Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...

Let's go play machete fight. Ain't no terrible tradgedy's gonna happen today! ~ Nate Cox

Went to see Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story today with Pete. Pretty amusing. Not sure if I would highly recommend it but if you just want to shut off your brain for a bit and be entertained, it definitely satisfies.

It is snowin' and blowin' up here. The forecasters are calling for more of the same for the next couple of days. I am planning to brave the conditions to get in some turns at the Rock tomorrow then will be heading to the Basin on Tuesday for some New Year's fun and/or games. Just a really great way to kick off the new year.

Um... that's it for now. More later. That's a threat AND a promise. Psyched, aren't you?

~stubert.

Day 17...

It's the bloody Beatles White Album! ~ George Harrison

Speaking of white... Damn today was cold at The Basin. Maybe 5 degrees with a sporadic wind, sometimes quite brisk. I was skiing very sloppily for some reason. Fairly inspired at times but mostly like a spaz. But hey. It was still an awesome time. We all experienced some frost-nip and had to take breaks when the white spots appeared on cheeks and noses but it was worth it to get some turns in. Plus no one was out on the slopes. The warming house was seriously as full as I have ever seen it. Pretty funny.

The crüe consisted of Luke, Obie, and two of Obie's friends from Highschool -- one of whom I knew from way back in our earliest Boulder days. Small world.

We jammed up the hill early to avoid the weekend traffic mania and were quickly spinning laps on Pali. The Spine was simply dreamy -- wind buffed and creamy. Can't complain about that at all. I finally dropped the upper rocks with only a hint of hesitation and launched off of a good drop on the bottom portion of the hill with ease. Generally hesitant but feeling pretty good for what is still early season. Most of the really hard stuff is still closed but we're keeping our fingers crossed for some cycles to line up and really hammer things home. All in all, however, they have decent coverage and times are good.

We have been watching a ton of movies of late. Good way to pass the short days and cold temps when not out on the slopes. Here is a run-down:

• Ratatouille: Great Pixar movie. The animation is amazing and the story is fun and engaging. If you haven't seen it, get busy.
• The Shawshank Redemption: Another classic. Just a well put-together film.
• Lone Star: Terrific Sayles. A must see.
• Breach: Not super but entertaining at least. Again, Chris Cooper puts in a pretty solid effort and though the movie wasn't awesome, it was still watchable.
• Silver City: Another Sayles/Cooper partnership. This one is just a mess. Really, really boring movie that just didn't seem to go anywhere. It was shot in Colorado, so that made it a little bit interesting being that I was able to pick out locations but other than that, just bad.
• Notes on a Scandal: Actually, I wasn't sure what to expect with this one and was pleasantly surprised. Well worth the time.

So we were discussing fuel efficiency during today's festivities. Seems that two of us are proud (or not so) owners of gigantic SUV things. I currently drive a 2000 Yukon XL. I have thought about selling it to get something more environmentally friendly but since starting up the new biz, haven't really been putting many miles on it. When I do, I usually cram as many people as possible (and all our gear) into the beast so that we only have to take one car up the hill. This makes me feel a little less guilty about driving the behemoth. Actually, I did get 19.5 mpg when I fueled up this afternoon, so that is pretty sweet. If you count the fact that 5 of us were able to get transport to the area using Holmsey, that is actually really good. We would have had to take at least two normal cars so all in all, we came out on top. So I guess my point is: Carpooling good, giant SUV not always bad. Say it with your Frankenstein voice and it is even more fun.

Play hard.

~stubert.

Still in the 'Sack...

The waiting is the hardest part. ~ Tom Petty (coincidentally heard while on hold with Apple)

I am still over in Gunnison. Might be heading back to the Front Range today but we're playing that by ear at this point.

I am a little banged up from yesterday's adventures. Nothing bad, I just took one squirrelly fall during which I somehow managed to bang my left elbow on something and I kicked my right shin right in-between the top of my boot and the bottom of my kneepad. Perfect placement. Seems like that happens a lot, actually. Which probably means my pads are working fine, they just don't cover enough! Part of the game. I do have a nice contusion on my shin however that goes nicely with the scar I got while hopping a fence on my October snow run. Good stuff.

No skiing today and I really need to get some work completed as well. Just too many things going on right now.

I am super excited to get back home to see Rach. She has been awesome -- staying at home and taking care of all the monsters while I am away. As always, I'll keep you posted.

~stubert.

Good day at the Butte...

No quote. Too lazy. ~stubert.

Hit the Butte today for some steeps (finally). Almost the whole
mountain is open already which is amazing. Headed straight to Teocali
Bowl then jammed out to Third Bowl. I spent the whole day spinning
laps in Spellbound, Phoenix, The Glades, etc. Awesome to finally get on
something that challenged my limits. I actually had to back out of a
skinny chute on Staircase as the sluff I kicked in took out the rest
of the snow severely limiting my options. All in a good day's fun at
my hometown resort.

Skied all day with Zach from San Diego. It was his first time at CB so
I gave him the ultimate locals' tour-o'rama. Even met up with a guy I
haven't seen in several years at the top of Third Bowl. Bret is a
photographer who has moved to Boulder recently and was doing a bad job
of trying to not kill his girlfriend, Ann (?? Crap, I forgot her
name). Small world.

Planning to head back over to the Front Range tomorrow but we'll see
what happens. I hate to leave the Butte while it is skiing so
incredibly well but I miss my sweetie who is home taking care of the
menagerie.

I'll keep you posted.

~stubert.

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Recent happenings...

Moonrise over Monarch

He's gone. He just... got away from us. ~ Dr. Wordsmith

Man, stressful just doesn't do justice to these last few days. Can't really go into it right now but damn. Here is a brief list events (some of these were not my doing):

• The Winter Solstice: I really like the solstice as it marks the time when days start to get longer. Plus, as celestial events go, shortest/longest days of the year are unique, at least.
• Sweeny Todd: One of several movies on my list. This was a great adaptation, even if you don't like musicals.
  
• Blustery day at The Rock: Pete, Luke and I went up for some Eldora turns. Corona was spinning, the wind was howling, the thermometer was dropping... We only lasted a couple of hours as it was bitterly cold and I had to get over to Gunnison but two hours of frigid skiing is better than two hours of not skiing.
  
• Drive to Gunnison: Headed over to Gunnison to visit my parents. I will be over here probably until Tuesday or Wednesday. Playing that by ear a little bit.

~stubert.

Ridin' the goat...

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. ~ Robert Burns

Today, Luke, Pete and I were planning to spend some time helping out our buddy, Larry at his shop. Larry is one of the best boot-fitters in the area, if not the country and his talents are in high demand. So high, in fact, that during ski season, he often works 18 hour days, 7 days a week.

Pete, Luke and I think this is bunk so we volunteered to help him get some things straightened out around the shop on the one day a week when it is actually closed. Either we got our wires crossed or something came up but we missed each other today. So I went to the Goat to get some work done. And here I am updating my blog.

So there you go. Back to work, then haircut, then home.

~stubert.

Four in a row...

My dog ate my homework. ~ Anon

Today we hit Eldora again. Not even nearly as cold as yesterday but twice as windy. Plus senor douchebag was put in charge of the lower lift maze and was channeling his inner hall monitor. First run I got yelled at for skating in the maze (I shit you not) and then the second run both Luke and I got yelled at for not having leashes. Holy crap on a pita. The skiing was fun, though, until the waves had waves then it was time to head out. This was day 13 for me. Four in a row.

I spent the latter half of the day shooting a Bunny Tune Up class at the House Rabbit Society. Good times. We are hoping to put this together into an instructional video in the not-too-distant future.

Once I got home I was treated to the wrath of Ember. When left to his own devices he can get a little chewy and took our his vengeance upon some of my computer stuff. Not a big deal and how can I stay mad at this face:

Ember is on the left.

That just about covers it for today.

~stubert.

Tic Tac Toe...

Got up. Got out of bed. ~ The Beatles

I didn't intend to ski today. Really, I didn't. But Luke and Nichole rang me up about 8 this morning to see if I could at least meet them so that Nichole would have something to strap to her feet. On Thursday, we stashed the quiver in Holmsey as Luke didn't really want to have to climb back up on top of Kevin's rig to tie his skis to the top. In any event, I figured if I was going to Ned anyway, I might as well get in a few runs. So that's what I did.

Today was cold. And windy. Pretty typical for Eldora. I had a business meeting at 11 so we didn't stay too long but did manage to get some turns made. Always a good time. This was day 12 for me, so that is a pretty solid start to the season. We are finally getting some snow but between the brutal grooming and Eldora's reluctance to open much up, it is still pretty slim pickins up there. Pete went to the Basin yesterday and said it was most excellent. At least they are turning Pali now and have opened up some tougher terrain. Which is nice.

Other than that, I am just keeping busy. As you noticed, I picked a new template for the blog. Figured it was time. We have watched several movies in the past couple of days. Here's the run-down:

Movies:

• Children of Men: Not great. Not terrible, but nothing to rush out to see. Essentially a chase story about the demise of the human race once something undetermined makes us all sterile.
  
• Charlotte's Web: Cute pigs, not much else going for it. Dakota Fanning is really annoying.
• Superbad: Crude, but funny.
• Porco Rosso: Not Miyazaki's best effort but still pretty amazing.

Okay. Your homework for today is to do something you have never done before. Go!

~stubert.

And today makes ten...

071213 Basin Crüe: Me, Luke, Kevin, Tark

We will not abide another toe. ~ Jeffrey Lebowski

Hit the Basin today for some raucous fun. More snow means more open terrain and the good times definitely were rolling. We had a good crüe too... Luke, Nichole, Kevin and Tark. Luke even broke out the big dogs and boy did we let them eat.

It was pretty vacant today at the Basin so we were able to really cut loose a few times. I brought my Garmin with us and we logged some serious top speeds tucking the front side. (Shhhhh 59.7) Literally only turning when forced to by the change in run direction. Good stuff. There was even some pow to be had and we mined it for all it was worth.

This was day 10 for me, which is about 10 more than you, sucka!

Cool shot of the valley below Eldora looking Tahoe-ish.

On a different note, the Leadville recovery continues... I lost another toenail yesterday. That should do it for parts of me falling off due to that race. Tark suggested that I save them and make earrings but they are long gone. Alas, part of the game, I suppose. I ended up losing the one on my left big toe, and on the first toes of both feet. Weird how your body deals with things. I thought I had overcome the spikes of pain in my feet too as I haven't experienced those in several weeks but I got one today. Just little reminders of the race that keeps on giving.

Other than that, I have just been super stressed with work and family stuff. Skiing at warp speeds seems to help a bit. I think I'll try that again tomorrow.

Shadow: Super ugly

We also just got the cutest friggin' bunny ever. His name is Shadow and what he lacks in cuteness, he makes up for in nut size. Rach is going to fix that little problem toute suite. He'll be available for adoption from the Colorado HRS in the next couple weeks so line up!

~stubert.

Pllllltttt...

Too much, too soon. ~ Referee - Slapshot

These past few weeks have been crazy. In the past week alone, I have been over to Gunnison twice, logged day 9 on the slopes, super busy with work. Generally frantic.

So I'll just jump right in...

Skiing:
We are finally getting some snow. Much needed and appreciated. Rach reminded me of an old Eldora maxim - STBG (Stop the Brutal Grooming) - which was in full effect today. We pulled out Luke's stash of Big Dogs for a full-frontal assault on some tasty pow but were disappointed to find that Eldora slope-control had groomed the hell out of everything. Good times were still had but damn. Hook a brotha up. We have received another 6-8 inches at my house since getting home around noon today so perhaps a quick run up the hill will be in order tomorrow to see if the heinous grooming continues...

Running:
To be honest, Leadville has been haunting me a bit since the race. I am pretty confident that I gave it everything I had last summer but think I am going to give it another try in '09. Too much going on right now to take another stab this year but I think that I'll be able to tackle it again in a couple years. I may do a 50-miler this summer (Collegiate Peaks Ultra) and would still like to pace if I can find a good match. I haven't been running much at all and now, with the snow, am probably going to have to find different ways of logging miles. I really miss it, though, so think that is a good sign.

Work:
We have been hard at work these past weeks and have continued steady progress on the Quintess site. We launched McLean Forge a couple of weeks ago and have a steady stream of project requests. Good stuff.

Movies:
I have been taking time to watch a lot of film of late. Here is a run-down of some of the titles:

• Before the Devil Knows You're Dead: Pretty amazing performances in a severely mediocre film.
• Blades of Glory: Quite amusing. Watch this one.
• Three Kings: Fairly straightforward narrative but great execution.
  
• Flirting with Disaster: Another David O. Russell vehicle. Funny stuff.
• End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones: Decent rocumentary about a great band.
• The Bad Seed: Hilarious. Unintentionally so.
• Curse of the Golden Flower: Not so good.
• Waiting for Guffman: Not Guest's best effort but really amusing nonetheless.
• Secretary: Pretty awesome.
• Fargo: It has been awhile since I have seen this one. Still really great.

So that about covers it for now. Peace.

~stubert.