Got Snow?

Whoopee! Four feet of snow just blanketed the Lake Tahoe area ski resorts and the ski season is officially underway, with one resort opening last week, and the nearest resort opening tomorrow at noon.

The first time I skied - less than two years ago, I found myself in various and sundry places and positions of less than flattering quality, particularly in close proximity to the lifts. After a few more trips, however, I finally learned how to stand in line without falling over, and now proudly pronounce my practice a rousing success. In all seriousness, I've happily gotten steadily better (trust me, I was awful the first couple times out), and now thoroughly enjoy hitting the slopes, er . . . skiing the slopes.

In other news, the weather out here is incredible right now, with temps in the 60's during the day, with sunny skies. The only problem with that is that it makes it hard to get much work done, especially when sitting in the window office. :-\

It's a cold world

Blogger awakes as faint light begins to filter in with a rather cold chill through the dark mesh screen separating his repose from the harsh reality of human degradation lying not too far beyond his bedroom window. Drawing his covers over his head in an attempt to snatch one more moment of innocent peace before facing the day, Blogger feels that the warmth offered by mere cotton blankets leaves the warmth offered by the vast masses of humanity somewhere near the Titanic's icy grave.

Blogger drives through the mindless masses of drivers making their way to the city like ants compelled to strive endlessly and without conscious purpose until their dying day.

One deposition down. One to go.

Blogger feels the cravings of nature directing him feed his appetite. Blogger drives back and forth like a disoriented bumblebee seeking a parking spot. Finally sighting an exiting vehicle, Blogger allows emotional excitement to begin to stir, but as he nears, he is greeted by mocking blue sign marked with a “disabled” symbol. Blogger notes the empty space is littered with filth left by the resident pigeons, along with chewing gum that appears to have been disgarded in another era.

Blogger recalls two individuals he has known who took their own lives and wonders if this is how they saw the world.

(Note: This post was written by an optimistic Blogger and does not reflect Blogger's true feelings. Blogger also acknowledges this post may have been influenced by watching the movie Croupier.)

Downhill mountain biking

Recently I discovered a new and easy way to experience certain joys that should probably not be sought out by those without good health care plans.

A friend and I took our mountain bikes to Northstar at Tahoe and rode the ski lifts up to the ridge before biking down some of the roughest trails I've ever been on. I was amazed to see most of the other riders bedecked in quasi-body-armor of the fullest variety. I mean, these guys had everything from full motorbiking helmets to chest protectors, knee and shin guards, elbow and shoulder guards, full pants and shirts, and probably a few items of protection that were non-visible to external viewers.

On our one (and only) daring run down a double black diamond trail, I began to see some of the logic behind dressing like a twelfth century dude. The trails were comprised of primarily vertically situated sand, which left braking rather impotent, and there were, at semi-regular intervals, large drops with tight banking turns at the bottom. Rather than risking my life (since I still don't have health insurance), I chose to walk around some of these drops. (My prize for exercising such wisdom is that I still have a full set of teeth.) At the bottom of on of these jumps, I looked up and saw a real biker flying down fully garbed. As he was flying full speed through the air, he managed to perform a perfect bank, land, and headed off in the other direction. Impressive. And I was just trying to make it down alive.

All in all, it was a great trip, and despite spending most of our time on the single black diamond runs, we made it out alive with nothing more to show for our efforts than a few scrapes and bruises and one busted chain.

A couple of days later, we took the bikes out again to a nearer location where we rode for a few hours on some much tamer trails (despite some of them being only a couple feet wide and on the edge of a very steep cliff). This ride was also a lot of fun and a lot less nerve-wracking and body-rattling than the downhill-only jazz. And the cold mountain lake located around the halfway point made for an incredibly refreshing swim on the way back!

Life on the edge. It's more fun than any other place I've been.