Day 32, Home again

Got back from Southern Colorado this afternoon. Went down to my Grandfathers cabin for X-mas with the family. Did alot of reading and sledding with the family. Went over to Wolf Creek on Monday and got to see my neice and nephew ski for the first time, that was pretty cool. It snowed most of the day on the slopes so the snow was great. They had a 74" base across the mountain and you could really tell the difference from the smaller bases in and around Summit County. All in all a good trip and a nice break from being on the mountain 5 times a week. Off to Copper Mountain tonight for fireworks and some NewYears Cheer. Stay safe everyone.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Day 31

Headed up to Keystone in the morning, suprised that there was not bigger crowds. Went tubing up on the mountian, pretty fun. went fast and got really dizzy. Had a blast, but it was really cold. Hanging out with the roomates tonight having a few adult beverages. Heading to the parental units tomorrow, cant wait to see the fam. and watch the little folks open the presents. X-mas is so fun. Hope all have a Merry X-mas.

Day 30

Vail, Went up with my roomate and friend today. Pretty good time on the mountain today, snow was fast and cat tracks didnt matter much. The roomate is really good on the skis , he spent most of the day waiting on me to catch up. Did about 4 hours on the mountain and spent the rest of the time walking the village and hanging out at the local pub. Weatherman is calling for snow the next couple of days so I'm crossing my fingers.

Creek at Vail

Vail snowman

Day 29

Keystone in the morning, got up to the hill early to beat the holiday rush. Cruised around a bit, then left after a few hours on the hill. It got pretty sporty on the hill trying to dodge all the vacationers and the Texans in jeans. Came home and went on a hike up on the mountains just behind m house with The Captin and Milo the dog. It was good to get up on the mountain and hike a bit. Heading up to Breck tonight for Happy Hour at Casa Mia. MMMMMM 1 dollar Tacos.

Trail Head

Beetle Kill

The Captain and Milo

Day 28

Went to Breckenridge today with the roomates and friends. We made laps for awhile and then watched a little bit of the slopeside competetion of the Dew tour. We checked out the tents and got alot of cool free stuff. Wanted to ride the mechenical bull, but the line was too long. Headed home for beer and pot roast tonight.

Day 27

Keystone, made laps for a couple of hours this morning. It looks as if the X-mas crowds have shown up in Summit. Got pretty crowded on the mountain at about 11:00. Looks like this will be my pattern of boarding until after the new year. Get up early make laps and get off of the mountain by noon. Not ideal, but tourism is what keeps the mountain going, so they can have the mountain till after the new year, then I will take it back.

Day 26

Keystone in the morning. Got about 2-3" of snow on the mountian this morning. I just went up for about 3 hours. Then went in to Denver to finish up the X-mas shopping and pic a good friend up from the airport. Im totally excited to have her up here. Looks like it is going to be a fun 3 weeks. The first of many friends to head up here. Think we are heading over to Breckenridge tomorrow to check out the Dew Tour. Well im beat.

Day 25

Keystone, went up and made laps for a few hours. All of the snow from the last storm was gone, so I just cruised the mountain and dipped in and out of some trees trying to get what was left of the powder. A fun day, but Im kinda addicted to the powder. I am officially 1/4th of the way to my goal of 100 days. Time is flying right now, wish I could slow it down a bit, but I am having a blast.

Day 24, More Snow.

Went over to Beaver Creek today with the roomates. We got 8 " of snow last night so this was the first true powder day. Right off the bat the roomates take me down a double black, which was really great in the powder. Never thought I would say that. I really like going out with the roomates cause they push me and it allows me to get better. Did alot of cruising around on blues and blacks the rest of the day and the snow was great. Took my share of falls today, but it was like landing on feathers so it wasn't bad. So yeah, this takes over the best day of the season so far.

Yeah I fell some.

Day 23, Snow

Went out to Keystone with my roomates and friends today. It snowed 4-5 inches on the mountain today, so the riding was pretty good. I developed alot more confidence on the board knowing that if I did crash that it would be a little bit softer of a landing with the snow. I started ducking in and out of trees on the side of the runs and hitting smaller jumps. All in all it was the best day of the season, with the snow, the friends, and the new found confidence. Hopefully we will get some more snow, but I'm not holding my breath. Looks like I have found the end of my cold as well, so things are getting better. Going to be a good week, with the first of many friends coming into town to hang out and do a little boarding.

Day 22

Keystone, Got back on my board today. It felt good after riding my roomates twin tip. Im still sick, so I only rode half a day. The last roomate comes in tonight, so that should be interesting. Think Im going to take the weekend off to do x-mas shopping and to try and get over this nagging cold.

Copper Grand Prix / Bums

Went over to Copper today to watch my roomates girlfriend Katie try and qualify for the Copper Grand Prix Super Pipe finals. It was pretty cool, they have 2 heats of around 25 girls. I just stayed for her heat, then headed home. Im fighting of the remains of my weekend sickness so today was an off day, but tomorrow Im heading to Keystone to board and hang out a little. More strange people showed up on the couch the last couple of days, Kinda keeps me on my toes not knowing who will be sleeping our couch when I wake up in the morning. Yes in fact there are bigger bums in the world than me, they are currently on my couch.

Day 21

Headed over to Vail today with rommate Boles, and his friend Ryan. I borrowed a smaller board from my other roomate. It was a twin 155 cm 2008 Arbor. I have never rode a twin, so it was interesting. Think I'm going back to my board tomorrow. It was bone chilling cold, and Vail has to many traverses for snowboarders this early in the season. Got 7" but we showed up late so we made laps for a couple of hours then called it a day.

Day 20

Keystone, just crusied around the mountain with my roomate Boles today. We were suppost to get some significant snowfall, but only got about 2". I really dont like the local weatherman. He is constantly toying with my emotions. I think if I were to see him on the streets I might have to tackle him, or sweep the leg. Other roomate Berto's b-day is today, so were off to eat sushi and celebrate his 37th year on the fair planet. Hopefully we will get some more snow.

Day 19

Keystone, woke up on Saturday morning and there were 4 strange people camped out in the living room. Couple of guys from Denver, and two more from South Dakota. Hung out with the South Dakota boys all weekend, They speak Canadian Lite. Kinda funny. Got sick this weekend as well, didn't board, but finally got up to Keystone today and made laps. I hate the weather man, he's been teasing us by saying its going to snow every night and we got nothin. But he's saying it again tonight, so maybe he will get it right tonight.

Copper Mountain Super Pipe

Took off today to go to Copper's super pipe. Right now alot of Olympic teams are training there. I went to hang out with my roomate and his girlfriend. She is trying out for the Canadian womens snowboard team, so she has been training at Copper for a couple of weeks now. I just went to get some video and hang out. They have the perfect setup to watch the pipe. The pipe is at the bottom of one of the main trails. Just below the pipe is a huge bar with a nice deck where you can sit out and enjoy a few adult beverages and watch the boarders in the pipe. So it was a pretty good day. My apologies for the quality of the video, but its the best I got.

Video from the Deck

Video from the base of the pipe

Video from the base of the pipe, Look closely on

the left side at 59 seconds Shawn White drops in

Day 18, Cold

Went to Keystone, Got in my car this morning and the outside temperature was -15 degrees. On the mountain it was only -3, so I tuffed it out for 3 hours, lost feeling in my nose, and feet, but I was out there doing it. I think Im done boarding for the week, Im heading to Copper tommorrow to watch the US snowboard team train on the halfpipe. Should have some cool pics and maybe a video.

Day 17, Snow

Yes, it snowed last night, Went to Keystone and they had about 4" of the fresh white stuff. I was one of the first up on the mountain. They opened up some terrain off of the backside and I made laps all morning. It got tracked out by about 11:00, so I hit up some easier trails and continued to work on my switch riding. I just about got the hang of switch. I think I will be able to get down the mountain riding 100% switch in about a week or so. Right now I just do smaller sections, mostly the flats, but I got my 360's down to both sides. After mastering switch I think I am going to start working on my jumping skills. That should be fun. I left the mountain about 12:30 to attend to some important buisness.

not me

Day 16, Sick

Breckenridge again. Got up on the mountain and my head started to throb. Gutted out a few runs then started to feel sick and achey. Booted in the john, went home.