The Ghost of Franz Klammer

I was a tad apprehensive about my recent ski trip for several reasons:

(1) I hadn't skied in years, and was worried that I had forgotten how.

(2) I'm fat and weak.

(3) I was renting "modern" skis, which are substantially different than the 1976-vintage boards I had been using for my entire adult life.

Surprisingly, I found that I was able to zip down the mountain with acceptable gusto. I was expecting to be the victim of much lift-spectator jeering and laughter (not to mention face-plants, tumbleweeding, and other embarrassing agonies of defeat) -- but instead mostly passed by other people with Killy-esque briskness.

What about the bumps, you ask? Well, I have to confess that I didn't make many attempts at mogul mashing (and zero attempts at aerials), but found that I could string together 5, 10, or perhaps even 15 good bump turns before the legs turned to spaghetti and I'd have to bail.

In other words, I had fun!

It's nice to know that despite my diminishing physical abilities, I can still tackle the same slopes I did when I was in college. Perhaps the new skis deserve the majority of the credit...or perhaps it really is like riding a bicycle. In any case, I may have to try it again before the season ends. We'll see.



That image is a screen capture from a video I shot with my new action cam. Because I have only used the thing for underwater video so far, I forgot to bring the head-mount apparatus...so I skied with two poles in one hand and the camera in the other. This is what we in the video business refer to as being a "crappy cameraman," but I have to say that the color and clarity of the video was impressive indeed. Just not the action. But Breckenridge is beautiful, isn't it?

Of course, no ski trip would be complete without wandering through the village at night. And with Breckenridge's ice sculpture display not entirely melted yet, it was fun to see the snow art in all its color-lit glory.

This is the sample of the original snow block that is allocated to each artist.



This is a representation of Rod Serling's intestines.



This is probably a hedgehog or something.



As always, you can click to embiggen the images. I will say, though, that I was enjoying the crisp night air and artistic altitude ambience...I was not in Ansel Adams mode. My photos do not to justice to the skill and creativity (not to mention frozen fingers) that went into building these impressive sculptures.

But even that set of second-rate photography is positively Louvre-worthy compared to the abysmal results I got during my post-Valentine's hike last Sunday. I usually carry my Nikon when I go hiking, but for this one, I only had my cell phone camera. It says it has "5 megapixels," which is apparently the LG euphemism for "cataracts." But I was able to capture an image that cannot possibly be anything other than the Loch Ness Monster!



Actually, it is a beaver.

After all these years of swimming in the Chatfield gravel pond, riding my bike around the lake, and running along the dirt trails, you'd think I'd have known that the South Platte River is infested with the critters known for eating wood and having brothers named "Wally." But no, I was surprised to find a plethora of gnawed stumps, piled-up brambles, and other signposts of a thriving beaver civilization. Then, as I'm standing there wondering why they chop down trees that are far too big for them to carry, this chubby little fellow comes chugging across the pond, slapping his tail on the water and giving me the "You're a cold-water pansy" stare, as if to challenge me to dive in and race him.

I'll admit -- the glassy surface did look inviting. But since the water in my fanny pack had frozen, I was guessing that this pond might even be too cold for Cliff Crozier, much less a fair-water swimmer like me.

Perhaps I'll do that hike again soon, and take a better camera along when I do. For now, I'll leave it at that, and once again apologize for having lost blogging momentum due to the demands of the day job. I have other interesting updates and product reviews to share in the near future, so I hope you'll continue to visit. I hope to be posting again soon. Have a great day!