Skiing Adventure: Breckenridge, USA

After returning to China for a brief pause and some adjustments, I flew straight back to the U.S. again.

Fly to Los Angeles first.

Then connect to Denver.

Since we arrived too late, we decided to just spend the night at the airport hotel and leave the next day.

I ordered a hotel pizza—it was surprisingly expensive, almost $40. And as for dessert, there was this huge chocolate bar shaped like a little airplane. When I placed the order, I totally forgot it was my birthday today; otherwise, I’d definitely have gone with steak and Coke instead.

Have some breakfast. If you're not familiar with the different ways to prepare eggs—like fried egg, scrambled egg, soft-boiled egg, over easy, sunny-side up, or even "egg and soldiers"—feel free to drop by!High-Energy English CommunityLet's learn together.

Continuing with the car rental, I was upgraded to the President level after the last time.

Perhaps the U.S. is Hertz's home base—once President-level customers arrive, after you confirm their names, they can simply walk into this area and pick out any car they like, no paperwork required.

Didn't really see any fancy cars, so I'll just pick out a cleaner one.

Hit the road by car. On the left side of the road, I spotted an "Express Lane," which means a high-speed lane. Later, I asked a local friend to confirm my guess—and sure enough, it’s true: as long as you pay, you can use this lane. Sounds like a privilege reserved for the wealthy—talk about unfairness in America! After all, roads should really be considered public infrastructure, not something only the rich get to enjoy.

Snow is getting closer and closer.

Turn the corner and see Mount Da Xue.

A few people recommended KeyStone to me, so I decided to check it out first.

Ready to start skiing again tomorrow.

Turns out I was planning to rent a snowboard in this little town, only to be told the ski resort is closing down today. WTF?

Immediately drive over to another ski resort, Breckenridge—wasting one night's hotel fee, but honestly, is it the money that matters? It’s all about how we feel!

On the way, I spotted this snow-capped mountain that looked like a steamed bun.

It’s pretty nice-looking. Later, I drove to a spot that was perfect for taking photos, but I hesitated and ended up not stopping—so I missed it.

Stay at a hotel in the Breckenridge ski area.

The next day, let's head up the mountain!

I’m staying at the hotel below Peak 9—those slopes above the Peak 9 gondola are completely empty.

Found a double black run, but it’s too narrow.

Head over to Peak 10—there’s a double black run here too, but it’s much wider.

The snow isn’t particularly good, but it’s not especially bad either.

There aren't many exposed rocks—still, it's okay.

There’s also a small stream along the path below.

Then, a friend of my local friend took me to Peak 8. At the top, they said it had the highest cable car in the U.S.—nearly 4,000 meters high—and I immediately felt dizzy and short of breath.

After taking the cable car twice, we waited for our local friends to arrive, and then headed to the other side—it was a huge basin.

This gray one and the red one are the local friend and his friend, respectively.

Look down from above.

Sliding down from above, I glanced back.

Slide a bit more, then turn around.

Then there's another basin beneath this one.

Not there yet.

The new shoes still rub and hurt my feet, so I'll head back by cable car instead.

Throughout the day, I switched boards twice—my rental board had absolutely no edges, and my boots weren’t great either. Still, even though I got up late and packed up early, I managed to hit the slopes 12 times today.

By the time it was dinner time, I was both sleepy, hungry, and exhausted.

After finishing the meal, I went straight back to lie down. I woke up at 3 a.m., stayed awake until 9 a.m., then dozed off again—by the time we headed for the cable car, it was almost 11 a.m.

No need to go all out—just ski down Peak 9 and Peak 10.

Today I was feeling lazy and only went for 6 runs.

When I went out to eat again, I noticed this parking ticket stuck on my car window—but I definitely paid last night!

Later, when I parked again, I took a closer look at the payment machine—and noticed there was an option to select a time that I clearly missed yesterday. As a result, what should have been just a $0.50 charge for one hour ended up costing me $43, including a hefty handling fee. I wanted to cry, but I held back.

So, that pretty much wraps up the rundown on Breckenridge ski resort—why? Well, compared to others, it’s just a bit smaller, and its lift system isn’t quite as well-designed. Plus, let’s be honest: I’m not in the mood to put in the extra effort anymore.

Tomorrow, I’ll head to Vail—stay tuned for more updates!