200,000

Been back in Jackson for a couple days now. The Benz hit 200,000 tonight on the drive home from the village. Surprisingly, it still runs after sitting cold for six weeks. The mountain opened yesterday. There isn't much snow yet, but it feels good to get out and make turns. I start work tomorrow.

Here are some more photos from my time home- shooting, scenery, building the deck, getting the old vw working again, and a quick detour at the historic Wyoming State Penitentiary on the way back to Jackson.

Flying out of AK tonight... landing in Denver in the morning... arriving in Jackson tomorrow night by car. Saturday is opening day at JHMR!

The Geography of a Recession

I found this very interesting. It's a time-lapse map of the United States between January 2007 and September 2009 showing the unemployment rate throughout the country. The description at the below the map goes into slightly more detail on the data.

Check it out.

Bearfoot

Last night, I saw the "not quite" bluegrass group Bearfoot play at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium in Anchorage. I've been listening to their album first album, Doors and Windows, for a while- very good. Although they've been around for a while, it was their first album, released last April. The group has a strong lead singer, but they all play instruments and sing, which is cool. Check out their website and listen to some music- my favorite song is 'Before I Go'.

Bearfoot Website

Teton Pass - Point-of-View Bike Video

I'm not sure who filmed this, but it's a pretty cool point-of-view video from biking Teton Pass. Most of it is from the trail Lithum, but theres also a quick segment from the Powerline Jumps in the middle. Check it out.

Google Earth Recon Mission

This morning it was -10F outside, so no work today. I wasted a little time playing around on google earth. I decided to check out a place that I want to ski this spring if I make it up to AK. I've been to the area a number of times in the summer, but never to ski. It would take a solid day to tour in, but once out there, there would be countless lines to hike and ski.

I was looking around for a while before noticing that the little lines I was seeing were actually ski tracks! With a closer look, I realized that there were tracks all over the place and I could even see avalanche debris. Mission Accomplished!

Can anyone recognize the "location"?

[ Full view of the "location" ]

[ First tracks I noticed - center of the first image (looking back) ]

[ More tracks and some avy debris - just out of frame to the left of the first image ]

[ Even more tracks, and a skin track going up the ridge to skiers right - just out of frame to the right of the first image ]

3D Street Art

Edgar Müller's studio is the street. He paints over large areas of urban public life and gives them a new appearance, thereby challenging the perceptions of passers-by. The observer becomes a part of the new scenery offered. Check out some samples below or his website here.

Crooked Still

I went to a bluegrass show in Anchorage tonight with the parents- Crooked Still, a bluegrass string quintet. Definitely worth listening to.

Check out their website here.

Atomic Blogs for the 09/10 Season

A few weeks back I picked up a pair of the Atomic Blogs from my shop for the 09/10 season. Initially I had some other skis in mind, but I couldn't get them in the right length. My manager recommended these- I got a hell of a deal on them.

I'm still on my EP's for full out powder days, so I just wanted something big that would be good for everyday ripping. We'll see how these hold up to the challenge.

Dimensions: 177cm 132/110/124mm

I'll post a review of the Blogs once the season gets going and I get some days on these things.

Alta Mountain Productions Skate Trailer

This is a longboarding video filmed on the Grand Targhee access road in Alta, Wyoming. Check it out.

The Ski Hill road in Alta, Wyoming has long held a reputation for perfect downhill skateboarding. Alta Mountain Productions shines the lens on a few dedicated dirtbags who skate this gem daily.

On the road

I made the five hour drive up to Fairbanks to visit some friends over Halloween weekend. Here are some views from the road.