Tele NNN-BC Downhill ~ xcD @ Keystone 06Feb19

Wow, ~5K of vert never taxed me like today. I needed to get more "real" downhill experience on the Fischer S-Bounds so today I hit Keystone. This is really my cross-country outfit but the skis do have metal edges which are supposed to enable decent telemarking downhill. Despite my somewhat beefy (Rotofella Magnum) NNN-BC bindings, I still can't quite drive the skis into tele turns as I was able to do on full telemarking setups. Still, I took a dozen runs and fortunately there was some soft snow. I was decent and capable by the end and did 10 laps on Ranger (received the "Creature of Habit" pin) and runs on Schoolmarm - keeping balance over both front and back skis evenly through the whole turn is key - as is keeping my poles back/down with both knees bent athletically. I noticed when tired my back leg went "doggy" and didn't help with the turn enough, making the whole thing sketchy. Too, if my laces loosen and make my mating to the ski even weaker, things got dangerous. Free heels, especially when my toes are so lightly loaded, and bobbing all day with knees bent, is tiring. I don't think I'd be pretty at all on steep stuff unless there's a lot more fresh snow - I didn't even venture to a blue run today; I surely could snow plow it but I was trying to ski.

What's In Your Kit? 02Feb19

I reviewed my daily pack and bike bag today to assure preparedness ~ what's in your pack? Here's my bike seat bag and its contents - it's for use in emergencies to repair the bike. Park bike multi-tool (including chain tool), tire bars, 2 bottles of CO2 and a tire inflator tool, 29er tube, tube patch kit (triple insurance), and an emergency spoke. 1lb 9oz FYI. In rethinking this I sense I need to include chain links & some appropriately sized bolts. Perhaps I need to also include some tire valves and cores.

I also reviewed my primary hiking pack and its normal emergency stuff beyond hydration and coats. It is weird but I take this along with phone, selfie stick, coats and camera on every outing... when I use a different pack, like in winter or when using a larger one for a longer outing, I move this entire kit to the pack intended to be used. 2lbs 12oz including selfie stick and camera mount (w/o camera) FYI. I don't normally have poles but if no one in my party has them either, I will add collapsing poles to the kit.

Main medical kit with paracord, deet, drugs, bandages, neosporin, surgical gloves, whistle & compass (with waterproof matches inside), bailing wire, sunscreen, and lighter. I don't wanna have to get in there. I guess I should consider a wilderness medical guide too. Voz use it recently to fashion a replacement for the loop on his skins which fit over the tip of his skis. Too, I once did not have deet when needed - big mistake.

"The sticks" include a bic pen with duct tape & velcro tape, sharpie, Lifestraw drinking straw, light stick, and zip ties & ranger bands. The straw is useful - I ran out of water on a particularly long hike.

Other gear includes TP, headlamp, emergency poncho, emergency fire starter, bivvy shelter, knife, and pliers/multi-tool & light duty carabiners. 

For food there are energy bars.

Music Streaming Update 29Jan19

I upgraded my JRiver Media Center v23 to v25 today, for ~$20, and for an extra $6 I got a Master License (vs Win only) allowing me to install it on as many machines as I own, whatever their location. I used the Library Server capability to migrate my internal streaming service to my main Win7 server (now co-located on the same device as the media). I then set my Win10 notebook  to client MC25 and installed MC25 on my MBPro - again I set it to client. I now can stream HD quality, mainly FLAC at ~1Mbps, from my Blodgett server to my headphone systems, with independent DACs, both @ Blodgett and @ the Nest. Very cool. I can stream to iOS and Android devices too but I'll limit that to 320Kbps in case I am doing it on LTE; I don't wanna overdo the data charges - plus, the iDevice reproduction systems aren't really of sufficient fidelity to warrant FLAC. I've been looking to test this capability for a while - today I took the time to wring it all out. Meanwhile, I cancelled recent trials of Amazon Unlimited and Pandora Premium - they just aren't worth the monthly $ to me.

UPDATE 12Feb19 - The full remote testing of streaming FLAC is complete. It's awesome. Here I show streaming The Killers into Summit from my server in COS at >1Mbps.

Another Super-Cold One & New Music 25Jan19

Wow. Breck grabbed another 5" while Vail had 9" but snow was forecast all day so I went Summit-side. It was super cold and windy. I skied over to Pk 6 from 7 and skied there mostly but it was frigid and super windy - Imperial didn't open. I floated from 18" of new through 2" of crusted terror. The pic is from the top of the steeps at Wonderland bowls - whew; navigation required.

We were fortunate to find a pair of Kala's chosen BC boots, Fischer BCX6s, online for less than half off MSRP $220 for $104 - remarkable for mid-season. I think they didn't really know they had modern NNN-BC boots as they were not described as such so I was dubious on the buy but knew I could return them... woohoo.

Vampire Weekend just dropped a couple of singles from an upcoming album; it's been six years. The Harmony Hall is cool - deferential to the Dead Shades of Grey and more - Ezra is tickling some cool stuff and doing his keen lyrics thing. I look forward to the full album but its release date is not announced.

Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall

And, also recently, a big Icelandic festival was held and KEXP was there to introduce and record a Nordic princess, Aurora. I'm listening 'cause she/they are pretty cool synthpop, ala CVRCHES. Worth a listen.

Aurora @ Iceland Airwaves

In closing, I made a heirloom tomato and burrata salad tonight... I varied what I learned from a close friend in Napa Valley... yum.

Heating, Freezing, Watching And Fishing 24Jan19

The radiant heating system failed again... it was 45° in some parts of the Nest upon awaking... this time a pump seized and needed to be replaced. I called Countywide and Mike was quick and efficient to replace it. I prior identified the fail but nonetheless, with a system full of glycol under pressure, I was happy to pay for the repair. I also identified a suspect relay during debug... my Magnecraft 750XBXM4L in the control circuit seemed blown (likely from the overdraw from the seized pump). It was. I found a currently manufactured equivalent, the Tekmar 003, and even found it in inventory at a local wholesale electrical & plumbing supply. I replaced that and we are back and toasty again.

With 9" of new in Vail, I "passed" due to the drive over there and likely nightmare returning. I hit the local haunt with just 5" windblown in ~40mph winds and 15° temps. Keystone Summit chair stopped twice on wind and ran 1/2 speed for a third of it. I was undaunted and headed to North Pk via Diamondback. Outback held the best stashes due to wind directions and I enjoyed a decent, if not cold, morning grabbing a quick 15K through the trees (to avoid the wind).

 Cory shared a tasty dubl red laced with raspberry and chili during lunch.

I watch movies via streaming services and typically enjoy higher quality offers from writers, directors and actors. I used to "google" "best movies on Netflix now" and the like to assess what to watch next. IMDB is a great database to aid in quality assessment once the current list was determined (Google & Collider shown). Yet, I recently discovered ReelGood, offered as an app and a website. This app is perfect for me despite its flaws - I can set which streaming services to search, I can set genre (sci-fi often for me), I can set release date, I can set Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB rating, etc. - and the app sorts the stuff and tells me what's on and even allows me to set up a watchlist. Perfect function - UI just OK. I still use IMDB to dive in but I bet I'll no longer issue searches for "best TV...".

ReelGood

IMDB

Google - "Best Movies"

Collider

I'm still planning the post-runoff (~Jul19) Rocky Mtn fishing trip and I expect it'll follow the "Fly Highway," Route #20 through WY, MT, ID and OR...

Soon, A Has-Been 18Jan19-22Jan19

Probably not but the juxtaposition of the timed notions in tight verse strikes me. I was fortunate to enjoy a day of a fresh 6" at Breck with DD before MLK WE. So cool we turned it into a dubl date at Aurum that night - so fun, so tasty... DD & I sampled nearly the entire happy hour of 1/2 price totties as we dined fine in one of the coolest new spots in Summit. No team pics.

Kala & I hit the trails on a nice Sat AM but soon encountered overcast and snowy conditions up on Peru Ck. NP... what a great outing on a somewhat clear trail given MLK. Remarkable electric buzz conducting the snow on the way back down on power line. Though, one of Kala's Atlas 825 snowshoes failed (bad design anyway) on the way back to the car and we spent a couple hours on the next day grabbing some of the best mtn shoes in the offing, 2018 Atlas Elektra Serrates. Yeah, 2019 colors were better for Kala ~ but not $100 better.

Sunday was a day inside avoiding the crowds on the slopes, and enjoying two gr8 OT NFL games. Bummer about the PI mis-call resulting in a Saints loss - and the inability of Andy Reed to clear the hurdle against the GOAT. Mon we had appointments and fun together inside but Tue, I got back out there and partook of a weak 5" in at Keystone. Super freakin' cold this day but good enough for another 15Kft of vert. I tried Citrus Mistress and a spa soak with both pumps running.

New Wild Reeds Drop 15Jan19

New "Official Video" drop (so not the cool live, high production, I like, yet) of new tune from the Wild Reeds...

The Wild Reeds - Don't Pretend