Loveland Powder Day

Weather reports indicated that Saturday would be a powder day, and sure enough: 8" of snow fell at Loveland, in addition to the 6" that fell prior to Friday AM. It's only 45 minutes from my place, so that was my choice for the day. Here is the eastern sky at 6:35 AM as I departed:


If you've skied before you may wonder why I'm leaving at 6:35 AM if it takes me 45 minutes since first chair is usually at 8:30. Because too many people live in Denver, and "all" of them drive up the highway at 6:30 on a powder day. Heh.

Basically if you don't leave before that time, you will sit in stop-and-go traffic for some part of the 40+ miles to your destination.

As it was, I made liberal use of service roads to avoid slow traffic, and was able to drive in relative peace at an average of 30-40 mph. There are several spots, however, where there is no service road, and you are forced to join the highway.

Here's the snowy scene right before opening:


The winter wonderland once I got onto the slopes:


The snow felt a tad heavy, but it's the end of February and temperatures are inching higher. Warmer temps mean heavier powder.

Although Loveland is less crowded than many ski areas, it's not empty. Here's the parking lot, which is totally full due to the good snowfall:


A crazy treetop off of Chair 1:


I spent the majority of the day skiing black and double-black trails off Chair 1. I can't say I skied them fluidly or gracefully, but I'm getting there. Even on a powder day, the bumps have slick spots on which you slide, and you may descend 10 feet rounding one mogul. I often skip a bump to scrub speed. I also vary from the straightest line to seek out the areas with the most powder.

Here is a view looking down on the parking lot from the top of Over the Rainbow:


On another run I lost a ski going over a roller and wiped out harmlessly, laughing (thankfully). No impact, nothing, the ski just came off. Recently I have contemplated increasing my DIN setting -- which is basically a number that describes how tight the binding holds the boot. However, I have to be careful doing this, because a higher setting means there's more chance of a ski not coming off when I need it to. I'm going to keep it where it is for now.

For my last run, I simply skied down to parking lot. Nice! You can't do that at every ski area.

Although it was snowing on the Continental Divide, on the drive home, clouds gradually gave way to beautiful sunny weather. Nice end to the day.


Unfortunately when I woke on Sunday, I felt like hell.

That's partly because of muscle soreness, but also because I had a headache, slight nausea, no appetite and zero energy. I slept about 6 extra (!) hours, but most of those extra hours were fitful. At one point I felt chilly, which I dispelled via a warm comfy nap.

The symptoms were not quite like full-blown flu, but are similar to those I've had a couple of times after waking in Summit County (~8,700 feet). Having made this connection it has occurred to me that it could be altitude sickness (AMS). I never suspected AMS before because I spend a good deal of time playing in the mountains, I don't experience much shortness of breath while hiking/running/skiing and I've run 14ers and other alpine terrain without such symptoms (as far as I'm aware).

I don't know what it is, but it doesn't feel good. I will be bummed if it's AMS, because that could definitely put a kink in my recreational plans.

No run Sunday; I was lucky to get up to fix dinner and eat it. I felt better today, but still took a sick day, and there certainly won't be doing any running. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Swedish Review Of Modus Hoperandi

This is great. I don't quite know how to account for the (blue-collar London?) British accent on a Swedish blog, but there it is. The review is kitschy and funny and smart, and it reaches out all the way from Europe to give due credit to a great Colorado beer.


As many times as I've been to Durango, I can't believe I've never been to the Ska brewery tasting room. Duh.

HT: Ska Facebook feed.

Burnt Out

Don't know what to say other than I find I'm really burnt out on these daily (or nightly, rather) street runs, which are past feeling like treading water for an hour, and so I took another day off Friday. Sometimes I feel like they are holes in my life, missing time I'll never get back. I'm hoping I'll adapt, but honestly they're a long way from why I got into running, and sometimes I just don't see the point and/or need a break. This time it's mental.

I'm looking forward to warmer days and more trails.

It's a powder day, I'm outta here.

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Apex Slush Run

You didn't think I was going to just post one lousy dirty leg photo for an entire trail run, did you? Oh, no. This week I feel like I've been playing catch up, so Thursday evening I decided to take a break and... catch up.

Here's some more on the fun slush run WildChildT and I did on Saturday at Apex. It was springtime conditions on the trails last weekend, as mike_hinterberg attests regarding his trail run at the next park to the south, on the same day. Below is a shot of T. and her dog Argos on a trail named... Argos. Yes, Argos on Argos. The mud you see below was the worst of it, thankfully, although there was a lot of snow and slush elsewhere. I wore spikes so I ran on snow whenever possible:


In the background below is Green Mountain, which is my local "hill". Actually, it's brown 11 months out of the year, so I figure it was named in June, when it's actually green from spring rains, and dotted with wildflowers:


As always with the local mountains, trails on the south-facing slopes were dry:


While north-facing slopes were snowy:


After 1,000 feet of ascent, you're at about 7,100 feet elevation in the Lookout Mountain neighborhood. Lots of nice houses up here. The trail then heads down the brown meadow in the middle, then hangs a right and continues ascending.


Aspens on the Enchanted Forest trail:


The Kahtoola spikes came in handy on the downhill, which was a mix of ice, solid snow, ribbons of packed snow, and downright slush. With the spikes I didn't even need to slow down until I encountered hikers, who commented on being able to run on that surface. I raved and probably could have sold 3 pairs of spikes if I'd had them on me. Awesome fun.


T. and Argos heading for home:


Run distance was 8.32 miles, moving time was 1:37, and elevation gain/loss was 1,805 feet. I started my watch late, so I edited the GPS track to add on the distance from the parking lot at the beginning.

I had not been to Apex in a while and it was good to revisit, but only after changes were made. Why?

The trails right outside Denver seem to attract bikers who are new to mountain riding and who don't really know the rules yet (or else don't care). I can understand the learning phase, but some trail etiquette should be common sense, such as acknowledging others as you pass, don't hit a jump off a rock as you pass people, don't wear full body armor and ride fast down blind turns. Duh. I don't want to go to the hospital. Anyway, I got tired of the noobs and boobs and pretty much swore off Apex as lost to mountain bikes.

Well, it turns out I must not have been the only one who thought that, because they re-worked the trails to have more hiker-only and no-bike days on certain parts, and uphill-only travel on some days, which prevents the reckless downhill riding through the narrow canyon. Excellent! Failure to pass at the speed of foot traffic is also now a $50 fine in Jefferson County parks (it doesn't seem to have had much impact). Even though there weren't any bikers the day we ran, it was nice to see the trail changes made to promote safety. I'll run this route again on the bike-restricted days.

Still, in the summer after work, I plan to run a good portion of the time in Boulder county on hiker-only trails. Great trails and less aggravation.

OK, end of rant. Great run!

Wednesday Van Bibber Run

The wind was blowing hard as I got out of my car after work near dusk, in 45 degrees; I was cold, a bit hungry, I had a weary day at work, and I didn't bring my warmer mittens in my gear bag.

I hate the wind.

This was not going to be a long run at all, only an hour in slightly uncomfortable conditions, but I think I'm beginning to realize my main challenge this winter is not the occasional bitter cold, or nighttime running, because I've gotten through those, and they were a bit novel and interesting. Rather, it's the days when there's nothing; the lack of light and therefore scenery, the lack of motivation, of warmth, of any desire to run. What keeps me going is whatever I can pull out of myself that will generate motion. It's all me.

The first lap around Van Bibber Park was not bad, once I got going and could generate some warmth. The wind was blowing at a constant 20 mph, chilling my face and hands. I spun my arms a couple of times to get blood into them, to counteract my thin gloves.

You can barely tell, but there are houses on both sides of this park, which runs along Van Bibber Creek:


You can see the foothills in the background. There's a tiny pond with a bench, and a long grove of cottonwoods in the middle that's really nice in the warmer months. I walk this park during lunch in any season (since it's almost always sunny at noon, year-round).

For lap number two I flipped on the headlamp. I caught a couple of glowing-eyed coyotes scurrying across my trail up to the farms to the north, and I yelled, chasing them away. I think they were pretty spooked and probably wondered what the one-eyed monster was doing on their nightly dinner path.

After dark, the scope of my run shrank down to the one circle of light ahead of me. My breath froze into tiny crystals that floated away into the darkness.

Total distance was 7.6 miles, moving time 1:11, elevation gain/loss was 257 feet.

Not much in the way of hills here, but it's grass and dirt, and I'll take it.

Tuesday PM Run

Snacked a bit to take the edge off the hunger before dinner, and hit the pavement. I was tired, and didn't really "want" to go out, but tough. Day two after a day off (well, a ski day) always feels bad to me, but I predict day three will be normal again.

Run distance 7.46 miles, moving time 1:09, elevation gain/loss 613 feet.

No photos. The ones I took were blurry and dark.

Video: G.N.A.R.

Via Skiing came a link to UnofficialNetworks' full-length (1:09 hours) video about G.N.A.R., a game created by a group of friends at Squaw Valley around skiing difficult lines and doing outrageous things for points. The game is summarized in the book Squallywood.

Such a venture among adrenaline-hopped-up, high-octane athletes could have fallen victim to obnoxiousness, but because skier friends Rob Gaffney, Scott Gaffney and Shane McConkey created the game with such a great sense of humor and partly to poke fun at the idea of overblown athlete swagger, both the game and the film are enormously good-natured and funny, as well as filled with great skiing and music.

Warning: there is also a good deal of juvenile behavior, profanity and strategically-fuzzed-out male nudity (naked skiing). Just FYI.

G.N.A.R. from UnofficialNetworks on Vimeo.

Part of the premise of the film is to hold an actual "official" game of G.N.A.R. at Squaw. They also take the game on the road to other resorts.

My favorite parts are the history (the beginning) and the skiing starting at 28:20. Some of the middle crosses the line from fun into hedonistic excess (the drinking) but that's a minor quibble and that's just me. Great fun.

Monday PM Run

Ran 7 miles before dinner on streets and sidewalks, I believe at or below AT (although I need to re-verify with the HR monitor to ensure I'm on track).

Night runs are getting a bit trying, not because they are totally devoid of interest, but I do crave more variety. And mornings have proven harder to do than expected. Never been a morning person and maybe never will be.

This is a photovoltaic panel from a nearby school, which I ran by:

Not scenic, but saves money. In the long run.
Run distance 7.03 miles, moving time 1:02, elevation gain/loss 584 feet.

I'm glad I can at least fit this workout into about an hour. I'm getting used to this slightly longer run length (as my "default" run that is). Got down to 5:58 on a slight downhill slope at the end, which is a hard effort but not maximum. Felt pretty strong.

I Missed The First Lady

If I had only skied at Vail on Sunday instead of Mary Jane, I might have seen Michelle Obama. Vail got some good snow, and I had considered it. I'm kind of bummed, because I have some really great policy ideas for her husband, and I'm sure she would have been really grateful. Oh well, I'll email him instead. He's nice and always sends me a thank-you email in return, even though it often mentions ideas I didn't write to him about. I guess I need to work on my communication skills.

This past weekend was probably a couple of days that were more fun than usual for the Secret Service staff. How do you suppose that works? "Anyone want to go skiing in Vail this weekend?"

Vail Weekend - Day 2

This is a quick follow-up on day two of my ski weekend a couple of weeks ago. The way things turned out is also indicative of the unpredictable nature of snowfall in the mountains.

I had stayed overnight in the hills in anticipation of plenty of snow and nasty driving, and the weather delivered, but it was shifted a bit earlier than anticipated; it was supposed to also snow Saturday night, but almost all the snow fell during the day. I stayed comfortable in my hotel while the snow fell and cars crawled home to the Denver area on Saturday evening.

Sunday morning started off with the Vail snow report at 18" of snow in the past 24 hours, for a total of 25" for the weekend, but most of it had fallen while I was skiing on Saturday. This is not necessarily bad because I had enjoyed it the prior day, but it means that the snow had already been skied on, as opposed to fresh, untracked snow. And when totals like this show up online, resorts are packed because everybody watches the online snow reports. As evidence, in the photo below I am in the singles line on the right, which took about 25 minutes to shuffle through:


Two feet of snow in two days meant the lift lines would be long, but at the same time each run would be worth the wait! As usual, my strategy is to high tail it to the Back Bowls. I should hit Blue Sky Basin again sometime too, but I rarely make it that far.

Looking good!
The snow was great, but had been even better the prior day when it was fresh and untracked, and thankfully I had been there to enjoy it. Powder is a fleeting thing, and when -- and how -- it falls makes all the difference. Too much wind and it's packed down. Too early in the day and it's all used up by the following day. But it was still fun on the second day.

There was a bonus on this particular Sunday: the Super Bowl. I don't watch football, and it's a great day to ski because it means the resorts clear out like a ghost town in the afternoon, leaving me and other non-football-watchers to lap the chairs by ourselves. Woo-hoo!


Hello? Anybody there?
Sky and trees as I was heading down the front side at the end of the day:


Pillows of snow on rocks in Gore Creek:


In spite of the fact that the game started in the late afternoon, I knew the highways would still be packed by people returning home, so I knocked around Vail for a while, checking out the new ginormous housing/shopping complex. There were hearths at regular intervals on the upper decks, which helped to dispel the chill after sundown. It was probably 20-25 degrees out at this point.


There was also a giant amoeba/martini sculpture in the center that changed color on a rotating basis:


I'm not sure what meaning this had, other than... don't let your martini sit around or it might grow microorganisms on it, but it was vaguely soothing and kind of surprising when you'd look back and it was a different color. It's certainly striking sitting in the middle of the plaza. I'll have to come back and have a drink, a bite to eat, or a look at the galleries, because there are a few interesting shops here.

I didn't go for a run on this day because I was pretty beat. I just relaxed and when the traffic eased, got on the road and headed home. By 7:30 PM or so it was pretty smooth sailing.

This Week's Portrait Of Parry Peak

I feel like I've been neglecting Winter Park, having skied at Vail and Loveland more recently. On returning Sunday for a day at Mary Jane, I lucked out and got a nice mix of clouds and trees in this view of Parry Peak across the valley:


In the dark green band of pine forest in the center, you can see snow being blown off the pine trees and up into the air; it looks like wisps of smoke. I like the spindly silver tree in the middle, against the dark background. Near the patch of white in the lower right corner you can just see the Sunnyside chair lift.

Springtime Legs, Already

Met WildChildT and dog Argos for a run around Apex, with extremely mixed trail conditions: firm snowpack in the woods, packed re-frozen slush, sloshy slush, and lots of puddles. On the descent, I heard slush spray from my feet landing in the bushes behind me on a slight delay, like an echo of every step. With the spikes on there was no slowing down, just flew. What a blast. Dirty leg pictures were taken.


The new Cascadias are no longer new, having gotten a serious baptism by slush, dust and mud. Had a good blister going on the bottom/front of one toe, which is something new for me with this shoe, so I guess it fits differently. Hopefully that will work itself out as I wear them more.

As usual the Kahtoola spikes served me well. Total confidence up and down snowy, icy, slushy technical trails, like it was nothing.

More later.

CPB Under Fire

It's time to step away from running a bit and get caught up on what's happening in the "real world". I'm a laissez-faire capitalist, so I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to offer fans of public television and radio much solace on the topic of funding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

While I like certain things on public TV and radio, and NPR has some excellent journalists, such as Terri Gross and Robert Siegel (I dare you to find something he doesn't know about), I think media should never be funded by public dollars.

With the federal deficit being what it is, and Republicans in control of the House, it was only a matter of time before funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting became an issue. NPR's page on Wednesday had a wistful picture of Big Bird that could have been subtitled "Would you murder this bird?" Talk about sacred cows; the comments are a predictable mix of hysteria and partisan banter.

I'd like to address the idea that public media (PM - media funded at least partially by tax dollars) are free of the corrupting tyranny of the dollar, and that therefore PM somehow speak for the people, rather than board rooms.

My first question is: where does corporate income come from?

It comes from the vote of the people; people who buy a product. Profits are not some sort of headless monster that arises out of nowhere to ravage the poor. We voluntarily give companies their profits.

My second question is: where do taxes come from?

They are taken from people against their will, by force, under threat of fine and/or imprisonment. The fact that our officials are voted into office and we are therefore "represented" does not make the act of taxation any less unjust. It is still forcible seizure of property.

So, which method of funding truly represents the choice of the people?

What PM actually stands for is thwarting the will of the common man, and replacing it with the will of certain politically-connected people who mistrust money and real freedom. Of course there are plenty of people along for the ride who do not share that view, and simply like the end product, but this is the essential M.O. of public funding. It is inherently anti-populist, anti-choice, and anti-capitalist.

But I don't look at this issue primarily from a partisan political standpoint; my stand is primarily moral, and only secondarily political. I view funding media with tax dollars not merely as bad economics, or bad politics, but as morally wrong. So when advocates of PM claim the moral high ground, I intend to take it from them, and do it easily. Simply put, using people's money against their will amounts to slavery by proxy, by taking the product of one's labor*. There is nothing democratic about that.

Incidentally, a consistent moral defense of capitalism is the main thing that distinguishes the Objectivist politics from libertarianism and conservatism. To define that defense is beyond the scope of this post, but can be found in books such as this, and the morality itself in books like this.

So, chop away, folks. If PM assets were to be sold off, do you really think the best shows and most talented individuals would simply disappear? Of course not. If people want something, it will continue to exist on a free market; that's what markets do.

So don't fear freedom, Big Bird.

*Yes, I regard taxation as being a form of theft. How to fund government without taxes, what order to defund things in, etc. are issues I'm not going to get into, and are better addressed by experts at libertarian or limited government think tanks. Let's just say that given the limited range of what I think government should be doing, it's possible.

Friday Evening Run

I don't know how I managed to end up with the fairly clear image below using a 6/10-second exposure, because I can never manage to do that, especially pausing in the middle of a run.

I love this shot. I like the odd angle of the sign, the lighting, the shadows, the sky, everything. Downtown Denver is right in the middle, though I didn't realize it when I took the picture.


I also like the fact that I can run a little ways from home and get a Hollywood Hills kind of overview of the city. It helps to keep my mind off being tired and on the view while I'm running on streets.

On a curve in the street just to the left of this photo, I stopped to look at the lights and heard a siren on the streets below. After it passed, the coyotes in 6th Avenue Park West were still howling in response. They always do that and it cracks me up. A few neighborhood dogs are getting in on the action too:


Run distance 7.1 miles, moving time 1:10, elevation gain/loss 540 feet.

GI tract not up to snuff, so I did some walking on this one. Not sure why that was, but I'd like to find out and make it never happen again.

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Thursday Lunch Run

Fantasic weather, 50 degrees and sunny. Felt like 70 in the sun and out of the wind, and felt like 40-45 when a cloud came by and the wind picked up.

Run distance was 7 miles, moving time 1:01, and elevation gain/loss 511 feet.

There was enough vertical on rolling streets to feel the burn occasionally and keep it from getting too easy. I was racing to get back to work, while at the same time trying not to exceed my max aerobic HR. It was not the most inspiring workout, just a lot of running around in crazy loops until I got to 7 miles; the GPS track looks like pieces of spaghetti dropped in a heap.

I find myself craving a stop at 3-4 miles, which is not good. It probably means I'm starting to fast and/or I am too used to short runs. But that's why I've set a goal of 7+ miles per; to get my body used to it.

The image below is from a hill right on the edge of Red Rocks Community College. What a sky:


This North Face top is turning out to be really good at covering a wide temperature range. It's on the thin side, and doesn't really cut the wind, but the sleeves roll up easily and the long arms and thumb holes work for chilly weather. I've worn this (with a short sleeve underneath) down to about 25 and (by itself) up to 65 and sunny.

Wednesday PM Run

Another 7.7 miles in 76, for a total of 11 miles Wedbesday. I ran earlier and didn't need that much to make my goal of 7 miles, but it's probably more worthwhile to sustain the pace in one longer run, than do two short runs that barely even get me warmed up.

Did an out-and-back through Lakewood. Quiet streets and along sidewalks on the busier streets. The sidewalk on Alameda isn't too bad, since there's a grass buffer of up to 20-30 feet in places.

This is a cool building at Mile Hi Baptist on Alameda. I'm not sure if it's a chapel or what, but I liked the architecture:


There's a modernistic domed building next to it, but I couldn't get a good camera angle. Why are churches always the buildings where architects let their imaginations run? Unless you're a Frank Lloyd Wright, or a Frank Ghery. I guess your name needs to be Frank.

Picked up this link from a post on Geoff Roes' site. I found it depressing that this runner got slammed by some commenters (on his site, not Geoff's) for daring to complain about a 100k race running out of water at two aid stations in a row in 100-degree California heat. I'd better stick to my blogging, my prissy photos and the occasional 10k at the middle of the pack. I'm not worthy.

Addendum - I should add that my intent is not to re-open a relatively minor online scuffle that has already been put to bed. Apologies and regrets have already been expressed, by the race director and others.

So, what is the point of my pretend capitulation?

Simply that people run for a variety of reasons and at a variety of skill levels, and everyone should be able to express concerns and run their own race (or not race at all) without being censured or mocked.

For example, there's a difference between toughing it out and being put in danger, and sooner or later anyone who runs in the mountains will come to that fork in the road. We will all have different reactions at that point, and different tolerance for risk. Maybe even different physical capabilities. I came very close to that point at the end of this run.

I hope we can take a minute, step back, and respect whatever choices others have made, regardless of what they may be.

Ugh

Gorgeous morning, terrible workout. Felt awful the whole time, like I was back 12 years ago when I first learned to run.

I ran in shorts for the first morning in a long time, maybe my old legs need warmth. Maybe I just can't get warmed up during a 5k, especially uphill.


I'll need to run more tonight to keep to my 7-mile goal. I have trouble waking for early runs.

I've been running around these things and their poop for years now, it's about time I posted a photo of them:

I need breakfast. I wonder if these taste good?
Tried the new Brooks Cascadia 6 this AM. First impressions:

• Basically the same shoe; nothing major has changed -- thankfully.
• More toe room at the end this year. Yay! No more toe calluses! Last year was too tight for me.
• Not sure why they chose to reduce the height of the tread in the middle. I liked the tread on the 4 & 5.
• I could be imaginging this, but the midfoot seems hollowed out; my foot rests in a slight basin rather than on a flat bed. Also seems like less material under foot. Not sure about that. Foot seems to bang around a bit more now, but could be the laces.
• I think I still like last year's round laces, especially with cold fingers.
• I like the chicks' green design the best -- like a dragonfly.
• I bought the grey; not my favorite design ever, but at least the blue trim goes with my other stuff, and I can wear it to work. It's fine. I usually buy a couple a year, so I'll probably get the red too.

Just A Night Walk

It was 9:30 PM, so things were quieting down as I walked uphill through suburban streets. A full moon lit up the clouds and the snow, giving them a blue glow. Street lamps cast a yellow light onto the hill where coyotes had howled. Orion was stepping down the clouds.


I could see a ghostly Green Mountain lit up because of the snow and moonlight, just on the edge of perceptibility.


As I walked along the border of suburbia, under the last light of street lamps, my eyes scanned for an odd shape or a movement -- something interesting, or something to watch out for.

Vail Weekend - Day 1

Last weekend (2/5-2/6) I spent a couple of days at Vail. Incoming storm totals were looking big, and driving back to Denver while it's snowing is a nightmare, so when I got to Vail I phoned in a reservation for a cheap room (by mountain standards) in Silverthorne at Silver Inn.

By 6:30 AM the highways were already filled with anxious hordes. I just sat in the far right lane with the cruise control set right on the speed limit and watched the brake lights and excessive lane changing from afar.


This is the drive over Vail Pass, which on heavy snow days for Vail, can be pretty bad. Most drivers were keeping their distance and driving well, so BP was normal. Heh.


As I stepped out of the Vail Village parking structure, here is what I saw. A decent amount of fresh snow like icing everywhere (the upper mountain typically has double or more):


The snow report said 8" at around 5:30 AM, but it snowed continuously, so I was skiing at least 12"-20" all day. A lot of it was tracked out, which means a lot of the initial 8" must have fallen during operating hours the prior day. However, skiers that day got their chance; the totals the next morning would say 18" more, but it was us Saturday skiers who skied it fresh.

Below is a fantastic-looking powder slope somewhere near Chair 5 (I actually don't know this part of the mountain well). The only drawback was, it was 20-24 inches of snow on crust, and so it would slide occasionally. I actually got the heck out of there because it seemed to me like there was real avalanche potential, and I didn't want to get wrapped around an aspen. It must have thawed heavily earlier in the week and then re-frozen, because there was icy crust under everything! Ack! Not the conditions I had hoped for. But the day was young.


Next is a zoom shot of the creek below me. The ravine was too deep straight ahead, so I had to cut a hard left and traverse the hill to get over to Chair 5. It's a new quad lift, and it is fast!


Snow conditions are different almost every day, and it keeps things interesting. On this day, it was powder over somewhat firm crud, which is actually tough and demanding even on somewhat wide skis (105 mm). The firm crud wants to control your skis, rather than let them slide. But later in the day, the crud gets broken up and mixed with powder, and you can float at medium speed in between powder and crud anywhere you want. Awesome. Trees above Siberia Bowl:


I skied until ski patrol roped off the bowls, as always. In fact, I almost got in last behind some guys begging patrol for one more lap 15 minutes after the official closing (ski patrol had arrived late and was roping it off). I turned away for a second thinking they would be denied, and heard patrol say "OK, just you guys... Go! Go! Go!", and they let them through. I was denied with a stern-looking head shake as the rope went back down :( Grrr.

Ah, that's OK. I had my fill.

After skiing I went for a snowy run in the Village, then headed back over the pass to for dinner and check-in. I stopped in Frisco to see if I could find a good microbrew, and caught a few minutes of fireworks. No idea what the occasion was:


The beer turned out to be a hideous stout from Argentina. I love your wines, folks, but you need to try again with this particular stout. I'm sure it was just a bad batch, or had not been stored properly.

I dumped it and headed over to Local Liquors in Silverthorne, and got something American, fresh and hoppy. Good beer selection, dreamy brunette checkout chick and friendly dog. Can't complain.

I had a problem with my ski rack. The locks on my FatCat 6 froze solid between the time I finished skiing and I was bringing my stuff into the hotel. It also occurred to me that maybe someone ruined the locks trying to steal my skis. I drove to 2 places to try to find lock de-icer and found none, so I got some WD-40 and drenched them both. After about 45 minutes of errands and another 45 of trying to get them open, the locks turned. Phew! I thought I was going to have to skip a powder day the next day, or rent skis! That was not good.

I've asked Yakima tech support for some tips on how to deal with this, and just to let them know. I read the various reviews and there were some negatives, but no deal-breakers. And this rack is WAY quieter on my car than the Thule because it's very low-profile. It makes almost no noise and has very little impact on mileage. So, I hope there are some simple answers.

Next... ski day #2.

Rest Day Stride Thoughts

The quads are a bit sore today, no doubt the result of yesterday's snow run. So I'm taking a break.

The spikes are great, but on firm snow they also lock the foot onto the ground rather than letting it slip on landings (like dirt or loose snow), and the shock is transmitted right back up the leg. I tried to relax my stride when I could think of it, but I'm just not that used to running steep snow slopes.

Still worth it :)

Come to think of it, it's a bit like road running, where the asphalt just grabs the sole of your foot and makes it stick, and if your form is off, you will feel it. I keep having to tell myself to "let the feet float" on roads. Otherwise, they are just striking too hard.

I also saw some shoe sole wear photos recently, which prompted me to check my own soles. To my surprise, the right foot was fairly even, but the left had outside heel wear. D'oh! Both shoes have slightly more wear on the outside, which I'm aware of; I pronate slightly. I don't experience any ill effects that I'm aware of.

My left foot has always been problematic. When I first started running 12 (?) years ago, my foot extensors (muscles on the front of the shin) were so weak on the left leg that my foot would slap a bit when it got tired, which at the beginning was like... 1/4 mile. No kidding. I didn't notice anyone turning around to stare, but I noticed it.

Anyway, I have some fine-tuning to do on my left foot position.

Boulder Green x 1.5

I tagged the summit twice today, but didn't go all the way back down in between. Baseline > Saddle Rock > Greenman > summit > down Ranger (turned back up below the cabin) > up Ranger > summit > down the front side via Saddle Rock.

Distance was 8.55 miles, moving time 2:19, and elevation gain/loss 3,904 feet.

According to Garmin I was stopped for a total of 25 additional minutes. Somehow I got down to 6:02 pace; that must have been running back down Baseline, because I don't remember falling off a cliff, and that's the only other way my body will move that fast.

The intent was to spend the day up in Boulder: do a run, grab a stout and lunch, and do some shopping and so on. But I missed McGuckin Hardware, which closes way too early :( and just squeaked in at REI. I guess I'm used I'm used to going up there on Saturdays when stores are open later.

The picture below illustrates the type of day it was: sunny, snowy and -- although you can't tell - it was warm.


I think it was about 60 degrees so I ran the whole route in T-shirt and shorts, even though 2,500 feet up, and in the shade, it was a bit cooler and windier. I wore gloves because the hands got chilly. Wind was up to 20-25 mph. Down below it was a lot slushier than I thought it would be, based on how solid the snowpack was yesterday in Lakewood. What a difference a day makes.

Here's the first summit. If you zoom in you can see plumes of snow being blown off the tops of peaks, probably several hundred feet high.


That's why I call them the Windian Peaks. It's either that, or the Full-Of-Baseball-Sized-Ankle-Breaking-Curseable-Rocks-With-Spectacular-Scenery Peaks.

Green kind of mopped the floor with me this day, even though it was a decent effort and I succeeded at a challenging run.

And I have to fight the temptation to think about the lightning-fast times posted by other runners on this hill, as I trudge up slowly. It's tough, but this is my run.

I did have to stop for air/walk more than I expected. I think I was a bit tired from the prior few days, which have been a little heavier in miles than usual for me: 9-7-10 and now 8, all on snowy hills. I think I'll get used to it but it's a bit of a ramp up after the shorter daily runs of December and January.


Since Green by my front-side route is only an hour and a half, I knew I'd need to throw something else in for extra time and distance. I decided to run down Ranger, and just bombed it. The snow was super firm and even though a lot of spots were barely two feet wide cut into steep slopes, it was one of those days where you are just hitting it and you know it's going to work (at least, until something like this happens - torn PIP ligament in 2007). I really like running down Ranger on solid snow!

When I got down past the ranger cabin to where the road takes a left to Flagstaff, the trail became a total slush-fest with about 4 inches of water on it. No way, and I figured it could get worse farther down. So I headed back up for a second summit of Green. Weekends are for overdoing it. Here's Ranger on the way back up:


This is the Greenman trail just above the 3-way with Ranger. The trail takes a sharp right behind the big rock:


At the Gregory TH I headed down to Baseline so I wouldn't have to contend with the slush in the meadow. Great, hard run.

Objectivist Round Up

This week's Objectivist Round Up is hosted by Erosophia. The Round Up features posts by bloggers who advocate Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand.

Saturday Green Mtn. Lakewood Run

Saturday's run was an experiment because I wasn't sure if my strained back muscles would act up and I'd have to stop and walk back home. Thankfully that wasn't the case.

I think I figured out why the strain happened, by observing my running. Basically my back muscles have been used more lately because I've been staring at my feet trying not to slip on ice, or to find footing in the snow. I need to stretch that out more during these iffy winter runs.

Conditions Saturday were awesome. I was worried about melting, but actually the difficult mixed powder snow of Thursday had settled down into firm, "styrofoam" snow Saturday.


Multiple hikers have compressed it into a semi-runnable surface, and I could even walk on the top crust quite a bit. There was no mud to speak of. Thursday was a bit trying, but this was a lot of fun.

As I hit the open space, a coyote turned and ran away uphill. Here's a print:


Picture 50 degree temps, snow and sun. For winter weather, it was great. This ravine was even sheltered from the 20-mph winds that were blowing:


Below is the gravel road on top. It was covered with snow drifts. I was able to walk over their rolling surfaces, but when I ran I'd usually break through.


Now, bear in mind I was wearing shorts (with my Windstopper hoodie). Up on top the winds sometimes gusted to maybe 25 mph. It looks cold out, but the wind itself was 45- to 50-degree air so -- really -- honest -- it was not that chilly. My legs were fine and my core temp was good.

However, I was running back down and distinctly heard the words "...wearing shorts..." from above me. I looked up and there were a couple of hikers, apparently commenting on my skimpy attire. I waved up at them and ran on. You can see them on the left:


At this point my head was spinning around trying to catch all the views and colors of the sky. The sunset clouds contrasting with the icy blue of the hills and the sky above were amazing.

I should have to pay to see this
Run distance was 10.25 miles, moving time was 2:01 (I claim the post hole handicap) and elevation gain/loss 1,378 feet.

Most of all, I'm glad the strained back thing was not a factor. Phew.