DMSki is an annual ski trip where DMCers from all offices get together for a weekend of fun in Colorado. This trip started in 2016 and has been the Denver office's YOE (Yearly Office Event) ever since.
YOEs are an awesome opportunity for employees from all around the country to bond together outside of office environment. Each office hosts a YOE annually, and DMC partly funds the trips. Although DMCers from every office cannot agree on how to pronounce YOE, it stands for Yearly Office Event.
In years past, we've headed out to Martha's Vineyard with the Boston office, explored Chicago with the Chicago office and floated down rivers with the Houston office.
DMSki started Wednesday after work where we all headed up to our gorgeous house in Silverthorne, Colorado. Everyone pitches in to help set up this event in their own way, from ordering groceries for 50 people to organizing spots in a car.
Home Cooked Meals
It's not easy cooking for 50 people every night, but as engineers, we were definitely able to make it work. From stir fry night to a large spaghetti bar, no one left this trip hungry. We also used leftover chorizo from Thursday morning breakfast for several meals after that, which we all thought was awesome.
Each morning, we would wake up to the smell of a delicious breakfast and fuel up for a day on the slopes. My personal favorite was the mini quiches that were made on Saturday morning.
I was genuinely impressed by the cooking skills of all the DMC employees! Smart people, expert solutions, and excellent cooks.
Hitting the Slopes
The crew split up between a few different mountains. Some people went out to Vail, Breckenridge, and Keystone, and I headed over to Copper Mountain with some other DMCers.
I had not been on a snowboard in six years, and I was told: "oh, it's like riding a bike." I doubted that statement, but on the first run of the first day on Thursday, I agreed that it was like riding a bike.
I stuck with some of our Texan employees, and we had an excellent time on Copper Mountain, crushing it on the blue runs.
Everyone at Copper would try to meet up for lunch each day. On Saturday, we tailgated out in the parking lot. Everyone loved this! We had a portable grill and cooked up some brats, and enjoyed chips and beer.
Crushing It Skiing
On Friday morning, we woke up with over a foot of new snow. The Denver employees said that this weekend was some of the best snow that they had had all season, and it was awesome!
I don't know the last time I snowboarded in fresh powder, but it sure made falling hurt less.
Some of the more advanced skiers hit tree runs and ventured over to the back of the mountain for some black and double black diamond runs.
Everyone was just so excited about all the fresh snow that it made the trip that much better!
Waking up very sore on Saturday to even more snow, we all ventured to our mountains and continued to have a great time.
Fun and Games
After skiing every day, it was a race to see who could get to the hot tub first. Have you ever squeezed about 15 people into a small hot tub? We would played games while marinating in the hot tub each night until dinner was ready.
DMCers also played many, many rounds of pool.
After dinner, we played games like "Cheers to the Governor," What Do You Meme, Secret Hitler, Code Names and many different card games.
It's always a great time hanging out with coworkers from different offices. We shared many laughs and made great memories. This was truly one of the best trips that I have ever been on, and I can't wait for DMSki 2020!
Heading Home
Heading back from the mountains on Sunday was quite the adventure. As the snow continued to come down, the traffic continued to get heavier. Some of our employees even had the opportunity to hear explosions from the artillery shells going off to control avalanches on the mountains.
Hours later, everyone made it back to Denver safe and sound, sore and tired, and ready for a good nights sleep.
Check out this video below to see all of the fun we had!
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