Skiing for Xmas

**Riverkilt** · 26th December 08, 01:12 PM

Glad that's helpful. Amazing geology underground. The Idarado was a copper, lead, zinc, gold, and silver mine. Besides the crystals all you could see in the way of ore was the lead and copper but it was sure brilliant under a miner's light.

After getting blown up a few times - just like the movies, hit on the hard hat by a fall of ground the size of a football, surviving a running stope, and listening to all the disaster stories the "old" miners would tell I decided that despite being a fourth generation miner it was an occupation for others thank you.

Old miners were in their 30s. And a running stope can best be described as being in an hour glass and running uphill in the sand while the funneling sand tries to suck you down. If you can run uphill faster than the ore runs downhill you get to live.

Beautiful country though...still get back up there to soak at Orvis Hot Springs up the road in Ridgeway.

Just wish I'd had the brains to buy some land up there back then...was even pre-hippie days in Ouray.

Ron

**SFCRick** · 26th December 08, 02:17 PM

My son loves your pic, he misses the snow & skiing/snowboarding. I told him to just grab his surfboard & he will soon forget about a white Christmas. Happy holidays to all of you.

**Rogerson785** · 26th December 08, 03:28 PM

Looks like fun, all the snow that fell Christmas Eve has all but melted, wish we could get much more snow. The mountains of Colorado are calling me.

**Sheep In Wolf's Clothing** · 26th December 08, 04:51 PM

It looks like you guys had fun!
Happy holidays to you and your family Barb!
Sara

**Standard** · 26th December 08, 08:45 PM

Looks like a very fun way to spend Christmas day. I keep thinking that someday I'll get out there to ski on some real snow as opposed to the frozen slush we most often have here in the Illinois foot hills.

**Hamish** · 27th December 08, 03:26 AM

Barb,

What a super photo! Unlike Jock, I really am quite envious - not that I have ever skied or had a particular wish to do so, but it is the snow! If my memory serves me (and it frequently fails me thesedays!), I believe I have not seen snow 2' deep since 1947 when we had a freak storm here in the south of England, and I was unable to make the 18 mile journey to school for over a week!

Since then, we have been very lucky to have a 2" fall, and most years none at all.

This year we experienced one of the mildest Christmases for several years, although we did awake to a mild frost this morning!

All the Very Best to you, Dave and the family for 2009, and

Take care,
Ham.

[PS: I still have the photos you sent me last year of the deep snow at your home in Deansborough.]