Today was amazing - the sun was out, the wind was breezy, and the snow was soft. The steeps were in great condition - no moguls or ice!

My uncle Tom & my dad

Me trying to keep my eyes open in the sun & wind.
This was a great end to the week. Unfortunately I'm leaving the 12,000ft mountain & returning to the 700 vertical foot hills of Wisconsin.

The best part of yesterday - the hill was steep and had a couple feet of pow.

I stopped by Hot Shop Glass today to pickup a couple of pieces that I made last Tuesday. I was stoked with the results; the green bowl turned out great. When I get the pieces too large, it's difficult to control the molten glass.

64 inches of snow in the last 3 days...I can't wait to get to Mammoth.

I headed out to Tyrol Basin yesterday with James, Mark, Gabe, and Brad. Amazingly, they actually had decent snow after all of last week's rain. Here's a How To guide of what not to do:

Step 1: Jump onto the rail.

Step 2: Don't fall

Another reason why Americans do not need to leave the comforts of home for strange, foreign lands: San Diego Zoo offers a safari-like experience. You'll see some of the same animals, but I doubt you'll hear Swahili, eat indigenous African food, or experience the severe poverty. I consider these cultural items to be as important as the wildlife, but maybe I'm in the minority...

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/index.html

On the bright side, a trip to Cali will be significantly less than Africa.

What it used to be

After a 10 month hiatus, I returned to the studio on Tuesday. Nothing has changed since I've been gone, except for my skills. Liz helped me to save two pieces from turning into ruined bowls.

Anticipating change

Cold play

From Outside.com

On Saturday I went out to Lapham Peak for a bit of cross-country skiing. The last time I xc skied was more than 10 years ago, but I picked up the rhythm after a couple of miles. Wheel & Sprocket has a shack by the trails where we rented skis for $20. It felt great to get outside & actually enjoy the cold tundra.