2010-2011 ski season coming to a close

Today was my 17th day on skis this season, and a 100% throwback to 4/12/08. I was truly stunned at how good the snow was today. It was almost the exact more-than-happy feeling and satisfaction as it was 3 years ago. Clearly my passion for skiing has not faded... I'm still not the world's best, but it has grown on me way more than I ever expected it to upon first moving to the mountains.

It wasn't just the snow that was good, though. I don't mean to brag, but I skied fantastic today. I don't know if it was the condition of the snow, what I had for breakfast, or some other magical component, but I skied really really well today. I turned when I wanted to, I skied way faster than usual (I'm a slow skier), I skied for longer without tiring, I jumped off of lots of things... it was just easy play. You hear about people in other sports that have days or games where it just feels simple. Jon Diebler's game against Penn State this year where he made 10 3-pointers, he said it was like shooting the ball at the ocean instead of a tiny hoop. Today kinda felt like that for me.

I started off with a quick warm-up lap down low and found some really nice fresh skiers left of straight down the Challenger chair. It's always really nice in there. Then I decided to head a bit higher up, so I headed towards Sunnyside chair and eventually up to the Panoramic Express. It was cloudy with fairly flat light up top, but the Pano chair did not disappoint. I did several laps up there... the terrain isn't very steep so I went faster than usual. At one point I was heading down and found myself charging, full of adrenaline, and going so fast that I realized sharp turns to check my speed would cause a crash, so I rode out the speed through a bit of chop in really wide turns until it fanned out. I stopped to rest my legs when things flattened out only to notice the trees were untracked, so I headed in. Parsenn Bowl was busy but I was alone in the trees with boot deep fresh all to myself. Closing day! I was really happy with the discovery so came back for another lap before heading up Sunnyside again after visibility became too poor to continue all the way up. I headed for the trees between Columbine and Bluebell and found more jackpot there. I wasn't the only one to have spotted the goods, but I was the only one in there on both my laps. I'd never skied in there before but am happy I have a new spot to explore next year. The pitch is nice and the trees are spaced out well... you have to watch out for a few big drops though, so keep your speed low until you are familiar with it. After a couple laps there I decided to head to a section of cliffs/chutes that I'd seen but never been, skiers way left through the trees of Roundhouse on the way to Corona. I found very different snow in there.... and tough navigating through big drops. I also found what may be the biggest tree in all of Mary Jane. The cliffs yield some really nice views to the northeast toward the continental divide. The more you ski in the more solitude you find. Once again, I was all by myself in there. I know it's not very wise, but I seem to enjoy skiing alone more... I don't know why. After two runs there, each of which required a skate all the way back down to the base, I realized it was getting a bit soft and bitey at the bottom, so it was nearing time to call it a day. It was still snowing hard over the whole mountain, but the snow was getting heavier and stickier... I knew either a run to explore more new ground or a Trestle closer was in order.

I remembered closing my Super Pass season with a run down Trestle feeling as fitting as a great Squirming Coil to end a Phish show... Today's last run down I had hopes of finding the mythical Topher's Trees. A friend told me how to get there, which I won't share with you :), but I've seen the plaque and now know the way, so you can be sure I'll be there next year. While I didn't quite make it all the way to Topher's secret stash which is now legendary, I was in completely uncharted territory (in MJ, for me, at least) which turned out to be pure bliss. At one point about half way down from the chair to the car, I stopped to catch my breath and admire the solitude. I mistakenly stopped about 10 feet above a guy apparently doing the same thing. He looked at me with a completely content grin on his face. "Pretty nice, huh?" was all he said. I think we were both beside ourselves. All I could do was nod, "Yup." The trees reminded me almost exactly of a run at Silverton from a month ago.... the same pitch, the same spacing, the same feeling... it was eerie. But fantastic. I truly could not have been happier with the day.

I love how big Mary Jane feels. You see tons of cars in the parking lot but it's easy to get away from everybody on your own track through the trees. I'll go ahead and say now that in hopes of history repeating itself again, you can bet that I'll be at The Jane on Closing Saturday of 2014. From my Topher's exploration, I skied Corona all the way to the Jeep, unclicked as I opened the door, and headed home with another season in the history books.

A breakdown of my days at resorts this season:

• 1 day at Telluride and Powderhorn
• 2 days at Steamboat, Silverton and Loveland
• 4 days at Copper
• 5 days at Winter Park

Silverton deserves a full write-up here as well, but time will tell if I get to that. In closing I'll say this, though. On our run on Rope Dee Dope 2, I was completely filled with a total euphoric feeling of content and satisfaction. I remember audibly thanking God for giving me the physical ability to be able to do what I was doing in the present moment. At the bottom, I looked up and tried to freeze the view into memory by staring up at the run for a long time before heading to the cat track and the bus waiting to take us up on another glorious run. That was, to date, the best and most rewarding run of my life. I really can't forget that feeling and hope I make it to Terrapin Station again real soon.

Inside Job film

I know I'm long overdue on updates here, and have many things to write, but am especially compelled right now to try to tell everybody I can to see the film Inside Job. I try to not use the word "terrorism" lightly, but this film effectively proves that Wall Street is a virus or welcomed terrorist organization to our government and the global economy.

Inside Job is a documentary about the 2008 global economic crisis that was caused by only a few dozen men who today, amazingly, find themselves largely still with the power to cause another identical crisis without repercussion. These coked-out stripper-fanatics find themselves rich beyond belief, in positions of great power, and I would assume with the same mindset that they're too big to fail or can't be blamed for whatever actions they take to gain more power or wealth. They're employed by our government and shaping it to their liking (i.e. rewriting tax laws and deregulating to bend rules). Even today, these douche-bags are speaking out to encourage Congress to allow us to exceed our 14.3 TRILLION dollar debt ceiling... I'm wondering if we shouldn't just call it quits, allow the US to default on its treasury obligations and start the civil war which would inevitably allow Canada to invade (most likely scenario, right?). They have raped the average American citizen of their taxes and income, diluted the ability of this once great nation to educate its youth, pave its streets and prosper. They're still employed on Wall Street and are even heads of America's finest universities. They drove companies into bankruptcy and walked away with millions only to became contracted advisors to those same companies to the tune of one million dollars a month... these are companies which the American taxpayer now sadly owns because they were too big to fail.

Narrated by Matt Damon, the film clearly explains what happened, how, and why... and presents the explanation that this same thing can and will happen again unless major change is brought about. I don't like to think of myself as an alarmist or extremist, but over the last several years I have come to wonder whether the United States isn't destined for implosion in the very near future. Our education system is deplorable. Our national debt is unfathomable. Our collective concern is minimal. It seems more and more that we're heading in that direction. In short, this country is up shit creek. I used to think that apathy and ignorance were the two greatest fatal flaws in this country, but now I wonder if Wall St. greed isn't actually #1 on that short list.

There are popular films about corporate greed such as Fun with Dick and Jane which aren't alarmist or concerning, and there are plenty of documentaries about corporate greed (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is also good) to leave you want for a bomb, a CEO's address, and some spare time, but this has to be the most rational and best one I've seen. I would honestly argue it should be required viewing for all United States citizens and registered voters. I should stop now or risk getting thrown in jail, but for more info you can also check out the NY Times review of the same film: http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/movies/08inside.html. Seriously, watch the film.

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.