May 26, 2008 |

Great day on Audubon

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Skier descending a steep snowy slope beneath rugged rocky mountain peaks.

The best of all medicines is resting and fasting. ~ Benjamin Franklin


Happy day. After three weeks of rest, I got back out there Sunday with Luke and Pete. Check out the shots: Stu’s photosLuke’s photosPete’s photos.


During the past three weeks, I have tried to just give my body (and mind) a much needed rest. Not sure I accomplished that completely but I did tinker with my new motorcycle a lot, read, watched some movies, played a little golf with my pops. That kind of fun and/or games.


So I have never been the world’s most adept mechanic but really wanted to start wrenching myself on this bike. In the past, the thought of rebuilding a carburetor was daunting, to say the least. With my new bike, however, I have just jumped in there and gotten my hands dirty (both figuratively and literally).


I started out with a bone-stock 2008 DR650 and then went to town on some of the pieces that needed some improvement. I started small, essentially updating bolt-ons. Easy for sheezy. Then I moved on to more complex projects: Updating the front and rear suspension, changing tires, doing a crazy airbox mod, rejetting and modifying the carb, etc. Now it runs like a champ. And I definitely got a big feeling of satisfaction having done all the work myself. Good stuff.


So back to skiing… Pete, Luke and I met at the Brainard Lake gate at 6 yesterday morning and jumped on the bikes for to ride in as far as possible before starting the hike up Audubon. Pretty much immediately, I was attacked by my bike but my ass is fine, thanks for asking. We rode in as far as we could (just shy of the Mitchell Lake road) and then started the hike up Audubon.

Skier traversing a snowy mountain slope beside rocky cliffs
Skier descending a snowy mountain slope with rocky cliffs in the background
Snow-covered mountain slope beneath rocky cliffs and a cloudy blue sky

It was a chilly, windy morning but that is pretty typical for this time of year and we made good time up the flank of Audubon. Much easier going than this time last year as there are still some large snowfields one can walk up and not too much trudging through sloppy willow patches. I was feeling strong all the way up and we paused to look into the Elevator Shaft on the way up. Well, Luke looked, Pete and I hung out, ate some food (chocolate covered cranberries are yummy) and relaxed in the sun at 11000+ feet.


We quickly reached our ski destination: A nice fun snowfield which we hit at the ultimate hour for perfect snow conditions. This particular field wasn’t too steep or exposed so one could pretty much ski without worrying too much about consequences. I felt pretty solid on the ski as well which, after not skiing for 3 weeks, was much appreciated.


We then moved over to the notch, booted up (thanks to Luke for leading the way, once again), monkeyed around up top trying to figure out a way to summit, then opted to just ski the Notch Line. This is a bit steeper and more confined than our first line but the snow was still quite good and it was a blast to ski. We then dropped back down to Mitchell Lake and worked our way back out to the bikes.


Pete got a flat on the way out but otherwise, it was a pretty problem-free day. I was fairly tired by the end but felt MUCH better than the last several times out and about. Not sure about the Leadville 50 (I think I have til the end of the month to decide on that) but this was encouraging, to say the least.


Today I am a little sore and fatigued but the weather is crap anyway so no real loss. I am hoping to head back up with Luke on Wednesday morning to ski the center chute on the flank or Elevator Shaft. I’ll keep you posted on that.



In the meantime, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do first.

Thoughtful strategy. Practical execution.

Clear thinking, honest perspectives, and experience shaped by years of doing the work. No shortcuts, no borrowed opinions, just lessons learned by showing up, solving problems, and following ideas all the way through.

Four hikers with backpacks walking along a rocky mountain ridge under a blue sky
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We are each our own greatest inhibitor. People don’t want to do new things if they think they’re going to be bad at them or people are going to laugh at them. You have to be willing to subject yourself to failure, to be bad, to fall on your head and do it again, and try stuff that you’ve never done in order to be the best you can be. ~ Laird Hamilton Yesterday: Hit Range Balls/Hike – Casa del Critters, 1:15 Today: Run – GGCSP, ~2 hours Tomorrow: Ride – Somewhere singlespeedy, ~2 hours Yesterday, Rach and I took a nice stroll in the woods around our house. The songbirds were going crazy-nuts and surprisingly, we only saw one other person walking his dog. I love where we live – close proximity to fun trails and the ability to get away from it all in just a short walk from our house. During lunch yesterday, I went to the driving range to get a few cuts in before playing a round of golf with my dad next week. I don’t get to play very often so need to brush up on my skills (or lack thereof) whenever I can. I am looking forward to playing with my pops and hope to break 100. I shot a 102 the last time I played so I am within striking distance of the sub-triple-digit score. We’ll see how things go. I usually do okay for most of the round and then fall apart on a couple of holes pushing my score way up. Dad shoots in the low 80s usually (I think). I am not sure I will ever play enough to be that good but it is fun to get out on the course now and again. I also went to see Dr. Paul yesterday for my ankle problem (which seems to have been resolved) and my knee (which is still a bit swollen but has decreased in size markedly over the past several days). The knee stems from my unscheduled nose-dive back in May (see this post for details). The shot some pictures and believe that everything is a-ok so that was good news. I just need to select better places for splashdowns in the future. And today is Luke’s birthday. Age is one place where I will always beat him but visit his blog to congratulate him on trying to catch up. Until next time…
Runner silhouetted at sunset on a rocky trail, mid-stride between hills.
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Progress comes from the intelligent use of experience. ~ Elbert Hubbard Yesterday: Run – Casa del Critters/Flume, 1 hour 15 minutes Today: Ride/Hike/Relax Tomorrow: Run/Hike – Pawnee/Buchanan Passes, 6 hours? Yesterday I ran around the house. Not literally, mind you, but in the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous evening – calm, cool. Perfect. The wildflowers are really starting to take off up here and I was treated with a bold display of color throughout my run. Tons of Columbine lined the trailside as I ran on old mining roads and singletrack trails. It is really fun to see how much differently I am able to handle familiar terrain. I used to have difficulties running this loop and would have to walk major sections. Last night, I ran the entire loop without trouble and was able to moderate my speed to maintain a steady cadence through the run. Good times. Contracting is staying steady. A bit of a drop-off this week given the holiday but I am still managing to put in a decent number of hours. I picked up another new project today and will need to get started immediately to ensure that it gets completed on time.  Tomorrow, we are going to head up Pawnee Pass and loop back around to Buchanan Pass in the northern Indian Peaks Wilderness. This should be a fun challenge as we’ll get up pretty high, have to navigate some snow (most likely) and will be out for quite awhile. I am looking forward to it for sure . Movie time: I forgot to mention Shopgirl, a Steve Martin vehicle, we watched the other night. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but found this to be a charming film about loneliness. It was well acted and would recommend it for sure. The pacing is steady throughout and some might find it a little on the slow side but it was an engaging film that had a lot to say without being overly sappy.
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In case you hadn’t seen these (and also for my friends at Adventure Film ), here are a couple of must-see running movies from Joel Wolpert:  Geoff Roes: Slogging to the Top