Donation Love!

Thanks, MH, for the lovely donation to my training fund! You are amazing! This helped me get back from Aspen, and pay for my Level 3 exam! Its mucho appreciated! (My couch cushions are a little lean lately...)

27 Days to the Level 3 Exam!

What an AMAZING day! Got up to Bridger for the early morning clinic, which was supposed to be on skiing low end demos, but there was at LEAST a foot of powder, so we talked about wedge christies, (I now have five, count em FIVE different descriptors for how they should be skied! I've skied them all, and I talked with Josh this evening and now I know which one to focus on, at least!), and then we went skiing!

I struggled a bit in South Bowl, but really enjoyed the bumps in Last Chance, then I took my ladies group (who ROCKS!) out to Southern Drawl and down the South Boundary fence line. They were awesome! Like a bunch of six year olds playing in the snow! It was amazing how positive and excited they were, this group is absoulutely full of positive can-do energy. I love it! And they rocked it, and all made great changes to their skiing! Then, Deb and I had a private after lunch, and we went down North Meadows and Crazy Woman, she took her first tree run in SawMill Gulch, and then we headed back over to the South Boundary.

At two, I went up and skied Flippers (SO FUN!) and then did laps in the whirlpools with Dave Evans and John Saam, working on getting the pressure in the turn more at the apex and less in the bottom in the steeps, and working on moving my pivot point back to under the boot, in the steeps, I'm resorting to pivoting around the tips, which is effective, but I'd like to make nice round turns with flow. I got a few good ones on the fourth lap, then we met up with Karen Kirk and ripped up Flippers again. I hucked it off the rocks on Angel's Flight, the first time I've done the "big" line, and it was GREAT! What awesome snow to do that in!!

A fantastic day, but I am pooped! Knackered! Wiped out! I have tons of stuff I should do tonight, but I have a bit of a tummy bug, so I am going to go to bed early, because tomorrow, if its safe enough, Angela and I are going to go ski Saddle Peak! Its our day off, and I need a hike, need some girl time, and need to ski the steeps! And YES, I'm hiking with my heavy skis!

27 days to the exam and I feel GOOD. On track. Strong. Understanding deepening every day. Time to go re-read Ron Lemaster's book (I can't wait for the new version this spring!) and fall asleep to JGS 5!

Massive explosion in downtown Bozeman!

I wasn't there, I was up at the hill, and I found out about it when my ladies group camp up. Unbelievable. I heard there was one fatality, but otherwise, no injuries, which is amazing considering how incredibly busy main street is in the morning! We are lucky it dumped snow last night! People weren't out and about like they usually are. No massage until further notice, downtown is closed!



Breaking News: Explosion Devastates Downtown Bozeman, One Person Missing
By KFBB News Team

Story Published: Mar 5, 2009 at 11:52 AM MST

Story Updated: Mar 5, 2009 at 2:50 PM MST

Updated 2:45 p.m.: BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - One person is unaccounted for after a natural gas explosion rocked downtown Bozeman this morning.

Assistant City Manager Chuck Winn says initially eleven people were unaccounted for after the fire that destroyed Boodles restaurant, the Rocking R Bar, Montana Trails Gallery, the American Legion building and Lilly Lu's children's store. He said police had been able to find ten of them.

The explosion happened at about 8:15 a.m. in the 200 block of Main Street. Crews allowed the fire to burn into this afternoon because NorthWestern Energy crews were unable to completely shut off the natural gas. Winn, the former fire chief, said the rubble of the collapsed buildings was not yet safe to search.

Students at the Hawthorne School in Bozeman were moved to the Bozeman Public Library due to possible air quality concerns, Superintendent Kirk Miller said early Thursday afternoon.

__________________

Update: 11:40 a.m. MST: An explosion has leveled at least three buildings in downtown Bozeman. ABC Montana's Dave Griffiths reports from Bozeman that the governor and Montana National Guard officials briefed reporters at 11:00 a.m. Firefighters are still on scene, but officials say the fire has now been contained in downtown Bozeman. At this point, there are no reports of injuries.

In addition, ABC Montana's Christina Marrazza reports from Helena that legislators have been briefed this morning on the explosion, and the governor has canceled all activities in Helena to be in Bozeman.

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - An explosion rocked downtown Bozeman this
morning, collapsing three buildings and prompting evacuation of a two-block area. The explosion happened at about 8:15 a.m., sparking a large fire.

Boodles restaurant and bar were destroyed, and the adjacent Rocking R bar was heavily damaged. Police evacuated the two blocks surrounding the businesses, housed in historic brick buildings.

Jason Shrauger with the Gallatin County Disaster and Emergency Services said it was unknown what caused the explosion or if there were any injuries.

Witnesses reported seeing debris fly three times the height of the two-story building. Glass windows on downtown storefronts two blocks away were shattered by the blast.

City officials were investigating the possibility that a natural gas leak caused the explosion.

At 11:25 a.m. MST: U.S. Senator Max Baucus released this statement on the Bozeman explosion:

“Like all Montanans, I was shocked to learn of the explosion in downtown Bozeman. I pray that no one got hurt in the accident, and have full confidence in the emergency crews that have responded to the scene. Right now, my staff and I are working quickly to gather more information and determine where the federal government might be of assistance in this matter.”

At 11:45 a.m. MST: Senator Jon Tester released the following statement in response to today’s explosion:

“Sharla and I send our thoughts and prayers to everyone whose lives are affected by this disaster. Montana has some of the most capable emergency responders in the country, and I appreciate their hard work and dedication. I am following this story closely as we sort through the questions, and my staff and I are standing by to help any way we can.”

Mother Huckers! My Lady's Day group video is up!

We stole our name from cliff hucking camp! These women ROCK!

Its Bridger Bowl's Thursday morning lady's group!

28 Days to Level 3 Exam!

What an AWESOME day! Went up with the intention to be very disciplined, and ended up skiing on my fat skis in a posse with Jeff Abelin, Joe Krakker, Zach Rogala and Angela Patnode! Wheee!

We were trying to carve on the groomers with the fat skis, and carve the bumps on flippers as well. It was fun, but at about 9:45 I went down to get my exam skis. I still ski a bit in the back seat on the fatties, I'm kinda scared to get forward and really pressure them, and that's not confidence building for the exam, and I really need to focus right now. So they all went over to Slauchmans and then did a ridge hike, and I went down to get my brain in exam mode.

So I changed feet, but I only brought one ski up on the lift, I left the other at the snowflake, and rode up to Pierre's, where I did about six laps on one ski, switching feet. Upper Thunder Road is a bit tricky on one ski! But whats FUNNY to me is I remember my first day with Karen Kirk, three Februarys ago, standing at the top of that run for our warm up and thinking, holy hell, we are warming up on a black diamond, I am going to die. We call upper Thunder Road the "funnel of death" because it gets all scraped out and icy. But today, it got a bit bumped up but was carvable.

I was working on making the ski function like it is supposed to, engaging the tip, moving across it like I would were I on two skis, rather than flattening it and pivoting it. It was SO much fun! I ventured into the crud when it was on my left foot for about a quarter of the run, but hopped back out because I wanted to really focus on the mechanics of what makes the ski function most effectively in the turn. It was great to only have the one ski on, because there is TWICE as much to think about with two skis on!!

I went down and got the other one at noon and took one "arcing" run to see what the practical application of the drill to my everyday skiing would be like, and I have to say it was AWESOME! It did something significant to the transition portion of the turn, my inside leg was softer faster, and I was on the edge earlier in the turn, but not with a hard move. I also felt more stacked, less broken at the waist and was skiing into and out of counter better. Very nice!! We'll see if it sticks.

Right now, its DUMPING outside, but I think I'm going to take my slalom skis up tomorrow and try them out in the powder, they are only 63 underfoot, and see what happens. I have my ladies group tomorrow (Whoops, better upload that video!), and then some time to train at lunch. I think I'll probably be working on powder technique and tactics all day!! Wooo Hoooo!

29 days to level 3

All life maintenance is on total hold. no homework is being done, no studying. working at massage and getting some tutoring, training like a fiend. loving it. need to take a non-sunday off to handle things like mail and phone calls.

Today: Wedge Christies with John Saam and Alex Sweeney (Who has a DAMN GOOD EYE.), Medium Radius turns in the bumps over and over and over...

I'm not sure what is going on with me there, it doesn't seem to be improving. Wedge turns, I understand. Wedge Christies, I understand (but need to check with Josh) rythem changes in the bumps, yes, approaching, needs work, but I know what. Javelin turns, need some work, but I understand them.

Freaking MR Turns in the Bumps are making me scratch my head. I have discovered this week i am a very literal person, and so when i think MR Turn in Bumps, I see an arc'd line through the bumps, and in my mind, my body is thinking of what it feels like to arc on the groom, which is incongruous with what you do in the bumps. Must talk this out with someone soon. I think its lack of understanding stopping me from asking my body to do what it needs to do. Sometimes it feels pretty good. But I can't reproduce it because the understanding isn't solid yet.

Tomorrow: More MR in the bumps, Charlestons, open parallel and Wedge Christie check.

Bath time bliss

The boys, Bodhi, ethan, and duke after an awesome NIGHT at the hot springs.

32 Days, 16 hours to Level 3 Exam

Today, one hour of wedge turns, one run in the Whirlpools with Dan Hall, visiting with lovely wife Jen from Brighton, forty minutes of Wedge Christies.

Wedges feel good. Wedge Christies need work. Tomorrow: Teaching, more wedge christies with video and someone watching.

Never, Ever, EVER Leave your Wingman!

Another quick update post before we tackle the backlog of Aspen and Crested Butte training...

So the reentry into Bozeman was bumpy at best. I have to say this last week and a half has tested my belief in myself and my sense of self in a way that its hasn't been tested since... well, since LAST year at this time, about four weeks before the Level 3 Exam.

Because I want this blog to be a true account of what it takes to get to teams tryouts in five years (with only THREE LEFT! AHHH!) I need to write about the warts and the bumps as well as the good times. So here goes.

The trip to Colorado was spectacular. I learned a LOT, changed my skiing significantly, gained deeper understanding of skiing in general, and my skiing in particular. I learned to face fear (hello, jumping off a waterfall on my skis), and I learned that its okay to go straight, and maybe even okay to go fast.

On Wednesday, I drove home about 15 hours, got in late, got up early, taught at Bridger all day (YAY ladies group! WOO HOO!). Things felt weird in the locker room, just a little off, and I thought, okay, well, I've been gone for two weeks, so thats to be expected. I'll just quiet myself down a little rather than ranting on and on about how much fun I had cliff hucking, and sharing everything I'd learned or been working on in Aspen.

This was hard, because, you know, I'm a bit verbal, and I get really excited about stuff, and I really wanted to verbalize what I'd learned in Aspen so I could help make it stick. But, concerned about widening the gap I was feeling, I decided to turn the volume down on Kate a bit.

On Friday, I went back to school, where things felt really weird there as well. There had been some hard feelings that I was allowed to go on my trip while others were not. When I left we were all very good friends, when I came back, there was a large gulf between us. This really rattled me, as I have come to rely on Health Works as a safe haven, and my friends there have helped me through a lot. The day was tough, we had some good conversations that made the issue clear, but the sadness was thorough on both sides.

On Friday night, Tom and I killed the dream. I suppose there was a part of each of us that was hoping that one day we'd end up back together after a good break, but we realize on Friday that that's just not the case.

Saturday, I went over to Mama Jen's house (This is one of my very closest friends, we nursed each others kids! When the chips are down, this is the friend I run to.)

I spent the day in her house processing through the shock of the conversation Tom and I had had the night before and letting the reality sink in. That night, the boys slept at Jen's house, and Tom and I had a farewell party. We spent the evening sitting in front of the fire, talking through how we ended up there. Tom put it well, "So, what did you do last night?" "Well, I got a massage, hung out with my best friend, and divorced my wife. And there were only the two of us all night!".

Sunday, I went up to teach at Bridger with a little TINY (uh) hangover, emotional and physical, and landed right in the lap of friends who care. Shannon and Alex gave me snuggles as I fuddled my way through the day, ending in a great lesson, which helped re-energize me. I ended up doing something I never do, I canceled my evening massages and went home to my family.

It was fine at home, warm, safe, still a family, nothing has changed from the day before, the week before, the year before, and I'm so proud of Tom and I for that.

Monday, back to school, and of course, a torrent of tears in Chair massage, worried about my friends, just too emotionally raw to take any more and I lost it.

Tuesday back at Bridger for the epic ski day with Alex and Mike Leslie, which set me back to normal, including four huge wrecks and a possibly fractured wrist (whatever). Starting to normalize.

Wednesday. Integration seminar at school. This means we all sit around in a circle and talk about what's working and what isn't. I have to say I wasn't looking forward to it, because I knew that the subject of me being allowed to leave for training trips was a sore one, and was going to come up.

I have to say its an amazing thing that Ruth, our head of school does, getting the whole school together (all 13 of us!) and talking through any issues we have. We talked about a lot that day, and then, the issue that was bothering my friends came up, and we talked through that. It was hard, but great, and in the end, I felt that things could get back to normal there as well.

Now is the strange transition time, I have all of March off, and I am catching up on school missed, and shifting my focus with all I have in my being to training for the Level 3 exam. This week they overlap as I go in for tutoring and take some missed exams, but get up to Bridger as much as I can.

I had the opportunity to ski with Josh yesterday and get his eyeballs on me. I was lucky that it was a deep powder day and I was on my fat skis, which I don't ski my best on. In other words, Josh got to see me NOT at my best, but at my most mediocre. Which is a good thing. I have a lot of work to do. Powder is my weakest point, and fat skis are still confusing to me!

Josh asked me, "Where'd Kate go? We need that chameleon back. The one who could change her skiing every run. You've plateaued."

I thought about what he said, and he's right, my intensity and intention for absorbing information and being a master student had all but disappeared in the last two weeks. And it wasn't turned up to high before I left, as my attention was split by all the issues with school and divorce and my private practice and my kids and paying bills, writing a book, a technical manual, and arranging details of upcoming trips with sponsors and magazines.

That afternoon, I went in for tutoring with Aubrey for Pathology. It was incredible, a terrific session, but the thing that was wild was that she said the same thing that Josh did. "Why are you hiding and apologizing for being you? Why are you taking on the guilt of the whole room?"

We talked quite a bit about that, it doesn't happen to me very often, but I had definitely come to a place in the last two weeks where I doubted my choices, who I was, at what cost would I go to this try out, was I making good decisions or terrible, horrible, destructive ones, and why can I not tell the difference between a good decision that keeps me on my path with balance, and a catastrophic decision?

I decided then and there that my gut is right, that Josh and Aubrey and Shannon and Jen have all seen that the choice to pull back myself and be more quiet, not ask for what I need, not honoring myself, was hurting rather that helping.

And so, once again, I decide that who I am is who I am, and that some people may feel overwhelmed by that, and that's okay, they don't have to stay close, and some people like it, and that's okay too. Right now, I have four weeks to the toughest certification in skiing. I need to be me, believe in me, give myself permission to learn like I learn, turn up all the receptors in every cell in my body to absorb and understand the changes I need to make in my skiing.

After I left Aubrey, I went to give a few massages, and I was thinking about how for the last five years, I've been working on staying true to me, trusting my gut, honoring who I am rather than subjugating to what is convenient or comfortable for others. This subjugating is an old habit brought on by being raised by a man with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

And if there is ONE THING I'm NOT gonna do, its let THAT GUY get in the way of me passing my exam! Here's when it hit me, the thread from the past that tied it all together: I'm sixteen, we're at Disneyland as a family. He asks, "What's your favorite land?" to all of us.

This is a game, the game is a competition for who in the family can come up with the deepest, most creative, most meaningful answer, and the prize is pride for the person with the best answer, and crushing devastation for those who weren't quick enough on their feet.

I decided to go with honesty. "Fantasyland!" because its true, I love it, I love how much work and time they put into carving the designs in the wood on Mr. Toad's wild ride, the promise of the castle, the creativity of Alice's wild ride, the coming of age of learning to love the teacups...

The answer: "Of course it is. Because you live in fantasyland. You have no concept of reality what so ever. And you never will. I'm not surprised to hear that at all." And guess what? We had been walking through Fantasyland, and we left. Immediately. Lets cut that dreamer off at the knees. (What's a more Reality based part of Disneyland, IS THERE SUCH A THING?)

And yesterday, I reached back in my mind and found that moment, and then raced forward, stopping at each moment that I found in my memory where I apologized for thinking differently, where I felt badly and didn't follow who I was. I systematically unplugged those moments in my mind, identifying them as reactions to how someone else felt rather than as my true self making decisions.

And today, I head to Bridger on a bluebird powder day to work low end demos on groomers for a few hours. I'm back!

Rippin' Bridger with Athos and Porthos!

I really felt like I was hangin with the three musketeers today! (That would be Mike Leslie and Alex Sweeny) I guess I'd have to be D'artanyon, being a bit wet behind the ears, still.

After a very tough five days or so... I got to ski the crap out of Bridger Bowl. I honestly am not sure I've ever charged as hard as we did today, fast and fun, through bumps, steeps, off the HiT, through the trees all over the place, through the gullies, off the jumps, just go go go!

I felt myself again, playing, having fun, working hard, and my legs were THERE! For the most part, they ended up where I wanted them. I asked one technical question of Mike Leslie, got a straight answer, and got right back to it with great results.

I went down HARD three times, once right off the first run down Slucebox in a total white out, I hit a bump hard and felt okay absorbing it, but then, the evil CLICK! and I stepped right out of my left ski, went right over the handlebars, smacked my helmet on the hard bump below, and munched my right wrist, which was already pole planting on the next bump. Oops.

But aside from that bell wringer, oh, and one on the bottom of Test Face where I decided to go one more bump over and realized it wasn't a bump, it was a huge ROCK I'd just augered my right tip into, flipped over, skis over head, side twist back into the fall line, and according to Mike, nearly skied out of it ( ha ha, didn't feel like it to me!) Things were ROCKIN!

I had two big saves, one in the John and one going Mach Scnhell over the whoopties on my way to go off a big ramping airplane turn (in both cases, I was caught inside, with my face about two inches from my on snow ski and my other ski up in the air)... WHEW! I was like, I AM NOT GOIN" DOWN! The one in the John I managed to save, got the ski back down, twisted around switch in a big V, then took a seat and tumbled sideways, I just really REALLY did not want to land on my face at high speeds, and the one on the way to the jump I managed to get my foot back down and wobble over the cheater's way out of the jump, laughing hysterically. Yes, I did drink a red bull today, WHAT"S YOUR POINT??

Skied my booty off all day, then at about 1:30 my body was HURTIN after the beating I'd put it through, drove down to the Urgent Care and got an xray on my wrist. Looks like a sprain, can't rule out a Navicular Fracture, but it doesn't hurt that bad, so I'm in a splint and feeling good!

Posts coming soon as I catch up on homework and head into semester break.

Stay tuned for possible Heli Skiing in Alaska adventure! Better get on that Skier's Edge Machine and get em strong, the Vertical is a lot longer up there! Go baby GO!

The Secret Ingredient to my Secret Ingredient Soup is...

Nothing. There is no secret ingredient. You have just have to believe something is special for it to be.

It has been an interesting three weeks for sure. I am VERY excited to write a post about training in Aspen, about Cliff Hucking Camp in Crested Butte, and about the five or six other things I've been pondering lately. I've been invited to ski with Kim Reichhelm in Alaska in a Steep Skiing Camp and to write an article about it. (wow!)

But right now, in the midst of some personal turbulence, I have to say that I'm grateful for my team, my support group, my friends and family, and, yes, Po from Kung Fu Panda.

When things get nutty like this, and many things happen at once, for instance, I'm on the road, training, missing my kids, meeting deadlines, catching up on homework, interviewing for jobs, and going through an amicable divorce with my best friend, the thing that keeps me grounded is...

Well, here's how I do it. Step one: snuggle the kids a lot. Step two: call someone when I feel wobbly inside. If that doesn't do it, call someone else. Write about it. Snuggle the kids some more. Check in with Tom and talk about it. Go up and ski some, teach some (wow, that helps a LOT), give some massage, snuggle the kids, watch some of my favorite movies that make me feel strong: Kung Fu Panda, Meet the Robinsons, Steep. Yup, kid movies. OOH! And Secrets of the Furious Five. That's a great one.

I think about the fact that Suffering is wishing that something was other than it is. I try to let go of my desire for this to be other, and accept that it is how it is, so I can let go and move forward.

I listen to music that lifts me up, I sing out loud and off key in my car, songs like Proud by Heather Small. Cheesy? Maybe. Powerful? Definitely.

I call my mom, I call my mentor. I ask for hugs from my friends on the hill. I listen to myself, and try to make some space in my crazy schedule for healing, mine and Tom's.

And then, as my spirit starts to lift, I say thank you to all the amazing people in my life that help me get across gaps like this. I do believe in myself again. I feel back on track, it's been a very very hard 48 hours, and I feel I'm coming out of the tunnel, its not strange that life continues, people go to work, kids go to school, cars drive on the road.

I choose to rejoin and to focus on my task at hand.

So thanks for your help and support, stay tuned, as the ducks line up, the posts will start rollin' in.

Much love and gratitude,
Kate

Historic helper utah

Welcome to historic downtown helper, utah. The minds have been idle for three days, head electric for verizon laid off, downtown is empty. Folks are very sacred. Sign of the times?

On the road!

Bye bye Aspen! Thanks for every thing!

what a long strange trip its been!

Almost to grand junction. Beautiful day for a drive, grateful dead keeping me company on the road.

Gear Review: Elan Deep Spice for 09/10

Four days ago, I was thrilled and excited to look outside and find two boxes, one shaped mysteriously like skis! YES INDEED! My first big powder boards ever! Elan shipped out the new 09/10 Deep Spice woman's ski to me, and I couldn't wait to try it out!

I've never been on a powder board before, or a ski with so little side cut, and I almost didn't want to get out on it, because I knew I wouldn't ski as well as I could on it. Kurt made the astute suggestion that if I didn't want to be a TOTAL gaper at camp, I should ski them for a day. So I spent my last day in Aspen on the fatties, in about 2" of fresh.

The skis are 133 in the tip, 105 underfoot, and 122 in the tail, and I felt like a pig on roller skates all morning! I was working hard not to get frustrated, because I knew my job was to listen to the ski and see what it wanted (OKAY, it wanted POWDER), and we went out into Canopy Cruiser, a SUPER long, rather steep powder tree run with some bumps. Megan and Cindy Lou and I skied it in the morning, then Kurt showed up and we skied it again, hopping into GLE (Greatest Line Ever!) at the end.

I felt like I had to work SO hard to get the skis to come around, they felt long and heavy and not very turney. I knew that I had become a bit side cut dependent to get the skis around, and tried to find the pivot point.

The skis have quite a bit of camber, and aren't as soft as a traditional powder ski, but still flex really nicely, so when they de-camber, the pivot point is solidly midsole of the boot...

Skiing bumps in these monsters was quite a lesson in humility, and I felt like saying "Okay, I get it, can I have my other skis back??" but I stuck with it. Then, we ran into Bob Pearlmutter and his friend Pete Anzalone.

Bob runs Aspen Mountain Powder Tours, an awesome cat skiing operation off the backside of Aspen Moutnain. We all went for a hike up Highlands Bowl and the FIRST thing I noticed when I loaded these guys into Megan's bowl strap is how incredibly LIGHT they are compared to my Magfires! Less than HALF the weight, I'd guess. Boy, the hike was a LOT easier!

At the top, Bob and I discovered that we have the same boot sole length, so we swapped skis, I rode his Atomic Snoop Daddy's sown, and he hopped in the Deep Spice. I was really excited to hear his opinion, as this is what he does for a living!

We went for a rippin' run, and I was glad to be on a ski with a titch more sidecut for the ride down the bowl, it was a bit more familiar to my newbie legs, so I could ALMOST keep up, and Bob was laughing, and chatting, and HAULING down the G's in the bowl.

His review? "This is an AWESOME ski! I wouldn't call it so much a powder ski as a Big Mountain ski. Elan has never made timid skis, and this is no exception. Kurt will tell you, I'm not a fast skier..."

Kurt interrupts "Bob makes more turns per linear yard of skiing than anyone I know..."

Bob continues... "But these skis are happiest when they are going fast, and I just had to let them run! It was awesome! They are very stable at high speeds, with long, open turns. This is exactly the kind of ski I need for my job. Awesome!"

I was glad to hear this, and when we swapped back, I spent the afternoon trying to convince myself to let them open up and run. By the end of the day, I could do rail road tracks on them, but I was wrecked tired! I tried to carve on them, but kept getting caught on the inside and having my outside foot run away! I tried them out in bumps, crud, pow,and on the groom, carving, and buttering.

I finally came to the conclusion that it was good that I had stuck with it, and that learning to adapt to a big straight-ish ski was really good for my skiing!

That night, I drove to Crested Butte, and got in at 2:30 in the morning. I had to be on snow at 7:45, so on about four hours of sleep, I got after it again. I'm gonna leave the details of the camp for another post, but let me just say thank GOODNESS I spent a day on the skis before camp, and by noon on the first day, I was really REALLY enjoying the sensation of letting the skis have the speed they wanted.

By the end of the second day, I was totally and completely in love, able to ski chop and crud at speeds I've never been able to handle, loving having a big, stable platform to stomp the landing on, and I was able to make short radius turns on them, and carve on the groom to some extent without having my outside foot pulled away!

Long story longer: The Elan Deep Spice is a hell of a ski. In Bob's words: "If this is the "woman's" ski, I'm afraid of what the men's is like! This is plenty of ski for me!" It loves to rip, it loves to float, it loves to drop, and I love to play on it! Up next? ANOTHER PAIR with AT bindings on them!! YEAH!!

For more info on Aspen Mountain Powder Tours: Our direct reservation line is 970-920-0720, our email is:powdertours@aspensnowmass.com and you can find us on the Ski Co website: aspensnowmass.com!

Core Shots and Kiddos

So Carrie Jo went "Moderate" (7 feet?) and didn't get out QUITE far enough, the rock was buried under about 6" of fresh, and here is her beautiful core shot, straight through the base, through the wood, and into the metal top sheet! YOU ARE SO HARD CORE!!

Ski this!

The steepest cut run in north america!

Blue bird pow

Just Hucked a seven foot flag air! Blue bird powder day in crested butte!

Morning gathering in crested butte.

My favorite thing circle. All sixty of there women rip! Air and double black diamond!

Dinner!