Paulk

Just about this time every year I get fed up with the midseason madness on the east coast. This years case begins with a rude parking attendant at 7am, getting hit by a uniformed ski school member on my second run(he never stopped) and then finally, watching as people push through a 10 minute lift line to join their "friends" without apology. I didn't last untill 10am. My saving grace...I was riding with good friends. And next week I'm going to Aspen. SES or bust.

Eardragger, Got your phone call..Looks like friday+saturday for me. Alex and Shaggy are out?

Someone is slacking here.......more photo's please. How about Dr. D on a lunch-tray? What are we to do at work, with no DAILY rub in??? http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=14374&highlight=daily+rub

The demo tent has had a supply of boots in the past. You may want to email Michele to confirm it for this year.

I found airfare for $237 to Denver..will be traveling to Vail/Eagle to pick up Mellow and Helmut on friday the 6th..I'm sure we could make room in the car for two more? As far as a room goes..I'm in enough trouble! :)

I'm back at work finally..The pics from the 1/2 day saturday no better than any others. We booked a charter flight for the afternoon, so we could make the trip back to Calgary a little less painful. We celebrated with one member of our group finally logging over one million vertical feet with CMH. Being the newest member, I have now logged over 150,000 feet.. Pictures of our fearless guide, high in the alpine zone. Temps around 30 degrees f.. "I think our pickup is over there"!

Life is short. Epic boarding trips even shorter. Today was the last full day in the mountains. Yesterdays warm sun created a crust for us today above tree line..Sort of like carving, but not. Surviving the first turns, we were rewarded with soft, sparkling snow below the tree line. Natural gullies provided ample room for wide open banked GS turns..9000(or so) meters later we called it a day. Tomorrow is a half day, then a bus ride back to Calgary for the night.

The day started grey and warm in town. The pilot unsure if we could fly in the fog. We show up at the hanger just as the valley clears enough for a run to the hills. We zig and zag our way across the river, heading south. We spot a hole in the low overcast and pop up into another world of blue skies, and white mountains. Should've put on the sunblock. The avalanche activity picked up as the sun warmed the slopes facing south. Witnessed alot of sluffing and one fairly large slide with a debris cloud. We stuck to the high Glaciers, and a particularly good run called "Big Apple". Turns for the soul today.

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See "Tuesday", repeat with warmer weather, and a little sunshine. And substitute Italian food for the sushi. Looks like the "you tube" video got yanked, I suspect it's under going some revisions, I'll talk to the producer in the morning. Today was highlighted with a trip south into an area that saw heavy natural avalanche activity last week. As a result, this week the area is still prone to man made avalanches..we stayed below tree line and in protected areas..Some of the visible fracture lines were over 3 meters deep. Pictures from the day:

It's a real challenge to stop yourself mid-pitch, throw a mitten off, grab the camera, and try to catch some action, without holding the group up. When we bring out the "good" camera its a 10 minute delay setting up the shot..and as it turns out, that footage hasn't been very good..I have plenty of respect for people who can shoot well, and with a minimal of fuss. Keep in mind, all of the runs we do are 1st tracks, and sometimes you ride through the best stuff before you have a chance to think about it. That said, thanks for the tips. I'm listening and trying to make some adjustments! These were shot in SNOW mode..I'll play with compensation a little today...

It's tuesday already? Up at 6am for a soak in the hottub, breakfast at 7am, Load the van by 8:15ish. In the air by 8:45ish. Eight runs by 1pm(we were slacking). Lunch back in the hanger, while we refuel the copter. Another three runs after lunch, back on the ground by 3:30ish. An hour of ICE for the knee back at the hotel. Sushi for diner at 7pm. I'll be sleeping by 9pm. Geoff, Do you really think we could set up a camera fund? I'm afraid this will start sounding like Gilmore:) Send donations to my paypal account! I'm not even going to mention the rest of that to Kara:) Anyways...found the snow setting on my camera(thanks Jack), but it can't fix my lack of talent..More movies than pics again today, and the guys with the Macs are working on an epic movie that may find it's way to you-tube this week..Here's a teaser. EDIT: looks like the music got tagged in the video...maybe if you hum a song while watching.... <object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6tlg_gVn8E&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6tlg_gVn8E&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>

Must be *ell to look at poor quality pictures when you're a tech geek:) :) In all honesty, I'm not. That said, the dim, gray look is a pretty accurate representation of the conditions here right now. I am messing with the quality of the pics by changing the file sizes, and I'll look into the snow setting thing... Where's Shred? he's always good at this stuff!!!!

Monday 1/12/09. Location: Revelstoke, B.C. Daily rub-in Todays weather played havoc on an early departure. Didn't really matter in the end because when we finally flew into the mountains, a layer of freezing rain turned us back in a hurry. After lunch we made it out into the snow, but the low ceiling kept us on some short runs. Not much for pics today, so instead how about trying to hold the camera while taking a run? It's not pretty, and if you get seasick.... TT, no step-in's for me. Not a fan in waist deep snow. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5MEoGGnBB0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5MEoGGnBB0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSdPIMD3ceA&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSdPIMD3ceA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Thanks for a great binding Bomber! Sunday 1/11/09 We are long overdue for a Daily Rub-in:)

Left this morning for the airport and everything was looking good.... After a full day of delay departures and missing connections, I've settled in Denver for the night. May see Allee tomorrow...maybe not. I am not confident that I will see my bags much before friday.. XC is looking good again......... gota run, room service is here. 1am snack, yum.

First it was the Donek calendar, now the 2nd annual Bomber Catalog. Whoa, I better slow down, I'm using up my 5 minutes of fame pretty fast:) Thanks Fin! great surprise in the mailbox this week!

I'm sorry, but I will be out of the country for the next week or so... pics and video to follow...HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHa :) i know, i know. not funny.

I'm out for this week and next, but I think Ear dragger and AlexJ ride sunday, and you may catch Steph on monday or wednesday...unless she takes up XC skiing:)

closing days in Aspen?

Shaggy emailed me the link this AM...couldn't keep it to myself... Having fun!?!?? I remember something about me not hitting the mark.. repeatedly...LOL

Courtesy of JHS photo. Having a great day, Steph, PaulK and Shaggy... http://www.jhsphoto.com/clients/stratton/2008/carvers/ It was a one run, "show your stuff" kinda photo shoot...

Coming to you live from the firehouse...I'm in the middle of a 38 hour shift:( Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season. And while it's fresh in my mind from last night, please don't drink and drive. Looking forward to seeing everone at SES!

12/30/08, 12/31/08, 1/1/09.... Can't promise that I won't hit the XC trails too.....

http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=16503&highlight=paulk+chile I can't take credit for ShrederJen's trip, I was just a guest!