20 posts tagged “skiing”
I'm finally cleaning out my photos & videos (my freaking hard drive is full), moving stuff to a backup drive, deleting crappy stuff, etc. I can't believe I never posted this stuff- especially the one of Dom wiping out!
Breck with some homeys
Fantastic weekend in Tahoe, celebrating Joy's birthday & getting in some turns in the Sierra. I plan on writing a lengthier post about the trip, but, for now, here's a video of me going head-over-heels (shouldn't it be heels-over-head?) in a few feet of powder, at Squaw Valley. It's the most violent spill I've ever had on skis- I did at least 3 somersaults, and my skis never came off! (Probably a good thing, since I likely would have lost them.) My goggles and hat even came off, but I did find them, buried beneath 2 1/2 feet of snow. Perhaps my favorite part of this video is the sound- I give a little "whooaap" right when my tips catch, and then a pained groan after I finally stop rolling, followed by Matt laughing. He did ask if I was ok, after he stopped filming. After this video is a clip of Matt, showing how it's supposed to be done.
Jen's first backcountry ski experience
Jen dropped Zulu off at the vet this morning (poor kitty had to have 6 teeth pulled), then I took advantage of the day off and recent snow, and headed up to Keystone. Everything was going pretty smoothly, then, before the Winter Park exit, a sign says "Tunnel: 1 Hour." This makes no sense, since it should be 30 minutes. Then, suddenly, it's stop and go. At this exact moment, I realize that I've left my wallet at home, and I've only got a 1/4 tank of gas! So, I figure I have to turn around and go home. After exiting, I remember my stash of dollar coins for parking. But, I'm heading the wrong way on a frontage road, and, for some reason, I'm not smart enough to realize I can just turn around, and get back on the interstate where I exited. So I backtracked a few miles, but decided to push on through. I already had one day this year when I drove up and didn't ski, so I wanted to make sure I at least got a few turns in.
It was a wise choice. Though it took me nearly 2 1/2 hours to get to Keystone (usually 1:15-1:30), it was a beautiful, sunny day, there weren't many people on the slopes, and I found plenty of powder stashes in the trees:
- Wilco - "I'm Always In Love" (Summerteeth)
- The Who - "A Quick One, While He's Away" (Live at Leeds)
- Ween - "Tender Situation" (Pure Guava)
- Ol' Yeller - "The Peaceful One" (Penance)
- Generation X - "Your Generation" (No Thanks! The 70s Punk Rebellion)
- Bob Marley - "Kaya" (Reggae Fever Vol 2)
- The Hold Steady - "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" (Separation Sunday)
- Mason Jennings - "Century Spring" (Century Spring)
- Weezer - "The Damage In Your Heart" (Make Believe)
- Bob Dylan - "Like A Rolling Stone" (The Bootleg Series Vol 2)
- The Beatles - "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" (Abbey Road)
- Los Lobos - "Dream In Blue" (Kiko)
- Neil Young - "Damage And The Needle Done" (Harvest)
- The Avett Brothers - "Gift For Melody Anne" (Mignonette)
- De La Soul - "Plug Tunin" (3 Feet High And Rising)
- The Jayhawks - "Stick In The Mud" (Rainy Day Music)
- New Pornographers - "My Rights Versus Yours" (Challengers)
- Reverend Horton Heat - "Rockin' Dog" (Liquor In The Front)
- Golden Smog - "Hurricane" (Another Fine Day)
- Grateful Dead - "Cumberland Blues" (Dick's Picks Vol 16)
- Phish - "Thunderhead" (Round Room)
- Rolling Stones - "Back Street Girl" (Flowers)
- Bob Dylan - "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum" (Love & Theft)
- Bob Dylan - "She Belongs To Me" (Bringing It All Back Home)
- Metallica - "For Whom The Bell Tolls" (Ride The Lighning)
- Beastie Boys - "Putting Shame In Your Game" (Hello Nasty)
From the Summit Daily:
Jones found himself being carried by a rare in-bounds avalanche on Vail Mountain. The avalanche was 100 to 150 feet wide and about 600 feet long. It was 3 feet deep, sliding to the ground.
Yep- resort skiing in Blue Sky Basin. Dude's lucky he didn't do a faceplant into a rock or tree- the steeps off that cornice have lots of hazards:
That's Michelle in the soft stuff. About 15 seconds after I took this picture, I did a faceplant in deep snow, and it took me almost 10 minutes to find one of my skis. Two nice guys came by and helped me look, though.
Check out Jen's new look on the slopes!
Today was supposed to be my opportunity to get my first turns of the season in at Arapahoe Basin, but i left my pass in Denver! I think they can look me up and print me a day pass, but by the time I got here, and finished searching through my car for my pass, it would have only given me 40 minutes on the hill. So, instead, I'm having a beer in the sun, listening to classic Dead (they've got the Grateful Dead channel on satellite radio playing), and utilizing their free WiFi. Things could be worse!
After a great long weekend back in Minneapolis attending the Public Libraries Association conference, and spending time with family & friends (more about that later), I returned to Denver Sunday night. When I found out it had been snowing like crazy in the mountains (16 inches overnight at Beaver Creek!), I knew I had to make it up there Monday morning. I was short on sleep, and had to get back to the airport by 5 PM to pick Jen up, so I decided to hit my favorite little ski area, Arapahoe Basin. It's the quickest to drive to, and get on/off the mountain.
Weather was fine most of the way up, until Loveland Pass. There were moments where blowing snow caused a complete whiteout, which is a bit freaky when you've got a sheer drop to one side, with no guard rail. Then, I hit a patch of ice, and actually slid into/bounced off the snowbank on the inside of the road. Good thing I wasn't sliding the other way! Needless to say, I didn't go over Loveland Pass on the way home- I spent the extra 15 minutes going through the Eisenhower Tunnel.
Cesar Chavez Day is only a City of Denver Holiday, so there was no one on the mountain, and plenty of fresh snow. The only downside was that it was windy as hell, and snowing very hard. I literally couldn't see a foot in front of me at times. The nice thing about fresh powder, though- it doesn't hurt to fall (which I did about 10 times). Pretty interesting that the harshest winter conditions I've skied in this year happened on March 31! Good thing I didn't show up expecting to ski in shorts...if I haven't mentioned it before, I am so freaking addicted to powder now! There's a place in Montezuma Bowl where I take the skis off, and hike up about 50 feet, just to get a couple extra turns in. I will definitely be doing a backcountry trip with Matty this summer, and hopefully hitting RMNP a few times next season.
Yesterday was my 18th time out this season, which is definitely a personal best- I'll undoubtedly make it up 20 times, which was my goal. Makes that $400 season pass not such a bad deal!
