which was very impressive. We also had the chance to swing by Climb So iLL, an indoor rock climbing gym in St. Louis. I’ve wanted to climb there for a while now, so I was really bummed when we didn’t have the time to. Nonetheless, I was very impressed and highly recommend checking them out if you’re ever in the area – I’ll be back to climb soon hopefully.

Aspen – awesome 2 days. While conditions weren’t great, I got to ski with my best friend Kelly on Sunday. Then Monday, Jakob and I hiked out to the Highlands bowl. We were one of the first people out there, so had fresh tracks in 5” powder with blue bird skies… so happy!!!

Alta/Snowbird – INSANE/EPIC/UNFORGETTABLE. We woke up to about a foot of champagne powder and it continued to dump the rest of the day. We were so speechless –  neither of us have ever had anything like this. We couldn’t have been happier.

Jackson Hole – The mountain was really awesome. While the snow was a little choppy by the time we got there, there was plenty of terrain for us to explore and play on. The most important thing though… I saw the most amazing boot-fitter. I had a 3-yr old  pair of boots that took the life of a few of my toe nails in December and since then, I couldn’t use them anymore so had been renting. A friend living in Jackson Hole recommended that I see Stephen McDonald at Jackson Hole Sports… we talked a bit, he took a look, made a few changes and it changed my ski-life. After the first run, I was ready to give him a hug. It was the fist time this year that my feet weren’t in pain. So anyway, yea, he was amazing.

After the 6th day of skiing, our ski trip came to an end… AND the van and frame were still holding up. Now, back to State College, and back to work on the van!