2010-2011 ski season in full swing

I started this ski season off slowly, with only 3 days in December; day 1 on tele's at Winter Park, day 2 at Copper on my alpines for a great powder day that completely worked my legs (my first in my new alpine boots.. more on that later), and day 3 back at Winter Park splitting equal time on alpine and tele.

I started on tele because early season snow conditions didn't provide any reason to go on my alpines, but primarily I didn't want to ski another day in my old alpine boots. I still have them, but I made the decision to fork over the cash and move on to try to progress my alpine skiing this season in stiffer boots that actually fit me. I had read and been told that boots are the most important piece of ski gear to get right, and I now have first hand experience with that as well. All last season I was constantly adjusting my boots... tightening to try and stiffen them up to react, and then un-tightening because of lack of blood flow to my feet... and it was horrible. Simply put, my first pair of ski boots didn't fit me well and were too soft for what I was asking of them. My latest pair of boots (so far) could not be further from that situation. They're extremely stiff and responsive, and require almost no adjustment during an entire day on the slopes. Having boots that actually drive my skis is obviously critical, but I don't think I realized what a difference it would make. It has unquestionably improved my skiing. I now, for really the first time, understand how to drive my skis - steering with flexed ankles and knees instead of torso or quad muscles. And it is really wonderful. I feel like I've ranted about that long enough, but honestly, I feel like this year is way ahead of last year already by making a simple equipment change which I probably should have made early last season.

Despite having 3 nice days, I really didn't feel like I was off to a good start, and something was missing. Welcome January. January has been truly outstanding in terms of skiing (I've skied 4 of the last 16 days) and I can't wait to see how the rest of the season turns out. The first of my 4 days this month was a really nice bump day at Mary Jane... a good endurance test, if you will... lap after lap with no breaks and variable snow conditions. The next 2 were great powder days at Copper. This year has really reopened my eyes to what a great mountain Copper is. The first included walking from the cat ski pickup to the top of Tucker Mountain (sounds insane and probably is) when one of the cats was broken down... another great endurance test, but highly rewarding. The 2nd was a Wednesday PTO day that was hands down the nicest snow I've skied in Summit County across all 4 seasons I've been skiing here. Notes to self: Tucker Mountain, everything off the Mountain Chief lift, Union Meadows, Gold digger trees...

The snow this Wednesday, however, was trumped today, by the lighter variety Brian and I found all day long at Loveland. [Based on how great days have been trumped so far this season, I fully expect to be skiing waist deep Steamboat champagne in February. Time will tell. Anyways... ] We really seemed to hit the jackpot. Even the runs that were intended more as traverses yielded some of the most blissful turns of my short skiing career. Loveland being Loveland, it was windy as can be and there were some really variable / rock hard patches, but overall the snow was phenomenal. We had 3 great runs on The Ridge, very nice deep freshies in glades on several runs, and clear blue skies to boot. Today's snow and conditions are exactly why people fall in love with skiing.

I feel like each day out I get a bit more confident, and today helped a lot with that. I think I'm getting better at recognizing snow conditions and adjusting my form for powder, crud, hard pack, etc. I know my cycling over the summer has helped my legs and cardio conditioning, so I must keep up with that this spring/summer/fall. My legs are requiring fewer stops to recover and I'm keeping up with my peers. I'm still not good at jumping cornices or dropping in on steep descents, but I'm working on that. I actually for the first time feel like a fairly solid (not great, but very capable) skier. Long story short, I'm really psyched about how this season has gone, and am excited for the 2nd half.

welcome 2011

This is my 3rd year of writing about the year ahead. Last year's post was fairly short. To summarize, here were the 2010 goals...

1. Conversational fluency in Spanish. I have a tutor for this and so far I'm headed in the right direction.
   • Huge progress made. I'm by no means a native speaker, but I'm getting a lot better in my Spanish every month.
2. Working fewer nights and weekends. This must happen.
   • This was accomplished in a big way as well; maybe too much so. More on that later...
3. More regular reading of the Bible. 2008 definitely saw a dip in my time in the Word and memorization of scriptures. I need to change that trend this year.
   • Very little progress made. This goal extends into 2011 for sure.
4. In 2007 I made it to Vail for some lift-assisted downhill riding one day. In 2008 I logged zero days. In 2009 I want to increase that number... if I could also get a few days in around Crested Butte that would just be the cat's freaking meow.
   • No progress made, although I did make huge strides in cycling. I might have to tweak this goal a bit.
5. Avalanche certification and snow climb classes leading to couloir climbs and backcountry skiing (in the Indian Peaks in particular). No questions or excuses. This must happen. Specific objectives include Skywalker Couloir, Quandary Couloir, Mt. Toll and the Brainard Lakes area. This should plant the seed to set Mt. Rainier as an objective in years to come. [30th birthday? It does me no good to have named my cat after a mountain without having climbed it, right?]
   • Some progress made. Hopefully this will continue into 2011.
6. More 14er ascents. We'll inevitably explore new ranges this year, which I'm looking forward to. I'd like to start the season early this year and extend it as late as we did this year. Hopefully without sounding like a snob, I'd like to take the most pleasing (and attainable) line to the top and not just the standard route if the standard route would be considered less interesting. I want each ascent to be as inspiring as Huron was for me, and more about the experience in the mountains than just ticking a peak off a list.
   • Progress made.... I'm 1/3 finished with the 54 14ers. Hopefully there will be more outings to write about next year.
7. Phish is back on the road. I will attend at least 1 show!
• Cross this one off the list. I saw 2 shows this year and couldn't have been happier with both. I've now seen them 8 times. If I can see more, great.

The 2011 version of the list is basically:

1. Spanish
   • I'm probably heading to Peru in May, so Spanish improvement will need to continue. Having specific dates and trips has helped me in the past, so it should this year too.
2. Excel at work
   • The work goal is a bit of a weird one for me right now. 2010 on the job was good for me, with a project that effectively lasted the entire year. I think, however, it was a bit vague and at times I lost focus. I found myself floundering. I found myself in a major lull towards the middle/end of the year and actually questioned how much longer I would be a software developer. I'm really not sure what to think about that, but I hope whatever direction this year takes me, I aspire with vigor in that direction. I know that I am a project person; I am at my best and most passionate at work when I am working on a project I don't necessarily know how to complete when I start but am curious about how to complete. Maybe I need a new problem to solve. I really like who I work with and what I do, so who knows what this means. Time will tell.
3. Time in The Bible
4. Improve my running, cycling/riding, climbing, and skiing
   • I want to be better at climbing hills on my bike. Here are two ride goals: Jamestown/Ward and Copper Triangle.
   • I want to run a half marathon or at least a couple 10k's, and improve my 5k time of 25:04 from last summer.
   • I want to ski expert runs on my tele's and have 2 great days at Silverton before the end of the season.
   • I want to climb outside more than 2010, which is to say, zero days...
5. maintain zero credit card debt
   • I will be at 3 years in the condo as of March 9, 2012, so if I want to either sell the condo or move to a different place with the condo as a secondary property I will need to be in a good spot financially early in 2012.
6. bonus: keep a better bedtime/wake-up schedule
7. bonus: go extended periods of time without eating meat or drinking alcohol
8. bonus: see Ohio State football in person again

This list probably seems ridiculous, because it essentially asks me to simultaneously work on physical and spiritual health, as well as do my best on the job and my primary hobbies while managing my finances. That is nearly everyone's ultimate goal, and attained by almost nobody. Eliminating distractions and staying focused will be key.

Pasajes de Costa Rica, viaje 2, día 9

This is part of 8 posts where I will, with minor edits and omissions, put my journal from days in Costa Rica online. There is no real grammar structure, but hopefully it makes sense...

10/31/2010 Sunday

Happy Halloween from above what I would guess is Caribbean water owned by Honduras. Delta is once again carrying me back to native soil. The day started with a power outage at the hotel. Thankfully the coffee was already made. Breakfast was good, with toast, banana, pineapple and watermelon. After that my first hot water shower in probably 10 days. Brilliant!! Simple pleasures, I guess... After a slight cockroach incident I walked from 29th to 15th along Paseo Colon and caught the bus to the airport. The owner of the hotel gave me directions to the station on a map, and I said, "Ok, just just turn right at 15th street?" to which he replied, "Well, you won't find 15th street. The numbers are just for the maps... we don't use them. You'll know because the road gets narrow." No joke... my gringo brain still has trouble with the addresses here. For example, the official address of the Colombian restaurant I ate at last night is, seriously, San Jose de Costa Rica, 100 metros norte de KFC del paseo colon. What?!?! Anyways, the bus cost 450 colones (about 80 cents)... public transit is so cheap here it's unbelievable. A taxi would have been almost $20. In the airport I bought a chorreador... amazingly, it was a better price in the airport than anywhere else I traveled. A Canadian girl from Luna Llena (Montezuma) recognized me and we chatted for a bit. [I didn't remember much about her other than getting an ATV stuck in a river and a very personal conversation she was having with her friend rather openly. They were discussing very private psychological and sexual freedoms her and her boyfriend had talked about or done. It surprised me they didn't mind mind other people hearing them... I definitely wasn't eavesdropping; we couldn't help hearing them from our card game. I also remember this starting a conversation about how easy it is for an American to recognize a Canadian, but how difficult it is for the rest of the world to distinguish between American and Canadian English.] I also recognized several people from the ATL airport from the flight down... small world. Shopping for Cuban cigars I talked to a Tica who was working, dressed up as a witch and handing out candy. [We're now flying over a chain of islands surrounded by water so turquoise it looks fake. My guess is San Andrés, Colombia but who knows. That place is on my list... Also, the best part of flying Delta is still the Biscoff cookies.] She is apparently finishing college and then hopes to travel in the US; has a friend living in Colorado. She told me her favorite language is English, especially how it sounds when spoken by native speakers. That surprised me, given how so many people like the sound of Spanish more than English. Apparently along with electronics, it is also cheaper to buy running shoes (she was a runner) from online stores in the US and have them shipped to Costa Rica. Bizarre. This girl was so nice. All Ticos, really, are. Easy to talk to, genuine, with big and authentic smiles.

Overall, this was a good trip. I honestly wish it had rained less but regardless I got to see more of Costa Rica and relax. I don't think there were many major epiphanies but I think I proved to myself that I'm capable of travelling in other parts of Latin America where English is less prolific. Up next could be Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile or Argentina. I obviously couldn't hide the fact that I wasn't local, so I was greeted with "hi" as often as "hola" but feel like I did well with Spanish. The exception to that rule is San José. Josefinos don't seem to speak much English and don't seem to care whether you speak Spanish (but typically not in a rude way). I also learned my next trip needs to be 2 weeks at a bare minimum. 1 is simply not enough. I learned some things about Tico Spanish:

• It is much more formal (usted) on the Pacific side than the Caribbean (tú)
• Conversationally, they end a large percentage of sentences with, ", ¿verdad?" or ", ¿cierto?"
• Young guys start and end sentences with "mae" (i.e. Dude, that wave was great dude!)
• They use vos / sos but it seems fairly rare... maybe mostly non-locals

I know a year ago I wouldn't have noticed these things. Progress. And speaking of, it seems now I'm ready for winter. I need to really crush it on the skis and keep up the cycling through the winter. I have a lot of goals... time to write 'em down and get crackin.

Pasajes de Costa Rica, viaje 2, día 8

This is part of 8 posts where I will, with minor edits and omissions, put my journal from days in Costa Rica online. There is no real grammar structure, but hopefully it makes sense...

10/30/2010 Saturday

I am in about as different a position as is possible to be in after just 24 hours. No beach 100 meters down a gravel path... paved highway instead. Closed windows, a cool temperature, hot water readily available. Cable TV even. No bugs in the room to bite during the night. You get the idea.

For the 2nd time this trip I woke up to catch a 6am bus. Last night after the movie ("Silence of the Lambs") I decided it was time and packed up. Ara gave me a hug and wished me safe travels. Then I walked into my room and saw a big spider... probably 1" x 2" with eyes reflecting green. I turned the lights on and the fan all the way up so she left. I kept the fan on just in case. Gabby also caught the San José bus to go back to school after visiting her dad, so we sat next to each other on the ferry. She's going through college 2 classes at a time while working about 60 hrs / week. Incredible. Once back on land, the bus stopped at the Coca Cola station. What a zoo! I will avoid that in the future if possible. I was so exhausted from riding in a bus for 6 hours that I took a cab all of 5 blocks (₡500 ~ 95 cents), checked in and laid down for a nap. I discovered college football on ABC from a Denver channel. (The same horrible political ads from home on TV all the way down here... uggh) After almost 3 hours of drifting in and out of sleep I got up and walked out for dinner. I had planned on going to Machu Picchu like last year (nearby, delicious, accepts credit cards...) but it was before 5pm so they weren't open. No problem; right across the street was a Colombian restaurant, Mi Parrilla Colombiana. Jackpot :) My waiter was Colombian and even showed me on a map where my aguardiente came from. My dinner was the bandeja paisa; rice, beans, a fried egg, ground beef, sausage, plantains and a platano tortilla, avacado and chicharrón (pork belly... when in Rome, don't ask, just eat) on all one plate. I also had a beer and a shot of aguardiente plus café con leche and vanilla flan for dessert, all for $17 with tip and tax. Very reasonable. My budding Colombia fascination was spurred on by this meal, so I think I have to go there next. The restaurant was very nice; Colombian MTV in the background (not over the top), with paintings, maps and photos celebrating the owner's homeland. [sidenote: based on the musicians on the TV, I have to say, Colombia has an immense wealth of talented musicians] I think I need to improve my aguardiente skills though; I overdid the salt. There were several kinds so I just told him to pick whichever he liked the most. I got a plate of limes, a pile of salt, and 1 chilled shot. My waiter told me to shoot, not sip, and watched with anticipation. That stuff goes down really easy. He seemed proud of his selection for me and was happy to hear I liked it.

Pasajes de Costa Rica, viaje 2, día 7

This is part of 8 posts where I will, with minor edits and omissions, put my journal from days in Costa Rica online. There is no real grammar structure, but hopefully it makes sense...

10/29/2010 Friday

Finally a day without rain! It wasn't exactly clear skies all day but still, no torrential downpours. I did some reading in the morning and then surfed a bit. The tide was low and going out, so the waves were small, but that was good for me. It was my first time without an instructor so I was happy enough to be able to pick the right wave, stand up, and ride it all the way in. I did that several times. I was on a shorter board and it was very noticeable, but still not impossible.

Afterwards I walked the shops a bit and bought a painting of a scarlet macaw on banana paper... my 1 souvenir from the trip. The girl who owned the shop was born here and has lived in Santa Teresa all her life. She said her owning of the store was coming on 2 years next week. Hers, like all the others, had a pile of muddy flip flops outside. The road is so bad you honestly would just be mopping up mud all day long unless you made people go barefoot in your store. I would guess 30% of the road is potholes full of mud. It was re-done last December, brand new, but needs re-done again already. I have mud all up my legs and the back of my shorts just from walking on the road. After surfing yesterday my instructor and I were picked up by an ATV for a lift to the shop. I rode facing backwards, legs hanging off the back, behind the driver. When we got back, no more than 1/2 mile on the road, my legs looked like I had taken a mud bath. In the dry season it's dust instead.

There's a 6:30 and a 2:30 bus to San José from here. I'm not sure how long it takes. I don't want to get in really late but if I can spend more time on the coast, I will. Just doing nothing but watching the waves and listening to the palms sway is fine by me.