Spring, Sprang, Sprung

Guess who skate skied in short sleeves this afternoon!

Looking back at posts it seems that Western Slope Exile exists to document the changing, passing seasons as much as anything else. Spring is here in the figurative sense. Flowers are still germinating underground. Torrents of chocolate brown runoff are still locked up in the snowpack; but I showed up this morning at the Magic Meadows trailhead to catch one of the Nordic regulars in a tank top and see chunks of ice floating down the free-flowing creek; my tele boots are covered in mud from hiking through a half mile of muck on Brush Creek road; a winter's worth of dog poo is thawing in the alley. Close enough - spring has sprung.

Change is coming...and not just switching wax from extra blue to klister. I've just begun the reflection and processing that comes from the transition of one season to the next. What was this winter all about? Chasing that elusive storm cycle, finding the rhythm of a double pole kick, going from shuffling around the pancake flat Poop Loop on skate skis to pumping out a respectable V2 on The Bench, skiing Hard Slab and Hawks Nest without peeing my pants; watching the Alley Loop and Grand Traverse flow by from a volunteer's viewpoint; slinging rentals, waxing advice, and trail recommendations at the Nordic Center; my first consulting check from that big ski company....many goals accomplished. My current state of Adult Onset Adolescence makes introspection of the existential variety more difficult. It's a sad cliche of ski town life to tick off the ski resume accomplishments and ignore the stuff that really matters. Thankfully I have people close who push me, ask the difficult questions, and gently expose my inclinations toward mediocrity; people who support my desire to be more assertive and honest in my relationships. Big changes indeed.

Western Slope Exile. Well, "Western Slope" is soon to be an inaccurate geographical descriptor. I'm relocating to the east side of the Great Divide. I'll still be at 7,000 feet, under the watchful gaze of the 14,000 foot peaks of the Sawatch, but without the real and perceived isolation of being on the West Side. Most CB folks have responded to this change with a big "WHY?". Why leave paradise to live in a valley that is being encroached upon from the East Infection of the Front Range? My heart has been headed in the direction of the Arkansas Valley for over a decade. So I'm going to try it out for a season with full intention of returning to the the snow globe (CB) next ski season. I'll never know if the Ark Valley can be home until I try.

"Exile" no longer seems to be an accurate descriptor as well. I've grown so comfortable with Western Slope life, running along at a nice lope with an unplugged power cord trailing behind me. But I have the URL and I don't want to make my dozen or so faithful readers have to change their browser bookmarks. WesternSlopeExile stands for now.

Here are some photos of winter from the start to almost the finish:

Timber

Boyd, Dena, Rigal, and Ohana lost Timber to cancer last night. Rest in peace my furry buddy. When we're both on the other side we'll go for a good long run.

Spring

What do you do with the tons of snow that are left over from a winter of snow plowing? Make a 30 foot jump downtown. Colorado Freeskier revived Big Air On Elk this year. It works like this: dump a bunch of snow onto the main street in town, push it into a pile, and tow in skiers and riders at a bizillion miles per hour with snowmobiles. It's like watching airplanes take off and land on an air craft carrier. The riders went huge. These aren't the best pics, but they show the scale. It seems like the whole town turned out and it was shoulder to shoulder on both sides of the street for two blocks. Every shop and restaurant was full and it was a brilliant way to kick off spring.





Earlier in the day I took a tour up Slate River Road and the Oh Be Joyful trail. It was overcast but really warm. So warm, in fact, that I punched through knee deep into slush a couple of times. It made the creek crossings interesting, not knowing if the snow-bridges would hold or not. I ran into a couple of groups coming down from the north side of Mt. Emmons, training for The Grand Traverse (Crested Butte to Aspen backcountry race). My trip was much less ambitious. I wanted to see if the snow is setting up, what different aspects are skiing like, and how prevalent the suncrust is. It's still going to be another week or two before things set up and we have corn. Spring is in the air.

Will I remember how to ride a bike?

Temperatures have been in the upper 40's and the snow is turning to mush. There's still a lot of skiing to be had and the yard is covered in 4 feet of snow...but remember mountain biking?

oie de canard de canard

Hut Trip 2010

A full moon, my 40th birthday, widespread natural avalanches, sunshine, clouds, snow, new friends, old friends, curry, chocolate, bacon and eggs....a great hut trip. 11 came from the Front Side and SumCo. We made a trip to the Gothic town site to the Maroon Hut. The snow was cooked and crusty; slides were coming down on nearly every slope on every aspect, but we managed to find some pockets of gladed goodness to ski where the snow was stable and buttery. The skin in was pretty easy so we loaded down with lots of luxuries and ate like kings. No major mishaps except for Ruth's broken binding for which Mike had a handy fix. I spent the beginning of my 40th year on this earth with some good friends making good turns in a place that makes me very happy. It was a good time and place to reflect. I'm pretty excited about 40. I can sport mismatched socks, wear the same pants two days in a row, get orange juice instead of an $8 martini, and smoke a pipe. I'm twice as fast and can go twice as far as when I was 20. I'm more interested in the question than the answer. My life has history full of adventure and friends. Gauging from the past 40 I'm definitely stoked for the next 40.