Day four promised to be really good. Brian was starting to acclimate and adjust to his new equipment. We had a few inches of fresh snow on the mountain overnight despite heavy rains at 8000 feet. And I didn't have to work. Yes!

The plan was to warm up on the front side and then head as quickly as possible to Blue Sky Basin where we would ski and barbeque some snags. It was cold, overcast with cobalt grey skies, but it didn't matter because there was three inches of new snow overnight and the white stuff continued to fall as we made our way up the mountain.

One of my buddies, Adam, was nice enough to ski with us and take a few pics. While the veil of snow didn't make for the best shooting conditions, it was nice to get a couple of shots of Brian and I skiing together.

We made the long haul to Blue Sky Basin and it was absolutely worth it. Not only was the snow on the ground great. Not only was snow still falling in light fluffy flakes. But the place was empty. I don't know why everyone doesn't ski there, but I'm damn glad they don't.

We stuck mostly to the Skyline Express lift and skied one of my favorite runs, Big Rock Park. Big Rock Park is brilliant because it's gladed with 4 or 5 chutes down through the trees. Because of this the run is spectacularly beautiful and different every time because you can take a different route through the trees each time down.

We took a break at Belle's Camp at what seems like the end of the world. The snow was still falling, but it didn't stop me from hitting the BBQ and cooking up our chicken apple sausages. After lunch we took a few more runs and headed back to the front side at 3:00 when Blue Sky shuts down. This time, we managed to get down on the gondola so our thighs weren't screaming when we reached the bottom.

That night we had dinner at Bob's Place in Avon. Bob's is a cheesy dump with walls covered with movie posters (What About Bob?, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice) and photos (Bob Hope, Bob Barker, Bob Newhart), but the food is good and plentiful and best of all for Vail, cheap.

The rain that had been falling when entered the place turned to snow midway through the meal and by the time we finished and made our way to the car, it was covered in several inches of snow. This promised an even more amazing day of skiing tomorrow.