several crazy weeks

I haven't posted anything on here in a month... Since the previous post / rant I have moved into my first condo... and am therefore a new home owner. I'll keep the long story short and just say that I didn't close on the day that I wanted to, but still was able to move in and wound up finding a new lender to close with 3 days later. All is coming together well at the new place... even Tacoma has adjusted and enjoys the new terrain to explore. Friday I had my housewarming party, and hope it will be the first of many. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We kept it small enough to be cozy, but maybe next time I'll crank it up a notch and test the capacity of the place.

Aside from the move, I also am newly AIARE Level 1 certified. I took the class up Boulder Canyon at Eldora Ski Resort.


I learned a lot, and we had decent snow for digging and skiing despite the incredibly dry winter in the Front Range.

The class was 2 nights of lecture followed by 2 days in the field. Our first day in the field was primarily spent on beacon practice, and timing teams digging up dummy avalanche victims. It was pretty tough, and made me think twice about the severity of being stuck in a slide. I really hope I never have to dig a buddy up, knowing they'll be purple if I find them at all. The second field day we dug a snow pit and did more layer analysis. The snow science was really interesting to me, and I think I'll wind up getting my level 2 next year. The payoff at the end of the second day was the backcountry skiing. Since conditions were not very favorable, we weren't able to ski anything very steep, but I got my first out of bounds turns in nonetheless, and enjoyed it. I have to say, though, 2 days on alpine trekkers have reinforced the need to either switch to tele skiing or get an AT setup before I start seriously considering big tours. This, plus my signing up for some rock climbing and snow climbing classes definitely are a step towards checking off more of my 2009 goals, mentioned in a January post.

Snow is in the forecast for the mountains, but it's been 70+ degrees in Boulder for a while, so it's doubtful much will stick in town even if snow falls. With the nice weather, last week I took my first hike up to Mt. Sanitas right outside of Boulder. It's about 3 miles round trip, and the views are well worth the work to get to the top. You can see quite a ways to both east and west, with great views of the Indian Peaks to the west. There seemed to be decent bouldering along the ridge, so I'll definitely be doing some climbing up there this summer. It's tough to talk about summer already, but it seems inevitable. I'm disappointed in this ski season, but imagine few future seasons will compare to my first real one last year. I hope to get some more days in this year, and the storm coming in this week should help, but only time will tell... fingers crossed!

on listening and interference

Recently I feel like there has been a lot of interference in my life, preventing me from clearly hearing. Some of it is necessary, and some not. I'm within days of closing on my first home (condo) purchase, so phone calls and emails with financial lenders, HOA managers, my Realtor, etc are inevitable, as are trips to buy boxes and packing tape, reserving a moving truck, replacing my renters insurance with homeowners insurance, etc. Other distractions, mainly regarding my as of yet unfulfilled search for my future wife, seem extremely unnecessary and are clouding my decision making, head, and frankly irritating me to no end.* It has started to affect my sleep (I am NOT a morning person, but haven't slept all the way til my alarm sounds for quite some time), and more importantly, my prayer life. I'm currently reading a book now called Practical Prayer, which has reiterated to me the importance of simply listening in silence during prayer. This has honestly been difficult... to listen to God, if that makes sense. I don't mean actually waiting to hear a voice, but hopefully you understand that. I suppose this happens to all Christians from time to time, but recently more than ever I feel like I have been unable to interpret God's intentions, pleadings, and guidance in my life.

This morning the noise was tangible, with a ringing in my ears that would not subside. In an attempt to rid myself of this weight, I headed up to Sugarloaf Mountain, a familiar face with a vantage point that could just about cure disease. I drove up in silence, parked the Jeep, and headed up the trail to a clearing where several of the Indian Peaks (Sugarloaf is the bald hill under #22 in this picture) and Longs Peak - all of which are within Boulder County - were in plain sight. There were a few folks at the trailhead, but after a few minutes they headed off in another direction, and I was left alone. Every now and then a plane would fly overhead and make a bit of distant noise, but for the most part it was silent except for birds or the wind through the pines. After a while the ringing in my ears faded, and I felt like I could accurately hear again. I sat in silence for quite some time. I prayed. I took in the scenery. I simply listened. I became acutely aware of the smell of the pine and dirt around me, and the cloudless sky. I memorized the panorama to the west. I don't know how long this went on for, but after a while the time didn't matter. If I had to guess I'd say I sat in the same spot for at least 45 minutes. It might not sounds like it, but that's a lot of silence. And it was terrific. After the sun moved behind a tree and I got cold I decided to head to Nederland for some hot chai. When I stood up, I felt almost as refreshed as Peter Gibbons after hypnosis. I drove to Nederland in silence again (no radio stations come in up there anyways) and drove home a different way, down Boulder Canyon... in silence. [I know I've written this before, but I am continually made aware of how special Boulder - and all of Boulder County - is. Unless I move out of the Front Range, I have no desire to leave this county. It's amazing the bounty that can be found right out my front door.]

On my way home I stopped at Home Depot for a wardrobe box. Immediately upon walking through the front door I was acutely aware that I was being bombarded with noise once again. It made me think about whether everyone else could hear it or if they had actually let themselves become accustomed to it. The apathy displayed by voluntary subjection to such poison was horrifying. My point is this; when looking around, just people watching even for a minute, it seems so many lives are full of frivolity and superfluity. Noise. Interference. It boggles the mind to think of what we could collectively accomplish if we didn't waste time worrying about these things. I suppose what is frivolous to one may be imperative to another, but still, I think we could largely agree on a vast majority of what goes on in this world and devote time to more important matters. Who among us, after all, can add another hour to our lives by worrying? I can dream, I guess.

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*[This alone could be the subject of an entire post on this blog. It's like I have a sign on my forehead that says, "help me find a wife" or something. I honestly never knew I even had a suggestion box for this topic, but the damn thing is now completely full and then some, so I'd like the incoming flow to stop. I honestly don't remember the last complete day where a family member, friend, or co-worker has NOT made a comment or suggestion about how I should go about finding a girlfriend / that I really should get myself one. I never knew my non-existant love life was so interesting. While I appreciate the encouragement and intent, enough is enough. I'm trying to be a good sport about this, but soon I'm going to have to put a different sign on my forehead... something like, "I apologize for what you're reading, but if what you're about to say has anything to do with the opposite sex then I'm going to drive one or both of us off the nearest cliff." So for those of you who are making these suggestions or puzzled over my current situation, and you're actually reading this, here you go...

I don't care that I'm single enough to let it occupy all my spare time, energy, and brain cells. It does weigh heavily on my mind, but apparently not to the extent that it does on yours. (Neil Young: "...doesn't mean that much to me, to mean that much to you...") Believe me, most days I would gladly cut my salary in half in exchange for somebody to share it with, but I have confidence that this whole situation will work itself out soon enough. Until then, I'm being patient. At the risk of sounding egomaniacal, I haven't yet found somebody that knocks me off my proverbial feet. (I'm not talking about just physical appearance here.) Once I do, rest assured that I'll give her the moon and stars and expect her to do the same for me, but until then, please be patient. That's probably about all I should say on this subject. Thanks for the sentiment, but I would recommend devoting fewer synapses to this endeavor. You'll only end up with ringing ears. If you can't infer that from my facial expression when you talk to me about this stuff, perhaps you need to spend some time up on Sugarloaf and get the interference out.]

good day at A-Basin

Yesterday I ventured out for a solo day at A-Basin. It was the first time I've driven up on a Sunday instead of a Saturday... traffic was completely different, among other things. But the more exciting topic was the skiing, so let's get to that. First off, as a precursor, I hadn't been out in about 3 weeks, so I wasn't sure how well I would ski. There also hadn't been any new snow for at least a week, so I wasn't sure how good the snow would be. It was a crap shoot, and the gamble paid off.

That was my first day on the Pallavinci lift area of A-Basin, and I highly recommend it, especially when Zuma is closed. I did laps on Pali Face and surprised myself at how well I skied. That's not the steepest line I've ever skied, but definitely very fun and worth checking out if you haven't before. I was able to sustain chaining turns for as long as I cared to rather than until I started to get out of control, and my mogul lines improved too. It was as if the lightbulb finally went on this season! Those nagging thoughts in the back of my mind about digressing this season were sent packing for some other year, and I was thrilled at the day.

Sunday also gave me the chance to try out my brand spanking new Light Smoke Flash jacket from Patagonia (50% off!) to see if it was warm enough and wind-resistant enough to stand up to truly crappy weather days on the slopes. That puppy passed with flying (...red, actually) colors! It was so windy (50mph gusts) that the Montezuma side was closed most of the day. At the top of the resort wind was bombarding everyone with up-to-penny-diameter ice crystals which stung any unprotected skin. When Zuma did open, I ventured over once and immediately headed back to Pali Face where the snow was much better. It simply wasn't worth waiting behind a ridge like a penguin until the wind stopped so you could slide down a sheet of ice. Along with being a good day to put my new jacket to the test, it was a real lesson in wind deposition; new snow coverage was replinished throughout the day. At one point in particular I had to stop for at least 2 minutes due to whiteout conditions, and when I pulled my hands from my face (being pelted by the newly deposited fluff...) a brand new powder/corn surface was laid out for me to enjoy.

Now that we're approaching mid-February, I'm anticipating some good spring storms to come through and provide some good powder days for me to close out the season with. Time will tell. I'm looking forward to my free day at Monarch in April courtesy my Gems card. To be perfectly honest, I haven't explored all that much new ground this year, and have to admit I haven't found anything that matches the sustained steep lines of Loveland's ridge or Winter Park's Vasquez Ridge... the potential is there but the snow hasn't been. Next year I might just get some Loveland 4-packs and the Intrawest pass again... we'll see. But not so fast, there is plenty of days left in this season, so I'll keep you posted with whatever new territory I discover.

bouldering outside in January

Even though I've lived in Boulder almost 2 years, I'm still having a hard time understanding how winter works here. Although I had hoped to be skiing this morning, I ended up in town watching Coal Miner's Daughter* while waiting for my new dining table/chairs to be delivered. (This plays into accomplishing "goodbye to hand-me-down furniture" as mentioned in a previous post about goals for the year.) As luck would have it, it was 70 degrees here! With the table assembled and in place by noon, so I had a nice little Saturday freed up. I took the liberty of working on another of my 2009 goals and headed up to Flagstaff for some outdoor bouldering. By the time I got up there, the afternoon clouds had rolled in, so it was a bit chilly, but the climbing was still enjoyable. I headed up towards the Upper Great Ridge, near the First Overhang Ridge, where I spent an afternoon in November. There was still snow on the ground, but the rock felt good in the cold. I walked right up and onsighted Southwest Layback (V1... my first) on King Conquer boulder (#11 in this photo). After messing around a bit more, I walked downhill to the Upper Y wall. I onsighted Y-Right (V0, #14 in this photo). At the very top of Y-Right, I started to get a bit of fear because a guy working on the Y Traverse below me fell, cutting his hand and elbow, causing the ol' blood to get a-flowin'. His friend's scream scared the crap out of me, and from there on I couldn't shake the fear, so I decided to call it a day quickly... maybe the setting sun and wind also played into this. Either way, it was a reminder that climbing outside is not like climbing inside in the least. (The flakes at the top of Y-Right are a little thin, so the stories about flakes breaking off by the folks below me didn't help my cause...) I'm still very much a beginner when it comes to bouldering outside, so we'll see how my improvement goes this year. On a positive note, at least I've already logged a day and we're nowhere near spring!

*I hadn't seen that movie in a long time. Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones do a wonderful job in it. I haven't lived in Kentucky for about 13 years, but you couldn't mistake the scenery for anywhere else... seealso Elizabethtown. Loretta Lynn's story, in my opinion, is one of the more interesting threads of the Americana web.

Beaver Creek joins list of resorts skied

On Saturday I skied Beaver Creek with coworker Tim and ex-coworker Ryan. The weather was absolutely perfect and the snow wasn't too far off. It hadn't snowed in over a week, so it was a bit crusty, but nothing like the icy conditions I had at A-Basin New Year's Day. We discovered a lot of new terrain and got really tired in the process. Since Beaver Creek is the furthest resort from home that I have on my season pass, I got up extra early and was pretty tired to begin with. I think it showed... I was fairly disappointed in my skiing, but still had fun anyways. In my opinion, the views from the top of Beaver Creek's lifts are almost unbeatable. As I've said before, I love the Gore Range, which is visible from almost the entire resort, and you can also catch glimpses of Mt. Of the Holy Cross in some areas.

We spent most of our time around the Larkspur Bowl but also checked out the Rose Bowl area and the Grouse Mountain glades. The highlight for me was the Grouse Mountain glades, even though I didn't ski that area well, it will be my first stop when I make it back to Beaver Creek. While we were in there we saw an elk jaw hanging from a tree. It seemed fairly fresh and had either been put in the tree by a bird or mountain lion.

Beaver Creek reminded me a lot of Steamboat in that there is no terrain above treeline and there are lots of aspens compared to most resorts in Colorado. The mountain is also structured similarly in that you can ski down to Beaver Creek Village from almost any lift regardless of how far back you are. The runs are fairly long and steep, which is also a similarity. It seemed like some of the bump runs went on forever, which would be a dream come true in good snow if my legs would just cooperate... Speaking of, I'm starting to get nervous that I've plateaued a bit, so perhaps I need a refresher lesson. I know I haven't really been pushing myself this season. I think it's time to spend less time on the groomers and get re-acquainted with steeper and bumpier terrain... unfortunately, the snowboarders that I ski with will not share this opinion. Ahh well. I need to improve my confidence too; it's still fairly flaky. I fell once in Thresher Glade and was sub-par from there out.

This was my 5th day on skis this year and 20th total in Colorado including last year. Here's hoping I have at least 5 or 10 more this season... It feels like ski season is finally in full swing, so hopefully February and March will bring big storms and powder days, where I can prep my self for a spring backcountry day or two.