New Zealand or bust!

Hello friends, from down under under!

To everyone I know who loves adventure, travel, mountains...and skiing especially: I'm not actually upside down on the globe yet, but am flying out of San Fran on Saturday and wanted to invite all of you on this journey! I know you prolly can't make it on such short notice, but you can follow the trip through the pictures and stories I am posting on my blog: Le Pistoir <http://www.lepistoir.blogspot.com>

I'll be flying to Queenstown this weekend, arriving on Sunday and staying with two awesome Aussies for three weeks. Sheena and Jonathan are both very keen skiers and we have several objectives lined up. This has been a great snow year all over the South Island and we will be touring for steep lines as well as enjoying the last few days of operation at Remarkables Ski Area. Then we will either helo or bushwack into the high alpine where we can access some of the massive glaciated terrain in the area, potentially skiing Mt Aspiring or doing a West-East traverse of the Southern Alps on skis. After S&J leave to see family in Australia, I'll go north to Auckland and check out the North Island. This area is highly volcanic (you can actually hike to "Mt Doom" from Lord of the Rings). I aim to ski Mt Ruapehu or other big cones if conditions are right. Doesn't that all sound like fun? I hope you're jealous. My whole aim of blogging is to make you jealous, but also to have youu participate.
Here are some other ways you can join me on the trip:
1. Comment on the pictures and stories at my blog. Would love your feedback and suggestions. Say I take a picture of myself out skiing one day and there is a peak in the background that you think I should go check out. Tell me about it and I'll plan a mission. Some of you are accomplished photogs and seasoned bloggers and I would love your input.
2. Be my tour guide: If you have been to New Zealand, or know anyone there, tell me your favorite spots and experiences. If you have contacts, family, or know of any other ways to truly experience the country, let me know so I can build it in to my itinerary.
3. Friend me on Facebook. There should also be regular status updates and photos posted there, plus you can contact me or write on my wall.

So, a long flight for skiing in September...an unspoiled land full of scenery and wildlife...fun adventures with friends new and old. I hope you can tune in for part or all of the trip and look forward to making you jealous :)