A day in the life

The minutia encompassing a snow day goes unnoticed in all but a few accounts.  Things unworthy of mention get 86'd to the cutting room floor found deep within our long-term memory.  Yet when the enterprise as a whole is considered, the details that we choose not to recount form the majority of the trip.  Somehow, we choose to only remember the ski shot that left smiles on our faces....a shot that lasted for mere minutes compared to the 4 hour approach.  Granted, those falling turns on a steep powdery slope make us return again and feed our REM-cycles with dream material; it's the details that get us there and back that matter the most.

Time spent packing and repacking gear is well spent....knowing where to find it in your pack efficiently without creating your very own yard-sale on a snowy pitch.....priceless time utilized as part of the plan.

The anticipation of breakfast being cooked by friends.............

............the smell of slab ham on the cast iron..............

..............the greasy sheen on the beans in the grinder.....all common before a tour.

The passing of shadows on snow..........

..........the striations of sastrugi in my path are all visions I see on the way to protected pitches of powder.

The science of snow stability and examination.........

............the testing and exchange of thoughts, all a part of the day.

The relief of feet freed from bondage and the gasps of all who see them....just a day in the life of a powder whore.

Faces of South Mountain

It was just another Weekly Tech ride on National Trail out at SoMo with friends. With new camera in hand and a good 8 days off the bike, I was looking to just ride along and view the action through the new glass. What I found was mixed light filtered through winter smog, warm glow on  rocks, and lots of emotion.

With an impending interview, the beard is disappearing.  I'm serving up Pork Chops for one week only; Monday will see me sporting the Telly Savalas along with a suit....hope I get the job....that was a good beard to keep me warm on snowy days.

Musing on the Bermuda Triangle, body and bike were thrown upon the vortex; emotion and physiological response the sole survivors:

Anticipation.................

Trepidation..........................

Concentration...........................

Relief....for saving the boys on a high center scenario

Inhalation............................

Exhalation..............................

O-Face.............................

Single-Speed Determination...........................

Psych-Up...............................

Extension...............................

Stall............................

Standover-Save.............................

D'Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moving on into the long shadows of afternoon, we escaped the Bermuda Triangle and climbed into more feelings:

Pinching.......................................

Laughing..................................

Cranking.....................................

Stopping to view the valley below, I caught a better glimpse of a smog free window to the east on this warm winter afternoon......

Taxiing.................................

Rolling.................................

Launching....................................

Landing................................

Moving on to the Waterfall, alternate lines were studied by all, and attempted by one.......

......while others set up for the shot of flow.......

Studying

Examining

The Sequence from Start to Finish:

Heading back down into the glow of sun; the valley below along with boulders and saguaro took on a warm glow, warming our backs as we flowed through emotions just experienced.

New Years Day Freakshow Ride

With my recent transportation situation being constrained, I'm riding more than skiing these days.  Still, my activities from the past week read like a best hit list:  Powder with friends in Wolf Creek, Pass Mountain with friends (where I got the tail end of the slickrock for the first time.....W00t!), and followed by a ride with friends at SoMo on National.  Only, this was an eccentric ride:  The NEW YEARS DAY FREAKSHOW RIDE, or NYDFR for short.

Photo by Amy Garza (L-R: Angus Young, Chino Bandido, Crockett, DurtGurl, Becks, Dan'l Boone, Ricola Sam) 

Chongo came up with the idea after a bit of drunken pontificating on my part regarding townies on Natty...only Chongo actually made this idea feasible and work, c'est la vie!  I have to say, when I woke on the 1st, I really was not feeling it as I had no idea what I was going to wear.  I walked into my closet in a futile stab at confirming my lameness, when a raccoon skin hat and overalls stared right back at me.  In 5 minutes, I was out the door....and only responding to the name, Dan'l Boone.

Photo by DurtGurl

My camera is broke, still, so you'll have to enjoy some fine video filming and editing by U2Metoo:

Winter Haiku 2010

Like fallen pinecones

Dreams lay buried under snow

Hopefull new season 

Hell

On a regularly scheduled break from thoughtful, artistic pursuits...I bring you a gripe about your eternal salvation.....Hell.  I've always considered the images of those wonderfully crafted advertisements by Park City Ski Co to be the very image of hell.  They're marketed to folks in Dallas, Oklahoma City, Little Rock and....what the hell....anything east of the front range.  It looks inviting, much like liquid cheese does on a ballpark dog....but we all know different....it's hell.

This image has been stuck in my mind since my late teens.....an existence that gives you a tease of excitement, then leaves you with an eternity spent on a plateau, seperated from the rest of existence and experience.  Forced to have the path in front of you smoothed to perfection, you might as well be in a dental office, Novocaine'd up, listening to KennyG while having a tooth drilled....firmly aware that it hurts...but you're comfortably detached....for the moment.  Well......I just saw something that promoted this place from hell to the river Styx.....I give you, my new hell.....Ski Dubai:

The pathetic thought I first had was, "my God man....can't they at least afford a high speed quad to eternal damnation?"!  Ladies and Gentlemen....I implore you....get out and vote with your soul.  Seek the spaces beyond, where you dare not go.  Feel a little afraid, be a little dangerous....and keep pushing for your dreams.  Just don't move to Dubai.....or D.C.............