Le Pistoir

The Two-Hour Drill

2011-12-04T15:40:00.001-08:00

Guaranteed the year I decide to move to Truckee is the year of the snow drought. Currently looking at no snow worth talking about outside of the manmade at resorts. There was some, but it faceted and blew away.

This is coming off last year when we had "Snowvember" with over 130" at some resorts in the last week of November. We were already skiing in early November of that year:

(that's me at Kirkwood on Nov. 8th, almost three weeks before the lifts started running)

So far this fall it has been about riding the groomed manmade strips among the brown and green (slightly-frosted) slopes as only 18-24 inches has fallen at most resorts. This is great for getting the legs in shape and doing technique drills, but it can be a little boring. To keep it interesting, I do a couple of things. One is to use the close-in parking that is limited to two hours. I call this the Two Hour Drill. Then I try to get as many runs as I can in that time. Also, I put on some music. It may be the same run over and over, but at least the music changes. Today I got seven runs in! Feels great and I'm looking forward to strong legs and sharp technique by the time we finally get snow, which is forecast for around the 16th.

Cross your fingers, not your tips!

Skiing w/o Airbag pack an INCREASE in risk?

2011-12-01T10:39:00.001-08:00

In response to Romeo's post on TetonAT about airbag packs still being too heavy:

Outlaw avalung = 1710g
BCA Float 30 = 3000g
Are you saying that 1300g (less than 3 lbs) is preventing you from carrying a piece of safety equipment in the backcountry?
Since avoiding burial is the most important survival factor in an avalanche, it seems to me the most obvious gear upgrade of the season. I bought last year's BCA float that really doesn't work that well as a pack. It's more of a pack built around the airbag system than an airbag built into a pack. BCA packs have always been really well thought out so it was hard to understand this blunder coming from them. Looks like the redesigned line that just came out this year is really well done although they can still work to bring the wieght down, but it may never get below 6-7lbs. The extra weight may make the airbag more optional than a beacon for low-danger days or high and long. Now that I have it though, I feel that deciding to tour without it is actually a reduction in my margin of safety (as opposed to seeing it as an optional piece I can use to increase safety). How worthwhile is an airbag to you?

Know your (marriage) history!

2011-09-06T18:34:00.001-07:00

Been a long summer, but I'm looking forward to more discussions after a good book. I'm only a third of the way through Marriage and it's slow going, but I find something interesting on every page. For example: the Church respected a tradition of "marriage by promise" when a couple agreed that they had made an agreement to marry, for over 1000 years, only modifying it to include a requirement for consummation in the 1500s! (p106). Getting out of a marriage required proof there was no sex, hence the hilarious tale of "wise women" attempting to arouse a man with a "highly erotic temple dance" to disprove his claim of impotence. Of course, I am still in the first part of the book where people are very sensitive to the influence of the kin and neighbors. This was due mostly to the fact that marriage was much more of a property arrangement than a free choice between individuals to combine their households. Choosing someone more (or solely) for love and less for economic or political advantage is clearly yet to come, once modernity and women's independence allows sufficient earning power for a person to go their own way and completely disregard their parents' wishes in choosing a mate. I am reminded in this of my old friend from high school who is now somewhere in San Francisco but since becoming a serious goth (living it fully and getting married in a cemetery, etc.) has completely severed ties with the rest of us. that sort of self-exile wasn't possible in the middle ages where you had to serve somebody. How this transition happens is important for me to learn. I want to know this history as I attempt to explain to a skeptic about my relationship choices how marriage is not an eternal, immutable institution, but a rational choice people have been making for their own self-interest since forever.

I don't suppose any of you are interested in running the matriarchal household where the men do all the child-rearing? How about this one on p 40: "One of [marriage's] crucial functions in the Paleolithic era was its ability to forge networks of cooperation beyond the immediate family group or local band." How many of you have gotten married because you like the potential in-laws so much?

It starts here

2011-07-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

This post is for right now. It is not waiting for the perfect moment. The moment is always perfect and is just waiting for this post. This is just what happened this morning and struck me as worthy of comment. I saw something that made my bile rise and my face curl into a sneer. This was all coupled with the helplessness of watching something happen while not being able to do anything about it because it was on TV. That is the essential feeling of watching TV and wanting to talk back to the insanity. The very definition of impotent rage.
I was at my hotel, reading this post by Dave Zirin in the Nation about the NFL owners vs. players (i.e. workers) standoff. This is a situation where the owners, who have the most impervious cash cow in history between their legs, are trying to negotiate a new agreement with players that will have the players working harder (i.e. playing more games) and capping salaries (i.e. funneling more revenues to owners). Re-apportioning the distribution of the business' income toward the top while making the employees work harder is exemplary of the larger economy where companies downsize and CEOs make record amounts. The NFL Labor struggle is even more analogous to the American working-/middle-class struggle than that; just as wall-street CEOs and investors were bailed out by taxpayers to the tune of trillions, to keep them just as fat and happy as they were before the crash, NFL owners have had their stadiums funded by taxpayers to the tunes of hundreds of millions. If we are to take a side in this struggle as fans, we are obviously also on the side of the working and middle class in America.

But the TV show I was watching didn't want to cover current events...

Dave Zirin quotes a courageous and prescient NFL star, Troy Polamalu, calling it like it is: “I think what the players are fighting for is something bigger. A lot of people think it’s millionaires versus billionaires and that’s the huge argument. The fact is its people fighting against big business. The big business argument is ‘I got the money and I got the power therefore I can tell you what to do.’ That’s life everywhere. I think this is a time when the football players are standing up and saying, ‘No, no, no, the people have the power.”

At that very moment, Good Morning America was teasing a video about the very same Polamalu. I turned and rose, pulling the Democracy Now! podcast out of my ears. I keyed to the TV, holding my breath so I wouldn't miss a syllable of the clip of Polamalu delivering the above quote. I anticipated the GMA host setting it up by saying something like, "Troy Polamalu speaks the plain truth about the NFL lockout..." Tender hooks of triumphal music rose from the orchestra. Instead, this is what they delivered:

(fast-forward to 1:47)

SAC Ski Day at Kirkwood 2/27

2011-02-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

$45 lift tickets!
Support the Avalanche Center!
Meet and chat with the forecasters!
And the North American Freeskiing World Tour!

For more info on the Sierra Avalanche Center, click here

It takes two: TGR ski porn milks the skier/camera interaction.

2009-09-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Watching the TGR premier in Jackson Hole is great for two reasons: local footage and stoked locals. They always have a substantial portion of local footage that plenty of locals in the room have also skied. Even though these are some of the most jaded been-there-done-that skiers anywhere, they still went wild for several parts of the flick such as the ridiculously deep, dry powder in Haines and really tight couloirs in the North Cascades.

The movie's title refers not just to the zeitgeist across the country this last winter, but also to TGR's own situation. They too, had to tighten their belt for this production with the loss of Jeep as their primary sponsor. Amazingly, RE:SESSION was put together without a big auto sponsor that was key to their initial success. That they can now put out a movie without one shows how far they've come since Continuum.

That said, they definitely are cutting corners to focus on the meat and potatoes of jib/park sessions, AK big-mountain freeriding, and hucking. There's some powder, some incidental shots of the new tram, and a tacked-on tribute to Shane McConkey, but no real storyline, plot development or examination of the characters. This is the same complaint many people make about porn though, and this is ski porn. What most people want is to cut straight to the action. Methinks it has more to do with limited budgets than lack of creativity. In fact, I would expect a challenge such as this to stimulate the creative minds of the Tetons to make something new happen.

And that's what I was originally thinking about as I watched the movie and noticed a somewhat flat response in the crowd to some sections. The athletes are still there doing their thing, but the rad heli-cam might have been curtailed, leaving it up to the magic between skier and camera, instead of the mechanics. I am saying that some of the shots were unimaginative and unimpressive, but as skiers continue to play with the different features of the mountain and the photogs/videogs learn to make the most of this tightened budget situation, we will continue to see innovation and be impressed in new ways by the art of filming skiing.

So who wants to play?

Wingnut healthcare opposition: "I got mine!"

2009-09-17T23:25:00.000-07:00

I like to keep in touch with the fringe. By that, I mean groups and people interested in the same issues as me, but with completely illogical stances on the issues. I listen to Rush and Savage on occasion. Since I got seriously informed and active about health care reform this spring, I have spread a lot of my thoughts on Facebook -and so have other health care reform activists, but one group of very fringe folks is catching my attention. They are calling their group "Hands Off My Health", like the government is going to come and put lead in their coffee, mercury in their toothpaste, bury dioxin in rusting barrels in their backyard, clog the toilet with paper towels and leave. It's got a lot of misinformation, anti-government blathering, and general opposition to anything except Republican hegemony. It's kind of the teabaggers of health care. Here are some posts that give good examples of the thought process in the "Nobama" camp.

[Looney associations and thoughts that were only half-finished when they left the author's head]:

Deborah A. Talmadge Obama forgets that allopathic medicine killed George Washington....They bled him and then decided to give him 65 miligrams of mercury......the cure was worse than the illness, kind of like cemotherapy. Obama is trying to get rid of naturepath's. I have great allopathic medical coverage, but chose ....to go to a naturepath and that cost me.
Obama needs to get it togeather[sic].

Jennifer Kent

"We don't know what it would be like to be treated as second rate citizens just because we're not insured. Sadly, good friends of mine do. Affordable health care plans should be available to every citizen."

Last sentence is correct and is currently true in the U.S. The fact that any number of people are uninsured is not an argument for health care reform nor is it an indication of failure of our current system. That's one of the biggest fallacies that underlie Obamacare.

Arrogant bully? That's funny. Obama makes Bush look like the picture of modesty and graciousness and gentleness. I find it hilarious that people criticize Bush for the very traits that describe Obama: arrogance, lack of class, non-intellectual (yes, Obama may use fancy words thanks to his speech writers but catch him on the fly and he sounds unprepared, uncouth, and very ignorant.) ...

The emperor has no clothes, people!

[Threats against the president for trying to do what all other industrialized countries already do for their citizens]:

Sharon Donehey Obama's attempt to turn America into the euro-socialist nanny state of his dreams deserves to fail. Sic semper tyrannis!

[Really flimsy attempts to gloss over the central issue in the health care debate (whether Americans should join together to provide health care to all or if we should go everyone for themselves) with presumptive statements]:

Cheryl Leger Osipov

[Obama] has a track record of lying. Too many ignorant Americans who chose to forget campaign promises that were made to them. And too many ignorant Americans who refuse to remove their blinders and see what's happening. If they believe it's all for the common good - then it's okay, right? Common Good is Socialism. I'm all for charity and helping out, ... but it's not the governments responsibliity to provide my healthcare or welfare. Unfortunately, we've raised a society of entitlement thinking people - it's EASIER to let the government do it for me instead of being responsible for themselves. God forbid - one be responsible for their own bills and themselves?! What a concept!

[Just despicable "I'm worth more than anyone else" crap]:

Joseph Bennett

Hamish - We can kick 25% to 50% of the uninsured out of this country if we enacted a 21st century iteration of "Operation Wetback."

Also, why should I have to wait in the same "Universal Healthcare" queue as a welfare recipient and her ten bastard kids, when I have an advanced degree and contribute far more to the local, state, and federal tax coffers in one year than they ever will?

[And the usual "love it or leave it" assinine ultimatum]:

Bart Cauley

hamish your a ifoolish person go live in one of those nations and get terminally ill you will begging for private insurance from America a first rate nation.. It sad that you want something easy and free get a job pay for it and get what you pay for..

Helen Joyce Box

this person sounds so immature &
uniformed & needs a lesson in history,
& needs to move where they have socialized medicine

My response, after reading a fiery blog on Huffington Post that basically told the "love it or leave it" crowd to get with the program -as in, the "America is a democratic nation and we are all in this together" program, was this piece of my own vitriol:

I wish to tell these kick-the-ladder-down types to go take their selfish, greedy, idiotic tribe and do what they keep telling us, the majority, who LOVE AMERICA, to do: "Go find yourself a floating island, an uninhabited bomb test site -a space station for all I care- and start your own libertarian paradise where you have to pay just to breathe. And when you need laborers because you need to build your profits on someone else's slaving, you want to gobble up America's natural resources or use our military to "defend" your corporate interests...Well! You can just pay them a living wage and also compensate the state for educating them so they are knowledgable in math and literacy, adding to their productivity; and you, my cloistered "free-marketeers", you can pay us a hefty sum for using in a few centuries what took the earth eons to create -with a disastrous environmental impact on the most vulnerable of us- and then, dear Teabag Patriots, you can defend your own damn corporations if you really think they are so holy that foreign countries have no business kicking us out when our corporations buy out their governments, rape their resources, enslave their labor and in-debt their children. When you're ready to talk about paying the bottom 95% of this country for what you currently get FOR A SONG, then...just maybe then...we'll consider your proposal. Until then, accept that Universal Health Care is going to be good for all Americans (including you!) and the same goes for the next piece of progressive change. After seeing the result of Americans working for change that benefits us all, I hope you don't make us force a healthier environment, living wages, and corruption-free public campaigns down your throat.

Enzi gets it

2009-09-15T05:35:00.000-07:00

When it comes to health care reform, my senator Mike Enzi gets it -he just doesn't put it all together.

Enzi in 2006: "If you have no insurance, it doesn't matter what services are mandated by the state." (His excuse to vote AGAINST legislation that would stop insurance companies from listing spousal abuse as a "pre-existing condition" that allowed them to rescind the policy.)
Enzi in 2009: "If I hadn't been involved in this process ...you would already have national health care." "National Health Care", one has to assume, would include a mechanism to provide or mandate insurance for the whole nation. So the Senator knows that reforms of insurance has no affect on the uninsured, but is working AGAINST covering the uninsured.

Enzi sees the gaps, but doesn't want to enact the reforms.

I feel...different

2009-08-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

What's happening to me lately? I've gone from a mountain man willing to forgo lucrative pay for ski town wages in order to live close to my dreams. It makes a nice slogan for Cloudveil, but a tough life for those working to make seasonal service job income match up with destination vacation location cost of living. But a shadowed clause in the basic contract of "work for subsistence wages and we'll give you a ski pass", represents a gaping hole for the majority of those working in ski towns: no employer-sponsored health insurance with your seasonal job.
So back to me. I live in Jackson. Manage 6 employees as one part of an operation with over 40. Make less than $20K a year with no health insurance. Still, I ski (as we all do here), climb, paraglide and bike and get stupid drunk while building insane pump tracks in the back yard.
So here we are, living for love instead of for work, and when the inevitable injuries happen, we're hosed. Some of us have insurance, but it doesn't cover much, and if your injury takes you out of work, you might lose it all together. At least one injury this summer forced the victim to leave town and move back in with his parents. You'd think people around here would be interested in securing some kind of reform to help them get more affordable insurance. At least, that's my thinking.
So I organized a couple meetings through BarackObama.com, Healthcare for America Now, and Facebook. I called my senators and rep. I wrote letters and signed online petitions. I post constantly on FB the articles I find here and there and have become a crusader in "Hands off My Health" -a group that is dedicated to saying "NO" to everything proposed by the Obama administration.
That's what I've been up to. Not entirely changing the focus from mountain adventures, but adding the perspective of politically active mountain town people who are concerned about the world beyond their own idealistic vale. Not many blogs out there cover a political issue, except some of the conservative quips on Wildsnow.com, so if you find any that straddle the gap between active lifestyle and politically active, please let me know.

Today: Huge moment for health care

2009-07-20T09:45:00.001-07:00

I've been dormant here, but active on Facebook, about health care for the last few months. I should be agitating, informing, and organizing here too, because I know there are tons of mountain adventurers who need health insurance or just have some really piddly "catastrophic" coverage. (I use scare quotes because, even with the insurance, any injury/illness is still going to be a catastrophe, considering the huge deductible and meager co-insurance typical of these plans). Forthwith, I plan on showing up here as well for those of you who consider, not only whether a tight couloir or runout climb might break your leg, but how the hell you plan on paying the bills for that broken leg, not to mention lost work, rehab, and interest on the bills (supposing you pay some on your credit card). Those of us who are college-educated (and some who are not) who are settling for low-paying jobs in order to be in a ski town, getting as much pow as possible, are particularly vulnerable -economically and from a risk standpoint- of getting F'ed up by a serious illness or injury. Even just the flu can be serious for the uninsured/underinsured. Case in point: this winter, my roommate got a pretty nasty strain of influenza. The cough became a hack and just wouldn't go away. In about a week, it had turned into pneumonia -which is what happens with untreated flu. The coughing continued and caused a cracked rib. Finally, with mounting pain (and all of us yelling at him to get help), he finally went to the doctor for antibiotics, painkillers, x-rays, etc.

Huge bill.

If you've been paying attention, you still might not now much about single-payer, the national health insurance system used by most other industrialized countries, because there has been a media blackout.

You still have a chance to get involved, and the time is now. Obama is trying to get healthcare legislation to the floor of Congress before the August break. Get involved and do something to help yourself and your bros:

I am a political strategist

2009-05-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr Plouffe,
I donated and thanks for your efforts. I just want to warn you that I think your compromising has undermined the effort to achieve anything meaningful on health care reform. By dropping single-payer at the start, you lost a very effective argument against private insurance, but you also made the "public option" your only bargaining chip. Now that is getting weakened and it looks like we're going to get very little change out of the reform effort. I think you need to stop fighting for the welter-weight public option to be given a chance and let the whole effort fall on its face so that you can start over with single-payer pitted against the public insurance profiteers. How do you set this up so that Dems don't look like ineffective losers? Well, it's hard since they started themselves down that road, but make sure the Republicans and AHIP lobbyists are seen to have a hand in organizing the reform. That way, when it falls flat they have egg on their faces. If something still comes out of the effort, it's going to be a lipstick-on-pig reform that Americans should be outraged about. When some worthless reform comes out that reduces the rate of increase of health care costs from 6% to 5% annually, I'm going to think "that's what happens when you let Republicans and the industry that profits the most from the status quo take control of reform." Then I'm going to think "now I want Democrats to follow public opinion and enact a single-payer system to finance universal health coverage for all Americans, freeing our businesses and households from an onerous financial cost, while steamrolling Republicans who are offering absolutely nothing (except opposition and foot-dragging) in the face of a dire need for change.

On Sat, May 16, 2009 at 1:03 PM, David Plouffe, BarackObama.com wrote:

Hamish --

We knew healthcare reform would face fierce opposition -- and it's begun. As we speak, the same people behind the notorious "swiftboat" ads of 2004 are already pumping millions of dollars into deceptive television ads. Their plan is simple: torpedo healthcare reform before it sees the light of day by scaring the public and distorting the President's approach.

We need the resources to take them head on with an urgent, grassroots campaign to pass real healthcare reform in 2009.

When the swiftboaters flood the airwaves with distortions, we'll flood the streets with volunteers armed with facts. When they send lobbyists to tell Congress to back down, we'll send millions of calls, letters, and stories from real Americans asking them to stand up.

Please donate $5 or more by midnight Sunday to fight back against these phony attacks and take our message of reform to the American people.

The swiftboaters are once again trying to sell the American people short. As during the election, we deserve a serious conversation -- not fear-mongering and deceit. You and I see the importance of healthcare reform every day. We can't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to face one of America's greatest challenges head on.

Passing real healthcare reform will be the toughest, most important challenge we've faced together since electing Barack Obama President.

But it's also a big reason we fought so hard to get here. I know that by working together, and speaking with one, determined voice, we can prevail over the cynics and defenders of the status quo. America's families are counting on us to do just that.

Donate $5 or more to defend healthcare reform today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/defendhealthcare

Thank you,

David Plouffe

Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee -- 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Monetary contributions to the Democratic National Committee are not tax-deductible.

This email was sent to: tengudo@gmail.com

To unsubscribe, go to: http://my.barackobama.com/unsubscribe

--
"I am wedded to the notion that everyone in America should have access to a doctor when they need it and that this should be done fairly and at reasonable cost."
--PBS Reporter T.R. Reid

Republicans: The Party of "NO".

2009-05-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, just becoming politically aware sometime in the 80s, I had a very basic understanding of politics. It seemed Democrats had some good ideas, but it was always the Republicans who shot them down. To me, the Republicans were the party of "NO". While I now have a more nuanced understanding of national politics (Democrats are actually quite often more concerned with their own careers than making good policy and sometimes neither party makes any sense), I'm dismayed to see the Republicans pretty much just saying "NO" to health care reform without any sort of proposal for the situation we're drowning in. High costs, gaps in coverage, well-known inefficiencies are all hobbling healthcare coverage and the economy. You would expect Republicans to try and fix this, since it adversely effects small business, and is forcing us to spend more public money on health care for the uninsured. But with a reform-minded president and Democratic caucus, they are simply agin' it, without trying to shape the reform to Republican ideals. (Without any proposals to increase coverage, you wonder if Republican ideals actually are for less coverage). To make matters worse, they are playing dirty: using a stall-and-deflect strategy to cripple reform efforts and pull the teeth out of any final product from the process. In addition, they are doing it with a strategy based on fear. They're not saying "it ain't broke so don't fix it." They're saying "something scary and unknown about change; we should just stick with what we've got since there's no telling what will happen if we try to reform." See the story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-merkley/words-designed-to-kill-he_b_199373.html

Also, for the record, here are the tenets of the "public option" portion of Obama's reform proposal -one of the most contentious parts of the debate since they decided to shoot low and keep the best option (single-payer) "off the table"

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OBAMA'S PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION

The choice of a public health insurance plan is crucial to real health care reform. But right now, it's being smeared by conservatives and insurance-industry front groups. Here's what you really need to know:

1. Choice, choice, choice. If the public health insurance option passes, Americans will be able to choose between their current insurance and a high-quality, government-run plan similar to Medicare. If you like your current care, you can keep it. If you don't—or don't have any—you can get the public insurance plan.²

2. It will be high-quality coverage with a choice of doctors. Government-run plans have a track record of innovating to improve quality, because they're not just focused on short-term profits. And if you choose the public plan, you'll still get to choose your doctor and hospital.³

3. We'll all save a bunch of money. The public health insurance option won't have to spend money on things like CEO bonuses, shareholder dividends, or excessive advertising, so it'll cost a lot less. Plus, the private plans will have to lower their rates and provide better value to compete, so people who keep their current insurance will save, too.⁴

4. It will always be there for you and your family. A for-profit insurer can close, move out of the area, or just kick you off their insurance rolls. The public health insurance option will always be available to provide you with the health security you need.⁵

5. And it's a key part of universal health care. No longer will sick people or folks in rural communities, or low-income Americans be forced to go without coverage. The public health insurance plan will be available and accessible to everyone. And for those struggling to make ends meet, the premiums will be subsidized by the government.⁶

Boulder on Wednesday, Seattle on the weekend (the weather, that is)

2009-05-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

The tough thing about snow is that, even though you want it, you still need it to clear out so you can go have your adventures in the mountains. April's massive upslope storm in Boulder was great for filling in the routes (North Face of Longs skied several times), but there hasn't been a clear weekend for skiing them. A lot of folks are griping about every weekend in April (and the first one in May) being rainy/snowy. Still, I had one chance and made the most of it. I was in NY, looking at the weather forecast for the weekend back in CO. Thursday looked pretty good, before a system came in over the weekend. I called my buddy Jason, who is currently unemployed and game for anything, and we hatched a plan to ski Shit for Brains. I had spotted a line to gaper's left of S4B that would go with all the snow blessings of late, making west-facing lines like this possible:
Jason drove my truck to the airport, met me at 11am and we headed straight up to Loveland Pass. I changed in the parking lot and we headed out to the line, me savoring the adventure I was about to drop into with only a line drawn on a picture as a guide, and Jason puckering at the exposed sections of steep snow and rock scrambling just before S4B. Jason also descended the S4B by himself, which made me extra proud of my little billy goat pal. The next day, rain and snow came to the mountains. Without Jason motivating to get his butt in gear, get my gear to the airport and coordinate for a DIA to S4B commute, it would not have happened. It was a great day out, made possible by commitment, planning and thorough execution

Dueling with metaphors on healthcare

2009-04-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

I'm hearing Max Baucus (D-MT) answering a reporter's question as to why Single-Payer is "off the table", hearing him say we aren't even going to give single-payer a look while we forge ahead no-questions-asked with private-insurance mandates. I think it's important to bring this up again and again because we have a public representative, someone at the helm of our healthcare refom debate, has declared he will not even consider single-payer, dismissing it with lame platitudes and vague metaphors.

Since Baucus gets to tell us what we can and can't have, I want to talk back to him. See transcript below:

SEN. MAX BAUCUS: "Well, I just have to make a judgment. And I think at this time in this country, single payer is not going to get even to first base in the Congress."

Let me just jump in here Mr. Baucus, for a news flash: Dude, you're in Congress! You chair the Senate Finance Committe that is looking at the various alternatives (or not). You're the guy at bat! If it's not getting to first base, it's because you won't even face the pitcher.

I just—and we’re also—we’re a big—we’re a big country. It’s—you know, we’re a battleship. We’re an ocean liner. We’re not a PT boat. We’re not a speedboat. It takes time to turn those big, big ships. You just can’t just turn them overnight."

Baucus, you sound like Homer telling Bart "if something is hard to do, it's probably not worth it." If you've lost interest and motivation to take on a systemic solution to a broken system, maybe you should step aside and let someone with vision and energy assume leadership in addressing this crisis.

And we are—United States of America, we’re a different country. We’re constituted differently than European countries, than Canada and other countries. We’re a younger country, where there’s more of an entrepreneurial sense in America than in those other countries. It’s kind of “go west, young man” in, you know, America and so forth."

Not every problem has an American solution, but never mind. This isn't an argument for uniquely American change, but an excuse for the status quo. The subtext here is "stop thinking about what all those other countries do, even if it works." Yep, they might do this thing in other countries they call breathing. It works quite well for ingesting oxygen, but we need to do things our own way here.

"So we’ve got to come up with our uniquely American result. An uniquely American result will be a combination of public and private insurance, but one in which everyone is covered. And just my judgment—and every member of Congress agrees with me, I think, at least those I’ve spoken with, that this is not the time to push for single payer. It may come down—it may come later. But it’s not going to happen in America, in my view. So I’m not going to waste my time pushing on something that isn’t going to happen."

...It isn't going to happen because I'm not going to do it, but that doesn't mean someone else shouldn't go on trying. Of course, I'm the one in control and I'm not letting it happen, but go ahead and try. Good Luck!

Actually, what I hear Baucus saying is that he is afraid of two things: that he'll lose face if he supports single-payer due to all the "socialist" labels that will get hurled at him and, if it doesn't pass, he'll look like a failure and lose his senate seat. Plus there's all that campaign money and lobbying from the private insurance industry that makes so much money off the current system. Only a cynic would think that has anything to do with it.
Here's the bottom line: as long as he continues to act as gatekeeper -obstructing single-payer- the Congressional Budget Office won't do a side-by-side comparison between single-payer and individual mandates. Without that, Americans will probably never learn of the estimated $350 BILLION per year savings that could be reaped with single-payer -AT THE SAME TIME AS UNIVERSAL COVERAGE! But Baucus doesn't want you to find out about that or make up your own mind. He'll give you the options that he wants you to choose.

Health insurance costs continue to rise out of control, with no end in sight as well as the number of Americans without coverage. My own view is that Americans should know the truth about single-payer so this nation can make an informed choice about how to constitute a reformed healthcare financing system that addresses both issues. Put Single-Payer (H.R. 676) on the table.

Downhill helmets for uphill skiers?

2009-03-23T07:19:00.000-07:00

Natasha Richardson's death by epidural hematoma recently, coupled with the almost simultaneous death of Jackson Hole ski patroller Kathryn Miller Hess from head trauma, have led to a resurgence of helmet law proposals. If I were in PR, I would already be formulating a press release that puts my brands out in front of the scramble for safety in an inherently risky activity. It's actually already being done, but I would also expect to see more features telling a safety story in helmets next year. I know some pro skiers already wear full-face helmets and there are stricter requirements for these motocross-style brain buckets (same goes for DH MTB and DH skiing helms). Pretty soon, we'll have some kind of second tier of products delineated either by marketing spin like "Freeride" or just "Agressive" but maybe also by speed ratings. Currently helmets are designed for impacts around 15mph, but most skiers on blue slopes exceed 25mph so -as long as the legal department lets them- the helmets might come with a sticker proclaiming "Crash Rated to 35mph" or something like that. Still, I wonder how much uphillers are going to dive in for safety, even as they dive into steep, rock-walled couloirs this spring (much like Spacewalk, where Hess was injured)

More Tour for Your Labor

2009-02-15T09:54:00.000-08:00

Rando Racing/Backcountry Training Nexus–climbing faster means more turns!

Just last week I went for a tour up in Grand Teton Nat’l Park. We headed up one of the most accessible tours, Pt 9975, otherwise known as “25 Short”. It hadn’t snowed for a week here in Jackson Hole so the skin track was beaten in, but it still took us 6 hours to do the 4 Miles and ~3000’ of skinning to the top. The descent was a 40-degree shot into Avalanche Canyon called the Turkey Chute. The down is always faster than the up and true to form, it took us 45 minutes to get back to the car. 6 hours up and 45 down is not the sort of ratio that makes backcountry skiing sound fun or enjoyable, unless you really enjoy the up. Also, when you get a dry spell like this, you want to be able to tour in further to more remote slopes and shots that haven’t been tracked up yet. So how do you get more out of your tour?

The people to ask are the backcountry skiers who go all out to bust uphill as fast as humanly possible: ski-mountaineering racers. In broad strokes, the lessons they have for the rest of us (without going as far as carbon-fiber boots, toothpick skis, spandex, and anorexia that would make a sport-climber jealous)…

Lighten up. Marker Dukes, Volkl Katanas, and your downhill boots = 24 lbs! That doesn't make for a very efficient touring setup. You don’t have to go to Scarpa F1 Carbon Race boots, ATK race bindings, and BD Cult skis (setup weight: 8.5 lbs), but you can go the middle road:

K2 Coomba ski, Garmont Radium, Dynafit Vertical ST =14 lbs :)

This setup will handle 90% of conditions in the backcountry and work just fine the other 10%.

Get regular. A dedication to fitness is not just a good lifestyle choice, but keeping a regular regimen (45 mins a day 3 times a week outside of the weekend tours) has a huge benefit for your fitness level. You don’t have to train for a marathon, just get regular about exercise and your body will come to see physical effort as a part of life, not a weekends-only torture session that it just has to barely make it through.
Put in some practice. Getting a few speed skills dialed will also greatly increase speed and efficiency on tour. Speed up transitions. Improve your skinning technique. Plan ahead to reduce stopping. Learn about skin track strategy and route planning. The same as you do beacon practice, work on transitioning faster, making more efficient skin tracks, and moving with exigency.

Using anecdotal evidence, NPR passes judgement on NHI

2009-01-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

National Health Insurance: all residents of a country are covered under a universal insurance plan that is paid for through taxes. We already provide for infrastructure and national defense in the same way. The system is in use in every other industrialized country and works fantastically well, reducing by two-thirds the amount of administrative costs in the health-care industry. Basically, there is a proven model for reducing health care costs that we could use "off-the-shelf" to fix the broken American health-care financing system.
NPR has taken a look at polling (which supports NHI over the status quo by 2:1) and concluded that it is impossible. Even with vast public support, a Democrat president and Congress, and proven results in other countries, NPR says the new President Obama will not be able to make NHI happen.
Why? Because there are some Congresspeople against it. One of them, Max Baucus (D-MT), doesn't think we should institute single-payer because it "doesn't make sense in this country" and "we will come up with a uniquely American solution." Excuse me for editorializing here, but that's like saying "breathing works great for other countries, but this is America; we'll figure out our own way to get air into the lungs."
Based on confounding logic like Baucus', NPR says that passing HR 676 (Expanded Medicare for All) is impossible. The other reason given is more revealing though: "Pete Stark (D-CA) says the public is not ready...eliminating the health insurance industry." [emphasis added to point out that what is being discussed here is how this country finances health care, not how we adminster it]. What Stark is saying is the ugly truth that requires twisted evasions like Baucus': the health insurance industry is a powerful influence on certain elected officials through the amount of money donated to their election campaigns. He says "the public is not ready", but that's obviously untrue looking at the polls. What he means is that the current crop of representatives are too beholden to insurance industry money to bite the hand that feeds them.
Americans recognize that paying CEOs $3 million a year and giving them $16 million in retirement pay when they didn't even retire is behaving like a cancer that feeds itself at the expense of its host's health. No one would propose leaving a cancer untreated because then the body would have to get used to life without the cancer cells. (And yes, the people in the insurance industry are not cancer cells, they are people, which is why part of HR 676 provides for the retraining of these many workers for other jobs, but at least they'll have health insurance when they are unemployed!)
I feel cheated because NPR has passed judgement on the policy (NHI) simply based on the politics, but they've got it wrong. We'd never have gotten anywere near our current level of advancement if people looked at things like putting a man on the moon or stopping Hitler and said "it's too difficult." Americans (you and me), luckily, are ready to lead their government to do the right thing for those it is supposed to serve: you and me.

Randonee Racing: A framework for training

2008-12-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

The more you do something, the better you get at it, right? That's what experienced lovers say, isn't it? Then why, when I say "Randonee Training" would you envision scientifically-segmented interval sessions hooked up to heart rate monitors, a breathing tube, and a plastic bodysuit to collect your sweat for later analysis?

While Lance, Wickenhauser, and Benoit might need to do micro-calibrated Lactate Endurance burns in order to gain an extra 0.1% against other elite competitors, you and I can achieve huge gains by focusing on some broader categories. I'll keep the number of training foci to three: speed skills, sport-specific workouts, and weaknesses/limiters. Over the next four posts, let's focus on each of these areas and then, on putting it all together in order to increase number of runs in a day or go faster than your buddies at the local rando race.

Backcountry skiing on crack!

2008-12-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

"If you spend time in the backcountry skinning up to ski down, you should definitely check out the sport of randonee racing. It is backcountry skiing on crack and out of control."

The first Rando Races of the season are almost upon us:

If you're in CO, here is a bulletin from series sponsor, CAMP USA, about some clinics that help you "get up to speed" on rando racing:

GEAR UP FOR RANDO RACING

Bryan Wickenhauser, in conjunction with Boulder Performance Network (physical training professionals in Boulder, CO), will be leading a series of presentations and clinics on the rising sport of randonee ski racing throughout Colorado. Catch up with the tour at one of the following scheduled events.

-12/11/08: Rock & Roll Sports, Gunnison - 6:00p
-12/16/08: Boulder Rock Club, Boulder - 7:30p
-12/18/08: Boulder Nordic Sports, Boulder - 7:00p
-12/20/08: On-Snow Demo, Loveland Ski Resort - 7:30a
-12/27/08: Thin Air Sports, Mount Crested Butte - 5:30p
-1/23/09: REI, Boulder - 7:00p
-January 2008 (date to be determined): The Alpineer, Crested Butte

The COSMIC (Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup) Race Series schedule is also online at www.cosmicski.com

This is one of my own adventures when high on Rando Race Crack: COSMIC race-director Pete Swenson and I climbed and skied the Dead Dog Couloir on Torreys Pk in under 3 hours round trip from the bridge -on Rando Racing gear! This isn't a record, I'm sure, as we didn't have perfect conditions, but I bet it could be done under two hours...some day it will! I wasn't trying to prove a point, but just wanted to have more fun with my backcountry adventures. The benefits of racing are: getting fit, getting your system dialed, and having fun with other backcountry crackheads! I'd encourage everyone to try at least one race this winter, amongst all your backcountry touring, and I'm going to post a simple-but-effective training guide for the every-weekend-backcountry skier to get ready for faster racing that adds up to more backcountry runs. Coming in a few days...

32-year line

2008-12-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

Update at 2000 hours Dec. 11th:
Just saw that some of the good mates from Boulder (see blog links at left) entered their own trip report in the same contest as my Earnslaw adventure over at TetonAT. Check it out and leave comments there! Good luck Goonies!

Made it another time around the sun! Housemates made a steak dinner, call from Dad and friends, and we got a little snow...pretty much all I could ask for, but then I got the note from TGR:
Awww Thanks Tetons! I haven't seen you for like, a week. Let's go skiing or something!

Word up to my new home and new employer

2008-12-01T12:21:00.000-08:00

Meet the house on No-Name Alley:

View Larger Map
It's me and 5 other jolly souls in that split-level, plus at least one dog. You can see Snow King (the town ski hill) at the right edge of the pic, Cache Creek is directly behind the house, and that old, silver Toyota in the driveway will soon be replaced by an even-older one:

From Driving to SFO

My new job? I'm one of the on-hill photographers with Elevation Imaging. Out there providing professional portrait service to families, tourists, etc. and documenting your best crashes for posterity (examples of which are copyright: Elevation Imaging so I can't show you any -go to the website). It's out on the hill interacting with people all day and getting to exercise creativity while I do a lot of photography :) I'm hoping to improve my own snapping, but also understand and contribute to a really solid family business, as well as catch unsuspecting friends mid-yardsale!
Image hosted by Elevation Imaging

Happy Thanksgiving, friends, family, mountain people, mountains too

2008-11-27T10:18:00.000-08:00

Just touched down in Jackson Hole on Wednesday, after a 14-hour snoozer (maybe I should say "yawner") of a drive from the Bay Area. Dropped into town without a place to stay or a plan at all really. Not very pro-active, sure, but that's the way I do it. Just so. There's a bit of time "winging-it" until I get more settled, like staying at the Jackson Hole Bunkhouse and eating canned soup. There will be a room in my future and with confidence that the pieces will fall into place soon enough, I am going to work and skiing.

I just talked to Steve Romeo of Teton AT. Steve's a long-time local and avid backcountry skier, so of course we chatted about what to do around here this winter. The place is full of rippers and I still want to beef up parts of my own skiing repertoire so I just feel like putting in a lot of vert, testing myself on some of the classics (E Face of Buck, mabye the Grand). Steve sounded a little nonplussed at this, or so I thought. Maybe living in this isolated community you look to newcomers for fresh influences and I think he is particularly looking to keep pushing backcountry skiing further. I mean, have you checked out his trip reports? Skiing is vital to me, and I do want to improve, but I'm pretty sure I'd like to get my snow-legs under me before I try to pick up the torch. This winter I will land a 360 and also take lessons on steep skiing.

Today, I am thankful for a fully-functioning body, my family who loves me, my dear friends who push -and support- me, and good people everywhere. Thanks for good people like the generous owners of the Teton Steakhouse who put out a free Thanksgiving spread for over 400 people in Jackson today (they've been doing it for 21 years!):

Why? Tell me: why? Bigwalling and snail climbing

2008-11-23T09:59:00.000-08:00

I went to Yosemite and got spanked by the "beginner" big wall in the valley, but I would prefer to spin the experience this way: I slapped some sense into myself and will henceforth avoid aid climbing like it was a sink of dirty dishes.

The Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform

2008-11-16T22:22:00.000-08:00

I couldn't help but think about this as I lay there

From Fun Daze at Hospital High -SF Oct 21-24

I had a common infection, it needed immediate attention, and I didn't have a regular doctor anyway. Nevermind that I was in a different state too, but I just got back from New Zealand where, for health care at least, that doesn't matter. I noticed the infection less than 48 hours after returning from down under and was wishing I had gotten sick down there because it would have all been paid for. Well, we don't get to choose when medical calamity strikes, do we? Maybe some of us are more accident-prone...talking to you MTBers, snowriders, and sword swallowers out there, but even though I do a lot of adventurous outdoor activities, it was something completely normal and commonplace that led to this. Two things actually: riding my bike to the store and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Yeehaw! Fun name for a bacteria that is absolutely everywhere including living on your skin right now.
So I rode down the street, took a digger, skinned up my knee and that was how the MRSA got from outside my skin to inside my leg. This really could have happened anywhere, to anyone, but it happened to me and here I am, in the ER cuz I have to, but wondering how I'm going to afford it. Getting sick and hurt (hopefully not too bad, but sometimes seriously), is a part of life. As a society, we have our head in the sand if we expect all the injuries to happen to those with insurance that covers it. Instead of paying more than any other industrialized nation for less-effective health care, we should accept that our nation's health is a public good like national defense. If we are healthy as a nation, we are more productive...or we'll get to use more sick days as "sick" days ;-) like this one:

From Utah, Jan 08, Day 5, 6, 7, 8

Besides, the numbers are pretty simple: single-payer national health insurance (i.e. Medicare for all) would cost less than we currently spend on health care while covering all Americans, preserving consumer choice among physicians and freeing employers from providing health care. That's why I'm supporting (and calling on my elected representatives to support) HR 676, The US National Health Insurance Act and I urge you to do the same. Take a look at the article below for some recent findings from a study done in Colorado showing that only single-payer would reduce costs and also cover all residents

A Cautionary Tale of Wound Management

2008-11-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Back from the hospital, looking at my leg to see if the swelling is going away and looking at my watch to see if it's time for another pill, I'm at least glad that, when I came down with acute bacterial cellulitis, I was in the care and company of an excellent nurse: my very good friend Naomi. When she said I needed to get to the ER, I didn't question her, besides she works there!
I didn't really expect to see her work under these circumstances (had hoped to be climbing with her and her husband in Yosemite), but she gives excellent care and I'm glad I got to see her in action. She wheels and deals between four patients in her section and they could be sick and elderly, drunk and crazy, or cut and bleeding. It's always something new and that's what she says she loves about it. Otherwise, it's pretty fun at the hospital -NOT! I was bored stiff most of the time, waiting two hours for the bags of antibiotics to drain through the IV. Luckily, I thought ahead and brought my ipod, a book, and my phone. That's how I survived 18 hours at the hospital, and got the upper hand on the infection.
So now you're asking: what infection? How did this happen anyway?
Well, the answer is short and sweet; I did not take care of my open wounds carefully enough.

Granted, the road rash I had from the bike wreck a month ago in New Zealand was pretty big (three areas larger than a quarter on my knee and plenty of other scrapes), but it was fine for four weeks without any problems. The pronounced swelling
I discovered the day after I returned from NZ probably means that the lone shower I took during my last week on the North Island -amongst much skiing, hiking and camping out all wearing the same clothes- was probably not enough.
When I took my Wilderness First Responder course from WMI, they told us to aggressively irrigate abrasions and change the dressing regularly or else it could get infected. When I heard that, I always thought "What? Like a little bit of pus draining out of there? Big deal!" Now I know what you should too: open wounds are a potential entry site for infections that can rage out of control in no time and threaten your limbs or even your life! Scared? I was definitely perturbed.
Here's what happened first: I noticed my knee was swollen on Wed. and took some ibuprofen. The next day, my whole lower leg was swollen, red, warm to the touch, and achey. That sort of rapid spread of symptoms shows that the infection was overwhelming my immune system with a quickness.
Imagine being a days' walk from a trailhead or medical attention with this condition. This would be a serious problem, especially since it will start to limit mobility in short order, increasing the amount of time it takes to self-evacuate, but also making the infection harder to treat.
So remember to thoroughly clean your open wounds -and keep them protected from dirt, water, and any other contaminants until they are healed. Don't pay attention when someone tells you it just needs to get some air. Sure, you can let it dry after washing, but it needs to be covered (preferably by antibiotic ointment and bandage) whenever it could come in contact with bacteria-carrying surfaces or environments.
It's your body. It's OK to take care of it. You treat it well, and it will do the same for you. I gaurantee.

Back-to-back Volcano Pics

2008-10-26T01:11:00.000-07:00

Here they are finally. from just before I left New Zealand. I'm actually back, but had to go to hospital for an infection. On the road to recovery now, but I'll have to tell the whole story in a bit. For now, enjoy the pics:

Volcano Virgin No More

2008-10-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

I did it 2x in as many days! Wonderful what you can do with a nice sunny day once the mountain sheds its shroud of cloud. I'm still getting the pics together into a slideshow, but in the meantime, go over to TetonAT and have a squizz (Kiwi for take a look) at the trip report I put together about our Earnslaw mission. If you have any comments, feedback, general thoughts, please let me know by leaving a comment there. Cheers!

Life below treeline

2008-10-18T01:53:00.000-07:00

I’m sitting in the Mountain House, a lodge at the entrance to Taranaki National Park, and I’m the only one. There is a fire lit, but no guests, no reservations, and no one staying in the rooms. The ambience is stellar, except for the “Power Ballads on Pan Flute and Harpsichord” muzak (I’ll be watching you, Aguilera’s I am beautiful). There’s a persistent drizzle going on outside, but blue skies not 5km away. It’s the effect of the 2518m volcano upon whose flanks we’re perched: Mt Taranaki in Maori or Egmont as the English-speakers named it.

It’s a good chance to relax and reflect on the Kiwi peculiarities that I’ve experienced in the last few days. Just noticing the obvious things like driving on the left and light switches upside down leads to appreciating the other parts of Kiwi-land. New Zealanders are a friendly sort. I thought the smiling, happy attendants on the flight over just might be that way because they are paid to, but it’s really a stereotype that holds true for the most part. Everywhere there’s a friendly face and a quick smile. I have had no problem hitching around and even got invited into a ski club at Mt Ruapehu for the last couple days. This group of friendly folks shared their beer and wine, took me four-wheeling and on a hike to a great waterfall.

The weather wouldn’t let up there so I came to Taranaki and the Mountain House. The chef gave me a ride to a sweet little hostel set up by some surfers called Wave Haven. Still crappy weather, but I went and dipped my toe in the Pacific, which is only 15 Miles from Taranaki’s 2500m summit.Socked in weather for days on end is a non-Colorado difference I could do without, but the clouds should clear tomorrow and the mountain man can get back to what he does best. Update soon…

Headed to North Island for Volcanoes and Road Trip Pics

2008-10-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

In just a few hours, I'm flying up to Auckland for a week on the North Island. I'm hoping to ski the three big volcanoes up there: Taranaki, Ruapehu, and Ngauruhoe. There's a map below to help locate them, but I am also putting up a slideshow (further down) of a road trip from a week ago.

View Larger Map

Road Trip Slideshow
Like most roadtrips, there's a lot of windshield time -and that's where I took most of the pictures. Take a look at the slideshow; it tells the story in the captions.
For best viewing, go to my Picasa site, but it also plays here:

Relaxing with Tourists

2008-10-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
It's been busy with adventures around here so I have missed posting for a few days, but I'm working on catching up right now. Trip reports and updates coming soon: we skied a very big peak called Mt Earnslaw, I went on a road trip and met a bunch of new people, and took more general pictures of NZ. I'm about to go on a long hike near Aspiring so look for that post in a few days!

Today was quite nice. First stop as the frosty edge of the morning gives way to a fine, sunny day: Patagonia Chocolates.

Great view, Wi-Fi, and Spicy Chili Hot Chocolate.

Then over to the town soccer field where paragliders are landing and I work on my action photography. Here's a slideshow of things flying around, and some more of the scenic area around Queenstown:

Playing Ski Patrol

2008-10-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed a special opportunity today and tagged along with patrol on an avalanche control route at Remarkables. First thing was to get up wicked early and drive the just-plowed road in the dark, while talking about conditions, sharing the forecast, and planning what routes are likely to need avalanche mitigation. We suited up in the patrol HQ, then got a boost up near our targets from the snowmobile and skinned up from there. We found definite loading in a couple chutes. The slabs of snow built up from all the blowing snow had to be cut loose before they got too big and could run down into the base area, possibly hitting buildings and a lift tower. This is just a part of ski patrol's main duty: making the hill safe for punters to go out and huck their meat. They're not cops on skis. They mitigate hazards that the mountain presents to the public and educate guests how to be safe and courteous to others on the slope. Check out this video of a friend who patrols at Copper, extolling the benefits (and challenges) of his job:
Many Thanks to Remarkables Ski Patrol for showing me around! Here are a couple more pics from that morning:

NZ Powder Day!

2008-09-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well, after getting up at midnight and driving up the Rees river valley as far as possible in the Subaru Legacy, staggering in the dark up a narrow valley and fording the river at least 4 times in thigh-deep icy water, we came to an insurmountable obstacle. Jonathan's knee was hurting and there didn't seem to be any way to manage the pain. Worried about worsening the injury and uncomfortable with splitting up the group, we turned around. While there was all kinds of work preparing and planning that gave us forward momentum, it was better to stay together and choose a better day. We did find good snow as a consolation up at Remarks:

Quick Post -Headed for Earnslaw

2008-09-27T00:58:00.000-07:00

There are some other posts I just published below this one. They'll catch you up on the first three days here. I am getting ready for a big peak mission up Mount Earnslaw 2819 metres (Pikirakatahi):

There's also a slideshow to show you the condo where I'm crashing and the incredible views outside:

Here's a good start -and everything's upside down

2008-09-26T23:58:00.000-07:00

Take gale-force winds, way-above-freezing temps, and spitting rain and a trio of ski-tourers: mix together, careful not to overdo it on any one of the ingredients, then pour down a steep mountain feature. Here we go:

Then on Wed., I tried to ride a bike. Remember that everything is upside down here: September is the beginning of SPRING; North is the sunny, warm direction; light switches are on when they are flicked down, and -the best one- you drive on the left. So I tried to ride on the left and had a good little crash, but at least I was obeying the mandatory helmet law. Everything's OK, except for a coupla scrapes and a broken spoke on the bike. Here's some more gory details, if you want:

Welcome to New Zealand, mate!

2008-09-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

Did it! Finally here! I have been here a week and things are happening, but I have slacked on scribing. So now I'll catch up the blog to the last five days:
Flew in at 10 in the morning Monday, the 22nd and met Sheena just as I walked outside. Events fit together like clockwork from that point on. She drove me to their place while I gawked at the peaks that loom at least 2000m (6000') above the valley, which is filled with an enormous lake covering the bottom of the glacial valley. I was completely disoriented by the 18-hour flight and time/date change. So when Jonathan wanted to go up on Deer Park Hill, I just followed along. It's a reserve slash petting zoo on this old glacier knob that stands almost in the lake between Queenstown and Remarkables, where they did some filming for Lord of the Rings. Here are the pics:

See the trip from Colorado to California here:

and then to New Zealand:

Whither the equinox?

2008-09-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

Just realized I skipped over the equinox! No Sept. 21 for me so it's already a day closer to "winter". haha, since I'm here for winter right now! I just saw the countdown over on Wildsnow so I had to comment. Of course, winter was well on the march by the time I left CO, with the Gooney Riders reporting a bit of kicking steps in snow with mountain bike shoes! Hoo-rah winter!

18 hours ahead -and feelin' it!

2008-09-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well,
All I know is I boarded a plane in San Fran and we flew for a long time, but it was kinda disorienting so I don't know if I should fully trust my instincts. It was still dark when we landed, even though my clock said 1100 hours and people were speaking English but in funny accents all around me, plus the parallel-universe Today show on the tube says it's 800 Monday morning. So I'm pretty sure I got on the right plane and am now in New Zealand. Should get more confirmation in just a couple hours as I catch a flight south to Queenstown (MAP) and look for the big peaks of the Southern Alps out the window: Mt Cook, Mt Aspiring, Mt Tasman...
The thing I was struck by just after disembarking here in Auckland is how bike- and pedestrian-friendly the airport and city seem. This bike stand was right outside the int'l terminal:

From Flying to New Zealand Sept 08

I guess if you are living a car-free, but not plane-free, lifestyle, you will need to reassemble your bike on arrival at the airport so you can bike home.
Also, for you committed bike commuters, look at the cruisers being used on the ramp to move from gate to gate by the ground crew (I think they could use some handlebar tassles, don't you?):

From Flying to New Zealand Sept 08

Upcoming plans: well, I arrive to Queenstown later today (middle of the night, Sunday in the US). The immediate plans include settling, getting bearings, and getting to know the town they call "the adventure capital of New Zealand". Apres` la, there will be some skiing, a hitchiking visit to a brewpub in Wanaka and then a moment to plan our big peak trip...stay tuned!

Road Trip is over!

2008-09-20T10:15:00.001-07:00

Leg one complete: drive to friend's house in Oakland. It really wasn't easier than flying (19 hours of driving), and it was more expensive ($200 in gas alone!) than taking Amtrak ($120 for a 34-hour train ride and 350-lb gear allowance). Nevertheless, I made it, leaving 8:30 last night after a few hiccups in the departure schedule: lost my phone, ran out of gas while running final errands, and everything just took longer than planned -natch. Slept briefly under the stars in WY near Wamsutter. I will soon post some pictures that chronicle parts of the trip (missing: the beautiful foliage by Park City and the endless stretch of straight road on I-80 through the salt flats in western Utah). I knew I was close to California when everyone started driving really fast and passing on the right or left like they were trying to be fair and balanced. Arrived at 30 min. past midnite and stayed up to begin adjusting the sleep schedule to NZ time (GMT-12). Now, just need to get some skins...

Gaining strength by focusing on weaknesses

2008-09-18T18:15:00.001-07:00

Here I am doing what I decided was necessary this summer to be a better skier. I'm overcoming fear of falling/jumping/heights. This was something disrupting my technique on steep slopes because you have to have confidence that your edges will come under you when you lean out over your balance point and hopturn down 10 feet. I hope I can drop 30' cliffs (although that's 10m down under) with more confidence because I have been jumping off stuff all summer. Does anyone else have experience overcoming fear of steeps?

New Zealand or bust!

2008-09-17T11:29:00.001-07:00

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 :)

Storm and Drum

2008-09-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday night after the Golite sale, went to Red Rocks for Monolith festival. Saw The Fratelli's, Vampire Weekend , Del and Heiroglyphics (see slideshow below. The VW set was during sunset, as the full moon rose over Denver's lights and pink/red/mauve moved across the clouds from in front of us to behind us. Very dramatic, as the lead singer remarked several times. I have some pics, but on a borrowed camera. If there is one lesson I hope I've learned this weekend, it's that, to be a photographer, one needs a camera. So I forgot to bring one to the concert as well and missed great shots of sunlit virga behind the stage, the moon rising on the crowd...Good pics that it hurts to have missed and I hope than serves as a reminder to miss fewer shots in the future.

Golite sale: crazy deals bring out the crazy deal-seekers

2008-09-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

I spent two whole days this weekend picking up clothes and rehanging them at the Golite sale. The warehouse gets overrun (especially on Friday) because there are kickass deals and people move pretty quickly from one rack to the next, sometimes not bothering to put stuff back where they found it. The hard work paid off...for Golite, that is. The sale was reportedly a record-breaker. That didn't affect my bottom line as an hourly employee, but it felt good to be a part of it. I forgot to be a photographer and left the camera at home so the only pic I took was on my cell phone, but I think it pretty much captures the spirit of the sale:

Where would you rather be?

2008-09-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

At work on a Monday or up skiing Lambs Slide in powder in mid-August?

Wind River photos and TR

2008-07-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

2008-06-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

2008-06-16T17:36:00.001-07:00

Great weekend to end the season on!
pics are up at my Picasa
This weekend was great with a ton of people

on Skywalker

for a great couloir

with a tight, 53-degree entry.

Sunday was also awesome with no one except me and Evan on the E face of James.

We descended Starlight while still pretty firm

and then boogied up the Shooting Star couloir.

It was already baking at 8:15 so we hustled up the 1000' couly in under an hour.

We discussed the couloir briefly while quickly getting ready, making sure it was clear this was a serious route. It's 50+ degrees and 10' wide at the crux, with some potential to go over cliffs and we agreed it would be best to make controlled jump turns and probably not link turns while in the couloir.

The snow was perfect, silky corn.

10 minutes later we were arcing turns and spraying snow across the apron.

There was still the hike out and turns down the St Mary's Glacier (with the attendant hordes of gapers), then a nice fat slab of red meat on the grill to celebrate, plus 3.2 beer since we'll only be able to buy it for another 2 Sundays. Cheers!

Here's how the season ended up:
Starlight, Shooting Star on James
Skywalker/Leia
South Couloir on Crestone Pk
Humboldt
Witch's Ditch
Dragontail
Dead Dog
Silver Couloir on Buffalo
Lamb's Slide
Torreys Time Trial (2:30 to top)
Grizzly Couloir to ShitforBrains tour

The only significant objectives that leave a thorn in my pride for not getting them done are dual:
Ypsilon
Castle E Face
That's it. Get them next year...plus maybe Superstar...and how about N Couloir on Pacific Peak...and, well the list just keeps going. The way I fell in love with skiing this winter in UT, on new terrain, but with established partners, gives me hope for finding stoke wherever I end up next year.

Time to climb!