I hope all of you had as great a start to 2010 as I did. It started at the Plume Saloon, with a fairly small crowd but several friends, which is what really matters. Here are a couple photos from the evening, no in-depth descriptions necessary. Lauren and Hans:

Chris and Hans:

I felt pretty good the next day, Hans not so much:

Skiing with friends is the name of the game at Loveland:

Lauren shredding the gnar groomers:

The next day we daytripped to Monarch Pass for some great powder. Hans the rockstar:

Lauren loving the skin up:

The rime was beautiful:

And the skiing was a blast. Lauren enjoying the low-angle trees:

Hans loving life:

This was Lauren’s first time skiing powder, so she spent a lot of time “learning:”

At the bottom of the lap we did a rutschblock test to check the snowpack. It was terrible, but not unexpected. A light jump from a light guy was able to collapse the 8-12″ of basal facets, which means low-angle trees will be the name of the game for the rest of the season:

The drive back was miserable, and I missed 6″ of new snow and terrain at Loveland today, but at least I got to relax a bit, fix my dryer, and wax my skis. I have a feeling this will be a great year, and can’t wait to see what lies ahead.