On Friday, February 3rd, 19 guys got together for this winter ski weekend at the Christmas Tree Inn in Warren, Vermont.  Due to the various arrival times for the guys, everyone was on their own for dinner.  A few smaller groups of guys, who had arrived early did go out to dinner.  Afterwards, we settled back at the Inn for snacks, socializing and ultimately a quiet evening watching "Working Girl".  The last guy to arrive did so by about 10PM.  By about 11:30/12:00, most had turned in for the night.

In the morning we started breakfast fairly early so everyone could start their respective ski days!  After a filling breakfast of a broccoli and cheese frittata with pastries and sausage, everyone was off!  Four of the guys drove up to von Trapp for cross-country skiing, two went to Blueberry Lake cross-country ski area in Warren, three hung around town and the inn and the rest headed up the access road for downhill skiing at Sugarbush.  It was an awesome day to be out...mostly sunny with only a modest chill in the air...and it had snowed maybe an inch overnight.  Still as expected with this winter, good snow was a precious commodity!  The cross-country skiers encountered compacted, fast icy trails and the downhill skiing was a mix of icy trails and some with loose powder (thankfully they were making snow on some of the lower trails throughout the day).

After a pretty full day, everyone got back to the Inn between 4 and 6PM, and we set out snacks along with chili and pizza later in the evening.  Along with socializing again in the living room, some guys also played cards and later everyone watched "Billy Elliot" prior to most everyone turning in for the evening.

On Sunday, we started the day with a breakfast of pancakes, bacon and pastries.  Afterwards, we cleaned up and most of the guys started to head out...it was Superbowl Sunday after all!  Three of us did head over to Mt. Ellen for a short snowshoe on their trails before calling it a day (Sugarbush has separate snowshoe trails on both the Lincoln and Ellen sides set aside for no charge).

 This was again a wonderful weekend spent with a great group of guys.  It was relaxing and everyone seemed to have a nice time.  Thanks to everyone for making it such a special gathering.  It was great to see a few new faces too!  A special thanks goes out to Joe who took the lead in the kitchen and to Ed for providing a good bunch of movies. 

See you all on future GO activities!

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