UltraRob's Adventures

If there’s a moment that stands out in “Warren Miller’s Dynasty,” it’s this: Mono Skier X. Yeah. That’s right – insane Skier X featuring disabled athletes on mono skis at the Winter X Games. This sport is crazy anyway, but these adaptive competitors take it to the next level. Their slogan says it all: “If there’s nothing you can do about it… you either get busy living, or you get busy dying.”

This year’s ski film hits the Pikes Peak Center Friday and Saturday, and it features all the powder-filled shots of years past. The film’s director and producer Max Bervy says the film’s showing “is like a family reunion, held in neck-deep pow, with mandatory air required for entry. It leaves no snowball unturned.”

That said, “Dynasty” won’t disappoint those who make a yearly pilgrimage to see the newest Warren Miller film.

It has the usual amount of jaw-dropping stunts and scenery, and sweeps from Lake Tahoe to British Columbia, Washington to Colorado and Alaska to Michigan. Chris Davenport travels to northern Norway to ski above the Arctic Circle. Chris Anthony and Austin Ross look for the birthplace of skiing in the wilds of northwestern China, and find a culture where homemade wooden skis are standard equipment. And favorites from the past – Lucas and Adam Schrab (remember the farm boys jumping over mountains of hay?) return with an aging school bus and wooden ramps.

In the recent past, Miller films have celebrated the rise of the snowboarder. This one is different, with snowboards showing up in only three segments. This film appears to be dedicated to new schoolers and backcountry stars.

- Deb Acord

Atomic Coax Skis Price: $699.00

Atomic Blog Skis Price: $599.00

Atomic Savage TI Skis Price: $849.00

Labels: Colorado Springs, skiing

If you’re a Winter Park fan, check this out: The resort is offering free lift tickets from its opening day, Nov. 18, to Christmas Day, and will hand over the tickets when guests book a minimum of two nights of lodging during that time.

Check out the “Ski Free at Winter Park” lodging package at www.playwinterpark.com or call 800-979-9874.

- Deb Acord

Anon Hawkeye Goggles Price: $99.50

Anon Figment Goggles Regular Price: $89.95 $69.99 on sale

Anon Solace Goggles Price: $114.95

Labels: Colorado, skiing

You might think you know all the tips that make a better skier, but do you know where to stow your PB&J so it doesn’t get squished before lunchtime?
Skiing magazine includes this valuable bit of info in “Tips, Tricks, and Advice.”

About that sandwich? Don’t stuff into into your jacket pocket. Instead, keep it safe in your pants. “Unzip the outer thigh vent and slip your sandwich behind your knee so it drops to your calf,” the article says. Your gaiter will prevent it from falling out and from getting flattened.

Other valuable tips from Skiing mag?

• Protect your shins by wedging a neoprene beer cozy between your leg and the front of your boot before you tighten the straps.
• Freshen your stinky ski boots after a long day by placing dryer sheets in them.
• After a fall that packs your ski goggles, suck the snow out of the front lens before it can melt. Once the vents are clear, dry them with something soft.

For more unconventional tips, check out Skiing magazine

- Deb Acord

Spyder Switch Ski Pants For Men Regular Price: $175.00 $122.50 on sale

Mens Spyder CR Pants Regular Price: $215.00 $57.99 on sale

Spyder Traveler Ii Pants Regular Price: $100.00 $69.93 on sale

Labels: skiing

Admit it – you’re getting excited about skiing. And one of the indicators of a new season is coming up – the annual Warren Miller movie. This year’s film, called “Dynasty,” is a celebration of the 60th anniversary of Warren Miller ski movies. It opened a bit over a week ago in Utah, and will hit Colorado Springs at the Pikes Peak Center Nov. 20 and 21. It features new film footage alongside gems from the past six decades of Warren Miller films. “Dynasty” is narrated by free skier Jonny Moseley; one segment features Chris Davenport and another shows monoskiers tackling last winter’s X-Games skier cross course.

To further celebrate 60 years of Warren Miller films, Ski magazine and Skiing magazine have joined with the ski industry to offer 60 days of giveaways. Every day from Oct. 1 to Dec. 1, one person will win one of 60 prizes, including skis, lift tickets and resort accommodations. The grand prize is a four-day trip for two to Snowbird, Utah. To enter, go to Skinet.com, log in and enter by answering a trivia question or performing a Facebook task.

Even if you don’t win a prize in the contest, at some Colorado locations including Colorado Springs you will “win” a free lift ticket when you buy your Warren Miller tickets. As in past years, ticketholders will get a ticket to Winter Park, Copper Mountain or Steamboat. There are various promotions at other locations across the country.

- Deb Acord

The North Face Mia Triclimate Parka Womens Price: $298.95

The North Face McMurdo Parka Boys Price: $199.00

The North Face Venture Parka Womens Regular Price: $128.95 $64.48 on sale

Labels: Colorado, skiing

At a recent International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, scientists presented hundreds of papers on how robotics can come into play in such diverse tasks as making energy technologies more affordable, assisting with hearing aid implantation and teaching Braille, and controlling unmanned helicopters.

That’s all important stuff, but here’s what’s really cool: A skiing robot, presented by Bojan Menec from the Jozef Stefan Institute.

The robot uses the carving ski technique, according to Menec’s abstract, and “is capable of autonomous navigating between the race gates, avoiding obstacles and maintaining a stable position during skiing on a previously unknown ski slope.”

According to CNET News, Nemec says the robot could test ski equipment or be a model for virtual-reality skiing. The robots probably won’t be clogging ski areas any time soon, although they probably could replace ski instructors.

- Deb Acord

Labels: skiing

One of the best things about being a fifth-grader in Colorado is the Fifth Grade Ski Passport. It has always been the best deal in Colorado, offering three free days at every one of Colorado’s ski resorts. The passport is offered by Colorado Ski Country USA, the trade umbrella for Colorado’s resorts. But last season, Vail Resorts pulled out of the Ski Country association, and the passports no longer offered free days at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin.

Many parents were sad that their kids couldn’t experience the thrills of Breck's Peak 9 or the vast backcountry of Vail.

They can rejoice – Vail Resorts has created a program called School of Shred. Colorado fifth and sixth graders can get four free days of skiing or snowboarding at each of the company’s four resorts. For more information, go to Vail's pass web site.

Ski Country still offers its passports that give fifth graders three free days at their 21 member resorts. For $99, sixth graders get four free days at each of the resorts. For more information about the passport, go to Colorado Ski Country’s site.

- Deb Acord

Labels: Colorado, skiing

$1,295.  That's the price you'll pay for the newest ski-boot technology. Billed as the world's most expensive ski boot (Dynafit and SCARPA have pricier AT/randonee boots), the Apex Sports Group's Apex boot caught my eye not because of its price, but because it promises comfort as well as control (and will help eliminate the clompy Frankenstein walk to the lifts).

The Boulder-based company's Apex looks like the offspring of a snowboard boot and ski boot, with heat-moldable walkaway inner boots paired with a 100-percent carbon-fiber outer shell.  "Soft shell" ski boots have been on the scene for a while (Rossignol offered a Soft 3 which combined some snowboard boot characteristics with traditional ski boot technology, but it's not in its roster of new boots this year); none had the form and function of the Apex.

The Apex also made the October issue of Outside magazine, in an article celebrating the newest technology.  Other cool new winter-ready innovations in that article: Isaora's Matrix Plaid Insulated Shirt ($229), which looks like your grandpa's old flannel but performs like a mountaineering jacket, and Alite Designs'Monarch Butterfly Chair, a two-legged (that's right - two-legged) camp chair ($59) that weighs only 18 ounces and keeps your butt off the cold ground on those winter camping trips.

- Deb Acord

Salomon X3 Lab Soft Ski Boot Mens Price: $899.99

Tecnica Moon Boot WE Soft Womens Regular Price: $279.95 $223.96 on sale

Rossignol BC X5 Boot Price: $129.99

Labels: gear, skiing

Wow! Some of the aspens in my yard haven't even turned to gold yet, and I can go skiing?!

Loveland Ski Area announced today that its opening day will be the earliest in 40 years - tomorrow (Wednesday).  Chair 1 will start moving at 9 a.m. at Loveland and skiers will have top-to-bottom access.  Arapahoe Basin said it would open at 9 a.m. on Friday, the earliest day in that ski area's history.

- Deb Acord

DaKine 10 in Snowboard Scraper Regular Price: $7.95 $4.97 on sale

DAKINE Freestyle Snowboard Bag Regular Price: $49.95 $29.97 on sale

Dakine Pipe Snowboard Bag Regular Price: $34.95 $20.97 on sale

Labels: Colorado, skiing

What’s new at Colorado’s ski resorts this season? Here's the news from Colorado Ski Country, the trade association for 22 of the state's resorts:

• Aspen Skiing Company is introducing a 100-percent hands-free radio-frequency gate access program across its four mountains. Lift tickets are plastic cards with a chip inside detecting guests as they move seamlessly through lift lines.
• Crested Butte has added a new base area, Adventure Park, with a synthetic “ice” skating rink, bungee trampolines and a climbing wall.
• Echo Mountain is launching new Ski & Ride school programs this year, with several multi-week programs for kids ages 4-14 and their parents. Night series programs are also planned for specific skier types.
• At Loveland, the Love Park terrain park will get more new features.
• Monarch has added high-end skis and boards to its demo fleet, and has brought in some beginner-specific boots. On the mountain, tree islands have been removed on Mirage, Turbo, Snowburn and Short & Sweet runs.
• Silverton Mountain has purchased an Astar B3 helicopter for mountain operations.
• Ski Cooper has enhanced its rental fleet and added another Snow cat to its Chicago Ridge program, allowing the resort to offer sightseeing excursions for non-skiers and riders.
• Steamboat has opened a new Ski & Snowboard School ticket office and patrol first-aid base facility.
• Telluride has added more terrain for expert skiers with the opening of Chutes 2-5, offering wide-open above-tree line couloirs and chutes dropping 1,600 vertical feet.
• Wolf Creek is opening the new Raven’s Nest day lodge, mid-mountain on top of the Raven chairlift.

- Deb Acord

Rossignol Zenith Z15 Mutix Skis Rossignol Axial2 140 Ti Bindings 2009 Regular Price: $1550.00 $599.90 on sale

Rossignol Phantom SC 80 Skis Rossignol Freebeam Axial2 120 Bindings 2009 Regular Price: $1100.00 $549.90 on sale

Rossignol Zenith 10 Oversize Skis Rossignol Axial2 120 Bindings 2009 Regular Price: $1250.00 $589.90 on sale

Labels: Colorado, skiing

The skies are hazy, the days are warm, and the leaves have just started to turn in the high country, but it’s time to think about skiing. Copper Mountain, Steamboat and Winter Park resorts just announced they’ve frozen their winter season pass prices through Labor Day (Monday). And this year, passes can be purchased online at www.skicolorado.com

The Rocky Mountain Super Pass (for unlimited skiing and riding at Copper and Winter Park) is $399 for adults, $309 for teens and $209 for children and adults over 70. A Patriot Pass with a military ID is $219 for adults and $104 for children.

The Super Pass Plus, which includes six unrestricted days at Steamboat, is $439 for adults, $329 for teens, $229 for children and $239 for those 70 and older. (And the Patriot Super Pass Plus is $229 fro adults and $114 for children.)

Individual resort passes for adults are $369 for Winter Park, $359 for Copper and $1,199 for Steamboat.

The College Pass is $329 for adults, with unlimited skiing and riding at Winter Park and Copper for full-time college students, along with six unrestricted days at Steamboat.

The popular Four Pass is $119 for Copper and $129 for Winter Park.
The Rocky Mountain Ultimate Pass, for those with both time and money, is $1,259 for adults, $699 for teens, $449 for children six-12, $579 for age 70 and older, and $30 for age five and under.

- Deb Acord

Labels: Colorado, skiing

If you're looking for a rain jacket for your outdoor adventures, there are 3 main kinds of materials. Membranes, coated fabrics and vinyl.

Vinyl is cheap and keeps water out but also does a really job of keeping your sweat in. Membrane fabrics are the most breathable. Coated fabrics breath somewhat but not as well as the membrane fabrics.

The 2 main membrane fabrics are Gore-Tex and eVent. Gore-Tex now comes in a couple different types. I've seen lab tests that say that eVent is more breathable than Gore-Tex but probably not by enough to make a big difference in the real world. Gore-Tex and eVent are also very durable because they're made of 2 or more layers.

If you're working out at a high heart rate, you'll still have moisture build up even with Gore-Tex and eVent. Still you shouldn't get totally soaked and keeping cold water out will help keep you warm.

The advantage of jackets made with coated fabrics is they don't cost as much. The big name outdoor jacket makers such as North Face, Columbia and Arcteryx use different names for their fabrics. Jackets with coated fabric will become less waterproof as the coating wears off.

Although there are only a few different types of fabrics, the design of the jackets can make a big difference in how well the jacket performs. Many jackets provide vents on the upper back and also zippered armpit vents. Some jackets have elastic around the wrists and others also provide velco so you can better control the fit.

A jacket with a hood will keep water from getting in around the back of the neck. Some hoods are removable. Personally I don't like the feel of an attached hood when I turn my head. I get a jacket with a removable hood and don't use it. I have been using the Mountain Hardware Windstopper hat. It's not ideal for hard rain but rain in Colorado doesn't generally last too long. I used similar gear on an Alaska expedition and backpacking in rain in Washington and it worked fairly well.

I've long used Columbia jackets. They used to fit me well and they warranted them when zippers would break after 4-5 years of hard use. Honestly I wouldn't have complained if they just told me I had worn the jacket out. The last time I needed a new jacket, the Columbia jackets no longer fit me well.

I ended up getting a North Face Triclimate jacket and really like it. I've also used jackets that consist of a separate shell and a fleece liner. I rarely zip them together but I feel they fit better than trying to combine separate fleece and shells.

The great video above describing waterproof jackets is from Webtogs. They carry quality outdoor gear including North Face Jackets in the UK and ship throughout Europe.

The North Face Obsidian Triclimate Jacket Price: $249.00

The North Face Fer Sure 3 in 1 Triclimate Jacket Womens Price: $229.00

The North Face Hero Triclimate Jacket Price: $199.00

Labels: gear, hiking, skiing

This past week, I've enjoyed reading what readers would buy with a $50 gift card and what adventure they'd use it on. Mike Panic is the lucky winner of the $50 cycling and outdoor gear giveaway. Congratulations!

This is what he said.

Thank you! I've been looking / wanting a new travel bag, my Thor MX bag is too big to take for most week-long trips and I'm going to St. Thomas in June and need a manageable bag to carry a week's worth of clothing. While I should be buying new running shoes or a new rear derailleur for my road bike, I feel this Gravis bag in Rebel Yellow would be the best use of the $50 for me right now to help me schlep my gear to a sunny island this summer. I'll even send you a postcard!

Oh, I still need to purchase Thule LB50 load bars to complete the roof rack system I pieced together this winter.

Mike, I'm looking forward to the postcard! To claim your gift card, send me an email with your choice of cycling and outdoor gift card.

Victorinox Swiss Army Werks Traveler Messenger Bag Regular Price: $200.00 $59.95 on sale

Victorinox Swiss Army 18 Wheeled Upright Werks Traveler 30 Luggage Regular Price: $480.00 $191.96 on sale

Werks Traveler 22 Expandable Travel Bag Price: $299.95

Labels: cycling, gear, giveaway, hiking, mountain biking, running, skiing

Update 3/16/09: The gear winner has been announced.

Everyone loves to get some cool new gear. It's even better if it's free. You have a chance to win some free gear this week.

I am giving away a $50 gift certificate to the winner's choice of these cycling and outdoor stores. Deadline to enter is Sunday, March 15th. To enter use the search box to find your gear. Then tell me in the comments below what gear you'll get if you win and what adventure you'll use it on.

You don't have to limit the price of your gear but if it's more than $50 you'll need to use some of your own money. Put some thought into your comment because the winner will be mostly random but if you write something I like you could increase your odds.

The winner will be announced on Monday, March 16th. The winner will have until Wednesday, March 18th to contact me with the choice of gift certificate. It'll be easiest if you pick one that has electronic certificates.

Subscribe to the blog feed so you don't miss out on future giveaways.

Good Luck!

Update: I really intend for this to be easy to enter. As long as you aren't lame and don't try, you'll have a good chance at winning since I'll pick a random number. You just need to write something simple like I'd buy a headlamp so I can go on a moonlight hike. If you do write something really cool, I'll enter you twice.

Camelbak MULE Regular Price: $84.99 $72.99 on sale

CamelBak MULE NV 100 oz S09 Regular Price: $110.00 $99.00 on sale

Camelbak MULE 100 oz Price: $89.95

Labels: cycling, gear, giveaway, hiking, mountain biking, running, skiing

The poor economy is in the news everyday. We all know people who have been laid off or been laid off ourselves. Even so there are places around the world that are less well off than we are.

World Bicycle Relief is an organization that is providing bicycles to aid in poverty relief and disaster assistance. World Bicycle Relief has distributed nearly 50,000 bicycles since the initiative's inception in 2005. That's a lot of wheels supporting healthcare, education and economic development opportunities in poverty relief and disaster assistance situations.

The organization has some big names backing its efforts, too, such as Johan Bruyneel, the mastermind behind 8 of the last 9 Tour de France victories, who sits on the Board of Directors. SRAM and Trek are lead sponsors.

From now until Christmas, any purchases you make after searching for cycling and outdoor gear on UltraRob.com will help support World Bicycle Relief. I'm donating 10% of site earnings to World Bicycle Relief.

An anonymous donor is matching dollar for dollar donations to World Bicycle Relief through the end of the year. Bicycles cost only $134. With the donation matching it will be easy to supply several bikes.

Venture Zephyr Snowboard Price: $335.00

Bonfire Mens Venture Snowboard Pants Regular Price: $159.95 $119.95 on sale

Bonfire Venture Snowboard Pants Sapphire Mens Regular Price: $159.95 $119.95 on sale

Labels: cycling, mountain biking, skiing

It's been quiet here on the blog this week. It's not because I've been in the backcountry having an adventure. I've been busy working on the cycling and outdoor gear search part of the site.

There's been a nice increase in traffic over the last couple months. Because of this, eBay listings weren't getting displayed some of the time. eBay limits the number of listings a site can get until they certify how you use them.

In order for them to certify my site, I needed to make a few changes. I made the changes and today they notified me that the site is certified.

Marmot Frontside Jacket Price: $225.00

Marmot Tamarack Jacket Regular Price: $200.00 $119.95 on sale

Marmot Mica Jacket Price: $130.00

Labels: cycling, outdoor gear, skiing

Backcountry Outlet has a great coupon now that increases any already discounted item to 50% off. That means if the gear is already 20% off you'll get an additional 30% off. If the item is already 50% off the coupon won’t work. Use coupon code 37A-1-G0XND. The deal continues through 10/15/08.

Backcountry.com also has a coupon code 37B-1-QYDRJ for 25% off all Goat products which includes tee shirts, hoodies, hats, softshell jackets and more. This coupon expires sooner on 9/30/08.

You can keep up on their latest deals by subscribing to the Backcountry.com and Backcountry Outlet deals feeds.

K2 Sodo Telemark Ski Regular Price: $589.95 $353.97 on sale

7TM Telemark 7TM Ski Brakes Price: $59.95

K2 Backlash Telemark Ski Price: $599.99

Labels: cycling, outdoor gear, skiing

Last month I supported the Fat Cyclist and his wife, who has cancer, by donating earnings from this site for 2 days. Just after the fund was set up to help them, Fatty announced he would be holding a "triathalon" on June 21st to help the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Since not everybody can go to Utah for the "triathalon", there will be a raffle. For every $5 donated to the Lance Armstrong Foundation using MikeRoadie’s donation page, you will get one ticket. Donate before June 21st and be sure to read the detailed instructions on how to make sure you're included in the raffle. There will be some great prizes given out.

I won't be going to Utah and I'm not going to enter the raffle. I'm going to wait to the end of June and donate 20% of the earnings from this site. Most of the earnings come from people buying some great gear. Head over and search for some new gear. Buy some gear and you'll be helping out cancer patients.

Syntace C3 Aero Bar Price: $137.50

Syntace C 2 Streamliner SL Clip On Aero Price: $76.50

Syntace Syntace VRO OnePointFive Mountain Bike Stem Price: $99.99

Labels: cycling, hiking, skiing

Backcounty.com has quickly become one of the leading online stores for outdoor gear. Last fall they had great prices on a few cycling items in their Outlet store. Now they've added a cycling gear section on the main site. Once they get me the new cycling gear listings, you'll be able to find them with the cycling and outdoor gear search.

Right now they're having their Semi-Annual Sale with winter gear up to 70% off. Here in Colorado there's still plenty of winter left to break in some cool new gear.

Sram XX Rear Derailleur Price: $265.00

SRAM Red Rear Derailleur SRAM Red Rear Derailleur Regular Price: $304.00 $297.49 on sale

Sram X7 Rear Derailleur Price: $38.99

Labels: cycling, skiing

I've been meaning to write up about some of the cross country skiing I did over the New Years weekend. I've been really wiped out all week. I got a sore throat last week but really didn't feel very sick otherwise except Sunday. My throat was so sore though that I had trouble sleeping a couple nights and got dehydrated one day because it hurt too much to swallow. It turns out that I had strep throat. The sore throat is pretty much gone but I need to catch up on sleep. Hopefully in the next couple days I'll get some energy back.

Spyder Alpen Jacket Insulated Ski Jacket Mens Price: $999.95

Burton SW Puff the Magic Jacket Snowboard Jacket Men Regular Price: $179.95 $79.99 on sale

Francaise Des Jeux FDJ Team Winter Cycling Jacket Team Cycling Jacket Price: $219.00

Labels: Colorado, skiing

A big thanks to everyone who participated in my gift card giveaway. I had planned to start it a few days earlier but had too many other things going on. It seems everyone else was also busy with Christmas. This gave the ones who took the time very good odds.

First here are the ones that helped spread the word about the giveaway.

• Coach Levi
• Cyclelicious
• ProfessionalJackass.com
• Adventure Junkie
• Bicycle Frenzy
• NannaBee
• noodlestatic

Random.org picked ProfessionalJackass.com as the winner.

The giveaway was really about getting feedback and I only got 2 comments. That gave each entrant a 50% chance of winning something extra for Christmas. Both gave excellent feedback and it looks like I need to work on improving the search matching.

• kwc
• NannaBee

For this one, Random.org picked NannaBee.

Congratulations to ProfessionalJackass.com and NannaBee! They get their choice of gift cards from this page.

I'll probably do something similar in a couple months when people aren't so busy so keep an eye out.

Gordini Da Gore Goose II Gore TexR Mittens Waterproof 600 Fill Power For Women Regular Price: $80.00 $42.46 on sale

Merrell Shoes Mens Intercept Gore Tex GORE TEX Shoe Price: $119.95

GORE BIKE WEAR Cross Gore tex Jacket Regular Price: $199.99 $149.99 on sale

Labels: cycling, hiking, skiing, snowboarding

Just a reminder that today is the last day to enter to win a $50 gift card. All the detail are here and the list of gift cards is here. Everybody is busy with Christmas shopping so you have a really good chance of winning.

I'm not going to be picky about the exact time for what is tonight. Any comment that's submitted by the time I check in the morning will get counted. I'm not exactly a morning person so it won't be too early.

Smith Fuse Snowboard Snowboard Goggles Throwing StarsPlatinum Lens Mens Regular Price: $89.95 $69.95 on sale

Oakley O Frame Snowboard Snowboard Goggles Matte WhitePersimmon Lens Mens Regular Price: $60.00 $44.95 on sale

Smith Fuse Snowboard Snowboard Goggles WhiteRC36 Lens Mens Regular Price: $69.95 $54.95 on sale

Labels: cycling, hiking, skiing, snowboarding

I've been working on a cycling and outdoor gear search on this site for a little over a year. I have a lot more things I want to do with it plus some things need fixing. With my limited time, it will be a while before I get to some of the things.

Here's your chance to help me and win a $50 gift card. So that I can spend my time working on things you think would make the biggest difference, I'm going to give away a gift card in return for suggestions.. Look around, search for something you're dreaming about for Christmas. Then write a comment on this post with what you'd like added or what needs improving.

I want to provide incentive to provide good suggestions so I'm not going to award the gift card totally randomly. I also don't want to spend a lot of time agonizing over which is the best comment. I'm going to pick a handful of the best comments and then pick one of them randomly.

Comments must be submitted by Sunday night, December 23rd. Make sure that I can easily find your e-mail address if you link to your site or that you put it in your comments. Feel free to use name[]mysite.com or something so your e-mail doesn't get grabbed by the spam bots. I'll announce a winner sometime on Monday, Christmas Eve. If you win, you can pick any gift card from this page. I prefer you pick one that can be e-mailed but I'll have one mailed as long as you live in the US.

A 2nd way to win a $50 gift card is to help spread the word about this giveaway and the cycling and outdoor gear search. You'll need to have a blog or website for this one. Write something and link to both this post and the cycling and outdoor gear search page.

Once you've linked, either leave a comment here on where to find them or send me an e-mail. I'm going to end this contest a day earlier than the other one so your readers will have time to enter. That means Saturday night, December 22nd.

For the 2nd giveaway, I'll pick a winner totally randomly. The winner will be announced at the same time as the other giveaway. The winner will also get the same choice of gift cards.

Tubbs Snowshoes Girls Storm Snowshoes Price: $79.95

Tubbs Snowshoes Womens Wilderness Snowshoes Price: $219.95

Tubbs Snowshoes Womens Venture Snowshoes Price: $189.95

Labels: cycling, hiking, skiing, snowboarding

A few weeks ago I posted about Chris Davenport skiing all 54 fourteeners in Colorado in 363 days. He has a book with over 200 pictures that supposed to start shipping tomorrow according to the Ski the 14ers website. Amazon has Ski the 14ers available for pre-ordering. I think it would make a great Christmas gift. If you don't know who to give it to, you can send it to me.

K2 Anti Piste Telemark Skis For Men Regular Price: $559.00 $324.95 on sale

K2 Shes Piste Telemark Ski Womens Regular Price: $469.95 $328.99 on sale

Womens Piste Pants Price: $200.00

Labels: Colorado, skiing

In January Chris Davenport finished skiing all 54 fourteeners in Colorado in 363 days. I have hiked all of them and done winter climbs or skiing on a few of them. I certainly couldn't ski most of them and have trouble even imagining anyone being able to. A couple that seem really tough to me are Little Bear and Pyramid.

The Forest Service has said that no video can be used that was shot in wilderness areas from a helicopter. I've read several places that no video from wilderness areas can be used without any mention of a helicopter. I don't understand use of video taking by someone skiing but I agree helicopters shouldn't be hovering over wilderness areas.

Out there posted a link today of a video clip that's been on YouTube for a couple months. It shows some really good shots of how pretty it is in the backcountry in the winter. It also shows some shots of crazy skiing. There are also a lot of great pictures on his website for the project.

Black Diamond Telemark Crampons Price: $74.95

Black Diamond O1 Telemark Bindings Regular Price: $299.95 $239.96 on sale

Black Diamond O1 Telemark Binding Regular Price: $299.95 $239.96 on sale

Labels: Colorado, skiing

A-Basin opened on Wednesday making it the first ski area in the country to open. Dave from the out there blog was there and has posted some pictures. Even when I skied at ski areas, I never expected good snow until at least late December. I get enough of an adrenaline rush mountain biking to not need to go ski on icy, man made snow.

With the temperatures here mainly in the 70's and 80's the last couple weeks, I haven't even really been thinking about skiing. Today has been colder and there's a chance of rain or snow tonight. My 4 year-old has already been asking to go skiing. We took her for her birthday last spring. I cross country skied while she was in her class. After her class they let me take her up the Puma lift on the bunny slope. That was a bit of a challenge especially since I had my cross country skis.

Last year I went skiing at a ski area for the first time in over 10 years. The conditions weren't good and I got injured. I think I should just stick to skiing in the backcountry. I really don't enjoy skiing at ski areas any more but I do like to in the backcountry. It's really as much about being in the backcountry as it is about skiing.

Update 10/15/07: Rippin Skiers was at A-Basin on Saturday and got a good picture of the white strip of snow down a mostly bare mountain. Loveland got over a foot of snow over the weekend and is opening tomorrow.

Alpina Discovery BC Backcountry Skis Regular Price: $209.00 $114.93 on sale

Karhu XCD Guide Backcountry Skis Price: $339.95

Alpina Discovery Backcountry Skis Price: $209.00

Labels: A-Basin, Colorado, skiing

For the pictures I took of the Colorado College Criterium, I used a different software tool to create the gallery. This makes three different ways I have pictures on my website.

For a while I was using a JavaScript slide show and I'd also create a separate page so all the pictures could be scanned quickly. Some of the pictures I did this way were my 2006 Eiseman Hut Ski Trip and 2006 Texas Hell Week.

After that I went to using the Copermine Photo Gallery. Pictures that I published that way included the 2006 Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race and the 2006 Pikes Peak Velo SuperCross cyclocross race.

Which of these three ways do you like best for looking at pictures? I have my opinions both from the way to look at the pictures and how easy it is to add the pictures and caption them. I'm not going to share my opinions now because I don't want to influence what you think. Please post a comment or send me an e-mail and let me know your thoughts. You can also give me your opinion on the layout of my web pages and blog template. I think my blog template is really ugly. I plan to change it but I never seem to find the time to work on it.

Labels: cycling, mountain biking, pictures, skiing

This year's Eiseman Hut ski trip pictures | Last year's hut trip pictures

Wednesday morning I felt much better than I had Tuesday morning and I hadn't slept so late. Tom and Jaime were wanting to get a few more runs in before they had to head out a day early than the rest of us. I had been debating whether to leave with them since I had been feeling so fatigue. Hanging out and getting some extra relaxation in the hut was nice but I was thinking I'd rather keep another day of vacation for when I could really hammer and abuse myself. I had driven David and Matthew up but I could leave my vehicle for them and get a ride with Tom. I discussed it with the rest of the the group and they were fine with me leaving early but they encouraged me to stay and take do some more relaxing. I decided to wait to make a final decision until after I had done some skiing.

Tuesday afternoon the top zipper slider had broken into a couple pieces. I had somewhat held the zipper together with a couple safety pins for a while then it came apart. When I quit skiing I was tired and then forgot about fixing it. I was still working on it when the other guys were ready to head out so I told them to stop by on the way up.

It had snowed another couple inches overnight but not enough to cover up our tracks. The snow was still great and I got in a couple good runs. After only 2 runs I was feeling tired again and decided to head out with Tom and Jaime. They did one more run but I went in ate some lunch and got my stuff packed up.

There have been years when the Spraddle Creek route has been scary because of being packed and icy. Even going off the trail didn't help because I'd fly over the crust until a ski would break through and stop. I'd then slam face first into the snow and my pack would further slam me into the snow. A couple times we've gone out the longer Red Sandstone Road to avoid it and hitched a ride or called a taxi to get back to the Spraddle Creek Trailhead.

This year there was no worry about that. We were more worried about having to break trail. Jaime wanted to get through the trees on the way down to the Middle Creek drainage. I thought we were going too far right but Jaime generally has a really sense of direction so I didn't say anything at first. Finally Tom pulled out the mapped and GPS and we were indeed much too far to the right. When we ski on the trail, we can see some cliffs up in the area we were in. We couldn't tell from that map that we were above any but sometimes they fit between contour lines. Fortunately we were able to drop down and rejoin the trail without running into any cliffs. Normally we make it back to the trailhead in about 2 hours but with all the fresh snow we had to work more and it took over 3 hours. I had another fun time at the Eiseman Hut even though I was worn out from being sick the week before.

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Labels: Eiseman Hut, hut trip, skiing

When I woke up Tuesday morning at the Eiseman Hut, I had a bad headache. I had actually slept until 8 o'clock and the other guys were about ready to head out for some skiing. They were going to ski off the ridge behind the hut and would be coming right by the hut on their way back up. It seemed that my headache was coming from a big knot in my shoulder. I took some Tylenol and put some sports cream on my shoulders and started feeling better. Besides the headache I was finally sluggish.

One the guys came back up I still wasn't ready to head out so I told them to stop on their next trip up. By the time they were back, I was ready to head out and try out the deep powder. There must have been close to 2 feet of fresh powder. Once I dropped off the top of the ridge, I found I couldn't make many turns or I'd lose all my speed.

We did 2 runs which took about an hour each round-trip and then decided to stop at the hut for lunch. If we're skiing farther from the hut, we don't generally stop for lunch. I was already feeling tired and was needing a break.

After lunch I made it through another 2 runs before I was too tired to feel like doing another run. I hadn't quite skied 5 hours and normally I can get in at least 8 hours. I'm really out of shape but this felt like much more than just being out of shape. It really felt like I hadn't fully recovered from the nasty virus I had the week before.

In the evening I talked a little with Ralph from the other group about his plan to ride from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska all the way to Tierra Del Fuego at the tip of South America. Although he says some people have done it in 11 months, he plans on taking in the sights along the way and take 2 years. He said he plans to start in June.

Interestingly just after I got back, Biking Bis posted about 3 cyclists that started last July. They ended up in jail for 48 hours because they rode through the Grand Canyon and the trails are off limits to bikes. They also had to pay some fines.

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Labels: Eiseman Hut, hut trip, skiing

When I left the house a little before daylight last Monday morning, it was cold but clear. It was forecast to get into the 50s. I was heading out for my annual Eiseman Hut Ski Trip. I was a bit concerned about what snow conditions we'd have. A couple weeks earlier I had skied the Peaks Trail between Breckenridge and Frisco and the snow was more like concrete than snow. Vail had gotten some snow the week before so I was hoping conditions wouldn't be too bad.

Soon after we passed Georgetown the road was icy. We saw a few cars that had bounced off the barrier in the middle and an SUV that had crossed the median and oncoming lanes and was parked half way over the guard rail. Fortunately no other cars were involved. By the time we got to Vail Pass the snow was really coming down. It was looking promising for some fresh powder.

As we finished packing our packs at the Spraddle Creek Trail head, the snow was continuing to come down. Tom and Jaime had left about an hour before us so the trail was broken but the was fresh snow on top of their tracks. Matthew took off while I was finishing taping my shins since I always get blisters. He's almost always the slowest to the hut and a lot of years I'm the fastest so he didn't see any reason to wait.

Soon after Matthew left, David and I headed up the trail. I only made it 10 minutes before remembering my sunglasses were on the dash of my car. I told David I'd be fine and to keep going while I went back. When I got to the point where the route to the hut leaves the road and goes over the ridge to the Middle Creek drainage, I could see David skiing through the trees above me.

By that point I was starting to feel tired and it's not much over an hour from the trail head. Ever since I'd been sick the week before, I had felt really tired. Sunday night when I was packing I was so tired I was just staring at my stuff and had trouble getting packed. I could tell it was going to be a long day getting to the hut. At least it was beautiful with the new snow.

Once I got over the ridge and dropped into the Middle Creek drainage, I saw David and Matthew. Just then my McDonald's breakfast decided it was going to make me pay. I had to make a couple trips into the woods. Not only did I lose some time stopping but my already low energy level dropped some more.

I took my time skiing up the Middle Creek drainage which for the most part isn't steep at all. Just before I got to what we call "The Wall" I caught back up to Matthew. David was stopped at the bottom of the wall but was ready to go when we got there.

I took a quick break to get a drink and a snack and then pushed on. From that point it usually takes me 40-45 minutes to get to the hut. I knew with the way I was dragging it was going to take me at least an hour. This last section to the Eiseman Hut climbs quite a bit and comes when you're already tired. It ended up taking me just over an hour which made my total time 5 hours and 35 minutes.

Because of all the new snow and the trail not being packed it took everyone longer than normal. Even so most of my slowness wasn't because of the conditions. I've never taken over 4.5 hours before and my best time has been 3:24. I've never been so happy to be at the hut. Usually I do one or two ski runs after getting there but this time I was plenty happy to hang out by the wood stove.

We had half the 16 slots for the hut. It turned out another group had the other 8 slots and had skied in on Sunday and were staying until Friday. It was a group that had been there 2 years ago when we were. You never quite know what type of people you'll be sharing the hut with so it was nice to see a group that we got along well with. Actually the Eiseman Hut is hard enough to get to and there's no way to connect to another hut so most people that are there are hard core tele-skiers. That means that they're tired by evening and don't stay up late partying and you can get plenty of sleep.

This year's pictures are here. There are great views from the Eiseman Hut but it never cleared enough while we were there this year to see them. If you want to see the awesome views you can see when it's clear, take a look at my pictures from last year.

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Labels: Eiseman Hut, hut trip, skiing

I've been in the backcountry for the last 3 days. It was supposed to be a 4 day trip. I still wasn't feeling 100% after being sick last week and came out a day early. It snowed pretty much the whole time. It's been a long time since I've skied in such deep powder. I'll write more about the trip soon.

Update

Labels: Eiseman Hut, hut trip, skiing

Friday morning it was -12 degrees here and it was forecast to only get to 6 degrees but we got downslope winds that warmed it to the upper 60s. Yesterday morning it was really windy. But after straight weekends of snow, the sun was shining and it warmed into the mid 40s. By noon most of the snow of the last few days had melted off the streets.

It would have been a good day for a road ride int the afternoon although it might have been a little sloppy. I'm going to the Eiseman Hut the end of the month for my annual trip. I wanted to see how my leg injury was doing and how I'd feel on skis. I had planned on going cross-country skiing in the morning but decided to wait until mid afternoon to see if the wind would die down.

The wind didn't die down but I went anyway. I wanted to ski into Rampart Resevoir which is about a 45 minute drive to the trailhead for me. Soon after I turned onto Rampart Range Road out of Woodland Park, there was an open section where it was drifting really bad. There were two Colorado Springs trucks with plows trying to clear the road. There was a vehicle coming the other way that I thought was waiting to go through. After a little while, I figured out that it was stuck. After about 10 mintues, one of the trucks backed up to where I was waiting. The driver said they had pulled 3 people out and that it was drifting back in less than an hour.

It was already late enough that I didn't want to go looking for somewhere else to ski. I decided to try the Schubarth Trail. I didn't go too far before it was drifted so I parked. As I was getting ready I realized, I had forgotten my poles. I wasn't going to waste my drive so I decided to go anyway. I felt pretty awkward the first few minutes but then got used to it. I still missed them especially when I was having to side step up some of the big drits. The road had been plowed out but it was well drifting in. The snow was pretty wind blown and wasn't good for skiing but it was still better than being inside.

When it was time for me to turn around so I'd be back to pick my kids up from my parents, I was where I was starting to get into the trees so wanted to go a little longer. About then I got to a sign that said there was absolutly no trespassing. I was pretty sure that's where there's been a problem with a landowner threatening people with a shotgun even though the road is public access. I went just a little farther and there was a house right by the road. I decided that was probably a good time to turn around.

On the way back it was getting dark and the the clouds where lit up by the sun even though it had set where I was. It was really pretty but I hadn't charged my camera battery and the camera would shut off when I tried taking a picture. As I skiing along, I thought that if I could warm the battery I might be able to get a picture. I got the battery out and held it my hand for a couple minutes. I was able to get a couple pictures. I then was able to get a couple more later by holding the battery again.

Labels: Rampart Reservoir, skiing

In my last post about why I don't like skiing at ski areas, the last reason I gave was getting cold on the lifts. I included my muscles getting cold and then expecting them to work when I get off the lift. That might be a big part of why I got injured when I went skiing with my brothers between Christmas and New Years. Getting really out of shape and gaining nearly 30 pounds since RAAM certainly could also have been a big factor.

We had taken a very late lunch and were going to do one last run together before my brother's went over to Loveland Valley to check on their kids at ski school. When I got off the lift, I caught an edge. I was telemark skiing and most telemark bindings don't release when you fall. It felt like my left was being twisted right below the knee to the point that something was going to snap. I couldn't get up on my own and my brother and the ski patrol got to me about he same time. Once the ski patrol took my ski off, my leg felt so much better that I thought I might be alright. After discussing it with the ski patrol, I decided to wait a few minutes and see how my leg felt. Pretty quickly I figured out I shouldn't try skiing down and the ski patrol called for a snowmobile to come pick me up.

The first few days just walking around was difficult. If I was on a flat, even surface it wasn't too bad but it didn't take much unevenness to put me in pain. My physical trainer/athletic trainer checked me. He said I had strained my hamstring tendon attachment just below and also stressed the tibial head.

I started stretching 2-3 times a day. My sports massage therapist friend had showed me after my injury during RAAM how to use a rope to stretch my hamstring and IT band. I got a 10 foot piece of 5/8 inch nylon rope from Home Depot. I lie on my back and wrap the rope twice around my foot. I then pull my leg up in the air. This allows me to pull my foot into different angles in order to stretch my hamstring and IT band in different ways. It also has a benefit that it allows gravity to help circulation. Stretching this way has worked much better for me than the standard stretch where you sit and hold your foot or put a towel around it to do the hamstring stretch.

I've also been using up to 4 servings of Hammer Nutrition's Tissue Rejuvenator. It's their product that has glucosamine and chondroitin in it but they also but some other natural things in to help reduce inflamation and help with healing. It really seems to have been helping.

I first spun easy on my trainer after a week. After 15 minutes my leg was getting too sore so I stopped. Now it's been 3 1/2 weeks and I'm up to riding an hour at a moderate effort on the trainer. I haven't tried riding outside yet but probably could. We've had so much cold and snow and I don't want to take a chance on crashing.

Labels: injury, skiing

Until the week between Christmas and New Years, I hadn't skied at a ski area in over 10 years. I much rather ski in the backcountry and have been doing a trip to the Eiseman Hut every winter for the last several years. My brother was here from Ohio. He's 6 years older than me and I hiked the majority of the fourteeners with him. He was the one that I did most of my backcountry activities with when I was young and we did backcountry trips as long as 2 weeks.

When he was here we did one day of cross-country skiing near Montezuma and skied part of the Montezuma's Revenge course. He also wanted to take his kids skiing at a ski area. Our other brother that lives here also went but he was never into the backcountry trips.

Here are some of the reasons I hadn't skied at a ski area for over 10 years.

• Not only are there already tracks, but most of the time the snow is totally packed down. When we're skiing in the backcountry we try to avoid going down where there are already tracks.


• There are lots of people. I don't really hate people but I like to be with at most a small group when I'm out in the backcountry. I like to enjoy the mountain beauty and to hear the sounds of nature. In fact the reason I like hut trips is more about being away from it all than it is about the great skiing.


• Standing in line. We went to Loveland which is one of the smaller ski areas so the crowds weren't too bad but there still were lines.


• People smoking. There seemed to considerably fewer smokers on the slopes than there were 10+ years ago but there were still some. Nothing like a good lung full of smoke to ruin the outdoor experience. If you smoke that's your right but please be considerate of those of us that like fresh mountain air.


• Getting cold on the lifts. I'm not just talking about feeling cold because I'm just sitting there up at the tree tops with the wind blowing on a cold day. It's also letting tired muscles get cold and then expect them to work when you get off the lift.

Labels: backcountry, skiing

The last couple weeks have been pretty crazy with the holidays. My brother came with his family plus my wife's grandparents were visiting. I made one trip to the mountains with my brother and some of the rest of my family that lives here and another one with the in-laws. Unfortunately I got injured on the first trip, so the 2nd trip wasn't as much fun.

On the first trip, my brother and I skied almost up to the Wild Irishman Mine near Montezuma. It's part of loop 7 of Montezuma's Revenge. It brought back lots of memories from the when I raced it. Things like the guy I found on loop 7 laying across a pile of rocks with his eyes shut. It turned out he had gotten his map out to figure out which way to go and fell asleep.

After cross-country skiing we met several more from my family for a night in Idaho Springs. The next day my other brother also skied with us at Loveland Basin. Their kids went to ski school at Loveland Valley. It was the first time in over 10 years that I had skied at a ski area. It made me remember why I ski in the backcountry.

The 2nd trip was to Estes Park at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. We left in a our 2nd big snowstorm in a little over a week. The roads were pretty bad between Colorado Springs and Denver. Estes had over a foot of fresh powder and all I could do was look at it and not play in it. I'll write another post on what happened.

All 14 of my parents' grandkids were together for Christmas.

We almost always go to Seven Falls Christmas night. Admission is a donation Christmas Unlimited to provide toys to kids.

Danielle wanting me to come with her up the stairs by the falls. She made it almost half way before I had to carry her.

The top part of Seven Falls.

A Christmas display in the Broadmoor.

Just below the Wild Irishman Mine while cross-country skiing with my brother near Montezuma.

My brother skiing through Saints John near Montezuma.

Loveland Valley Ski Area.

View from the hotel in Estes Park.

A bull elk in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Another bull elk in Rocky Mountain National Park.

View from Many Parks Curve in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Sleigh ride at the Aspen Lodge near Estes Park.

View of Longs Peak as it was getting dark.

Moon from the Aspen Lodge.

A couple elk in Estes Park.

Danielle quickly learned how to run with the snowshoes we got her for Christmas.

A bull elk just outside Rocky Mountain National Park.

Labels: Christmas, Rocky Mountain National Park, skiing