yeah... what stu said

stu always says it a little better. so check out his pics and video here.

just a fantastic day. lots of fluffy love. great weather. a whole mountain of people having a good time. i skied until i was spent, but had the best stoned feeling when i was done. guess that was the rocky mountain high that they talk about.



day 15

big boy time

so caleb finally found his big boy pants and got himself a basin season pass. for some reason he has apparently decided to put skate skiing on the back burner, at least for the moment, and is putting some serious time in doing the fun kind of skiing.

had another great day at the basin. not a ton of new snow but nice packed powder. as with luke and stu, i couldn't keep up on every run so to give me a break we had to do some twofers where caleb would do two laps in the time that i did one. this would allow me to rest a little and concentrate on the things that need work rather then just skiing to keep up.

day 14

happy december 25

as i had already gotten together with the family in florida, and edy was at home in mexico, and ski pals were all with their families, i headed out for a solo run at the basin as a little present to myself. pali was turning for the first time this season and it was great to be back on that side of the mountain. it is just amazing how much good skiing there is off of that one lift.


day 13

real snow

glades

got out with stu and caleb today. it was cold in the parking lot (teens) but the right gear definitely made all the difference. i felt like i got some brief intervals of decent skiing in. bryan glades was open and we got to ski some actual snow. i feel that some of the things that i am working on (uphill hand and foot, hip rotation) are really starting to pay off. i am feeling much wigglier in the trees when things get a little tight. we were hitting the trees and then poped out on to a nice apron of manmade at the bottom of corona, that most people seemed to be ignoring, that was very smoove and fun to carve on. did my best to keep up with caleb and stu but as the day wore on i was just making them wait too long. coupla fools are fit and fast. i also got a couple kickers that didn’t feel entirely akward on. not sure what the key was there but i liked how it felt... looking forward to more of that.

and happy solstice to those of you who like that kinda stuff.

day 12

“you make it look easy”

self-portrait as a prune face

headed out solo today since i just didn’t feel like facing the foolishness that had dominated the work week. just too frustrating to watch another day of it.

nice warmish day before the cold was supposed to come in. carona (first black run of the season) was open and just did laps there. nice on the left most of the day as the wind was blowing from that direction. spent time really working on my recent pointers and i think that it is really paying off. feel like i have dropped some bad habits right at the beginning of the season which is very cool. my confidence so far is high. some dude skied up to me while i was setting up my tunes and told me i made it look easy. turns out he has only been doing tele for a week... but it still made me feel good. it is definitely feeling easier these days anyway. did a couple of pitches with the dude (in an attempt to put a little back into the system) and afterwards said a small thanks for not still being in that stage when every single part of making a turn is a struggle.

edy is off to mexico for a few days tomorrow to get her coco loco mojo going for more skiing in the new year


day 11

80 degrees of separation

when we got on the plane in orlando on monday night, after a fantastic weekend in hogtown, the temperature was 75 degrees. when we got off the plane at DIA the temp was -7.

some more pics and info are pending for this post... but for the moment i'll just post this one photo.

playin hard at the pound

double digits

high speed day

another day up at the rock as the weather has been warm and no new snow has fallen. we got there early and were some of the first in the chairs. there was no wind and it was about 35 degrees. everything was groomed and we nuked a few laps on the fresh corduroy. wide open, very, very fast and very fun. caleb got me working on really pushing my uphill hand down the mountain, engaging the uphill foot more and getting my hips rotated into a better position. when i can remember to do it... it feels really good. caleb also gave edy some good tips, took some video, and reviewed the video on the chair back up... and it paid off. she definitely was getting her body in a more dynamic position (though here is seems to just be pointing it.) unfortunately this is going to be the last day for two weeks as we are heading to florida to see amanda, todd and... BOOGIE!

day 10

busy day

caleb chillin, more bars

headed up to the rock early with caleb and edy. stu was out for the weekend as he was running a marathon in vegas... crazy bastard that he is. all i know at the moment is that he ran a highly impressive 3:24 but i am sure details will be posted here. there was a little more terrain open at eldo and the indian peaks chair turning. a lot less windy than the past few times up fo sho and nice blue skies by the time the crowds hit and it was time for us to skedaddle. the nice thing about getting up there early is you get a few runs all to yourself and get all the room you want to play with. headed back to town to watch the gators kick some alabama ass and head to the national championship, went to a nice dinner in denver and got back to boulder to catch a little sleep before sunday's planned ski. a good day 9.

get yer swerve on

day 8 with caleb and stu.

must have been snowing since yesterday cause there was quite a bit of new snow and twice as much terrain open as there was yesterday... i.e., they opened a second run. just kept coming down too while we were up there. my legs were tired and just had a hard time gettin it together. especially the run on the moguly side. but that is fine it is early season and i just need to work my legs and make 'em strong. caleb and stu are keeping me honest and not letting the bad habits creep in.

me following stu following caleb

classic rock

went up to eldo today for the first time this season and it was everything that you would want it to be: variable snow and cold and windy as hell. it was about 25 degrees and the wind was blowing steadily at about the same number and gusting higher. somehow i managed to forget to my goggles but luckily stubert lent me a pair (not pictured above) and made the day doable. was a real pleasure to get a day in with mr. m. and am looking forward to many more with him this season.

just being thankful

headed up to the basin with stu as i was wanted to do a few things that i am thankful for in my life today. a little colder than we have had so far this season and it is starting to feel like winter is actually getting here. stu got a little video of me that i was not too pleased with but i guess that it is good to get on the bad habits before they get too uh... habitual. worked on a couple of problems and did a nonstop from the top. i apologize for more pics of us sitting on lifts and will try to get a few skiing shots once things get worth taking pictures of... but you must admit that were are pretty easy on the eyes.

early season everywhere

this guy is serious about getting some freshies. ma and pa be damned... he is gonna go get some. even if has go all the way down to the basement and dig out all his gear on his own. may wanna track his exploits this season here.

got out for more of the same myself this a.m. same run but still fun. looking like we may have something to be thankful for thursday a.m.... guess we will just have to wait and see.

that would be day 5 and off to a pretty good start for the year... IMO.

sea of tranquility

moon's surface as seen from the lenawee chair

no new snow as the weather has been mild. that means that the die-hards are out doing that same 'ol run again and again. on the other hand, mild weather is nice and comfortable and the lack of snow has kept the number of people down. was a busy week so it was nice to get outside some. day 4

nuthin special

another early season, early morning run at the basin. gotta get up and out before the crowds arrive which today was at about 10 am. just one long groomer from top to bottom. nuthin special... but still a totally fun day 3.

those involved



its is 8:30 a.m. "and the sun has charred
the other end of the world and come back to us" (soul coughing)

new stuff

got a chance to try out edy's new skis and boots. went well till the crowds got there. until the snow comes, the days are gonna have to be early and short. still better than not skiing.

don't think this needs any comments

i don't feel tardy

skipped the first half of the work day and made a few turns with a slightly sinister looking stubert. obviously not great skiing but it was still skiing. even just the ritual of packing the ski bag made me happy. nice to put an official end to that "other" season too.