skykilo

Meet me at my place in half an hour and we can have a brew. I'm on my way home from the lab now...

No creds for illegal skiing, it's gotta be for the love, man! Guerrilla steeps... Hasta la victoria siempre, viva la nieve precipitada!

I've heard firsthand tales of kooks doing more than checking the cornice, if ya know what I mean, and they lived to tell... Here's to quality skiing terrain, newly created within our lifetimes.

Yeah, I suck.

I like to get naked.

Josh, I didn't have you in mind, but if the shoe fits...

I learned skiing at ski areas, and I still enjoy a powder day hitting the lifts. But if the conditions and weather permit, I'm going to get away. I enjoy the solitude, discovery, and variable conditions incomparably more than the ski area experience. I have a season pass this year, and I got my money's worth out of it in December alone, but since then I have skied the lifts less times than I can count on one hand. It was worth it for the excellent powder days I had, though. I think you are on the money about skiers improving their skills at the ski area. I know a couple people who could definitely use some vertical miles to hone their skills. Past a certain level of skill, though, I think steep skiing and technical skiing skills are a separate entity from what happens at ski areas. Balance on the skis is always invaluable, but learning to ski less than ideal conditions in more intense terrain is a hands on process and it's not about looking pretty, making perfect turns with your knees locked. It could be double-pole-planting, pedal-hopping, side-stepping, crevasse-weaving, self-belaying, adrenaline-infused, undergaments shit-stained, teeth-clenching madness. Now that's what I call fun! And then you get to the more moderate terrain, and the sun hits you, and the creamed corn is sweet, and you're still shakin', then you open up the turns and feel the cool air rush past your face and you gotta SCREAM!!! Now that's what it feels like to be alive...

This thread is kicking major ass! Stream crossing beta is for beyotches! I defy all logs, and swim with all my gear on to make the hypothermic ascent that follows a testament to my hardman status.

Pajarito was open this year, but in general it only operates three days a week even when it is open. It is not open now, but there was plenty of fresh up there. The area has a little more than 1,000 vertical feet. Unfortunately, I was too busy to take advantage of that. Santa Fe Ski Area opens every year with its 10,350 foot base elevation, it's fun, and it's maybe an hour and a half away. Taos Ski Valley kicks major ass, doesn't allow snowboarders, and is less than two hours of driving. Another nearby attraction, where you can find malt liquor, prostitutes, and the per capita heroin use capitol of the US, is the charming town of Espanola. The high desert is really beautiful with snow. On my way to the Albuquerque airport yesterday, I stopped at a coffee shop in Santa Fe. I said, "I would like a cup of coffee." "We don't have drip. I can make you an Americano." "Only in Santa Fe, eh? I'll have a double espresso." With my stimulant in hand, I observed a bulletin board. There were three pictures with the title above, 'Our wonderful and talented baristas.' I did not recognize the present help, so I asked, "Where's your picture?" "I just started." "Good, I'm glad they didn't decide you aren't wonderful and talented." Driving a rental car down the freeway through the desert like a bat out of hell, rocking out with the volume way too high, admiring the sunbreaks and the fresh snow on the foothills above the desert, blood saturated with caffeine, I was both at peace with the journey and happy to end my sojourn and return to Seattle. It's good to be back. Let's rip it up, fellas.

Everything's coated with a few inches of white this morning. It's a nice place, with a little ski area four miles up the road, rock climbing essentially in town, and possibly ice climbing on the north sides of the canyons in the winter. I definitely prefer the northwest, though.

That's right, the fresh is dropping here at LANL in Los Alamos. Too bad I'm here to study neutrons. Well, snow is made of water, and oxygen has eight neutrons, so maybe I can head up to Pajarito for a few laps???

Josh, We're lucky to have visionaries like you in the community. Could you link that with a circumnavigation to the Chocolate right through the crater from the Scimitar?

All right, Mike, it should be easy for you to spot what I consider to be the obvious line on the East Face... (Massive ice flow on the right, hint hint) Just for good measure, here's a nice picture of the East Face and couloir looking frosty... I think it may be a little late for this year, but I'm interested in climbing that line in the first picture.

I'd say go check it out. If conditions seem sketchy, or debris is raining, do the Sunshine Route or something. That's just me though, and I can be an idiot.

In Shred's defense: I was hangin''round the 'Hood Tuesd'y and Wedn'sd'y, and they were keepin' the b'room in the climber's cave at T'line lock'd, and there were no blue bags to be found, eitha'. So all these apostrophes represent droppin' brown bombs. Luckily, I was able to hold out until my return and use the facilities in the day lodge...

Just to be a smart ass, I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that death is always a possibility, any day of the week, regardless of where one lives.

PDX represent, y'all turn out the Hood Rat threads like it ain't no thang. West Side Riders coming through, one day I gotta hit Leuthold with my locs on. Sounds like mad drama been popping off in the 'hood recently, I'll lay low till the heat subsides, then I'ma parlay my westside connections to slang some mad white lines off the top. I like to think all the P-town chickenheads are checking me out from their highrise cribs in Portland Plaza when I'm flossy flossing on the westide. Thug for life.

Dru, I know you're trolling here... Et tu, Brute? (us->e in this case) Probably I'm just a geek and missing your comical reference to something else...

We skied all the way to the base of the Ice Cliff glacier Sat, Feb 28th. Don't know if the tracks would still be there. The glacier looked great, easily passable on left or right, or you could bite off more in the middle if you so felt. I could post a picture tonight if you desire.

Great photo, Dru. That really makes me want to go up the road to Twin Lakes and do some skiing. Thanks for posting it.

Right on guys, looks like a much higher enjoyment to suffering ratio than my day. That line on Red Mountain sure does look fun.

Dru, you really have the condescending asshole act down lately. We should get together and bullshit at a bar sometime, I think together we could manage to talk an ungodly amount of shit.

What up with that autosig E-rock? Having fun? Maybe I'll actually use that ignore feature...

Then it got so hectic I couldn't type anymore and passed out at my keyboard, managing to hit submit with my forehead as it collapsed on the desk!

This trip report shows promise, but I swear something is missing...