One in the bank...

...one of many children... ~ Jane's Addiction

Hit the Basin up this morning for the kick-off for the '09-'10 ski season. I was a little rusty on the first run for sure and my new liners, courtesy of Larry's Bootfitting, will take some getting used to (yes, they are STIFF), but otherwise, it was a good first outing.

Luke and I didn't last very long - not due to any physical, out of shape-ness - but due to the ever building crowd of snow sliders flocking to one of only two mountains open for business. We made about 6 runs before calling it a day and Exo was actually spinning at a much faster tempo than normal. Our final foray into the maze was a 15-minute affair... only an hour or so after catching first chair. Alan is promising more terrain will open soon and with Keystone set to turn next week, the crowds should thin a bit.

I hit the gym on the way home to log some time on the treadmill and do a few surges. Temps climbed today which resulted in a squishy mess on local roads and trails. I definitely would love to get a treadmill at some point. Plop in a movie and bust out 15 miles. Sounds like a great combo to me.

Tomorrow is the date for the annual New York Marathon. This one is definitely on my list of "must-dos" as it is not only enormous but would be really cool to run through all five boroughs. Fred Lebow started the event back in the early 70s (if memory serves). There is a pretty good movie that goes into a lot of interesting detail about the event: Run For Your Life. The New York Times published an article recently about a man who created his own NYC marathon by walking around his block 75 times. I like DIY.

Tomorrow I have a long run on the schedule. Definitely not "planned" yet as I have no clue where it will be but probably will end up somewhere in Boulder. Unless you have other ideas...

~stubert.

Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...

Couloir above Lake Isabelle

Hey Ma, get off the dang roof! ~ Cletus

Good end of last week/start of this week, activity-wise. Saturday saw gorgeous conditions in the high-country so I headed up higher to do 13 miles on Rollins Pass. I started above the tunnel and made my way up the old railroad grade. There were still several large sections socked in with drifts so car traffic was virtually non-existent.

View east from Rollins Pass

Unfortunately, I felt like hammered crap and my abs were really, really angry with me all day so I didn't turn over the miles as quickly or painlessly as I had hoped given the past week's progress. It was good to be out, however, and I have learned that there is no such thing as a bad run so though I felt a little discouraged by the set-back, I took it in stride.

Sunday I stuck close to home as one of our foster bunnies was at the end of his journey. Rach does an amazing job giving these special guys a loving home but it is still very hard to see them go. Louis was not an old bunny but had a terminal condition that required additional care and attention so he and his friend, Bruscetta, came to live with us. Rach paired them with two other great bunnies, Sidney and Peanut, then Homer was added to the group for a really cool fivesome. Louis will be missed but Bruscetta can now stay with her new friends, which makes it easier on her for sure.

On Monday Luke, Ben and I headed up to the Brainard Lake area to do some skiing. We got a fairly early start but an inversion made it incredibly warm up high and we were met with breakable crust conditions on the hike in and sloppy, punchy snow on the bootpack up towards Isabelle Glacier. It was a gorgeous day (albeit warm) but the going was much slower than we expected. We decided to ski a protected coulior but I bailed about halfway up to get home to get some work done. I actually felt great. I was a little slow but was being really cautious as every time my right leg postholed in the weird conditions, my right knee would become very grumpy.

I apologized for calling him "Snotter".

On the way back out, I was treated by a river otter playing in the freshly thawed far-eastern edge of Long Lake. He was playing in the shallow water near the tip of the lake and even posed for me a bit while I took photos. River otters were recently declassified as endangered and are now listed as a threatened species so getting to see the little fella (actually, not that little) was really cool.

Tuesday I ran up near my house. Just kept a steady, relatively slow pace and ran a fun figure eight in the woods. I hit up some of my favorites: Tupperware, Funky Boss, Diver Down and power hiked the steeper sections. Felt okay, actually. I didn't push the pace really at all and was able to just stay relaxed and comfortable.

Today I doubled down and did a quick run in the woods on some pirate trails (actually got a little off track due to early-season conditions) and then did a fun exploratory moto ride with Luke. We jammed up Rollins Pass to see how much snow had melted in the past three days of seriously intense heat (for May, at least) then went up Mammoth Gulch (which is still pretty socked in) and then checked out the Fourth of July road, which is open and clear all the way to the trailhead. Luke then stole my motorcycle. He has a knack for swiping people's bikes. (Hey Pete, if you are reading this, your moto is in my garage.) It won't be long until Luke is kicking my ass in yet another activity but for now, I'll relish not having to chase him around.

I head to Gunnison on Friday to race the Sage Burner Saturday morning. Since my abs are still being jerks, I am just going to do the 25K event with explicit instructions to take it easy. I'll let you know how that goes.

She's just a bean.

And here is a shot of Molly for your viewing pleasure.

~stubert.

Lil Grandad...

That's what she said. ~ Michael Scott

Here's some video Pete shot of me in the Grandads at A-Basin. This looked a lot bigger from above.



~stubert.

Three feet high and rising...

That pile is Rach's car.

I didn't even have to use my AK. ~ Ice Cube

Yesterday was pretty sweet. Pete and I met fairly early at Kermit's to get in some pow turns at A-Basin. Turns out we were ahead of the major cluster that eventually closed I-70 but a little behind on the first chair action. That was okay, however as we still got in many hours of great skiing. AND managed to make it home without getting stranded (though it did take Pete 6 hours or so).

So the conditions were prime after 16 inches of snow overnight and more consistently throughout the day. It was seriously puking snow up at the Basin and the locals were out in force. Even Gary made the scene after suffering some sort of back injury that kept him out most of the year. Pete and I rallied on Pali all day in search of the goods and fun stuff to drop. The wind was doing its weird wind thing (out of the Northeast again for some reason) which made seeking the best snow a little more of a challenge (it usually loads up with winds out of the West) but we managed just fine. Pete worked on sticking the drop off Mini Kong and I finally stomped Little Grandad. Sweet!

The drive home was slow going and Pete's car was seriously buried by the time we got back to Kermit's. Once I got home, I was greeted with a couple feet of snow in the driveway (and a rather large pile of munge from the plows). I had mowed the driveway prior to heading up in the morning so this was all accumulation during the day. I mowed again (while it dropped at least 4 inches an hour) then once more before bed. We also lost power, which was pretty awesome but the best was the jackassery that went down during the course of the evening.

Since we had no power, entertainment became watching people try to deal with the heavy snowfall. First, some guy drove down the road, backed up WAY back up the road, then came back down and for some inexplicable reason tried to do a 30 point turn-around in front of our house only to get stuck in our driveway as his truck died. Apparently there was some marital tension going on as well and I think that at one point keys were tossed into the snow bank but I am not certain. In any event, they finally got the truck rolling again only to reappear two hours later in a different car, which they stuffed into the snowbank at the edge of our driveway, did another 13-point turn around and went on their merry way. There were also many snowmobilers racing up and down our road which always is good for a laugh.

So our power came back on about 10:45 then we went to bed. When I got up, the road crew had deposited a pile of snow and road munge 4 feet tall at the end of our driveway. Disappointed. I spent much of the morning getting that moved out of the way then the rest of the day getting the truck out and able to roll. All in all, we got over 3 feet in about 36 hours and it is still snowing lightly as I write this. Springtime in the Rockies... gotta love it.

~stubert.

And you think I'm nuts...

Sliiiiiiiide. ~ Marla Singer

The Marathon of the Sands is a 6-day race across the Sahara where competitors must carry all their gear and the only real support is rations of water and tents in which to sleep at night. Amazing.

Speaking of racing, I met with Janet Runyan yesterday for the first of several sessions scheduled to help with my running form and to get some training and racing advice. She is a past winner at Leadville and National Ultradistance Champion so I am very excited to see how she can help my performance and help me get and stay injury-free. She recommended some posture adjustments yesterday that really seemed to help and I am planning to go out today to see how much "sticks". It is fairly warm up here today so as long as it doesn't rain, I should be okay. She did think that the first 50K I have scheduled was a bit aggressive so I will probably scale that back to the 25K event.

I did get out for some turns at the Basin on Sunday. Luke and I pretty much tore it up and Pete and Edy were up as well. Pete joined us for a couple of fun runs. The conditions were a bit funky but REALLY good turns were to be had if you explored a little. We got into some really good stuff up on East Wall and did a run out the Steep Gullies which was pretty great.

I ran Betasso on Monday evening and it was more of a slog than anything to write home about. Felt pretty poorly throughout but did manage 3 laps before calling it a night. Hoping I can get my psoas issues resolved very soon.

~stubert.

Take Grandpa skiing...

Keep your ugly fuckin' goldbrickin' ass out of my beach community. ~ Malibu Cop

Day 49 featured a late start, great snow and lots of obnoxious, drunken college kids at the Basin. Luke, Nichole and I headed up late (post conference call with Renewable Choice Energy, one of our clients) and immediately started spinning laps on Pali in search of our favorite spots and good snow. Both were in large supply with forays into the Black Widow, Mini Kong, Waterfall, West Turbo and more. Deep and fluffy at the bottom of 2nd too... just thinking about it makes me inclined to get back up there ASAP.

Anyway, the mountain was virtually empty save for a rather large pack of heavily inebriated co-eds and hangers on. I guess April Fool's Day brought out the riff raff but seriously, if you can't stand up in the lift line, you really shouldn't be on the hill. Fortunately, they were pretty easy to dodge but I felt bad for the lift ops who were being berated left and right. Anyway, I suspect more of the same will be in order this weekend with the beach being in full effect.

I didn't ski particularly well but had a great time. My knee was giving me grief for whatever reason and my abs are still a mess. Seeing yet another doctor about that next week. I have to get that resolved else my racing plans for this year are going to be in jeopardy. Hopefully this guy can help out.

Other than that, we've just been jamming on work stuff and staying busy with the critters. I am planning to attend a running injuries seminar tomorrow night so maybe that will provide more insight into how to prevent and treat.

~stubert.

Lovin' Lost Lake Laps...

Phew! I haven't felt that good since Archie Gemmill scored against Holland in 1978! ~ Mark "Rent Boy" Renton

Ok. So good I had to just do a brief post...

Luke and I grabbed first chair (well... 15th) at the Rock this morning and made about 3 turns down Ambush on our way to Corona where we were the first to drop Salto, which was nice. Then we headed out the gate for three AWESOME runs in the Lost Lake Chutes. We were spinning 45-50 minute laps even while slogging around in the woods breaking trail trying to find the good traverse line. Left, Hourglass, Left of Left. Quite a bit of sluffing but only a little evidence of fracturing on heavily loaded areas. Man, it was really good.

Luke took first turns in Left and skied it all the way out to the lake making only a few huge, sweeping turns on the face. I followed suit, straight-running the pinch.

We then lapped it back up and Luke jammed down Hourglass to the lake. I came FLYING out of the bottom of the 'glass grinning ear to ear.

We then rallied one more lap and I took first tracks down the left edge of Left where it was still really deep and pointed it out the bottom. Luke aired into the left notch for the day's boldest line. Great stuff.

We spun the 4 laps and were back at the car by noon. Amazing morning of great skiing.

~stubert.

Very quick one...

RIP Shane McConkey - Graeme Murray/Red Bull Photofiles

I like your style, Dude. ~ The Stranger

I have finally been getting back out consistently, which is nice. Ran 4x last week (1 mile treadmill on Sunday, 3 miles trail on Tuesday, 5 miles trail on Friday and a 10 miler on trails on Sunday) and skied Wednesday, Saturday and Monday. This really put the stomp on my knee but was all fun. I hit Vail yesterday for some big pow turns and am heading up to Eldora in a few to spin a few laps out the gate.

As you may have guessed, we finally got snow after a LONG spell with nothing. It is still snowing now but just a little.

Also, I think that I just found another race to do: Golden Gate Dirty Thirty. Seeing how this is in my backyard, I pretty much HAVE to represent, right?

And on a very sad note: RIP Shane McConkey. He will be missed.

I'll catch you up with more ASAP.

~stubert.

Give me a three! Give me a nine...

Never try to tell everything you know. It may take too short a time. ~ Norman Ford

Day 39 was pretty damned good if I do say so my damned self. Gale-force winds made the hike out exciting but created Etch-a-Sketch conditions in the Lost Lake chutes. Really, really amazing skiing. Ben and I did a couple fairly quick laps then met up with Luke for another. Skied the circuit (Right, Left, Members) then I had to bolt to get some work done and keep the right side of my face from freezing again. The air temps weren't that low but the wind was howling. Bare faced Stu made for a bad combo and I got a little frost nip. No biggie.

Our first run was in Right which was super consolidated and filled with at least a foot of untracked blow-in. Overhead, blinding face shots all the way down to the Nose and Bowl which were also untouched. We then scampered back out to nail Left, which was even better. A little less consolidated (sluffy) but way deep and just a killer run. Members was also just killer skiing. A great day all around.

I came home to get some work done on proposals, some marketing stuff and whatnot. Sometimes I wish I was more irresponsible. Oh well. I have bunnies to feed. Speaking of bunnies, Rach brought Aaron home to be pals with Skipper and Nigel. He is a cutie. So is Rach.

I may have to go back out tomorrow for a short jaunt. Feels so good to get out in the wilderness.

~stubert.

Buttery...

Rinse, repeat. ~ Back of my shampoo bottle

Etch-a-Sketch day in the Lost Lake Chutes. Fresh turns in Right, then more fresh in Left. With the wind the way it was, I am sure that Right would have been fresh again by the time we got back around.

Good times with Pete and Caleb.

~stubert

I need a vacation from my vacation...

Ride in the boot. The boot's full. ~ Wacky drunken Aussies on Australia Day

So I have been remiss about updating the blog. My apologies. The last couple of weeks have been hectic, to say the least. So here is a quick update with more details to come:

Canada was a blast. The first several days were REALLY cold and the conditions on the east side of the pass were marginal, at best. We skied Lake Louise, Kicking Horse and did one fairly short Backcountry day just west of Lake Louise above Sherbrooke Lake. Then the good times commenced when we went up to Roger's Pass for a couple of days. The avy conditions were a bit sketchy but we did manage to find several safe spots with good turns. All in all, a great trip.

Seth Hughes was with us and got some really great shots. Check out his site and the galleries:

Lake Louise
Kicking Horse
Sherbrooke Lake
Roger's Pass

So I think I am up to day 33 now for the season. Not too shabby.

My guts are still giving me grief (psoas and/or lower abs) so I am off to see Dr. Dave and Shirley to see if we can make more progress. They are definitely a lot better than in October but have still not gotten to the point where they are completely comfy so I haven't been running at all. Need to get this sorted out then get back on the program if I am going to stick to my plans for this year.

And in case you wanted to see an ad that didn't pass the "ready for Prime Time" test during this year's Super Bowl, here you go.

Ok. More details to come.

~stubert.

Still life with Canada Crüe and thumb: Me, Luke, Pete, Seth, thumb

We need to form a full assault, it's Canada's fault! ~ The Residents of South Park

Tomorrow I head up to the Great White North for a fun-filled week of skiing and trying to avoid back bacon. Luke, Pete, Seth and I are staying in Canmore (outside of Calgary) and have plans to ski around the Banff area. We are hoping to get in some days at Lake Louise as well as Kicking Horse and other highlights of the Canadian Rockies. Should be pretty kickass.

I managed to get in a few more days this week but stayed away from running despite the unbearably warm temps. This week featured several 70° days in the Denver/Boulder area which is, frankly, stupid. It did snow today (finally) so that should help things a bit. I am not a big fan of this kind of crazy heat in January. I skied at Eldora on Saturday with the Canada Crüe and then at Eldora with Pete and Edy on Sunday. Both days I was virtually pain-free, which was a treat. My abs/psoas muscles were bugging me a bit again on Monday and I visited Dr. Dave on Tuesday to see if he could work some more magic but alas, it was not to be and I am once again feeling it. Oh well.

Wednesday, I headed up to Eldora to spin some Lost Lake laps with Larry. How alliterative. It was 40° at 7:45 when I got up there which didn't bode well for the snow conditions but the gut of Right Chute was actually quite tasty for not having had any fresh for a week. Larry and I did a couple laps then both headed back to the real world and work. It was great to get out and it really made me look forward to next week even more. Gotta love exploring.

So I hope to keep everyone posted during the trip and will let you know how things are going. Rach is currently baking a bunch of cookies for us to mack on and I am pretty much packed up and ready to go. Next stop, Pete's house in Boulder to pick him up at 5:00 then we get our flyin' on and will be in Canada by 11:00 or so.

Stay tuned...

~stubert.

I need some Vitamin I...

I don't like goats. You know, leever, keedneys... goats. ~ Someone with whom Rach went to school

Sorry to get all technical on you but my guts hurt. Still nursing this abdominal/psoas muscle deal and frankly, I am getting a bit sick of it. I guess I am going to need to get the extra large bottle of Ibuprofen and take Caleb's lead on whacking them down on a regular basis.

Went to Dr. Dave twice this week. I guess we are making progress on it but man.... He put the serious hurt on me yesterday trying to help relieve whatever is going on in there and today I am pretty sore. I see him again on Tuesday and will probably make an appointment with Mark for next week as well to see what can be done. It doesn't bother me too much while skiing (but definitely puts a damper on things) but is still really bugging me when I run. I did a treadmill workout on Thursday that went okay... not great but okay. Just over 3 miles at a steady, fairly slow pace. Baby steps, I guess. Those are a bit tough when one is used to taking big boy steps.

Rach is continuing her reign on awesomeness, in case you were wondering. I am turning into fat Stu with her cooking and my limited exercise. Must remember to not eat like I am training for a huge race when not actually training for a huge race.

We are getting the Banff Crüe together today for some turns at Eldora (day 25 for me this season). We leave in a week for the trip which should be killer. (The trip, not the leaving part.) Pete, Luke, Seth and I are headed up for a week. Staying in Canmore (thanks for the hook-up, Dad!) and will be skiing all around the Banff area. Seth is an amazing photographer so hopefully we'll get some good shots out of it. I recently got back on the Patagonia Pro program and am hoping that we can get something for them while up there which might open up some other opportunites. We'll see how it goes.

Still trying to figure out this season's event schedule. I am still targeting the Leadville Trail 100 for late August and a double crossing of the Grand Canyon in early May. I am debating between running more or less and think that Ben's recommendation about just having fun with it is pretty solid. I would like to do a 50K event in March and was thinking about doing the Collegiate Peaks Trail Run but it looks like it is in early May too, so I guess I'll try to find one in June or create my own adventure run for late June/early July. There is a cool loop around the Indian Peaks that Ben and Luke did once... perhaps that would be a good substitute. I also may try to get into the New York City Marathon in November.

Ok, I'm off to the Rock. Looks like it could be a warm on and so far, no wind.... which is nice.

~stubert.

Double deuce and another...

Aaagh! My groin!!! ~ George C. Scott (as impersonated by someone on the Simpsons)

Greetings blog readers.

Now that I have the formal bs out of the way, I would like to tell you about the last couple of days which notched 22 and 23 on the belt of the 08/09 season. Which reminds me... I need to purchase a belt notcher. And a belt, I suppose.

We got the serious posse together yesterday for Luke and Nichole's triumphant return to the Basin. They were greeted by pretty chilly temps and funky snow conditions. Luke still skis like a champ but for once, I was able to out-pace him. Only because he is not acclimated, really... but I'll take it however I can get it.

Pete, Edy and Caleb rounded out the crüe and we hooked up with Jodi for some nice, hard-charging laps off Pali. The Spine was flowing smoothly the first part of the day then got some nice blow-in later, which was pretty cool. The Rock Garden was skiing really well (as usual) and there were great turns to be found in the lower alleys. All around a great day.

I headed to the gym on the way home in a misguided attempt to get some miles under my belt. I lifted for a bit then did manage to run 1/16 of a mile. Not my best effort. My entire pelvic region is just completely messed up right now. Psoas muscles giving me a lot of trouble and now my groin muscles have decided to join the party. I suppose I should stop doing everything but it bugs me less skiing and I am feeling great otherwise so I'll probably be an idiot and keep hammering. Yeah. Not much has changed when it comes to self-abuse dipshittery in the casa del stubert.

I did swim for a bit, which actually seemed to loosen things up. Then my left foot cramped up. Which is not on my list of recommended things to have happen in the deep end. I do like my new goggles, however; and even suggested to Rach that I wear them full-time. She did not give the thumbs-up on that idea.

So today we headed up to Eldora which lived up to its name admirably. It is a little-known fact that Native Americans coined the word "eldora" to mean "cold as hell and windy as all get out". Most belive this was a reference to someone tribesman's bitchy and flatulant aunt but the origin is a bit foggy. Wait, what? It doesn't mean that? Well it should.

Caleb, Pete, Evelyn and I met early for a morning assault on the Rock and though it actually wasn't that cold, it was blowing like crazy which made it feel about minus eleventy million degrees. Yes, Centigrade... duh. Salto was skiing really well though so we braved the conditions until around noon. We hooked up with Morgan about 11 so got to spend some time skiing with her, which is always a treat. I also found a sweet nook at the top of Salto in which to hide from the blasting wind. I did my best Totoro impression but I don't think anyone got it but me. But as long as I am entertained, I'm happy.

I really, really need to get my office set up so maybe that will be today's afternoon project. If you think of anything else that I could use as a distraction, please let me know.

~stubert.

Where'd the last week go?

Caleb and me at the Basin.

Slipped my mind... ~ Dean

[Ed. ~ So I forgot to post this yesterday or whenever I actually managed to get it written. How much does that rule?]

Apparently, I have been busy as the last week has flown by. I know I have been working a ton and did manage to check out a movie (Milk) on Sunday after cleaning bunny cages at the House Rabbit Society with Rach in the morning. It was quite good. Go see it immediately. I haven't skied since last Friday though, which is a bit of a drag and today the wind is working overtime up here so I am not sure Eldora will even have the upper mountain open. Plus it will probably be scoured. I'll keep you posted on that though.

I did break out the trainers on Saturday and hit the dreadmill at the gym. Felt pretty awful after way too much time away from regular running. I did do 5 miles at a moderate (joggy) sort of pace of 9-10-minute miles. A far cry from my standard pacing. But that's okay. I probably shouldn't have taken so much time off but I was hoping some of the nagging injuries I have been experiencing would go away in the interim (they haven't). Still having problems with my psoas muscles and toes. But if these are my biggest problems in life then I have it pretty good, really.

I did get in day 20 up at A-Basin on the 2nd with Caleb. Pete and Edy came up for a few runs too. I was feeling pretty tired and beaten up at the start but got way better as the day went on and by the time we had to leave, I was skiing really pretty well. Dropping the cornice, then top rocks and even flowing a tricky little rock feature mid-way down the mountain. All in all, I am skiing pretty well.

So given today's conditions, I may hit the gym for my lunchtime adventure instead of braving the wind at the Rock. We'll see how things go.

~stubert.

The late teens...

Day 18 Crüe: Me, Caleb, Pete, B-Rad

There are no friends on a hardpacked, punchy, windy, boney, shaved-butt-bump day. ~ Collective effort

Actually, the above statement is false unless you are trying to figure out who the jackass was who recommended skiing on such crap conditions. That would be the not-friend. (For the record, I think that jackass was me.)

Caleb, Pete and I met up with Brad on the 31st for some year-end turns at Eldora. (Day 18 for me for the season.) The conditions were, to put it mildly, challenging: Hard-packed, rhythm-challenged, choppy bumps and wind combined for fun and/or games. Good times. Salto and Westridge were both open though we all agreed that this was a more bold move than usually witnessed at the Rock. We weren't really complaining, actually. So we spun laps until close to last chair then had a beer with Brad and Jess (thanks Brad!).

Caleb shows how it's done.

Pete, Caleb and I headed up to A-Basin early on New Year's day and were greeted by firm and buffed conditions. Apparently the wind did not take a break on the Basin in the last few days and the Spine was firm yet smooth. Pali Face and the Rock Garden were equally tasty once we all figured out how to deal with the snow conditions. Pete was skiing like a champ though he had to bail early to go meet Edy at the airport and Caleb, as usual, was solid. I skied on my new, graphics-free AK Maiden prototypes courtesy of Luke's garage (thanks, Luke's garage!) and good times were had by all. By the time we took off, the A-Frame was absolutely packed with semi-hung-over clientelle bitching about how cold it was (it wasn't) and all in all, it was a great 19th day. Oh, and on the way up, we only saw one hung over reveler puking on the side of I-70 and one woman who appeared to be nursing a very serious headache. So whoopee!

Pete is killing it on the slopes this year.

So if you are looking for a good way to end/start the year, I recommend getting your ski on.

~stubert.

Day 17...

Pete and Caleb styin' at the Basin.

When in doubt, straighten 'em out. ~ Scary Gary

Rocked the Basin today with Caleb and Pete. They only called in 1" but if that was an inch, I am like 17 feet tall. Lots of blow-in on the Spine, Pali Face and the Rock Garden. Really good times.

Pete tearing it up in the Rock Garden Chutes.

Caleb and I sussed out the rock drop at the top of the Spine and were able to make that go without too much effort, which was pretty cool. All three of us spun Pali laps all day and were rolling into the Bear Trap straight run at speed which was simply awesome. I even saw Pete straighten the planks a couple of times. Even the top of Bear Trap was skiing really well. (Which is a miracle, if you know the Basin at all.)

I bailed after 17 runs as my psoas muscles are still bugging me quite a lot and Pete joined me shortly thereafter. Caleb stayed out for the magic 20 (magic at least for him) and was pretty whooped afterwards. All in all, a great 17th day.

~stubert.

Mid-teens...

Witness my crazy pow face.

Said the F-word - seven pounds, four ounces - now he says the F-word at the dinner table. ~ Bob's mom

Days 15 and 16 on the slopes crashed through the door, scattered their crap all over the house and then plopped down on the couch with tons of attitude, raging hormones and eardrum shattering music. Or were spent with ample fresh pow turns and some challenging terrain at Crested Butte. Just thought I'd work that mid-teens analogy for a bit.

I drove over in a snowstorm on Wednesday to reports of a lot of fresh and more on the way at my "home" mountain. Traffic was light so I made good time getting over to Gunnison where I picked up my dad and we headed up the hill. Lots more snow greeted us upon arrival then we made a couple of runs then met my cousin, Jayne and her kids Tyler and Tanner for lunch.

Not a lot of new stuff was open so I decided to spend the remainder of the day with Dad and Tyler, spinning laps on Paradise. Fortunately, the snow was awesome and Horseshoe was open so I was able to make some more technical turns up there. I gave Tyler and Dad some pointers then we called it a day around 3:30 and headed to my Aunt and Uncle's for dinner. My other cousin, David, and his family were there as well as Jayne's husband, Gary. It was great to see everyone and hear stories of skiing in the late 50s from my Uncle Dale and Aunt Betty. Good times.

The next morning, Dad and I embarked on our traditional Xmas day ski around 8:30. We jetted back up to the Butte where it was absolutely puking snow. Even more terrain (Westwall) was open so I was fairly content to spin laps from the top of Paradise to Westwall to Horseshoe for most of the day. The conditions were awesome and it dumped all day. In the (roughly) 4 hours we were there it probably snowed 6 inches. Champagne pow. I needed to get home to my sweet Rach so we pulled the plug around 2 and headed back to Gunnison. I then drove back over to the Front Range on marginal roads but the traffic was fairly light so it only took about 4 hours. Not too bad.

Pete and Caleb invited me to go to A-Basin today but the thought of getting up early and driving I-70 again made me opt for sleeping in and maybe heading up to Eldora in the afternoon.

All in all a great few days. I was skiing well, the snow was awesome and I was on my favorite mountain so who's to complain? Not dis guy, that's for sure.

~stubert.

Day fourteen...

A bad day of fishing beats a good day of working. ~ Bumper Sticker (see above)

I must confess that I don't like it when I don't ski well. But you know, I am one lucky bastard to be fortunate enough to live in a place with awesome snow, good friends and killer terrain in which to play. So really, I should just shut the hell up about not feeling on my game today and feeling tired and a little beaten up. My only regret is making Caleb wait around for me while I made my way more slowly down A-Basin's awesome slopes.

What a great day to be out there. Great company, great conditions, awesome fun.

(I just wish I hadn't been skiing like such a spaz.)

~stubert.

Note: For the record, I do not necessarily agree with the bumper sticker displayed above. But I do understand the sentiment.

Lucky thirteen...

Dylan being an under-the-covers kitty.

Thirteen is an unlucky number. If thirteen is unlucky, then so should the letter "B" be. 'Cause "B" looks like a scrunched together "13". Hello, what is your name? Bob. Get the hell away. ~ Mitch Hedberg (link)

Day thirteen on the slopes today at Eldora with Caleb and Pete. Blue skies and actually not-too-frigid temps greeted us with very little wind. So we bombed down to Corona lift to get our non-stoppers on.

Brian Glades opened up after a few cycles down Corona (which featured "variable" snow conditions, to say the least). The far left side of Corona was actually decent but Brian Glades was actually pretty soft with some fresh turns to be had. It got skied out fairly quickly so we went back over to Corona for some more high-speed laps.

No photos from me as I forgot my camera and the lag on the iPhone is so extreme, it makes shooting any action other than straight-on virtually impossible. Pete and Caleb got some shots so hopefully they will share.

Friday, our big, old kitty, Dylan, died (no, that isn't some morbid shot... he actually liked sleeping like that). He was 17 and a half years old and was the purriest fella you would ever like to meet for all of it. He was adopted as a kitten from the Humane Society as a pet for our other cat at the time, Oliver. After a day or so of establishing that Oliver was going to be top-cat, they got along splendidly. Lately, Dylan had become the favorite pillow of Molly, who spent countless hours a day lounging on Dylan to soak up his over-abundant warmth. He didn't seem to mind. He will be missed by all.

On that light note, I am now getting some work done now then I'll be in Boulder all day tomorrow (probably) for car repair and hopefully a couple of meetings. Tentatively planning to go to Vail again on Tuesday then to Gunnison on Wednesday for at least one day at the Butte then back home on Thursday or Friday. Whew.

Get your shortest day of the year on (or longest, for all you south of the equator-types) and if you have a chance to see Thaïs in the theater (re-broadcast from The Met), I highly recommend it. Rach and I got to see the live broadcast yesterday and it was excellent.

~stubert.