Day 25 & 26 - 2/13 - 2/14/10 - Telluride, CO

"The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention." ~Oscar Wilde

Days 25 & 26 - Volunteer Work (pictured above)

This weekend marks the dates of 2/13 and 2/14 2010. The weekend was full of a new experience for me. As I mentioned on Day 23 (Thursday 2/11) I met Justin (Chandler) during indoor soccer. Justin is the Executive Director of Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club (TSSC). TSSC is a non-for-profit organization whose mission is to instill and nurture a passion for all snow sports along with developing character, discipline and desire, which encourages young athletes to reach their highest potential. That is their actual mission statement and here is their web site http://www.tssc.org/. TSSC was who I volunteered with this weekend. While many people called it "volunteer work" I will suggest that this was a unique opportunity for me to be a part of a team that brought order to an Alpine Racing event i.e. I was on a mountain, I got a sunburn (a bad one) and this really was not work! I want to thank Justin for giving me the opportunity to be this close to the action as well as meet another great set of people (volunteers, coaches and racers) in Telluride. This weekends event was the USCSA (United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association) Men's and Women's GS (Giant Slalom) Race. These guys can explain it (and anything really) better than me http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gs_skiing

Day 25 (Saturday) was Day 1 (of 2) of the USCSA College Race. I've made the wise decision to NOT take video and pictures. I figured it would be in the best interests of my "work" reputation to focus on the tasks at hand, learn the process and meet the people. I met lots of people today. Donna and Ray were the two people who headed up different areas of the race that I was exposed to. Donna was in charge of the starting gate area and Ray was in charge of the Gatekeepers. I'll explain. At the starting gate 4-5 people keep track of 1) official start times (electronic), 2) unofficial star times (manual), 3) ensuring racers are in order and at the start gate in time, and 4) informing the rest of the staff, via radio, of any changes. Changes could be a no show, a racer being late and thus changing the order, etc. They do other things as well, but that is the jist. Donna was really nice and she sets a high bar for running a good operation. The folks at the start gate were welcoming and funny (during down times). We had a good time. Further form the start are the Gatekeepers. The "Gatekeeper" job includes monitoring a given section of the course to be sure each racer passes though the gate correctly. Gates are essentially the flags that the racers have to pass through. On the course today the gates are alternating sets (a set being two flags about 10 years apart) of red and blue gates. The gates alternate in a "S" shape to make the racer weave back and forth. For the racers it is balance, power, speed and focus. I gained a whole new level of appreciation for these athletes. Especially the ones screaming in pain as they come down the course with their muscles burning from repeatedly digging into the turns at high speeds.

By Day 26 (Sunday) I could have worked for the Apline skiing events in this winter's Vancouver Olympics. I had been trained by the TSSC pros of Telluride and I was ready to be on my own. Today I was a Gatekeeper. I was in charge of gates #13 through #16 and I had to watch as 55-75 racers (per heat) come through my assigned gates every 20-30 seconds. You actually need to stay focused just because of the repetitive nature of 75 racers coming through per heat. Women go first and then minutes after the Men start. There is a heat in the morning and one in the afternoon. The more I watch and get to see these athletes the more I appreciate what they are doing. And the top racers....let's just say I was shocked at the speed and balance of their runs. It was impressive. Today I also met some of the coaches. One coach in particular was Chris Grover, from the Purgatory Ski Team (of Durango Mountain Resort). Chris attended the Killington Mountain School (in Vermont) and has been in the Telluride ski area for 8 years. Chris was an Apline racer himself so his take on all the racers was cool. Chris was the women's official for the race and he was also kind enough to shoot some video of what Gatekeeping responsibility is like. Thanks to Chris for videoing and best of luck to his team the rest of the season. Couple quick hits on the video:

1. With the first few racers, note the platform I am standing on. I had to dig this in the snow because the slope was steep and hard to stand on regularly.
2. I did not include music because I wanted people to hear some of Chris' coaching. You can hear him say "Downhill ski, downhill ski, downhill ski.." It was cool for me to hear the coaching lingo.
3. At the end of the video is a clip of the men's fastest racer of the day. He flew.
4. Though she did not make the video (because I was in awe) the top women's racer (from New York) was unbelievable to watch come down the mountain. Her center of gravity was low and strong. I can't tell you how fast she was going, but she was whipping down the mountain, hitting every gate and blowing away most women (and men!) in her times.
5. Here is the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnLiXlp9uy8

And finally, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. Hope everyone has a great day with your loved ones. Good night from Telluride.

Days 20 - 24 - 2/8/10 - 2/12/10 - Telluride, CO

"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built." - Eleanor Roosevelt

I'm here in Telluride and I am not sure I mentioned this, but Telluride has been my final destination since the outset of this adventure. For most of my journey and while getting used to new settings in Telluride, it can be difficult to stay current with my write-ups. In an effort to get caught up, I am going to cover this first full week (2/8/10 through 2/12/10) in this one post. I write the bits and pieces every day so the memory bank is in check (sometimes it is not) and then I sit to organize, edit, make video and send to you. Thus the delayed days. So before we get into it, check out this cool video of my very first drive into Telluride. Couple things to note. First, is that this is a long winding road...the only one that leads into Telluride and the only one that can get you out. The town is as remote as I have ever seen and it literally sits in the mountains. Second, the first real view of Telluride Mountain is at the 1:16 mark of the video. Look off in the distance. It's a dominant view when you first see it. When I first get into town you can see the High School off to the left (big brick structure) in the near distance. Last thing. Probably the most historic buildings in Telluride are the San Miguel Courthouse and the New Sheridan Hotel. Both are next to each other and both are around the 3:05 (Courthouse....with the clock tower) and 3:14 (Hotel) marks of the video. I end the video with a scenic view of the entire town of Telluride (from a Gondola). Music is "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay and I like how it fits the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoGjI4JpEtw

Day 20 - 2/8/10 - Today is Monday and where I might normally feel gross from Superbowl Sunday unhealthiness, here in Telluride I feel ok. The establishment where I viewed the game is here http://www.browndogpizza.net/ and fortunately I was able to control my eating and drinking. What I could not control were the somewhat crazy New Orleans Saints fans that were in attendance. Here they are, after a Saints touchdown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oclSMrJr1hA. Brown Dog Pizza has a New England flare to it. It's owned by one Boston guy and another guy who was roommates with Tom Brady at one point while attending Michigan. Pretty cool. They have some Brady signed jerseys and other New England paraphernalia. Makes me feel right at home. Until I walk outside and see enormous mountains!

Day 21 - 2/9/10 - It is Tuesday in Telluride and unfortunately upon my arrival to town I came across a scene that has the entire town in shock. Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKoWk-xvDUM. I have only been here for a few days and it did not take me long to understand the impact of this event. Baked in Telluride (BIT) was one of the more popular establishments in the town. I have included pictures above and I am sorry that this town lost a piece of its character. It still has plenty left.

Day 22 - 2/10/10 - By Wednesday of this week I felt comfortable about having my feet on the ground here. Part of my issue is that I do not like the "throw yourself out there" attitude. In one respect that makes it hard for me to meet people. In another respect I am not the new guy in town that is too loud. And I have seen it before already; someone walks into a bar and makes too much an appearance. People are so nice here and they likely would not tell the guy he is a jackass, but they eventually pay no attention to him. Basically, I am not that type, nor do I care to be that type. I've taken a slow approach. Today I met a woman who is the President of Telluride Youth Soccer. I told her my background in coaching and she was immediately interested in seeing if I would coach. This was great because I definitely miss that part of my life back in Boston. She also opened the door to several other individuals who I met today. Mick is the owner of The Steaming Bean and that is a coffee shop on Main St. He is English, loves soccer and immediately invites me to indoor soccer tomorrow (Thursday) night. The day just keeps getting better. I make my way up the Gondola to go into Mountain Village. This is what I see when I step off the Gondola http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoZNG3yJ9so. If you can't tell it is tiny kids learning to ski on a tiny slope. The have a pseudo conveyor belt (the black strip between the snow areas) that takes the kids up the hill, then they ski down. They ski about 30-40 yards down the hill and without missing a beat they hop on the conveyor belt and get back up the hill. It cracked me up to watch it, but I could not help but think that these tiny kids will be the next best thing on the mountain in a few years. Kids are fearless and most of them that I see on the mountain are fast and near flawless.

Day 23 - 2/11/10 - Today is Thursday and I've had a busy day. I started off in Telluride dropping my resume off to a few places. When you work for certain outfits in the town and on the mountain you get a season pass for free (or a significant discount). Given the price tag of $1,800 I figured I would try. And it is also a great way to meet people so there is no harm in that. Trouble is I am coming in mid season and there is not much available. I'll give it a shot and see what happens. After I dropped off the resumes I went to the public library and got the lay of the land there. The place is amazing. I know I use that word a lot, but it really is. The people are very nice and they have a ton of books, videos and everything. It's all free. Basically I can check out as many movies as I want for a week. I was signed up with library card in hand after ten minutes there. Sara worked the magic and she got a kick out of me and my reaction to how generous the library is in their approach. Are other libraries like this? I then made my way into Montrose, the closest dwelling to Telluride that has larger retail stores. I basically made a grocery run.....50 miles there and 5o miles back. The way it works here; you go to Montrose, you spend a 30-40% less on food. Remember my factoid from a previous post? That Telluride has no main stream chains and retail shops at all? That can sometimes equal out to a higher price tag. I also stopped at the Sports Authority in Montrose to pick up indoor soccer shoes for my debut tonight.

I met Mick (coffee shop owner) at the High School gym for indoor soccer tonight. He introduced me to Justin and Anthony. It was a good time although the 8,750 altitude had me struggling a little! I was grateful Mick invited me. Justin is from NH. Not only are Mick and Justin associated with Telluride Youth Soccer (both coach), but Justin works on the mountain and asked me if I would be interested in volunteer work....in exchange for free lift tickets. Two per each time I volunteer. How cool is that? Anthony is from Dublin and unfortunately he flies home tomorrow. Very nice guy and the four of us enjoyed playing on the same team and then hitting a bar after for food and a drink. Good news is they asked me to play again. Bad news is I hope my lungs recover by then!

Day 24 - 2/12/10 - Today is Friday and I have energy. So I am a little embarrassed. I've been here for a week and I have not been on the mountain yet. Truth is, I am not too worried about it. I am taking my time to get acquainted with the town and the people. The mountain and I will have lots of time together in the near future. So I found this help wanted ad in the daily newspaper. It's a company called Elevation Imaging and they are looking for an on mountain photographer. I jumped out of my chair. Many of you may not know this, but I enjoy photography a lot. I have a camera (it was a generous gift) and ever since I received it in June 2009, I have taken approximately 2,000 pictures with it. I suppose that is not a ton, but it's a good amount. Anyway the camera is with me, it has been the source of many of the pictures (not videos) that I post to this blog and I enjoy it. Like I said, I jumped out of my chair, hopped on the Gondola and went over to Mountain Village to the location of Elevation Imaging. I had a resume in hand. When I got there, here was the extent of the conversation. Keep in mind it took me one hour to 1) go to my car and get camera, 2) walk back to the Gondola and 3) take the Gondola from Telluride to Mountain Village:

Me - Energetically - "Hi, I am interested in the position I saw advertised in the daily news."

Elevation Imaging - "Great, what's your name?"

Me - Eagerly - "I'm Nick Richio. I submitted a resume on line and I figured I would drop a hard copy off as well as put a name to the face"

Elevation Imaging "Great. Can you come back tomorrow morning at 9:30am?"

Me - Not like I had a choice - "See you then. Thank you."

Anyway, I meet with them tomorrow morning. I am excited about it as it involves something I am truly passionate about. Oh, I spoke with my sister today and she received a package that I had sent for her, her husband, my nephew and niece. I am glad they received it and it is always good to hear her voice. Remember she and her husband lived in Telluride for five years. I know they love me, but I think they temporarily dislike me because I am here and they are not. They live in Eugene, Oregon. Sorry family. Telluride misses you.

Well, there it is. One week in one post. It was an eventful week. Through things I have done and people I've talked to, I feel like I have been here for a month. Some people (locals here) say it takes years to break into a place like this. I am not close, but I believe if you do things in an effective and subtle manner, then people will respect you up front and maybe, just maybe, have a genuine interest in getting to know who you are.

Day 19 - 2/7/10 - A Special Tribute

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal" ~From a headstone in Ireland

What am I supposed to do here? I really wanted to do this, but how can I possibly say the right things? I even asked Jason (McGeachey) if it would be ok to write about his Dad and he said it would be ok. Jason is one of my closest friends from Cape Elizabeth (Maine). This will be my most challenging post thus far. I can't even decide if I want to call him Bob or Mr. McGeachey. Bob was the man I did not get to see enough through college and post college years. Mr. McGeachey was the man who supported me in all my endeavors on the soccer fields and in the very important youth and teenage years of life. I'll be all over the map with who I refer to him as. As you can see from the picture above, Bob passed from his family and friends far too soon. Today, February 7, 2010, is the one year anniversary of his passing. And because he touched the lives of so many, this is my small tribute to him.

Bob McGeachey was an amazing man. He still is an amazing man. He was a great husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother and friend to so many people. Bob took care of others as if they were more important than he was. I saw this first hand with many days and nights spent at the McGeachey household during my youth. Mr. and Mrs. McGeachey treated me better than they did their own sons. He was a hard working man. The sole proprietor of McGeachey Tree and Lanscape he worked magic with his hands on some of the most beautiful property in the town, state and I'll even throw in the east coast. Like I said in Day 7 of my blog, Cape Elizabeth is one of the most beautiful places in our country. His work was admired and respected by all. Bob had an incredible aura to him when he was around his grandchildren. He loved them passionately. But where his greatness shone was in his ability to be a "grandfather" to those who were not his grandchildren. Kids loved him and though I rarely witnessed it, I heard it often and viewed it first hand when people, including so many kids, celebrated the life of this beloved man. Quite simply Bob McGeachey was a man who took all the love, caring and unselfishness in the world and spread it to anyone he came into contact with. My and my parents love for his entire family has made me part of who I am today. I thank Mr. and Mrs. McGeachey for the many years where they treated me as their own.

Of all my quotes, I am most happy I found this one. If you read it a few times and digest it, it is emotionally moving and I think it applies to all of us and the close people we have lost in our lives.

To Mrs. McGeachey, Jeff, Jason, Josh and all of the McGeachey/Thoreck family, each and every one of you are in my thoughts and prayers. Please know that Bob's funeral prayer card travels with me, in my car, each and every day of my journey. If time could stand still, I would be back on Orchard Rd. with the stories keeping me laughing and the signature wood stove fire keeping me worry free. He built everyone of those fires for the family and friends in his home and not for himself.

I hope everyone can pass along a prayer to Mr. McGeachey and those close to you that have passed. Good night from Telluride.

Day 17 & 18 - 2/5/10 & 2/6/10 - Telluride, CO

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." - Alan Cohen

Let's get to the quote a little later on. For now, I have arrived in Telluride and here are some fun facts about the place where my adventure has taken me to:

• Telluride has the only free gondola public transportation system of its kind in North America.
• At 9,078 feet above sea level, the Telluride Regional Airport is the highest commercial airport in North America.
• At the east end of Telluride, Bridal Veil Falls is Colorado's tallest free-falling waterfall at 365 feet.
• Ski Magazine rates Telluride Ski Resort in the Top 10 ski resorts in North America.
• Telluride Helitrax is Colorado's only helicopter ski company and has been in operation since 1982.
• Telluride was the first city in the world to have electric streetlights.
• Once called the “City of Lights,” the world's first alternating current (AC) power plant was built here.
• Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank in Telluride on June 24, 1889, walking away with over $24,000.
• The Galloping Goose's oldest bus, #101, runs on non-toxic, biodegradable, vegetable oil-based biodiesel fuel.
• There are no chain restaurants or shops in Telluride.
• The nearest stoplight is 45 miles away.

There. Just some background on what I am dealing with here. From these two days, 2/5 (Friday) and 2/6 (Saturday) I can tell you that a few of those items on that list are true. There are definitely no street lights. One of the pictures I took above is of the town of Telluride center. It has unbelievable character to it....and not one street light. This fact is actually not a huge deal to me because my hometown of Cape Elizabeth (ME) installed it's first stop light near the high school sometime in the past decade (I think). It always had one flashing light on Rt 77, but no stop light. We also had a huge police force with three patrolling cops at any point in time. That's intimidation. While breaking up high school parties was common, pulling people over for running red lights was not. The other picture above (right) is of Mountain Village and the FREE Gondola that runs through it. I have to emphasize free because not much in any part of getting up a mountain is free unless with your own feet. The little party area below the Gondola in the picture is a place called Hop Garden. Good food and some good microbrew beers. Oh, here is one more thing I did not realize until I spoke with my sister. She lived in Telluride with her husband for five years. Telluride is it's own town and Mountain Village, with all 1,370 residents (2008 data), is its own town. I thought Mountain Village was just the area of Telluride's ski mountain where all the condos, restaurants, shopping, ski lifts were. Nope. Mountain Village is an incorporated town (1995) in the state of CO. Interesting because each town takes up a side of the ski mountain. What's even more cool about it is there are two FREE Gondolas. One goes up a face of the mountain in Telluride, hits a peak, then descends (on the same gondola line) into Mountain Village. Basically you go town to town on one FREE Gondola. It is something you have to try to really appreciate it. The second Gondola (the one pictured) runs from a ski plaza in Mountain Village to the Mountain Village Town Hall building and Village Market that are somewhat situated from the ski area.

For these two days, I walked around town, spoke with quite a few people in shops, markets, libraries, a bakery and a coffee shop...where I got a hot chocolate. It was good. It was a couple days for me to get my feet on the ground and see what the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village are like. One thing for sure is that everyone knows everyone, like all small ski towns.

So there it is. I bet you all want to visit now. And only after two days here, I think you should. It is beautiful and clean and the people here are very friendly. I'll try and capture it more in future blogs, but the way this town is nestled into the mountains is truly spectacular. And that is about the only reason you should need to come here. I have not seen any place like it.

Today's quote was cued up from some time back and I decided to use it today because someone emailed me and said "It takes a lot of courage to do what you are doing" It took me some time to think about that as courage was nothing I thought about with respect to what I am doing. It is such a powerful word to me. However when I thought about some of my moments on this trip, the elements of unknown, not having my typical comforts, it occurred to me that you have to be somewhat fearless to hop in a car and go. Again, courage is a strong word to me and its not like I had one canteen of water, no form of communication and a compass for this trip. I had modern technology to help.....well, my courage. The one part of the quote that I agree with, but does not apply is "But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful." I have not enbarked on this adventure because where I come from means nothing to me. Boston and Maine have always been home for me and I probably take for granted how secure I feel there. Anyway, I've tried to explain this before. This adventure is about opening your eyes to things you have never seen before, it's about seeing something truly majestic and it's about discovering new things about yourself that you did not know. It's really a great quote in any case.

No videos for today. Sorry. There will be some in the following days. Actually my blog for tomorrow (2/7) will be a special tribute. I hope you can all take the time to read it. Thanks for checking and stay tuned!

Days 15 & 16 - 2/3/10 - 2/4/10 - Steamboat to Telluride

"The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences." - Christopher McCandless

Today I will cover my last day in Steamboat, Wednesday 2/3/10 and my journey from Steamboat to Telluride on Thursday 2/4/2010.

It is nice to always take time and reflect. My guess is that many of you do not have enough time in the day to do so. Prior to this trip, neither did I. It is one of the greatest things that have come out of my adventure. Of course I did not go into this expecting to think as much as I have or even write to this blog as much as I have. With a new experience it is often hard to predict how you will deal with it, react to it and reflect upon it. I do not know what my next months of my travels will bring, but since my departure I have appreciated my country more, enjoyed meeting new faces and reflected more than I ever have.

These two days are days of reflection for me. I spent much of Wednesday writing and thinking. It is quiet in the condo and my body needs some rest from the mountain. It's a shame that work has to get in the way of being creative because rest assured if I were working, I would not be taking pictures/videos and writing to you. One of the things that has been pointed out by several of you is how special it will be to always have this documentation of my adventure. What is ironic is that what I am doing now is something I have thought about doing at various points in my life. Not necessarily the travelling part, but it's that time where you say to yourself 'I wish I had a video of this.' Of course there are videos of certain milestone events like graduations, weddings, newborns, etc, but think of how interesting it would be if you had video of yourself from random high school and college days, or your first day of your first real job. Not only would you never have to rent movies (even if you hate it, everyone is intrigued by seeing themselves), but you would also have an interesting full length (and some) film of your own when it is all said and done. It is nice to think about, but unless you are a documentary specialist, it's probably not realistic. Keeping a journal however is realistic. I had never kept one until this trip and not only do I have my public journal in this site, I also have started to keep some of my own thoughts in a private journal. Reflection is good. Whether you are reflecting on good or bad things, I think it is healthy to clear your mind and write things down. Each time I have done so in my life, thought few and far between, it has made me feel good.

With these days of reflection (one being my day of travel to Telluride) I only have three videos. First two are video compilations of my drive. I try to give you a little perspective on the Colorado back roads and how curvy they are, as well as the Colorado Rockies and how big they are....and they only got bigger as I made my way to Telluride. Amazing.

- First is my departure from Steamboat. This video has some commentary along the way and its to a song called "Use Somebody" by the band Kings of Leon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aV6aiLzRaA.

- Second is another great song by Eddie Vedder called "Hard Sun" (from Into the Wild) and it just seemed to fit my long journey into the Rockies. As you can see, I tried to make the video fit the song. A little dangerous recording while driving, but I could argue that it's an art. There is no commentary to this, but an amazing song and some beautiful scenery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4-Jbt_oAC0

- Third video was an unplanned pitstop in Grand Junction, CO. In order to get some of my video the way I want it, I decided to make a purchase. Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGucVNXOzxo Truth is, I have been thinking about getting this gadget for a while. Great media applications and just a better fit for me. This is the first blog I am typing to you from the purchase and I enjoy it thus far.

The ride was long (6.5 hours) from Steamboat to Telluride. I passed a lot of nice scenery including the large rock pictured above. I also passed an interesting landmark in my journey. My 1997 Audi hit the 3,000 mile mark for this trip! I don't have video of me praising the car for the effort, but I am thrilled it got me here. I've arrived in Telluride safely and I'm ready for my new experiences. The quote of the day is from the main character in the non-fiction book/movie Into the Wild. I have referenced Into the Wild several times before as an inspiration to my Colorado adventure. Each and every day is a new experience for me and my spirit is alive. Good night to everyone.

Day 14 - 2/2/10 - Steamboat Mountain

“You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once.” - Robert A. Heinlein

Today is Tuesday February 2nd 2010 and it is the day the remainder of the gang from Boston leaves. This is my short tribute to them.

When I found this quote it did not take me long to think about how it applied to my day. Surely ripping down a mountain is not peaceful in any way, shape or form. Maybe if you are the only one in a field of powder, but even that is rigorous, intense work that is more a rush than peace. Throw in people cutting you off and a snowmobile (or Snow Cat) racing up the mountain, while you avoid it skiing down, and obtaining peace going down a trail is near impossible. But everyone who has skied (or snowboards like me) has found peace on a mountain. And if you haven't, then you probably did not overcome the many reasons why people do not ski i.e. cold weather, too much equipment, dangerous, too expensive, etc. I almost gave it up because no ski boot seemed to fit me when I was younger....always seemed to cut circulation off to my feet. Anyway, the peace I found today was mainly related to the departure of the group from Boston. I found peace because they left me to ride up on the chair lifts by myself. Assuming an uninterrupted and smooth lift ride, it is you, the fresh air, and on a clear day, an amazing view. It was peaceful. For the freedom part, this is how I look at it. While the chairlift has peacefulness to it, it does not have the freedom element. How can being seated with a bar holding you in place be symbolic of freedom? Freedom on a mountain is the ability to lose yourself in a run down the mountain. It's the rush of racing down a mountain with the wind in your face. Or, going through an open field of fresh powder. Either course includes an element of feeling free and alive. If you think about it, in 3o minutes you can take chairlift up a mountain and ski down a mountain. Both will provide you with emotions that are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Pretty cool.

The Tribute

I wish this tribute could be a little more action packed, but quite simply I did not have the energy and the legs were a little tired. One of the toughest things being on this trip is to motivate yourself when it's just you. It's kind of the same as getting the self motivation to go to the gym, but it's a lot different when you are traveling around and your typical conveniences in your routine life do not exist. And unless you are a wanderer, everyone has a routine. Some are just more accessible, more convenient and less time consuming than others i.e. single vs family or city living vs mountain living. Couple the self motivation issue with the fact that my closest connection to home (my group of friends) just departed and you can see why the energy level could be lacking.

Let's focus on the positive. We had a great 4/5 days, some fun nights and good video footage to capture it all. If Robert A. Heinlein (my quote of the day) is suggesting you cannot have peace and freedom at the exact same moment, then I agree with him. If he is referring to not having both in the same day, then I disagree. The above picture of my last ride does it near perfect justice; today I was on the mountain and there were not many people around me. I was on my own, no one to talk to.......and I had both peace and freedom. Here is my tribute*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN1qUGd59g4

*As I have mentioned before, music defines my life. My tribute video has two songs that have figuratively carried me out to Colorado. The intro background music is Eddie Vedder's "Rise" from the sound track Into the Wild (a best selling book and motion picture) that has inspired my adventure. Though the song is partially cut off in my video, I've copied the song lyrics below. I'd like to thank Matt Goodwin (LG), my Babson friend, for introducing the second song to me a short while ago. It is called "Kings and Queens" and the band is 30 Seconds to Mars. Goody, we have always been great at introducing new music to each other. You have the upper hand now. The music of "Kings and Queens" gives me more life right now than any other one.

Lyrics to "Rise" by Eddie Vedder

Such is the way of the world
You can never know
Just where to put all your faith
And how will it grow

Gonna rise up
Burning back holes in dark memories
Gonna rise up
Turning mistakes into gold

Such is the passage of time
Too fast to fold
And suddenly swallowed by signs
Low and behold

Gonna rise up
Find my direction magnetically
Gonna rise up
Throw down my ace in the hole

Day 13 - 2/1/10 - Steamboat Mountain

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" - Unknown

From Wikpedia, here is the supposed origin of the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words":

It is believed that the modern use of the phrase stems from an article by Fred R. Barnard in the advertising trade journal Printers' Ink, promoting the use of images in advertisements that appeared on the sides of streetcars. The December 8, 1921 issue carries an ad entitled, "One Look is Worth A Thousand Words."

The reason this phrase is so great is that it takes away commentary I (or anyone who writes) make and leaves your mind to interpret it on your own. I think you can gather my genuine emotion from the picture above. That's me, taken by Tim H. toward the end of this amazing day. I think if you double click on the picture you can make it larger and get a view of the helmet cam that has given us all this great video for the blog. And without further adieu, here's the day of powder on Steamboat. Sorry to Jon P. and Steve P. who had to leaves us and fly home to Boston today:

1) Here is an early day clip of an area we found in a tree area off Buckshot trail (Sunshine Peak). In the video are Tim H. and Chris C. Let us welcome the first recorded post digger footage on Chris C. After my shot of him fallen, Tim H. and I whipped through some trees....and got whipped by some trees! I took a deep breath after this one. Wow. I've added some audio here and it's nice how a song can fit something so well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF87ZNHI1yU

2) This next video is an area of Morningside named Christmas Tree Bowl. Great name. I whack a tree early to get my bearings and then spin to get shots of Tim H. and Chris C. coming down the steep slope http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzT8Mrfwfo0

3) Here is a cruising video where I try and capture everyone. We are on Sunshine Peak on a trail named High Noon. It was snowing hard, there was thin visibility at times and it just seems we are moving to a place that never ends. It gives an element of surprise which is unique from past days http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjeJWIXugyY

4) And next, oh boy, we come to one of the best videos of this entire trip. Actually my audio selection for this one had me laughing as I made it. It is videos like this that I know will have readers of this blog coming back for more. This is part beauty, part comedy. What it is not, is intensity. I thoroughly enjoy how our group covers so many emotions in a day. There is something poetic about this. Here it is....figure 8 perfection performed by Pat C. and KC M. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BnMS4l4hdM

5) And finally, here is the end of the day where we meet Tessie. What is cool about this situation is she shares the name of Boston's beloved Red Sox anthem ("Tessie" by the Dropkick Murphy's). Little Tessie had just finished a day of skiing with her parents. Though she loves skiing, Tessie is going to be a great snowboarder some day. With her parents permission, she wanted to let the world know how fun it will be. Good luck Tessie and you will probably be ten times better than me at it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5j-eyD16a8

This was a day to remember on the mountain. The day was capped off by a much needed hot tub and a dinner in town. We went to an Italian place in Steamboat center and had a good dinner. I think the waitress was from the Northeast (Dartmouth graduate) and she was entertained by us. At least we like to think so.