I had the good fortune of spending four days in vail, colorado last week with a small group of friends and a whole lot of powder. Word on the street was Vail was enjoying the best snowfall in over 15 years (some say 25). Woot!

This was my first winter vacation in which I did not head somewhere that was warmer than Chicago…actually a ski trip never crossed my mind as something that i wanted to do (you try living through a Chicago winter!).

Before I left, erin summed it up nicely by saying: “as you get older, you run out of things to try for the first time”. I came to Vail to snowboard, and that’s exactly what I did for four days. I had considered both skiing and snowboarding…but after a lot of mental ping pong and nudging from the clerk at the equipment rental shop, I made the wise choice of snowboarding. I had a blast boarding (picked it up after a few days and a lot of falls)…by the end of day four I had a lot of confidence (and a very sore ass).

Had I tried skiing on the other hand, I’m sure I’d still be laying in the hospital with my crotch ripped in half. Man, skiing just does not look fun at all. Every time I watched people skiing, I got the distinct feeling that it i would have been miserable had I chosen to rent skis.

My recommendation: go to Vail! Go with a bunch of friends. Avoid icy sidewalks in front of grocery stores.

I am all about doing new stuff this year. Who’s with me?!