Continued Snowfall in Colorado: Game on!

JP boondocks his HCR in a couple fresh feet of snow near Winter Park Colorado.

Miller and JP at the summit discussing snowboard lines.

First run of the day from the pickup, JP says "Hell Yeah!" I knew it'd be EPIC from that point on.

The Powder Cowboy as his known.

HCR break in

Trax blasts through the powder.

The HCR goes through the motions.

Having just over 120 miles on it now, the HCR has finished its "break in" and wow! do I feel it. As I rode this machine in deep snow this weekend I realized how well balanced and designed it is. I felt this before when I got my full suspension mountain bike...which I call the "Butter Train." A feeling that is the result of experiancing great design.

SideNote: I did have to wrench on the sled alittle up there, having to swap out the spark plugs. I think the break in tank of gas may have played a roll here. I did not pre mix the first tank, instead I added oil as I filled it, thats not recommended by the manufacturer. ..oops.

Loveland Love

On the Fly Productions: Cast that Catch Fish

I've watched this video at least ten times...

Emphasis on slack line presentation.
Carl (Bumcast) McNeil makes it look too easy!
Reach cast
Roll cast
Wiggle cast
Pile cast
Curve cast (this one looks like a curve ball)
Tuck cast
Aerial mends (very impressive presentations!)

Cast :50 - :54 is tear jerker.


Note: These guys can cast! I was waiting for a fish at any time.

From FRA photo stream

A Sweetgrass Production Short: The Desert River

via:DPS Skis

From the Sweetgrass Crew:
Sweetgrass Productions in association with Patagonia and DPS Skis presents a short film, The Desert River.

Every spring in Haines, Alaska, a river bulges and rages towards the sea, fed by the thawing of a massive mountain snowpack. These same mountains fuel the hunger of those willing to test their skills
against the desolate beauty of Alaska’s high desert—giving life to river and skier alike.

Photographer Oskar Enander and DPS Skis founder Stephan Drake have been exploring the majestic Chilkats behind Haines for the past five seasons. In 2005, Drake and Enander, along with Gavin Cummings and photographer Mark Smith journeyed on a two-month skiing road trip that began in Colorado and parked for an extended stay in Haines. The foursome produced the timeless coffee table book, The Powder Road, as a result of the journey. The crew had previously visited mountains all over the world, but the Chilkats elicited something special. Enander describes the Chilkats as, "a place we have come to call our winter-spring home. We plan our year around being there. It's a dreamland of mountains, a puzzle of route and terrain selection; it’s a lifetime of challenges wrapped inside the best skiing in the world."

In the spring of 2010, Sweetgrass cinematographer Ben Sturgulewski and DPS skier Jon Larsson joined Enander and Drake for the four weeks of Chilkat exploration and descents. The result was unexpected: it was a colossal physical struggle, full of folly and impending doom mixed in with a few sweet spine descents. The team of four was plagued with regular injuries, sickness, mechanical problems and horrible weather through a season that featured amazingly deep snow in the upper alpine, but unseasonably warm conditions and challenging travel at the lower elevations.

The crew playfully blamed their troubles on a mysterious dark force they called "The Great Magnet," written about by Drake on Patagonia's The Cleanest Line, here. Despite struggles, the crew emerged with a few short sessions of skiing and filming. The Desert River was captured in three afternoons of skiing, and a stint of glacial camping. The five-minute release comes at the halfway point of Sweetgrass Production's two-year South American feature project to be released in the fall of 2011.

From the Web: Firaduaz's commute.

via: duraath
Firdauz Haron commutes about 14 miles everyday back and forth along the busiest freeway in Johor Bahru. He rides a black with white single-speed geared for a beast. This guy can FLY!
All footage shot with a Nikon 35mm f/1.8G on a D300s. Edited with Premiere CS4.

The music...perfect!

Instead of watching TV, do a Watercolor.

I usually have about 7 hours a week to paint with no TV. Taking the leap a few years ago I experienced a relief in anxiety not having one in the house. I have spare time now! I miss the NFL, and Avalanche hockey..thats about it. Here are my paintings of late. I like them to varying degrees with my favorite posted first. I'm working on darkening tones (not being such a Sally with paint) and faces, as usual. One thing about painting that is different than my other craft photography is, a painter can change the weather. I'm painting 4 to 5 pieces a month.


Nell and Brown Dog at Crystal Lake, Curt Gowdy State Park, WY.

A Blue Bird perches near Twin Lakes, Colorado.

Nell on a Girl Scout Cookie Box. My first leap in abstract, near Longs Peak in my imagination.

Nell at Shaw Arch in the Lower Grand Gulch, Utah.

The Ogdens and Pedro in the Holy Cross Wilderness.

Havasu falls, Grand Canyon, AZ

Trax takes a breather to check out the scenery near Wolf Creek Colorado.

From the Web: Travis Rice Neverland Part 2010

Don't know where this video came from (probably WY) or what the music is about but the riding in it is off the chain. Mostly backcountry terrain these guys (Rice & Carter) make it look easy.
Favorite Line: 0:37 - 0:56.

Wyoming's Curt Gowdy State Park

Crystal Lake, Wyoming. photo: Nell

Brown Dog October 2010.photo:Nell

The Osprey had no problem catching fish.

The goof ball.

Nell takes the picture posted above of Crystal Lake.

A Wyoming Fall Texture.

Colorado Indian Summer 2010

A beautiful fall weekend in Colorado with summer like conditions. Day time temps in the 80's.

Fishing the small pools in the Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park.
Alpine pools require ninja like stealthy-ness and tiny(20 - 22) dry flies. I love these zones for the sheer bounty. The trout up here spook really easily but are veracious and aggressive.

Brook trout have got to be pound for pound one of the most fierce predators on the planet.

Nell treated for an awesome ride through the golden Aspens of Boulder County Colorado.

Note; We met a French Bulldog named "Meatball" at the stables. They called him "Meaty B" for short. He was a cool charter who didn't mind the chipmunks in his water dish, something unheard of at Dudley's house.

Her day was filled with nature, art, food, horses and smiles from friends and family. An absolutely perfect finish to the summer.

From the Web: Tapâm - a flyfishing journey

Tapâm - a flyfishing journey from tapamthemovie on Vimeo.

Snow in Colorado Overnight

photo via - skicrestedbutte
Reports of snow in the high country last night kicks off Fall 2010.

Empathic civilization

Double Haul Casting

Firing my Double Haul cast in a shallow beaver pond near the base of Mt.Elbert. Caught and Released 3 greenback trout. Photo:Nell

I have been working on my different fly casting lately. I'm finding learning more about fly fishing is perpetual cycle. I'm using the follow casts as much as I can to step out of my usual style.

Tip Cast - Looks like a hatch, great for short range and pools. <--Most under rated cast.

Reverse Haul - Loads the rod during back casting, great for chasing fish without a false cast or sneaking up on a hole.

Roll Cast - I'm working on extending my distance and keeping the loop tight.

Statue Cast- Tuck yourself between a couple evergreens on a narrow stream and try using anything else. I'm too splashy with this one.

Butt Cast - This is a rod motion that really loads the rod from the bottom up. My Scott 9/5 just response beautifully with this cast, the result is another 10- 20 feet.

The Double Haul Cast is great for windy conditions and/or long range angling. The extra power with cast can be felt the fist time it is done correctly. I use my single haul cast all the time (usually forward Haul) but wanted to learn the double haul for the times where I need to shot most of my working line into a head wind.

Labor Day at the Lakes, Mt. Elbert, & FourMile Canyon!

The 4 Mile Canyon blaze as seen from the back deck.
My commute home today included traffic filled canyon roads, single digit speeds on I70 and a forest fire.

News note: Fourmile Canyon on fire, 3,500 acres burning, 1,000 homes evacuated.



Aerial Photo of the Fourmile Canyon fire.


Google Map of the area affected by the fire.

Labor Day post to come....

The Diggleberry Prince lounges in the Pool.

Brown Dog in his kiddie pool.

Being a WHV isn't all trophies and aptitude. Young Brown Dog get a treasure chest of dingelberries from time to time that we usually have to cut off when he has his bath (if we get to them first). Luckily the pool this summer has helped mitigate the issue. Now all we can expect is his swam gas and charming disposition.

Long, Skinny, and Silly Couloir

Backpacking Colorado:Roosevelt National Forest