I call the above photo "When Hell Froze Over" hehehe (evil laugh). Below shows the black diamond bump run in Revelation Bowl that I ran over and over hoping something inside me would click. I think I made some strides forward, but I won't know for sure until next time I try. it is raining today and the weather is calling for 40s all week. Supposedly the snow level is 9500ft, so there may be snow in the mountains. Since we had Seattle weather today, we played speed scrabble with Peter to 100 points, ate mini corn dogs (don't worry, they were Foster Farms), watched "Reign Over Me" (sad and funny movie), and then got crafty (see below). I hope all the snow doesn't get washed away. If it does, Moab, here I come.


Here are some samples of the baby blanket projects John and I have going. We have 4 babies to welcome this spring. The Ehler twins come anytime. They will get our favorite fabrics below, the stars with a satin border and the duckies with orange crochet.
Here is the start of the blanket for the Coughlin boy, due early March. I'm halfway done with the blanket stitch border of baby blue and silver sparkle. Awww.

Stitch, after stitch, after stitch. Reminds me of seed beading back in highschool. The fleece is so soft, it is worth every inch.
More coming soon......

Telluride Slopes

Here is Mira atop Revelation Bowl on the highest runs in Telluride.
Here I am at the base of Revelation Bowl. Icy!!
We finally get some snow the third day on the slopes. It is a lot more work, as well as fun.
Me rippin' it up in the "pow." So there
John and I on the lift. Burr.
I helped Mira on her snowboard along a cat track/ flat trail between hills. I actually really enjoy skate skiing.
Looking down off the lift. Apparently my skis are a bit old-school compared to modern shaped skis. I know these captions are brief, but I think the pics speak for themselves.

My new ride. 21 years younger than my Jetta parked behind it. LL Bean edition.
Mira's first ice climb ever! A super steep climb with no old holes, so it was quite a workout. She rocked out.

Hello again. I decided to post some photos from today's outing up to Dexter Creek Falls. The intent was to climb the ice, but John, Kevin, and I got a late start (super bowl party last night) and the sunlight was already getting pretty close to the ice by the time we got to it. The hike was fun however and I feel pretty good about leading the ice pitches in the future. After skiing yesterday and the snow shoeing and snow climbing today, my calves are wicked tight.

On the approach John and I took slightly different routes. I gave a shout-out to him and up his head popped from a nearby drainage. Looked like a turtle. Is that an avalanche shoot I'm climbing up? Hey, once it has slid, it is pretty safe.
Here is the base of the first real pitch of Dexter. Some other day.
The approach/descent. It was a good mountaineering day with some exposure. It took us over an hour from the road. Good stuff.
I kept putting off getting a photo of the whole climb till the end and forgot to get the shot. Here is an ice pitch we went around on the way up. The upper pitch is visible at the top. I'll try to get picture tomorrow from the road.

I just got back yesterday from a three day course at Silverton Avalanche School giving me my Avalanche 1 certification. We learned about the components needed for an avalanche (a strong snow layer over a weak one, a trigger- natural or human, and a slope steep enough for that strong layer to slide off the weak one). We practiced using our transcievers and other rescue gear. There were 6 or so instructors splitting the lectures and helping with the field exercises. I had fun and the weather was lovely. I am definately going to keep a daily eye on the avalanche conditions and avoid any days with danger. Don't worry about me! I feel much better about mitigating risks after this class.

This is a view from McMillan, still the only mountain I have backcountry skied. Mom, if you look at the basin dead center of the photo, that is Porphory Basin, the one we hiked with Leanne. In the spring, it is a good 1 day ski tour up the road and down over the other side all the way to Telluride.
This is looking up McMillan. It was very wind swept and crusty up this high- a little over 12000ft.

My first snow pit. By digging down all the layers, one can isolate columns of snow and do stress tests to quite easily see if one layer might separate from another. I could even see a dust layer from early winter.