winter wonderland

well, i'm back from beautiful, snowy and cold colorado. i am tired, and i'm glad that there will be no more flights for a while (5 airplanes in 4 days is a bit much) and that i am no longer residing at over a mile above sea level. altitude can get to you - it can get hard to breathe sometimes or go up a flight of stairs. i am also glad that it is no longer cold. i mean, that i'm no longer cold. at points it got very cold and i couldn't get rid of the coldness... made me realize what living in vancouver has done to my upbringing in quebec.

colorado was gorgeous and i very much enjoyed it - we stayed in crested butte at a picturesque lodge on the side of a river. the scenery, the snow, the icicles, the crispness of the air, the cold (often staying at around -20°C) was all perfect, as if it had all been planned carefully and put together purposefully. i was constantly amazed at how the snow stuck to the branches of the trees, even after an evening of strong winds. the town was especially quaint and picturesque, with colourful old buildings... covered in snow! it is also the only place i've ever seen where people are stubborn enough to use their bike for transportation regardless of cold, snow or ice.

while crested butte is a ski town, i don't ski. i did partake in some winter activities though, namely snowshoeing, snowmobiling, sitting by the fire, collaborating on a puzzle, playing pool and drinking. there was also a lot of eating. of the outdoors activities, i very much enjoyed snowshoeing as it brought back plenty of memories from my childhood. the snowmobiling was fantastic while we were riding in tiny, windy trails through an evergreen forest covered in snow. it was not so fantastic when the visor of my helmet got completely frozen over and i couldn't see. it was also not so great when the trail was bumpy - our ski-doo was missing an handle in the back, and so i had to hold-on to the driver not to fall off. note to self and everybody else: do not attempt this, unless you enjoy constant helmet bumps, feeling like you need to hold on for dear life and spending a lot of time looking at the ride's dials instead of the scenery. i never experienced ski-doos as being a form of exercise but i am not sore all over.