2007 January

Rendevous Mountain reports three inches of new snow, so Ann and I head for the mountain with Jon and Katja to give it a try. The new snow is just enough to soften the icy base and make it fun. Jon and Katja give us a good tour of the mountain, starting on Apres Vous peak and working our way south to Rendevous Mountain. We decide to save the last chairlift to the very summit, where the now out-of-service tram used to go, for another day.

Ann starts getting a taste for riding bumps, even though they’re quite hard underneath. She starts seeking them out. I’m impressed with how well the split board handles all this. It’s just a bit too long for extra quick bump turns, but it holds a bomber edge and performs well overall. We practice our hard bump turns until the lifts shut down.

We plan to hit the ski lifts at Teton Village while we’re in Jackson, but we’re hoping for some new snow first. In the meantime, I head out with my dad and Sarah for another cross country outing, this time to Shadow Mountain. Once again we follow a forest road packed by snowmobiles, but this one is a little steeper. The slopes we climb face west, and the snow is a light powder of tiny ice crystals. There is nothing too steep, but it still looks promising for some nice turns on the way down. The views of the Grand Teton across the Snake River valley are mythically awesome. (more…)

We’re in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with my dad and Sarah, staying with Ann’s uncle Jon. Dad has bestowed upon me a piece of gear I’ve dreamed about for years, a Voile split board. It splits into wide skis with skins for touring up the hill, then joins into a snowboard for bombing down. I can’t wait to try it. We decide to start on an easy trail near Uncle Jon’s place: the Cache Creek ski trail that starts at Wood’s Canyon. This trail follows Cache Creek up the forest road that leads to the Gros Ventre Wilderness, where my friend Pete and I camped out for most of the summer of 1991. I’ve never seen it in the winter, but I’m hoping to find a good inaugural backhill run to try with the split board. (more…)

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This may be the release I eventually call 1.0. There were 125 downloads of 1.0 Beta 1, and no issues reported.

Before the ink has dried on the post, mom sends me a painting of my weekend snowshoe outing! Sean and Rogan win the muse of the week prize.

On our third try in as many weeks we finally make it to the Snowy Range Ski Area for an afternoon of turns. This is the place where I learned to snowboard back before Burton figured out that snowboards didn’t need fins like surfboards. It kept me out of at least as much trouble as it didn’t. Coming back is kind of a shock. The old A-frame lodge with its big round fireplace finally burned to the ground, to be replaced by giant log warehouses. Ticket prices are still good at $50 for two half days. The strangest part, though, is just how small it feels. Did I really spend whole seasons here in high school? We hit every run of interest to us in a little over three hours. It’s fun, and the snow is nice, but I can’t imagine coming here week after week. I guess that’s why we started postholing into the surrounding hills - the early urge to explore. Despite the size, it feels good to come back and hit the old runs, retracing some threads that were woven into me long ago.

I actually had the trail up to Lookout Mountain in mind for a snowshoe outing today, but not knowing the area Sean and I stop just a bit too soon at Crystal Mountain Road, and start up that. It’s uncannily warm compared to recent temperatures, and perfectly still. We’ve soon peeled down to short sleeves. It’s blissful walking. Being comfortable outdoors provides great contrast to weeks of cold and indoor struggle.

I’m still not sure how much of this road is private. About two and a half miles in we reach a junction with two forest roads, 132 and 344. Crystal Mountain Road is gated here. We meet a couple snowshoeing who own property in the area, and say it’s okay for us to explore the road further. They say the road hits public land eventually, then continues to Donner Pass. We make it to the next gate, then have a snack and head back. It does seem like there is good access to most of the public land in the area, and I look forward to my next foray into it.

Our outside thermometer hasn’t hit a high above freezing for over a week now. We’ve been having plumbing problems in the RV, but I’m not sure they’re all related to the cold. One definitely is - my arduously heat-taped water intake hose finally froze, and I’m afraid I broke it while feeling it to see if it was frozen. So we’ve been living off of the water in our 40-gallon fresh water tank. The connections to our hot water heater started leaking, and it took me a few tries to get them both replaced and water-tight. That didn’t seem to have anything to do with the cold, but not having hot water made it all feel colder. When we ran out of water in the tank we nearly gave up, but Ann thought of trying to fill it from the neighboring spigot with a garden hose. That worked! And as soon as we turned the pump back on, it kept coming on when there was no water running. Well, there was water running - from a leaky valve down below. That was at the start of this last cold snap. It took me three bike rides our local plumbing supplier, R-N-R, to fix it. They patiently explained my options to me starting from ground zero. “I have a leaking valve.” “What kind of valve?” “Um.” “Where is it?” “In my RV.” “Ok. What kind of line is it on?” “Um…” And so forth. When I couldn’t answer a question, I’d come back and study it again, fill up some more water bottles, and go another day without a shower. At last I learned the relevant specs. We have half-inch pex water lines with crimped valves that require a $150 tool to install. Omega valves are a much cheaper alternative, but no one stocks them this time of year. The final solution was a threaded brass ball valve connected to the pex with shark bites. Really. Shark bites are cool, like chinese finger cuffs, you stick the pipe in and it won’t come out again (without a tricky little tool). Once I understood the solution, it took about fifteen minutes to install. Afterwards, our home felt twice as homey, even if we are still living out of the tank. Here’s to chillin’ in the RV!

A French film that delivers pronounced but believable characters in polarized relationships. Fame in one character creates invisibility in another, dominance creates submission, desire creates rejection. Plenty of time is devoted to character development, which I always find a relief after too many American films.

Referred by the preview

This is the third film in Deepak Metha’s Fire, Earth, Water trilogy. This time the story centers on the treatment of widows in India, with the cultural changes brought by Mohandas Ghandi during his fast providing the historical backdrop. All of these movies are at the same time gritty and romantic, and for me at least they provide insights into Indian culture and history.

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