I had the pleasure of first meeting two of the Paul boys at Dandelions when Colt was a wee bubba. Heather and Al would come and pick up Colt and we always had good chats and then as Al was given the all clear he would ride over and pick Colt up and go on adventures and we would talk about biking, skiing or golfing. I felt pretty special when I mentioned in passing something Al had told me and she replied "oh you're one of the special ones if he remembers who you are and your name!". I just felt pretty special to be able to talk about skiing with the great Al Paul!

When Colt was 3 and came to ski school, I had the pleasure of ripping around on the mountain with him and his group. We'd be snaking down some run with him and his group and then suddenly from out of no where this big mountain of a skier, slightly KAMIKAZE would zoom down the hill and join in the ski school train; Al Paul strikes again! As Colt got more confident skiing, Al would roll past the coral with his skis attached to his bike and casually throw out a "Colt and I ripped Ratfink yesterday" or "We smashed Spanky's last week" with a cheeky grin and a wink.

As Colt flew the proverbial "minis" nest Al would always stop by the coral to check in, see how I was doing and what runs I'd skied that week and share insider tips of what groomers were in good form, and what runs to avoid! We also got the pleasure of having him bring the groomer to the CLC for the kids to see and sit in.

We always kept saying "we gotta get together and go for that ski" and up until this past winter we never did. But the stars finally aligned and my best day on the hill this year by far was Dec 11, when we met up for some laps on Crystal. And that big mountain of a skier still skied rings around me! I was the kamikaze skier in this scenario as I tried my best to keep up with the big guy all the while miserably failing as he kept waiting on the side for me to catch up to him.

I love you guys SO Much and looking forward to that Loveshack Libations beer and a firepit <3