Mud Lake

Sadly I never made it to Merry Clashmas last night.  The roads were clear but due to some changes to the show's schedule, namely changing the start time from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. and adding another support band I figured it would optimistically be 11:30 before the Nuns of Brixton took the stage and more likely could be closer to midnight which is WAY past my bedtime.  Plus the support band they added was a Screeching Weasel cover band and having been friends with Screeching Weasel back in the day I endured more of that band than any human should have to.  Not going to relive that at the ripe old age of 47.

Ben Weasel circa 1990 at their 'last' show the first time they broke up.  They went on to reform and break up for at least another 10 years, maybe more, but that was the last time I saw them since I moved to Boulder shortly after this show.  And yes, that is a Madonna tattoo.

For some reason the band thought it would be a good idea to dress in ladies lingerie.  And a friend of mine thought it would be a good idea to bring broccoli to the show and throw it at them.  I guess somehow it all made sense at the time.

I have even more revealing photos but I'll spare you as well as the band members who may have respectable lives these days.

Um, where was I?

Oh yes, we bugged out on the Nuns of Brixton because Indian food with a group of friends at the civilized hour of 6:00 p.m. sounded like a much more realistic plan.  We'll see the Nuns another time.  Instead I sang a few lines of 'Police and Thieves' before falling dead asleep in a pile of drool at around 10 pm.

The other good thing about this decision was that I jumped out of bed bright and early and full of energy for the first ski outing of the season.  We met our friends who were also supposed to go to the concert with us but who also bugged out in favor of Indian food and who were also happy to wake up without a screaming headache.

Mud Lake, just outside of Nederland

Trail conditions were awesome after Thursday's storm.  I think Ned got 27" or so.

I'm usually a bit wobbly that first time out but I did o.k. today considering all the twists and turns through the woods.

Finally some pictures of Boulder Canyon taken on the drive back home.

Sure beats battling the crowds at the mall or the airport.

Skiing at Brainard

I had a beautiful day of back country skiing up near the Brainard Lake Recreation Area with one of my friends who's also been laid off.  It's about 50 minutes of driving on icy, snow packed twisty mountain roads to get there but the roads were plowed and sanded and I drive like a little old lady in those conditions so it was no problem.

The combination of the 10,000 ft elevation and steep, hilly trails made for a challenging day.

Waldrop Trail

It's been years since I've skiied on the Waldrop Trail and I'd forgotten how challenging it is with some super steep hills on a huge camber with turns and rocks thrown in for good measure.  I had to get off my skis and walk down a hill or two because the camber was too scary but I made it down one crazy ass steep hill without needing a new pair of pants.  Just.  The portion of trail shown above is a not so bad part but you can see how rolling it is.  I didn't realize it but it's rated as a black diamond (difficult) trail and I have a friend who took a bad tumble off his mountain bike and cut himself open on one of the hills.  We were rewarded with a nice view of Mt. Audubon at the end though so it was worth it.

  
Mt. Audubon is the highest mountain in Colorado that I've hiked to the top of.  It's something over 13,000 ft.  I don't like hiking for very long or very high above treeline, it's rocky and I find it boring, so I have yet to attempt a 14er.

I was bundled up in a lot of clothes for skiing but it was cold and I was dressed just right.

We opted to take an easier blue diamond (intermediate) level trail home (CMC South).

 

My friend insisted on shooting some video so you can have a laugh at me shuffling through the snow.  I do not have crazy mad kick-glide skilz.

I was on the lookout for moose the whole time since there'd been a number of sightings and we came across a guy who saw a pair of bull moose but they were about a mile away in the wrong direction and I figured that by the time we got there they'd be long gone.  Didn't see any this time but maybe that's a good excuse to make another trip up there.  I think I'll wait for the next snow though because the predictions for sunny skies and temps. in the high 40's, low 50's for the next week down here in town sounds to good to leave behind for the cold high country.  Maybe the agility field will even be melted by next week and we can get back to work on those darn weave pole entries.