Entries about buena vista

There are really only a few things on my mind as I write this, so here we go.

Yesterday, I was honored in Salida by the Sheriff's department with an Award of Distinguished Service. After months of being in the press, newspapers, telling the story of how I saved a man's life while hiking to friends, and receiving more attention than I'm used to in general, I was able to accept the award yesterday. I was interviewed after the ceremony by a very nice gentleman from the Mountain Mail, which was cool. I was in their paper the week everything happened, and it looks like I'll be in the paper again. I hoped that they published papers on Sundays, but they don't so I'll be looking for something in the next couple days online I guess. The Sheriff's office put me up in a hotel for the night too, which was very nice. Not the nicest hotel in town, but plenty nice and the gesture was very much appreciated. I was also lucky enough to have my best friend Zach and my family there as well, which was amazing. I was very happy to have all of them there, and for them to be able to meet the people who were part of the story that day I was out hiking. For pictures of the ceremony, visit my Facebook album: http://t.co/tjQl4eI

The other major things on my mind: France and the new girlfriend. It's been a while since I've been in a serious relationship with someone, so it's both exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time I guess. I can't remember if this is what it always feels like when starting out with something new, but either way we're both excited to give it a try. I'm a little nervous given that I leave for Europe in 7 days, fresh into a new relationship, but we've both agreed to give it our best and set it aside for later if it doesn't work out right away. I'm pretty excited and hoping for the best. That said, I leave for study abroad in 7 days. I'm terrified, excited, nervous, anxious, and so on. I feel like I'm walking off a cliff into the unknown on my own on this one because I'm the only DU student headed to Dijon this fall, so it's scary, but exciting. I realized the other night that I thought the train from Charles de Gaulle Airport went to Dijon, but was wrong, so now I'm scrambling last minute to sort out how to get from Paris to Dijon when I arrive. I am very much looking forward to my studio when I arrive, and am pretty excited to have my own space and live on my own for a bit. I also can't wait to travel. The overnight train from Dijon to Milan looks pretty tempting for an every weekend trip, but we'll have to see. There are too many places to visit and explore across Europe, so we'll just have to see where I end up. Either way, I'm planning to take and post lots of pictures here, so stay tuned! I'm definitely going to miss these mountains of Colorado, but the travels ahead promise to be equally amazing. So until then, here's a picture of a sunset over Mt. Shavano from the town of Salida taken last night.

What a roller coaster ride my life can be sometimes. The last couple weeks have been crazy, and the next few promise to be just as crazy. Last week was awesome. I think at the end of the week I felt like a true mountain man, and living the mountain lifestyle has become the greatest thing in my life. I lifted weights a couple days, spent two days biking 20+ miles all over Vail, climbed Vail Mountain in record time, and went rafting down the Arkansas River in Buena Vista under a full moon. Full moon rafting was a bit of an adventure, after all rafting class IV rapids under the moon is a bit challenging, and I got thrown out of the boat once, but it was an absolute blast. Truly, a once in a lifetime experience. The unfortunate news is that my knee is still not healed and the future of it is unknown, pending a doctor's visit at some point, so it looks like I'm done hiking for the summer. This is my last week of biking for the summer as well, and I'm hoping to make the most of that. Vail continues to have me in the best shape of my life, and I think that alone is worth coming back here for in the future, someday.

France. Wow. As I write this, I'm 13 days from departure. It still feels like it'll never actually happen because it's such a big deal and so many words describe it. Nervous. Terrified. Excited. Anxious. That's just the surface. Hopefully I can embrace it enough to make the most of it. I'm most looking forward to growing more as a person during my stay there, the adventures I'll have, people I'll meet, and what I'll be able to take away from it. You'll definitely want to stay tuned here once I get over there for pictures, panoramas, 360 views, and blogs on all of my adventures. I can't wait, and I can't believe it's finally actually here.

And as I continue to be surprised and flattered by this, it looks like I may end up in yet another publication somewhere for my lifesaving story. My university, Denver, has already spoken to me, and now it appears my high school out here in Colorado is interested as well. It's so flattering to me, and more attention than I ever expected to receive for what I did. Lucky guy in the right place at the right time I guess. This weekend on Saturday I'll be receiving my Award of Distinguished Service from the Chaffee County Sheriff's Department at their banquet, which I'm looking forward to. I'll finally get to meet the gentleman's wife who I saved, and the other guy's wife as well who was there that day. My best friend Zach will be there as will my family to spend some time together and spend the night in Salida. It should be a great day all around, and I'm really excited for all of it.

And as I said, as some chapters are ending while others are beginning. This summer's time in Vail is coming to a close much too quickly, while my time abroad is about to begin. Call me crazy, but I'll be leaving for France while in a brand new relationship, which will make things even more interesting, but we're both excited for the future and giving this a try. I'll leave it there for now, with this beautiful picture of the double rainbow I caught over Vail tonight. Until next time...

Double Rainbow over Vail tonight, 8/22/11

I've been meaning to write a blog for the last couple days and haven't really gotten around to it because I've been so busy, so here's a new one with some updates on the life of Scott...

Let's start with work I guess. The whole concierge thing went really well, but I've kind of disconnected from that and moved on to other things. Still doing data entry here and there, but trying to move away from that...because it's boring. It's really important to the growth of the company, and I understand that, but it needs to be shared, not beared by one person. The two things I've been spending the bulk of my time on at work now have been an international tour operator project for Tommy, our CEO, which is focused around the new magazine we're putting out next month, and rebuilding the social media outlets for this company. My hope is to wrap up this tour operator project quickly and move on to social media full time, but we'll see what happens. Nothing in this company is predictable anymore. So far, two weeks into social media, the google analytics and facebook insights results look really awesome, and I'm hoping to keep that up. If you haven't checked things out yet, visit our twitter @lodgingdeals and go like our facebook page Rocky Mountain Vacation Rentals and let me know what you think. What I can do better with, what needs more/less attention, etc. All feedback is welcome and valued!

France Update!
Things are taking shape and settling down, finally. I have a Visa appointment in less than two weeks, which is really the final step. Everything else is lined up, flight, studio, classes, etc. I bought an all access train pass for my entire trip this weekend too! Can't wait to put that thing to good use. Departure is less than seven weeks away, so close yet so far. Some days I can't believe it's really happening. It's going to be one hell of an awesome, terrifying, and life changing event, no question. Can't wait!

Hiking.
I took last weekend off from hiking in the hopes that I'll be able to hike this weekend. It was nice to be able to go home, help celebrate my birthday with my mom, play some drums (and probably annoy everyone in the house) and make some videos for my best friend Zach, and just relax. The game plan is hopefully to try something easy. I haven't put too much thought into what I want to climb this weekend, but I'm think Huron might be a good option. Barely a 14er (shortest in CO) and barely 6.5 miles round trip should be a nice test for my knee, and then I can decide if I want to hike the next day or not. If I can't hike I may just go crazy at this point since I'm so close to all these peaks that are just begging to be climbed! My goal is still to be able to hike some Elk 14ers by Aspen in August and push my limits, but time will tell where I end up next. Stay tuned for what's next, and make sure you guys continue to follow this (those of you who still do...?) while I'm studying abroad as I'm sure I'll be writing more, more interesting adventures, and things from the other side of the world!

That's it for now, short and sweet!

I realized today that it's been a while since I've written with everything going on, so I figured I'd try to write before I leave town and technology for the weekend.

Life up here in Vail has been going really well. It's such an awesome place to live, work, play, and simply reside. I'm so much happier up here than was was months ago. The freedom to live and pursue my dreams without things holding you down is amazing, and I finally feel I have that freedom to make this life everything I want it to be and more. It's a powerful and awesome feeling. Work has been going really well up here too, and I think (it's kind of implied) I may have earned a job offer up here again in a year when I graduate. Nothing is written in black and white, but I think it's there and I couldn't be more excited about it. I'm thoroughly enjoying the concierge work thus far and the perks that come with it and hope the rest of this summer is just as much fun here.

Study abroad is rapidly approaching. As I am writing this I'm officially 59 days out from departure. All that remains is getting that Visa in LA and my train ticket from Paris to Dijon. Housing, classes, flight, Campus France, are all completed. I'm having way too much fun living and playing up here in Vail to realize how soon that is, but the excitement is starting to build. Having never been to Europe before and about to spend 4 months there by myself, it's a pretty terrified excited feeling, but I'm ready. It will put me one step closer to that goal that I set for myself at the beginning of college and the end in sight.

Last weekend I was unable to hike due to a torn (we think) ligament in my right knee, but I still went down to Buena Vista with my good friend and drove up part of the mountain where I saved the man's life. He has a lifted truck so I thought we'd see how far up we could get, and ended up at 12,200 feet. My car couldn't go any further at 10,600 for reference. It was a fun little drive, and we cruised around Colorado on US24 the rest of the day as I pointed out all the cool history and things there are to see. We enjoyed lunch in Leadville at a small little Italian place that is now on my list of favorite lunch spots. Definitely worth the stop if passing through.

I spent the next two days in Denver, briefly, with my family, grandparents, and aunt in town. It was my grandmother's birthday as well, so it was great to be able to be down there and celebrate it with her and see the family for a bit, even if brief. I got a lot of business wrapped up while down there and settled some things with my parents too since it had been a month since home. After things were done I headed back to Vail, thankful to be heading westbound on I70 on Monday and not eastbound, that traffic looked brutal. I've never been in or seen traffic so bad in my life on that highway.

The man whose life I saved called me last week and I spoke with him briefly. Good to hear from him, and I'm glad to know he's going to be making a full recovery. He told me he still has some nightmares of drowning from the accident and can only go for 60 minute walks (this was last week Wednesday) since is oxygen levels are still too low. I haven't spoken to him since, but it's great to know he'll recover fully.

This weekend I am planning to hike some more 14ers, hopefully without a hitch this time. Every time I've gone out this summer something has happened, for better or for worse, so hopefully this weekend will be better. My knee feels recovered, and I was able to bike on it the last two days without pain. I'll be hopefully climbing Mt. Yale Saturday and Elbert Sunday, possibly for Sunday sunrise from Colorado's highest point. If anything changes, I'll probably be meeting up with Zach for some food and catch up since he's in town for the weekend. Either way, it looks like a fun weekend ahead. Stay tuned till next time!

Here's something cool to look at until then, these are the kind of stories and people that inspire me to do what I do, and remind me that anything is possible even when you think it might not be: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=10266

First blog since the last one which recounted the story of how I saved a man's life. It's been a pretty crazy week since then, with updates on almost everything, so I'm going to try to cover all of those and keep it short and sweet. Here goes...

Life Saved
There's been a lot of activity this last week surrounding that story. It's been more attention than I ever wanted or expected, but I guess you could say it's deserved. I didn't think much of it besides being lucky to be in the right place at the right time, but the people at the office went nuts. As a result, I made the cover of the Salida newspaper Tuesday morning (http://themountainmail.com/ftp/frontpage.jpg), and have two copies of that to keep for myself and family. I got a full page spread on the back of the front page of the Vail Daily newspaper yesterday morning also, and have copious copies of that one thanks to my friends at the office. I also received a call this week from the Sheriff in Chaffee County and they're going to honor me at their annual banquet in August with an Award for Distinguished Service for my actions. Pretty cool all in all, but definitely more recognition than I ever expected to get. The man who I rescued is doing well last I checked as well and resting at his home in Nathrop, right off the road to the Mt. Antero and Mt. Princeton trailheads. I'm flattered and honored to receive all this press and attention, but it's definitely a story for the ages and one to learn from. I've also earned the nickname "hero" from pretty much everyone at work and the other people at the intern house, which is cool, but I hope it doesn't stick. I'm too humble for a nickname like that.

Work
The internship has been going really well so far. I did some work this week on international marketing research for the company, which was really interesting and finally a project that coincides with my major. I've also done a lot of work with data entry regarding Vail Resorts for the upcoming winter, which is boring but cool to know you're working for a super small company already partnered with such a giant gorilla in the business. Also, starting this week, I'm taking over concierge services for the company while our concierge guy is out of the country for the next 2.5 weeks. This should be fun because I enjoy the customer service side of things, and learned a lot from working at the Ritchie Center. I'm nervous being so new to the company and taking this on, but I'm sure I'll learn a lot. This may consume weekends for that time period too, not quite sure yet, but we'll see. We spent an afternoon at Camp Hale this week this week for Local's Day with NOVA Guides and got to ride ATVs and Jeep Tours for free. Play time is awesome at this company. I went to a breakfast networking event at the Cordillera Lodge (http://www.cordilleralodge.com/) this week also, aka where the Kobe Bryant scandal went down, and won a two free nights stay up there. Gorgeous place, and I'm not sure when or what I'll be using those two nights for, but either way it'll be a good time and it's cool to have won those. Those business card drawings really do work sometimes!

France
CampusFrance has finally received my payment, and once I get the confirmation from them on other stuff, the Visa process will begin. For now, I'm making a tentative Visa appointment in LA for the first Monday in August. The housing ordeal is almost complete. They have confirmed a studio for me, which is remarkable considering they wouldn't for a while, and now I'm just waiting for them to confirm the money I sent over there. The way I see it, they wouldn't confirm my studio if they didn't have my money, but regardless I have to wait for that confirmation. Then I can be reimbursed that money and the study abroad predeparture reqs will be almost completely wrapped up.

Hiking
I'm still aggressively pursuing 14ers, and climbed my 21st yesterday on Mt. Princeton. Beautiful view from the summit at 7am, and gorgeous views of Mt. Antero from just across the valley. The two summits are about 5 miles apart as the crow flies, but the valley between sinks to about 7,000 feet, so the view at sunrise and from the summit is stunning. Check out the pictures on Facebook and let me know what you think if you haven't already. While optimistic about hiking next weekend over the holiday, it looks like I won't be now. I'm lying in bed as I type this with my right knee iced due to what it appears is a torn ligament (2-6 week recovery period). Thankfully, not an MCL or ACL tear, but still pretty painful. I had plans to hike Mt. Yale with a friend today, but had to bail yesterday. From experience, I know I've benched pressed 250+ pounds through a torn rotator cuff in each shoulder, so, I'm optimistic this thing will heal up fast and I'll be back out hiking soon. How soon is hard to say, but I can say it's going to be hard to get in the way of the passion I have for hiking 14ers and climbing the beautiful peaks around me, so we'll just have to see. I'm optimistic it'll be as close to that 2 week period as possible if not sooner, but it's impossible to know.

Upcoming
Who knows. I want to climb every 14er in the Sawatch range this summer and maybe a few in the Elks out by Aspen, especially those Maroon Bells. I want to learn as much as I can from the concierge spot these next few weeks for the future. I want to spend a night or two at the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs soon too, just to relax, either after a day of more 14er hiking or just to escape for a bit. 14er hiking will continue soon enough I'm sure, but it's impossible to know the future. You never know when you'll have to save a life out there, or when you'll end up hurt yourself. Until next time, take care of yourselves out there, and always remember... Be Prepared.