The only way she could have gotten into our back yard is to jump a 6-foot fence.
March 27, 2009
Snow Day
I used the foot-and-a-half of snow we got in Boulder as an excuse not to go in to work today. At one point while working from home, I turned around, looked outside, and realized I had company.
The only way she could have gotten into our back yard is to jump a 6-foot fence.
The only way she could have gotten into our back yard is to jump a 6-foot fence.
March 24, 2009
Ski Racin'
For the last couple years, I have competed in two ski races per year. This year, they both fell on the same weekend.
Saturday was the company-sponsored Chen Cup, where geo-environmental engineering firms recruit as many ringers as possible to win the overall competition. The event was held up at Eldora, where it was about 60 degrees and beautiful for the entire day. I was unable to defend my title of "Tele Champ" from the previous year, but I came in second. I lost by about 1 second to a Colorado State Student who was heavily recruited by his fathers engineering firm (congrats Jesse!). I'll attribute that 1 second to the fact that I was wearing a very un-aerodynamic kilt until someone can prove me wrong.
Race attire
Kilt lunges
I also competed in the cross-country race with much less success. I finished 6th, one place behind Jesse for the second time that day.
The Golder X-Country Crew Pre-race
Cruising down to the finish
The 8th Annual DoJoe Race was held at Eldora on Sunday. Keith, Sean, Rachel, and I all skied as fast as we could up the hill before peeling our skins and racing down the steepest run at the resort to the finish. Most participants are telemark skiers and costumes are mandatory (unlike the previous day when I was a bit out of place), making the focus shifted more towards having fun than going fast.
If he who has the most fun wins, I think I got 1st place! Speed wise, Keith placed 5th and I placed 13th, improving my time from the previous year by almost 5 minutes. I think the two beers I carried slowed me down a bit. Rachel won the women's telemark race and, rumor has it, set a course record in the process!
Saturday was the company-sponsored Chen Cup, where geo-environmental engineering firms recruit as many ringers as possible to win the overall competition. The event was held up at Eldora, where it was about 60 degrees and beautiful for the entire day. I was unable to defend my title of "Tele Champ" from the previous year, but I came in second. I lost by about 1 second to a Colorado State Student who was heavily recruited by his fathers engineering firm (congrats Jesse!). I'll attribute that 1 second to the fact that I was wearing a very un-aerodynamic kilt until someone can prove me wrong.
Race attire
Kilt lunges
I also competed in the cross-country race with much less success. I finished 6th, one place behind Jesse for the second time that day.
The Golder X-Country Crew Pre-race
Cruising down to the finish
The 8th Annual DoJoe Race was held at Eldora on Sunday. Keith, Sean, Rachel, and I all skied as fast as we could up the hill before peeling our skins and racing down the steepest run at the resort to the finish. Most participants are telemark skiers and costumes are mandatory (unlike the previous day when I was a bit out of place), making the focus shifted more towards having fun than going fast.
If he who has the most fun wins, I think I got 1st place! Speed wise, Keith placed 5th and I placed 13th, improving my time from the previous year by almost 5 minutes. I think the two beers I carried slowed me down a bit. Rachel won the women's telemark race and, rumor has it, set a course record in the process!
March 12, 2009
Coincidence?
I was driving to work this morning when a particular song came on the radio that seemed eerily appropriate. Mind you, I am currently working in New Mexico at a Potash Mine. The mine property covers many square miles, all of which have been thoroughly desecrated by mining activity. Also of interest, about 10 miles of a 25-mile long highway travels past much of the mine. I was on this stretch of highway when the song came on. I'm sure most of you are familiar with ACDC's "Highway to Hell".
March 08, 2009
Sunday Hike
Not too much exciting to report. Yesterday, Josh went skiing at Loveland with Walt (former CU Civil grad student) and Walt's fiancee, Nicky. Sounds like Josh had a great day jumping off cliffs. While he was off having fun skiing, I did a swim-bike-run time trial and then ate a lot of food.
Today, we both wanted to get out of the house, but didn't want to do anything too strenuous. Really Josh just wanted to try out his new hiking boots. So, we went for an easy hike (leaving right from our front porch, of course). We took pictures because otherwise we wouldn't have anything exciting to post on the blog for awhile.
This evening, Josh is heading off to New Mexico for work. Maybe he will post some pictures of the local polar bears when he gets there.
Today, we both wanted to get out of the house, but didn't want to do anything too strenuous. Really Josh just wanted to try out his new hiking boots. So, we went for an easy hike (leaving right from our front porch, of course). We took pictures because otherwise we wouldn't have anything exciting to post on the blog for awhile.
This evening, Josh is heading off to New Mexico for work. Maybe he will post some pictures of the local polar bears when he gets there.
March 01, 2009
Skiing and Tunneling
I spent Saturday skiing with Sean and Sara off the East Portal trailhead. I'd never skied this particular area before, and found the terrain to be extremely featured and fun! Cliff bands of varying sizes were everywhere, and there was ample powder to land in.
In the Spring (only a few months from now) this gnar will become skiable!
Airborne Seanski
This line was really fun
Sara took a break on the second lap, and when Sean and I returned, she had mostly completed a tunnel, linking a large pit to a tree well. We proceeded to help her finish the tunnel before taking turns going back and forth like hamsters in a new cage toy.
Some skiers came by and falsely accused us of being architects. We were happy to correct them as we are, in fact, civil engineers.
To see all the photos from this trip, click here.
In the Spring (only a few months from now) this gnar will become skiable!
Airborne Seanski
This line was really fun
Sara took a break on the second lap, and when Sean and I returned, she had mostly completed a tunnel, linking a large pit to a tree well. We proceeded to help her finish the tunnel before taking turns going back and forth like hamsters in a new cage toy.
Some skiers came by and falsely accused us of being architects. We were happy to correct them as we are, in fact, civil engineers.
To see all the photos from this trip, click here.
February 23, 2009
Dinner and an Eldo
On Saturday I went climbing in Eldorado Canyon with Dane, Rainbow, and Melanie. We hung out in the morning waiting for the previous night's 1-2 inches of snow to melt off the rock so we could climb. This happened quickly as it warmed up into the 50's. Eventually, Dane and I got on Long John Wall. We took turns leading 4 moderate, sustained, and very enjoyable pitches to the top. This is probably my most difficult trad climb to date, and I felt pretty good on it.
That night, I got to join Dane as his date at the annual American Alpine Club Dinner/Benefit in Golden. I thought it was great to be in a room full of old-school and new-school badasses, including the likes of Layton Kor, Johnny Copp, Conrad Anker, and Lynn Hill to name a few. Perhaps the highlight of the evening was the guest speaker, who I admittedly did not know much about prior to the event. Greg Mortenson, former dirt-bag climber and author of Three Cups of Tea, was the guest speaker. He spoke of his grassroots efforts to bring schools and education, particularly to females, in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The effort all began after a failed attempt on K2 when he returned, in very poor shape, to a local village. He was amazed at the kindness these people showed him in nursing him back to health and seems to have been trying to return the favor ever since. At any rate, I'm now going to read the book. It's a great story of how someone with very little financial means can take giant steps in making the world a better place.
That night, I got to join Dane as his date at the annual American Alpine Club Dinner/Benefit in Golden. I thought it was great to be in a room full of old-school and new-school badasses, including the likes of Layton Kor, Johnny Copp, Conrad Anker, and Lynn Hill to name a few. Perhaps the highlight of the evening was the guest speaker, who I admittedly did not know much about prior to the event. Greg Mortenson, former dirt-bag climber and author of Three Cups of Tea, was the guest speaker. He spoke of his grassroots efforts to bring schools and education, particularly to females, in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The effort all began after a failed attempt on K2 when he returned, in very poor shape, to a local village. He was amazed at the kindness these people showed him in nursing him back to health and seems to have been trying to return the favor ever since. At any rate, I'm now going to read the book. It's a great story of how someone with very little financial means can take giant steps in making the world a better place.
February 16, 2009
Wallowing
Heading towards the route
wallow (verb): to flounder about; move along or proceed clumsily or with difficulty
This weekend, despite or because of the weather (I'm still not quite sure), Dane and I made an attempt at climbing Dreamweaver on Mt. Meeker in Rocky Mountain National Park.
After sleeping in the truck at the trailhead, we woke at 3:00 am and began skiing by 4:00. We skied up to treeline and then hiked across the wind-scoured open terrain above treeline, up over Chasm Lake Pass, and down to Chasm Lake. This part of the journey went pretty smoothly, arriving at the lake before 8:00. The entire hike up to this point was cold and a bit windy and snowy.
Dane doing a superb job of wallowing
As we headed up from the lake to the base of the climb, we encountered deep snow and swirling spindrift that seemed to envelope everything. We made painfully slow progress for the next 2 or 3 hours. Dane broke trail for most of this stretch and only complained about his arms being tired from all the swimming. Eventually, after much wallowing, we arrived at the base of Dreamweaver couloir. We knew we had arrived when the gully we were hiking up narrowed to about the width of a body and steepened dramatically. We had optimistically hoped that the snow wouldn't be as deep on the steeper terrain. Hope was not enough.
Dane at the base of the climb
We had also hoped that the deep, narrow couloir would block the wind. Instead, the wind swirled and eddied all around us as it carried fine-grained snow that coated everything it touched.
Dane made an honest attempt at leading the first pitch of the climb. He made slow but steady progress up the slippery rock covered in a few feet of snow. After progressing about 50 feet in 45 minutes, we both decided we were in a loosing battle and opted to back off the route and return to the car.
After a hasty retreat (notice the eyebrows)
Returning back over the pass from Chasm Lake
Dreamweaver is a classic spring climb and only occasionally done in the winter. Had we not endured a recent snow storm, I think the route would have been doable. Nonetheless, we were fully engaged in Type 2 fun for a good, long day in the mountains. Every time one does something like this, one's ability to suffer increases and priceless alpine experiences are gained.
February 09, 2009
Ouray
I made it down to the San Juan Mountains for the second weekend in a row. This time, I went with Keith, Dane, Rachel, and Rainbow to Ouray, CO, which is known for its ice climbing. The ice that makes the town famous is not quite naturally forming. Pipes transport water along the top edge of the shady side of a cliff leading down into a narrow river canyon. This pipe has spigots every few feet. At 4:00 pm every below-freezing weekday, the town turns the water on and more ice forms. This strategy for attracting tourists has been so successful, I'm surprised more towns have not tried to employ it.
We spent all of Friday ice climbing in the park.
We spent Saturday backcountry skiing on Red Mountain Pass, a few miles above town.
Indecisively, we spent the first half of Sunday backcountry skiing at the same local as the previous day, and the latter half ice climbing in the park prior to driving home.
Dane leading a climb in the South Park area (yes, all the climbs here are named after South Park episodes and characters)
Keith in The Schoolroom
Dane in The Schoolroom
More of Dane gettin' his learn on in The Schoolroom
This was a fun, steep, and pumpy one
Rainbow in the snow on "Pic o' the Vic"
I think I'd turn in to a good ice climber if I lived in Ouray for a winter. MORE PHOTOS
We spent all of Friday ice climbing in the park.
We spent Saturday backcountry skiing on Red Mountain Pass, a few miles above town.
Indecisively, we spent the first half of Sunday backcountry skiing at the same local as the previous day, and the latter half ice climbing in the park prior to driving home.
Dane leading a climb in the South Park area (yes, all the climbs here are named after South Park episodes and characters)
Keith in The Schoolroom
Dane in The Schoolroom
More of Dane gettin' his learn on in The Schoolroom
This was a fun, steep, and pumpy one
Rainbow in the snow on "Pic o' the Vic"
I think I'd turn in to a good ice climber if I lived in Ouray for a winter. MORE PHOTOS
February 08, 2009
skate ski
Last weekend, I went skate skiing with a couple friends at Snow Mountain Ranch (just north of Winter Park ski area). Trail passes for the day were $15. But if you got a lesson, passes were free. And lessons were free that day. So, we decided to take a lesson. I have been skate skiing for over 4 years, but have never taken an official lesson. I learned a ton and really improved my technique.
Now I can't wait to xc ski with Josh. A couple weeks ago, he was able to stay ahead of me .... I am ready to make sure that doesn't happen again.
Now I can't wait to xc ski with Josh. A couple weeks ago, he was able to stay ahead of me .... I am ready to make sure that doesn't happen again.
February 01, 2009
San Juan Winter 14ers
Noticing that yet another nice weekend was in store, I made plans to climb two fourteeners in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. The crux of this trip turned out to be finding a climbing partner on short notice. Ryan pulled through. After leaving work at lunch to go home and pack, he was ready to leave at 3:00 and we drove to Lake City.
We planned to climb the east ridge of Sunshine Peak, which carries the distinction of being the lowest 14er in the US at 14,001 feet. After reaching Sunshine's summit, we planned to traverse the 1.3-mile ridge between Sunshine Peak and Redcloud Peak, followed by a ski descent.
The first part of our journey required us to gain the east ridge, which meant 2,500 vertical feet of steep scrambling/bushwhacking amongst a menagerie of small cliffs. Most of our energy for the entire day was exerted on this portion of the climb. Once on the ridge and above the trees, we caught the first glimpse of the mountains we were aiming for.
Sunshine Peak - the East Ridge route gains the false summit on the right before continuing up to the true summit. Redcloud Peak is out of view to the right. Yes, the sky really was that blue.
The strenuous first part of the climb brought Ryan to abandon the original plan of climbing both peaks. At about 13,000 feet on Sunshine's east ridge, Ryan and I split up. He intended to take his time and enjoy the rest of the climb on Sunshine before retracing the route. I shifted into high gear in attempt to summit Sunshine, ski down to the saddle between Sunshine and Redcloud, hike up to Redcloud and back to the saddle, and ski from the saddle down to treeline where Ryan and I would once again meet up.
Thanks to the weather, this revamped plan worked out, and Ryan beat me to our meeting spot by about 2 minutes.
Looking down Sunshine's East Ridge from the summit
The beautiful San Juans, with Uncompagre Peak on the right and Wetterhorn on the left
Redcloud Peak from the top of Sunshine Peak
The second leg of my ski descent started at the saddle, just left of center
The distance between the two peaks seemed like a long 1.3 miles, perhaps because I was trying to hurry. The ski descent was wind packed, variable, fast, and fun. Most importantly, it was a great way to avoid walking down the mountain.
Overall it was a nice 10 to 11 hour hike and a great way to end January. The weather was spectacular, and we literally didn't see a cloud the entire day. We spent the previous night on the new bed in the back of the 4-Runner, which exceeded all my expectations. It's weekends like this that make the ensuing work week seem all the more drab.
We planned to climb the east ridge of Sunshine Peak, which carries the distinction of being the lowest 14er in the US at 14,001 feet. After reaching Sunshine's summit, we planned to traverse the 1.3-mile ridge between Sunshine Peak and Redcloud Peak, followed by a ski descent.
The first part of our journey required us to gain the east ridge, which meant 2,500 vertical feet of steep scrambling/bushwhacking amongst a menagerie of small cliffs. Most of our energy for the entire day was exerted on this portion of the climb. Once on the ridge and above the trees, we caught the first glimpse of the mountains we were aiming for.
Sunshine Peak - the East Ridge route gains the false summit on the right before continuing up to the true summit. Redcloud Peak is out of view to the right. Yes, the sky really was that blue.
The strenuous first part of the climb brought Ryan to abandon the original plan of climbing both peaks. At about 13,000 feet on Sunshine's east ridge, Ryan and I split up. He intended to take his time and enjoy the rest of the climb on Sunshine before retracing the route. I shifted into high gear in attempt to summit Sunshine, ski down to the saddle between Sunshine and Redcloud, hike up to Redcloud and back to the saddle, and ski from the saddle down to treeline where Ryan and I would once again meet up.
Thanks to the weather, this revamped plan worked out, and Ryan beat me to our meeting spot by about 2 minutes.
Looking down Sunshine's East Ridge from the summit
The beautiful San Juans, with Uncompagre Peak on the right and Wetterhorn on the left
Redcloud Peak from the top of Sunshine Peak
The second leg of my ski descent started at the saddle, just left of center
The distance between the two peaks seemed like a long 1.3 miles, perhaps because I was trying to hurry. The ski descent was wind packed, variable, fast, and fun. Most importantly, it was a great way to avoid walking down the mountain.
Overall it was a nice 10 to 11 hour hike and a great way to end January. The weather was spectacular, and we literally didn't see a cloud the entire day. We spent the previous night on the new bed in the back of the 4-Runner, which exceeded all my expectations. It's weekends like this that make the ensuing work week seem all the more drab.
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