I always look forward to the Holiday season and after it’s over I feel like I just finished a marathon and I need a mental break.  Last year, my neighbor friend and I started a new tradition for the guys and we dubbed it the “Mancation.”  We leave our families behind for an extreme vacation to the Rocky Mountains in February.
His family owns a home in Frisco Colorado, which is in the middle of the Summit, giving us drivable access to world renowned slopes in Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Beaver Creek and Vail.  Last year there were four other guys, mostly his old college friends from Wisconsin and myself who met up for four days of constant snowboarding and skiing.  This year we will have the same group and two more joining us.

I love my wife’s company as all of us enjoy our families, but when snow-boarding, we like to follow a rigorous schedule starting early and ending when the last lift closes.  Everyone in the group shares the same mindset and our skill levels are similar, making our trip more fluid without the girls.  We have very little getting in the way of our main objective, which is to rip up the slopes from dawn to dusk. I am the oldest guy in the group by eight years or so and this trip puts me back in the fraternity house for a few days, which is good for my man-mind.  Everything, from the camaraderie, pranking and physical competition on the slopes, it’s a true guys’ trip.  The group dynamic would put hair on anyone’s chest.

Our agenda consists of waking up early in order to make the lifts as soon as they open and boarding all day until the last lift closes.  We explore the most obscure paths and last year made it to the back bowls of Vail, which were in pristine condition and the most beautiful site I have ever seen in the Rockies.  To get there, you have to follow the map closely and take several lifts from one side of the mountain to the other. I can’t wait to go back and hope that the conditions are as good as they were last year.

Once the lifts close, we belly up to the bar in the resort and have a few golden sodas while we reflect back on the events throughout the day.  After loosening up, we return to our man crib for a shower and then if we are up to it we choose a local restaurant establishment for delectable dining.  If we’re too tired, we hit the Taco Bell drive through for a quick “gut bomb” that is less than delectable.  Stomaching Taco Bell is a true characteristic of a mancationer.

In the evening hours the hot tub is inviting and we’re so zapped after that, we call home to check in and hit the hay to catch Z’s. We save the last night for our late night out to check the local bars and maybe catch some live music because we don’t have to get up early. I will spare you the minor details that occur on that night but let’s just say that it’s good for all mankind.