Breckenridge Opens for the ’12-’13 season

The sun was out, smiles were plenty, and high fives were easy to find.  Costumes made a few appearances, parking was free, as were Gold Runner Coaster rides, and freshly baked cinnamon rolls were being handed out by chefs.   The blue sky was brilliant, as was the unavoidable happy vibe.  Yes, the 51st Breckenridge Opening Day had arrived.

Four gentleman were the lucky few that were able to claim First Chair.

Jeff Carlson and Chris Carlsted simply wanted to take a few laps before heading to work.  “[We] just showed up an hour before the lifts opened,” said Carlson.  Their motive for coming out on opening day?  Excitement.   Not a bad reason at all.Chris Young made a leap to get to Breck, quitting his job on the east coast just three weeks ago before heading out to the mountains of Colorado.   Getting first chair is just that important.

Charles Alexander, AKA Mr. Epic, also made first chair- one of many he’ll ride this season.  “I’m out here for the fun of it.  If it wasn’t the most fun thing in the world to do, I wouldn’t be here doing it.”  Mr. Epic also let us in on his reasoning for getting up early and achieving first chair, “No slow skiers will be in front of me.”

That first run must have been pretty darn fast.

Also on the scene for opening day was the Norse God of Snow, Ullr, fully decked out in his traditional Im-going-to-make-snow-a-lot garb.    He was hard to miss, considering he is just short of 10 feet tall.  We asked him for his take on the season to come.  After presenting us with some sentences that flew right over our head due to a language barrier and lack of Google Translate, he leveled with us, “Winter is back!  I have re-discovered my calling and am working back to full strength.”

Ullr knows how to make us smile.

“I turned off my Out-Of-Office reminder.”

That’s good to know, Mr. Ullr.  Back in business.  We’ll be sure to expect big things out of you this season!

As the day was starting to show signs of winding down on the hill, the scene in the T-Bar was just warming up.  Music was blasting the mood into full gear and drink specials were keeping folks happy while they watched the afternoon crowd take to the slopes.

A beautiful day on the hill, indeed, and another wonderful opening day at Breckenridge.  Looking forward to an awesome season!

Keep that Out-Of-Office OFF, Ullr.  We’re counting on you!

— Jeff Werkheiser