Weekend Fun

Cota gets a little chilly when we go skiing, so I have developed a number of methods to keep the little guy warm. On Saturday he was fine as long as we were moving, but when we stopped he started shivering, so he wore my jacket while I froze. We also did the backpack trick for a while, except this time I dropped him in while wearing the DAS parka. I think he really liked that.

I just completed one of my wonderful three day weekends. Dane was in Summit County staying at his parents place in Frisco while on break from teaching NOLS courses. The Sherstads were kind enough to share their beautiful home with me for the weekend. I headed up Thursday evening straight from work. In order to accomplish this I took Cota to work with me for the day on Thursday. He was a big hit at work and quite well behaved.

On Friday, Dane and I skied at A-Basin for the grand opening of their new Zuma chair. At 11 o'clock there was a line about 100 wide and five deep waiting to drop into the new lift-serviced bowl. When the patrol cut the rope, the ensuing Chinese downhill was quite entertaining. Picture hundreds of skiers varying in ability level trying to get to the powder first. I did fairly well and my prize was waist deep freshies in the trees near the bottom of the run. Everything was completely tracked out in about ten minutes. A-basin is by far the best ski area I have visited in Colorado, it has a nice gritty feel to it, slow lifts, good skiers, and solid terrain. I bought a ticket Friday, but since it never got scanned I have another day there at any point before the season ends.

Saturday, Josh and Ashley joined us for some backcountry skiing on Mt. Baldy. It was a really mellow area with deep powder and no risk of avalanche. After a couple of laps, we decided to build a kicker over a cabin. Initially Josh and Dane favored a minimal construction effort jump, but I set in motion my plans for a slightly more elaborate kicker. Once they saw the light in my visionary plan, a few minutes of work created the best jump I have ever had the pleasure of hitting.


On Saturday, we built a real nice booter over this cabin. Here I am mid-back-flip. The landing was a little on the flat side, but it didn't really matter because the snow was so deep.

Sunday Josh, Dane and I returned to Lincoln Falls for more ice climbing. We did the two pitch central gully. I lead the first pitch, my first ice lead, at a moderate WI3 and Dane did a great job leading the vertical upper pitch. later in the day, I made the mistake of leaving my wallet on the roof of the car when we drove away. Some other ice climbers found it and of all the ways they could have contacted me, they latched onto Boulder Rock Club membership card to track down my number. I had some cash in my wallet to cover postage and it should arrive in the mail tomorrow. I am really happy that there are still nice people in the world.