Feb3
Whitegrass Round 2
Perfect weather, perfect snow (at least until about lunch on sunday) and perfect company. It was a great weekend!
Jeff Gardner
photography, technology & wordology
Posts Tagged ‘skiing’
Dec8
50,000 words, a new job and skiing before Thanksgiving
Yeah you could say that I’ve been busy.
Let’s start with the novel. I posted here before say that I was taking part in NanoWriMo this year. First off, it was great fun overall and I did finish make my 50,000 word goal by the end of the month. Having a deadline on something as large as a novel (even a small one like 50k) is such a good thing, it forces you to just pour the words out onto the page. No matter how bad they are, and believe me, they are bad. Everyone writes crap for a first draft, especially under a deadline, but as many writers that chimed in on the NanoWriMo pep talks each week said, “A shitty finished novel will always beat an unfinished great novel.” I am inclined to believe them if only to stroke me ego a little. So make your plans now, signup for NanoWriMo 2009 and write yourself a novel!
The new employment situation: I am the new front-end web developer for Entermotion. They are a Kansas based company that builds webpages for clients and also develops web apps under the moniker Paste Interactive. It’s, so far, been a fantastic gig. I am super busy day to day and I am now working from home. It is a remote job, meaning that I can work from wherever – this is going to be pretty key for the impending move to Italy next winter.
And no, I haven’t moved to Colorado. I’m not sure who did the snow dance so well this fall but I’ve already skiied 4 days this year. Three at Whitegrass on the xc sticks and then yesterday at Snowshoe on the tele skis. It’s been all beautiful snow and soft powder (east-coast style, no cold-smoke). Here’s to the wonders of winter and the beauty of sliding down a hill really fast with sticks attached to your feet!
A few images of the xc at Whitegrass from the last few weeks for your viewing pleasure.
Mar13
Beautiful Backcountry
You look down. Your skis move slowly forward, propelled by your already worked legs. The snow under your skis is softening by the minute, slowly making its solar fueled transformation from ice crytals into water droplets.
You look up. The mountains are all around you. Trees poking through the snow that surrounds rock bands. The ridgeline above you lazily droops a few small cornices. But you know they’re stable, at least for today.
You look back down. The sun sparkles off the snow and the sweat drips from your brow. This is what skiing is all about. No crowds, no lodge, no lifts and no tracks. Just a few friends and the promise of fresh turns in the softening spring snow.
You will your legs to push just a little faster. The top is getting closer.
Chair Peak Backcountry
The crater of Mt St. Helen’s in the distance