I'll take another pow day

yup that's right.  another nine overnight.  on top of six yesterday, thirteen the day before...

another snow day

Today was another great day of snow.  13 inches in the AM, 18 by 2 pm.  Tomorrow will surely also be awesome.  

Rode the Nidecker today, which sure is fun when I'm riding fast open terrain, but I just cant flip my turns in steep chutes and trees like I can on my salomon.  I'll be on the salomon tomorrow, searching for deep snow in the trees :)

Well when I drove to Colorado I saw desert terrain and red rocks.  That's when I decided it was time to call it quits on the snowboarding and go ride bikes.  Then I had a lot of fun in Utah with my friends and then it started snowing here...and I'm happy to end snowboarding season on a great snowy note.  

So we have a week left in the season at Jackson, which sounds about right to me, and then I'll jump ship for Moab or Fruita or some similar southwestern mountain biking mecca.  Hopefully I'll start climbing, too.  Then I'll shoot back to NY to see friends and get some biking gear, and then start working early to mid may.  Working where?  That's the question.  I rode the lift with a ranger in Teton park.  He suggested I call the park to check for open positions--that often times they weren't listed with USAjobs.  I'll call soon to look into trail crew positions.  I would love to work outside on trails all day.

And tomorrow I have a phone interview with Mountain Racing Products (MRP) to whom I shot a resume when I spotted their craigslist ad for a degreed mechanical engineer.  Yes I am degreed!  MRP makes tensioners, bashguards, forks, pedals, and seatposts (i think...)  They are most well known for their DH chainguide products and their forks (marketed under white industries).  I miss using my brain and I'd enjoy working with mountain bikers in Colorado.  Besides, I stopped in Grand Junction on my way to Crested Butte and there were mountain bikers and bike shops all over the place.  Trails are dry there!

My friend here Dan is also trying to figure out his summer.  What appeals most to him now is buying an old VW Vanagon listed in the classifieds and being a climbing bum this summer.  He proposed that I sell the Toyota, pitch in for the Vanagon, and join.  I declined.  It would be fun to park together though, I hope he goes for the climbing bum plan.  I proposed that he backpack all summer, but he has no gear or experience, and isn't sure that he would even enjoy backpacking all summer (what is there to do but walk around and eat?).  Fair enough, I guess you really have to like being alone in the woods for that to work.

good days

Well the night before last I was kicking myself for leaving Utah.  SLC region was getting dumped on, and Jackson was pretty dry.  I was sure I made a mistake. 

Then it started snowing late that night.  Six inches by sunrise was all I needed to hop out of bed.  It snowed all day, but you could still feel the crust under the fresh snow.  At the end of the day, the snow picked up, dumping another foot overnight.  The 24 hour total ending this morning was 21 inches.  

I got over to the resort at 8:30, intending to meet up with Billy the kiter who could get me half price tickets.  Billy didn't show, so I bought a full price ticket.  

The tram didn't open until 10 or so, but it was worth the wait.  We were third tram car, giving us some great tracks in Rendezvous bowl.  Today was my first day riding the tram, and it was sweet.  The thing covers more than four thousand vertical feet in the blink of an eye.  

We scoped out Corbets Coulouir (a very difficult steep chute that starts with a 20+ foot drop to ice.  Steel and Doug said they were doing it (before they saw it), while I was not so sure.  After scoping no one did it, and we got down to business.  The morning was great.  Great tracks on all sorts of stuff.  Deep, fresh, and steep.  There were lift lines, though, and we were always waiting for somebody, so the morning was kind of slow.  I finally busted out on my own because I was tired of waiting (no friends on a powder day), and the folks I wanted to ride with skipped out of bounds and I didnt know where they were going.  Yesterday the mountain was empty and you could get good tracks all day, but not today.

It got warm and the snow got heavy.  I ended the day totally spent.  

I'll probably get up early and do it again tomorrow (without the $87 ticket).  I expect they'll open casper bowl and the crags (in bounds hiking terrain).  I have a few things I need to do during business hours, though.  I'll probably try to be really productive in the morning, because afternoons after riding are always very, very lazy.

Oh yeah, and the forecast is for another storm this weekend and next week.  Out like a lion.

spring break

I had a long but very pretty drive on Wednesday to crested butte, colorado, where I met up with Rebecca and Tosh.  Rebecca rode with Tosh and his dad for three days (I tagged along for one).  Crested Butte was very hardpacked and cover was getting a little thin.  Spring conditions for sure.  

Then Rebecca and I drove from Crested Butte to salt lake city.  I enjoyed the drive, it felt comforting and familiar to drive with rebecca at night.  We stopped for dinner in a chinese all-you-can-eat buffet.  Pretty tasty I must admit, although I did pass up on the sushi.

In salt lake we stayed in the same extended stay america as before and met up with Adam, Jeff, and Rebecca's friend Chris from her kenya trip (who goes to school at berkeley).

We rode Brighton, the Canyons, and Snowbird.  Brighton was probably the best day--nice soft spring conditions with super fun terrain.  I practiced my spins a bunch and hucked a lot of rocks.  It's a great place for jumping--nice launches, nice landings, and good runouts.  Jackson's much too steep for the same casual approach to cliffs.

the canyons was a bust.  The mountain is laid out kind of poorly, we did a lot of traversing, and conditions were really slow.  Rebecca, Jeff, and I lapped the terrain park at the end of the day, which was fun.  Jeff busted himself, hope he's feeling better.  Rebecca was hitting jumps way faster than before (props), making the landings on some good size jumps.  

Snowbird was a steep mountain.  It was a little cloudy so it took longer for conditions to soften.  At this point Adam had gone home and Jeff took the day off, so it was just me, Rebecca, and Chris.  We had a fun day despite some harder conditions.  Great terrain, but very crusty in the shade and on the steeps.

We went bowling a couple of nights (the alley is close to the hotel).  One night was disco bowling or whatever you call it.  I was sure the flashing lights and music would throw off my game, but I didn't notice a difference.  Chris established himself hands down as the fast ball thrower, cranking out mid twenties speed all day.  We were also very well entertained by the arcade in the bowling alley.  

Rebecca, Jeff, and Chris left Sunday afternoon despite forecasts of snow.  Rebecca gave me three Solitude passes (a birthday present) and I stayed in Utah.  

After dropping Rebecca and Jeff at the airport I went to a coffee shop.  It turned out it was a cyclist themed coffee shop, apparently in a neighborhood filled with cyclists.  I felt right at home.  Some older hippy chicks (maybe not politically correct term...) told me all about the benefits of raw foods.  Apparently when we cook food we kill all the enzymes and our bodies have to make more enzymes which is taxing.  By eating raw food you get the enzymes you need, and your body doesnt have to work so hard producing enzymes, making you feel great.  I'm not so sure...but I did get a free dinner of vegan raw food stuff.  It was delicious, but I was not inclined to stuff myself.  Hugs all around, then I was headed for Solitude.

Solitude was a ghost town.  Outside the Thirsty Squirrel I met Rich, a 16 year local who works landscaping in the summer and skis in the winter (a common lifestyle).  He gave me tips for where to ride if it were to snow a lot (didnt snow enough).  He also let me in to his hotel where I was able to bum a hot tub and a shower before sleeping in the truck.

It snowed about 8 inches overnight, which was not nearly enough to cover up the bulletproof sun-crusted hardpack.  It was windy, so I was able to hopscotch from wind-loaded patch to wind-loaded patch, and I got some nice turns in.  It was very painful to fall, though.  Ha I forgot to zip my fly on my first run.  I was reminded quickly by snow in my pants.

I met up with two locals Jaseth and Cody.  They (also snowboarders) asked me if I wanted to take a fun run.  We got fresh tracks in some out of bounds woods that were way fun--different than in Jackson, where woods are tight and steep.  These were tight in a different way.  Instead of shooting steep chutes between the trees you would shoot tight tunnels of tree branches.  There was stuff to drop and stall on all over the place.  Fun riding--the only good snow on the mountain.  Jaseth and Cody were characters too.  Jaseth grew up in Mexico and has been in slc for five years.  Cody grew up in slc, and both are doing the ski bum thing at least for a little while.  I think they're just a bit older than me, but I'm not sure.

I cooked dinner in my truck (in heavy snow), and hung out at the Squirrel.  The folks at Solitude were awesome.  It was fine to park overnight, I wasn't hassled, I got free coffee in the morning, and the bartender gave me a free beer and unlocked the pool table so I could play for free.  Beers were also 5 bucks, 1/2 strength, and you have to pay 4 bucks to get a membership to the bar (this is what happens when mormons make laws).

Another night in the truck, no snow overnight.  I checked the forecast in the morning and the predictions for Solitude and Jackson were both pretty good.  Anxious to catch some more good days at Jackson, I packed up, sold the two tickets, and headed North.

On the way back I stopped to fish.  The first spot, a picturesque hole on the Salt River, yielded nothing.  Didn't see anything, didn't feel anything.  Then I stopped on the Snake where I was previously accosted by the warden.  Here the fish were going off on the surface despite sub-freezing temperatures.  They were taking midges, and I took several fish on a griffith's gnat and on a midge nymph pattern before my ferrules iced too badly and I couldn't use my hands properly.  The fish also shut down.  Fun stop though.

A good trip!  Great to see Jeff, Rebecca, and Adam, and good to meet Chris.  Fun to ride different terrain and meet new, fun, friendly people.

twenty inches

that's right!  check out teton snow

alive and kicking

spring break trip went well, and then I stuck around in utah for a day because it snowed.  I'm headed back to jackson today because jackson is forecast to get snow (so is utah, but my terrain and buddies are in jackson).

i'll talk more about the last week when I get back.

quick post

Nice riding yesterday.  We got six or seven inches overnight at the top of the mountain with rain at the bottom.  My board is too wide :-(, but it will make a sweet powder board.

Today I'm headed out of town, a quick stint to Colorado to grab Rebecca then to Utah for a few days to meet up with Jeff and Adam.