I'm extremely behind now with everything, but this is mostly because I have continued unwell. I had thought that, after the doctor's visit and the antibiotics, I would get better and could start skiing again, but this has not been the case at all.
Neither of us was very well for some days, with 'flu-like symptoms and lots of coughing, especially at night, which made sleeping difficult. We weren't able to ski at Breckenridge over the public holiday weekend anyway, and Paul didn't feel well enough to travel further afield to places where we could ski. We caught a bus to the supermarket for some essential shopping on Saturday 15th and the bus driver told us that 20,000 extra people had arrived in the resort for the holiday weekend, so I imagine the Breckenridge slopes would have been unpleasantly crowded anyway. The traffic was certainly terrible, especially in Main Street, which meant none of the buses ran to time.
This was a fairly typical scene out of the bus!
The snow had continued to fall during the time I was ill, and in places it had collected up to 10 or more feet high.
This is another photo from the bus window, so not a very good one, but you can see how the snow has piled up.
The surface of the main roads could be kept quite clear of snow, as the traffic was so heavy, and the local authority kept it ploughed and cleared it away. Less busy roads were deep in snow.
This is a view of the lower end of town, close to the supermarket.
By Tuesday 18th, Paul decided he was getting better and was well enough to start skiing again. I felt a little better, though not well enough to ski. However, I decided, as it was a pleasant day, to go and have a look at the ice castle, which was apparently beautiful. We had arrived too late this year to see the snow sculptures which I have enjoyed in previous years, which was a shame, but I thought a walk in the sunshine might be pleasant.
The ice castle was rather hard to find, but I was able to appreciate some of the lovely snowy views.
This is the Blue River! It is actually still running under its coat of ice and snow, I could see and hear the running water under the two gaps you can see in the snow in the photograph above.
I was walking in a residential area just a few yards to the west of Main Street, and you can see from the photo below that snow ploughs have not been active here either.
Most people have four wheel drive vehicles and I imagine they must use studded tyres as well - I don't see any vehicles with snow chains.
I'm not sure what this decorative statue signified, any plaque with an explanation being buried in the deep snow.
It is just beside the Riverside Walk, and there were some quite smart buildings, so perhaps there is a School of Music or a Concert Hall. It is hard to know what you are looking at when the snow is so deep.
Eventually, I found the Ice Castle, and was able to walk all round it.
In fact, walking round it was all I was able to do, as it was closed. I imagine that slightly warmer weather had made it unsafe, the temperature having been slightly above freezing for a few days. I obviously ought to have visited it when it was -17C!
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