Stephanie and Ryan: Sundance part 2

For Christmas, Ryan's parents gave us a night at the sundance resort. We have been really looking forward to using it, and a couple weeks ago we got the chance.

On the way to the resort we stopped for some ice climbing at Bridal Veil Falls. It was part of a festival and for a fee, they provided ice tools, crampons, helmets, etc. We geared up and headed up the steep trail to the falls.

Once at the top, we found an available belayer (a volunteer) and tried our hand at climbing. It's hard! I got tired so quickly. I made it about halfway up before my arms were completely useless. I kept swinging the ice tool in, trying to grab on, and it would just bounce right off.

It was a pretty neat experience, how often do I have a chance to ice climb? The belayer lowered me down and I began to feel what he called the "screaming barfies". It's a really uncomfortable sensation that occurs as blood returns to your hands and forearms after the climb. Ugh. Glad it only lasted a couple minutes.

Next up was Ryan. He made it all the way to the top! He really had fun and I was able to get some video and pictures. We hiked back on down after that and de-geared. On to Sundance!

The reservation included dinner, breakfast and two ski passes for the day. We brought our skis along and tried our hand at the sundance runs. I went down once, and Ryan went a second time. Sundance has some pretty nice skiing! We had some lunch at the deli and headed to the room to lounge a bit.

The room was really cozy with a bed that felt like a cloud. We watched a little tv and I took advantage of the huge bathtub, and wrote some letters on the sundance stationery - while wearing one of the white sundance robes that were in the room.

We headed to dinner at The Tree Room, an award winning fine restaurant. Ryan enjoyed elk loin and I had the peppered steak. The food was delicious and we enjoyed every minute.

We headed to bed "fat and happy" as we often say.

The next morning we were up and ready for brunch at The Foundry Grill. We had eaten here once before, on our anniversary, and we knew we were in for a treat.

We feasted on smoked salmon, omelettes, pancakes, French toast, cheeses, fruits, potatoes, cobblers, cookies... And the list goes on! We had the perfect table too, right next to the fire place. We headed home, fatter and happier, and got back feeling like we'd just been on vacation.

Thanks mom and dad!