mullerb's musings

55F and partly sunny on Feb 25. Makes for a perfect long lunch break on wheels :-) My legs definitely have that tele-thigh feel. Strong as ever but not built for fast twitch. Took it a bit easy and enjoyed the long pump uphill from Lefthand Canyon.

The Showman's - Jodi, Bob, and Dakota (and Rider) - invited us up to their condo at the base of the Quicksilver Lift and Peak 10. Slope-side living is sweet! They have a nice spot tucked in the woods overlooking the river, on the south end of town. Just amazing. Leah hitched a ride up Friday eve with Mary, Tim, and Maddie and we headed up early Sat AM. After a quick unloading of the car, I hit the slopes with the Kelly, Leah, Maddie and snowboarding Dakota. We mostly stayed over on Peak 10. Bob joined us after lunch and we did a quick take on Peak 9. Lots of hidden goodies if you know where to look. If you don't, you end up on those long greenie meenies that stretch way down towards town. Rachel spent the day skate skiing at the slope-side xcountry track with Mary and Tim while Jodi spent the day wallowing in misery at home with a bad cold. A fondue dinner topped off the day. Sunday it was just Kelly and I on the slopes with the Leah and Dakota hanging out till noon while Rache...

Woohoo! A grand 3-day trip in the heart of the Colorado Rockies! Varda and Alex scored the permit for this one. Having to put in a year ahead of times, you just never know if these things are going to pan out. From 2009_02 Jackal Hut Trip We left Boulder at sleepy 6am and where clicked in for the 4 mile, 2300ft gain ski up Ranch Creek by 9:30 or so. A flat mile across the old Camp Hale area, with a crossing of the Eagle River, was a gentle intro to the ski. After that, it was up. And up. And up. The climb was much more tolerable than the similar hike up to the neighboring Fowler-Hilliard hut. This one has a nice way of breaking up the work instead of one relentless slope. Add the views and just magnificent woodlands to the mix and the 5 hours went by quickly. The kiddos, once again, did an awesome job. They are troopers. Jackal must have the most uncompromising views of any of the huts I've been to. Just amazing. We didn't get to take that view in when we first got there - it w...

Just got back from a chilly ride out to 75th/Nelson. Got my first flat tire in ages. A fricken gravel truck had it's rear dump gate open up right in front of me on Nelson! Tons of golf ball sized gravel covered the road. Silly me: instead of getting off the bike to walk through this mine field, I thought I could weave my way through. Duh. My rear tube lasted all of 30 seconds. The funny thing is how things transpired. By the time I was done swapping out my tube, a cop had the truck pulled over just a quarter mile down the road (hopefully issuing a citation or two) and a street sweeper and front loader had most of the street swept clean. It reminded me of how an ant colony responds to intruders or something - quick and efficient and before you know it looks like nothing ever happened. The rest of the ride was event-free though it got chillier and chillier as flurries started to sweep down from the foothills to the west.