26 and counting

See photos from our weekend HERE
See a pond skimming video compilation HERE
See a bouldering championship video HERE

Colorado in June, what a place! Another great weekend in the mountains. We headed up to Vail on Saturday and met up with our friends Jaimee and Wes at the Vail Teva Mountain Games. Every spring, they put on the country's largest celebration of mountain sport, soul and culture, with professional and amateur outdoor adventure athletes from around the world competing in seven sports and 21 disciplines including mtn. and road biking, trail/mud running, kayaking, rafting, climbing, fly fishing paragliding and dog competitions. They also have art, vendors and live music.


We caught the IFSC Bouldering World Cup finals for men and women. There were some crazy athletes in this comp. Click HERE to see a quick video of one of the women flashing (completing on first attempt) a route. We also saw the end of the Kayaking Freestyle event. Jaimee and Wes headed back to their camping spot down the valley and Melissa and I took off back over Vail Pass to the condo in Keystone. We enjoyed a dip in the hot tub and slept in a bit Sunday morning before Erich showed up to head up to Arapahoe Basin with us. Yes, the Basin is was still open. Last day to be exact. September 15, 2008 - June 7, 2009. That's quite a season! 26 days for me and 25 for Melissa. So far …

The day started out a bit cool, but with mostly blue skies. The snow was almost a slush, but more like a granular slush because of the cool temp. There were only a few runs left open, but we got some good turns in and met up with my friend Waxler for a few more runs. About three quarters of the way up the mountain, there is a flat area with a pond that has formed from the melting snow. This results in many people trying their hand at pond skimming, some more successful than others. Click HERE to see a compilation video of a few people trying some skimming. The last guy had a rough time at it and ended up ejecting from his skis and supermaning across the slush and ice. He was a bit scrapped up and cold at the end, but OK overall.


As we headed to the car, a storm moved in and the weather took a quick turn for the worse. Snow/hail began to fall and thunder clapped all around. We found out later that the top lift was hit by lightning, fortunately no one was hurt. This ended up being part of the same storm that hit the Denver area producing baseball size hail and five tornadoes. Glad we weren't there!



Well, that ends the "resort" ski season for '08/'09. But the skiing is not done yet. We are attempting to ski every month till the resorts open again. That will mean earning our turns by hiking into areas like St. Mary's Glacier or 4th of July Bowl. Stay tuned to CO Adventure to see how that turns out for us!

See photos from our weekend HERE
See a pond skimming video compilation HERE
See a bouldering championship video HERE

Almost Famous

The 2009 Summit County Bike guide is out on newsstands across the county. You can see a digital version HERE. Check out page A40 for a familiar face. This shot was taken a couple years ago during a photo shoot for the 2007 Bike Guide cover.

Ascent of Mt Shavano

See photos from our trip HERE
See a video compilation from our hike HERE

It's the start of hiking season again! So, on Saturday we headed South West to the Sawatch Range near Salida and Buena Vista, CO to hike Mt. Shavano (a) (14,229'). It's about a 3.5 hour drive with some great scenery ranging from suburbs, to farms and mountain passes to free range high altitude plains. The weather was a bit suspect, with thunderclouds rolling in and out of the mountains. As we drove into the Buena Vista valley, we could see the Collegiate Peaks in the Northernmost point of the Sawatch range across the plains. The clouds surrounding the peak of Mt. Shavano (b) did not look very inviting, but we hoped for the best and continued the drive along a dirt road to the trailhead.


After gearing up in the parking lot, we headed out on to the Colorado Trail for a short distance and then onto the Mt. Savano trail for about an hour hike (3/4 mi.) up some steep terrain to a perfect camping spot. We enjoyed a camp meal of Mountain House mac and cheese and a game of Farkel by the camp fire and then headed to bed.


Sunday started early, 4:30 a.m.! It was still dark as we ate a hearty oatmeal breakfast and packed up camp. We left our large packs at camp and headed up the mountain with day packs as the sun rose. The trail provided numerous great views of the Southern Sawatch range and the blue skies were very promising, however the weather in Colorado can turn on a dime at elevation, so we kept an eye out for incoming storms. We hit tree line at about 11,700' and could then see most of our trail up to the saddle, still covered with snow. Fortunately the snow was firm so we did not have to worry about the agony of postholing on our way up. There were about seven others behind us on the trail, but due to our campsite in on the trail and early rising, we were pretty much alone till we hit the summit.


The last climb off the saddle was a tough one, with a steep grade and deeper snow. As we hit the top, one other gentleman joined us. And soon seven others. Usually you can see anywhere from 40 to 60 or more people on the trail of a 14er, but due to the early season timing, we were able to enjoy the mostly solitude trip.


It took us four hours to ascend about 3,600'. The views from the top were amazing. I've been up here before, about six years ago. Mt. Shavano was my first 14er. This was Melissa's first time up Mt. Shavano, so she now has eight under her belt, while I stayed at nine (11 total ascents with two doubles). There are 54 14ers in Colorado, so we still have a ways to go.

There is an option of traversing along the ridge and down to another ridge that leads up to Tabeguache Peak (pronounced "tab-uh-wash," with the accent on the first syllable) at 14,155'. We pondered over heading that way to bag another peak, but the clouds were starting to grow in size and were very dark. Our decision to head back down was a good once, since it started to get socked in and hail as we hit tree line again.

The descent was uneventful besides the bit of hail, and we were glad to arrive back at camp. However, we now had to load back up with all our overnight gear and hike out the last mile. We hit the car with a total round trip time of seven hours and fourty five minutes, not bad for our first 14er of the season.

Which one will be next. Evans, Sherman, Lincoln? Keep your eyes on COAdventure.blogspot.com to see where we head to next!

Map of trail
See photos and video from our trip HERE
See a video compilation from our hike HERE

25 and counting

Check out photos from the ski weekend HERE

Melissa and I headed up to the mountains this past weekend to enjoy some spring skiing. Day 24 and 25 for me, 23 and 24 for Melissa on the season. Unfortunately it was not the best weekend weather wise, but the skiing was not too bad. It rained down in Keystone, but mostly snow up at Arapahoe Basin. We took five runs on Saturday and then decided to do a hike/ski on Sunday. The East Wall has a few places that you can hike to and then choose from numerous chutes to descend from. We picked the North Pole for our descent. Great hike and we even found some fresh powder towards the bottom of the North Pole. Skiing in May! Maybe we'll even be able to hit up a few days in June!

Check out photos from the ski weekend HERE

Craft Beer

As some of you may know, Melissa and I are attempting to visit all the breweries in Colorado. There are about 90 or so, the most of any state in the country, and we have been to 36 of them so far. Most of these breweries are small and independent craft breweries. There are about 1,400 in the U.S. today. Colorado is also home to MillerCoors (Golden) and Budweiser (Ft. Collins). We try to stay away from those brews that are created with corn and rice and are over mass produced, to support the local artisans of good craft beer.

To honor these craft beers, the Brewers Association has created American Craft Beer Week. You can learn more about this special week HERE. Download the Declaration of Beer Independence PDF and pledge to enjoy good tasting, quality, local beer.

You may also enjoy this video, I Am A Craft Brewer, a collaborative video representing the camaraderie, character and integrity of the American Craft Brewing movement. Created by Greg Koch, CEO of the Stone Brewing Co. and Chris & Jared of Redtail Media … and more than 35 amazing craft brewers from all over the country.

If you have about 3 minutes, please take the time to watch and learn.

"One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised." - Chinua Achebe
CHEERS TO GOOD BEERS!

I Am A Craft Brewer from I Am A Craft Brewer on Vimeo.

This is Your Brain on Adventure

How adventurous are you?
You stand on a 300-foot cliff and think, Mommy. Ted Davenport stands there and thinks, Sick air! The difference, neuroscientists are finding, may lie in the very anatomy of our minds.

Take the following survey to find out:
SURVEY

My results:
Your Adventure Index score is 9, which compares to a national average of 5 for all adults.

Read more HERE.

Happy Earth Day!

Go hug a tree!!!

1. Bank Online - Online Banking, BillPay and Paperless Statements
Not only will you save time and money with online services, you'll help the environment. If every U.S. household stopped receiving paper bills and statements, 687,000 tons of paper would be saved every year, enough to circle the Earth 239 times.
Javelin Strategy and Research: www.payitgreen.org/get-the-facts.html

2. Bright Idea
At home, replace your light bulbs with CFL bulbs. If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star qualified bulb, it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars¹.
¹www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls

3. B.Y.O.Bag
Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide. That amounts to over one million per minute. Billions of bags end up in land fills each year. When shopping, bring your own reusable bags. Most grocers offer them for less than $1.50. The reusable bags preserve resources by cutting down on the huge number of paper and plastic bags that are discarded annually.
www.reusablebags.com/facts.php

4. Give up the Glow
A screen saver is not an energy saver. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 75% of all electricity consumed in the home is standby power used to keep electronics running when those TVs, DVRs, computers, monitors and stereos are "off.” For example, turning off your computer when not in use would save you about $70 a year. The carbon impact would be even greater; shutting it off would reduce the machine's carbon emissions by 83%. Unplug to save more.
www.time.com/time/specials/2007/environment

Bonus Tip: Pass the Green Torch
Going green with your children is a great way to spend time together, have fun as a family, and develop habits in your children that will benefit the environment for years to come. Check out www.kidsbegreen.org to help your children go (and grow) green! Give your kids the responsibility for your family's recycling program. Consider matching whatever they earn through recycling. They'll learn about going green and saving money at the same time.
www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/green-living/ways-to-go-green-4

Want to know your financial paper footprint? Click here