Ski Trip 2012- Snowshoe, WV

I had so much fun on this year's ski trip!  This group has been doing this annual ski trip since 2006 and over the years we have just about perfected this thing.  We go somewhere different almost every year, not everyone gets to go every year, and there are always new friends that join us but one thing remains the same- we always have a good time.

This year we went to Snowshoe, WV and we apparently picked the perfect weekend because they got their first big snow!  Fourteen inches over the four days we were there.  This place was so big!  It had two different ski areas and shuttles that ran between the two and also to all the lodging and houses.  Our house wasn't skin in/ski out like last year, but we only had to walk to the top of our driveway to catch the shuttle!  Here is the house we stayed in:

I stuck to skis this year.  I didn't want to waste the whole time trying to learn how to snowboard again.  I stuck to the green slopes after last year's terrifying blue slope.  It was fun though because there were so many green slopes and they were so long!

We got in late Wednesday night.  Thursday morning we slept in and took our time eating breakfast and getting ready.  We got to enjoy an amazing view:

We headed over to the Silver Creek ski area since the Snowshoe slopes closed at 4:30.  We hung out at the bar downstairs until 4:00 so we could get the cheaper night ski lift tickets.  There were only two green slopes at Silver Creek but they were both long though. There was an "easy" option and a more challenging option one of the guys showed me towards the end of the day once I got my bearings on the skis again.  We got to see a beautiful sunset from the top of the mountain:

Around 7:30 we decided to head back to the house since it got pretty cold once the sun went down.  The other half of our group had arrived and we had a fun night playing Apples to Apples, hot tubbing, and just being silly.

I ended up sharing a cozy, tiny bunk bed room with my friend's cousin.  I was a little bit nervous about sharing a room with a guy, but it was not bad at all.  Here are Ellie and Heather enjoying our cute bunk beds:

Friday we got up a little earlier, made breakfast, and got our ski gear on so we could make it over to the Snowshoe area for skiing.  Half of our group had stayed up until 5 am and didn't make it out with us.  They really missed out because this was the best day of skiing I've ever had.  We got out there around 1:00 and once we got to the bottom of our first slope it started snowing.  It was so pretty!  The wind wasn't bad and it wasn't too cold.  All the fresh snow made the skiing perfect!  We stopped for a drink at the top of the mountain about half way through.  There were so many runs and lifts so we all had to stay together or we would never find each other. It was such fun though!  We didn't even make it to every green slope!

At 4:30 when Snowshoe closed we headed over to Silver Creek.  We skied there until 6:30 and then stopped and had a drink at the bottom of the mountain to warm up before heading back to the house.  We had hot chocolate with a shot of Bailey's and a shot of Kahlua and it was the. best. drink. ever.  Two of the girls had tried it over at Snowshoe earlier when I had stuck to beer but I had to get once here because it was so freaking good! It cost $15 but was worth every penny!  Such a perfect end to the perfect day of skiing!

Friday night the last of our friends arrived.  We had a fun night playing more Apples to Apples, Phase 10, and cooking dinner.  I was exhausted from the day but was able to hang until about 1 am before calling it a night.

Saturday was freezing!  I think it was in the teens or single digits all day!  We went up to The Village first to visit the shops.  I don't have ski boots.  I've always been able to get by wearing my rain boots and a couple layers of socks.  But this day my feet were freezing!  I bought two pairs of wool socks and two sets of toe warmers.  I added those to my two layers of socks I already had on, but my feet were still freezing all day!

After we visited a few shops we headed down to Silver Creek so we could have a drink to warm up before snow tubing.  They ended up not having hot chocolate at the bar we went to so we settled for a shot and then went snow tubing for 2 hours:

They had five lanes and all the fresh snow made each run so fast and smooth.  Most of us had to call it quits before our two hours was up because it was just so dang cold.  I got to try four of the runs though and it was the best tubing I've ever done despite the cold.

We stopped by the house and then took the shuttle back to The Village so we could catch the bus to The Top of the World so we could hit the bar where we first discovered our awesome hot chocolate drink.  The Village was so cute all lit up at night!

At the bar they had live music!  The guy was a great singer and we enjoyed his songs along with our special hot chocolates and a hot apple cider drink they had on special.

We were a little bit tipsy when we got back on the shuttle.  I'm pretty sure people thought we were crazy.  That night we cooked oysters, had a little dance party in the living room, and played cards.  It was a very fun end to a very fun weekend!

Sunday it had snowed so much we ended up having to get our cars towed out of the driveway:

We made it out and down the mountain safely thanks to the boys four wheel drive trucks and good driving skills.  I would have been a mess if I had to drive in that stuff!  It was a LONG drive home but well worth it because the weekend was just so perfect! 

I already can't wait for next year!