 |
WEB SPECIALS ... Club Members will find our recommendations to bottles sure to make life here in Western Colorado even more fun & interesting than it already is!!!! |
THE BEST DAMN LIQUOR ON THE WESTERN SLOPE!!!!!! |
|
| Home Page | The Damn News |
Club Points Program (click here if you want to know what points can get you) |
Storm Chasing 2010
Well to tell you the truth the snow season of 2010 has been a mixed bag that ranged from extreme joy to boredom. As the weather was shifting into deep freeze mode back in December I was seeking help from medical professionals trying to deal with some injuries. Of course much of the discomfort was due to the usual complaints one has while fast approaching 60. It doesn't help being addicted to the adrenaline rush of dropping 1200 feet through knee-deep snow in minute or two. Even though the good days were limited in number I am grateful that I had a season at all! Thank you Dawn, Chris, Craig and Kirk who all helped get me back in the steep and deep for one more season.
April 2nd Brighton, Utah ....one happy guy
...30 inches in 30 hours will do that!
It’s late in the afternoon on the last day of March, I’m rolling down I-70 at a reasonable rate of speed trying hard not to piss off any members of the UHP that might have lost their way and taken a flier into extreme Eastern Utah. There’s a big spring storm moving across the West and I’m hoping to beat the leading edge of the cold front over Soldier Summit. Route 6 is a lousy road to drive at night especially when its wet and I’m behind schedule. I'm doing country music this trip and Waylon is singing my song and helping me reminisce in the 12 powder days I did have this season!
“I've always been different with one foot over the line
Winding up somewhere one step ahead or behind
It ain't been so easy but I guess I shouldn't complain
I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane”
...Waylon Jennings
My timing for the early part of the season after the holidays was way off. Eleni and I spent some time visiting friends in San Francisco and Wine Country after the New Year so I missed the end of January storms. However once it did start to snow again I didn’t have to go very far to have a good time. In fact one of the best things about this winter is that I got to ride with particular friends …some for the first time. Mark Harrington and his wife Janet are 2 serious outdoor/wilderness types…they do everything …hunting, fishing (commercial fishing in Alaska not fly fishing) and all the winter back country stuff in a big way. I was happy that I could keep up in bounds and that I had the opportunity to get to know Janet better. Mark and I are simpatico but when you are more than a little touched its good idea that your friend’s wive s know that you mean well in general and you have a good heart!
The old Nashville cowboy was burdened with time
He was bent by his years and the fight with the wine...
Hank Jr.
I also did that Sunday of the 39-inch major 3-day dump at Powderhorn with Alex, one of my crew at Crossroads. Alex has worked for us for a very long time as employees go. He is smart and will be graduating soon with a degree in Geology. We’re going to miss him when he leaves. I had ridden with Alex once before and having seen his gear knew he needed a bigger deck for the occasion so I gave him a loaner from my collection of retired snowboards. It was a gas watching him make the adjustment from riding his little bump and jump board to a Cadillac.
Lets not forget riding with Montrose’s Steve Beutler who still manages to keep ahead of his 2 younger kids Claire and Clayton. On the other hand attempting to keep up with his oldest son Curtis is more of a challenge. Watching Curtis huck everything in sight has been good for Steve’s skiing. He’s much better in the technical quick turn stuff than I am now and he’s always been great at going up hill! These guys hike or camp as a family every weekend often doing the backcountry snow adventure on Red Mountain Pass. Growing up in the Beutler home has got to be the bomb!!!
Getting a Mom fix in Silverton ...Carol and Hyatt
I missed the whole window of riding Utah in January and February with my friends of 30 years from the Outer Banks Scot and Carol. Our mutual friend Donald didn’t make the trip this year so it was all a bit depressing. This was their son Hyatt’s first year in college and his first since he was old enough to walk not coming to Utah. I know Carol, earth mother that she is, had to work hard on the adjustment to empty nesting so they decided to come back with Hyatt for spring break. They started in Albuquerque and worked their way north to Silverton where I caught up with them for a day at Silverton Powdercats and another at Silverton Mountain.
Hyatt looking over the first and last run just above
Silverton Powdercats' base of operations! What a fun day!
I like to play good music and have a good time
I love to hear old trains rolling down the line
I am into happy and I don't like sad
…Hank Jr.
Uncle Jerry's vehicle of choice if a helicopter is not available
along with one of the great guides at Silverton Powdercats!
I highly recommend the powdercat experience for skiers and snowboarders who can comfortably negotiate any of the open ungroomed runs on the East side of Powderhorn! The most stressful moment of the day was listening to the Avalanche lecture and wondering what the terrain was going to be like. It turned out to be these rolling benchs that stack up above Molas Lake and end up under the peaks that would take you over Ophir Pass to Telluride. The snow was variety of powder, crusty wind packed powder and a touch of crud. Most of it was quite nice and if you ever caught it on a week when they had a storm it would be unbelievable! The one suggestion I would give anyone traveling there would not let yourself be seduced by the fun conditions as it is the backcountry and there are a few terrain traps to negotiate. Most of which you don’t even notice till you are on top of one because you are having so much fun zooming through the big white!
Scott and Carol getting ready for the first run!
When I booked the reservation for Silverton Mountain I was very specific about my desire to be put in a slow group. However SLOW is a relative term at SM as you will be required to protect yourself at all times. It is after all Ski Mountaineering ...this is not a resort.
This might be the top of Chute 3 after you traverse into it
over a little cliff line. Jen owns the place and guides there
which is why she looks so damn comfortable!
Scott and Hyatt are a step or two better than I am. Carol is a step slower than me. Carol will usually get nervous about the same time as I do in situations that require more technical skills. I define “technical” skills as having the ability to make a specific turn so as not to hit an immovable object, fall off a cliff or into a tree well. It is not uncommon for Carol and I to negotiate terrain together so you could say I was voting her interests.
I was goin’ where I shouldn’t go
seein’ who I shouldn’t see
doin’ what I shouldn’t do
and bein’ who I shouldn’t be
a little voice told me it’s all wrong
another voice told me it’s alright
I used to think I was strong
but lately I just lost the fight
funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while
…Crazy Heart
This wasn’t my first time at SM so I was the only one who had any idea of what it was going to be like. Rider skills necessary to enjoy a day at SM are advanced but not expert. It is a real backcountry experience and for folks like me who don’t have the knowledge and skills to do the backcountry safely on their own it the time of their lives.
Taking a break at the home of the mountain gods after
the first or second pitch on the ridgeline to Chute 3!
It keeps going after the peak in the pic!
Carol, like us all that day, confronting her demons
at the end of a long hike up to Chute 3
When the guide tells you that the trees are tight on a given section of the mountain …if in the back of your mind you are given pause, opt for the gut which will be a short traverse across the fall line. It will be less “technical”! Pay close attention to the safety lecture, particularly the part about self-arrest god forbid you take a bad step on the hike up the ridgeline to chutes 1, 3 or 4. The hike took us close to an hour and covered at least a 1000 vertical feet ending up somewhere near 13,300 ft. The most gratifying part of the day was surviving the hike! I hadn’t planned on taking the hike in fact I thought not wishing to hike was the definition of SLOW at SM. I was wrong …but damn I actually hauled the incredible bulk up the ridgeline! The things you can do when don’t have any options.
Above and Below ...Silverton is a big venue ...for the money is no object crowd they do helicopter drops on the far side of Storm Basin. Pick ups are made on the ridgeline so there is a lot of activity with the chopper flying back and forth across the valley. It's a vast panorama in one of the most beautiful settings on the planet a really stunning experience!
For about $135 a whirly bird will drop you off at the top
of this chute where fantasy quickly becomes reality!
Jen and Aaron Brill came up with the idea of running a lift up to Storm Basin and then made it a reality about 10 years ago. The amenities haven’t changed much but the whole system has evolved and been fine-tuned. The lodge is a big wood floor tent with a wood stove and a couple of out houses for facilities. They have enlarged the staff since the last time I visited and everyone does a great job of getting you acclimated right from the get go. Our guide was Ronbo from Durango who runs a bike shop there. I also got to observe Rob (who is an emergency medical tech on the St. Mary’s Helicopter) do his thing with another group. The guides are really good at getting your head in the right place for the day. They make everything look easy so you just kind of go along with the program.&nb sp; The four of us all enjoyed the day at Silverton Mountain. I think we all pushed the envelope of our riding skills that day in a variety of conditions ...in the end that's what Silverton is all about!
My path is pretty rocky and my future ain't long
Why do I think we got a chance at all
Where does the wind blow? Baby I don't know!
...Ryan Bingahm
..this is the sight that greets you as you enter the Valley of the Great Salt Lake at Spanish Fork after going over Soldier Summit. I don't know what it is about this wind farm but these 220 foot tall beasts with 100 foot wings blow my mind when they show themselves!
April 1st
Last week I drove over on Tuesday thinking I would ride Wednesday and Thursday but I was a little early and really windy on Wednesday. So I made the best of the day and worked out of my favorite coffee shops Two Creeks in the Avenues and Coffee Garden on 9th and 9th. Thursday I was first in line at Milicent where they had had 18+ inches of snow in 24 hours and still snowing an inch an hour since the 5AM report. The lift attendant stated they were not going to open the lift on time because they were bombing the bowl. Great Western had been closed the previous day because of the wind so I hightailed it across the parking lot in time to catch one of the first chairs. On the lift ride up it was plain to see the snow had completely covered the place and it was flawless!
The pic above was taken coming down from Brighton later that afternoon after about 16 uploads a few miles out of Midvale. The NOAA report I watch on my Blackberry was predicting it would stay cold and that another 8 inches would fall over night. I was making my plans to do have dinner with Tom Carlson and Ride Paradise Ridge on Powdermountain the following day.
God bless Eleni
....she said don't worry about working the store on Good Friday if its snowing, ride it till it stops ...the season's almost over! Powder Mountain in the Ogden Valley is a small ski area and not a resort like Snow Basin ...in fact it feels a lot like Powderhorn. the lifts are slow but the terrain is spectacular. Friday it was really deep ....no slowing down or you'd be digging yourself out of a snow pit!
Paradise Ridge ...the visability is so terrible during a storm
that no one rides any of the good runs. Its always perfect the day
after a storm! You can drop off this ridgeline at any point over
a half mile and have a very good time!
God's Sentinels!
Monday April 5th ...it's been snowing almost continuously for a week in the Wasatch NOAA is calling for 22 inches over night and another 14 tomorrow. Yes I am back in the car driving across the high desert for one more powder day!
Woke up to this 5:30 AM Tuesday April 6th.
Brighton has received about 8 feet of snow in 6 days if you include
the 8 inches that fell Tuesday morning!
Salt Lake City is a charming place in Winter...
The whole town looks great in Black and White
Tuesday April 6th after another 16 uploads. It was so deep at Milicent that after having been the first paying customer off the lift and going back up for my second run I witnessed an interesting sight. With 32 inches of fresh, there were skiers and riders stuck all over the place digging themselves out. It happened to me on my last run when I zigged when I should have zagged in a flat spot and had to unbuckle and slog through crotch deep snow to an established track... my knees are a little sore today I should have worn my brace ..right now I am heading to Coffee Garden to check my email. The storm is still coming in waves! Not a bad way to end the season but for all you die hards there is another storm coming and one more chance to hit the steep and deep next week!
The yellow-haired lady was buried at sunset;
The stranger went free, of course.
For you can't hang a man for killin' a woman,
Who's tryin' to steal your horse.
This is the tale of the red headed stranger,
And if he should pass your way,
Stay out of the path of the ragin' black stallion,
And don't lay a hand on the bay.
...Willie Nelson
What a sweet week...see ya next year ....Uncle Jerry
Breakfast will never be the same!
A couple of Sundays ago JF Mugnier and his wife R Lee took us to breakfast at Gateway Canyons in their helicopter! Eleni an I had wondered what a bird's eye view of the area 60 miles south and west of Grand Junction looked like ... it turned out to be more spectacular than we imagined!
Uncle Jerry is thoroughly enjoying the ride above the monument!
Just North of Gateway
R Lee and Eleni
South of Gateway
Overland on the way back to the Dolores River Canyon
On the way to Canyon Lands National Park over the Colorado River
Over Westwater's famed Skull Rapids
Now we know why rafting is so popular!
I think this is Fisher Towers
...and the arches in Rattlesnake Canyon
Our host JF Mugnier ...one of the geniuses over at Leitner Poma who design and build lifts in some of the most insane mountain terrain in the world! Any company who has the imagination and talent to come up with a plan to access places like Aspen's "Deep Temerity" and Telluride's "Revelation Bowl" gets my vote of appreciation. R Lee and JF thanks for a wonderful time!!!
Crossroads Sightings
Its been a long summer but we've been fortunate to have
had friends visit and been able to take a few breaks!
After 2 hours of hiking to the 1st of the Blue Lakes one needs a rest!
Roxxy, Eleni, Sandy and Doug
I'm always humbled by my friends who served in the armed services. Doug was a Marine serving in Viet Nam crossing a rice paddy when the Marine behind him set off an explosive device. Doug said that by turning around and walking back to his mate in order to get a light after his cigarette lighter had gone on the fritz he'd walked by that damn bomb 3 times. He had some significant damage to his legs and the Doctors told him he'd be lucky to walk again. Tough nut that he is he proved them all wrong by running numerous marathons, the Imogene many times and skiing all over the West. Doug is a real survivor and one of my heroes!
The Wild Flowers were at their peak!
Eleni and I are both sentimental about our friends so here's to friends
that have left this world way too soon .... miss you Marvin and Lisa!
Bill Di Rocco came over from Kansas City to visit about a month ago.
He kept me out of trouble and employed for about 15 years ...most of the
people we worked for in the apparel business were incredible jerks
and with my mouth Bill didn't have an easy time of it! The best
damn sales manager I ever knew ..here's to you Bill!
Eleni and Jerry also got to take a break from
construction at Aspen Food and Wine ...here at Pacifica
enjoying an endless procession of seafood and wine!
David (left) and Zach (Pacifica) our former and present reps
from Synergy! Two of the best in the business!
Wendy Slade formerly of Ridgway and now living in
Santa Barbara, CA dropped by for a visit last week with
her beau Peter! We talk on the phone a lot but there is
nothing like sitting down for a meal together!
Keith and Karen's kid Shawnee just graduating from college
...it is hard to believe I remember when she was born
...Jeez I'm getting old!!!! Shawnee has always been
a lovely child ...beautiful inside and out!
Speaking of old my good friend and local realtor extraordinaire
Mark Fenn in my old stomping grounds on St. John in the Virgin Islands!
While Mark was in St. John he dropped off a cap to my friend
and former customer Pretlow Majette who owns Big Planet one of the
best outdoor sports shops anywhere!
Grand Junction's Team Tango Scott, Alice,
Lee and Tracie on the way to Argentina
....I am assuming they are on the way
because the because I recognize the language on the signs!
What do lady dancers do in Argentina besides dance?
Buy shoes!
More shoes....
...and more shoes!
Rob Miguez (center) is taking his lovingly restored 1960
something VW Van to Argentina! We are looking forward to receiving updates and southern Hemisphere Crossroads sightings for an extended period starting very soon!
Speaking of Argentina ...local Tango organizers Scott and Alice Betts along with their best friends Lee and Tracy White have been dancing their way around Buenos Aires for something like 2 weeks!
Looks like the Washington monument but it ain't!
Alice and Scott Tracy and Lee
Alice, Scott and Tracy in Tango heave
Jerry and Eleni on Oahu
Some fine real estate on the ride out to the sand bar off Kaneoe Bay
Keith wanted to jump off this cliff and swim in through the reef ....he had seen it in a movie ....we convinced him a picture with the girls was a better idea!
Here we are at the Surfrider in front of the birth place of surfing. Bob Kallestad, 78 years young, is Karen's dad who still keeps 2 surfboards on the racks at Publics ...a former airline pilot he's been hanging out and surfing with the beach boys at Waikiki for over 40 years!
Karen got the surf genetics from her dad!!!! Beach Boy or Stand Up style of surfing is all the rage even in Colorado but it got its start in Waikiki!
Eleni, Karen and Keith outside the supreme court building across from the palace! We found a real photographer who decided the best angle was on the wet cement!
Eleni talked me out of my cap for the evening at Alan Wong's Restaurant
...The food lived up to its rep and was incredible!!!
Pork and Hops 2008
Texan by the Grace of God
Local crew "Burning Desire" run by Steve and Grace Mc Cullough
did quite well in their first Sanctioned Event!
Steve told me he just wanted to have a fun weekend with his friends
and see how his genuine Texas BBQ fared with the pros!!!
Steve's brisket didn't win but he placed 15 out of 65 which we thought
was high praise considering the level of entrants. Eleni brought
some ribs, chicken and brisket home all of which were about as
good as it gets in my opinion! I was particularly fond of the brisket
....god bless TEXAS!
Crossroads sponsored the VIP tent we put on an outrageous
wine tasting on Friday night!
American National Bank's Lon Carpenter with wine sage John Lowey.
Lon is one of our favorite GJ personalities. Lon is really generous with
his time he volunteers for everything and is a real asset for the community!
As part of our ongoing education and one of the reasons our staff
can actually answer questions the other stores can't we spent some
time at National Distributing's big fall tasting!
Here John and I are teaching young Chris the
"Truth About Whiskey Rum and Tequila"!
Tough job but some body has to do it!
Lucky at Aspen Highlands 4 11 08
....my 21st Powder Day of the season!
The premonition I had at Brighton at the begining of March was prophetic. No snow till the begining of April and Monty was taking his vacation that week! Well it kept on snowing the following week when Monty came back but I was up to my neck in projects at the begining of the week. I had a plan to hit Snowmass on Thursday but the storm hung up on the Grand Mesa and would have provided the best day of the year at Powderhorn if it had only been open so I blew it off! Late in the afternoon Synergy Wine Rep David Campbell caught me at the shop and tells me that Highlands is going to open up for an experts only day to pack down the 3 feet of snow that had accumulated in the Highlands Bowl / Deep Temerity area since they closed their lifts the previous Sunday. He didn't have to ask me twice I was out the door at 5:30 AM the following morning. David and I had a pretty good spot up near the front of the line with 400 of our closest friends. At the top about 30 seconds after the Ski Patrol dropped the rope into Steeple Chase we were met with some of the best conditions of the year! With 135 inch base and 3 feet accumulated over the week it was ....well just to keep it short ......WOW ....what a fine way to end the year!
Synergy Rep David Campbell
Fortunately for me David was just getting over the flu and not running on all cylinders. He is one of the more competent riders I hang with and he could loose me in a minute if he so desired. He has a lot of technical skills in addition to having the aerobic capacity of an accomplished alpinist so riding with him is always a treat as well as a challenge. By the way David is a fabulous wine rep ... Eleni, Monty and I all hold him in high esteem and is a true southern gentleman to top it off.
Last Day in Utah!
Here I am in line on my last day at Brighton with Don Windsor from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina sometime during the first week of March! I had been watching a high pressure system pushing it's way into the Pacific and was having a bad feeling that this might be my last good day for a while and perhaps the season.
Good Friends ...call someone you
haven't spoken to in a long, long time! Late February!
Keith Miller and I met at the Action Sports Retailer in Long Beach back in 1983. He was selling these funky t-shirt dresses and very expensive one size fits all t-shirts in wild colors that basically had zip codes for the graphics. Lordy we sold a boat load of them and before I knew it he had me out of the pleasant shop I had ensconced myself in St. Thomas and on the road traveling around the Caribbean selling his line and many other necessities. The next year we collaborated on a shirt that was called Hey Mon and if we had been smart and trademarked it in every country of the region neither one of us would be working today. Keith and I have been close friends and worked together for many years. If you go to Hawaii, or any where in the Pacific for that matter or Las Vegas you will find his work in the best stores under his Gone Tropo trademark.
Keith has been skiing for a long time but had never seen more than a few inches of fresh on any given day. He came out to Utah to visit me and as luck would have it he caught one of the last really good 12 inch powder days of the season. Keith likes to fly first class and rented a really good rig which helped him make the adjustment to the deep stuff real quick. I took him all over Mt. Millicent and had him riding a bunch of the Black Diamond runs down the Spine on the north side of the bowl. I think the day exceeded his expectations and he was so jazzed that probably went home and bought new skis and boots! Lord knows he talked enough about it at dinner.
Here we are with Eleni and Karen on the deck at the Silverfork Lodge in Big Cottonwood Canyon! Hey like I always tell ya ....get on the phone and call someone you miss! It will make you feel like a million $$$$.
Eleni and Karen Miller in the Silverfork Lodge Big Cottonwood Canyon UT
More Good Friends!
Uncle jerry's advice for the day pick up the phone
and call someone you haven't spoken to in a long, long time!
Powder Mountain 2/9/08
My friend Louis and I met when I switched over to Seabreeze Senior High back in 1969 ! Now I wouldn't say we were bad kids but we started a long list of adventures and misadventures almost immediately. Surfing, body surfing, scuba diving, water skiing, working on the beach patrol and finding any excuse we could to get out of the house and preferably out of town! Louis was kind of an anti-hero athlete back then. He was on the swim team but not a star, however on the cross country team he was a flyer and on the Volusia County Beach Patrol he took on all comers from a field of very good athletes and won the combined open ocean swim and run event 2 or maybe even 3 years in a row! I have fond memories of knocking on his bedroom window in the wee hours of the morning and rousing he and his brother Fred for the 2 hour drive to do the dawn patrol thing at Sebastian Inlet which were the first of our many travel escapades. Then there were the days when the ocean was up and too wind blown for surfing when he and I would be the only people out past the shore break swimming into the biggest peaks and body surfing as casually as the neighbors having a dip in their backyard pool. Louis was always light hearted and a constant joke teller but if things ever turned ugly he was good man to have around!
Louis really hadn't done much snow skiing! He told me that his prior experience was more apres ski than ski but that blue runs would be just fine. Well our first day at Powder Mountain after hooking him up with some modern rental skis I got a bit concerned after watching him drop onto the green run that leads down to the Timberline Lift. His skiing was a bit tentative and he went down in the soft snow on the edge of the run. Getting up wasn't easy with his poles sinking through the crust to the handles but we made a vow to stay out of the crud and moved on. When we got off the 1st lift and started down the mountain I distinctly remember hearing him say oh no at the first roll over so we stopped to give him a little coaching and encouragement. I got to tell you after that he got better every run and on Sunday at Solitude he was going down some very steep and very slick black diamond runs like Inspiration and Challenger. The more he charged the better he got... it was very impressive. We ended up having a very good tour of both Ski Areas! Above he is doing his best Hermanator on Inspiration!
True to form when we went out to have BBQ at Pats (Superb BBQ will be doing a story on it soon) with Don and Ann Bowers he ran through his current repertoire of jokes. Here he is doing his best John Travolta!
I don't do groomer days very often any more but even standing sideways I still retain a lot of that good edge feel from when I used to Zoom the groomed runs at Whistler and Telluride in my hard boots and carving gear. Solitude on Sunday was spectacular in the morning they really had the place groomed nicely and it was a perfect bluebird day. The snow was hard packed and almost icy, it reminded me a lot of riding Whistler the day after a powder day.
55 and still having fun at the top of the Summit Lift in Solitude! When I was about to drop Louis off at the airport he confessed to me that I kept him so busy that that we didn't even have time to fall off the righteous path...a first for us! Well better late than never I guess!
Good friends!
Friday February 8th, Donald Bowers and I are standing at the head of the lift line waiting for the first chair! Don likes dropping into Millicent Bowl first better than anyone I know. The last couple of weeks he has been the first one down the bowl 5 times! I suspect he's plotting out how to get the goods without offending me and Don Windsor (back to us) another friend riding the 1st chair with us! We've gotten a bit jaded the last month this was the worst powder day of the month only 10 inches!
Don and I have been friends since around 1981 when I used to travel up and down the East Coast on my first job in the apparel business selling t-shirts to surf shops and marinas. He was a very good surfer back then and did the airbrushing and glassing for Fox Surfboards in Buxton. I started windsurfing a year or so ahead of him but once he took it up it didn't take him long to catch up. He was a world class amateur in both wave sailing and on the race course! The first year of the Aruba High Winds where about 300 of the best sailors in the world showed up to race he took 2nd in the amateur event and was the first amateur to cross the finish line in the long distance event beating most of the pros! Don could really fly and he rarely fell which made him a very tough competitor! I always enjoyed sharing the water with Don because out there playing in the elements he is an extremely happy fellow and has always been good at getting me to push my limits! It is much the same in the snow and one of the reasons I would make the pilgrimage to Utah each year to hang with him and our mutual friend Scott Busbey! In the pic above he is standing on top of James Peak in the Powder Mountain Ski Area!
Yes he even drug my sorry ass up this hill. It was quite a march but thoroughly enjoyable! I had been wanting to try hiking with in a controlled ski area for some time and Powder Mountain is a good place for that! Last week we did the hike loop of Mt Baldy twice and I am simply waiting for it to snow again before I take my next hike!
Monday February 4th
....why is every one smiling? Big cottonwood Canyon was closed at 8 AM allowing only about 100 lucky bastards entry to the Brighton Ski area after 3 feet of snow fell on the place in 48 hours The wind was blowing so hard on Sunday that no one got to ride Millicent Bowl and this small band standing at the head of the chair lift line @ 8:45 are all about to drop into the best day of the year! We had the place to our selves until noon! I have been riding with my good friend from Cape Hatteras Don Bowers in the orange jacket the last 2 weeks along with his wife Anne and their friends (on right) Keith and Agnes. I don't know who the kid is in the middle of the pic with the big grin is but one things for certain he knows he's about to score the big one!
Think I am exaggerating ....just ski patrol tracks from AC!
Above and below is the miracle that is Powder Mountain 24 hours later with snow so deep you had to straight line most of it and be careful not to stop or fall on a flat spot! This is all stuff you can ride if you are willing to hike a bit!
It's amazing that 2 days after the storm nobody has tracked up much of the good stuff! A lot of it is simply not the obvious terrain you find as you immediately get off the lift or you may have to walk a bit and there is a lot of that. As you can see life is good and it is snowing again as I type! ....See ya next week ....Uncle Jerry
Crossroads Sighting Arches National Park!
Donny got lucky when he married Ann who owns an art Gallery in Cape Hatteras she is a pretty good snowboarder and an even better instructor. She spent a day riding with Eleni and I am not sure if Eleni will even want to ride with me after that experience! I think I heard something about needing to get in touch with my feminine side. Ann is good at taking things in stride and does remarkably well getting around the mountain in all conditions! One of these days I will have to get to her Indian Town Gallery! But if you want to get a break from the mountains in winter just click on the link and you'll be on the coast in a flash! http://www.indiantowngallery.com/
Here is Donny's self portrait!
The next big storm hits Utah!
262 accidents on Monday around Salt Lake City one was a 12 semi-truck 30 car pileup south of Spanish Fork. Getting up Big Cottonwood Canyon wasn't too bad but the wind was blowing 35-45 knots. there was about 11 inches overnight but it was snowing so hard that your tracks were practically covered by the time you got back up to do another loop. They closed most of Brighton down in the afternoon. Tree riding was great but there was a 2 hour wait for avalanche control to make the Canyon safe for the drive down.
This is what we found Tuesday morning when they opened Millicent Bowl after 3 feet of snow fell the previous day and a half! SWEET but it got better on Wednesday with another foot and a half plus what it snowed from 5 AM till noon when they finally opened the place up after several hundred powder hounds waited 3 hours for the canyon to open. I penned most of this email in the car while waiting. God bless Wireless technology!
The things I do to for my readers. Uncle Jerry standing in line at Millicent's new high speed quad after about 12 loops!
Crossroads Sighting
Paul and Carol Ortenzio do AK
Obviously the fishing was great!
My brother from another mother...Paul has been on the nonstop adventure this summer....he worked with mountain rescue all spring and early summer then headed off to South America and a week later this trip to Alaska! Retirement never looked so good!
Carol is still doing her thing at St. Mary's where she is a nurse but I know she loves to play too! You may remember her from a few weeks ago when she and Eleni hiked to Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs!
Looks like Paul and Carol they were in the wild roughing it ...it had to be tough out there in the back country or else they wouldn't be drinking a bottle of Caymus out of a champagne flute!!!!
Thanks for the pictures .....
Devils in the Desert 2008
Photo Contest!
Crossroads Sightings and Photo Edition 2
Jerry and Keith ...when we first started doing business in the third world it was a lot like hiking around in the desert there wasn't much in the way of business but the scenery was fantastic!
High above Telluride in the San Juan Mountains
Gateway Canyons
Crossroads Sighting Switzerland
Local Solar and Wind expert Thomas Welch of
Alpha Omega Electric in Switzerland!
Here with his friend Deanna
Deanna freezing....too cold on top of the Materhorn to take off any layers!
Best Pic of the Year
The next 4 photos were submitted by Dave
Wadsworth and were taken just uphill of the
Glade Park Store early in the summer!
Thanks Dave .... Please keep sending us Photos!!!
Sandy Canright on the French Riviera
after hiking in the Alps for 10 days! Aint she a babe!!!!
Here with her creative director Doug!
More Photos Below!
These guys never stay home!
Dave and Sharon Gartner always send me great pictures from their trips to the Caribbean and I love the fact that Dave always comes back with t-shirts that I designed in a past life (like the one he is wearing) and hopefully still receive royalties on! Basil's is in the middle of a group of islands known as the Grenadines between St. Vincent and Grenada in the Southern Caribbean.
Jack Iron Rum is something you will never see in a Liquor Store
....it is Caribbean Moonshine and probably illegal in all 50 states!
Locals make this stuff on every island in the region. It is way over proof ...like 160 proof or something ridiculous. The natives drink it for breakfast and is similar to the seafood that only natives can consume safely... this style of rum could easily kill the average white guy!
Face look familiar ...it is Richard Stirling one of the good guys fro Crossroads Wine and Spirits on the Great Wall of China! He was visiting his parents in Korea where he thought the air quality sucked till he got a dose of the air in China and couldn't wait to get back to S. Korea's industrial smog!
Best Picture of a Crossroads sighting North America
Anne Bowers shooting husband Don ...she wins a bottle of wine for this great shot in Arches National Park!
Winner best Crossroads Sighting in a foreign country Craig Ginter in Holland!
Local realtor extraordinary Craig Ginter in Amsterdam...come on in Craig we'll pick out a bottle of wine!
Best Day of the Winter!
Monday after the Super Bowl at Brighton and 3 feet of fresh all to ourselves after they closed the Canyon at 2 minutes till 8! I love the kid in the middle of the picture....he's not in our little band of brothers and sisters but why not ham it up for the photographer. Photographer unknown....sorry fella I'll drink it for you!
Crossroads Sighting Moscow
Kristie and Gib are co Mont Blanc trekkers of our friends Doug and Sandy Canright. Moscow is home for them so I am not sure how much advertising value I am going to get from these caps! I hope I can still write them off! However they are a handsome couple and I will keep an eye on my internet orders to see if I get a bounce in my business from Russia!
"We took a few pics with the hats and think this is the best. Behind us is the well-know icon, St. Basils, the Kremlin, the beginning of Red Square and of course as you see there are loads of militia behind us. And snow falling, quite a perfect Moscow scene."
Crossroads Sighting Oregon
Gabriele Hurd on the hunt for Gem Stones in Plush OR! Looks like hard work but I know how these rock hounds are .....they love it! Like the minors of old they're in love with finding the color!
Crossroads Sighting Costa Rica!
Paul Breaux one of our ace employees spent a month in Costa Rica this summer
immersing himself in the spanish language!
Arenal smoking! Not my idea of fun living under a volcano! The is a large lake
of the same name nearby that is one of the windiest places on the planet
from December to March!
This is a zip line in the canopy of the rain forest! yes you actually get in a
harness and slide down these lines and more or less tour the tree tops!
Thought I was joking ....here is Paul rigged up and ready to hit it!
The cradle of creation must be someplace like this!
Ah yes the Pacific ....Costa Rica is home to some of the best surf breaks in the world!
Like this one at Pavones, one of the world's longest left point breaks!
Crossroads Sighting Tahiti
Brad Dickes is our rep for KREX.....he looks pretty happy
here on his honeymoon in the South Pacific!
Crossroads Sighting Gulf of Alaska
Captain Mark with a Copper River King!
Where's the Damn Hat Dave?????
Dave and Sharon Gartner recently took a boat trip
into the heart of the Eastern Caribbean!
When you go on a charter you usually start off in a cove like this on on the French side of St. Martin! It doesn't take long to get acclimated and before you know it you'll be doing a trick at the wheel like Sharon is in the photo above!
Dave and Sharon went on this adventure primarily for the diving and had the opportunity to dive one of the more spectacular venues in the region, the Pinnacles off Saba. Pinnacles are underwater mountains that don't quite make it to the surface. The pinnacles start off in really deep water 3-4000 feet deep and rise to a hundred or so feet below the surface. They are hard to get to so they have remained pristine!
One of the things that stand out in my memory from having traveled the West Indies extensively is
driving around a corner on some mountain and then seeing the next island or next group of islands. Most are independent countries with a cultures tied to the great seafaring nations of Europe, Britain, France, Spain or Holland. On a clear day they sometimes they just line and you might take in the view for 75 miles! Here on Saba we're looking down the Leeward Island chain toward St. Eustatia and St. Kitts.
This is the airport on Saba ....yeah I know what you are thinking there ain't much to it. On a day with a crosswind this little postage stamp of a runway is difficult to hit. It and the runway on St. Barths about 40 miles away are both legendary scary landings. If you do it enough eventually the other passengers screaming doesn't affect you!
Every where you go in the West Indies you'll find churches like this one in Saba. I think the natives are predisposed to the supernatural! After the church service if their prayers haven't been answered they are just as likely to to visit the local Obeah Woman to see if she can cast a favorable spell on them! Oh and Dave and Sharon had a really good sunset and probably saw a really good flash of green here. wonder what they were drinking???
More sunsets, more cocktails man this was a good trip! On the right is the leeward side of St. Eustatia or Statia as the natives refer to it. This little rock of an island, besides having great diving has significance for our 4th of July holiday. In the days of the American Revolution it was known as the Golden Rock! It was nothing but ware houses stuffed with all the things we needed to wage war with England. Just like modern times blockade runners and smugglers used this island as a base to move contraband to the rebel forces!
Dave and Sharon sitting on the throne at beautiful Romney Manor in St. Kitts! This old manor house is owned by a good friend and client of mine named Maurice Widdowson! They manufacture Carabelle Batik on the estate and it is one of the most popular places to get married in the world!
Looks like another opportunity to have a cocktail on the left. On the right this is the entrance to Gustavia Harbor on St. Barths. This is the island favored by the very rich and famous. It's fully stocked with super models, movie producers and of course Jimmy Buffet used to call this place home till he basically told everybody what a great place it was to run drugs out of. The locals eventually forgave him and periodically he'll show up at Le Select (Cheese Burger in Paradise) and sing for whoever is around!
The picture above is not something I expected to see! I have spent several nights on this St. Barth estate formerly owned by the Rockefeller family! A boat Captain/Surfer buddy named Randy West had the task of overseeing the remodeling of the estate. The new owners are the producers of the Academy Awards and money was no object which is a relative term on the Island of St. Barth. Hell they paid Randy like he was the Capt. of a mega yacht just to watch over things. One of the difficulties fixing this place up was that it was only accessible by boat or helicopter! So they had to update the landing and boathouse. That cost as much as a 4000 square foot home in the Redlands. It is a spectacular piece of property covering many acres on the north west end of St. Barths including a private beach. ....Hey time for one more sunset cocktail while looking over to St. Maarten just before before we have to head home! Dave and Sharon how was my geography????
Crossroads Caribbean Sighting
Gary Stubler seen here on the island of Anguilla. anguilla is at the top of the Leeward Islands a few miles off the coast of French St Martin! The beaches, bays and coves are spectacular on Anguilla. The natives are historically a good natured bunch and the food at everything from the resort restaurants to the beach bars is excellent! Gary enjoys the good life but still finds time to help his friends. He's helping our mutual friend, popular local veterinarian Mark Ryan, design and build his new office complex! Hard to believe Gary is 48....I think Mark and I need to go to the gym more often!
Keith and Karen Miller from Sebastopol finally made it to Colorado
... for a visit and we got to do a bit of the local sight seeing adventures like looping the monument around sunset!
Missed out on a hike because of the un desert like weather on Thursday but made up for it on Friday. It doesn't matter how many times you do it ...the hike to Independence Rock never ceases to be fun!
Keith was reliving his youth on the high mountain passes around Telluride were he spent a lot of time hiking on summer breaks from College.
Keith found this chunk of barn wood up in some mining camp and got him thinking about wine!
Keith is nuts about cars in fact his dad wrote the definitive book on restoring Ford Falcons so we took him out to the Antique Car Museum at Gateway Canyons! It was an incredible exhibition I highly recommend driving out Unaweep Canyon and visiting it was well worth the price of admission.
On the road to Utah just west of Gateway Canyon!
More Photos Below!
On the way to the Eastern Slope the Wackers getting ready to do the Colorado thing with the top down!
Eleni and Carol Ortenzio hike to Hanging Lake
The scenery was spectacular as you can see from the pictures above and below!
The end of the road ....Hanging Lake!
Crossroads Sighting Moab January 2008
The one and only, world class waterman, artist and photographer Donald Bowers of Cape Hatteras, N.C. in Moab on his way to the Wasatch to do a bit of storm chasing with Uncle Jerry and friends!
Late January 2008 .....correspondence from Bill and Amy Cort
The forecast was for SNOW- lots and lots of snow! And, the forecast was right! Four old friends gathered near the Colorado/New Mexico border, for a back-country ski into Spruce Hole, and a two-night stay at the cozy yurt.
Sometimes our dreams come true!
The four were: Me, Bill Kevin, a high-school friend since seventh grade (from Los Alamos), we've been on many epic camping expeditions before, and this one goes straight into the top ten-- Ken (from Albuquerque) and Andy (from Boulder) friends of Kevin's from their summers spent staffing back-country trail programs at Philmont Scout Ranch. The trailhead is at LaManga Pass, between Chama, NM and Antonito, CO, at 10,500 feet.
Sounds like Bill had the good sense to pack in something to drink although I highly recomend Tequila or Rum!
Friday afternoon was strangely warm and calm, but with fast-moving gray clouds, for our two-mile ski to the yurt. The trail climbed gradually, and took about two hours, three of us on tele skis with climbing skins, and Kevin on relatively antique touring skis. The yurt was warm and cozy (after we started a blazing fire in the wood stove) about 24 feet diameter, has two bunk beds (with sheets and blankets, no need to lug a sleeping bag), a kitchen counter and a center table built around the supporting poles, with propane lamps and cook stove.
No stargazing on this trip!
In the very center is a "crow's nest" chair for viewing the stars (but not on this trip!) Since we didn't have to carry tents, sleeping bags or cooking gear, we loaded up the vacant pack space with plenty of food and beverages, a couple of beers each, wine, and stronger stuff for hot buttered rum and cold winter nights. The yurt stayed shirt-sleeve warm, but the fire needed a couple of middle-of-the-night logs. At about sunset the flakes started to fall-- with about 6" new in the morning. Saturday morning we lounged for a while, watched the snow pile up and up before venturing out skiing.
This doesn't look like the fun part of the trip. Sitting down on this in the morning now that takes fortitude!
Each trip to the privy required more digging out of the deepening trench through the snow. On our ski tour, the visibility was ok, as long as we stayed along the edge of the trees. I made sure to punch in the GPS location of the yurt, though, as our tracks were quickly filling in behind us. Climbing up on top of the ridge wasn't a good option, but we skinned up a slope behind the yurt, where some open glades were the right pitch for making some powdery telemark turns. We retreated back to the yurt, for another fabulous pasta dinner and more story-telling. Sunday morning we awoke to another foot of snow, about 2-3 feet total, and wondered if it would be possible to ski out and drive home. Was the road even open? The skies were just starting to lighten a bit, and the snowfall was not quite as relentless. We sent Andy out on the trail to see if the road was visible in the canyon below. He noticed a snowplow and a few cars following, so we reluctantly decided to pack up and ski out. Breaking trail was very challenging, so we traded off every hundred slogs- it took about 1-1/2 hours to ski the two miles back. We found the road plowed, but our cars were thoroughly snowed in.
Looks like they were lucky to find their cars!
We must have parked in a windy spot, as there was no snow on the cars, just cornices on the leeward sides. We got out our shovels and began to dig! after an hour and a half of shoveling, we had a nice trench six feet deep and barely wide enough to drive through. Finally a giant snow blower arrived and cleaned up our path in about 30 seconds. The pass was still closed-despite what we'd seen earlier, but a snowplow driver at the base of the pass opened the gate for us. Laura and I are planning to ski this weekend too, but stay within the cushy resort confines of Beaver Creek. .....Bill
Mega Crossroads Sighting France Switzerland
If you read the Damn News you may recognize our friends Doug and Sandy Canright from Ridgway. They decided to take their dream vacation to Europe and took off for Switzerland early in September. Doug and Sandy are mountain jocks of a high order so a vacation to them means plenty of outdoor fun. On this trip they did a trek where they circumnavigated Mont Blanc. While still in planning stages the trek outfitter asked them how old they were. After stating that they were #% and &@ the outfitter said you know this is a pretty strenuous trek. He obviously didn't know who he was dealing with!
These are all from the last day of hiking as we are heading back to Chamonix in France. To the right of his head is Mont Blanc. (big and white)
This one is Sandy atop the Tete Entre Deux Sauts in Italy. At approx 8700 feet it was one of the tallest places they went to. She kind of looks a bit like Supergirl in this photo ready to leap tall mountains in a single bound!
At lunch at Lacs des Cheserys (the lake) above Chamonix. Beautiful! One of the things Eleni and I like about these two is that they are such a good match! They even got addicted to an unusual winter sport, skate skiing on those ultra short skis. They've taken that sport to the extreme riding double black diamond runs and deep powder in Telluride!
Doug entertaining everyone at a ski area where we took a tram back down to Chamonix.
Doug is one of my heroes. He did a tour in Viet Nam in the 60's and after being severely wounded in an explosion the doctors told him he wouldn't ever walk normally. After many, many Marathons and Imogene Pass events I guess you could say he has beat the odds......
You got to love the Swiss ....look how nice they made the garbage dumpster look..
...Bienvenue en Suisse means Welcome to Switzerland.
Some of our group at happy hour after hiking all day. We are in Les Chapieux, France, at the Auberge de la Nova, a country inn. From left to right - Terry, Doug, Sandy, Linda, Gib, Kristie. Those beers tasted REALLY good! Doug and Sandy must have brought every hat I ever gave them on this trip!
Kite Boarding in the British Virgin Islands
No I've never tried this and am not likely to at this stage of my life
....but it sure looks like fun!
Anegada is a flat slab of exposed coral and sand on the northeast corner of the BVI. It sits so low you can't see it from any of the other islands in the chain. Fishing for bonefish around this remote island is legendary, as are the waves that if you catch it right wrap around the island and break for hundreds of yards! Not a bad place to chill ...it sits on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean there is nothing to the east till you hit the Azores and the Canary Islands! When you are on Anegada believe me you will feel like civilization is a long ways back in the rear view mirror!
Scott "Scooter" Holtzendorf used to design & punch my embroidery tapes when we were in the apparel business. He happens to be one of the best kite boarders on the East Coast. He got involved in the sport when it first hit the scene and has spent a lot of time traveling in the tropics scratching an itch that just never seems to go away... kind of like powder days!
Perhaps Cane Garden Bay if the sun is sinking ....there are so many bays and coves through out the VI it is hard to tell?
Oh Yeah these guys get air time!
And for surfers in a boat there is a wave like this around every corner!
Crossroads Sighting!
Hunting is one of the West's great pursuits and a
large part of the cultural and historical landscape.
The first to explore the region were expert hunters by necessity and and the tradition lives on with a few technological advances. It never ceases to amaze me what ends up in the parking lot and the pictures our customers bring in. Rob Hann who supplied the pictures of his hunt on the Eastern Side of the Divide won the lottery and got a tag in one of the best and most remote areas in the state. He even bought horses to pursue his fantasy hunt and when the time came he got his trophy bull, a 7 & 6 at 400 Yards. Rob does all his own meat packing and prep and is a avid chef.
When you are in the middle of nowhere you'll need a little help from your friends!
Rob managed to get a pretty good buck for good measure! Thanks for the jerky and the sausage Rob!
Dallas Trail 7/29/07
These 2 mountain goats are Sandy and Doug Canright....they have been in the Damn News before as they either take pity on or enjoy torturing Eleni and I by dragging us up some unbelievable trails in the San Juans. They are getting ready to go to Europe next month and do a trek circumnavigating Mont Blanc which will take them in and out of 3 or 4 countries. They have promised me some really interesting pictures! We love these guys because they represent what is best about living in Colorado!
The trail we did last weekend was the Dallas Trail just outside Ouray. Unlike most of the hikes we have taken around here the trail goes straight up as soon as you get out of your car. I am guessing the climb was about 2500 vertical feet of steep switch backs. It was worth it the views were spectacular.
Going up we hiked above a big Creek and saw 2 different waterfalls and well as one stretch where we walked thigh deep through a field of ferns and other primordial growth where you could hardly see the trail!
Jerry & Eleni getting a good dose of the Rocky Mountain High
Crossroads sighting in Nicaragua
Letter from Scott Busbey .....Hyatt and I took a trip to Nicaragua last week, where we were fortunate enough to surf everyday at least twice a day. The surf was so consistent I never got a chance to open my book. Now that's the sign of a good surf trip!
Looks like a palapa on steroids ....bet my blood pressure would go down about 20 points in one of those hammocks!
My traveling partners were Hyatt and his best friend Owen. We met some past traveling partners of mine, Miles Walsh from California and Andy Rich from Richmond, Va. We also met with my old friend from High School, Stuart Nicholson and a friend of his, Bob Pastuer.
Hyatt was born to surf although his family let him take his own sweet time acquiring an interest. His parents Scott and Carol are both icons of American surf culture and his uncle, Jim Cartland was East Coast Champ before he went off to Med School. The kid has got really good genes to work with when it comes to action sports and in addition to being a very good snowboarder and skier Hyatt is a straight A student.
Scott and Hyatt after the last wave of the last day!
We stayed with Captain Lance Moss and Kristen where they run a surfing and fishing camp, Surfari Charters. Each day we were up at 4 am for breakfast so we could get on the road at the crack of dawn. We would travel by land or boat depending on where we were going out that day or what the conditions were like.
This beats the crowds back home at the Lighthouse in Hatteras!
If we went by boat we would always catch fish on the way home. By land was slow and rough as the road system was muddy and bumpy but they all led to quality waves. We were able to surf seven different breaks the week we were there and saw several others. The guides did a great job of putting us on the waves each day so I don't have a lot to talk about except surfing.
Above and below the one and only, 50 something if you can believe it, Scott Busbey
....thank god some things just never change!
After dinner at eight everyone was in bed to get rested for the next day. For Hyatt it was his first surf trip and his first time out of the country, it was also his first time surfing over rocks and one time he found himself washed up onto the reef standing in knee deep water. He was a little bit freaked out about it but he'll also tell you that was his favorite spot.
It's a damn good thing the communists abandoned this place! Commies don't surf or something like that!
We did stop one day and watch some locals playing a game of baseball. The field was so rocky and rough they were playing on (talk about a bad bounce) but these guys were good. There was pig grazing at second base and one fly ball almost hit a horse in left field. We called it a ground mule double. We're back now though and we have been really busy in the shop this week with the holiday week. ? Take care, Scott
Crossroads Sighting Mexico!
In the Caribbean the colloquial term was Lime! As in "hey mon I'm just gonna have a good lime"! Ya know hang around and drink rum and chill under a palm tree! Well Dennis and Eileen are really good at just kicking back and enjoying life they just like doing it in Spanish and drink Tequila. They are an incredibly popular couple in Grand Junction and if they invite you to dinner or one of their parties don't make the mistake of being somewhere other than their home. They cook and make presentations like the best chefs in town and are incredibly talented entertainers. They are currently developing a beautiful piece of real estate in Sayulita, Mexico! The plans are spectacular and the location is the quintessential south of the border paradise!
Hola,
Just got back from Sayulita, the house construction is going well, The house should be completed in August. We made a trip to Playa Chacala, a little fishing village about 65 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, to visit my friends Herb and Vicki Gearhart of Grand Junction, who own a house there. Not many gringos here!
We ate dinner at our favorite spot on the beach, Restaurante Acela, in Playa Chacala. Their specialty is Pescado Serandeado, which is whole fish (butterflied) and slow cooked over an open wood fire, with a spicy bbq sauce, it is really great, but takes about 2 hours to cook. You just have to hang out on the beach and drink beer or margaritas until your dinner is done. The fish is served family style, with salsa, beans, rice, and vegetables. Everyone shares and dishes out of the same serving platters, (just like home).
The photos show Herb and Vicki along with their son Alex, and of course Eileen! Thought this might give you some fodder for your newsletter.
Hasta luego,
After Tax Day Celebration & Blind Tasting
... if you wern't there, this is what you missed!
Diana and Holly from DMT Catering put on quite a spread!
Like I said everybody enjoyed the food and Willow Pond B&B was a big hit! What a great place to have a party or an overnight stay...a really beautiful place in the heart of the Grand Valley!
Monty held court and we poured some incredible wine! Yes the $110 bottle of the Terre del Grico Monster we poured was a big hit as were the other 8 bottles!
One of the best parties we attended this winter was the 6th ANNUAL SOUP WAR at Jim and Susi Alvillar's home. Every year the 3 contestants Susi, Dave Chepko and Marilyn Rabideau all slave away at the stove making a soup they have never made before. Then on Sunday after noon they throw a party and the guests are the judges. All three entries were delicious it was hard to pick a winner. Susi's was this lucious three grain soup with mushrooms that reminded me of the kind of soups served at chick restaurants in Aspen or Telluride. Mairlyn's was a yummy potato soup that with all the toppings tasted like the best baked potato you ever had. Dave did this Cajun fish soup that had just the right amount of spice that reminded me of the soup my mother used to make when I was a kid. In a close vote Dave won and is seen above holding the travelling trophy.
Susi Alvillar-Spicy Three Grain
Dave Chepko-Golden Cod
Marilyn Rabideau-Baked Potato
Mark Harrington has some interesting hobies ....falconry being one here with his 4 year old female Harris Hawk, Apache and Janet. His life as a fishing boat Captain in Alaska affords him a lot of time in the backcountry mushing dog teams. Below seen on a 2 week expedition in the remote Ray Mountains Of Alaska.
Jammin Salmons Captain Mark Harrington
The big white boy is Josh Merren! The last time I saw him in person he was just a kid. His dad Greg is a good friend of mine and the comes from one of the oldest families in the Cayman Islands. They still catch some unbelievable hauls of fish there Look at the size of the Wahoos.
In the old days (Feb. 1987) instead of snow boarding Jerry used to spend a week or two in Aruba sailing in order to check out new gear and shed the early winter rust gained from too many trade shows. I used to get a little work in while there but this trip was mostly to sail. If this looks a little familiar Phil Jones a National Geographic Photographer made a good living doing windsurfing photos from this vantage point on 15 feet of scaffolding set up in the middle of Fisherman's Huts! The photos that got published were usually of pretty girls in bikinis!
VI-7 is a former World and National Champion my old friend Jim Buderus from the VI. We spent a lot of time figuring out how to make these things go fast and then racing them in events like the Aruba High Winds and the US Open in Corpus Christi. He too lives in Colorado and is runnig a sales business we started together in Florida and that he later transplanted to the mountain states.
Call a friend you haven't spoken to in a while!!!! Followed my own advice once again and called a good friend who I used to windsurf with in Florida and Aruba. It was and accidental call. I had meant to call a different Ian (K) but hit Ian (P's) number instead. Funny thing I had been thinking about sailing Aruba in the early weeks of June which is the windiest month of the year there. A bunch of us in the industry along with a lot of other serious sailors and the entire pro circuit used to go down there for the Aruba High Winds Regatta and spend 3 weeks sailing one of the windiest venues on the planet. When I caught Ian last night, who won the High Winds in 89, he happened to be with another friend Joe, that was also part of the Aruba crew! It's good to catch up and have a drink with old friends even if it was just on the phone. Make a point to call a friend today!!! Aruba June 1993 (Special thanks to Mike Curtis for scanning these pics)
This change of direction is called a Lay Down Jibe ...to start you over sheet the sail and let the mast dip to depower it then just lean into your carve giving the illusion that you just dropped the sail on the water. When you pull the sail up the power comes back on, and you finish your 180 ° carve, then flip the sail around, switch your stance and complete the jibe ...seems like it takes forever start to finish out on the water... but at 6 frames a second it happens in about a second. It always amazes me how time expands when you are having fun! This photos come from June 1993 the last time I sailed Aruba after many years of making the annual pilgrimage to be there with a couple hundred of the best sailors in the world. The wind is a steady 35 knots, the hull was an 8' 9" X 21.5 " polystyrene carbon epoxy 14 pound John Parton Shape, the sail was a 4.5 meter Sailworks from Bruce Peterson, the entire rig was carbon fiber and the fin was made by Santa Barbara's Chuck Ames. I was pretty crippled up at the time after rupturing 2 discs in my neck the previous fall. I don't want to think about how bad my back was at the time. However even at 20 lbs. over my racing weight I still managed to run the inshore flats around Fisherman's Huts at well over 40 MPH and the offshore run between Eagle beach and the Lighthouse all the while laying down jibes like the pros and savvy locals. I have fond memories of the place and the people who shared the obsession. It was the golden era of this sport! Sailing here will never be the same due to the building of several more mega resorts that now block a lot the wind blowing out of the bay close to shore. Progress caught up with this place just as age catches all of us. Uncle Jerry |
