Snowmobiling on MLK weekend with Carolyn and J

My sister Carolyn and her boyfriend J were out visiting over Martin Luther King weekend and it was great spending some time with them. While they were here we all decided to take a snowmobile tour and it turned out to be an amazing experience(including a few hijinks but you'll have to read to the end to find out about that excitement)

Before I get going on how it all began, here's a quick picture of Julie relaxing on a snowmobile in the Wasatch wilderness. You can see the twin peaks in the distant background but we are completely on the other side of the mountains from civilization
Below is a map of the route we took. Our snowmobile tour started from the backside of snowbird which is at the top of the red line. We then wound our way through the mountains all the way to Deer Creek Reservoir and back covering a total distance of over 50 miles. The spot in the very upper left is our apartment.


Here are Julie and Carolyn getting suited up for snowmobiling and modeling the emergency beacons that we all were required to wear.

In order to get to the backside of snowbird where our tour left from we had to take the tram up to the top and then download the Mineral Basin lift. It was weird riding up the tram without our snowboards

Even weirder than taking the tram with no board was riding the lift the "wrong way" down into mineral basin. It also is reminiscent of riding in a station wagon with the seats facing the wrong way because all the oncoming lift passengers are staring at you.

I also took a quick video as we rode down the lift and in the background you can see the area that we will be snowmobiling in.



Here is our merry group having finally arrived at the backside of snowbird and ready to embark on our journey. We were the only people who had signed up for the tour that day so it was like we had a private guide.


Before mounting our chariots we each had to walk one by one past the magic sign that would beep to indicate that your emergency beacon was functioning correctly.

Here we are on the first part of the trail. The state pays for these trails to be groomed regularly during the winter

The scenery was breathtaking in every direction. Here we stopped after riding for about 15 minutes and our guide informed us that we had already covered 10 miles which was pretty surprising. I put a red arrow in the background of the picture where you can just barely see the top of the snowbird Tram and Mineral Basin lift at maximum zoom.


Here we are winding our way next to a frozen stream
Along the way the guide would let us pull off into some large open meadows and tear around just for fun. Often Julie and Carolyn would opt to get off the sleds while J and I attempted to get a bit of air as you can see in the video below



Here we are after passing through much of the mountain range and emerging on the other side.
And a close-up of Carolyn and J

I'm still amazed at how much ground we covered so quickly. For reference, in this picture Park City would be in the range of mountains on the far left side.

In the below video I am filming from the back of a snowmobile as Julie drives it and Carolyn is piloting another sled with J on the back.



Literally about 10 seconds after I stopped videoing I suddenly found myself airborne and realizing that I was no longer on a snowmobile. Julie had somehow managed to flip the slid while driving in an open field... Nobody was hurt and it was really more like a low-speed rollover but I'm sure the video footage would have been great if I had kept recording.

The below picture of the aftermath of Julie's "driving" is now my new desktop wallpaper


And from another angle...

Anyway, after the sled was righted we were on our merry way and everyone made it back safe and sound.

New Years with good snow and great friends

I've had these pictures for a few weeks now and have been meaning to post them but I suppose it is better late than never. Over the new year's holiday we literally had a full house with visitors from back home including Micah, Amber, Greg, Hillary, and Jake. It was great seeing so many of our friends at once and it certainly made all the activities that much more fun.

During this same period we were also getting pounded by a continuous string of snowstorms so the skiing and boarding was great as well. In the picture below, Julie has stranded herself in some deep snow after a slight navigational miscalculation. Plan B was apparently to make a snow angel but eventually she ended up having to take off her board to escape the deep snow. As you can see, I am in the background preparing to quickly rush to her aid...


We'll get back to the mountains in a bit but first are some pictures of our new year's eve dinner at a quaint restaurant called Loghaven, a romantic getaway nestled away in the forest of Mill Creek Canyon... clearly a more sophisticated establishment than some of us guests who will be attending.


Here we are piled into the car on the way to the restaurant. It's actually a really nice drive up Mill Creek Canyon to the Restaurant but it was dark so we couldn't see much.


Here we are sitting down for dinner. The food was excellent and we enjoyed dinner so much we were still there at 10 PM local time which is midnight eastern when the ball drops in new york. Turns out they run all the new years programming on a two hour delay out here though so we saw the ball drop here at midnight local time.


Here's a shot of Amber and Micah. Dunno if this is mistletoe or just your average everyday evergreen.

Anyway, we all definitely enjoyed New Years but the real reason people were out here was to ski and snowboard. Below are a series of pictures we took while going through "the tunnel" at snowbird. For anyone not familiar with "the tunnel" it is a 600 foot connection that was drilled through the mountain a few years ago right under the highest ridge as a way to get people to the backside of the mountain without having to clear the ridge which can be EXTREMELY windy.

It has a people mover conveyor belt in it just like the airport and in the picture below you can see Jake in classic tuck form for optimal aerodynamics. On the Right you can also see Julie and Greggy B walking and carrying their snowboards which is actually faster than the painfully slow conveyor belt.

Here we can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Julie is in the Red Jacket surveying the beautiful views of mineral basin.


The scenery as you exit the tunnel is breathtaking and fortunately it is not interrupted by recordings saying "Caution.... the moving walkway is ending" like they have at every airport. I guess they figure that if you are able to ski or snowboard in mineral basin that you can probably also exit a people mover without dismemberment or other serious injury.

Here's the scene looking down over mineral basin once we exited the tunnel. Since this picture was taken we have had the opportunity to go on a really neat snowmobile tour through alot of the wilderness you can see in this picture but that is a topic for a future blog post.

Here's a picture of Micah take at the top of hidden peak looking back down little cottonwood canyon to the valley below. The closest developed area you can see in the valley is Sandy where out Apartment is.

Here's a picture of Amber posing with her favorite trail marker, named after her number one choice in Bottled Water.

And here are Greg and Hillary demonstrating how a couple can overcome serious differences like one being a skier and the other a snowboarder.

In this picture Julie has attempted a flying tackle to knock me off the bench where I was innocently adjusting my bindings. Fortunately there were no injuries reported.

This is a picture I took of Jake literally a split second before he wiped out in a giant ball of snow. He is lucky his shoulder was OK since he was violating doctor's orders skiing this soon after surgery.

This is a pretty cool shot that Greggy B took of himself while standing on Hidden Peak

We also loaded up the whole crew and drove into downtown Salt Lake to see all the lights. It was actually the first time that I had been downtown since we arrived out here in Sept. since none of my normal activities have anything to do with the city.

Here are Micah and I admiring some lights while sporting some very fashionable hats.

In case anyone was wondering about where I got this stylish and hip beret I have to admit that Hillary and I had traded hats for the evening. While the beret was defintely the hands down winner and the pinnacle of European fashion, my redskins hat still did a better job at keeping your ears warm and also putting any Dallas fans who may be lurking around on alert.

Speaking of fashionable headpieces, here is Greggy B modeling Julie's old helmet, affectionately dubbed "the bowling ball" which is actually a hand-me-down from my mom and I am convinced that this style will become fashionable again in a few years.

Not to be outdone by ridiculous hats, Jake decided to up the ante by creating a one man band with items we had laying around the kitchen.


And lastly, to ensure everybody's safety while crossing the street, I was nominated to be the official flag bearer at crosswalks. Chris K had told me about these crosswalk flags previously but this is the first time I had the pleasure of seeing them for myself. On either side of the crosswalk there were buckets attached to the lampposts with flags in them that you could proudly carry to the other side. What I am curious about is if they employ city workers to run the flags back across the street once people are finished with them to keep them all from accumulating on one side or the other. I will certainly report back once I have more details...

The Fastest Ice on Earth

With the Olympics still fresh on my mind and my desire for fulfillment and stardom still intact, I spent the duration of 24 researching the various Olympic venues here in Salt Lake City for new ideas. (I’m not a fan ever since Kim endured her 99th kidnapping, but Steve still faithfully watches faithfully).

As Jack was about to pull the trigger on his beautiful, blue-eyed FBI colleague, I turned to Steve and said, “Do you want to go bobsledding?” Indeed, I had achieved a first: he paused 24.

“Race up to 80 miles per hour, experience 5 G’s of force, an equivalent of a 40-story drop, in just under a minute on the winter bobsled ride “The Comet”.”

What the advertisement fails to mention is the $200 fee for about 52 seconds of fun. Needless to say, Steve resumed the tv show and Jack shot the girl.

My Internet surfing continued. Turns out, the Olympic Oval has a running track surrounding the speed skating ice. Remember Apolo Anton Ohno? He won his medals on that ice, which by the way, isn't just "ice." It's “The Fastest Ice on Earth.”


In a word, the Olympic Oval is behemothic. The 442 meter track surrounds "The Fastest Ice on Earth," which surrounds two skating/curling/hockey rinks. This place puts Tam O’Shanter to shame.


Unfortunately, the track is basically worn-out carpeting on top of concrete, but the facility is somewhat inspiring, especially as you’re circling just outside of “The Fastest Ice on Earth.” Beside the physical workout, the mental task of calculating how the extra 42 meters affects one’s 800 meter repeats (both in distance and in time) provides an additional challenge.


So, although my Olympic hopes are slowly fading away, at least my sense of adventure continues.

My Next Career: Biathlete Julie!

In recent days, while contemplating my future, I decided my next shot at fulfillment and potential stardom was to become a biathlete. Nevermind that I had never shot a gun, much less touched one more dangerous than a Super Soaker. But, pure logic suggested that I could surely become at least a bronze medal winner in the Vancouver Olympics.

Logical Points:

1) Physically I’m built for biathlons: I have long legs, strong lungs, and a steady hand.
2) I am in Utah where Nordic ski areas abound and Cabela’s is practically a temple.
3) I own two pairs of CW-X compression tights, both that allow me to exercise, without tire, for countless hours.
4) Oracle has granted me those countless hours.

On top of these logical points, I love the outdoors, snow, and cardiovascular activity. Clearly, I’m the perfect biathlete.

This morning marked Day 1 of training for the Vancouver Olympics. Bright and early I awoke, full of energy and spunk. A big bowl of Irish oatmeal later, I was on my way to Big Cottonwood Canyon, home of the Solitude Nordic Ski Center.

Thrilled to be above the current valley haze (http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11486229), I confidently donned my CamelBak, attached my “lift” ticket, and snapped into my shiny, skinny skate skis.

And then I fell over.

Just kidding, I didn’t actually fall over. Well, I did, but not immediately.

A very small, flat circle serves as the warm-up area for most Nordic skiers. Off I went, at blazing speeds, fully enjoying the warm sunshine, until another skier passed me. And then another. And then another. And so my lap continued.

Two “warm-up” laps in, while gasping for oxygen, I decided to imitate those who appeared to actually be good at this sport. That’s when I fell over.

Trying to keep my frustration in check, I called Steve for support. He suggested I turn in my skate skis and try out the classic kind. Classic skis, however, do not win an Olympic medal. I continued on.

Twenty minutes and .5 km later (why can’t the Nordics switch to miles?), I handed in my rental boots while simultaneously calling Steve to announce that my biathlete career was over. Snowshoe racing, here I come!