Day 5 - 12-5-2010

Windy Again! Top was blowing and visibility was horrible. It was a pretty uninspiring day really. Had the new Fujas out though. What a great ski. Easy to ski and really really fun. Of course as soon as I left the mountain the sun started to come out. I think that is just the mountains way of getting me to come back and hope there is going to be better weather next time around. Well it works.....I'll be back.

Day 4 - 12-4-2010

Windy!! Got up late and started skiing around noon. The weather was a bit temperamental. It was sunny at the base and fealt like it was blowing about 50 up at the top of the mountain. None the less it was another good day with the crew and the snow was cold and chalky.

Day 3 - 11-27-2010

Well the new snow is finally all skied out. However the new season is underway and the mountain is again a giant bump field. The snow was still good today though. It was a bit grabby but hey were skiing. South Back opened but we didn't venture out that way. Still a bit early in the season to head all the way out there.

Today was the first day I got to ski with the crew too. John, Karen, Brian, and Swany were all out in force. It's always a good time when the "winter family" gets back together.

Got some pretty cool footage from the two days around Thanksgiving. Take a look!!

Day 2 - 11-25-2010

More new snow today. It was pretty packed and settled but I got to ski with Swany for the first time this year, that's always fun. We did ski Rink-a-Dink and for the first time in a long time it wasn't that great. Kind of wind packed. Usually it's pretty protected from the weather but not on this day.

Day 1 - 11-20-2010

So the season got started early this year. Skiing in November in the north west is a real treat. Normally if were skiing by Christmas were stoked but skiing before Thanksgiving?? I'll take it. Of course skiing this early in the season you have to remember EARLY SEASON CONDITIONS EXIST. The top of the mountain was closed due to a lack of snow and the fact that they were still working on the gondola and had the cable on the ground. I pretty much just cruised around Forest Queen and dodged all the rocks for a few hours. Then that's when it happened. We had heard whisperings about it but didn't think it was going to actually happen. Powder Bowl was open!! It was only open long enough to ski two laps but they were two bottomless pow laps that made the day. Winter was back and it was shaping up to be a great one. Check out the video from opening day. It's short but pretty much sums it all up!

Let's go skiing!!

So I know it's been ages since I posted anything on my blog. I'm lame I know. But since my recovery is going pretty well I thought I could go from talking about dealing with getting well and start talking about what I'm up to in the mountains this winter. So here goes ..... the huge-heart ski blog is about to begin! Enjoy!!

Where's the wall!

So I finally got my first open water swim under my belt! It's a little different than being in the pool. Scratch that it's a LOT different. There's no wall every twenty five yards to push off and you can't just stand up if you get tired. It's a pretty interesting feeling when you start to get away from the shore a little bit. Even though I was swimming with a partner it was really lonely. You get to a point where you realize that you are a good distance from the shore and if something where to happen there's no real way out. There's no guarantee that the person with me would even hear me if I were in destress. Then you start to feel tired but you realize that you have to push on and go farther. And then the inevitable happens, the wind starts to blow. And of course its a head wind. So what can you do.....you have to push on. One stoke after the next. It's a real mental test.

Being in the water is like a proving ground for me. There's no easy way out. I take all the training and put it to practical use when I'm in the open water. There's only one option and that is to keep swimming. Then a half mile later I'm done. I get to stand up out of the water and know that I accomplished my goal. I did it. No one else did it for me. That's a good feeling. That's the kind of feeling that makes me want to keep going, to keep pushing on.

All I have to do now is do it again! I'll be back in the water soon and hopefully better than ever!



On a totally unrelated note .... if you need a good chuckle check this video out. My roommate really lovers her some Jimmy Johns. Laughing is a great therapy for whatever ales you!