Last day of April? Or is it February?

Old Man Winter isn't quite ready to quit. Finals have kept me buried in my room staring haplessly at my computer for hours on end. The heavens opened and barfed (and are continuing to barf) snow all over the mountains for me. I won my freedom and was able to sneak up for a few runs today. I took these from some of the GoPro footage of today... should have an edit soon.

This is me getting a little out of control and almost killing Benjamin.... Oops. I am really glad I didn't run him over.

DEEP!

Face shots.

Bombing through the trees!!!!! What a fun day and tomorrow might be better!

More IMCC finals

Saturday was a fun day on the bike. My race was 50 miles and it came down to a sprint finish. I jockeyed for position during the last 5k wanting to be third in line when things opened up. The leader went early and the guy in front of me grabbed his wheel and I latched on to his. I waited till about 100 meters and I went for it all out. I ended up taking the "W" for my category which was fun.

Our team did great and we finished 2nd to the University of Utah team on the season. I should have showed up for a few more races and helped out with the points race.

I failed to mention how I overslept and missed the team time trial.... oops. Sorry team.

Here is the conference photo, I missed it because I was out driving the course taking stuff down. We got out new team kits. They turned out pretty cool.

IMCC Crit

Another bike race under way. I ended up winning my category yesterday and who knows how today will go. Either way it is good to be back in the saddle. We also got our new kits. They ended up looking pretty good.

Spring is in the air, I see it yonder

Lately I have been negligent with carrying my camera around with me. So I am forced to pirate posts from Parker. Park City closed last Sunday, but my last day there was Friday. I met up with a few guys to film a little bit more for the podcast. Waking up to gray skies caused me to drag my feet a little bit and I didn't get on the snow until almost 11:30. By then the slush had already began to overtake the jump and turn them into mashed potatoes.

I have a little bit of paranoia when it comes to hitting jumps when it is slushy. A few years back during spring break my friends and I headed out to Big Bear, CA for some boarding followed by a few days at the beach. Our first day there we took a few laps and then I decided I like this nice 50-60 foot booter. I hit it a few times and was having a good time with it.

I rolled into it for another hit and everything was going well.... I was spinning fine. Nice.... then I over rotated slightly, got caught in the slush, bit my front edge and bam. My goggles broke apart as my face whipped into the ground. I didn't really slide much, most of my momentum was stopped in a single, back arching, whip into the ground. I bounced up as fast as I could muster and left my goggles and hat where they were. I rode down to my friends and stopped noticing a dull ache in my right hand. I snapped my index metacarpal in two. I spent the rest of the trip on opiates and had a great time sitting on the beach. I got back and got two shiny new plates in my hand with eight screws to hold it all together.

And there you have it. I do not like most jumps into slush.

So we mostly stuck to rails and fun little features today. Here is a little clip of me hitting one of them that Parker posted up.

First climb of 2010

Wow. I can't believe how long it has been since I have been climbing. I had to make this video for my video journalism class. I figured I would throw it up on here to see what ya'll think.

Such a nice morning!

A throw back

Last Wednesday was a throw back to the days when all my buddies and I lived off of cold cereal, snowboarding videos, and just doing whatever we wanted. Tuesday night we all got together to stay up at my longtime friend Zach Lundgreen's house. Andrew Cottle and I drove up together and got there right in the thick of an X-box tournament.

They threw in Halo so we could all play... I am just about the worst Nintendo player there ever was. I still call it Nintendo if that illustrates how much I play. I ended up just getting killed over and over again and it reaffirmed to me how much I don't enjoy gaming. I have been sucked into games before, but I end up bothered with myself for having stayed up until 4 a.m. playing it. So I have made it a habit to stay away from them.

Morning rolled around and we all made a big breakfast, grabbed our gear and headed out the door for a day of Snowmoboarding in the Uintas. Zach works as a snowmobile guide up there on a ranch called Thousand Peaks. We were able to have access to all the private land which would be entirely untouched since the amazing storm which puked a crap load of snow all over our mountains the whole week. Today would be the first sunny day since the storm.

After we got under way it was smooth sailing. Eh.... not really. Four feet of hot pow is like snowmobiling in a mud slog. It took the better part of two hours to get where we wanted to be. At one point I looked around and everyone was stuck. Getting un-stuck in the heavy snow was not easy. I am fairly sure we all used our quota of expletives for the month.

As we were almost to the main bowl where we would stay I got stuck one last time. As I crested a hill that was mostly flat with the throttle pinned my track began to sink. After I finished ranting about how much I hate snowmobiles I just sat down perfectly content to leave and call it a day.

We ended up building a little jump and having a good time the rest of the day just messing around. I was glad to be up there with all my buddies. It was Brandon's birthday on the 5th so it was good to get together.

Steve always seems to be on someone else's sled

Deep and hot.

Braaaaaaaaah!

This is the little step down we built real fast. It was fun, but the hot pow made for a difficult time riding away. The snow was so heavy that if you dipped your nose at all you were tossed.

Switch back 180.... to hot pow smash

Notice all the bomb holes for crashing.

Brandon was my wheel man.... I was kinda bummed I was the only one hitting it. Justin gave it a go a couple times but then stopped.

I kept riding away for like ten feet then I would just face plant it. RAD!

Lyman has been letting me ride next years Forum Destroyer 158 in the rocker version a.k.a. Chillydog. I have not been a fan of rocker at all, but now I totally see the value. Doing jumps into pow on one is the best. I will have one in my quiver soon. I hope....

Brandon cruising on the good ol' Ski-Doo Summit

A return to the bike

I have found it hard to get out on my bike so far this year. Lulling myself into believing that hiking at higher altitudes will keep me in shape I have put off all of my early season bike training. As the Tour of the Depot neared I found myself not as ready as I had thought. Oops.... Better get to training more.

The Tour of the Depot ended up being more interesting than fun. There were 3 stages (one of which I had to miss for work because I forgot to get it off) a time trial, circuit race, and a road race. The time trial was fun, just a short 9 mile jaunt and a lot of hanging out with the team. The next day however was full of gusting wind which made for a hellish ride. They shortened the course due to conditions and it ended up being with the wind on a slight downhill.... Recipe for disaster? Yup. Some kid ended up clipping a car and breaking his leg. Then he was lucky enough to be tended to by Tooele's finest. A bunch of volunteer EMTs. Poor guy.

Joe (a kid on my team) is an EMT and is just finishing up Fire academy at UVU. He, doing his duty, went over and presented himself to see if he could help out. He received a haughty response from one of the women working on the kid, "I am a CNA." (Said in a mind your own business and go away type tone) Good job lady, you can wipe a butt at a nursing home. No offense to any of you CNAs out there, it is a noble profession that I would never be selfless enough to do. But when it comes to emergency medical care I will take the EMT over you any day. Joe watched their follies and came back shaking his head at the know it all crew of volunteers. I ended up talking to a few after and they were really nice and I do appreciate what they do giving of their time like that, but the situation sucked for the kid with a broken leg.

Captain Awesome police man then rolled up and blocked the finish line with his car endangering more racers coming in at 40 + mph simply stating,"they will just have to stop." We had to run up the road to try to warn the racers of Captain Awesome police man's divine wisdom. It was a mess. The weekend was fun, but those were a frustrating few minutes.

Brooklyn and Neena ran support for Eric and I. They did a good job of it too.

After the time trial.

Starting the time trial.

Warming up.

Neutral roll through town.

From the spectator's perspective

After the race was over we went and stopped by the Ferrari challenge that was going on out at the Miller Motor Sports Park. Todd and Amy were out there admiring all the fancy cars and watching them race. They also did a few minutes in the go-carts.

Ferraris look neat.... but I wouldn't buy one even if I had all the money in the world. Where would I fit all my gear?

The hit list

It is funny how much my mind set has changed over this past winter. Getting into splitboarding has opened up all the areas I have been staring at and dreaming of since I was a little kid. My hit list grows every day. Every time I go out I discover a new area or a new way of looking at the different zones as they change every day with a continually morphing snow pack.

I have been staring at the face of Mount Timpanogos almost as far back as I can remember. Its towering west face looms over Utah County spanning multiple cities. I know the conditions on this face are hardly ever optimal, but I don't really care. I want it. I have been looking at these two couloirs on this face all season. I finally have the tools to make it happen but the snow pack is receding fast. There are a lot of other areas that are still do-able but these I may put in the bag for next year.

As spring draws on I find myself getting more and more excited to climb and to get out on my bike. But I am not ready to hang up my boots quite yet....

An uphill stroll

Waking up late is the worst. A 5:45 alarm can be more confusing that helpful at times. Awaking in a complete state of confusion with no clue what is creating all that noise or why it would be doing such a thing when you are so tired, is disconcerting. Nearly an hour passes when I get a call from Parker saying, "hey! I am at the mouth of Little Cottonwood. Where are you?"

"Crap."

I was supposed to meet Forrest Shearer and Parker at the Parking lot at Alta. I shoot Forrest a text and then scramble out the door. We were hoping for a long tour but my absent mind forgot that I have to work at 4. We still have enough time for some fun so when I finally get my sorry butt up to the trail head and we get moving. Forrest didn't have to wait too long so I don't feel too terrible. This was my second time riding with him. We make our way up to the ridge. As we gain the summit I am able to peer down into Days Fork. There are some amazing zones back there.

The tour Forrest had planned doesn't really work out. Parker is on Snowshoes, which are slower than split boards, and I caused us to get a late start. We end up just messing around on a cornice and then traversing a ridge to hit another zone full of fun little airs and a good sized cliff. Right as we get there the clouds move in and we loose visibility. We decided to bag it and ride down to the car. Bummer. As we get to the car the clouds clear and it turns sunny again.... double bummer. The day was nonetheless awesome. Forrest showed me to some cool zones and told me about some others. I will definitely be back this way soon.

This is my new 31L Burton AK pack. I love it. It is nice having the extra space for my skins and all the other crap I drag into the backcountry.

Forrest looking down into Days Fork.

Parker up top with his crazy heavy pack. We need to get this guy a split board.

Splitting with Forrest

Visibility had become minimal as the wind lashed at our faces. The forecast was calling for another few feet piling up within the next 12 hours with 80 mph gusts on the ridge lines. My breathing settled into a hypnotic rhythm as Forrest Shearer and I made our way up to Twin Lakes Pass. We were careful as we selected where to ride. Low angle with trees were the requirements and Forrest decided Silver Fork would fit the ticket.

The avalanche danger grew as the day wore on. As we were traversing the ridge we saw multiple fractures appear. We stood atop a small wind pocket on a fairly flat area that had filled with a mammoth wind drift. It sent fractures out at least 30 ft. As we got to our chosen drop in point we hugged the trees. A few small sluffs broke off and ran a little way in the little meadows in the trees. As we began to put our boards back together thunder crackled overhead. The storm kept getting worse and we decided we would hike up and just ride down to the cars.

Reaching the summit in the deep snow was a little slow going but we pushed our way to the top. Upon regaining the ridge the fog had set in and I was so turned around I didn't know which way it was to the cars. Good thing Forrest was there, he knows this canyon like the back of his hand. As we rode down, once again hugging the trees, Forrest popped out another good sized wind pocket. This one broke deep. It only ran a few feet but it was definitely time to be done.

This was my first time splitting with Forrest. Tagging a long with that guy will always result in adventure.

Forrest on the traverse.

I love this hike.

My beard.... full of snow.

Pow Day... A terrible video made on a fun day

Here is a video I made of my day yesterday at the Bird. I rode alone most of the day and just went exploring. I found some fun stuff that I haven't hit before. The editing is pretty crappy.... I did it in like ten minutes. Today should be even better up there. Still trying to figure out the helmet cam.