The stretch of vitality

So I have one more reason to feel like a legitimate Colorodan. I now own three separate helmets (bike, ski, climb). I took the Learn to Lead climbing class at BRC a few weeks back, so I’m working on the lead climbing and belaying stuff now. I did two days of Spring skiing. Two weekends ago it was pretty awful conditions so I came back early. This past Saturday there was a lot of snowfall during the week so conditions were very nice, especially after the sun had softened up the snow a bit. I got my first negative answer to my normal “are you OK?” query when I see someone sprawled out on the slopes. I saw a woman heading down a mogul run and doing fine, she left my field of vision, and when she came back in she had lost a ski and was on the ground. So I brought her her ski and asked if she was OK, but she was not. She had dislocated her shoulder so I asked another person to ski down to the lift and get ski patrol while I waited there with her. They arrived after not too long and took over. My next job was to find her ski partner in the lodge and let her know what happened. This was pretty tricky given how many people wear similar colored ski outfits, but I actually did find her eventually and gave her the scoop. I did one last run and then headed home to be back in Boulder in time for Elise’s birthday surprise.

Josh had rented out Banjo Billy’s Tour Bus and we all gathered up to surprise Marty and Elise. This rig is a converted school bus done up to look like a mountain mining shack of some sort, and the owner/driver gives tours of Boulder with some historical info and some ghost stories and crime stories. He’s got a limousine license so booze in the bus is OK. Overall it was pretty fun and good for Andrew to get shown around Boulder a bit. We stopped off to surprise Elise’s parents as well and basically fifteen mostly drunken grad students piled into their house all of a sudden around 9:30 at night. We finished off the night with more drinks at Catacombs.

So Andrew arrived from LA last Wednesday and for a welcome gift I took him to hear Chick Corea’s new Five Peace Band at the Paramount in Denver. The timing was such that I had to go back to some of my old consulting tricks and dial in to a conference call and virtual room from a parking garage with my laptop perched on a garbage can online via downtown Denver’s free municipal Wi-Fi. Once that was done we grabbed some food and then headed to the show. The band is killer: Chick Corea plus John McLaughlin with Christian McBride, Kenny Garrett, and Vinnie Colaiuta. It was a great show with some fantastic compositions and killer solos. The Denver crowd was very enthusiastic and gave a few standing ovations during the concert as well as some spontaneous applause during a great Christian McBride bass solo.

So last Thursday we got about a foot of snow here in Boulder. Of course, this being the day after Andrew arrived, he wanted to go stock up on groceries. I explained that they don’t plow here but he headed out in his new used Nissan Sentra front wheel drive sedan. He actually made it about twenty feet out the driveway before his wheels started to completely spin and he came back into the driveway. Yeah, better wait a day or two for the sun to melt it.

I bought a membership to the rock gym so I’m planning to go at least three times a week or so. Andrew and I are now planning next week’s road trip and looking forward to that.

Some photos from the Banjo Billy Bus are at the end of the gallery here.

NYC’s long-running Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, originally started as the Thad Jones Mel Lewis Orchestra in the 1960s, was here at CU Boulder last night. They put on a pretty good show with memorable playing from trumpeter Terell Stafford, trombonist Jason Jackson, and alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw. Tenor man Ralph LaLama is known to be about as hard-swinging as they come, but his playing last night didn’t deliver what I was hoping for. I’ve seen this band a few times and they are usually funny because the sax section always has some kooky night owl jazzers who look disoriented and disheveled out in the world before 2am. They won a grammy last year and Jim McNeely’s arrangements are really fresh and tasty.

Tonight I learn to lead climb at BRC.

I have another great concert scheduled for next week, but that’s a surprise.

Sunday I went rock climbing outdoors for the first time ever! On a real mountain cliff made by Mother Nature. I went up Boulder Canyon, just a ten minute drive out of town, with a few other folks from the CHAOS outdoor club. We scrambled our way up the tricky path to the Plotinus Wall and did some sport climbing. It was fun. This week I’m taking a lead climbing course so I’m able to be more helpful climbing outside next time.

A few more photos at the end of this gallery

On Tuesday the Banff Mountain Film Festival was here in Boulder and they showed about six short documentaries. Lots of great shots of climbing, skiing, and snowboarding. My favorite was a documentary about three BASE jumpers who travel to central China to BASE jump into the Heavenly Pit.

Thursday after work I packed up The Blue Machine and drove 3.5 hours to Steamboat Springs. Like last year, I stopped somewhere along I-40 deep into the remote mountains to star gaze. The night was calm and clear and the sky just looks so awesome when you can actually see thousands of stars and the dusty trails in the galaxy. Friday morning it was snowing, windy, and cold. I was at the Steamboat Springs Gondola before it was open and got to make some nice fresh tracks. However, it was just brutally cold so I eventually had to go inside to warm up every other run.

So the morning was cold and mid day was a bit icy because it was warm on Wednesday so the layer underneath the powder was rock hard ice. However, I did manage to find a few runs with good snow at the end of the day.

I met up with a group of other Boulderites who had rented a condo for the weekend so I stayed with them Friday night. We had a nice meal and enjoyed hanging out. Saturday it was sunny, clear, calm, and delightful. We all skied/boarded together all day. It was nice to have such a big group (nine all together) and for them all to be expert skiers. We did a few hike-to runs, lots of trees, and a few journeys out of bounds. It was a blast.

Sadly, I forgot my new snow pants at home, which prompted my companions to sing “He’s a Jeans Skier” to the tune of “Dream Weaver” and inquire why I wasn’t wearing an NFL jacket.

There are more photos here and a video here.

Today I’m looking forward to some much-needed yoga and saxophone and then next week work is going to get busy for a while.