Now that is some serious Santas …

The sun was out again today and so was the wind giving a wind chill factor that made it a lot colder than the actual temperature of -8C.
 
The other thing today was the number of people on the slopes with huge queues on every chair. Given the overall lack of snow meant that only Peak 8 & 9 were open. I would say that the there was probably 5X the number of people than yesterday.
 
We persevered for a few hours but with the waits and the large number of boarders just straight lining through the crowds on top of Jenny’s legs giving up, we called it a day.
 
Originally we were going to ski on Sunday as well but given that the crowds were to be the same tomorrow and Jenny’s legs probably not going to last too long, we decided to make today our last day on the slopes of Breckenridge.
 
Even with today’s conditions, we enjoyed our time skiing here and it certainly spoiled us in comparison to skiing in Australia both in the quality of the snow and the length of the runs.
 
After a quick cleanup at the Condo, we returned back down to Main Street as today was the start of Xmas celebrations with a Dog Parade, Santa Run and lighting of the Xmas tree.
 
It was a huge turnout for both spectators and Santas even if it was bloody cold.
 
The dog parade didn’t quite go to plan as they forgot to clear the street so they had to weave through the crowd. The Santa Run followed and they just managed to clear the street before the start.
 
There was probably close to 200 Santas with around 15 that were serious runners and the rest just happy to participate and raise some money. Given the altitude and the cold, it was impressive to see the winners and the speed they achieved at the finish.
 
It was time for Santa to light the tree but it wasn’t quite dark yet so hot chocolate and cookies were in order and the chance to find some warmth in the Visitor Centre. It actually gave us a chance to see the history of Breckenridge and it has had a very different time to today with the gold mining that started it all.
 
After watching the tree, we headed back to Mi Casa Mexican with Paul and Sophie for a farewell to Breckenridge drink and snack. (Didn’t need any-more leftovers).
 
Tomorrow we head to Denver.