tech down

Computer is on the fritz so I can't post the cool pics from skiing Solitude with Sally and Norm after the storm on Tuesday.

Just imagine bluebird and 17" fresh.

My new bluehouse skis rip!

St. George this weekend and a hut tour in the Sawtooths on tap for mid March!

alternatives

The last couple years I have been experimenting with winter training alternatives. I have slowly decreased the amount I ride in the winter but swapped it for other repetitive aerobic activity like skate skiing, snow shoeing, and alpine touring. This year I am really pushing the alternative time and am excited to see where my mountain bike race fitness is at next weekends race in dixie after a winter of more skiing than biking. I am a little bummed my new custom painted scalpel won't be here in time but I guess that will make me get the old one in working order.

I kept the theme going this afternoon with Jared on another tour, we logged about 5300 vertical and found the mountains had accumulated at least a foot of fresh creamy powder for the DH. While skinning up the flakes coming down were nearly 2 inch's in diameter and quickly adding up, it cleared up at the top for some great views.
Maybe tomorrow I'll ride my bike, or maybe I will ski again and save the riding until next Saturday.

laps on lookout

Rosie made it home from her 3rd trimester vacation and I don't know if Eva or myself was happier to see her.



In celebration of Presidents Day I got the upstairs bedrooms ready for carpet and installed the bathroom vanity in the morning and went skiing in the afternoon when the old crusts had softened up.



Rosie droped me off in pinecrest and I did a few laps on lookout peak before working my way back over and down freeze creek just in time for dinner.



red= up track, blue= DH



South facing lookout peak in early afternoon after the sun/wind crust softened



Grandview (9400') from Lookout (8960')



looking South off Lookout



Cornice the size of 3 buses end to end ready to drop


A couple runs off West end of Lookout




Ready for another



Looking West down City Creek



One of these days I need start thinking about bike racing!

contrast

My Thursday morning dawn patrol was a disaster. I left the house at at 6:15 and planned a quick loop descending the East face into freeze creek. I skinned down the driveway in about 12" of fresh dust with only a light breeze blowing, it was sure to be good. About 1/2 way up the ridge skin track the wind picked up, I thought it was isolated to the ridge and would improve on the backside. I was wrong and the wind continued to pick up until I found myself laying flat on my stomach clutching the ground trying not to be blown off the mountain. I have never seen wind like that and had to crawl down or risk being torn of my feet. When I got home my driveway had filled in with a 6ft drift and I spent the next hour clearing it. My face was numb the rest of the day.

This afternoon I followed Jared's Thursday skin track up Neffs/Thompson for nearly 5000ft of creamy non wind affected snow. The turning was great and when I was on the top looking down on Mt Olympus and across into BC I could not even feel the slightest breeze. Weather changes are facsinating!

Sorry no pics I forgot my camera again, Jared has some good ones.
UC group ride tomorrow

sun and snow

LA was good and although I was restless in the meetings I learned some of the latest and greatest in amputee care and prosthetics. I got in 3 good rides, all in shorts but was passed by more cars in 1 hour than an entire year commuting up and down EC.

Riding North towards the mountains along Venice beach


Bathroom stop at taco bell along Ventrua blvd, can't be to carefull around here

Got back to winter on Friday evening and had just enough time to bust a quick loop on my AT lap, the wind has done a number on the creamy DH. This wet my appetite for a little more skiing so the samurai and I hit up the tri-canyon tour starting at Alta and ending in Millcreek. The light was flat and my pics are not that good but we got a good workout, covered some ground, and made some turns.

Here is a shot of "Gods lawnmower" slide path looking across BC from Reynolds


Jared demonstrating an alternative method of descedning after a small binding malfunction


The preferred method down Wilson chutes

This big guy looks pumped about all the snow


while this little guy was digging a snow cave

This weeks winter activity wrap up:

Monday: 4 hour AT loop, freeze creek- brigham fork- top of pine crest- top of red butte- breaking trail in about 12" fresh, great turns!

Tuesday: 6+ hour road ride, 125 mile exporation ride in cali frim San Pedro North to Malibu along the coast, up Topanga canyon and looping around through Holywood and Beverly Hills. A few good efforts with some rest at stop lights.

Wednesday: 2 hr road ride in the hills behind San Pedro and along the coast, a few crazy steep climbs.

Thursday: 2 hrs again exploring the hills above San Pedro and along the southern coast of LA, great views but caught in the dark again.

Friday: 1 hr backyard AT lap

Saturday: 5 hr tri canyon backcountry tour chasing Jared as he prepares for some rando racing, not sure of the stats but I was tired at the end.

Sunday: 30 min family hike in am and 1.5 hr neighborhood MTB in pm up pinecrest checking out some new ski routes. A few good climbing efforts reminded me of yestedays duration.

Eva helping me clean up the driveway

1 more than gilligan

4 hr tour behind the house today. Explored some new territory between brigham fork, pinecrest, red butte, freeze creek all the way up to the city creek ridge line. 12-18" of of fresh dust made the trail breaking tough so I tried to stick to the ridge lines. Got in some good turns and scoped out a bunch of new lines for next time. The backyard keeps getting bigger.
The new Janak AT setup is doing me right!



To LA at 6am tomorrow!

the real deal

So I have been getting a lot of emails about the velonews article, thanks!

The one thing that was left out is the critical role Rosie has played in any of the success I have seen. Rosie is absolutely the most important piece of the puzzle and without her support, flexibility, and tolerance, competing at a high level would not be possible. They should have written an article on her: A wife that helps and encourges her husband to ride his bike and never grow up! They could have had a good picture of her handing up water bottles barefoot and pregnant while chasing a 2 year old.
She is a Jem!

Another winter week recap:

Mon: 30 min snowy night MTB in the neighboorhood
Tue: Epic day at DV skiing powder for 7 hrs
Wed: Commute to work on MTB 1 hr
Thurs: Dawn patrol alpine tour 3 hrs, 1 hr commute to work on MTB
Fri: 1 hr commute to work on MTB
Sat: 1.5 hr skate ski at mtn dell, 2.5 hr snow biking, 1.5 hr AT lap
Sunday: Backyard AT laps, 1 hr am and 1 hr pm
And most importantly the upstairs rooms are mostly done and ready for carpet!

This week I am going to LA for a conference so no winter fun, except for tomorrow. I am taking a bike so I should get a little warm saddle time.

winter tri mix

Passed on the frozen hog for a mix of winter activity. I race bikes all summer so in the winter it is important for me to mix it up a bit yet keep a high volume of physical activty. When spring comes around and its time to race bikes again I am itchin to rip and have the aerobic engine to support some specefic speed on the bike. Today was a good mix.

Skated at Mtn Dell in the am for 1.5 hrs at a steady pace with a few good efforts. Track is getting firmer after all the snow this week but the lower loop is yet to be groomed, this is a good problem to have. Ohran picked me up at the Dell and we headed up to PC to meet Ali for some snow biking. We hit up Tollgate Canyon and the graded snow roads and got in a 2.5 hr MTB. Funny that the 2 people I know that live up there we ran into, Marty Jamieson and Matt Wolf/ Lisa Peck. I think Marty has the coolest looking house up there. It was cold but with the all the steep climbing we stayed pretty warm and then bundled up for the DH. I bet Ali will make video but its to bad he missed Ohrans face plant snow bike. When I got home Rosie and Eva were still bridal showering so I decided to make a quick lap on the backyard AT loop. Looked like a lot of the neighborhood got out on the hill today and the Southeast ridge was actualy tracked out, at least a skin track was set. Another 1.5 hrs skinning and skiing with a great run down the East face into freeze creek. Teled on some BD lyrics that were perfect for the soft snow. Finished in the dark.

The new janaks are all mounted so I might get out early tomorrow for another couple laps on the AT loop.

have a good night!