Squaw Weekend

When Katy got accepted to the Keystone Conference, we took advantage of its location to get some spring turns in, and ski in Tahoe!

Though we had heard of its famous spring riding, we had yet to experience it first hand, and it made a pretty stellar first impression.

Staying true to being a weekend warrior, I only came out for Saturday and Sunday, and flew back Monday morning to make it to work on time. Turns out, those were the two best days of the week, as the warm temps melted the mountain right off the rest of the week while Katy was there.

The hill wasn’t too crowded, and the early half of the week prior to our arrival brought with it a storm that dumped some two feet of fresh snow for us to shred.

We explored Siberia, Granite Peak , as well as some quality turns on KT-22.

While I was back at work, Katy continued to shred all week in between conference seminars and workshops. The temps climbed to the eighties, but she took full advantage of the days on the hill.

Hoping to get back here some time mid-winter, on an epic powder day, to drop some of the legendary lines Squaw is known for.
In the meantime, for those interested, Powder has a pretty awesome piece of Squaw. A worthy read about how this place is changing.

Never Gets Old

Never gets old. #sunrise #rainier #seattle

So it begins…

Yesterday was a good one. We set the skin track up skyline ridge and started the season with some well-earned powder turns. #skiseason #splitboarding

Training Run

Beautiful day for a training run in Seattle.

Thunder

A couple weeks back, we did a weekend of trail runs:

Thunder Knob:

Thunder Creek

Now, after a couple weeks of long runs (finished 18mi yesterday!) I’m on my way to Thunder thighs.

The remaining question is, where did this summer run off to?

Running in AK

I’m staring down at my feet, watching them move one in front of the other, willing them to gain distance and elevation with each step. Every time I look up, the crest of the hill isn’t any closer and the storm is engulfing the summits of the surrounding peaks. It’s Seattle-Rain right now—I’m getting wet but I barely notice.

Kaytlyn is about 20 feet in front of me and I’m wondering, “Is she having this hard of a time as well? Where’s my groove?”

Read more →

Weekend in the City

close friends, whiskey stones, pitchers of IPAs, cajun mac’n’cheese, margaritas, chips, habanero sauce, red mill burgers, new friends, apricot IPAs, climbing, bayou sandwiches,  spicy taffy, badgers, terrible jugglers, fast runs, errands, perfect weather, sours, ciders, deviled eggs, trail mix, old friends, Belgian ales, good senses of humor, evening breezes, lack of worrying, ignoring time.

If I have to spend a weekend in the city, this is how I’d like to do it every time.

Mt. Hood – July Shreddage

The dust was finally settling on an abandoned trip plan, and from that cloud emerged a free, high pressure weekend in the mountains. As crowds rushed to Fred Meyer to pick up last minute Ameri-brews, Hot Dawgz, and all the ABC’s of BBQ’s, Brad, Katy, and myself rushed to make a decision on what to do during the weekend after America Day.

After spending Friday recovering from Fourth of July shenanigans and finishing up tasks for work, we packed snowboards, crampons, ice axes, bits and bobs, and some delicious wraps into our car and began the slog down to Mount Hood.

Read more →

Hidden Lake Trail

I’m not sure if nostalgia is the right word. It wasn’t quite the feeling that “I’d been there before”, but more of “This is familiar. This feels right.”

As the view sank in, the breeze picked up: the fresh alpine air that feels like the antithesis to every city breath.

Read more →

Mt Adams – June 2013

The weekend of June 21st, a weather window aligned and Brad, Brian, and I headed down to hike up Mt Adams, a 12,281 foot stratovolcano in the south Washington Cascades and the the second highest peak in WA behind Rainier. It’s mostly made of Andesite (and that’s what the rocks on the Lunch Counter are mostly made of) but for all intents and purposes, this was a snow-field climb. The mountain is beautiful, and the south climb is justly popular because it’s accessible and not very difficult.

Read more →