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Brittany

TR: Treasury Raid on the Fourth of July

Posted by Brittany – July 5, 2010

Kim and I have been talking about skiing on the 4th of July since our trip to Grizzly together. It wasn’t difficult to get her to make the trip up to Crested Butte from Boulder. I just had to promise her a little bit of biking and a little bit of skiing. I think she got what she came for :)

Frank decided to join us too. Our destination was the Wine Bottle couloirs off the north face of Treasury. We drove up to Paradise Divide, parked there, and set out on foot.
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We followed the road toward Yule Pass. Kim and Frank.
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But we eventually ascended up to the ridge, following that ridge to the summit of Treasury. Frank and I following the ridge.
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Photo by Kim Ross

Admiring views of the valley below. Can you spot Mt. Crested Butte?
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Frank with Treasury behind.
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A view of potential lines for our way out.
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Photo by Kim Ross

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Family visits the Butte

Posted by Brittany – July 3, 2010

My folks came to visit us in Crested Butte last week. Not the normal Ohio kind, they kept things quite active. I wasn’t able to join them on everything, but here’s what we did do.

1) Rode our bikes down to Almont and back.
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Changing Gears

Posted by Brittany – July 2, 2010

That’s right folks, it’s time for changing gears. I have lots of gears on my bike and I’ve been using them quite a lot lately. I took full advantage of the snow storm that dumped all kinds of goodness into the mountains in early June. But that snow has been melting at an alarming rate.

These photos were taken of our line on north Baldy, just a week after we skied it. The line is no longer skiable at the top, the middle, or the bottom (though 2 patches of snow still lie in the middle two thirds of the line).
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This photo was taken of Baldy, just a week and a half after I skied both the west (to the left of the peak) and SE (to the right of the peak). There is virtually no snow left on this aspect of Baldy.
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So, it’s official. I’m changing gears. The ski stuff is now put in the hard-to-reach dresser drawer, in exchange for the bike stuff. I mean, it is July after all :) And the riding as of late has been quite good and keeps getting better!

But, never fear- I have a few more ski turns in me still. I do plan on skiing hopefully once in July and August, until the snow hopefully begins to fall again in September. Though the ski gear is put away, it’s not impossible to reach. And I plan on using it a bit more this summer. Because when it’s summer, I’m always wishing it was winter again :)

TR: Daisy Pass Hike (26 June 2010)

Posted by Brittany – June 30, 2010

My folks are in town visiting and after a few days of riding our bikes, we decided it was time to do something different. How about a hike? Now, keep in mind that Frank and I don’t really just hike. We hike to do something- to ski, to ride a bike back down. That’s just what we do. In fact, I mentioned to Frank that very morning, “We’ve never actually just gone hiking together.” “Yes we did. We went hiking along the tow paths along the Cuyohoga River when we visited your family in Ohio in October.” “That wasn’t a hike, that was a walk.” Daisy Pass was going to be a hike!

We parked at the Oh-Be-Joyful campground and began the hike with a bang- Nothing like a nice scary log crossing over a raging river to start off your day.
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From there, we continued along the trail through a dry wooded area near Schuykill Ridge. Susan, Frank and I.
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Rippin Chix Bike Camps

Posted by Brittany – June 28, 2010

On Friday I had the opportunity to instruct another one of Alison Gannett’s Rippin’ Chix bike camps. What a fun day it was!

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Photo by Sherri Harkin at Ridgeline Images

For more pictures of Friday’s camp click here.

Instructing Alison’s camps is always a blast. I enjoy helping other women learn bike skills that they never thought they would be able to do. A few simple tips, like looking ahead, shifting your weight, and just believing that you can do it can go a long way. In just a few hours I watched a group of women grasp skills they knew barely anything about before the clinic and watched each and every one of them smile. Afterall, mountain biking is fun, especially when you’re with a group of girls who loves it too.

Too many women learn mountain biking from their significant other- usually a boyfriend or a husband. All too often, these men go out there and ‘charge it’- getting over things by brute force with little technique. Most women simply lack the ability or desire for ‘brute force’, but still want to mountain bike. I admit, I was a victim of this once. But, I eventually realized that I didn’t have to ‘ride like a guy’. I could still be aggressive, but ride controlled and smooth. I learned to ride those crazy lines using my own riding techniques. I learned to ride like a girl. That’s where Rippin Chix comes in. We want to teach women the techniques that allow them to ride both aggressively and easily over those burly obstacles, with both style and finesse.

Though Alison has not posted the dates on her website as of yet, she is planning on having other clinics this summer. If you’re a woman just starting out mountain biking or looking to improve your riding skills, I highly encourage you to attend one of her clinics. You will learn a lot and come back with a nice sized goody bag, a big smile, some new girlfriends, great memories, and a whole lot of great tips and tricks.

For more about Rippin Chix, please check out Alison Gannett’s website:
http://www.alisongannett.com/Alison_Gannett/Rippin_Chix_Bike.html

TR: Second servings on La Plata (19 June 2010)

Posted by Brittany – June 26, 2010

After three good ski days in the previous week, I wanted to squeeze in some more. Kim was hungry for some skiing also so we planned an outing together. After mulling it over for a bit, we decided to try for Sayres. Kim had skied La Plata on Tuesday and Sayres looked pretty good in her pics.
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Photo by Kim Ross

So, to try Sayres we went. Kim and I were also joined by our friend Lacy.
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TR: Baldy, north (16 June 2010)

Posted by Brittany – June 22, 2010

Life gets hectic sometimes, and I haven’t been able to find the time to post up this TR from last week until now.

After skiing Baldy’s West and Southeast faces on Tuesday I wanted to go back for more. Somehow, along the way, I convinced Frank to come along as well. We decided to try to ski a chute on the north side of Baldy which we call Emerald Couloir, because it takes you right down to Emerald Lake at the bottom.

Gothic Road was blocked about a half mile or mile before Emerald Lake by some serious avalanche debris. We parked there and walked toward Emerald Lake.
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When we arrived at Emerald Lake we took a look at our intended line, Emerald couloir.
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Just looking at the picture, you can’t exactly tell the state that this line was is. But, it was full of avy debris and runnels, and looked really thin at the choke. So, we decided not to go for this line, and to go for another one that is still on the north side of Baldy, but is more east.

Our new line.
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Majestic Mountains videos

Posted by Brittany – June 18, 2010

In scanning the internet this week, I came upon a couple of videos that I really liked, as they show the beauty, majesty, and hazard of the mountains. I thought I’d share them with you.

The first was sent to my by my Bulgarian friend, Diana. She writes, “Viysotsky is my favourite Russian poet and singer. The name of this song is Farewell to the montains. He sings: Better mountains can be only mountains where nobody was…”

The second was shows beautiful clips from the BBC Documentary ‘Planet Earth’, Episode ‘Mountains’. The song is by Vangelis, titled “Ask the Mountains”.

If you look closely, you’ll find some scenes from Colorado. Lizard Head in the San Juans is the most distinct. Also, if you watch both videos you’ll notice some clips are shared between the two!

TR: Mt. Baldy solo (15 June 2010)

Posted by Brittany – June 17, 2010

Sunday’s ski on Grizzly was so incredibly good I couldn’t help but go back for more. Sadly, I couldn’t get anyone to join me. It seems that everyone has given up on skiing. But, I haven’t :) I chose to head out to Mt. Baldy, hoping to ski something on the west side- easy to access and fairly mellow terrain- exactly what I was looking for, especially for this solo ski.

I headed up Washington Gulch Road and was able to make it nearly to the base of the SE face of Baldy, but I couldn’t make it all the way due to a snowdrift. So, I parked there, and began walking around 6:45 am. Baldy in the distance.
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The sun sent rays of joy my way.
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Movie of the Month: Downhill Racer

Posted by Brittany – June 14, 2010

Movie of the Month: Downhill Racer

Director: Michael Ritchie

Year: 1969

Where can I find it? Barnes & Noble

Downhill Racer is unfortunately the first movie I will have to do a negative review for on this blog.

First, let me give a bit of background information. Downhill Racer is considered to be one of the best movies about skiing by many people. This movie stars Robert Redford, who plays David Chappellet, an up-and-coming downhill skier from Idaho Springs, Colorado, who finds himself amidst the fast-paced World Cup tour in Europe. His race results improve quickly, and he becomes a star in Europe. Along the way, he deals with his bully-minded coach, played by Gene Hackman, who knows that Chappellet is a complete egotistical jerk but still wants him on the team so Team USA can win a gold medal in the upcoming Olympics. The movie follows over two years of Chappellett’s ski career leading up to the Olympics. But, just two weeks before the Olympics, Chappellett’s teammate falls during a race and breaks his leg. This teammate is both a friend and foe to Chappellett, as they are both medal contenders. But this injury leaves Chappellett the only hope for Team USA to win a medal in the Olympics. As easily predicted, Chappellett has the run of his life and wins Olympic gold.

So, what didn’t we like about this movie? First off, most of the characters are not likable. Frank and I are skiers ourselves, and realize that the industry is full of ego-freaks. Still, these ego-freaks often have some trace of humanity in them, or else they will lose public interest or even their sponsors. However, Chappellett is basically a self-centered womanizing jerk. There is simply nothing to like about him. He’s mean to everyone around him, even his own father. We feel like this movie is giving the depiction that all good skiers carry this same attitude, which is simply not true. And the coach? Well, he’s about the most uninspiring coach around. Every “pep talk” he gives to Chappellett is demeaning. It’s hard to like a movie when you don’t like the characters. But, we also did not like the storyline. The movie is simply difficult to follow. Huge lapses in time occur, leaving viewers confused about time and place. And the movie plot is followed by the viewer through a series of conversations, some of which don’t always make sense- even to the seasoned skier or racer. There was little character development- we never really knew why Chappellett was always acting like such a jerk.

The one positive we would give this movie is the cinematography. The camera caught the essence of the equipment and the races of old-days. At times, it’s actually scary to watch. Some of the scenes which show close ups of skiers skiing down the slopes are amazing– difficult to imagine how that captured those scenes using older cameras.

Generally, I like older ski movies. However, I did not like Downhill Racer. Still, I have grown up hearing about this movie my entire life. It seems that you cannot be a real skier if you have not seen this movie. Therefore, I’m glad I took the hour and forty-one minutes to view this film. And I would recommend this movie to other skiers, simply because it is such a historical classic in our sport. Hopefully others will enjoy it more than us :)

Trailer on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-OU7xHYF_Y