In celebration of my good friend’s marriage, me and seven close buddies rented an incredible AirBnb in the heart of Breckenridge, Colorado. We had a great four nights at the slope-side cabin and were able to enjoy three awesome days of riding. Check out the videos below for the recap of our adventure!
This “bachelor party” was a bit unorthodox in the fact that the bachelor had already been married. We celebrated my good friend Tommy’s marriage to a beautiful girl named Megan back in November of this past year. With the pandemic shuffling everything around, we had to push back the bachelor celebrations until after the wedding. No big deal to us, as this only allowed the trip to fall in the perfect timeframe for a snowboard trip. And what better way to practice social distancing in this day and age (minus travel, of course) but by being up on top of a gigantic, wide-open mountain.
Most of us had booked the same direct United flight out of RDU leaving early Wednesday morning, and after a rather uneventful trek across the states we were touching down in Colorado around 10am local time. After grabbing all our baggage and meeting up with two others on different incoming flights, we were on our way to pick up our rental car from Enterprise. My good friend Jake–an Enterprise legend, mind you–was able to secure us two large all-wheel drive vehicles.
After stopping for a quick sandwich at Jersey Mike’s, we were on our way heading up the mountain to Breckenridge. The drive up is always breathe-taking, as the interstate crosses 11,000 ft in elevation when heading through Loveland Pass. Enjoying the ride too much, we were in town before we knew it. We were able to find the house no problem as it was nearby an area I have had previous experience with.
The house was perfect–4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a huge kitchen, nice living room with fireplace, and two awesome decks, one with a good-sized hot tub that we definitely took advantage of. I was able to snag a bedroom on the 2nd floor of the house, and after throwing down my things on the bed, the festivities began.
Before getting too wild, a group of us headed out to purchase some supplies at the grocery store. Since we all agreed to stay away from the public as much as possible, we bought a ton of food–three meals a day worth. For eight dudes that adds up pretty quickly. Of course the first trip didn’t get us all the way through, and a second party went out later in the week for reinforcements. Nonetheless, we had plenty to get us started for the first couple of nights.
Our first day on the slopes turned out to be my favorite. In conjunction with the lowest crowds of our stay, the weather was absolutely perfect. A high of 40 degrees in the afternoon with an abundance of sun. It was the best way to be welcomed to Colorado, and a nice transition into the full three days of riding ahead.
The snow conditions for our trip were good but they definitely could have been better. Up until the time of our trip, pretty much all of Colorado’s snow totals had been way below average for this time of year. We were lucky to get a couple more inches in the days leading up to our arrival, but another few good storms would have been nice. The snowmaking and grooming at the Vail Resorts is always top notch, so we were able to ride some awesome blue groomer’s especially some of our favorites in Claimjumper and Northstar. Check out the conditions in the top to bottom run below:
Unfortunately, a lot of the high-alpine terrain was not open during our visit, and Peak 6 only opened halfway through our penultimate afternoon on the slopes. We were able to ride the far right side of the mountain, but the conditions were still sub-par as the snow totals were low and the peak had mostly been blown-off. We definitely made the best of it though, and we were even treated to a couple inches of fresh on our last day (Saturday).
We were also lucky enough to watch two Carolina Hurricanes games (both wins) as a group, and had countless laughs and good times in the house together. The AirBnb choice turned out to be perfect, as the house was ski-in/ski-out within a few hundred feet of the base of the snowflake lift. It was awesome to be able to come back to the house each day for lunch, saving some money and getting some much needed rest in the process. I was a little worried going into the trip, as I was the one who convinced the group to take the dive on Breckenridge. I am happy to say, everyone had an incredible time–no regrets at all. And even better, all negative COVID tests upon our return. A huge win in my book.
As mentioned, we were treated to a full day of snow on our last day. Unfortunately, the crowds came with and we were only able to get around so much due to some longer lift lines. We made the best of it and ended up getting plenty of turns in some fluffy fresh powder. It was a fantastic way to end the trip.
Our trip home proved to be a bit trying, as we were at the airport pretty early in the day for a late afternoon flight. We made the most of it though, and spent an awesome couple hours eating and drinking before heading back to the real world. Although we were sad it was over, we had a great vacation and were ready to come home.
I hope you enjoyed my quick recap from my recent “bachelor weekend” trip to Breckenridge. If you have any questions about any of the details of our stay, feel free to reach out–I would love to offer some recommendations for the area. Thanks again for your support, and be sure to stay tuned for the next update from T-R Travels!
– Walker
Texas-Ranger Travels 