Cope: The sweet spot

What a time to be alive! As college basketball ends and we head into Masters week, those of us who follow the seasons by the sports calendar and the local recreation options begin to adjust our habits accordingly. This is the sweet spot where the options are endless.

It’s that time of year in Eagle County when you can golf and ski on the same day. As the western end of the valley thaws first, the courses in Gypsum and Eagle open up and are soon followed by those in Wolcott, Edwards, Avon and Vail. I will, inevitably, get suckered into false hope by a decent early round, leading to months of frustration that “this can’t be that hard!” That may start on April 22 as a bunch of newly out-of-work ski instructors tee it up in Eagle in memory of our beloved friend, Dick “Polecat” Polster.

The skiing is still good if you get the timing right. April powder days were a bonus and yielded some untracked late-season turns both in the backcountry and the Back Bowls. Now the sun has returned and the snow is denture-rattling hard in the morning, easing into some corn snow midday before getting sticky and mucky late. Time it right for your preference.  

There was some backsliding early in the morning on Cresta recently, leading to an abandonment of that mission. This weekend saw snow clumping on the skins, making for a difficult midday skin above Minturn, but the sun was out and the Sunday Funday company and conversation were great. Don’t get frustrated, just accept this as a blessing and adjust your timing if you are able.  

While I am not a fisherman, my dog walks along the river have begun to see more activity on the banks and in the frigid waters. My fishing guide/ski instructor friend Jeff once told me that when you see a trophy trout in a picture, look at the banks of the river and you are likely to see snow. He also shocked the private lesson ladies we were having lunch with at Up The Creek, sitting at our outdoor table, when a mayfly landed on his hand and he held it up to announce to the table that “this is a good sign!”  

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The bikers are out in full force, though the roads are still full of gravel, and the trails can be muddy. Be careful. Eddie has a newborn at home but still managed to post on Strava a huge day of hiking and skiing in the Gore on Saturday, then a mountain bike ride in Eagle on Sunday, before heading back to the classroom on Monday. I hope he is taking over bedtime story duties in the evenings.

Rafters and kayakers are monitoring the pace of the runoff and surveying the downed trees that will have to be removed from choke points in the river. It won’t be long before some hearty souls set up camp at Rancho del Rio for the summer and start running training trips on local rivers in anticipation of the tourist season.  

The ludicrously early start to the spring high school sports season means that many of our high school teams are already past the halfway point in the regular season. I’ve recently braved blizzards, flurries and cold temps to watch my friends coach school and club teams. Best of luck to Lauren, Bob, Mat, Pat, Joel, Neph, Hugo, Aldo and all the other coaches braving the cold in puffy coats to give kids the best possible experience and create memories.  

While the goal of our fall seasons, which start in t-shirt weather in August, is to make it to the snows of November, the spring season is largely played with winter coats in the stands and on the benches with dreams of surviving long enough to make it to flip-flop season in May.  

Get out and see your local teams soon, or you will miss them. The high school season ends before Hot Summer Nights at the Amp begins. We have a couple of teams sitting in a position to host a playoff game or two in a few weeks. Having retired from spring coaching recently, I enjoyed the guilty pleasure of watching a recent Battle Mountain soccer game from the comfort of my warm vehicle during a blizzard. Big kudos to Andrew, Val, Jim and all of the referees out there. The games wouldn’t go on without you. 

Gotta go, Tom is here to pick me up for some midday resort skiing. We’ll seek out some of those elusive corn snow turns before it turns to mush, while solving the world’s problems on the chairlift. The daffodils are starting to peek out, some neighbors are getting a jump on spring cleanup, and Kathleen will be cranking up the gardening season soon.  

Before we know it, spring will have transitioned to the craziness of June that the landscaping season brings. We’ve got our tickets to Trombone Shorty at the Amp and hope to get a few evenings out in town as summer approaches. I’ll be hard at work greeting golfers in Vail soon (looking forward to seeing Judge Buck) and will watch proudly as another round of students graduate and head out into the world. What a time to be alive!  

David Cope is a husband, dad, coach, retired teacher and general loudmouth. His wife, kids and dog don’t listen to him, but maybe you will.