A new trip....

Through my recent travels to Argentina I had the "pleasure" of spending time in Mexico City's airport. Besides the fact they don't have enough gates to usher in the high volume of flights that come in and out of the airport thus forcing you to sit endlessly on the tarmac until this frankenbus-thing comes to pick you up and transport you to the terminal; they also have the absolute bear minimum of amenities. Yes, this is Latin America and it IS just an airport, but being I spent a total of 8 hours in the airport, I started to feel more and more like Tom Hank's charecter in The Terminal.

Except this airport had no half way decent places to eat, no book stores, really nothing more than one giant "LDF" (Latino Duty Free) Store. It sucked.

However, the place had one very redeeming factor. On the way out of Mexico City, as the 767 climbed to around 29,000 feet, I noticed two mountains that appeared to have snow on them. Yes, these were in fact big giant mountains rising from one of the most populated cities on earth.

Skiing is very clearly on the brain, but so are real trips. I was just coming back from visiting one of the most under rated cities on earth, Buenos Aires....in which I absolutly plan on doing a return trip to in order to do some skiing, fishing and more wine drinking/meat eating/city wandering.

The trip aside, these mountains got me thinking...what would it be like to ski outside Mexico City...is an expedition even worth it?

Damn! A ticket to Mexico City alone may not be worth the adventure...but then again, it might. Especially since I learned the mountains are named exotically-Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl.


Here is the kicker, according to many sources, the skiable vert is over 6000 feet on a good year. Tack onto that that both have year long glaciers on them and ski trip becomes more and more feasible...it is after all do-able year round.




Imagine, knocking off a half way sick line off a volcano then enjoying tamales and corn tortilla tacos in Mexico city. Hell, if you do it right, you could just make sure you have a 2 or 3 day "layover" in Mexico then travel to South to Argentina for some late summer pow in Las Lenas. Yes. This is a trip that will be filed in the "Must Do" pile.

This post was published to PowderCast at 11:30:37 PM 10/9/2007

Go

Last week Jeff and I went for a nighttime mountain bike ride at White Ranch, relying on the full moon and one collective headlamp (which was used sparingly) for light. The plan seemed pretty foolproof at first, although a consistent cloud cover made the ride a dark one. It was a cautious but fun ride, one where its more about just being out there than anything. Riding downhill was full of surprises, as rocky terrain appeared no different from smooth singletrack. You just had to trust your bike and go with it. The ride reminded me of maybe the coolest “day” of the past ski season, skiing Russell Peak (Berthoud Pass area) under a full moon. This never made it into the blog, so here goes.

picture: Jeff skinning at Berthoud Pass

The full moon hadn’t risen above the surrounding peaks yet, so headlamps were necessary. The full moon rose right before we reached the summit of Berthoud Pass. The moon rose quickly, and the surrounding peaks became clearly visible. We never had a real plan, other than to just ski under the full moon. Russell Peak looked glorious illuminated by moonlight, so we decided to give it a go.

The hike was quick, and we were soon enjoying beers on the summit. It was surreal to say the least.

After taking some pictures and enjoying the celebratory beers, we picked out a line to ski. This was somewhat of a nerve-wracking decision as the full moon illuminated the mountain, but it was still pretty dark for skiing. Fortunately the snowpack was about as stable as it gets in Colorado and we picked a solid line that we were both comfortable with. We skied right down the center of the peak through a wide chute, and then cut a hard left turn above some rocks and we were home free in some wide open terrain. Jeff dropped first and laid out smooth and easy turns all the way down to the apron. I dropped in next and felt good, making nice easy turns.

This was skiing on instinct, like the “full moon” mountain bike ride last week. I hate to allude to every cliché ski movie narration ever and say that I was “one with my skis,” but that does a pretty good job of describing the feeling. Because my sight was limited by the darkness, I wasn’t thinking about the technical aspects of skiing. I was simply thinking “just go over there, ok, now go that way.” Sometimes I will get too wrapped up in the technique of doing something, rather than just doing it. Skiing (or riding a bike) in the darkness is a fun way to recognize this.

Below- Russell Peak as seen from the bottom

It felt good to leave home at 7pm to go skiing. It really wasn’t all that difficult and there was no need to overthink it. All I had to do was go.

-PN

Book of the Week.

Whether or not any surfer agrees, skiing and surfing certainly share a certain kinship. Both sports revolve around water, gravity and have the potential to seriously screw up a life. Even though I've never ridden a wave in my life, I've always been drawn to sport. Regardless of all the commonalities, the one superceeding similarity in both sports is the way they become a part of you. It's religion.

While at the bookstore the other day, a book caught my eye. It wasn't a featured book or placed to get noticed, in fact, it was buried back in the corner of the store. For whatever reason I picked up West of Jesus by Steven Kotler. Kotler, who had battled Lyme disease for 2 years, finds a renewed passion for surfing which takes him around the world. Surfing becomes the catalyst in his quest for the origins of belief. Kotler's uncannied ability to relate the sport of surfing to the non-surfer combined with his intellectual prowess on the overencompassing idea of "belief" makes this a good read. It's not long and makes me want to go on a quest...of some sort.

The (real) Waiting Game.

The Waiting Game. Not only is it the name of one of the greatest ski flicks of all time, it's the "game" I'm currently playing. Living (for a short time) at my parents, doing whatever is necessary to make ends meet and put some money away I can't wait to be in Jackson.

30 days until I move to Jackson, 60 days until the snow is really falling. 90 Days until I can really scare myself. It's a waiting game alright...one I've been playing for what seems like years.

I've waited to move to a ski town and focus on nothing but skiing since 11th grade calculus. I couldn't wait. I'll never forget the attractive smart girl next to me telling me that if I put the amount of effort I put into skiing into Calc A I'd have the highest grade in the class...hands down. I'm not sure I quite understood what she was saying at the time, as I was busy taking "bathroom breaks" trying to figure out who got the most snow within 2 hours of the classroom.

Fast forward 5 years. I made it through college, I paid my dues per say (at least in my head)...and now I feel like I'm about to jump out of my skin in anticipation of what's coming my way. It's funny how when you're having fun time flies but when you're looking forward to something with little to do time C-R-A-W-L-S by. I think that's what Einstein meant in his theory of relativity.

Regardless, I keep looking west for the snow to start falling and to the wall for the clock to keep ticking...it wont be long now.