01–May-2024 Flat Irons and May Skiing

I had to make my final day of skiing for the season be today so I could say “I skied in May!”

I’ve written many blog posts about my ski days and thought I would treat you to a picture of the Flatirons (yes, one word not 2) which are mountain formations just outside of Boulder - I see them daily and pass close by on my way skiing:

The flat irons are striking slanted, reddish-brown sandstone formations that make up a portion of the foothills on the west side of Boulder. They are an iconic Boulder landmark and their likeness is everywhere! The 5 largest flatirons that are closest to Boulder are numbered (1–5) and are the most famous, but there are many others further south. Although they originally had a different name, pioneer women said they thought the rocks looked like the flat metal irons they used to iron their clothes and the name “flat irons” stuck. I pulled over and took a few pictures from a scenic overlook but will have to put a hike/climb of the Flat irons on the list for my next trip to Boulder!

I continued on to Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, about an hour past the Flat irons. The ski day started out nice but then very thick/dark clouds came in which made the visibility poor and dropped the temperatures - then the wind picked up and the snow squalls started! I was lucky that I was just about to get onto a lift when the lift stopped. After waiting several minutes the lift attendant said that they were unable to restart the lift because of the wind sheer alarm up top and had called maintenance. I skied down to another lift thankful that I was not stuck on a chair and freezing. I insisted on eating lunch outside even though the weather wasn’t great … and was all alone! The few other people that were on the mountain that day decided that eating in the warm indoors was better. Hard to believe it was still midwinter on the mountain in May. That’s officially it for ski season 2023-24!