Big News!

Two great days in a row.  Unfortunately, everyone from Denver heard about the good snow up there and the slopes were packed today.  They did open up the Lake Chutes today.  I was able to hike up finally ski a chute that I have been eyeing for a while.  It was the first No Fall Zone I have really skied since I have been out here and the first time in a very long time when I was scared out of my mind while not hitting a jump/cliff.  It felt great.

But the big news is this past Sunday, my brother proposed to his girlfriend Erika and she said YES! Welcome to the family Erika!  As a tribute, I finished the video of when Derek was here.

Derek-Can I use this video as the wedding gift?

A little wordology lesson

For many, the title of the post earlier today was confusing. Puking just means "snowing really hard". I was not actually sick today. I am currently working on videos from when Derek was out as well as Matt and Jeremy. Be on the lookout for these coming to you later tomorrow night.

It continued to snow throughout the day.  We probably ended up getting around 6-8 inches, but after the slopes closed, the snow continued.  I was thinking of driving 4 hours tomorrow morning just to get more snow at Wolf Creek, but it snowed so much after the slopes closed today, I'm just going to head to Vail tomorrow.

Below is a picture Will took of me as we quickly went in to grab some water before heading back out.  There are a number of things you can see in the picture.
1. Yes I still have the beard, even though my excuse for growing it was because Derek made me until he came out and he has already been here and left.
2. It was a little snowy, cold, blowing today.
3. I look like a Teletubby.  That is the camera I use to film, so you better be enjoying the videos!

Puking

I'm getting my oil changed right now, but so far we have over three inches and expecting over eight.  It should be a good day

Another Great Week

Thanks to Jeremy and Matt and Toby for a great week.  We got lots of snow, and lots of good runs.  Check back later this week for videos from that week.  Check out the video below from some of the runs that Kate and I did at Vail.  As you can see, it was an amazingly bright day, so many of the shots are washed out.

I just got yelled at

I just got yelled at via e-mail from one of my good college friends, David, for not posted anything over the past couple of days. Thanks David for keeping me honest! Videos still won't be made until Toby leaves, Monday night or Tuesday night. The snow has been great over the past couple of days though. Jeremy, Matt, and I drove back to Denver Friday morning, over the Continental Divide. The view was amazing. You could see for days. As we drove down to Denver, we stopped to watch the Buffalo fight, which was the first time I had ever seen that. Finally, when we made it into Denver, we headed to Beau Jo's, a pizza place that Matt saw on Man vs Food. Although we did not order the 14 lbs pizza (the challenge is for 2 people to eat the pizza in 1 hour), we did order a 3 lbs pizza. It was delicious. After, we headed into town to the Flying Dog brewery, which ended up just being a taste room. We got two free tastes of beer, a full beer and a Flying Dog glass for $4. Since we all still had 1 lb of pizza in us, we just bar hopped downtown Denver until Toby got in.

Toby and I got back to Breck around 1:00 am and went straight to bed. When we got out on the slopes, I honestly didn't know what to expect, since Toby had only ever been skiing twice, but two runs in, we were doing blue runs. He is honestly one of the most natural skiers I have ever seen. He does so many small mechanical things right without even realizing it.

Yesterday was great. We did blue and green runs all day. Unfortunately he woke up a little sick today. I went out for an hour and skied Horseshoe Bowl a couple of times this morning and we will probably head out later this afternoon if he is feeling better. 

More snow to come this week and boys weekend is coming up this weekend. Check back Tuesday for some videos.

Blower conditions today!

Eleven inches at Vail yesterday and another foot today? It's going to be great.....if we can get there. UPDATE: Vail misrepresented and they only had 2 inches. The snow was still great. Heading to Denver tomorrow.

Interesting Day

Today was a great day, although interesting. I headed up right to the top of Imperial. The wind was blowing and it was snowing like crazy. As I started my traverse, I couldn't see a thing and I had no idea where I was. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind, at least 50 miles an hour, blew and actually pushed me back around 2-3 feet. I didn't realize I was so close to the cornice and felt right off it, tumbling 20 feet down the hill. Luckily, the snow was deep and soft, so I was able to stop myself without getting hurt. I continued down the mountain about 5 turns until I couldn't see the tips of my skis. As I stood there, waiting for the snow to clear, my head started to spin. It felt like I had just woken up 3 hours after drinking 15 adult beverages (not like I would know what that feels like). My mind couldn't comprehend which way was up and which was down, since I couldn't even see my skis. After a couple minutes of standing there, I felt something. My breakfast. I proceeded to throw up everywhere in the middle of Whale's Tail (the name of the run). I finally composed myself and realized if I looked at my orange boots, my mind could get some sort of direction. I finally made it down. Since the snow was so great, I decided to do one run on Chair 6 and call it a day. After 2 hours of lapping Chair 6, I made it in. The snow was great and after the first run, I felt fine. I'm heading into Denver right now to pick up Matt and Jeremy.

Editing going crazy

For some reason, some of the videos I took when Kate was here are not working. I can view them, but can't edit them and put them in a video. Instead of staying inside all day to try to figure this out, I'm heading out skiing. Sorry Kate. I will get these videos out as soon as I can. Jeremy and Matt are coming in tonight so there probably won't be videos for a couple of days. Unfortunately, Breckenridge did not get the 40 inches Steamboat has over the past 3 days, but it should still be good. Derek-Everyone says thanks for the beer!

Great weekend with Derek

Derek was in this weekend. The snow was great and the sun was out. We skied Vail Friday and skied Breckenridge on Saturday. We finally did some runs I have been waiting to do since I have been out here. At Vail, we went out the Western gate in Blue Sky Basin and did US (Upside Sled). This is a pretty secret stash that Jason showed us a couple years ago. The ridge is a really popular sidecountry area for locals, but most either drop in before this spot or go farther along the ridge. I'll let you know how to get there as long as you don't tell anyone. After passing the gate, you need to traverse for about 15 minutes, going through 3 fields. Each field will be marked with a number on the orange warning signs. Don't worry about the signs that say "Leaving the ski area" and "You are headed to a lost, cold night". These are just there to scare you, although you should be scared. Anyways, once you get to the third clearing, look for the upside down emergency sled. Immediately drop in from there and about 300 feet in, you will find an amazing clearing with a 5 foot cliff and untouched snow. When Derek and I got there, we were very hesitant, since there were no tracks into this area, which is not normal for the area. Once we got to the clearing, it was perfect. The snow was deep and untouched. Just don't fall, or you can't get up by yourself. So if you are at Vail, feel confident, and have the appropriate equipment, try it out! Today was bitter cold. Danielle and I headed out early, but only did 6 runs, since the snow wasn't great and it felt like -10. I am heading back to Denver tomorrow to pick up Jeremy and Matt. Should be a great week. Also, I found out great news that Ryan, Michelle and Mia are making it out in mid-March. Check back later. Hopefully I will stop being so lazy and will post pictures from when Kate and Derek were out.

Day at Vail with Aaron and Will

I have been really bad updating this. The best day so far this year happened on Monday at Vail. Will, Aaron, and I hit up Vail after they got around 5 inches of snow. It was definitely more snow than that in places. Derek is coming tonight, so I am really excited. Enjoy the video below. And yes, Will (the guy in all black) does throw a backflip off the rock at the end of one of the runs. Enjoy!

Best Weekend So Far

Lots of snow. Lots of fun. Lots of lots. Kate was here for the weekend and man, it was great. She has set the bar very high for every other visitor coming. She bought 4 cases of PBR for us and payed for Will and I at bars every night. We are simple people. Also, it was great to catch up with Smitty, Reilly, and Katie. Overall, the best weekend of the weekend. Anyways, it started snowing Wednesday night and hasn't stopped. We have gotten at least an inch every day. Last night we got at least 5 inches, so Will, Aaron and I skied Vail today. It was by far the best conditions of the year. Be ready tomorrow for some sort of sweet footage tomorrow of the guys I ski with and of course Kate. I forgot how bad I am until I skied with the two best snowboarders that I have seen in person today. Be ready for some backflips, dropping cliffs of 20 feet and some sweet doubles. Happy Valentines Day and more importantly Jim Kelly's birthday!

Snow and Snow and Trees

Today was another great day in paradise. Breck said they only got 4 inches, but it was definitely closer to 6 inches. I also met up with Adam and his friends this morning. We did a couple laps on chair 6. The snow was finally great and my ankle held up enough that I could fake it. I'm skiing around 70% right now, which is exciting. Anyways, back to the skiing. After the first couple runs, we stayed in the trees, because that is where all the snow was that wasn't skied out. I'm quickly uploading a video and then heading into Denver to pick up Kate. I wanted to make this video longer, but Kate probably wouldn't be happy if I wasn't there to pick here up.

Out Skiing

I was too lazy to make a video from yesterday, but I went to Vail. Man, it was amazing. Perfectly clear. The snow wasn't great, but I was able to ski most of the back bowls. Make sure to check later (around 7 EST) to see a couple videos from yesterday.

RICE works

After 5 days of not skiing, I finally got back out there again, and it felt good. It is sort of a double edged sword. My ankle felt a lot better, but I think it was just because I have been taking it easy. With Kate and Adam coming in during this week, I'm going to go to Vail tomorrow, just to get familiar with the mountain again. I took some footage today, but again, the angle wasn't good. I think I got it figured out finally. The only footage I have is of one of my 3's. It was the first time this year I went off a jump. I'm not sure it was the smartest thing for my ankle, but enough is enough. It is February and I just have to ski through the pain. Don't worry. When you see the video and the whole 4 feet of air I get, you will see how it can't be that bad for my ankle.

Perfect video

I need to start making my videos like this. Short and to the point. I just love the title "Perfect Daffy". It definitely doesn't lie. Have a good weekend everyone!

Did not expect this

I just found out that both Kate and Toby are going to try to come out this month. That means that there is only one weekend from now until when my leave is up that I won't have visitors. I just want to thank everyone who is coming out. I know I definitely won't get bored over the next two months. I can't wait to see you all!

First first chair of the year

Sorry for not updating this in a couple of days.  Check back later today for a video that does not feature country music.  On Tuesday I actually did get first chair, which felt good, until I found out that the top of the mountain didn't open until 9 or 10.  Since I had my bigger powder skis, I decided to straight-line a couple blue and black runs.  Unfortunately, since I rushed out of my condo to get first chair, I forgot my phone, so I was not able to see my top speed.  After a couple runs of that, I took the T-Bar up, then waited for 30 minutes to get 3 chair of the season on the Imperial Chair.

The video that I will post later has one of the straight-lining runs, me riding the T-Bar, then finally making it up to Whale's Tail.  I am still working out the angle of the camera, so I apologize for that.  Hopefully the skiing you see on Whale's Tail will be the worst you see all year.  That is the first time I skied a double black (it was definitely an easier double black run) with control of only one ski.  My ankle really started to hurt, so I went right back to the condo after that run.  I am going to take at least 4 days off, since visitors will be coming soon. I want to make sure I can ski the entire day with them.

Since I didn't ski yesterday, I decided to head to ABasin where Dean Cummings was there to show his movie, The Steeper Life, and talk about avalanche protocols.  It was really cool.  There were only about 15-20 of us there.  Most were either from the ABasin ski patrol or editors/writers for Ski magazine.  He is a really quite humble person, but amazingly talented.  If you haven't seen the movie, you should try to check it out.  It is only about 50 minutes, so it doesn't take too long to watch.

Make sure you check back in a couple of hours to see the new video.