A Rafty Summer

I had it all planned out. After the winter season I would go home for a month, and then move back out to Avon, Co and raft all summer long. It was going to be amazing! If I couldn't be wakeboarding on the lakes back home I'm going to be on the river, soaking in the sun, making money, and getting in shape. It was going to be perfect!

After lifting, rigging, and flipping rafts over in 40°F water, swimming class III rapids, rafting in the snow through class IV rapids in 25°F weather, purposely jumping into river current and being rescued by a throw bag(rope) to shore, swimming into eddies, unexpectedly falling out in a class IV rapid section, prying, pushing, and paddling our way down the Arkansas, Eagle, and Colorado river, our intense two week raft guide training and Colorado certification finally ended on Friday and our rookie class of nine were officially Raft Guides for Lakota Guides. We rigged a trip for Saturday morning, arrived home at 7pm and proceeded to relax and unwind.

Had some stomach cramps that I didn't think too much of. Then the pain started moving into my back. Needless to say as the night grew longer the pain became worse and by 2am I was in the ER. We got there and they checked for kidney stones, appendicitis, and ovarian cysts. I was diagnosed with several ovarian cysts, each being fairly large(6cm at the largest). They gave me pain killers and told me to see a doc. Saw the doc Tuesday where she had instructed me to take birth control pills for the next month which will decrease the size of the cyst and we'll re-evaluate it in a month.

But in that month my physical activity is limited, which means no raft guiding. If I can't guide this month, by the time my health is under control the season will be over. So I have to find another job. No Fun. At All.

Praise God that I am on my feet. It is a very crazy situation. There were so many possibilities that could've made this worse. I could've been on the river when the pain started, I could've been at our two day overnight on the river, I could've been at home when no one was home to take me to Vail Hospital (45 min away). It's SO insane of a circumstance that I feel it could only be God. He most have something greater for me. Just when you think you have everything figured out....

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Progress...

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philipians 3:14


It is not easy to see the light in the midst of a trial. As I currently struggle, I am encouraged that I can rejoice in my sufferings! Hallelujah! I have finally learned to not make the same mistake twice (or more). I would not be able to see the growth and the change in my life if it wasn't for the pain I have been through in the past. I stand on solid ground because of my God. I am steadfast. I do not waiver. He has taught me through trials to press on towards what it is He has in store for me. Perserverance. That is progress. It encourages me to have strength, to not faulter, and doubt. Character. Which affirms that God has a plan for my life! I have Hope for a better day. A greater tomorrow. A hope that will not dissappoint! I have seen progress and that gives me hope!


"And the God of all grace, who called u to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself RESTORE you and make you STRONG, FIRM and STEADFAST. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 5:10

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into hour hears by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us." Romans 5: 3-5

Merry Christmas!

A lot has been going on around here. With the beginning of the snow season upon us, even though we have not received a lot of snow it's definetly been a blast so far! There have been a World Cup Competition, free concerts, dog rescues, lift evacuations, Christmas tree adventures, and ofcourse the never ending work....




A couple weeks ago Vail had it's annual Snowdaze event, which included many free concerts, including the oh so popular Eve 6 and High School fave Bare Naked Ladies. My co-workers and I attempted to attend the Eve 6 concert, but to our affail we only saw their last three songs. BUT they were still really good and we had a great time going! NOW, the Bare Naked Ladies concert was an absolute blast! They played some songs from their new album, but the greatest part of the night was the downfall of snow! It was such a beautiful concert. To be outside listening to live music with over 200 people while it snowed was such a gorgeous site and amazing experience!



We work close with ski patrol, so we get to help them out when needed, which means getting buried alive and evacuated off lifts. My friend and I went out on our day off to help the ski patrol avalanche rescue dogs hone their skill. We hiked out into the back country where we were buried under a couple feet of snow only for a avy dog to come and sniff us out to safety. Don't worry, we weren't in any danger, as the patrolers knew where we were buried and we were only in there for 20 minutes or so. Mika came to my rescue and saved me! :D



That same week patrolers had to practice evacuating a ski lift. So we arrived an hour early to work, to strap in and suit up only to be belayed off a ski lift 30 feet high. Great perks!

Christmas was a tad lonely this season, away from family, and having to work. In Colorado u can purchase a $10 permit to hike into the national forest to cut down ur Christmas tree! It was a great adventure and needless to say our Christmas Tree definetly made it feel more like the season.

We've been in a drought of snow until today receiving about 6inches, hopefully it'll keep coming. Nina and I have been attending Calvary Chapel which has been pretty amazing. I have started to work with the High Schoolers and am excited to see how God will use me to reach to them. I will be leading the girl's Sunday night small group and am wicked excited to grow from this!


'Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger woment to love their husbands and children, to be selfcontrolled and pure, ot be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.' Titus 2:3-5


God is great!

Pre-Turkey Post

Beaver Creek opens tomorrow and we are pretty excited about it! We begin the day at 830am. Need to get our 'uniforms' on. They provided us with Winter Jackets, a vest, and snow pants that are apparently warm enough for us. So that's good! We will be wearing Red and sporting some very slimming helmets the resort has provided us with. We got to pick out which one we wanted and Vail Resorts paid the bill, $160 retail! So it was sweet to get a really nice brand new helmet to wear on the mountain! Not sure if we get to keep them or not after the season.

We have a better idea of what we'll be doing: For part of the day we will be scanning lift tickets, and the other part we will be checking in with guests. Making sure they're ok, if they need ANY sort of help whatsoever. Our resort is TOP OF THE LINE when it comes to resorts. Infact, the average family spends $32,000 A WEEK there!! On hotel rooms(avg$2000 a night) and ski lessons ($600 per hour), lift tickets($100 per day), food, transportation, etc... I was floored when I heard that! Our resort also recieved #1 in guest services for the last 3 years out of over 400 resorts. Pretty much our job is sucking up to the guests and making sure they're having 'The Ultimate Experience of a Lifetime"(vail resorts motto). Pretty crazy though!

Nina and I also found a church out here. We're pretty excited about it! Nina was skeptical at first, but I definetly felt the Holy Spirit through their not-so-perfect worship. I've been spoiled by great Worship at The Chapel. :D I talked to the student pastor's wifte after service on Sunday to see if I can get connected with the HS ministry somehow. I plan on meeting with the student pastor next week, which I am pretty excited about. There's talk about a snowboard ministry, which will be SA-WEET! We also chatted up the 'information center' to where we left our information for a single women's small group, starting up in a couple weeks. Hopefully we hear back from that!

Still continuing to get acclaimated, and to meet new people.

Nina and I will be working on Thursday and feel that we'll celebrate Thanksgiving on Sunday. As we have Sundays and Mondays off. Soooooooo,

We Miss you, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Work has Began!

FINALLY! We are no longer bumming around town! We have started work!! Woo Woo! Training to start off, but we are part of the Beaver Creek guest services crew this winter. Beaver Creek has been #1 in Guest Services for the last 3 years out of 400 resorts and we are part of the 2010 crew! Pretty exciting stuff! We are here to make sure the guests are having 'The Experience of a Lifetime!'

Beaver Creek opens the 25th and we will be scanning lift tickets, but also skiing around seeing if anyone needs help, talking with the guests, and being friendly. Pretty exciting stuff!

Vail Mountain opened this past Friday, so drove over there(10 min), rode down three times, and headed home. It was awesome to get out and get on the slopes!

A Colorado Start

Well we're here! We successfully made it to Colorado, and are adjusting to the climate, elevation, and life. Our first encounter with employee housing didn't go as planned. We didn't get our 2 bedroom that we drove out here early for, but instead ended up with a 4BR 2BA. Which we weren't super happy about, and made that known to the front office...There wasn't anyone that was compitent there that could help us, but we moved into the 4BR anyway.

Place is nice. We currently are residing in the best employee housing in the Vail area, which is good to know. We over look the river and have a great view. Small kitchen but our roomates are pretty cool. One a culinary student from Boston and the other a new graduate from Maryland. All out here on their first season working for Beaver Creek. It should be a pretty good winter.

I am excited. I'll be more excited when the season starts, which won't be for another week and a half for us. So far we have set up our PO BOX and Library card, as well as find where the local coffee shop is and grocery store is. Weather so far has been GORGEOUS! 50s and 60s with not a cloud in the sky. They say the weather should be turning this week. Getting colder and some snow...there's not much on the mountain and it's hard to believe it'll be open in two weeks.

Nina, myself, and Dave headed up to Aspen on Saturday(1.5 drive) to check out a ski swap to get Nina some skis. It was PACKED! but we got some skis for Nina at a great price! Sunday we checked out Calvery Chapel (ccvv.org). It was a nice church. They have great times for services including a Sunday night service and Midweek service as well. We're going to check out some other churches before we land on just one....

Life out here for the 'locals' is just different than life back home. I definetly miss the stability of my friends, even though my life may not have been super stable. But everyone out here lives for the winter....Getting by through the summer, traveling, visiting friends, or just finding something to get by until the winter starts back up again until they see old friends again and get back to life....to me that's just not how I want to live.

I appreciate my friends back home and the connections I have made with them. I miss the stability of the community of friends and family I had back home, but it's time to build here! Please pray for a healthy Christian community for both Nina and I as well as a great home church. Weather will be kicking in soon as will work...We really need some encouraging and building up.

If u feel like sending letters OR Christmas Cards :D OUR post office box is:

Cat Olson OR Nina Hill
PO Box 4430
Avon, CO 81620

Thanks All!!! Much Love!

Road Trip!

The Road Trip that Nina and I went on, and that I spoke of previously was awesome! It was a long drive to Denver but we made it straight through, alternating drives. We stayed a night in Denver with Nina's friend Liz. Ate at a great breakfast cafe where the weather was beautiful! That afternoon we proceeded up to Vail to stay with Nina's friend Dave. He had a huge feast waiting for us when we got up there.

The next day he took us around Beaver Creek and introduced us to the right people to get a job at the mountain. His nine year tenure as ski patrol DEFINETLY helped our chances of getting a job. That night we hung out in the Hot Tub and took it easy as the following day we had a 6 hour drive up to Evanston, WY.

We woke up that morning, and headed up to WY for Nina's Sister's Wedding. We arrived for the Rehersal and Dinner. Dinner was great fun! We had a feast of BBQ and Seafood dumped on our table and it was up to us to eat our way out. So fun and DElicious!

Had a long Saturday as we helped set up for the wedding. The wedding was a lot of fun! Congrats Clay and Mandy Flint!! After a long Saturday we turned around Sunday morning and headed up to Grand Teton National Park for our three night adventure in wilderness....

We arrived late, and talked to one of the park rangers and found out our three night adventure would realistically take us 5 nights. This we were not expecting, but were willing to give it a go! We hiked 1 mile in and camped. 12 miles was going to be our next day, but only made it 10. We had a looooong lunch at Marion Lake, and decided to camp there for the night and hike out the next day. Two nights in and a total of 20mi it was exhausting. We were happy with our decision to get out early.

As we FINALLY made it back to our car we were greatful we made it out safely. Spent a night dancing to blue grass music in Jackson, woke up to enjoy a nice breakfast in town and some shopping and headed out to the Black Hills of South Dakota. A nine hour drive to get there and crashed a second night in the car. We drove around the Black Hills. Visiting such monuments as Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore(well we saw it from far away). We proceeded from there through Minesotta and home, with one last stop at the Wilderness in The Wisconsin Dells.

A two week advenutre....and glad to be home. Thanks for everyone's prayers! We had no car troubles and a ton of fun!!!