Telluride Avalanche School

This past weekend I finally got into the Telluride Avalanche School. Every weekend I would try the class would fill up. We do live in one of the most avalanche-prone mountain ranges in the United States so everyone seems to want the training. It was a three day class from 7:30am - 5pm each day. The mornings would be in the classroom and each afternoon we would go outdoors and "play" in the snow. The first day of playing consisted of splitting into groups, with one group hiding avalanche beacons and the other group would turn their beacons to SEARCH MODE and try to find them. The second day the Telluride Ski Patrol staged an actual rescue burying 5 beacons that were attached to CPR dummies, Backpacks, and ski equipment. My group found all 5 "people" in 15 minutes on a steep gladed run in an area 100 yards tall by 50 yards wide. It was a pretty realistic scenerio and great training! The third day we went on a backcountry ski trip into Alta Lakes Basin to dig a snow pit and test the stability of snow layers as well as ski/snowboard some powder!

Moab - Hunter's Canyon

In March, Jess and I went to Moab for a weekend getaway. We explored a new hike called Hunter's Canyon just west of town. Jess took her brand new camera with her to practice her photography and Stella had fun jumping in and out of the creek. We camped out in Ken's Lake campground to try out our NEW 4 person REI tent. It was pretty easy to setup and withstood 20 mile an hour winds at night.

Enjoy the pics....

Visit the Farm 2011

In February we visited the Farm in Carlisle, PA for mom's birthday. It was great to be on the farm with sister, mom, dad, all the dogs and cats! Everyone came out to visit - Uncle Dan, Jen, Makalya & Brady on Saturday and then Aunt Lynn, Aunt Julie, Rachel, Uncle Matt and Amber on Sunday. We missed Ryan and Pop

Pop & Rosie's house is beautiful, it was great to finally see it in person, and it was nice to be there all day, relaxing, chatting and laughing with everyone. We met all the new doggies in the family - Shelby, Stella, Natalie and Roscoe.

Saturday evening we had an amazing dinner with mom, dad, Rosie and sister for mom's birthday. Then Sunday morning, we went to church and had a delicious breakfast in downtown Carlisle. It was a quick weekend but worth it. Miss everyone!

Jess goes Snowboarding.

Jess and I went snowboarding in Telluride off of lift 10. This was the first time this season that she has snowboarded and she picked it right up. Video and some photos below. She only fell once the whole day!

Snowshoeing Lizardhead Wilderness

Last weekend Jess, Kate, and I snowshoed with the doggies 20 minutes up the road at Lizardhead Wilderness Area. We hiked out to an igloo that was built in the woods just off the trail system. The igloo had a log book and candles for light. Kate made hot chocolate for all of us and the puppies got treats.

Winter Snowshoe with Stella

Stella and I headed out one afternoon after work to hike the Jud Wiebe Trail. I never hiked this 2 hour trail in the Winter before and wanted to test out my new snowshoes. We hiked to the top lookout which looks over Telluride. Enjoy the pics!

Christmas Tree Farm 2010

Our tradition in the three years we have lived in Telluride is to cut down our tree at the Covered Bridge Farm in Montrose, CO. It really gets you in the spirit of Christmas with the their two draft horses that they put reindeer antlers on, the tractor ride out into the fields, roasting marshmallows at the camp fire, and cutting down your own tree. This year we picked up two trees; one for our landlords apartment and one for ours.

Polar Express in Durango

Jess's birthday gift from Angela was a trip on THE Polar Express in Durango, CO.
They follow the movie to the tee and give you golden tickets that the conductor punches letters into, they play the polar express story throughout each train car, and then the train takes you to the North Pole to see Santa. Yes, this is mostly for kids but Jess really wanted to see Santa!! Don't worry we weren't the only creapy couple without children. HAHA They finish the ride with a tour of the Train Museum. When we have kids we will definately bring them back for the Polar Express.

Hoflers visit Telluride... and ski.

Marcie and Ed visited us for Christmas this year and showed the rest of the town how to ski. We had a lot of fun skiing Telluride and stopping at all the high mountain bars including our Wine Bar, Alpino Vino, at 12,000 feet above sea level. They charge twice as much for a glass of wine because that's usually all it takes to get drunk. We watched the Christmas Eve Torchlight parade in Mountain Village. We also stopped at the many scenic spots for photo ops....

Christmas 2010 recap

The holiday season was fun but hectic. We started off December celebrating Jess's 30th birthday, followed by the snowboard World Cup, and then the Hoflers visiting for Christmas. Jess got a professional camera for her birthday from me and the fam. She loves her new hobby and has been studying up and taking some great photos. The World Cup kicked off their event with a party at the Peaks Resort which was a lot of fun and free drinks! Jess and I got some more skiing in and Stella played in more snow. Stella and her doggie friends got together for a little holiday caroling, we openned christmas presents with the Hoflers, and we had a terrific christmas dinner at Jess and Mark's house with Sabrina. What a busy month!!

November 2010 recap

We had some early snow in November for a white Thanksgiving. Stella had a blast playing in the snow, and the ski mountain openned the day before Thanksgiving Day this year to benefit the Ski & Snowboard Club. the club took the first chair this season with flags from around the world to celebrate this year's world cup in Telluride. Jess and I hosted our FIRST Thanksgiving and I cooked my very first turkey. The turkey was a success (thank goodness) and I decided to make homemade Jalapeno Poppers with cream cheese and bacon as a surprise appetizer. Delicious!!! We finished our dinner with a screening of Griswald's Christmas Vacation in the garage, projected on the wall. At least the garage is heated. Good times with Great friends!