bDubyaH

when getting skate gear i advise: boots, make em fit right the first time, these will decide which bindings you will get. skis, have someone that knows what you are looking for help you out, fitted to a ski for recreational use or for a low end race ski etc. make sure the ski flexes properly for your body size/weight etc. poles = $$, the more you spend the more you will like them. most local stores are happy to return broken poles (if you keep a receipt) you will probably break a pole or 2 or 3, particularly if you buy the pricey ones it seems. wind briefs are your friend, so is a head band (you will sweat like mad, but your ears get cold, and tunes (when skating by yourself, or if you hate your friends) trails are already groomed here, heading out tomorrow!

we had a woman die up here in a shallow snowpack (<2-3') she was cutting across a slope on snowshoes, when it released and buried her in a terrain trap. this was at a time when much of the area was fairly bare. if there is enough snow to cover the ground, then there is enough to slide. treat early season snowpack the same as you would mid-winter. analyse it (dig a pit), look for any instabilities, play it safe until your brain gives you the green light to drop in on the big lines. best to lilve another day. cheers

sorry TLG, but this weekend I dropped in on a couple of the best runs i've had...ever. first tracks down two mountains (before the crowds could catch up) and nailed a nice couloir before heading to the car. early season is being very kind up here this year! chestbeating ends now.

los anchorage

it has snowed for the past couple of days and calling for up to 16" of accumulation tonight and that is just in town! can't wait for saturday turns

many of the people i know with high iq's are completely inept socially and basically some of the biggest morons i know when it comes to navigating life. not necessarily the best choices for a pres. that said, i have a higher iq than both those guys. haha. the shrub maintained a "c+" average...big f'in deal! shhheeiiit i was drinking my liver solid, getting high and sucking down whip-its, while taking 20 credit hours of science courses and still managed to be on the dean's list.

dude, thirty-one revolutions is making me dizzy.

fri: pre-halloween party. some guy taped my friends breasts up so that she would have cleavage. i asked if i could be his apprentice sat: some of the best turns i've ever had in my life. first tracks on two mountains, full on sluff management tour in the steeps. sick! huge costume party with my buddies band playing. lots of beer and fun. sunday was wasted after we got to bed around 5am. sun: help girl move, watch horror movie, but didn't see the end we both fell asleep. it snowed a few inches in town! today: survived another spin around the sun, am officially older now.

basically look for the mitts in the $100 range. OR, TNF, and Marmot all make great cold weather mitts. make sure the palm is durable, amazing how much wear is caused by carrying a mt axe for a month.

saw that on a plane coming back from a climbing expedition in china. laughed my ass off. all the non-english speakers (95%) of the flight kept looking at me, i guess cause they didn't see the humor in it.

Winter minimum: Anchorage, 5 hours, 28 minutes (that's in december) February isn't so bad, with around 10 hours of light. Here is a page with a little chart showing daylight hours press me makes it tough to get in many turns post-work, but fine for the weekends. but skate skiing can be had every night on our 100+ miles of groomed and lighted trails!

"what's the deal with light up there?" we don't have much in the winter "you be around in feb?" yup "okay if i bring s.o.?" absolutely, the more the merrier. have a huge house with roomies who have raced sled-dogs, and climbed everest, etc. is mandatory, it is alaska after all

that is a good price to either juneau or anchorage. if your coming to anchorage just let me know, happy to let you couch surf it you want. Hatcher's Pass north of anchorage got dumped on this weekend check out the 40" snow level there was definitely a lot of avy activity (wumping everywhere and a few slides), turnagain arm hasn't got a decent snowpack yet, that area is more coastal snow, while hatchers is the early season place to be. when are you thinking about coming up?

alyeska in girdwood. in the spring (due to light) but i think they closed in late april (if i remember correctly). steeps and bowls are easily accessed via hiking just 10 minutes past alyeska in turnagain arm. eaglecrest in juneau, i prefer the february/march skiing due to light and generally more consistent snow. plenty of bc terrain can be accessed via the lift. more variable terrain down there i.e. trees/cliffs, but bigger in the areas surrounding anchorage also have valdez and cordova and haines, all bc(small lift in cordova), although i would recommend waiting till spring for all of them. if your coming up and want to head out back country drop me a pm, we are either climbing or skiing or both every weekend, from this past saturday till late spring! there are also a few other small ski areas in the state, mostly around anchorage area. i used to ski eaglecrest 50-60 days a year, but now live in anchorage and didn't go to a ski area at all last year. why bother when i have skins?

"There is a big difference between being really lonely and fucking a sheep" Dirty Al, 2:45am Oct 23, 2004 Then there was: What did the Wyoming ranchers wife say to her husband. More me less ewe. Figured you velcro gloved sheep shaggers would get a kick out of those.

just read: for whom the bell tolls. Hemmingway just started: the souls of black folks. W.E.B. Du Bois

disturbing

no problem...party at my house tonight all are welcome. turns will be had in abundance early tomorrow morn. your in AK right.

The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who, in time of crisis, remain neutral - Dante The road to hell is paved with Republicans - Paul Dayton

dru i'm digging the avatar, but then again i'm a fish guy

33" at the gauge in hatcher's pass. heading out tomorrow. oooohhhhh yeeeaaaahhh!

dude, they forgot their helmets. they're on the ground behind them on the visquin. mandatory that those get clipped on the pack!

looks like he's attacking his jewels with that ice axe