Early Season SNOW SKIING!

After giving my presentations on Thursday, I was free to head to the mountains! I did my last bit of research on Thursday night about what mountain I wanted to ski at, where I was going to stay, how long I was going, the driving directions, etc. The internet sure is great for getting like 10 things accomplished in one place!
I chose Monarch Mountain for going to ski. 2 people recommended this place to me and said it was close, cheap, and not crowded. After I looked online, I decided I liked Monarch for my first attempt to ski in 5 years. I also found a cheap place to spend the night that was only 10 minutes from the ski area.
Anyways, it was Thursday night and I headed out to dinner with a few friends from the OTC. We went to the Melting Pot, a very nice fondue restaurant that I've always wanted to try. For dinner we ordered the cheese and chocolate selection. First we had 3 different melted cheeses to dip apples, bread, and veggies in. Then we had 3 different chocolate blends to dip fruit, cake, and marshmallows in. It was all sooo yummy...keep me away from the Melting Pot in the future!
Of course our 'party' lasted late into the night, I had to excuse myself around 11:30pm so that I could get some sleep before waking up at 6:00am to start driving to Monarch.
I'm glad I got an early start in the AM...the roads were empty and the driving was easy, only 2 or 3 roads from COS to the actual mountain. As I was in the last stretch up to the ski area...it was snowing and there was lots of snow on the road...this was my first official 'driving in the snow' experience! It was VERY scary as my car slid in one direction and then another...but I maintained some control and made it into the parking lot right at the ski lifts opened.
First place to go was the rental store. Picked up some skis and poles. Second place was the lift tickets. Picked up a ticket for 2 days. Third was the store because I needed a neck and face warmer because it was a cold and snowy day. Fourth was the actual ski lift where I managed to remember what to do, got on with out falling, made it to the top and looked down the mountain in preparation for my first run! Story continued later...dinner now:)