Tag Archives: skiing

Status

Off to Utah for three days of shredding gnar gnar sicky pow pow with Miles, Albert, and Joe. Last weekend left me pessimistic about the snow coverage, but it looks like the weather gods are smiling upon us kindly. Almost a foot in the last day, and more to come.

Joe will be in Portland next week for hacking and general mischief. If we manage to bang out the product idea I’ve had forever, it’s going to be something I’m very excited to show the world.

Status

Yesterday: First day of skiing for the year! Did a full day at Timberline with Ned, Leah’s dad. He’s a ski patroller, and it was a fun day tagging along to see what that’s like. 21k feet of vertical over 17 runs.

Today: Hiked Dog Mountain with Spittle. Gorge-ous day in the Gorge, but bitterly cold. Saw a few other brave souls.

Now: Just about the perfect time for a hot bath.

Shredding the gnar, redux

Trees

Last year, I ended the season with an unbelievable day of skiing. Today, it happened again.

Riley, my dad, and I arrived just before open to 13 inches of fresh. Riley, the avid tree skier he is, led the way all over the mountain. Fresh tracks and face shots galore.

We finished with 16k feet of vertical in 14 runs. Reminder to self: increase the DIN setting on my Kilowatts so they don’t fly off so often.

Ski report: Brighton, February 2013

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Never miss an opportunity for adventure is my motto. When DJ posted on Facebook that he was headed to Utah for a conference and wanted to ski, I immediately jumped on it. We ended up skiing Brighton for a few days with his friends David and Jeffrey.

The most important details:

  • Day one: 15k feet of vertical in 13 runs before lunch.
  • Day two: 22k feet of vertical in 19 runs in the afternoon / early evening. Beer break midway.
  • Day three: 18k feet of vertical in 16 runs before lunch. Hot cocoa midway to defrost.

Secondary details:

  • Brighton Lodge is a pretty sweet basecamp for skiing Brighton. It’s literally right next to the lift. A four person dorm room runs $129/night.
  • Bring groceries and alcohol, as the evening dining options are limited and expensive.
  • Pray for snow. We got sun, but only a couple inches of fresh on Monday night. Had there been a dumping, much more of the mountain would’ve opened up.
  • It was fun thinking I could split skiing and work, but next time we’re instituting a no-laptop policy. I ended up working more hours than I wanted to, and everyone else spent equal hours if not more on their posters.

Best of luck to DJ, Jeffrey and David on their presentations!

Ski report: Tahoe, January 2013

tahoe

The Miles and Daniel ski trip is now strong into its third year. This time we were joined at Squaw by Albert and lots of Miles’ roommates and friends. Many thanks to Natalie for coordinating the lodging.

skicrew

Saturday: 20.5k feet of vertical in 20 runs. Post-ski, two hour hot tub session.

Sunday: 22.4k feet of vertical in 21 runs. Miles, Albert and I prepare an epic feast of brussel sprouts, garlic bread, spaghetti, and chocolate mousse for 18 people. Albert schools everyone with his simple tomato sauce recipe.

Monday: Sleep-deprived and hungover.

Previously: 2011, 2012

Alyeska, day one

Today, Miles and I skiied Alyeska for the first time. Alyeska is a resort about 40 miles south of Anchorage, Alaska. If you’ve ever seen a Warren Miller or Matchstick Productions Film, you probably are aware of Chugach Mountain Guides which operate out of the same area.

The snow is pretty much the best I’ve skiied in my entire life. The mountain received 34 inches on Monday, 30 inches on Tuesday, and then about 6 inches per day since. That is a lot of snow.

We did 25.5k feet of vertical in 20 runs all over the mountain — and had fresh tracks most of the day. Tomorrow, the goal is to ski from 10:30 am to 9 pm and break 40k feet of vertical.