Mountain Hiking © Andrew Ingersoll
Adventure doesn’t require a passport. There are thousands of great places to explore within America.
I decided to take a long weekend road trip with a friend to Breckenridge, Colorado, for some killer skiing. Departing Lansing, Michigan, in the afternoon, we drove across country through the night, arriving in Breckenridge at 10 am the next morning. The sky was blue and the slopes were empty. We weren’t planning on hitting the slopes immediately, but the piste was too tempting to resist.
Snow pants on, neck gaitor in position, lift ticket purchased, we were up within minutes. My first trip to the Rockies was a humbling experience. Standing on a mountain top looking out over snow-covered Summit County, Colorado, was a world away from the Michigan State University campus. Skiers bliss.
Two hours into skiing, we managed to cover some decent acreage but I felt a headache coming on. Disembarking the ski lift atop Peak 8, I felt downright ill. Headache, nausea, dizzy, blurry vision. The excitement of our trip came to a screeching halt with the onset of Altitude Sickness. Going from sea-level to 8000 feet in 12 hours is not a good idea.
If you’ve never experienced altitude sickness, I hope you never do! Needless to say, I’ve learned my lesson. Fortunately, I recovered by the next day so I return to the slopes.
In Breckenridge, I stayed at the hostel/bed-and-breakfast called Fireside Inn. It was a nice, simple place to hang our clothes after a day of skiing and reasonably priced for a bed, hot shower, and nice breakfast. Vail/Eagle Airport is the closest commercial airport. Denver is a couple hours’ drive away with numerous shuttle services to Summit County: Summit Stage Free Transportation within Summit County
