Prep in the Midwest: Ski Trip 2011

This past weekend, I wound up in a cabin in the Wisconsin Dells with 13 other people. We got the above beautiful cottage for the weekend and proceeded to stock the fridge ;) I rode up with a co-worker friend and we belted 90's and show tunes... it was pretty amazing!
The Dells are interesting... it very much reminded me of Panama City, FL. Lots of cheesy amusement parks and fun houses... with the addition of some really bad looking bars...
We were going skiing at a near by ski resort. I've only been skiing once, but I'm fairly athletic and typically pretty good at the basics.

We got kind of a late start, and enjoyed a late breakfast. We made it to the mountain around noon with about half the group boarding and the other half skiing. BF was a little tentative about whether I would survive, but I survived without killing myself. I find I typically like the greens, as they tend to be easier, more scenic, and longer. About half way through the day, I was feeling pretty confident.... BF had been going down Blacks all day with his buddies, and I was a bit tentative, but the way they were talking I thought I might be able to handle it.... boy was I wrong.
My whole goal for the weekend to not pull a Sonny Bono and die via tree. So starting down the Black and I'm feeling pretty good... then.... 70 degree incline.... straight towards a tree (but I didn't hit it!). I did however proceed to scoot down the entire hill on my butt.... me getting up at that point would've required some major cohonais... I Lived! YAY!

It was a gorgeous day, with fresh snow falling constantly. I had to invest in some new ski goggles to keep my face from freezing (totally worth it). I did finally understand what people have ski-masks... as creepy as they are... you can never tell when people are smiling in pictures!

After about 7 hours of skiing and losing myself in the dark (the goggles were great to keep my face warm, not so much after dark for seeing), a few of us headed home.

Thank goodness for frozen pizzas cause there wasn't much around the area. There were 5 of us back at the house all showered, when one decided it would be an awesome idea to try out the touted hot tub... in his boxers because he forgot his swim trunks.

Pretty much incredible...
Sunday, I ended up riding back with BF, where we proceeded to stop by a cheese 'chalet'. (It's kind of a must when you're in Wisconsin). Check out the weirdness that is WI cheese... who shapes their cheese like this???