Travels with Tim

Installing Quiver Killer binding inserts

2012-01-13T23:28:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to a long-planned project--installing some Quiver Killer binding inserts in my "all-around" skis. I have these mounted with telemark bindings now but want to be able to switch to AT bindings. Before the Quiver Killers it was either own two pair of skis or forget about it. Now I should be able to enjoy both!

The first step was just putting the Quiver Killers into the existing telemark binding holes. I figured it was good practice so when I started drilling for the AT bindings I wouldn't be as likely to mess up.

This jig is super handy for keeping the drill straight. Let me know if you want to borrow it.

Also handy is a drill bit with a custom head designed to exactly mirror the shape of the Quiver Killer insert. Nice, huh?

After carefully lining up and drilling all the holes, it's time to tap. The tap is very slightly larger than 1/4" and you need to be careful to count turns-I went 5-1/2 to make sure there was enough depth to get the inserts slightly below the topsheet. I overtapped the first ski (it's a foam core ski so that was easy to do) so here's hoping the inserts stay put!

Getting the tap started vertically is the difficult part. Make sure to back the tap up (reverse direction) a tiny bit about every half turn.

A Quiver Killer and the insertion tool up close. The insertion tool is squared at the end to fit into the tap wrench but I found that I could be much more precise turning them in using the tool by hand with no wrench handle. Otherwise it was hard to get a feel for when the insert was at the right spot.

And the finished product:

I made sure to attach my bindings very minimally finger-tight so that the epoxy would set up with any "give" that was needed to fit the bindings to the inserts.

North Twin Sister-West Ridge

2011-08-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

Mike, Ryan, Doug and I went up the West Ridge of the North Twin Sister in a day and a half this August 18-19. We got a late afternoon start after pizza and beer (before the climb, which is unusual!).

We had heavier-than-usual packs since we were spending the night. This made the approach more difficult, with a fair amount of walking our bikes...but we knew that we would have a cruiser ride out the next day.

Camp was nice, a few mosquitoes kept away by the fire and then the cold. We woke just after dawn and hike up to the ridge:

Beautiful scrambling just below the summit.

Zebra in Ngorongoro Crater

2011-02-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

The plural of zebra is zebra.

Barranco Valley Waterfall

2011-02-05T21:10:00.000-08:00

This is getting to be fun! I know it looks a little fake, I'm going to try not to go too far overboard on the HDR stuff but at the same time it's really interesting to play with.

This shot is a self-portrait taken at a waterfall in the Barranco Valley, Kilimanjaro.

Rescuing photos

2011-02-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

I'm starting, very slowly, to rescue some old corrupted images from 2008. My old chipset had a graphics card problem that ate a lot of my favorite photos. Some of them, though, were preserved in the original RAW file form. I'm now slowly developing those and learning a bit about high dynamic range tone mapping--here is one example, with hopefully more to come soon!

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!

2011-02-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

Took about 1/2 hour to fit out the truck bed with 3/4" closed-cell foam.

Snow day

2010-11-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

Snow came early this year-November 22nd and it's going to stick around for a couple of days.

Spider Meadows Hike

2010-09-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

The family went for a quick weekend backpack to Spider Meadows. We left town on Friday to try to beat the crowds, which was pretty successful judging from the crowds we saw on our way out Saturday. A long drive for one overnight but beautiful scenery.

Relaxing in Baños

2010-08-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't speak Spanish, Baños means "baths," as in, nice hot water...we were joined by Rodrigo's daughter Domenica and did the classic tourist circuit: a soak in the mineral water followed by a trip to the waterfalls below town. A big pizza lunch and dinner and we are ready to go again!

Cotopaxi summit

2010-08-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

We certainly didn't climb this mountain for the view this time...we were well coated in rime ice and spent only about five minutes on the summit before heading down to dry out!

Cotopaxi dawn

2010-08-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

Dawn found us about a thousand feet below the summit. The pictures don't show you the wind. More photos coming...

Approaching Cotopaxi

2010-08-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

We came to Cotopaxi with beautiful weather, which soon changed to very, very windy.

A night at La Cienega

2010-08-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

A group photo taken at La Cienega, a beautiful hacienda near Cotopaxi where we spent an evening relaxing after climbing Illiniza Norte.

One more of Illiniza Norte

2010-08-19T16:20:00.000-07:00

Illiniza Norte (right) and Sur (left) from a meadow on the way up.

Illiniza Norte

2010-08-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from our climb of Illiniza Norte:

Cotopaxi on a rare clear day

Starting out on the south ridge of Illiniza Norte

Pasochoa

2010-08-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

After a rest day in Quito we did a short hike up Pasochoa, a volcanic caldera just south of town.

A few shots from Imbabura

2010-08-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

We just came down from Imbabura. We had fantastic weather (cloudy on top, of course) and a good time. It was a big hike--about 4,000 vertical feet and we are not completely acclimatized so we are pretty tired today, but we are taking a day off tomorrow and should recover fine!

The morning brought great views of Cayambe to the southeast

Doug climbing the last stretch of steep paramo before we reach the crater rim.

More shots from Imbabura

2010-08-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

A few more shots from our climb of Imbabura:

Fuya Fuya

2010-08-15T16:23:00.000-07:00

We climbed Fuya Fuya, a great acclimatization hike at about 14,000 feet elevation with beautiful views of the Lagunas de Mojanda below. The weather moved in on the summit but we had great views on the way up and down.

Close quarters in Rodrigo's Land Cruiser

Climbing above the lake

Adding a layer after reaching the ridge

A bit of scrambling on the way to the true summit

Descending through sun-dappled meadows

Rucu Pinchincha acclimatization hike

2010-08-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Today we climbed a subsidiary summit on Rucu Pinchincha, a volcanic peak right outside Quito. It is great for acclimatization because you can take a gondola up to about 13,000 feet and then hike for a while.

The entire group did great and we really enjoyed being able to descend to the Quito nightlife without too much trouble...coming down in the gondola is really kind on the knees!

Hiking the ridge above the gondola

The exciting third-class east ridge of Rucu Pinchincha

Looking down on Quito from around 14,000 feet

Everyone on the summit of our acclimatization climb

First day with the full group in Quito

2010-08-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

The full group was in town by the night of the 12th so we started our day with a tour of Quito. I managed to negotiate with a driver for a trip to the "Middle of the World" (a monument to the Equator). I didn't realize until we were done negotiating that I had rented a 20+ passenger bus!

Mike, Doug, Marty, and Dick enjoy the spacious confines of our rented bus.

Checking out the view from the balcony of the Vigen de Quito

Chimborazo-Carihuairazo backpacking

2010-08-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Genya and I spent a few days backpacking through the rainy, misty paramo under the glaciers of Mts. Chimborazo and Carihuairazo. We did not see much of the mountains but did manage a little view of Carihuairazo in the morning. It was good acclimatization though and great to be out!

Church Mountain weekend

2010-07-19T00:08:00.000-07:00

Genya, Ian and I headed up to Church Mountain this weekend--we had a late start and underestimated how slowly we would hike up the 17 switchbacks and 2,500' elevation gain, but we did eventually reach the meadow and camp.

Bedtime reading with Mom.

The view of Mt. Baker from the meadow

Enjoying the morning sun

Ian doing some choice time, finally free of the backpack--and before getting strapped into the carseat!

Skiing at Snoqualmie

2010-04-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

Ian, Genya and I went up to Snoqualmie West to do a little skiing. I called ahead to Guest Services to see if they allowed for children with disabilities to ride the lifts in a backpack or frontpack. The answer was "no," but Ski Patrol responded we were allowed to take Ian on the Magic Carpet. We did so:

Ian thought skiing was a lot of fun. We'll have to see what the future brings in terms of adaptive skiing or otherwise for Ian, hopefully he'll be able to ride the lifts on his own soon!

Ian in the Bay Area, Part II

2010-03-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

So what is there to do in the North Bay area? Well, of course there are the extremely rare Greenbrae swingsets:

And diaper changing is never a bad idea.

But you can't dine in Seattle like you can in northern California, that is for sure.

Heather gave us a ride back to the airport and the flight home was uneventful...a great three days, two nights!

Ian visits San Francisco, Part I

2010-03-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

Ian and I took advantage of a $160 ticket (round trip! including taxes! and fees!) to visit our friends Jon, Heather, and their 9-month-old progeny in the Bay Area. Since Ian will turn 2 soon, this was basically our last opportunity to travel with him as a "lap infant." There was only a little screaming on the flight down before he gave in to exhaustion and slept on my chest for most of the flight.

Of course, one thing I dislike about traveling with kids is all the extra stuff it seems to require, so I stripped things down as much as I could by packing carry-on only. This worked like a charm: the BOB jogger is gate checked as a stroller and everything else fit into my backpack and one shoulder bag for Ian.

Since we were going on the cheap, and also to experience the city sans car seat, here Ian is relishing the BART from SFO to the heart of
downtown, where we then walked a couple blocks to the Larkspur ferry:

Ian likes ferries.

Nice day for mowing the lawn

2010-03-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

Ian and I managed to find the proper combination of free time and good weather, the grass really needed mowing. Ian thought riding along in front was pretty fun. Here he is helping with one of the driveway markers while I mow the strip on the side of the driveway.

Mental Health Day at Crystal

2010-03-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

The quarter has officially ended and Crystal Mountain announced that all of us with scruffy student season passes to Snoqualmie could ski for $10; how could Yuta and I refuse?

We were treated to 3" of left over powder on the north faces up high. We were just there for the afternoon so western and southern exposures were delighful creamed corn.

It was a nearly bluebird day, with Baker, St. Helens, Adams, and Rainier all clear as could be.

DEFINITELY the best day of skiing I've had this year...!

Ian at the Seattle Aquarium

2010-03-19T00:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Ian went to the Seattle Aquarium with his friend Beatrice. He likes the fish.

Ian and mom.

Ian and Beatrice.

Ian, mom, and fish.

I had memories from my own trips to this room from my childhood...

2010-03-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

Today Jason and I took a morning tour up to Pineapple Basin, up valley from Alpental at Snoqualmie Pass:

Conditions were reminiscent of late spring more than early March.

Pineapple Basin in the background, the central summit is the Tooth.

Jason hiking up the last bit to the top of Pineapple Basin.

Jason glides down the last of the good snow before entering the choppy, icy woods.

DC visit

2010-02-23T22:22:00.000-08:00

I had a chance in mid-February to spend the better part of a day flying to DC via LAX:

Ah the joys of urban sprawl.

Stopping in to thank Senator Cantwell for her sponsorship of H.R. 1240: Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act

Bright lights make us squinty.

Weekend XC skiing

2010-02-21T21:43:00.000-08:00

Ian and I went up on Saturday to ski at Trollhaugen, a private co-op lodge near Snoqualmie Pass operated by the Sons of Norway. Grandpa and Grandma Frank and Carol are members so they invited us to visit for a half-day. The snow was scarce and icy but we had a good time with beautiful sunny weather.

Ian's last time cross-country skiing was around Christmas in Montana, where there was beautiful snow but the weather was quite cold--around zero F--so we only went for about 20 minutes and Ian wasn't sure that skiing was an enjoyable pursuit at all.This time Ian was all smiles, especially because he had both grandparents to watch and talk to the whole time.

For those of you who we haven't already told, Ian has been officially diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is sometimes considered an "umbrella" diagnosis, meaning that it describes symptoms better than the root cause. For now, though, it means his legs don't work right and he is very likely to face continued difficulty in using them. Right now that means he can only crawl by dragging himself with his arms. We are doing intensive physical therapy in the hopes that he will become more mobile.

Fortunately for all of us he is good natured and small enough to easily carry around.
Ian explores an igloo.

Writing again

2010-02-21T12:35:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

It has been a long time.

I've been caught up in graduate school and family but have also become very troubled by the sense of imbalance in my life. I have grown tired of feeling guilty when at school over not spending enough time with my family, and when with my family over not doing enough work. This is of course not to mention my growing middle-aged angst over not spending enough time in the mountains running, climbing, or skiing.

I realized today that I am spending very little time in reflection or otherwise creatively engaged (though countless academics would here remind me that research often is a creative process).

More specifically, I miss reaching out to and connecting with my friends near and far. This has been a tough year for me in more ways than one and while I don't intend this forum to be a public wringing of hands (there are plenty of those already) it will be a chance to share with you what I'm up to and thereby bring a bit more balance back to my life....so keep an eye on this spot for more news, thoughts, and other postings.

All the best, Tim

Update on our son

2008-08-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, Ian Frank has been growing away, at last weighing he was nearly 7 and a half pounds! He is officially beyond his projected birth date by a couple of weeks now, too.

Here are some new pictures of Ian, you'll see from the progression that he no longer needs any breathing assistance at all (not even the nasal cannula) but is still being fed part of his milk through a feeding tube.

He is eating more and more of his food on his own by drinking thickened milk from a bottle and we are optimistic that he will come home in a couple of weeks.

Summer project

2008-08-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. A lot has been keeping me busy!

One of my summer projects was to create a stone patio behind the house where there had been a 4-inch-deep pile of pea gravel. I figured I could do the whole project in the week between spring and summer quarters. Unforunately (and predictably), it took me much longer, and I would still be working on it (or procrastinating fom it) without the help of my dad and my father-in-law.

Summer project, finished...

2008-08-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

More baby pics...

2008-05-26T23:41:00.000-07:00

Ian was taken off of respiratory support today and is breathing on his own. That means he gets to spend his days and nights in an incubator. He got phototherapy today, which helps prevent jaundice.

Another adventure...

2008-05-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Some of you may be wondering why I haven't been updating my blog--of course, most of you know this as typical behavior. However, this time I have a pretty good excuse for why I haven't been keeping you all up to date:

The details:

Ian Frank
Born: May 25, 2008, 7:19 AM
Weight: 1263 grams (2 pounds 12 ounces)
Length: 37 centimeters (14.5 inches)

He'll be in intensive care for at least the next month if not two. If you want to visit, let us know!

One more...

2008-03-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

How could I not have blogged a shot of Salamanca's Plaza Mayor? It's famous. If you want to see it get blown up, watch the film "Vantage Point."

A few final shots from Salamanca

2008-03-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Here are a few parting shots from my time in Salamanca:

The procession on Tuesday of Semana Santa featured a very important float and a ceremony in the plaza of the university. It was quite a spectacle.

Sunset on one of my last days in town, the Tormes river in the foreground.

A doorway in a small town south of Salmanca.

*sigh*

Tim

Semana Santa is a big deal in Salamanca

2008-03-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

Salamanca makes a big deal for Holy Week (Semana Santa, the week before Easter), especially on Good Friday (Viernes Santo), the day Jesus was crucified. Here is a video from the center of town. This segment represents a very small part of the procession that winds through town.

The centerpieces of the processions are heavy floats which date back hundreds of years. They are carried through town on the backs of about twenty people and it's quite impressive. Everyone gathers around to watch the procession as it goes through town.

In this video, the float is of Jesus carrying the cross. A hooded man walks in front of the float carrying a large cross and dragging a huge chain in time to the music. At the end of the video you'll see how everyone in the float coordinates their movement with the music to have the sculpture of Jesus stumble under the weight of the cross.

Mom comes for a visit

2008-03-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

My mom visited me in Spain for a week just one week before I had to go back home. We had a great time and did lots of traveling, some of which I'll post here, some of which you may never see...most of our time was spent in short trips in the vicinity of Salamanca, as her mid-week arrival and departure meant that it would be a long trip to Madrid.

We saw a lot of Spanish countryside. It used to be flat and have trees, but the Spaniards were so inspired by the desktop background of Windows XP that they landscaped the entire country:

This is Mom in front of Tordesillas, a tiny town famous for being the location where Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, wherein Spain got a leg up on Portugal in the New World (but hey, Portugal already dominated sea trade to the Indian Ocean and Brasil so who cared about those few little islands that Columbus had found?).

We had a nice time visiting their small museum and picnicking by the river.

2008-03-16T17:13:00.000-07:00

I brought my skis all the way to Spain, so I would feel a bit silly if I didn't take them out for a little bit of turning (I had gone to Morocco in early February). My mom and I were joined by Caroline, a friend of a friend from England who was in Salamanca for language school.

The La Covatilla ski area is about 70 kilometers from Salamanca and usually has more snow--but it has been a very dry winter in Europe, and Spain in particular, so you can see that the only snow left is that made artificially and put on the runs.

Caroline grins for the camera...

and shows us how it's done.

The snow was in good spring conditions and while there were rocks poking through in parts it was still a ton of fun to go out skiing--which only reinforces my belief that it takes some pretty harsh conditions to make for a bad day of skiing.

Mom went for a hike as we skiied for the half day. Good times.

Salamanca with Mom

2008-03-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots from around Salamanca with my mom, who came for a week near the end of my stay in Salamanca:

A view of the Catholic University (towers at left) from the rooftop of the cathedral

The new cathedral and the medieval tower from a nice park at the edge of the city

Mom standing next to the moat which surrounds old town, Ciudad Rodrigo

Chocolate con churros, a very Spanish breakfast. The churros are basically 12" long deep fried donuts that are dipped into a cup of molten chocolate. Que rico and how decadent!

Proof at last!

2008-03-09T05:12:00.000-07:00

I've known for many years of the thing variously termed a "man purse" or "murse," but until now had not seen a formal recognition of its existence outside the vernacular. Here, at last, is the evidence I've been seeking to justify my man-purse-carrying behavior, care of Delta Airlines!

Thanks Delta.

My favorite shot from Salamanca so far

2008-03-09T04:37:00.000-07:00

It was raining torrentially this morning when I woke up. By the time I'd had my first cup of coffee, the rain had stopped and the sky was grey. By the time I'd had my second cup, the sky had cleared. I walked around and savored the feeling of the freshly washed city.

I stopped to take a picture of the cathedrals and this mural, which contains a beautiful and romantic quote from Neruda: "Quiero hacer contigo lo que la primavera hace con los cerezos." I'll leave that for you to translate or you can write if you like!

It's spring here and I have only two weeks left before I head back home. That's exciting because I miss some things about home, but sad because, as always, my list of things I wish I had done is still very long....

Saludos, Tim

A weekend in DC

2008-03-05T04:52:00.000-08:00

I spent last weekend with a couple LONG travel days in Washington, DC for a meeting at National Geographic. We spent some time lobbying members of congress (go, geography education!) and the rest in meetings.

Posing on the Supreme Court's steps.

What does it taste like? Damn Starbucks marketers.

The DC Metro-how industrial. I feel like I'm living in Eraserhead.

Madrid

2008-03-05T04:46:00.000-08:00

Wow have I been busy...not even time to blog! Two weekends ago Genya and I finished her visit with a trip to Madrid. We had a great time heading to museums and restaurants and even met up with our friend Bea and Juan; I knew Bea from way back when in Bellingham. Now she has returned to Spain.

Pretty park trees.

The coolest motor scooter EVAR!

Lots of cheesy gifts to be had near the Prado.

Which came first, the Guggenheim dog or this wall?

Continuing weekend travels...

2008-02-18T04:49:00.000-08:00

A last scene from Bilbao...

We spent the night near Santander and then headed south through the Picos de Europa.

They are quite beautiful but don't have nearly enough snow!!

A weekend in the north of Spain

2008-02-18T04:45:00.000-08:00

Genya flew into Madrid last week, Yay!

Here we are in front of the Guggenheim, in Bilbao...strangely enough, the exhibit was "300 years of American Art."

A walk through Burgos

Having a rental car let us get off the beaten track a bit, like passing through this idyllic Spanish town.

The cordillera Cantabrica (the Cantabrica range) is full of interesting old cities and cathedrals.

Morocco is for...

2008-02-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

What did I do in Morocco...the beach? The bazaar? No, of course not. Skiing!

The biking Scotsman

2008-02-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about travel is meeting all sorts of folks, both locals and travelers alike. This is Ian, who has biked over 120,000 miles in the last ten years. He is doing a loop through Spain, Morocco and Portugal on this trip before heading back to his occasional home in Scotland. Fantastic fellow.

Casablanca (A.K.A. Dar-el-Beida)

2008-02-11T13:52:00.000-08:00

Here are a few shots from Casablanca, Morocco, where I spent the weekend:

From the air, the Hassan II mosque (second largest in the world) is plainly visible on the coast.

A wealthy district above the Corniche, where Moroccans dress in remarkably Western fashion and go walking, jogging, and drive about in their expensive cars (notice that I'm shooting from a Mercedes, not my usual class for sure!)

The beach past La Corniche, a popular spot on a Sunday afternoon.

The Hassan II mosque dominates the city skyline. 25,000 people can fit inside with room for an additional 80,000 estimated outside.

A bike ride in the countryside

2008-02-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

Today I hopped on the sweet (heavy, rattly, but still sweet) cruiser and took a ride into the countryside. My destination was Cubo de Tierra de los Vinos, or "crossroads of the land of the vines." I figured it was as good a spot as any and would give me a good goal. It's about halfway between Salamanca and Zamora, the next major city to the north.

I got lost on some backroads almost immediately, which was scenic while confusing. The wind was whipping up quite a blow and made biking in the crosswind quite difficult.

I was expecting the "land of the vine" to have more vineyards, but this is the only one I saw.

Finally, my destination.

I got into town, walked into a local pub (there appeared to be three, I picked the one where everyone went right away after church) and had a cup of coffee and some tapas pinchos, little snacks on a plate. I watched a pretty exciting football (soccer in the US) game and got ready for the big ride back home.

When I got back to my bike I discovered that a slow leak in my tire had ended up making it completely flat. Like an idiot I hadn't brought my pump and patch kit. Doh!

I had to wait two more hours, some of it spent walking around town, the rest of it back in the bar, until I could catch the bus back to Salamanca.

The two-lane highway between Salamanca and Zamora will soon be replaced with a four-lane divided highway.

And on to the bullfight.

2008-02-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

After the running/taunting of the bulls, everyone who hasn't already been up all night drinking goes into the streets to have a few. The picture below is from around 1 PM today; the bars are a bit more full so people just spill out of them onto the street.

By early afternoon, it's time to watch a few bulls be put to death in a fairly cruel manner:

...and why not some whiskey while we are at it?

I hypnotize you with the power of my incredibly tight pants....

Evidently part of the "art" of bullfighting is for the bullfighter to get really close to the animal as it pants, nearly completely exhausted, and bleeds to death. Here the bullfighter is demonstrating this skill before he finaly killed it by sticking a sword into it. He met with great applause, in part because he killed the bull quickly, so they cut off both the bull's ears and gave them to him. He promptly threw both ears into the stands like prize footballs or baseballs.

I had enough of bull killing so I spent the rest of the afternoon taking a walk in the countryside. The walls of the old city are visible in the background, some pigs in the foregroud. Pork is huge in the Castillian diet.

Running with the bulls...no, really

2008-02-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

I checked at least one of those "things I should do before I die, but not die in the process" off my list: Running with bulls in Spain. The event was at San Blas, a Carnaval festival where everyone uses the quickly arriving Lent as an excuse to drink excessively and take uncalled-for risks with bulls.

We went to Ciudad Rodrigo, a small medieval-era walled town in the southwestern corner of Salamanca Province, about 1 hour from Salamanca. They are famous for having a huge fiesta (party) on the weekend before Lent, including a bull running and a bullfight.

For the bull run, an entire street is barricaded rather cleverly with bull-proof bars between all the doorways and side streets. Then a group of bulls is let loose at the end of the street, with the other end being the bullring at the center of town. Anyone over the age of 18 can be in the street when the bulls are set loose.

That's not all, though--rather than just stay the heck away from the bulls (as I did, don't worry Mom), it is apparently a Spanish obligation, especially if drunken and male, to taunt the bulls in amateur bullfighter fashion. It's also part of the tradition to dress up for Carnaval/San Blas into your penha, or club, outfit.

The combinations of these cicumstances explains how it's possible to see a group of grown men dressed as Smurfs taunting an angry bull in Ciudad Rodrigo on the weekend before Lent:

Danger, danger, danger.

[Insert clever caption about bulls and asses here.]

Nobody died, three were gored (that's human blood on the ground), one badly enough to be rushed to the regional hospital in Salamanca.

This morning

2008-01-27T14:08:00.000-08:00

Nicolas and Isa went out to climb a couloir right across from the cave so I was left to my own devices. I climbed a route that was about 5.10 with running shoes (don't worry Mom, no mortal death at the first slip, as I had a little ice axe and the slope was about 10-15 degrees).

Hey, I know! Let's mark the summit with a metal rocket!

The view back up the ridge to the cirque on the right

Wandering through the oaky woods on the way back to Candelario (I again hitched a ride, this time from above Candelario all the way to Bejar).

2008-01-27T14:01:00.000-08:00

I found a bivvy cave but it has some packs in it so I decided to dejarles en paz and set up camp on a flat rock a few hundred yards away.

But Nicolas was a very extroverted fellow, as was Isa, so I was invited into la cueva de la hoya de los moros (the cave of the cirque of the moors)

A good time was had by all. Nicolas and Isabel are going to be climbing in Alaska this June so they were getting their winter camping time in. They are widely traveled and have climbed all over the world.

Our hike, continued...

2008-01-27T13:57:00.000-08:00

Resourceful Spaniards always bring crampons, unlike us useless Americans! I was struggling on the icy snow with my running shoes. Luckily I had a self-arrest ski pole.

This is about as high as my friends made it (the little girl is 8 years old); I kept going, to their utter concern (they were worried I would freeze to death with my little backpack)

La hoya (the cirque) de los Moros (of the Moors)

My trip to la Sierra de Bejar

2008-01-27T13:51:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, this weekend I took a bus to Bejar (below)

Then hitched a ride to Candelario (both photos below)

Then went hiking with my new friends...

He comprado una bici (I've bought a bike)

2008-01-24T04:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I walked the 1/2 hour or so it takes along the pedestrian-unfriendly highway to the giant-parking-lotted big-box sports superstore to buy the cheapest bike I could find. This sweet cruiser was on sale for 99 Euros, or about US$150. Such a deal. It weighs about 35 pounds but gets the job done around Salamanca--it's remarkably fun to cruise around on and it should get me places that I wouldn't otherwise visit, hopefully I'll share some pictures of that with you all soon.

Saludos, Tim

In Spain

2008-01-20T23:51:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! We have arrived in Salamanca, Spain. For those who I haven't told, I'm teaching a study abroad program here for the next nine weeks. It's been pretty hectic getting settled in so I apologize for not posting anything sooner.

Here we are touring around Madrid, in the park (above) and having a cafe con leche at a sidwalk cafe (below)

The photos above and below are from a city tour we took in Salamanca of the cathedrals and old University buildings.

Best, Tim

Back in the USA

2007-09-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! I'm back from both my trips. The most important stats are these:

Starting weight: 185 lbs

Ending weight: 165 lbs

Number of days on antibiotics: 10

Number of times I thought the antibiotics had taken effect: 2

Number of times I've actually gotten better: 0

Time of my doctor's appointment for tomorrow morning: 9:45

Here's a picture of me, taken today:

And, funnily enough, an email Genya received today:

In Arusha

2007-09-02T01:25:00.000-07:00

I'm in Arusha, Tanzania--and wow is it easier to travel in Africa than India! My luggage beat me through the airport and within half an hour I had hired a cab to catch the last shuttle (it had left already) at a gas station, where I was on my merry way to Tanzania.

It's strange being back in Arusha, as I have many memories of this town from the last seven years. The town has grown enormously in the last few years, bringing bad traffic (which would have seemed unbelievable a few years ago) but it is also much cleaner.

We start up the mountain tomorrow morning--the skies were cloudy this moring but now we are back to brilliant blue African skies.

Qatar is hot

2007-08-31T07:08:00.000-07:00

I went for a walk in Doha today that almost killed me...please note the heat index.

It's not the heat, it's the humidity that creates the haze:

Qatar Airways charges $5 per pound of excess baggage

2007-08-31T07:02:00.000-07:00

In excess of 50 pounds (20 kg), that is...I had 38 kg.

Delhi's smelly

2007-08-30T06:23:00.000-07:00

A well-organized municipal power distribution system; Chandni Chowk, Delhi.

I am in Delhi for the day after a short flight from Leh. Delhi is still too hot, too crowded, too frenetic, too smelly, too loud, and otherwise obnoxious. I'll leave the happily-mixing-with-the-unwashed-masses-of-humanity to someone else, thank you very much.

The view from my Delhi hotel room--why do I feel like Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner ("Time to die.")?

This trip to Delhi was made more enjoyable by the fact that I had been here before, meaning that I knew how to say "no" to, wag my finger in the face of, and otherwise ignore the many people trying to sell me something.

I spent the day touring around the city with Sandra and Laura, who were interested in seeing Old Delhi. It was more of the same masses of unwashed humanity, but still very interesting in a "whoever thought Delhi could contain so many beads, or bead shops, for that matter" sort of way.

Tomorrow I'm off to Qatar, where the heat is rivaled only by the humidity: tomorrow's forecast is for a mild 107 degrees Fahrenheit...

Back to Leh

2007-08-29T06:39:00.000-07:00

We spent the day driving from the Nubra valley over Khardungla (or Khardung La), the "highest motorable road in the world," also home to the "world's highest souvenir shop."

The evening was spent with a final dinner at Traveller's House, veg momos (Tibetan-style dumplings), which were yummy. It's a bummer to go.

No more yak dung

2007-08-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

Great day today. We saw a herd of ibex on the horizon, walked over a sand dune, and cooked over an open wood fire as the full moon rose over our camp. Tomorrow we'll meet the jeep on the road to Hodtong.

Down to Digger

2007-08-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

Today we hiked from our high camp down to the community of Digger. We had a nice meal in a house in the town and I visited the school for a few minutes. It's a beautiful farming town nestled in the valley.

Over Digger-la

2007-08-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

We crossed Digger-la today, a 5,300-meter pass. It was steep and pretty thin aired.

Hiking to Stok Kangri basecamp

2007-08-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

Jon and I went out on a two-day "warm-up" trek to Stok Kangri basecamp. The trail to Stok Kangri is one of the heaviest used in Ladakh since the peak is one of the easiest-accessed 6,000-meter peaks in the area.

We left mid-afternoon from the town of Stok and spent the night in a shepherd's hut. The next day we continued up to the basecamp, hiked a little higher on the climbing route, then headed back to Stok to catch our ride to Leh. Incredible scenery and a really fun outing all the way around.

Finally in Leh

2007-08-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

My guts are much better...Norfloxacin is my friend.

Here are a few scenes around Leh:

Say hello to my little friend

2007-08-18T06:10:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I have been traveling now for about ten days with a little friend, since Agra, India, to be precise. We circled Connaught Place, Delhi, together in a rickshaw; we were stuck in a bus together behind a mudslide between Shimla and Manali; and we went overland by jeep for two days to Leh, where we are hanging out now.

My friend is either an amoeba, a bacteria, or some other parasite living in my intestines. I am trying to kill it. The chemist (that's British for drugstore guy) gave me a new pill today that is supposed to do a better job than the old-school antibiotic I have been taking.

Otherwise things here are very nice. Leh has an agreeable climate since it is at about 11,500 feet and the weather is beautiful. If I feel well tomorrow, I might go to see the Dalai Lama.

Sorry I can't post any pictures, the Internet places here have a moratorium on clogging their bandwith with photo uploads...perhaps late tonight they will allow me the pleasure.

Best, Tim

A few more from the road to Leh

2007-08-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Nice place to drive (this is a two-way road)

Our tented camp on the two-day journey from Manali to Leh

Into the Himalaya

2007-08-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Manali sucked. We left as soon as possible. It wasn't really that bad, but we wanted to get into the real mountains and had the opportunity to share a jeep:

Monsoon trouble on the road to Manali

2007-08-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

We took an overnight bus from Shimla to Manali--it was supposed to be about 9-1/2 hours. Unfortunately it took us closer to 40 hours with hiking across mudflows and hitching rides...

The road into Manali is very improbable. Almost as improbable as the road beyond Manali.

A local rocks to Billy Joel. Thanks, iPod!

Shimla

2007-08-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Happy dogs

Kalka train station

2007-08-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

Genya does not feel well.

She is glad to finally be on the train. It was two hours and fifty minutes late.

Around Delhi

2007-08-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

In the Qut'b fort/mosque

That'd be the Taj Mahal.

Amsterdam has a lot of bikes.

2007-08-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

'nuff said.

Amazonia

2007-06-21T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots from the end of our first day in the Amazon. We hung out at camp for a while with curious parrots,

curious American tourists, and finally worked up an appetite to head down the road to visit...

an enterprising talapia aquaculturalist

Nhato and Rodrigo enjoy a great feast! The glasses are of a local homebrew that Nhato pulled out in a 2-liter bottle, it was fruity and fairly good despite the strong alcohol content.

For more pics, check out: http://picasaweb.google.com/Tim.E.Schultz/Amazonia/

Quito

2007-06-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

I started out my 'short' summer vacation this June (implication: longer ones coming) in Quito. Here are a few shots from the city, if you want to see more, check out http://picasaweb.google.com/Tim.E.Schultz/Quito

My Birthday

2007-05-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

My birthday this year fell, as it often does, on Memorial Day. Genya was gracious enough to oblige me with a "perfect day," the start of which you see here: enjoying a cup of coffee in the hot tub at something like nine in the morning.

Sorry about the mess...

2007-01-01T18:45:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

I'm experimenting with using Picasa to post images straight from my computer to the Web. It should be slick, it sometimes is slick, but it's also far from perfect--thus the messes you see below.

Best, Tim

Skiing

2007-01-01T10:43:00.000-08:00

Badger Wonderland

2007-01-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

Winter Wonderland

2007-01-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve Tour

2007-01-01T10:11:00.000-08:00

A few more pics...

2006-09-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

I ended up finding out that there was no problem getting a bus to Santiago on Sunday, so I spent one more night in Las Trancas. I was a little bummed that I didn't get to go skiing that day since I was planning on leaving early, but I still had a great time hanging out with some of my friends. Here are a few last photos:

Overlooking Las Trancas, Termas de Chillan in the background

The valley at sunset

Does Scottish Ben have a drink problem?

Perhaps this chav does, too.

Termas de Chillàn

2006-09-16T06:29:00.000-07:00

Matt drops in from the refugio

A tour up the volcano

Matt was on the second train and was soon reunited with his luggage. We had an otherwise uneventful night and barely made the bus for Las Trancas, the village about 10 kilometers from the Termas de Chillàn ski resort.

Truth is stranger than fiction: no sooner had I written an entry on chillin' in Chillàn than we found a great hostel named Chil'in. http://www.chilin.cl/

It's a dog's life at Chil'in

Gregory and his wife have had the hostel for a few years now and the place is exceptional.

The mountain is also exceptional. We arrived a few days after a dump of fresh snow and have been seeking out pockets of powder ever since. The north-facing spects have been turning into beautiful spring corn by midafternoon.

Termas de Chillàn has a huge variety of terrain, with long runs through trees and high alpine bowls. After two days of skiing, Matt and I have barely scratched the surface.

Matt hitching a ride in the back of an army truck

Rose and Adam in the back of a pickup on the way down

Unfortunately, yesterday was my last day of skiing for this trip. The access to the mountain is by hitch-hiking and I need to catch a 3 PM bus, which is a tough pull, so instead I'm just chillin'.

Get it? Ha ha.

What an exceptional trip. I really can't imagine NOT coming back...

Matt, Prior poster boy

Chillin' in Chillán

2006-09-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

Matt in happier times, waiting for the subway in Santiago

I know, it's a lame pun and almost as tired as "Chillin' in Chile," but I just had to write it.

Chillán (prounounced: chee YAWN) is a cool, medium-sized town about 5 hours by train south of Santiago. Matt (from Yukon) and I decided to leave Portillo because he was tired of Portillo and I was excited to see more of Chile--despite the fact that we awoke this morning to absolutely bluebird skies at Portillo.

We packed our bags and began practicing the ancient art of bumming a ride. My experiences in this regard have been excellent in Latin America thus far. It seems like all the random rides and buses coordinate perfectly to make for a customizable journey. That's how Matt and I got to Chillán today...almost. Here's how it went:

10:30 We carry our bags to the road in front of the resort. They wave their thumbs at a car and a truck passing, no luck.

10:32 A van is leaving the parking lot. Tim asks, "¿vas al Santiago?" The man answers, "no, a Los Andes." We know there are frequent buses from Los Andes to Santiago.

11:30 We are driven into the bus station and dropped off next to the bus leaving for Santiago. At what time? 11:30. No time to waste, get on the bus and get going!

1:00 Bus terminal in Santiago. Carry bags to the metro, go one block to the Estación Central, where the train leaves for Chillán.

1:15 Estación Central, buying tickets for the train. When does it leave? 1:30. Just in time.

1:20 We're on the train, bags in the back, ready to head for Chillán. Matt goes to get a snack.

1:30 The train pulls out of the station without so much as a warning whistle. Where's Matt?

Yep. Matt missed the train, and I now have all of his earthly possessions (his backpack and snowboard bag). We have no way of communicating, I didn't even know his last name until I looked at his luggage tag, and now I'm in Chillán, a city of about 100,000 people with no idea how to find him.

I figured that Matt might just run to a bus, as the next train was 5 hours later. But which bus terminal would I meet him at? There are two in town, about a half-mile apart.

I left Matt's bags in the jefe's office at the train station. I went down the street a ways to the hostel we had talked about briefly. Would Matt remember? He didn't even have a map or guidebook! The hostel was full. I went down the street further and found another one.

With my wobbly Spanish, I returned to the train station and tried to explain my predicament to the man in the tourism office. He didn't have any great ideas for me, which wasn't too surprising. Everyone I talked to asked, "why don't you call him?" I suppose cell phones can be pretty useful.

However, while in the tourist office, two of the train attendants stopped by to talk with me. They contacted one bus company and asked if an American had bought a ticket to Chillán. No luck. Then they called the train again, which previously had said that Matt hadn't gotten on the 5:30 train. Evidently there had been a mistake--Matt is on the 5:30 train and will arrive in Chillán tonight at 10:15.

I'm about to head over to the station to meet the train.

I hope Matt is there!

Portillo is OK

2006-09-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

Matt showing how it's done in the Portillo backcountry

OK, so Portillo isn't THAT bad...I woke up on Tuesday to clearing skies and went for a tour across the lake with some snowboarders that I met in the lodge.

Matt, from Yukon Territory, Canada, has a split board and tons of touring experience. The other snowboarders had snowshoes and little to no touring experience. Thus, Matt and I spent a good part of the tour waiting for the others.

Leaving the lodge for the long trip across the lake

It wasn't until we toured for a few hours that we really began to appreciate the size of the Portillo valley. There are no trees to give a sense of scale, so one can't tell if the mountains are 1,000 or 4,000 feet high on either side of the valley. It turns out they are closer to 4,000 feet.

Matt touring in the valley of the giants

The sun was hot and we were worried about making it back to the lodge for feeding time (lunch), so we hung a left and started climbing. Matt set a vicious skin track up a rib leading to a rocky face. I set track across the face. It was steeper than either of us had anticipated, and with the sun softening up the snow it was a bit scary...falling with skins on and your heels unlocked is no fun.

The other two snowboarders, Yumi and Alan, couldn't follow up the steeps so they took a right and followed a gully with a slightly lower angle.

We made it over the steep section and continued up the ridge above. I did my best to keep up with Matt's impressive standard by settingt the track straight up the hill but I eventually had to start switchbacking. My lungs and legs aren't used to setting track at 11,000 feet!

We climbed for about 1-1/2 hours, gaining by my estimate 2,000 vertical feet. I think we were about halfway to the ridgeline. The terrain in the valley around us was fantastic--you could spend a week back there and never run out of lines.

The sun had gone behind clouds again by the end of our climb, so the snow was a bit stiff as we descended. Matt is a certified gnar schralper, so he had no troubles at all setting clean arcs with his snowboard down the face. I followed with my typical timidity and promptly buried a tip and dug my face into the snow.

It was a great run.

Portillo is a great place to ski if the weather is good.

R & R in the hot tub after a long day of skiing

Portillo sucks

2006-09-12T05:36:00.000-07:00

Possibly the strangest lift you'll ever take: the 4-seat high-speed poma

I´m in Portillo, which according to everything I´ve read is the most famous resort in Chile--Lonely Planet lists it as one of their ¨must visit¨ spots--but I have to say I´m underimpressed.

I got here by taking a share-taxi (¨combi¨) from Los Andes to the little town of Rio Blanco, then hitching. I got a ride from Martin, a Santiagan, his sister and her two daughters. I spent the afternoon skiing with Martin.

Does it look cold and windy? Think again: colder and windier.

On my first chair lift ride I looked at the guy next to me and did a double-take. It was Ted, who I met in the hostel in Santiago. I knew he would be at Portillo, but it was really funny running into him on my first run.

Ted enjoys some of the finer views from a Portillo chairlift

The scenery is beautiful and I can imagine if the weather were better it would be great skiing, but the problem is that the weather hasn´t been nice. The weather has been typical, from what everyone tells me, of the Andes: cloudy and windy.

This makes Portillo a fairly lousy resort. The skiing has been very scratchy (icy). That means that we´ve been confined mostly to groomers, of which there are exactly two (that´s right, 2) that are of any length. At least at other resorts there are multiple groomed runs to cruise around on when there isn´t good snow.

That having been said, it´s still been fun skiing here. Later in the day it´s been a bit warmer, which makes the one run that goes down to the snowline a bit warmer and carvy.

I spent almost the entire day (10-5) yesterday doing a long traverse from the top of the lift, walking across the highway, and traversing some abandoned railroad tracks behind the Chilean army depot (the border is about 1/2 mile away) to get fresh tracks on the nicest snow I´ve found--nice corn snow at about 30-35 degrees for about 500 vertical feet. I got the traverse and hike wired to the point where I could do a run every 20 to 25 minutes.

Jennifer from Juneau schralps the sweet spring slushies

Other aspects of Portillo are great. I´m staying in the Inca Lodge, which has about as much room as a passenger plane. There are four beds, a narrow hallway, and a closet. But I can´t complain: The price for skiing, sleeping, eating four meals per day, and using the hot tub and everything else in the hotel is one inclusive price of $70 per day.

Luxurious Inca Lodge accomodations

There is also a cool social scene around the hotel, unfortunately there are enough of each language group that there is less intermixing, though I have been practicing my Spanish whenever possible. I've been eating in the diner mostly with a group of Americans from Syracuse and a couple of women from Japan.

Yumi carves the last bits of the Lake Run

Portillo attracts mega ski-bums. A few people I´ve met are approaching 200 days of skiing every year, and I took a run yesterday with a woman who is traveling with Rainer Hertrich, who has skiied more than 1,000 days consecutively--and he´s still going. We saw Rainer from the lift, cruising along with parallel turns on his telemark skis.

Brian and Alan at feeding time in the scum-class lounge, Portillo

I might go for a ¨beauty tour¨ today, which is what my friend Jon calls it when you go skiing on something flat because the backcountry is worthless. There is a beautiful, though frozen, lake at the resort and I´m talking with Matt, a snowboarder from Yukon Territory, about skiing to the end of it and on up the valley. There won´t be much skiing but the views should be interesting.

The S-curves below Portillo at night, trucker's delight

Away from Santiago

2006-09-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

I managed to get out of Santiago today, I´m in a little town on the way to Portillo ski area called Los Andes. It has the feel of many other Latin American towns I´ve been in, from Ecuador to Mexio. Santiago felt a lot different.

Super Sketch, the budget version of Super 8

My hotel is super sketchy in the way only some hotel rooms can be. Imagine the worst hotel room you can. Now take the blood stains off the wall, you´re getting a little too imaginative. OK, there, that´s where I´m staying.

I had a great experience today on the way to the hotel. A garrulous and half-drunk man greeted me from a propane truck, so of course I stopped and started talking with him. Before I knew it, I was checked in to the hotel and sitting in the propane truck. Victor had his grandson (son?) Alejandro on his lap and I was sitting in the center seat next to Victor´s nephew, Marcelo.

Victor, Alejandro, and Marcelo

They gave me a quasi-official tour of the town, made more interesting by the fact that everyone (except Alejandro, who is nine years old) was quaffing Cristal beer, one of the local favorites. I have a feeling that drinking and driving is illegal in Chile but the folks in Los Andes probably drink a beer or two in the car quite often.

I managed to reach my conversational (and drunk driving) limit fairly soon and managed to talk the boys into dropping me off at the hotel.

The rest of my night was uneventful, as I spent some time hanging out in the central square and had a beer and ¨"completo," which is Chilean for "fancy hot dog."

North to...?

2006-09-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

Wow... I just had the best first day of skiing I can remember in a long time.

I awoke to perfect clear blue skies on Friday morning. I took the subway to the end of the line, then walked a few blocks to the bus plaza. A ride up to the local ski hills is $14.

The ride took about one hour and I bought a ticket to El Colorado, the cheapest and most basic of the Santiago city resorts. The ski hill is completely treeless and doesn't have a huge variety of terrain, but that was perfecty OK as it had just snowed about 6 inches of fresh powder.

The view of El Colorado from the road

I spent the morning skiing with Arnaud from Belgium, then he went in to ski with his girlfriend. I spent the afternoon skiing with Ricardo, a Santiagan who knew the mountain very well and showed me a few stashes of powder that hadn't been used up.

Ricardo tests the fluff

An interesting observation of the ski scene: most Chilean skiers don't appear to like skiing powder. The majority of the skiers stuck to the groomed runs. Mind you, I'm not complaining...

I've decided to head out of Santiago in search of a little less urban feel. There is a hostel at El Colorado, but the ski areas there feel very big-city and I want a little more mellow place to hang out. I'm also trying to travel on the cheap side of things, too, which complicates how far I can travel (not to mention I only have a week left) and which resorts I can afford to ski at.

So the decision I need to make this morning is whether to head north and a bit east to ski Portillo and Penitentes, or whether I should head south for the volcanoes of Chile's Lakes District.

The volcanoes beckon, but I think north will win since the skiing there is closer.

We'll see--

Valle Nevado, a neighboring ski area

Santiago

2006-09-07T17:02:00.000-07:00

The Andes from Los Condes, Santiago

Santiago is a very big, smoggy city. It's winter here. One can see the snow-capped foothills of the Andes from the streets of Santiago.

The people are very friendly but their Spanish is very difficult to understand. In general, there is a lot of slang and rapid speech--it confuses the heck out of me.

Globalization Coming Soon

'Nuff Said

2006-09-05T18:02:00.000-07:00

My Left Foot

2006-09-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor last Friday because my foot had been hurting for about four days...the pain was bad enough that I couldn't bear weight on the ball of my foot, much less walk.

X-rays revealed that it wasn't a stress fracture. I'm now on Celebrex (yes, the old-man-arthritis medicine) and my foot is better.

I consulted with a foot and ankle specialist today. His verdict: I bruised the joint capsule, leading to inflammation. His recommendation: get some new shoes and don't wear flip-flops for a while.

I'm a little disappointed that I don't have to rush into the hospital for an emergency amputation. On the other hand, I'm relieved that I can travel to Chile tomorrow for a week of skiing and not worry about ruining my outdoor recreational future.

Tow Skiing The Side Streets Of Cali Without Snow

2006-09-04T13:57:00.000-07:00


Snow skis, a car, tow rope, black top, and no snow. The perfect combo for another face plant. I'm glad I'm headed for Chile (September down there is perfect spring skiing) in three days!