IT'S SNOWING!

G'day to everyone in Australia and a special hello to my new English friends that I met in California

I have been enjoying the awesome snow here at Copper Mountain, a few hours drive West of Denver, Colorado. For the first 5 or so days I was not enjoying the altitude (about 12,000 feet I think) completely though, because my body was not coping with the lack of oxygen too well. I was finding it hard to ski down a run without feeling out of breath quickly, but hey, that's all a part of the fun.

A special thanks to Mel who has been fantastic in accommodating me here at Copper. I know it hasn't been easy to fit me in her tiny room and to all of a sudden include me in her established social life here at Copper every day and night but I really appreciate it. It has been great fun seeing what life is like living on the Mountain. Ben has also been great, amongst other things lending me all his ski gear and hooking me up with ski hire. I really appreciate the free lift passes from both of you, too! You have saved me a lot of money. Thanks also to Andrew for picking us up at Denver International Airport.

In my last email I forgot to mention the very best part of our stay in Las Vegas. It was when Mel and I took a helicopter flight from Las Vegas into the Grand Canyon via the Hoover Dam. It was a fantastic experience. The flight was very scenic and exciting, and landing right inside the Grand Canyon and having lunch there felt really special. I would recommend that flight to anyone who happens to visit Las Vegas. I would also recommend the visiting the Stratosphere Tower and doing the thrill rides at the top; 109 storeys above street level. That was so much fun! Though Mel gave me a very hard time for being so obviously scared sh!tless.

It is my last day here at Copper. It is a beatiful sunny day so I am going to spend the middle of the day skiing with Ben, then Ben and I are driving to Denver tonight. We have an overnight flight to New York City tonight, so that should be interesting! We are looking forward to having St Patrick's Day in New York City... I wonder if we will manage to find an Irish pub? :)

I have attached some photos from Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. I have plenty more from San Diego, Tijuana, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Summit County (where Copper Mountain is) but I have not had a chance to transfer them from my camera yet. Unfortunately my digital camera packed it in yesterday and stopped working, so I will have to figure something out to keep the photos coming. No way I'm going to the top of the Empire State building without a camera!

Adios!

Daniel