Reclaimed Wood

Shooting Star used reclaimed wood on their buildings in a reverse batten style. It gives the appearance of old farmhouse or barn buildings. They used red framing around the windows that brings out the theme.

Reclaimed wood is a pretty cool concept. The wood is old and weathered, so no additional treatment is needed. You can see the old nail and wear marks from other boards.

I did a little research and found a company, renuWood. They offer flooring, lumber, siding and timbers from reclaimed barns, factories, warehouses and trestles. Original character of the wood is maintained through preserving nail holes, saw marks, and wear marks which bare the history behind each board.

[ The clubhouse at Shooting Star ]

Town from Saddle Butte

Alex's house on the butte is my usual weekend home.

[ Driving down to town from Saddle Butte on Sunday morning ]

Victor Bike Park

Alex, Adam, and I drove to Victor, Idaho today to check out the new bike park. Having a hardtail would have been ideal.

We had a frustrating line of events. Alex got a flat tire. Adam broke snapped his rear triangle at the bike park. I got pretty beat up on Parallel after a few hard tumbles...I was riding sloppy.

Tubing the Snake River

Five of us tubed the Snake River this afternoon after riding this morning. We tubed about 7 miles. It was much more calm than Flat Creek. We could sit back and relax. It was beautiful weather to start with, but by the end it was cloudy and cold. Better luck next time.

Cool old cars

There were a couple old cars at work last night while I was valeting that were pretty cool. Both were in mint condition. These photos aren't exactly the same as the cars, but about as close as i could find.

[ Ford Woody - probably around a 1948 or 1950 (?) ]

[ 1969 Mercedes 280 SE convertible ]

Matchstick Productions: In Deep

For 2009, MSP Films takes an original look at the sport of skiing. All of the skiers in the film--park rat or big mountain charger--share a common bond: the overwhelming desires to ski. Each person finds stoke in his own unique way, whether it be a double cork 1260, a deep turn on a storm day or ripping a giant AK line. Skiing is an incredibly diverse sport that offers it all. With the progressive skiing and award-winning cinematography that has made MSP famous, MSP Films takes you along for the ride deep into the experience as we share the love for the greatest sport in the world. IN DEEP will feature an epic Shane McConkey tribute segment.

Featuring the Skiing of: Mark Abma, Sean Pettit, Eric Hjorleifson, Daron Rahlves, Henrik Windstedt, Chris Davenport, Bobby Brown, Colby West, TJ Schiller, Mike Douglas, Kaj Zackrisson, James Heim, Hugo Harrisson, Rory Bushfield, PK Hunder, Ingrid Backstrom, Jacob Wester, Russ Henshaw, Henrik Harlaut, Alexis Godbout, Michelle Parker, JT Holmes, Sammy Carlson, Chris Rubens and Shane McConkey.

TGR's Re:Session

The award winning producers at Teton Gravity Research (TGR) present their newest 16mm and HD film, Re: Session. This project takes viewers beyond the traditional ski and snowboard movie into a revolutionary realm of action sports entertainment. Shot on both film and RED ONE high definition camera technology, Re: Session documents the true wealth of the mountain experience. Follow the crew as they score in one of Alagna, Italy’s deepest seasons on record. Check out forbidden powder in Poland, massive wedges in Colorado, new gap jumps in Utah, and seven weeks of epic riding conditions in Alaska. Re: Session brings the most talented athletes in the sport together into one must-see film. The all-star roster includes TGR regulars Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Seth Morrison, Jeremy Jones, Kye Petersen, Ian McIntosh, Dana Flahr, Dylan Hood, Erik Roner, Wiley Miller, and Dash Longe rounded out with the fresh faces of Tanner Hall, Sammy Carlson and Callum Pettit.

Shot on location in: Jackson Hole WY, Alagna Italy, Last Frontier Heli-Skiing, Poland, Slovakia, Haines AK, North Cascade Heli-Skiing, Colorado, Stevens Pass WA, Utah, Montana, and Pemberton B.C.

Gear Review: Voile TelePro Avy Shovel

Yeah, the Voile TelePro isn't light...but if your friend is buried under snow, you want a shovel that can dig them out. It comes in 2 pieces, a telescoping handle with a D-shaped handle and a large aluminum scoop which can be detached for ease of transport. The D-shaped handle is sturdy and easier to hold than the T-shaped handles seen on many shovels. The scoop is large and metal, meaning it can move snow. This a very efficient tool to use for camp prep or emergency situations.

Bottomline: It might be larger and heavier than many of it's competitors, but it's worth it when it comes to safety.

Alaska Renewable Energy Fair - August 1, 2009

I won't be around to attend, but I went to it last summer and found some of the speakers to be very interesting. Help support renewable energy in Alaska.

August 1st, 2009 11 am - 9pm
Memorial Block on the Delaney Park Strip, downtown Anchorage

Show your support for renewable energy in Alaska at the 5th Annual Alaska Renewable Energy Fair - a full day of fun, music, and education! The Fair features food and craft vendors, business and non-profit exhibitors, live music, and workshops on renewable energy topics.

http://alaskarenewableenergy.org/events/renewable-energy-fair/

Jimmy's Mom

Last night, I rode the trail Jimmy's Mom with Alex. It's another trail in Teton Pass that requires shuttling. This trail is known for it's freeride features; jumps, gaps, logrides, and berms. The trail starts just above the Phillips Canyon winter parking lot. There is a large gravel lot on the left side of the road to park in.

The trail head starts off with a small drop leading into a step-up onto a large boulder. There are a number of jumps along the top section with gaps ranging from 5 to about 25 feet. Most of the sharp corners have nice berms to carry speed through.

After the top section, there is a short climb before getting onto Old Pass Road. Take the road down around the sharp left-hand corner and the trail begins again on the right side. There is a log ride off the road. There is a short gap at the end of the log before the landing, so keep your speed.

Now you are on the power line jumps, a section with a couple of drops at the top leading into a field of dirt jumps. Most of the jumps allow the option to go big or small depending on which line you take.

From the bottom of the power line jumps, you can take the Crator Lake trail back down to the Old Pass Road. This trails starts off fairly rocky with roots, but once you cross the creek with the log ride, it is pretty smooth flying.

From the Old Pass Road parking lot, you can ride to the bottom of the pass and shuttle back up for another round, or have a beer and some mexican food at Picos.

Gear Review: CLC Thunder Gloves

Best gloves ever. Made for cold weather construction, great for skiing. I picked up a pair when I was working construction with my father in Alaska last Fall. These gloves are very durable, warm, and not bulky, allowing for plenty of dexterity. I used these probably 90% of the time skiing this year.

Downside: no cuffs to keep the snow out on powder days.

You can pick these up at a hardware store for about $25. Probably one of my better finds.

[ Not the best image, but you get the idea ]

Night Photos

Last night around midnight, I could see lighting flashes over the Tetons in Idaho. Mike and I decided to investigate and try to get some photos of the lightning. Once we got positioned, we could only see flashes in the clouds, no actual lightning bolts. We played around with taking long exposures for a while instead.

[ Teton Pass at night - 30s exposure...high ISO made it grainy ]

[ Fog lights ]

[ Thug life? ]

Early this morning I woke up to what must have been the same storm over Jackson. Rain was pounding on the roof and the lighting strikes were bright and insanely loud. I was half asleep and too tired to investigate, but it probably looked pretty cool.

Life as a Valet

I officially finished my first week as Valet driver. It's definitely not a glamorous job, but it's nice to be employed full time again. It's both entertaining and boring. The golf club is ridiculously nice. Some pretty big names come through the golf club and there are some incredibly nice cars that I get to drive, but there is also a lot of waiting around. I'm supposed to learn to greet all the member's by name. I have a tough time trying to remember everyone, but I think with time it'll get easier. For the most part, it seems like I work with a pretty good group of people.

Black's Canyon

On Saturday, I rode Black's Canyon in Teton Pass with Adam and Alex. It was sunny and hot. Black's is a six mile trail starting at the top of the pass (need to shuttle) and winding down a little canyon to the base of the pass. The first couple of miles are slow and steady uphill; some pushing involved. Once we were at the top, it was all downhill. The first section was loose gravel and hairpin corners. Once we got lower into the valley, the trail became more solid and we were able to open up. There were lots of little root drops and stream crossings. Adam got a flat about a half mile from the end. We ate some delicious burritos at Pico's afterward.

Who's visiting Fresh?

It's fun to see where visitors to my blog are coming from...

A day on the lake

I spent Sunday out on Adam's lake. We played on a wave runner for most of the afternoon and used water skis, inner tubes, a wakeboard, and the "pizza" - a 4-foot circle of plywood. It was a hot day.

[ The crew ]

[ Adam and Ryan enjoying the sun ]

[ Tubing ]

[ Adam getting tossed - a perfect example of why I don't go near innertubes ]

Mount Marathon 2009

The 82nd annual Mount Marathon race was held in Seward on Saturday. This was my 8th year running in it. Mount Marathon is one of the country's oldest foot races. It is a three mile race starting at sea level in the town of Seward, climbing 3,022 feet to the top of Mount Marathon, and returning to town.

This year was hot. According to some of the older runners, it was the hottest it's been in at least a decade. There were no snow fields this year, very little water on the waterfalls, and almost no snow at the base of the rock face.

The trip to Seward this year went well. Adam, Ryan, Joe, Chris, made the 3.5 hour drive in the big red van, or "THE BOSS". We camped out on Exit Glacier Road which as been the usual for many years. We met up with Brandon and Ford on Friday night. The population of Seward is said to grow from the normal 3,000 residents to 30,000 people for the holiday race. It's a party.

[ Setting up camp with our massive three-room tent ]

[ The boss at camp. Due to lack of traction, we had to have three people in the back to get it back onto the road. ]

[ Adam and Ryan finding wood ]

[ Joe getting ready to cook some brats ]

[ Killing time on Friday - Resurrection Bay ]

The entire field of racers was slower than normal this year. The would-have-been winners of both the mens' and women's race passed out and ended up in the hospital within blocks of crossing the finish line due to dehydration.

My race on the other hand, went surprisingly well this year. Days before the race, I wasn't even sure if I could run. On Monday, I took a trip to the emergency room because of severe back pain before my flight home to Alaska.

My plan this year was just to finish to keep my spot in the race and hopefully do better than last year. Because of my knee pain and bad finish time last year, I was starting in the second wave of runners this year, five minutes behind the first wave.

I felt good running up the streets and still felt strong at the base of the mountain, where I'm usually gasping for breath. I was near the front of my wave. Within minutes of being in the trees, I started catching the tail-end of the first wave. Dust was constantly getting kicked up and made it hard to breathe.

At the half-way point, I was still feeling strong. I continued to pass people most of the way up. I felt tired, but relaxed as I rounded the boulder marking the top of the mountain.

Running down the mountain was hard, but my knees felt good this year. I tried my best to stay on the lower edge of the trail in the softer scree. It was hard to see on the lower part of the mountain as clouds of dust were getting kicked up by runners ahead of me. I held my position the entire way from the top down. I took my usual approach to the bottom rock face and tried to keep my body over my legs as I approached the road. For once, I didn't even get passed on the road.

[ Darrin just below the rock face ]

[ Birdman - yes, his bib is pinned to his nipples ]

[ Rory scrambling down the rock face ]

[ Trying to stay on top of my feet ]

[ Chris ]

I finished in 67th place with an official time of 1:06.55. Several minutes slower than my record, but it was the best time I had seen in three or four years. I think a combination of living at higher altitude, hiking, skiing, and cycling was good cross training for me. The mountain biking was definitely great for strengthening my knees without the impact of running. Only four more years to go now...

[ Finish line ]

[ Driving home ]

[ Driving along the Turnagain Arm at 9pm - the sun won't go down for a few hours still ]

This is a cool interactive map of the race on the Anchorage Daily News website.

I'd like to compare my uphill and downhill times to last year, but the detailed results haven't been posted yet....hopefully I can get some more race photos too.