{"id":257200,"date":"2015-01-25T05:35:08","date_gmt":"2015-01-25T12:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/14erskiers.com\/blog\/?p=257200"},"modified":"2015-01-24T17:57:58","modified_gmt":"2015-01-25T00:57:58","slug":"magical-morning-red-lady-6-jan-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/14erskiers.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/magical-morning-red-lady-6-jan-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Magical Morning on Red Lady (6 Jan 2015)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some things are worth waking up early for. For me, skiing is one of those things – most days anyway. Admittedly, I am not what many call “a morning person”. I don’t actually like getting up before the first rays of sun hit the mountains. But, sometimes for the sake of skiing I awaken and fumble around in the dark until I am warmed by the daylight. <\/p>\n

Even though I am not “a morning person”, I recognize that winter mornings can be particularly beautiful. The stillness in the air, the frost on the trees, and the pink hues in the sky can paint a magical scene. But, every now and then we are blessed with even more magic. This was one such magical morning. <\/p>\n

When I arrived to Alex’s house, it was still dark. But, it was a balmy 28-degrees Fahrenheit. Clouds hung close to the ground and I was uninspired by the grimness of the scene. But, I had hope – hope that the clouds were so low-hanging that we could climb above them. I’ve seen it before<\/a>, though it’s not a common sight in Crested Butte.<\/p>\n

We began skinning as twilight crept into the sky. We were quickly surrounded by fog but after awhile, we emerged to blue sky. The scene was surreal and as beautiful as a morning could possibly be. It was a magical morning after all.
\n\"Axtell<\/p>\n

The Castles are always spectacular. But, they were even more so on this morning.
\n\"The<\/p>\n

The island of Mount Crested Butte \ud83d\ude42
\n\"Mount<\/p>\n

Whetstone surrounded by thick fog.
\n\"Thick<\/p>\n

Axtell.
\n\"Axtell<\/p>\n

Another shot of the island of Mount Crested Butte, with fog hanging in the East and Brush Creek river valleys.
\n\"Mount<\/p>\n

Alex skinning toward the top of Red Lady.
\n\"Alex<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

As we neared the summit of Mount Emmons (Red Lady), we could see that the fog also expanded deep into the Slate River and Washington Gulch valleys.
\n\"Fog<\/p>\n

Yet clouds also clung to our high peaks of Ruby, Owen, and Purple.
\n\"Ruby,<\/p>\n

Down valley, the fog showed no signs of dissipating.
\n\"Whetstone<\/p>\n

\"Mount<\/p>\n

We decided to make our way to the far side of Red Lady bowl.
\n\"Alex<\/p>\n

Alex = Happy.
\n\"Alex<\/p>\n

Alex dropping in.
\n\"Alex<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

Our tracks.
\n\"Tracks<\/a><\/p>\n

Even after we skied, the fog still hovered in the valleys.
\n\"Winter<\/p>\n

Of course, we paused for a selfie. We couldn’t be happier.
\n\"Brittany<\/p>\n

And then we skied on down and into the fog.
\n\"Skiing<\/p>\n

What a magical morning on Red Lady. This one was definitely worth the pre-dawn awakening \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n