The High Country

December 22, 2011
Arapahoe Basin

For many years Arapahoe Basin had the distinction of having the highest lift-served terrain in the U.S. At least until Breckenridge bested them. Still, Independence Mountain's 12,615' is nothing to scoff at.

Back when I lived in Colorado, A-Basin was the place we would go in April and May after Winter Park closed. It usually involved several vehicles and maybe a keg. We would hang out on the beach below the Pallavachini lift and watch people either shred or be shredded by the double black diamond terrain it serves.

Back to the present. Kayla's Epic Pass works at Keystone, Breck, or A-Basin. She wanted to go to A-Basin. Moreover, she has been working on Dylan to stay for the rest of winter break since we arrived last Friday. Dylan inquired about season passes at Keystone; they don't sell them to people who weren't previous passholders at this time of the season, and if they did it would be close to $2,000. Without a pass, there's no way Dylan was going to shell out $100 a day to ski.

A-Basin isn't that corporate. It still has the local ski hill vibe. Better yet, a season pass is only $309. Dylan was waffling about purchasing one and wanted to wait until we got back to Denver to work out his travel arrangements and decide. At $74 a day, I suggested that he might be better off purchasing it now and getting a day towards paying it off--which would take five trips to the hill. So he got his pass and saved me $15 on mine. He was stoked to be committed and ready to ride.

It was cold at A-Basin today. I'm guessing it was approaching 0 degrees at the top. Certainly colder than we are accustomed to in Oregon. That didn't slow Dylan down--he kept running his hot laps.

The cool thing about A-Basin is that half of the mountain is above treeline. It gives the place a very European alpine feel.

Kayla and Dylan pose in front of Black Mountain Lodge.

Stylin'

Kayla and Dylan preparing to shred at the top of Independence Mountain.

Ruthanne joined us for today's excursion.

Yes, it was cold. We didn't get too many runs in before Kayla announced she was going to the lodge because her feet were about to fall off.

Brrr, my toes are about to fall off...

Maybe if they had mittens they wouldn't.

We finally got back out. Kayla leaves contrails of snow as she shreds down Ramrod.

Ruthanne shows great form for a senior citizen--or for anyone for that matter. She did an amazing job of keeping up! I only hope that I'll still be going that strong when I'm her age.

Kayla shows off her smooth style.

Dylan got a GoPro this summer. A GoPro is a small digital video camera that you can mount just about anywhere. He's got a helmet mount (see previous post for the tubing excursion). When we were shopping for holiday gifts on Tuesday, he got a chest mount. Somehow I ended up wearing it and doing a bunch of point-of-view videos of Dylan. Here's one of me chasing him down Dercum's Gulch. It's an except from a 3 1/2 minute video of us going nonstop from top to bottom. Two-plus miles and nearly 2,000 vertical feet in just of over three minutes. Fun!

Well, Colorado was a blast. I wish I could stay with Dylan, but I have stuff to do and am ready to go home and see Diane. With any luck it will start snowing soon in Oregon; at this rate there's no way The Pass will be open by Christmas.

Happy holidays!

Holiday Magic!

December 20, 2011
Dillon, Colorado

We arrived at our accommodations at the luxurious Chateau Clarie in glorious Dillon, Colorado around 4 pm after dropping Diane off at Denver International Airport. Jay and Ruthanne were kind enough to get us lodging in Summit County within 10 minutes of the ski area.

While a little dated, the condo at Chateau Claire was just fine.

Kayla and Ruthanne inspect the ice sculpture in the park across the street from Chateau Claire.

It was a cold stroll around town.


December 21, 2011
Keystone Resort

It's been at least 25 years since I've been to Keystone. The last time I was here was at a slalom race back in 1976. My recollection was that it was a really boring resort.

That was before they added North Peak, the Outback, and gobs of cat-serviced bowl skiing. Unfortunately, most of that was off limits today. The snowpack at Keystone is a little thin. Colorado is not much better off that Oregon where we have not had any decent precipitation in a month. At this rate, it will not be a very Merry Christmas for the ski area operators.

Right before I took the above photo, a woman accused Kayla of hitting her and then leaving the scene. Her evidence was that someone on the lift claimed it was Kayla. Well, I was behind Kayla the entire way down the previous run, and it was definitely not her. It took me a while to catch on to what the woman was saying; I was more focused on what run to take. Eventually, Dylan and I both told the lady it was not Kayla. I don't think she believed any of us when we told her (1) Kayla did not do it, and (2) Kayla would never hit and run. The lady finally dropped it and let us go--which was a good thing because it would have ruined our day if she had pressed it.

Dylan was most excited about hitting Area 51, the terrain park at Keystone. It was huge, but most of the features were either closed or still under construction. That was fine, most of the closed stuff was too big for Dylan's skills. A-51 was incredibly crowded. Dylan had a good time anyway.

Kayla shows off her form just below the snow castle at Adventure Point. A little later on this run Kayla took a nasty spill at relatively high speed. Good thing she had her helmet on because she smacked her head and got her bell rung. Fortunately, she was ok, but that was the end of here day of riding.

A big part of our day was our trip to the tubing hill at Adventure Point. Kayla said it was the only thing she wanted to do for her graduation and insisted that we make reservations. So we did. We started by having a beer with Jay and Ruthanne at Kickapoo's.

Jay held down the table at Kickapoo's while we rode the gondola up to the top of Mt. Dercum.

Adventure Point is conveniently located at an elevation of 11,640' at the top of Mt. Dercum. You take a left off the gondola, past the snow castle and into a yurt. I changed out of my ski boots (no ski boots allowed on the tubing hill), paid up, and then we went into an adjoining room for the 90-second training video. As if we needed instruction on how to slide down a hill on an inner tube.

Kayla and Dylan get their stoke on.

And off we go!

Here's a video from Dylan's GoPro helmet cam of the same ride.

We started tubing at 4:30 pm. I made the reservation at that time intentionally; it was after the day of skiing and it would get dark while we were tubing. Moreover, Keystone has night skiing so we would get the added bonus of night skiing down after we finished.

As light turned to night it started snowing gently and the snowflakes glistened under the lights like a scene from a Christmas Card. It was absolutely magical taking the 2+ mile run from Adventure Point back to meet the folks at Kickapoo's.

This was the first time this holiday season that it really felt like Christmas to me. After meeting Kayla at the bottom of the Gondola, we walked across the bridge to Kickapoo's to meet Jay and Ruthanne and then took a festive stroll through the Keystone town center which was appropriately adorned with holiday decorations and lights. Unfortunately, the batteries died on my camera so I did not get any photos. The scene, however, will live on in my memory for a long time.

After the 15-minute drive back to Chateau Clarie, Jay and Ruthanne treated us to dinner at Pug Ryan's, a brew pub that was a very cold 5-minute walk from the condo. It was worth it.

This is why I have such a passion for skiing--a magical day with family in a magical setting.

Tomorrow: Arapahoe Basin

2011-12 Season: Winter Park Day 1

First day of the 2011-12 season and it was at Winter Park, Colorado. Conditions in Oregon are such that our local ski area has yet to open. Six months to the day since our Father's Day Skitackular at The Pass. We'll be lucky if The Pass opens by Christmas given the weather patterns.

We came out to Colorado for Kayla's graduation ceremony. After three different colleges, a two-year detour through Steamboat, and lots of hard work, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Metropolitan State College of Denver. Way to go Kayla!


We were fortunate that long-time pal and ski buddy Dave was able to take the day off and willing to pick us up in downtown Denver. And a big thanks to Dan for hooking us up with a couple of free passes. That's the way to do it!

Conditions at WP were marginal at best, but we made the best of it. Big portions of the mountain were closed and we spent the day cruising the groomers.

Dave tears up the corduroy on Cramner.

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Dave finds out that he's about to be a proud father!

Dave and his wife Kris found out today that after five years of waiting they'll be adopting a little girl from China. Congratulations Dave and Kris!

Dylan jumps Dave.

Dylan spent most of the day playing in the Railyard. Some things don't change much.

Not bad for the first day of the season. We'll be getting a couple more in while we're in Colorado.

Even though conditions were less than ideal, it's always fun to go back to Winter Park. WP is where I spent my formative years skiing (I actually started at Hidden Valley, a now decommissioned ski area in Rocky Mountain National Park). I was fortunate enough to have neighbors that were into ski racing and parents that were kind enough to sign me up. I raced on the WP team from 72-72 through 76-77. That was the year Mary Jane opened and I got a lot more interested in skiing with my crew than racing.

Next up: Keystone Resort.

The Big Father's Day Skitacular

June 19, 2011
9 am
Parking lot at The Pass

We had a lot of snow this year. In fact, winter has steadfastly refused to give up. It snowed at The Pass last week. So, nobody is surprised that summer operations are delayed. Too bad for the crazy downhill mountain bikers and frisbee golf people.

I was wondering earlier this week if The Pass would open this weekend. It was not announced on the website when I looked and I only found out when I was chatting with my friend Randy about doing some more ski studies. Normally, they would open for summer operations this weekend, but too much snow put a damper on that. So they opened the backside for skiing on Saturday and Sunday. We would have gone both days, but it was raining pretty hard Saturday and the typical rain rules applied.

We were going Sunday no matter what. Rain, snow, or shine. Or fog.

It was pretty cloudy in town when we left, but it was not raining. In fact, there were many moments where the sun broke through on the way up. In short, there was hope.

Despite the lack of snow in the parking lot, Dylan and Marty are stoked to shred June's in June.


Our gondola arrives.

It was four years ago the last time The Pass was open on Father's Day. Of course we went in 2007. Read about it here (scroll down to the bottom). It was epically sunny in 2007; the weather was a work in progress today.

Marty comments on the lack of base.

Riding in style.

Dylan straps on the board while the fog dissipates.

The base on the back side is a bit more substantial. There's about 12' of snow at the top of Waldo.

The snow was, not surprisingly, incredibly sticky. Typical spring conditions for Oregon. Lots of snow that is really, really, sticky. Worse yet, I neglected to through the ski kit with the wax and scrapers in. Big mistake.

Marty shreds the summer stickiness.

Skirting the rocks.


Takin' the Escalator.

Huckin'

While the snow conditions were less than ideal, none of the 50 people on the hill we saw were complaining. We certainly were not. What's to complain about? Skiing on Father's Day in June with your son. That's the best way I can think of to celebrate. Kayla would have come along too if she was not in Steamboat. Something went right along the way...I've got a sweet wife and two great kids.

Now, it's time to get on with summer. Rumors are that 80% of the days between October and May were completely overcast. June was not much better. I'm ready for 10 weeks of 80 degree weather with no clouds or rain.

See ya next season!

La Nina Delivered

This was the final day of operations for the 2010-11 season. We would have skied yesterday, but La Nina delivered 1.25" of rain. That kind of threw a wet blanket all over that idea. At any rate, today wasn't the stellar, bluebird spring day we hoped for, but it was still nice. A little overcast, but warm, and most importantly, no rain.

The crowd was a little thin. The love fades for most as the daffodils bloom. Seasoned hardcores know better...the lawn can wait because corn awaits.

At least the lot wasn't totally empty, but if more people came, they might stay open longer. The rain doesn't help.

Diane and Dylan prep for an awesome day of shredding.

The snow report was 36 degrees and Beware of Bears. We didn't see any bears, and it didn't stay 36 degrees for long. The bears, however, would have made for an interesting adventure. It wouldn't be hard to outski a bear...

Diane tears down By George.

Dylan relaxes and enjoys the spring weather.

By nearly every measure it was a killer season. Here's the season by the numbers:

Total snowfall: 388"
Snowpack on April 18:

At Lodge: 46"
At Midway: 66"
At Peak 2: 126"

Days on the mountain: 30
Powder days: 14 (that's a 47% pow/pack ratio!)
Vertical feet: ~600,000
Number of runs: ~425
Number of Wednesday night snowstorms in a row: 7
Number of Thursday hookey days: 1 (not enough!)

Fourteen powder days out of 30. La Nina delivered the goods. Over and over. Except for that month-long drought in February.

Despite those numbers, we could have skied more. Too much work getting in the way of skiing.

But not today.

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Dylan rides the log.

It was suggested, by an outside observer, that this blog might be a shrine to Dylan. Interesting take, but, 'fraid not. While I have yet to articulate my aims for doing this, that definitely is not one of them. I may put in the effort to do that one day. Maybe. Maybe not. Until then, readers can guess.

What this is a shrine to is snowsports. Specifically, my personal obsession with skiing. The numerous pictures of Dylan? Simply a function of me being the one with the camera and Dylan's general reluctance to take it--especially when it is snowing. That said, he got some good pix of me this season.

Diane and Dylan scope out By George.

I think Diane is crazy for wanting to snowboard. She kept at it a few days and then smashed her knee pretty good. That took a few weeks to heal (I'm not sure it is done yet). Boards of Terror, Maim, and Dismemberment!

Skiing is where it's at kids. See ya on the funway!

The end-of-season finality is setting in. It's sad that it is over, and I'm not sure what we'll do with the weekends. Of course, that is not true--yardwork, movies, hikes, bike rides, band rehearsal. But it is not the same as skiing. On the flip side, it's a bit of a relief--I don't have to worry about getting up at 7am to check the snow report on the weekend.

Most important, perhaps, is that I need a break. Skiing isn't as pain free as it once was (not that it was ever entirely pain free). In fact, 43 years of skiing hard is beginning take its toll; skiing is a kind of painful activity for me. Not as much as running, but certainly more than walking. It all started in January 2005 when I had the bright idea to learn how to snowboard. It was all going well until I fell on my ass. It didn't seem that bad...but then I started getting numbness in my feet.

So I went to the doctor. They did some x-rays and then signed me up for a MRI. The results came back and they told me I have an "annular fissure" of my disc at L5-S1. Yep, it's painful. The part that got my attention was when he started talking about surgery. That didn't sound like fun. It's going to have to hurt a lot more before I'm going to have surgery.

So, my back hurts. But, so do my knees. And now my hips. I rack it up to getting old, but I'm pretty sure skiing hasn't helped. Diane told me to quit acting like I was still 25. Bah.

At any rate, I'm not going to quit. Not yet, anyway. We all make choices; I choose to ski. I may have to choose to slow down.

Despite the management, The Pass still incents smiles.

See you next season!

The Big Rock Candy Mountain

The Big Rock Candy Mountain...

On a summer day in the month of May a burly bum came hiking
Down a shady lane through the sugar cane, he was looking for his liking.
As he roamed along he sang a song of the land of milk and honey
Where a bum can stay for many a day, and he won't need any money

Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees near the soda water fountain,
At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings on the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Well, it was April and still winter, but it still felt like the big rock candy mountain today. My version of Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock's "Big Rock Candy Mountain" is a little different than his, but...whatever.

This season has been one killer powder day after another. The land of milk and honey. Today was yet another. 18" of new snow Wednesday night and I had my fingers crossed it wouldn't get too warm and mess it up.

It got warm enough to create a crust layer on top where the snow was exposed to the sun. That didn't slow Dylan down... here's 1000 vertical feet in 21 seconds.

Where the sun didn't hit was...

There's a lake of gin we can both jump in, and the handouts grow on bushes
In the new-mown hay we can sleep all day, and the bars all have free lunches
Where the mail train stops and there ain't no cops, and the folks are tender-hearted
Where you never change your socks and you never throw rocks,
And your hair is never parted

Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees near the soda water fountain,
At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings on the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Well, pretty awesome. Where the handouts grow on bushes (or small trees)...

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Oh, a farmer and his son, they were on the run, to the hay field they were bounding
Said the bum to the son, "Why don't you come to the big rock candy mountains?"
So the very next day they hiked away, the mileposts they were counting
But they never arrived at the lemonade tide, on the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees near the soda water fountain,
At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings on the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Untouched lines through the trees...I think we arrived.

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One evening as the sun went down and the jungle fires were burning,
Down the track came a hobo hiking, and he said "Boys, I'm not turning."
"I'm heading for a land that's far away beside the crystal fountains;"
"So come with me, we'll go and see the Big Rock Candy Mountains."

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, there's a land that's fair and bright,
The handouts grow on bushes and you sleep out every night
Where the boxcars all are empty and the sun shines every day
On the birds and the bees and the cigarrete trees,
The lemonade springs where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Rock candy indeed.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, all the cops have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth and the hens lay soft-boiled eggs
The farmer's trees are full of fruit and the barns are full of hay
Oh I'm bound to go where there ain't no snow
Where the rain don't fall, the wind don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Well, there's lots of snow on my big rock candy mountain. Sometimes things get a little hazy in the big rock candy mountains...

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, you never change your socks
And little streams of alcohol come a-trickling down the rocks
The brakemen have to tip their hats and the railroad bulls are blind
There's a lake of stew and of whiskey too
And you can paddle all around 'em in a big canoe
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

All your friends come to the log ride on the big rock candy mountain. Dylan ran into pals Andy and Cody. Just another demonstration of this year's synchronicity, Andy was on The Expedition with us. Cody was only on a board for is fourth time...amazing!

Dylan...

Andy...

Cody...

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains the jails are made of tin,
And you can walk right out again as soon as you are in
There ain't no short-handled shovels, no axes, saws or picks,
I'm a-goin' to stay where you sleep all day
Where they hung the jerk that invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Ski buddy Mark escapes through the trees on Eagle's Flight.

Ted walks right out of jail.

What a great day--fantastic snow, great friends, outstanding lines. What a privilege it is to ski and to have such a great little area (despite the management) so close to town.

I'll see you all this comin' fall in the Big Rock Candy Mountains!