MY STORY

On January 20th 2010 I departed for my Colorado adventure. Final destination is Telluride, CO. My previous employer closed our Boston office on October 31, 2009 and this seemed to be the most opportune time to do something different. My inspirations are two things really. They are both movies. First is "Into the Wild", a movie about a person who leaves his life behind to pursue a life in the Alaskan wilderness and along the way he meets people that shape his life. The second movie is "The Bucket List", a movie about two terminally ill men who escape a cancer ward with a wish list of to-do's before they die. The #1 item on the wish list is "Witness something truly majestic". My adventures are not exactly similar to these movies, but underlying themes and life changing perspectives are. As far as the location, I thank my sister for that. She lived in the beautiful & remote town of Telluride for five years and met Paul there. Their 1997 wedding was in Telluride (Trout Lake). Telluride is nestled in the dramatic Rocky Mountains of Southwest Colorado.

BLOG 101

If you are new to blogs so am I. Here is an intro. The home page http://mycoloradoadventure.blogspot.com/ has all the posts (the write ups) in order and they work so that most recent is at top of the order. i.e. Day 1, my first post/write-up, is on the bottom page of all the posts/write-ups. On the left side of the blog site there is a "Blog Archive" section where you can navigate to pick and choose year, month and then specific daily posts/write-ups. I wanted to share this in the event you are new to blogs.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Day 34 - 2/22/10 - The Hike








"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." - Abraham Lincoln





After four days of doing the races, I was really looking forward to today. My day started off on an interesting note. I was driving up Route 145 into Telluride, a very scenic drive, and my phone rang. It was the company Elevation Imaging and I have mentioned them before. They are the on mountain photography company that has exclusive rights to all on mountain photos done by a professional outfit. That means all groups, families, organizations, etc. that wants pictures of an event or just a casual family photo goes through Elevation Imaging (EI). Not sure if I mentioned this, but I applied for a position with them about two weeks ago. They were advertising in the local paper. About a week ago I had met with the manager Tim. Just three days ago I then met with the owner Bob. Both good people and though my resume does not scream photography experience, from my initial meetings, they thought my personality could work for their business in both taking pictures and selling those images. Well, not that I'm a pessimist (I actually am), but I did not think I would hear from them since I was told I would be contacted over this past weekend. Today being Monday, I figured they did not want to roll the dice on me. I was wrong. Tim called me today and offered me a spot on their team. So ladies and gentlemen, please refer to me as a professional photographer now. As I begin work (tomorrow!) I will fill you in on how that part of my adventure is going. I am looking forward to it.

Now onto more important things. My day today and some videos for you. After all that talk about volunteering for races (which I enjoyed) while it was snowing 2+ feet, today would be the day I get to finally enjoy a full day on the mountain. Oh boy. Here we go:

Video 1 - Here is my hike up Bald Mountain. It was my longest hike of the day at about 20-30 minutes and although the beginning of the hike saw nice sun and temperature, by the top of Bald Mountain it was windy and cold. At one point I heard them blast for avalanche spots over near Palmyra Peak. What amazing views and the payoff run was in a foot of powder and well worth the hike. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDFMQhgInGo

Video 2 - This is a trail called Genevieve in the Palmyra Peak area of Telluride. This area consists of many wide open areas (called "bowls") and because of avalanche blasting (like you saw in Video #1) much of the terrain beyond Genevieve was closed off. I also introduce you to Mike (from CA) and Bugsy (from AZ). I met Mike a couple weeks ago on a lift and he pointed me out as we were hiking to these runs. Good guys. During Mike's run I think I swear. My apologies but it is quietly said and I could not contain my excitement for this day. Toward the end of the video I turn back to the "bowl" that Mike, Bugsy and I descended down in order to get views of other skiers and riders coming down the same terrain. Just a great view of the area. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAE8fF2nv34

Video 3 - I saved the music video (with a classic) for last. This was the last run of the day. My legs were shot from hiking and boarding in the powder, but I wanted to end the day with some variety. I got big bumps in the beginning and then some trail side fun in the end. Enjoy the music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1gh6gDtxxA

This was the best snow the mountain had seen since I stepped foot in Telluride. I can only hope to have many more days like this. March is the best snow month in Telluride so I have good things to look forward to. I am in early tonight finishing my thoughts to you from home. But not before I got this great photo (see above) of the sun setting on Telluride. The sun has set on the town, but it still shines bright on the top of Ajax Mountain, the eastern end of Telluride. I feel a little anxiety tonight. I want to get a good nights sleep, but I hope I can fall asleep. Tomorrow I will be a photographer. I know there will be a lot to learn, but I'll listen and become better over time. This is a new part of my life I am excited about. Good night from Telluride.
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