In Steep Country

I'm afraid of heights.  It makes me nervous to take pictures near the crumbling edge.  It is worse, though, when someone else does it.  EDO, for example.  I was alone for these, so I had only myself to warn back from the brink.

Pillar of Smoke

We were broadcast burning again this past week.  When not using the drip torch, I like to make pictures of the smoke against the cloud.  My favorite is here.  But these are good, too.

Valentine's Day

Valentine Peak is visible from the town of Parowan, and vice versa.  After nearly ten years of living in town, we'd never walked to the top.  We go out hiking, biking, or skiing most days, but I usually plan on 90 minutes or two hours.  Because there is no direct route to the top of the peak, it requires more like three or four hours to do the round trip.  Plus, it starts in town—meaning low elevation—so it is a hot place to hike on most days.

At any rate, EDO came to me yesterday and suggested that we get an early start and go to the top.  So we did.  VSO began with us, but we turned her around a little short of 2.5 miles.  She is tough, but has never quite regained her full wind after a complete sternotomy and seven weeks of radiation during 2017.  (She gets frustrated, but obviously most people are not doing this, let alone those who were recently cut in half.)  And it does take some wind.  The last mile was steep enough to have the rest of us puffing, too.  After 20 minutes at the top, we walked home.  The GPS showed eight miles and 2,400 feet of vert.  A good day.  (BTW, thanks to Vito for all the trail work.)

Highlands

This was the day to ski the bowl at Aspen Highlands.  The hike took 45 minutes, and it might have taken another 45 to ski to the lift.  But with six inches of fresh snow and a bluebird morning, it was the place to be.  Unfortunately, these were the last pictures of the day.  I soon went over the handlebars and landed on the camera, breaking the lens in half.

Formerly Ajax

We were at Ajax today, although I guess they don't call it that anymore.  I like the way the shadows were falling on the slope behind Benson when I made this picture.  And, I like the way Benson was skiing this slope when I made this other picture.

Snowmass in the Sunshine

I'm not sure what the word means, but Snowmass is truly massive.  We probably skied our way from one end of it to the other today, but I'm not sure.  We got only one run on the headwall before they closed the gates.  It was too bad because, as Benson shows (above), it was in pretty good shape.  We were also late to the Ullrhof, and they closed up after just one beer.  It was difficult to complain, though, because it was truly a beautiful day.