tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46927790648724671282011-07-30T12:18:24.316-06:00My name is BeckyAurora. I'm a second-year Ski Area Operations student at the Timberline (Leadville) campus of Colorado Mountain College.Sara Fowlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02508571820608947414noreply@blogger.comBlogger841100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-20910778512882888972010-04-19T09:07:00.006-06:002010-04-26T10:14:51.669-06:00

It's amazing how close the end of the school year is. Friday night is graduation and a week from now I'll be back in South Dakota.For the past three weeks or so a lot of second-year Ski Area Operations students have just had two classes- Ski Area Operations Seminar and Ski Area Planning.In Ski Area Operations Seminar we have heard about Paul Rauschke's journey to the ski industry. We have also

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-21564613465500287792010-04-02T20:48:00.004-06:002010-04-02T22:15:14.778-06:00

Last weekend was the 2010 Nature Valley NASTAR Nationals in Winter Park, CO.If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you might remember the trip that my mom and I took to Whistler last March which didn't quite go as planned. This trip was no different. Evidentally my mom and I should not go on trips without other family members.The weekend started on Thursday when my mom arrived in Denver- 3

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-91292114322950185612010-03-14T16:21:00.002-06:002010-03-14T17:31:40.545-06:00

A snowboard instructor's job consists solely of teaching snowboarding, right? Wrong. In this blog I will outline the exact happenings of the relatively normal day that I had at work today.7:50AMThe alarm on my phone goes off. It's a slightly more tolerable sound when not experiencing the effects of Daylight Savings Time.8:25AMI get in my snow covered Explorer, blast the defrost, and dust the

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-86209294098774670612010-03-13T16:01:00.003-07:002010-03-13T16:08:27.891-07:00

I do not have pictures or results right now from the Rail Jam as I was really not feeling so great that day. I do however have a couple of pictures of the set-up that I got from the "CMC RAIL JAM AND SLOPESTYLE" Facebook event.

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-54616497123164867992010-03-10T08:34:00.002-07:002010-03-13T15:09:22.654-07:00

Yale's Comedy Improv Troupe, Just Add Water, performed at a Leadville church this past Sunday night. Thanks to Student Government, Colorado Mountain College students were able to attend for free. There were only three students that went, but then again, it was the start of Spring Break.The show was about an hour long and a lot of fun to watch. The troupe doesn't make any of the show up ahead of

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-45630326662037980602010-02-24T18:10:00.003-07:002010-02-24T18:39:58.968-07:00

March 6th and 7th 2010 is Leadville Skijoring!!"Ski Joring is a competition where a horse and rider pull a skier at a fast pace through a course that has gates, jumps and rings. The skier is timed through the course, and penalties are assessed by missing gates or jumps, and by missing or dropping any of the rings."Click here for registration information.________________________________________

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-74539097707987628342010-02-24T17:47:00.006-07:002010-02-24T18:39:31.088-07:00

International Film Series at CMCColorado Mountain College Timberline Campus presentsBabette’s Feast on March 26th, 2010 from 6-9:30PMGuided discussion by CMC Faculty /StaffOne-time registration fee of $10 required.This fee covers one or all movies.Call 486-4292 to register________________________________________February 27thThe Mineral Belt Historical TourA non-competitive cross-country ski tour

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-47819866738143726782010-02-24T17:38:00.003-07:002010-02-24T17:46:47.117-07:00

Colorado Mountain College Ski Area Operations Timberline Campus presents:2 Mile High Rail Jam & Cloud City SlopestyleMarch 6, 2010Leadville, ColoradoDutch Henri HillRegistration 8AMRail Jam $10Slopestyle $15Rail Jam 10-11AMSlopestyle 1-4PMLive music & FoodSkiers and snowboarders welcomeFor more informationCall 719-486-4229

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-38145609500971412442010-02-13T08:24:00.003-07:002010-02-13T16:48:04.370-07:00

To any loyal followers of my blog, I am sorry for the lack of blogs lately.A blogger from Breckenridge, one from Steamboat, and another from Glenwood Springs, along with myself attended the X-Games in Aspen, Colorado a few Saturdays ago. We had a scavenger hunt planned but, unfortunately, it did not work out as planned. 50 cent performed for about 1/2 an hour right aroudn lunch time. After 50

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-44228819328545897512010-01-28T16:28:00.002-07:002010-01-28T17:55:26.037-07:00

As I spend the majority of my waking hours at Ski Cooper instructing, I thought that would be a more fitting topic for this week's blog, compared to classes (of which I currently have one- which reminds me, I should probably do my homework for that class tonight) and school-sponsored activities, which I have done a poor job of attending lately.About a week and a half ago, six Australians came to

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-11425525353156395242010-01-13T16:35:00.003-07:002010-01-18T21:56:17.865-07:00

Considering that I haven't had any classes, I don't have much to write on that front. I did however find out a couple days ago that I have an online class this semester, which I was completely unaware of. My books arrived in the mail today, which was a complete surprise to me because I thought Martin Luther King Day was a federal holiday. Perhaps UPS does not observe federal holidays.As far as

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-64077066955913819402010-01-03T16:18:00.006-07:002010-01-03T17:22:24.446-07:00

I unfortunately got distracted and neglected to write about the 5th day of the Winter Dew Tour. So we shall now test my memory as to what exactly happened that day.The day started rather early for me as I was aiming to get to Breckenridge around 9AM in order to have time to park, put my gear on, take the bus from the free parking lot to the gondola, take the gondola up to Peak 8, stash my

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-68763208615248568372009-12-19T18:14:00.001-07:002009-12-20T19:12:57.630-07:00

Friday the Colorado Mountain College booth had gotten all sorted out and no one was trying to figure out where we were supposed to be setting up. Our item of the day was to hand out the Colorado Mountain College stickers that we had which had information about a text raffle on the back. We also had chapstick, ice scrapers, and caribeaners.Saturday, I spent the day working the CMC booth. We were

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-90185049211410053312009-12-17T19:33:00.002-07:002009-12-17T22:02:53.312-07:00

Today I was in Breckenridge once again for the Dew Tour. The Colorado Mountain College booth had a bit of a slow start as there were so issues that had to be sorted out as to where exactly our tent would be. We did eventually get set-up though. Since there ended up being six of us hanging around the tent, we were able to take turns walking around. A couple people walked up to watch part of the

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-47794168299544657402009-12-16T18:45:00.003-07:002009-12-16T19:26:34.478-07:00

Today I spent the day in Breckenridge for the Winter Dew Tour. For those of you who don't know, the Dew Tour is a freestyle ski and snowboard competition. As part of the Dew Tour, I was given the opportunity to interview a couple of competitors.The first person I interviewed was Dan Marion who so kindly explained to a Breckenridge employee and myself, why they were painting multiple blue lines

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-10127437638948315452009-12-12T18:46:00.004-07:002009-12-12T19:22:34.618-07:00

Tonight I headed over to the Lake County Ice Rink which is really a basketball court that they flood with water. Someone had told me earlier in the day that they had free hot dogs this evening since it was their opening day. Turns out that they also had free skating and skate rentals. I am definately not much of an ice skater, but it was fun for the short time that I partook in it. If you

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-19203127795807674412009-12-11T11:02:00.004-07:002009-12-11T13:56:11.785-07:00

This past week was finals week. I only had one final since all of my Ski Area Operations classes ended at Halloween. My one final was in Principles of Accounting and I felt like it took FOREVER, but we were able to take it home and work on it, so it wasn't that bad.I finally got my "Drive Up From Denver" video uploaded earlier today.Earlier this week we finally got the snow that everyone had

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-9180646064995652392009-12-04T16:33:00.004-07:002009-12-11T13:43:50.892-07:00

The video does not actually start in Denver. It starts more in the Sterling area on I-76. Denver sounded like a more identifiable location than Sterling though for people who are not familiar with Colorado.When I started filming, I could see the mountains in the distance, but apparently the camera could not.However, as you can see, the mountains appear soon enough.The 5th "clip" (the one

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-84074594712510590142009-12-04T09:36:00.004-07:002009-12-08T23:28:40.226-07:00

Last Friday my aunt and I went to the mall in Sioux Falls for the Black Friday sales. My mom however, was going to have no part in this- she hates the mall, and shopping, and crowds. Although the mall opened at 5AM, we really did not feel the need to be there that early. Arriving at 9:30 worked just fine for us. Aside from the mass of people that filled Younkers and the line at Old Navy that went

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-80280093611958508812009-11-27T06:39:00.000-07:002009-11-27T06:40:30.820-07:00

Monday night after a very brief student government meeting, I set off going east on I-70 to start my drive back to South Dakota. I-70 was less than delightful as it was covered in snow and the 3rd lane that cars were driving in may or may not have been the driver-side shoulder. There was a CDOT plow spraying chemicals on the road, but as far as I was concerned, he was essentially a slow moving

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-32889273493426844272009-11-19T12:53:00.001-07:002009-11-20T16:07:59.682-07:00

These are pictures from Dutch Henri- the hill where snowmaking labs took place this past semester. After the wales (snow piles) at the bottom were of a sufficient size they moved the fan gun that was at the bottom, halfway up the hill. At the same time they were using a tower gun at the top of the hill. Then, as the pictures show, once they had a sufficient amount of snow made, they moved the

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-27324272201732885632009-11-11T16:38:00.003-07:002009-11-11T18:08:03.363-07:00

Blog I wrote for extra credit in my Ski Area Risk Management class.You may be thinking the title "The Mountains Glow" is a rather odd title. Normally if someone told me "If you ever drive towards Copper Mountain at 3AM, you can see the mountains glowing!" I would probably wonder what sort of illegal substance they were using. However, last Wednesday morning I got to witness these glowing

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-72140433653963708722009-10-30T11:57:00.004-06:002009-10-30T13:00:42.970-06:00

Snow was the theme for the week.This past weekend was the Outdoor Emergency Care Refresher class. It consisted of Ski Cooper employees, Chicago Ridge employees, and a couple of Colorado Mountain College students who are not currently employed with a ski patrol but wanted to keep their certification current. We reviewed spinal immobilization and backboarding procedures, helmet removal, and did a

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-55802348226811829802009-10-23T15:10:00.002-06:002009-10-23T16:04:05.455-06:00

Hello all.Tuesday in Snowmaking lecture we discussed system maintenance issues. That evening in Accounting we learned about cash short and over and petty cash funds. Although I think we all caught onto the lesson really well, the thought was raised "I must be doing something wrong. It did not take long at all to do my assignment.". Fortunately, it appears that the assignment was just short

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-49156016452497187982009-10-16T13:23:00.002-06:002009-10-16T14:19:30.530-06:00

Last night, the MPR was PACKED with people. No, there was no mandatory meeting of everyone in the dorms. It was packed because of a ski & snowboard movie premiere night that a student organized.A couple weeks ago, the student presented his idea to Student Government and we approved the idea and money to be spent on snacks.At approximately 8:05 when I showed up, people were standing because all

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-20591919470695460942009-10-10T13:27:00.002-06:002009-10-10T13:38:16.065-06:00

Last weekend the “Wii Olympics” took place at the dorms. There were about 15 different events including bowling, golf, baseball, archery, and tennis.Our current assignment in Snowmaking lecture is to write a 1-page paper about what we have learned in the class so far due to some not so outstanding grades on our last test. Snowmaking lab has been going well. Some people have almost completed

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-58908455269976550062009-10-07T14:08:00.002-06:002009-10-07T17:57:03.056-06:00

Hello all.Last night we made snow again. It was definately more successful than the time before. We have the temperatures now to make snow almost any night we want I think.Friday is the NSAA Risk Management Seminar at Copper Mountain.We have reached the half-way point of the semester which means mid-terms in Risk Management and Accounting, along with a regular test in Snowmaking lecture.2nd

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-17883752899831555752009-09-25T15:25:00.002-06:002009-09-25T16:39:03.226-06:00

These are from Monday when it snowed in Leadville, and the snow stayed on the ground. These are from the day it snowed, but the ground was so warm that it pretty much just melted immediately.The first snow on the mountains surrounding Leadville. There's not much around campus this week that I haven't already covered. Yesterday we were going to have homework in Snowmaking, but there was

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-76546374204710487322009-09-23T02:23:00.002-06:002009-09-23T06:06:57.080-06:00

Normally I am not awake at 2:30AM, but tonight, I am in Snowmaking Lab, hence why I am writing this blog at this hour of the morning.It was a learning experience for all- both myself, my fellow snowmakers, and the teacher. Since it is the first snowmaking lab of the semester, and Jason Gusaas, the new Ski Area Operations professor, is in charge of the lab, we spent the first hour and a half

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-56614858540546485012009-09-21T18:42:00.003-06:002009-09-21T20:11:57.221-06:00

This morning when I woke up and looked out my window I discovered that the ground was white. Considering that it's only mid-September, I was slightly surprised, but really did not mind. I was even more surprised when it continued to snow on and off throughout the day, and it is still snowing now. There is not really any accumulation yet, as it warmed up to the 40's today. I will post pictures

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-12034135837932192812009-09-18T13:34:00.003-06:002009-09-23T15:51:12.984-06:00

This past weekend it snowed up in the mountains. I'm not sure what you would call what fell in town- perhaps soaking wet snow. It made the ground white, but there were also big streams running through parking lots. I took pictures, but I forgot to grab the memory card out of my camera when I headed up to campus to spend the afternoon in the library.Now normally, I don't spend a whole lot of time

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-81397072886778290002009-09-08T09:02:00.008-06:002009-09-10T13:31:50.883-06:00

This past weekend, while some of my friends climbed a 14er (they've climbed one every weekend this school year) and then hiked to Conundrum Hot Springs, I opted for an activity that involved slightly less exertion.On Friday, while trying to come up with something exciting for my weekend, I happened across a website explaining that you can drive up Mt. Evans. Driving up to 14,130 feet and then

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-58665330144818490132009-08-24T17:43:00.010-06:002009-08-28T16:32:28.960-06:00

Last Friday there was an inflateable obstacle course on the lawn in front of the New Discovery building. For the not so lucky, it was a reminder that we were at 10,200 feet, and that we didn't have quite the energy to run through inflateable pillars and climb up walls that we did at home.Sunday morning, a group of students got up at 3AM to climb Mt. Elbert (the highest peak in Colorado, at 14,433

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-78641862090364509662009-08-15T06:10:00.002-06:002009-08-15T08:36:53.834-06:00

For anyone who knows anything about South Dakota, you know that it is not exactly the most urban state in the country. And while I do live near Sioux Falls, which has the busiest intersection in the state, it's not exactly like living in a metropolis.Three weeks ago, my family went to Chicago, Illinois for a Ham Radio meeting which occurs in a different city every year. After I successfully

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-513880041804599772009-07-15T10:58:00.004-06:002009-07-17T13:16:13.578-06:00

While most people in America spent a ridiculous amount of money on fireworks and then proceeded to watch colorful explosions on July 4th, I did not. Don't get me wrong, I bought fireworks, I just did not watch their colorful explosions fill the sky on July 4th since my parents were in a little country in Africa called Mali. So, now we have bags of fireworks stashed in our hall closet, waiting for

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-61402087010018011042009-06-23T13:13:00.005-06:002009-06-23T16:41:43.914-06:00

Wow... summer break is almost half over.The first month of my summer consisted of attending graduation parties and filling out job applications. At the end of May, my brother and I made a very spontaneous decision to attend Mount Hood Summer Ski Camp. We had attended this camp before and were planning to attend again this year but hadn't yet gotten things sorted out to go this year. So, on May

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-52499348276430568312009-04-29T07:54:00.002-06:002009-05-01T22:07:09.788-06:00

I learned a lot during my first year at Colorado Mountain College.Academically,Intro to Ski Area Operations: There really isn't one thing that sticks out in my mind as far as what we learned because we learned so much about so many different things. It is definately a good introductory class to the program.Leadership Development: I learned a lot about different leadership styles.Outdoor Emergency

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-60477881883662477082009-04-24T18:50:00.003-06:002009-04-24T19:36:01.539-06:00

If you plan on attending the Timberline campus this fall, I suggest you get your application in NOW. Last August when I moved in, there were 9 rooms that had triples. A few days ago, I was informed that the dorms are already fuller than they were last August. Rather than rushing to fill out a housing application to live in the dorms, I decided on an alternative- getting an apartment in town.

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-76498840026148834422009-04-17T13:47:00.004-06:002009-04-17T14:59:32.733-06:00

As lift ticket prices continue to rise (I've heard that Vail will be over $100 for a 1-day lift ticket during the 09-10 season) more and more people are re-considering if they can afford to ski. The good news is, there are still ways to afford to take your family skiing for the weekend.Two of the main skiing deals are the Colorado Gems card and store discounts.-----------------------------------

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-88056446778389505712009-04-10T09:56:00.003-06:002009-04-10T10:47:36.775-06:00

My week started off last Saturday morning with a trip to Summit County Medical Center. I had hurt my wrist a week before that and for a couple days it didn't hurt. Then it started to hurt but my brace from last time I broke my wrist was working well enough. However, my wrist eventually decided that it was going to keep hurting more and more no matter how much Advil and Tylenol I took, so Saturday

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-49880420637356010792009-03-30T09:21:00.003-06:002009-04-03T14:25:10.778-06:00

March 27th-29th 2009 was NASTAR Nationals in Steamboat.What is NASTAR?"Developed by Ski Magazine in 1968, NASTAR (NAtional STAndard Race) is the largest recreational ski and snowboard race program in the world. Our mission is simple - to provide a fun, competitive and easily accessible racing program that, through the development of a handicap system, allows racers of all ages and abilities a

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-74307273699187898252009-03-27T21:12:00.002-06:002009-03-27T22:40:40.786-06:00

Thursday was just one of those days. I got up at 8AM, had breakfast, picked up a sack lunch, and headed to Steamboat. Normally this trip to Steamboat would have been a nice, simple, 2 hour drive. Thursday however, it was a miserable, snowy, 4 hour drive. A drive where my top speed was 45 miles an hour. It started off with the car that was being pulled out of the ditch and was blocking traffic

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-3622467658839936392009-03-20T18:19:00.004-06:002009-03-20T19:41:18.396-06:00

My day started bright (and I do mean bright) and early at 10AM out on Dutch Henri. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny morning for day 2 of constructing the features for tomorrow's rail jam.The 1st action of the day involved Curt talking us into reducing our 20-foot-gap-on to about a 5-foot-gap-on, since our competitors will not be at the X-Games level of competition (Gee! Who would have thought?).

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-71223638495071858562009-03-17T10:13:00.002-06:002009-03-17T11:18:36.437-06:00

You may be wondering what a student does at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado on a Monday night. Well, there is always the option of free swim night, but for various reasons, many of us are unable to attend swim night. Therefore, we must find another source of entertainment.Last night was a fairly typical Monday night. I went to Public Speaking class (Free pool night was just

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-91316935029670386132009-03-13T09:36:00.003-06:002009-03-13T11:40:51.780-06:00

In continuation of my last blog... Friday night we went to IGA (a grocery store with aisles going in about 5 different directions) and then my mom and I wanted to take the bus back to our hotel, so we went to the bus stop, and got on the first bus that came along. It turns out that that bus was not the bus we wanted. We ended up going 7 miles outside of Whistler and it was a nice enough drive,

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-85381895992973190442009-03-06T20:46:00.002-07:002009-03-06T22:46:21.732-07:00

Well, the skiing in Whistler is good. It is the ONLY thing that has gone as planned on this vacation.Thursday morning started off with the discovery that I needed a passport to check in for my flight. I realize you need a passport to leave the country- I was not trying to leave the country without a passport. It's just that my mom had my passport and she was flying from Omaha (a flight she was

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-40108771699949539262009-03-04T20:45:00.006-07:002009-03-04T21:56:21.612-07:00

This week was "Inner Peace" week on campus. I'm not sure where the idea originated, but I think it was a good one.I had a delightful afternoon in Silverthorne wandering around the outlet malls doing some shopping. It was at least 50 degrees that day, probably closer to 60. If you live in the area and have never been to the Silverthorne outlet malls, I definately recommend a trip there even if you

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-90984383479933127502009-02-27T09:27:00.008-07:002009-02-27T10:40:53.206-07:00

Hello.I'll start with some details about the 2009 CMC Rail Jam that is being put on by the Events Management class of Colorado Mountain College. I've had a few people write me about it, and I figure if a couple people don't know, there are probably others tht don't know or haven't even heard of it.The 4th Annual CMC Rail Jam is taking place on Dutch Henri hill on March 21st, 2009. The rail jam is

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-57876164093669349602009-02-25T18:50:00.003-07:002009-02-25T19:42:27.398-07:00

The last couple of days have been quite exciting.Saturday night the smoke alarm went off at 10pm because someone was cooking, but apparently they lacked skill in the cooking department, so everyone got to go outside. Now, the fire alarm going off at 10pm on a weekend might not seem that bad, but I had been asleep for an hour and a half because I didn't feel the greatest, so the smoke alarm was

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-61061840052026943102009-02-19T10:06:00.003-07:002009-02-19T11:21:55.709-07:00

The "Dorm Plague" seems to be making a disappearance right in time for students to get in some blue-bird days of skiing and riding. We've been getting snow flurries for the past couple of days and today the sun is out if full force.This week in Ropeway Ops lecture, we learned about sheave assemblies and towers. Paul also went over how to find information in the ANSI B77.1 code and the CPTSB

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-89897185065657170912009-02-15T12:19:00.004-07:002009-02-15T16:15:53.977-07:00

It's that time of the year- students are calling in sick to class, professors are cancelling classes, and there isn't a whole lot of movement around the dorms. No, a huge snowstorm was not involved (at this point a lot of us are probably glad that last week's storm never really happened, I certainly do not have enough energy to go snowboarding). Students and faculty are just sick.I never get sick

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-72233291089037640532009-02-12T18:35:00.002-07:002009-02-12T19:16:16.629-07:00

I thought of the "Only In Leadville" topic last Sunday while I was at Subway. I saw a little girl playing with Barbies at one of the booths while her parent worked and I thought to myself "You know... that's not something you see too often". I grew up in a small town (population 1,000) and while we didn't have a Subway, we did have other small places to eat, but I don't recall ever seeing

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-40190200129191731022009-02-12T15:51:00.002-07:002009-02-12T18:35:30.823-07:00

College is an interesting place. It makes you realize things about yourself that you were not aware of. For example, I like to think that I am capable of keeping my room more or less clean. However, as I look at my desk, I realize that I am not a neat person. On my desk, there is currently:-a wide assortment of dishes and cooking utensils. They have a home- it is not my desk - I just

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-76137869264877074962009-02-06T12:45:00.004-07:002009-02-06T14:56:46.744-07:00

Last Saturday, while looking at the Colorado Mountain College facebook group's discussion board, I came across an interesting topic. A 44-year-old student was asking what the "traditional" students think when they see older (aka "non-traditional") students on campus.I think "non-traditional" students can be quite valuable to the education of us "traditional" students. The 30, 40, and 50 year old

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-76131595946143610222009-01-30T10:48:00.018-07:002009-01-30T21:53:58.806-07:00

Well, 3 weeks of classes at Colorado Mountain College are now over and done with. As far as I know, there have been no major incidents around campus and no one has gotten injured while skiing or snowboarding. Perhaps the lack of injuries can be credited to all of the powder we've had lately.During 3 weeks of Student Government meetings, we have filled several officer and representative positions.

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-9381162907467563252009-01-22T09:14:00.004-07:002009-01-22T10:15:47.107-07:00

In college you quickly catch on to how useful trading is. Trading grooming shifts in order to attend avalanche class... trading butter popcorn for cheese popcorn... and trading potting soil for a completed new student questionaire.So, onto how valuable potting soil is when trying to get a new student to fill out a survey for you. Ben bought a little tree a few nights ago but the tree required a

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-24655521795065844732009-01-19T15:37:00.002-07:002009-01-19T16:20:48.416-07:00

Friday night, 3 of my fellow students decided that they were going to go to Safeway to practice using their avalanche beacons. I got brought along so that I could photograph the occasion for use in my blog. Once we got there, we met up with another student from the college who happened to be there buying groceries. Then, as we were standing in an aisle discussing logistics, 3 more students

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-24646332883959604382009-01-16T10:40:00.004-07:002009-01-16T12:02:56.578-07:00

As I sit in my room, trying to convince myself to drive to Copper to go snowboarding, I thought I would give you a brief peek at what I have planned for next week's (or possibly the week after's) blog.Last night, while eating dinner with two of my friends, one of them suggested that I should interview some of the new students. So, after a game of pool against myself, which I actually did quite

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-65216402150834240672009-01-15T15:47:00.002-07:002009-01-15T16:28:22.898-07:00

Hello everyone. I am now done with my first week of classes (if you want to get technical, I was done at 3pm yesterday). That leaves 14 weeks (well, 15 if you count Spring Break) left of the school year.Classes started on Monday. The classes that I had on Monday were Ropeway Operations lecture, Events Management, and Public Speaking. In Ropeway Operations, we learned about the different types

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-88903798121637231022009-01-09T08:27:00.002-07:002009-01-09T14:24:10.411-07:00

This blog is a result of the realization that I had at about 3AM this morning... College is a lot like having one giant family... or at least at a small school that's what it feels like, I suppose the concept would not apply so well at a larger school.Love it or hate it, but it's how things are here. Yes, there are times when this "family" is a nuisance, such as the days when all you want to do

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-16336430174090093222009-01-08T15:52:00.005-07:002009-01-08T16:17:27.319-07:00

Sunset view of the mountains taken along I-76, somewhere between the CO border and Denver. Monday morning on my way to Copper My amazing dog Sonic Can I come with you?

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-4546361074578933652009-01-07T21:06:00.004-07:002009-01-08T15:49:51.648-07:00

I would like to thank the 5 people who have voted in my poll so far. However, I think more than 5 people have probably visited my page in like the last 2 weeks.Saturday I enjoyed 9 hours of sitting at Great Bear because nobody was taking snowboard lessons.Sunday consisted of driving from Sioux Falls, SD to Leadville, CO. Word of warning: Do not wake up at 6:30 AM with a car that you have not yet

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-17359056824052755162009-01-02T19:50:00.002-07:002009-01-02T20:41:24.710-07:00

The Trojan.Vundo virus on my brother’s computer is finally no more. After the use of 4 different programs, all of the pieces of the virus are gone. My black snow pants have re-appeared. They were found in my brother’s room. Apparently my black snow pants (which have hearts and flowers on the butt) look like my brother’s black snow pants (16-year-old boys are well-known for

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-75938703402172484452008-12-26T20:14:00.002-07:002008-12-26T21:06:31.259-07:00

I had a wonderful idea for this blog, but since the clutch in the tractor is going out, I am unable to write about it... so, instead, I will write about what I was going to write about.Have you ever learned something and then wondered when you would ever use it in real life? I certainly have. Well, this week's blog is about using skills that I learned in Heavy Equipment Operations lecture & lab

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-62231539157913323422008-12-19T19:01:00.002-07:002008-12-19T21:14:23.088-07:00

I left Leadville at 6:30AM last Friday (December 12th). By some miracle, I managed to avoid rush hour traffic alond I-70 and through Denver. It was then smooth sailing until I got to the Colorado/Nebraska border. Not that it was rough sailing once I got there, but I did have to stop because cars only run for so long on a tank of gasoline. While there, I stopped and got Subway. I then

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-78736775114485830622008-12-10T20:29:00.008-07:002008-12-10T22:09:36.464-07:00

As I write this, I am sitting on my desk in my newly re-arranged room. Today, I packed up the stuff I needed for Christmas vacation and then packed it into my Explorer. After all of the stuff was moved out, the room seemed rather empty. Well, not necessarily empty, but more open then usual. Being who I am, this empty space meant that things MUST be rearranged.If you have ever lived in a dorm, you

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-24421237670471622582008-12-09T10:47:00.004-07:002008-12-09T11:04:49.965-07:00

I have 2/5 of my finals done.*Intro to SAO was a take home final that I turned in yesterday.*On Saturday we had our OEC practical test and it sounded like everyone did amazing on it. Today we had our OEC written test. It appears that a lot of people did well on that too, because facebook is becoming filled with status messages of “I passed OEC!!”.*Tomorrow is our Heavy Equipment Operations final.

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-72490319689855836592008-12-04T20:43:00.003-07:002008-12-04T21:23:57.700-07:00

A week from now most students will be loading up their cars to go home. The dorms close at noon on Saturday, December 13th, I doubt the RAs will have too much trouble getting students to leave though because we're all so excited to go home and see our family and friends. Another perk of going home is not having to shove quarters into the washer and dryer. However, before we can all enjoy the fun

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-23013565852825174542008-11-29T11:12:00.003-07:002008-11-29T17:15:57.437-07:00

Well, I think it's safe to say that winter is here. It's been snowing on campus for the past day. This morning when I looked at Copper Mountain's website, it said that they had received 7 inches of snow in the past 24 hours and another 3 inches the day before that.Now that winter is here, I thought I'd take a few minutes to remind you of a couple winter driving tips. These come from the

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-79957936459540511472008-11-23T14:04:00.017-07:002008-11-23T17:04:20.032-07:00

"Not only is Leadville the highest incorporated city in the U.S., it is also one of Colorado’s largest historic districts.Leadville, Colorado is a National Historic Landmark District consisting of over 70 square blocks and was designated by Congress in 1966. It’s a beautiful and interesting area for a short walk anytime of year. This is a brief peek into the history of some of district’s more

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-52368237312967185882008-11-21T16:19:00.005-07:002008-11-21T20:27:13.626-07:00

Yes, I told you'd I'd post pictures last Sunday, but then my camera went MIA. Also, I don't have pictures of the mini-golf tournament because I was not aware of it while it was going on. On Monday, in Introduction to Ski Area Operations, two people from Adaptive Adventures came in to talk to us about adaptive skiing. After their presentation, I had enough information to complete

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-6364437285892214292008-11-15T20:32:00.005-07:002008-11-15T20:41:52.425-07:00

Ok... now time for a little bit of promotion... it's for a good cause though, I promise. Plus, as a blogger I feel obligated to inform you of events in the Leadville area. Also, I told the lady in charge of the Leadville Learn to Ski Program that I would help promote the following events/programs.The Leadville Learn to Ski Program will enable 50 local 2nd graders to spend 5 days at Vail learning

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-52191585327265803252008-11-14T19:52:00.007-07:002008-11-15T20:32:20.466-07:00

I'm afraid that I did one run too many at Copper yesterday. Before I get into that though, I have a brief rant to express:First of all, I have a problem with neither "gapers" nor ski racers. I do however have a problem with "gapers" and racers who run into people with absolutely no warning at all. "Gapers" may not be the most talented people on the mountain, but I think that they are capable of

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-6980645867442634612008-11-10T21:58:00.000-07:002008-11-10T22:03:21.511-07:00

Well, we never got 18 inches of snow last week.As far as classes go, Wednesday we learned about hydraulic systems in Heavy Equipment Operations. On Thursday we learned how to remove helmets in Outdoor Emergency Care. In Technical Math we are still working on our assignment on functions. Last Thursday we finished our PC Applications chapter on Excel and this week we have a test and then we learn

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-32157519759203573562008-11-04T21:13:00.003-07:002008-11-04T21:36:37.462-07:00

Ok... now that we have all recovered from staring at tv and computer screens for the last couple of hours, and then reacting when the results were announced... I will give you a short little update of life in Leadville.Well, the election has been a pretty big deal around here lately. About a month ago, there was a lady here helping people to register to vote. A lot of us are from out of state,

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-64624295859229910732008-11-03T10:14:00.003-07:002008-11-03T12:39:27.512-07:00

Correction: gym night is tonight and pool night is on Wednesday... I believe I switched them around in my last blog.In Intro to SAO this morning, we learned about what Vail is doing to increase environmental sustainability. Next week we are supposed to learn about avalanche awareness and the week after we are going to learn about adaptive skiing. I'm excited for the lecture on adaptive skiing

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-16069594459923904952008-11-01T15:41:00.007-06:002008-11-01T16:45:30.399-06:00

Wednesday night the college sponsored a free open gym at the middle school. This gave students the opportunity to spend 3 hours running, lifting weights, and playing basketball and vollyball. Free weekly pool and open gym nights are now official, check the signs in the dorms for dates. Thursday night there was a Halloween dance. There were approximately 20 students that attended. Marea and

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-19980339649391824832008-10-29T13:51:00.003-06:002008-10-29T15:25:21.853-06:00

Saturday: Marea and I went to the Ski Cooper job fair. Then we got bored, so we braved the MPR kitchen and made home-made (as opposed to a box mix) brownies while eating Subway. They didn't look quite like I was expecting because of the altitude, but they still tasted just fine. After that, we had this brilliant idea to go swimming, except the pool was closed. So then Marea went home and I hung

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-6209120799334789832008-10-24T14:54:00.003-06:002008-10-25T16:21:05.753-06:00

Yep... I'm still alive. I haven't forgotten about my blog either, so don't you worry.Nothing too exciting happened this week.*We didn't have Introduction to Ski Area Operations this week because our professor had to attend a meeting.*Leadership Development ends on Wednesday, so I've been working on studying for the final exam. This past Wednesday, we had a guest speaker from Beaver Creek who is

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-70614055163509801252008-10-18T10:51:00.003-06:002008-10-18T11:02:36.964-06:00

I know I said I wasn’t going to write until Tuesday, but I couldn’t resist telling you about last night’s camping trip.Friday afternoon, I texted one of my good friends from the college.:“Hey, wanna do something this weekend”“Sure. What do you want to do?”This then progressed from a sleepover, to going to a dance, to camping. Camping sounded like one of the best ideas ever. We got two other

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-26912482972307814872008-10-17T11:50:00.001-06:002008-10-17T11:55:44.136-06:00

As my roommate prepares to go home for the weekend, I thought I’d take a little time to update you on the occurrences of the past few days. It snowed for the first time on Monday night. I woke up to about an inch of snow on the roof and a dusting on the parking lot when I got up for OEC at 7AM on Tuesday. It was melted by noon, but at least we know that winter is on its way now.

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-34701541577334260012008-10-15T22:38:00.001-06:002008-10-15T22:45:46.880-06:00

If you are wondering why I chose to study Ski Area Operations… During my junior year, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life or where I wanted to go to college. I love snowboarding, so I looked at the website for the USCSA (United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association) to find out what colleges had ski/snowboard teams. Then I visited the websites for all of those

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-6164494245733704352008-10-13T13:13:00.000-06:002008-10-13T13:23:10.969-06:00

View from the stairs between the 2nd and 3rd floors of the dorm The school's backhoe that we use for Heavy Equipment Ops. lab We dug up a power line in class The bulldozer that we use for Heavy Equipment Ops lab The compactor that we were using one week

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692779064872467128.post-19918344829109448332008-10-13T11:58:00.000-06:002008-10-13T13:12:48.498-06:00

I have been in Leadville for 7 weeks now. I can look out my window and see majestic fall colors. I have woken up to breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains. As I am writing this, on October 13th at 10:30 AM, it is 19 degrees outside, but I don’t think anyone minds too much because cold weather means that snow is coming soon.I have learned a lot of things in college, and it’s not all book

BeckyAurorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17830181237942136018noreply@blogger.com0