the gnar

In the quest to ever improve and go big, this snowboarding season was momentous. Now, some will cry, "The season is far from over, brah." While that may be true out west, 'round these parts 'tis true. When four feet of fresh snow become a lumpy, packed mess, my season is done. Wisp was great last weekend, but it would have been amazing had I been there soon after a fresh snow.

Back to the point of the post at hand. After my third season of riding, I failed to meet her prediction/challenge, "You'll be better than me, and I'll be sad." Season one, the goal was to spend more time upright than not. I think I met that one, despite fracturing the pedicel of one of my vertebrae and inducing traumatic spondylotheosis. The following year, I quickly remembered how to link my turns, carve in the local parlance. I started rocking blue runs like it was my job. This year looked like it was to be epic in growth. My size (comparative to my better half) and seeming lack of fear should have combined to make the student surpass the master.

Well, this year, peer pressure kept me off the trails and put me in the terrain park. No Shaun White tricks up my sleeve yet, but I did land a jump or two. Ending the season running black trails and goofing off in the park was still improvement. I run the blues with certainly more speed than last year and am no longer intimidated by a diamond.

The best part of this season by far was riding confidently with her and my friends. I got to hit up two new resorts and ride outdoors after our historic snowfalls. I no longer feel inferior to most on the mountain. I'd say I'm somewhere near average. I may never be stellar, but that's not my goal. Never was.

Since I can't climb outside much in the winter up here, I may as well make the best of it. Now, a climbing spring is afoot. I have less than three weeks until Horse Pens 40. Time to break through the plateau and send some projects...

long overdue snow stories, part two

The day after my fresh powder riding experience, I got a call from Snow. No, really, that's his name.

Anyhow, he was stuck at home due to the snow and wanted to go snowboarding. Free riding fresh in my mind, we set out for the Iwo Jima Memorial and the Netherlands Carillon in search of a slightly taller hill with a less exhausting approach than the one I'd tried 24 hours prior.

He packed a shovel to build a learning-sized kicker on the side of the hill we found. A hill that many gather on in July to watch the fireworks over the National Mall. In view were the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and U.S. Capitol. Clear, blue skies above, and nary a soul nearby.

As we hiked and rode over and over again, we got a few curious stares from passing cars and a few walkers. Before too long, I was getting better at catching air, though my landings were still spectacular failures. My partner-in-crime slash instructor was hitting all of his 180s, but couldn't quite manage the 360s he was working on.

After a while, an SUV rolls up, and two guys get out. They say their from the BBC and want to take some footage of us on the hill. Um, sure?

To be honest, I wasn't exactly jazzed with the idea. Cameras intimidate me in my best pursuits, which is why perhaps I hide behind mine while shooting my favorite hobbies. After a dozen or so falls on my part and much better success on his, they pack up their gear, stick a microphone in our faces, and ask us a few off-the-cuff questions. Our answers were less than eloquent, but we were apparently on that night's news on BBC. Too bad we never got to see it, despite giving the crew our email addresses.

The story's not done yet. A guy in a Navy (capital N for branch of service, not color) sweatshirt shows up toting two better-than-mine Nikons. He sets himself up for some photos of our view and also asks if he can shoot some of us. Content to be captured by still frames this time, we both think, "Why not?" I think I was more excited for this prospect because even if I fell every time, there were bound to be a few shots that at least made me look like I knew what I was doing.


I was not disappointed. By and by, he emailed me the files, and they were excellent. Check out some more of Justin Sen's photography, featuring yours truly at his website.



...and now you know the rest of the story.

long overdue snow stories, part one

With the snow fast receding, I feel the urge to share two D.C. snow(insert-second-half-of-portmanteau-related-to-disaster) stories.

After the Saturday storm on Feb. 6th, she and I were suffering from a bit of cabin fever. I decided to take a walk to a park near Seven Corners. In the summertime, I spent a few afternoons at the park playing on the waterslides, reading in the sunshine and playing minigolf with various too much free time afflicted friends. After this storm, it was a considerably different landscape.



It doesn't look it, but the snow was nearly waist-deep in spots. It took quite a bit of effort to trudge through with my camera and tripod, but I did manage a few striking shots with the polarizing filter on my lens. This, however, is not my photo blog, and neither the point of this post.

As I was about to leave in a sweaty heap from the unfortunate lack of snowshoes, I saw two guys walking into the park with their snowboards. Curious, I tailed them to the lone hill in the park. These two clever guys had found a small, hidden gem to ride for distraction. I struck up a conversation with them. I quickly hurried home to get my board and join them.

My better half dropped me off on her way to the gym, and I got my first experience in riding fresh powder.

Not out west. In a county park. No lift ticket needed, but I had to earn every twenty second run with the hike back up.

Absolutely worth it, though.

snowtiquette?

This Florida boy is not really up on his winter rules. This winter has given me a few clues into rules of engagement.



Get after the shoveling while it's still falling. It makes it much easier when it finally stops.

Salt works, but only to a point. When it exceeds more than a few inches, the only thing salt does is make removal easier when you can finally find sidewalk underneath. I can't believe that I've gone through 50 pounds already this year. This winter decided to go big to make me go home.

On to etiquette for snow, snowtiquette if you will. Most people seem to have the common decency to not park in spots that were cleared by the sweat and muscles of another. People who are new to snow obviously don't know this. Compounded by a complex that was wholly underprepared and underfunded for this winter, parking spaces are at a premium indeed.

Yesterday, I spent about an hour for the common good clearing some other spaces out with my neighbors. The two spots that we use were finally clear of snow and ice after some heavy duty salt application. Upon returning home from work yesterday, she discovered someone had parked in her spot.

I don't mean some random spot that we "claimed" with a bucket or chair, saying don't park here. I mean a paid spot in our complex that our landlords included with our rent. There's few of them, and we have the right to tow from the spot without warning.

Angered at this breach of snowtiquette, I quickly texted my landlord for the phone number for the towing company and scribbled a terse note for the offender's windshield. Calling the towing company did me no good. They said they weren't towing from paid spots, "per management". My guess? Management knows that there aren't enough spots now for residents because their snow removal budget was blown in December.

We hemmed and hawed about whether or not to call again. Conditions worsening, we were of the opinion that it seemed awfully selfish to tow someone because they're in "our spot." On the other hand, I shoveled out the spot; I put in the hard work; I salted it to clear it completely. Am I completely off-base to expect that I should be able to park there instead of some jackass stealing my hard work? Would her car get keyed after the offending SUV was snatched by a tow truck? I tend to hate tow trucks for being nothing more than glorified car thieves, slightly less so since moving out of Gainesville.

Waking up this morning, it appears that the spot is now empty, rendering my indecision a moot point. If that's not the case, what should I do? It's whiteout conditions; I doubt a plow has been through yet.

In the comments, tell me what to do. Comical, ridiculous responses always appreciated.

bring on the snow!

I was out walking the District today. Nothing like an unplanned and unwanted snow day to kill any sort of momentum you have in the classroom. At least I won't have that pesky three-day weekend for Presidents' Day like I was planning! I just hate time off.

I was quite impressed with the snow removal capabilities in DC. The streets were cleared, including side roads and alleys. Sidewalks, for the most part, were also salted and shoveled. On my normal side of the Potomac, VDOT was a little slower to act, as usual. By the time I got up at 7, the temperature was already above freezing. Shoveling was a breeze today, as was getting the snow off windshields and whatnot.

I come home to find this message from the NWS:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE...SNOW.
* ACCUMULATIONS...THIS STORM IS LIKELY TO PRODUCE 12 OR MORE INCHES OF SNOW IN THE WATCH AREA...WITH A GOOD CHANCE FOR LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OVER 20 INCHES.
* TIMING...SNOW IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN LATE MORNING FRIDAY...CONTINUING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING.
* TEMPERATURES...HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 30S FRIDAY. FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...TEMPERATURES WILL BE 25 TO 30 DEGREES.
* WINDS...EAST 5 TO 10 MPH FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT...BECOMING NORTH 10 TO 20 MPH SATURDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE SIMILAR TO THE DECEMBER 19TH STORM. PLAN FOR SUBSTANTIAL DISRUPTIONS TO TRAVEL FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

Oh, goody! If you work for VDOT, please go talk to someone in the snow removal department for the District. I'd really like to go to work next week. Judging by your efforts after December 19th, I'm not really confident you'll get the roads cleared before Punxsutawney Phil's six weeks of winter are up.

At least my camera still functions, and I can take some more pretty photos...

march already?

Where, oh where, did my winter go? This weekend the clocks spring forward. I know the Daylight Savings people are in some sort of plot to conserve energy by making me get up when it's dark out, but doesn't it seem awfully early for that mnemonic? They need to change it to "Change Your Clocks Two Weeks Before Spring". Doesn't have quite the same pop though...

It seems like months ago that I bought my plane tickets for two weddings in March. Realistically, I guess it was. Winter flew by like most football seasons do. I kept busy pretty much all winter long. Between snowboarding treks to Pennsylvania and ice-covered climbing trips to Maryland, my weekends filled up just as quickly as they do when the Ol' Boys of Florida are battling on the gridiron in the fall. It's been nice to have a lull in my schedule last weekend and this one upcoming. Nothing besides meals with my better half's family. It just isn't going to feel liks spring with all the snow still on the ground from this weekend's dump.

Wedding one next weekend will prevent Shamrock Fest shenanigans, but I think I'll have a better time with an old friend from the neighborhood. We haven't kept in touch nearly as well as we'd like over the years during and past college, but there's nothing like one of those old friends you can immediately feel at ease with. One whose mom you call mom because you spent nearly every afternoon there in the summer, perfecting your bank shot combo with a pool cue.

Wedding two will introduce my better half to a large number of my dirty stinkin' frat boy buddies all at once. Included will be the roommates of seven out of the ten years I spent in Gainesville. Good people all, but she's only met the groom and one of the roommates prior. It should be a good time in the sunshine, plus a bonus night with some family to boot.

Which reminds me, I still need to get rental cars and hotels for those weekends. Yeah, about that....

weather adjustments

From today's Post:

President Obama might have taken note after grousing last month when Sidwell Friends School, where his children go, closed for a smaller storm. "This might be what the president considers a serious snowstorm," his press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said. Sidwell was closed again yesterday, and public schools in the District opened two hours late.
Schools were closed in Montgomery County for the third snow day this year and in Fairfax and Prince George's counties, for the second. All three school systems announced two-hour delays for today.
Virginia declared a state of emergency, calling it the worst storm in eight years. Local airports saw numerous delays and cancellations, although operations were mostly back to normal by late afternoon.

I figured it out. There's a reason why six inches of snow snarls things to a halt around here. The road crews and residents just aren't used to it. The road crews in all the lands that laugh at Beltway residents when a few flakes fall have far more practice at clearing up wintry precipitation. They get it at least yearly, if not several times a year. Twelve solid hours of snow would be cleared quickly by their more experienced crews and their more numerous trucks.

I think from here on out, I ought to expect a day off for a good dose of snow and a two-hour delay for the day after. Today marks the second such string. It'll all be gone by the weekend according to the weather reports. Wonder if that means I can hop on my bike and ride around this weekend in the called-for sixties.

We'll see.

march comes in like a lion...

Finally, we get some serious snow. In March. Go figure. It was ankle deep when I got up, drifts up to a foot. Took me a few minutes to dig out my car to drive to the store. Sadly, I've spent the majority of the day indoors catching up on work I should've done last week.

That said, I sure wish I could've found a person or two to go snowboarding with. It would've been a helluva cold day. They got no snow, but they made a bunch. I hope someday I can live where there's real rocks and real snow in the proper seasons to feed my outdoor addictions.

It's supposed to stay cold today and tomorrow, so maybe I can make a proper snowman this evening. We'll see.

a change of pace

Weekend came and went. Not too much fanfare, just the round trip trek over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we went...

Short notice trips have usually ended in only seeing Granny, my aunt and two uncles. It's hard to coordinate with the cousins. Just like me, they're pretty busy most weekends. By a stroke of luck, I was able to see two out of three this time around. In three or four trips thus far, my co-pilot had yet to meet the last one. This time around, we were able to string it together over "diet cokes" and "water". Ok, the air quotes only apply for one of those beverages.

This was after another day of growth on the slopes. Strapped and loaded, carving is becoming an afterthought. The muscle memory is there. Now I'm focused on the terrain more so than before, which means that I can avoid trouble spots before they drop me on my back. I still manage to get in over my head every so often. I did a face plant in some powder on a really long green run. Popped up, kept on going. Convinced to push the envelope, I hesitated at the warning sign:

Are you an expert? You better be! Death, destruction, severe injury, yadda yadda yadda.

Ok, so that's not entirely it. I wanted to take a picture, but I forgot. Anyhow, she hasn't steered me wrong yet. I look out over the edge of the bowl. I won't lie; I pooped a little. [No, not really!] It was steep in every sense of the word. I met her sitting at the far edge, where the grade was less than 100%. I skidded down the side into the actual run and didn't do too badly. Had it been a little more powder and a lot less ice, I think it would've been prettier. As was the case last time I jumped a grade, I was more concerned about getting run over by the better riders and skiers. Too bad the conditions deteriorated so rapidly when the sun went behind the mountain after lunch. I would've liked to hop back on that run again to improve. So that's it. My first black diamond. Probably wouldn't be so out west, but if you'd have told me I'd be trying a black diamond by the end of the season, I would've laughed at your joke.

We cut the day short with a blazing fast shot down their longest run that wove all over the mountain. Packed up for a gargantuan pasta dinner with the family. Good stuff.

going big

Going big does always lead to going home. Going big too often leads to staying home sometimes when you'd rather be out enjoying life. This weekend was one such case of circumstances combining with fatigue to keep me in on what turned out to be a pretty spectacular weather weekend.

Too bad.

A lack of planning on our parts led to a lack of plans. Climbing would have been good; alas, the local place we chose in our shortsight turned out to be sketchy access, so we bailed on it. The weather turned out too warm to hit the slopes, so no riding either. Conversely, the temps were too cold for too much bike riding, so as you know, I was relegated to climbing in a gym with seemingly perfect, dry conditions.

I miss my Florida sunshine, but I reckon I'll get a good dose of it in a few weeks when I go back for two weddings. That'll be pretty darn close to springtime, and all I'll be hoping for up here is some warmer temps. That'll lead to bigger trips for bigger rocks and bigger sends. For now, I'll have to settle for the fleeting glimpses of sunlight I get through my classroom window and my windshield in the mornings. Lord knows I haven't been out of here early enough lately to catch those late afternoon rays!

Spring break is fast approaching, and plans are set to see some big walls. Yosemite granite is calling my name. I doubt I'll get on El Capitan or Salathe Wall, but I might try to soak up some history via Midnight Lightning. Lyn Hill makes it look so easy on video. I doubt my lanky frame can do what her nasty strong five feet two inches breezed through, but it'll be fun to try.

That's all I got. Back to the grindstone.

wisdom of the sages

Sage generally implies that someone is aged and has gathered much wisdom in their many years on the earth. I have no idea how long Anne Applebaum has been roaming this sphere, but she's got some pretty good thoughts about weather and extremes. I wasn't sure where she was going beyond making fun of Londoners and Washingtonians, but she sure hit the nail on the head with her take on perspective.

This winter has been one of getting it from both sides of the aisle in my family. My mother on the southern end, complaining it's too cold; me laughing because above freezing is turning balmy in my perception. My aunt on the northern side, asking me if it's cold enough yet. I'd say that I'm dealing with the extremes of this winter pretty well. At least for a Florida boy, my blood is thickening up quite nicely with the antifreeze. Sure, I wish we had more snow, but we have been blessed with some gorgeous sunny days this year. A stark contrast from last year's cold, rainy, London-esque days for sure!

I just hope when summer rolls around again, I haven't lost my Florida tolerance for heat and humidity. My perspective, it barely gets to hot 'round here...

too much fun

For once, a little bitty inservice at work has turned into a half-hearted, goofy hobby for post-climbing trip reminiscing. Where Windows Movie Maker meets grainy, point-and-shoot videos. Some mp3s show up at the party, and we have a nonsensical climbing film.

Well, two actually. Enjoy!

slip and slide

all the local blogs are simultaneously freaking out about the weather and decrying the local news media for doing the same. it's pretty funny actually. myself, i said the hell with it and rolled with the punches. for those of you out-of-towners, it snowed here most of the day on tuesday. it was a teacher workday, no kids. the county sent me home at noon. for light, fluffy, pretty snow.

i was glad to go home early, since i was going to try to sneak out anyhow. i'd run out of things to do. grades were due that morning at 8:30, so i'd finished them the day before. i spent the day working on smartboard lessons with a teammate.

i ate my lunch when i got home and stomped off into the snow to snap some photos. this new camera is a lot of fun, but i probably ought to read the user's manual a few times to figure out all the bells and whistles. i found my way to lubber run park near my house. it's my go-to wilderness spot in my urban landscape. against norm, there were many kids roaming the park with their sleds and snowballs and classmates. i wanted to take some fun action shots of kids being kids since it seems so rare these days, but i thought better of it. it's sad that it takes the local anomaly of snowfall to get lazy adolescents and younger kids out of the house to play in public with their friends. x-box and playstation and wii have ruined this generation.

yesterday, more of the same with far more than snow on the ground. the treachery of ice prevented most districts in the area from having school. instead of heading to the slopes to ride, i took off to the city for some urban winter shots. i threw out about 95% of what i snapped. i'll try some of the in-camera editing features to make them black and white or color balance or filter to tweak them before i post some more.

as of this morning, ice had refrozen on many sidewalks and roads. some of my sidewalks were never cleared by our management company, and my neighbors are understandably upset. we got a two-hour delay out of it, turning our already short week for the kids to barely more than a day and a half. i sure hope tomorrow is a normal-length day. i'd much rather have them in a normal, structured day than one that i've had to modify in the wee hours of the morning before school starts.

next week, forecast is calling for another dose of the white stuff. i'll deal with it with a grin and a grimace. the grin for the beauty and florida boy in me that enjoys the novelty of the seasons. the grimace for all the morons on the road and locals (who are mostly transplants to begin with!) who bitch about it. it's january folks. shut your mouth or move to brownsville, texas.

comatose

food comas are best enjoyed after a long day climbing or outdoorsing. case in point, today.

left with the two chucklehead copilots today 'round about eight. hit their parking lot a little after 9:30. we expected single digits and were pleasantly surprised with the teens for most of the day. translation? only three layers and none of them heavy insulation. as long as i was moving, i was doing alright.

fortunately, today was yet another snow day spent on my feet more than on my tail. big progress today. big props to snow for helping me improve all day long. no, i'm not personifying precipitation. for those of you that don't know, a pledge brother of mine's last name happens to be snow, and oddly enough, he also shreds the gnar. quite well, in fact. good pointers from him had me falling all over the place in the morning to confidently running all of the blue trails by the end of the day. i was linking turns quickly and falling rarely. when i did fall, i bounced right back up again and kept on cruising.

right now, it's turned into a mind game of enjoying the adrenaline from the speed and still building the muscle memory to make turning at higher speeds second nature. turning off the anxiety with speed is the first step towards getting better and quickly. fear does funny things to your brain in so-called adrenaline sports. with some, it makes you overly cautious and second guesses your every move. on a snowboard, that can be pretty dangerous. it was the same with climbing; the fear of falling makes you overly cautious and sketch out on moves you can make. the fear takes over, and shuts you down.

i noticed last night at the gym how much my climbing technique has evolved over the years. some movements are so second nature to me that i forget how difficult it was for me to learn them, let alone build the core to make them. i suppose the same is true for snowboarding as well when friends are trying to help me straighten out my game strapped to a 154cm waxed piece of wood.

twelve hours later, and one cracker barrel coronary special, i am all sorts of comatose from fatigue and food. catch you on the flip side!

matching bruises

against my better judgment, i went down the blue run to warm up. i had second thoughts, but she said i could do it. turns out, that run was pretty much ice. my heel side turns had become nonexistent in the off season. toe side, i picked back up pretty quickly, but finding that soft(er) patch of ice to make the turn proved more difficult than expected.

as i've been told repeatedly, when the conditions are good on skis, they're great on a snowboard. conversely, when they're bad on skis, they're horrible on a board. proven right yet again.

i smartly made the best of it by working on linking my turns on the bunny slopes before attacking anything more challenging again. i think i got my turns back to where they were at the end of last season. i attacked a long, narrow green repeatedly by the end of the day. it was different every time. i used the terrain to my advantage to make those heel turns, but i'll need to get them solid before i get comfortable with any speed. i'm more or less plowing the whole way down any semblance of a steep grade.

all things told, i kept it together pretty well for the amount of falls i took. she was awesomely patient and ditched me for a while to ride two runs to my one. she always met me at the bottom and told me funny stories about gumbys hitting on her on the lifts. at the end of the day, my final fall to my knees left me with a sore neck...and a hankering to get back out there for some more.

asdf jkl;

sometimes i wish they'd just leave us to teach. no interference about content or mandates or testing. tell us how well they need to read by the end of the year and (gasp!) let us use that so-called expertise they require of us but rarely let us use.

i'm not sure where that came from. my fingers just rolled with it. i guess i've got some pent up angst over not being allowed to teach something fun this time of year. the kids are mentally checked out, and we've got four full school days until winter break. i'm barely here myself, though i will admit getting out of bed in the morning is far easier this year than it was last year. that brings my career batting average to .500 i guess.

i suppose we'll have to see how the rest of the year pans out, what with testing and all. i really should get out of here while the last rays of sunlight are still on the horizon. doesn't look like we'll be seeing much of mr. sun this winter. at least the weekend forecast calls for a few rays...

rock tour

whisperings and rumors finally came to fruition yesterday. there are boulders in them thar hills. i got to climb on them. hooray!

no names. local crag. access related issues, high traffic would be detrimental to climbers' access. like kids looking like we were doing something wrong, we disappeared into the woods on the social trails near the river. i'd been tramping around in these woods a time or two on my own, but not with the guru of the crag.

some of the boulders we walked past, i'd never considered climbing. it was like a new roll of bright pink tape had been laid all over the rock and bright blue matting beneath it. now i know that established climbs exist. i don't have the first ascensionist's vision. maybe next summer with a back of my brain idea to go climbing in rocklands, but not yet.

i climbed well. i shivered. i got to know some locals that climb outdoors. it was the luck of the draw pretty much and paying attention to the message board. talking to this cragger yesterday, i discovered that the open invite was unintentionally directed at me. i'm glad i received the message. a few projects now ready to go down next time i get a free, dry weekend day. who's with me next time?

east coast shreddin'

this is what we have to look forward to when it ain't quite snowing, but the weather's cold enough to keep the snow around.



soon, i will regale you with tales of injuries and triumphs on the man-made snow-covered slopes of extreme southern pennsylvania. joy!

here we go again!

there's nothing like the excitement of a roomful of eleven and under students, already at free rein to talk amongst themselves. what my normal florida, excited-at-the-prosepect-of-snow reaction should be turns to, "there goes the rest of the day!"

of course, even with flurries, it's no different than teaching when the weather changed during the school day in florida. the same lecture applies.

"y'all have seen rain/hail/thunderstorms/snow/flying pigs/raining frogs before. let's all take a look out the window for a minute, then we're done being excited about it until school's out. capiche?"

i had to conceal my excitement over the weather change. of course, it's a lot easier when the flurries aren't sticking. now, when we get some measurable snow, i just might pee my pants this year because i've got a snowboard, waxed up and ready to go.