This Winter's Plan

The best birthday gift ever (next to Carrot Cake) is a climbing gym membership. As a gift to myself I signed up for a membership at Vertical World. It was either this gym with mostly top-roping and lead climbing, or I could have bought a membership with the bouldering gym - Stone Gardens. Wow and am I out of shape, both my forearms and calves (from the bike ride) are extremely sore. I at least plan on going the majority of every week and hope to be climbing at a 5.12/V6 level by late December, but maybe that is me being just a little bit too optimistic.

On another note here is a list of some flicks that I am definitely looking forward to watching:

• Steven Soderbergh - The Informant - 09/18
• Jonathan Mostow - Surrogates - 09/25
• Coen Brothers - A Serious Man - 10/02
• Ruben Fleisher - Zombieland - 10/09
• Spike Jonze - Where the Wild Things Are - 10/16
• Grant Heslov - The Men Who Stare at Goats - 11/06
• James Cameron - Avatar - 12/18
• George Romero - Survival of the Dead - 2009

-- Well I have been blogging too much, so I will find something better to do with all of this time on my hands.

Ski Season is Aproaching

I do not want to say much, but the a new ski season is upon us. Hopefully I ski more mountains and gracefully carve the most fluffy powder this year than I ever have done before. What the great Warren Miller once said, "If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you do."

Here is the trailer for Powderwhore's next film "Flakes"

The Seattle Life

Well I am living in Seattle Washington! Exciting it is. Besides the fact that I need money to do just about anything (I must be living in a city), the lifestyle here is great. I am currently living in a decent studio located in Lower Queen Anne. Within a three block radius of where I live there are five Thai restaurants, six bars (real ones, not like the so called "bars" of Utah), five cafés, two Indian Restaurants, two Pizzerias, a Real movie theater which in comparison to Westates Theaters (a monopoly in Utah that typically leans towards an LDS audiences i.e. movies that are non-independent and are G-rated), and three grocery stores that have a vast varieties of products (but are a little pricier from what I am used to).

I just got a job with REI at their flagship store which is just about three times the size of any other REI store in the US. For right now I am only a seasonal sales person for winter sports, but I hope to become a full-time employee and possibly go even further up the corporate cooperative ladder.

For those of you that do not know what REI is, Recreation Equipment, Inc. is a cooperative retailer based in Seattle that sells outdoor recreational equipment (hunting rifles, soccer balls, and snowmobiles are NOT outdoor recreational equipment). The way the co-op works is by becoming a lifetime REI member for only $20, one becomes a lifetime "shareholder" of REI and receives dividends depending on how much you spend at REI and its annual profit. REI has been on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For for twelve years in a row (ranked 12th this year). I get great benefits and incentives, and there is a lot of potential for progress.

I also have an interview with Pyramid Brewery today.

Once I start making a self-sustaining income I will hopefully do the following:
1. Get a membership at a local climbing gym
2. Finally purchase a brewing kit to brew some delicious beer by the holidays
3. Join The Mountaineers and partake in their outdoor activities including Sailing!
4. Get my Avalanche certification as well as Wilderness Responder certification
5. Summit Mt. Rainier by the fall of next year

Last Month-O-College

It is sad to say that I have not yet had a chance to brew The Warrior©. This is mostly due to the fact that I have been busy with my last semester at Utah State University, over 20 hours of work per week, and the fact that I personally do not own a brewing kit. I found out though that Left Hand Brewing Company has an IPA called "Warrior IPA" with similar ingredients to that of my own. This is why my IPA is called The Warrior©, and is proceeded by a copyright sign (©).

Other than my failure to brew beer, I have had the honorable chance to do the infamous pond skim at Beaver Mountain Ski Area. Near the end I managed to attempt a daffy into the pond while wearing spandex. This last weekend I ran my first 5K in seven years for “Aggies for Common Ground”. My time was 20:24, and I mysteriously placed first place for my age group (I think it was 18-25). This was a surprise considering my record number of races and the fact that it was a University-ish event. Mandy and I went to Maple Grove hot springs and warmed up to the soothing noises of the river and the drizzling warm spring (RV generators, children, dogs, etc.). It was very pleasant though regardless of the negative externalities.

For the next three weeks I have six exams, a research paper with its presentation, work work work, a few class blogs to catch-up with, and then graduation. This Saturday I will attempt to run another 5K for “Run for Your Life! Striding for a Healthy Lifestyle 5K Fun Run”. A good cause, but I really just want to run more marathons and what not. My goal is to get under 20:00. I also have a 1.5 mile run for my conditioning class on Thursday. My goal is to get roughly 9:30 (previously I ran 10:09). I think my legs will fall off shortly thereafter.

BEER! I love it.

I typically have different sprees for different types of alcoholic beverages. For instance, during the winter I enjoy whiskey on-the-rocks, while in the fall and summer I enjoy a nice full bodied Cab. Yet on any given week I enjoy a nice cold beer, either after a challenging day of work, or after a treacherous climbing adventure, and lets not forget those powder filled ski trips. It seems lately though that my main focus has been beer. The malty grains and the aroma of hops has stirred a screw loose in my head.

I MUST BREW BEER

After delicate thought and careful consideration, I have constructed my first beer. It is called

The Warrior

An American style IPA, which I will consider it an Idaho Pale Ale. The name derives from the bittering Warrior hop which will be the predominant hop. It seemed to be a perfect choice considering two things. 1.) While climbing at the Cirque of Towers in the Wind River Range, Wyoming, with my friends Greg and Riley, an overwhelmingly tall pinnacle stood above our campsite. This toothed mountain is called Warbonnet Peak. The most epic direct route on it (that we never climbed) is called The Warrior. 2.) While living in Boise with my good climbing friend Greg, he showed me Wishbone Ash's “The Warrior” which just so happens to be an epic song.

Epic Mountain + Epic Song = Epic Beer

Hopefully I will brew The Warrior this week in time to drink for graduation in May. I will keep all of you notified how it goes. Cheers!

What I feel

This video is a short clip of what it feels like for me to Telemark ski.



For those of you (if any are out there) who don't know what Telemark skiing is, maybe I can explain. It is very similar to regular skiing (called Alpine skiing), but your heels are not attached to any binding. As you can tell from the video, the turns involve dropping your uphill knee. This technique creates or imitates the turn of one ski instead of two. This allows for sharper turns. A benefit to Telemark skiing is the capability to slap on skins (sticky cloth with directional surface with friction like teeth, similar to sailboat cleats) to the bottom of the skis making skiers able to climb up the faces of mountains without sliding backwards, very much like cross-country skis. This capability opens up multitudes of backcountry terrain. The only negative to Telemark skiing of course is that you are constantly doing a squat every turn. I personally enjoy THE BURN and sensation of hot turns.