Cinco de Mayo Half Marathon

You all know that I have always hated running. A strange thing has happened....No, I don't LOVE running but I no longer hate it. My friend Emily coerced me into running the local half-marathon. She has been patiently jogging with me for the past several years, talking comfortably while I huff & puff next to her. As we trained for this race, I actually got better at running (shocking to me...I really didn't think it possible), so that I could match her pace and even hold a conversation.

It rained throughout the whole race, which I actually prefer b/c it keeps me cool. And somewhere around mile 9, the weirdest idea occurred to me: "I should run a marathon!" Don't worry...I quickly banished that crazy notion. I did, however, enjoy the race. Maybe I'll try an ultra-marathon...running in the woods is definitely more my style. ;)

Look at that smile of enjoyment!

Next Time, We'll Buy a Waterproof Case...

It was just last year when I posted 'flashback' shots, pictures from my childhood. I did this for two reasons: 1) the pics were cool and newly discovered, and 2) our camera was broken.

Here we are again, one year later, unable to post current pics. The reason? After committing to buy a new, more expensive camera (eeks!), we ruined it. :(

The camera took a little soak in a water-proof backpack when the hydration bladder leaked all of its contents. Good news: the backpack is truly water-proof...Brandon had no idea that the camera was sloshing around in 48 oz of water while he skied an entire afternoon. Bad news: the camera is dead.

So, for the time being, we will be providing image-less tales of our adventures. Maybe you will enjoy the more narrative approach...

Consumerism

This article is a bit long but interesting.

The Gospel of Consumption Orion Magazine

(Posted using ShareThis)

P.S. Don't worry, I see the irony in my posting this just after purchasing a new, shiny Mac laptop. It is lovely...

VertFest 2010

Somehow we were coerced into participating in the VertFest randonee race at Alpental again. So, on a beautiful blue-bird day, we slipped, slid, huffed, puffed, and 'skied' through the race.

The first half of the uphill race was extremely icy. Picture a whole herd of people (over 100) falling all over one another as they attempt to go uphill on a mogul run. Imagine two or three people creating a domino line of falling, limbs, poles, and skis everywhere!

Yes, it was FUN! Actually, it was strangely fun.

Check out this video of SlipFest 2010:

http://thesnowtroopers.com/2010/alpental-wa-vertfest-march-6-2010/

Scottish Lakes

We had three bluebird days with friends at Scottish Lakes High Camp near Leavenworth. The skiing wasn't awesome, but we had a fun time turning in the sun anyway. And of course, we enjoyed eating, drinking, and hanging out with great friends in a quiet, beautiful spot.

B coming up the rise

Brandon & Ed, the explorers

Crossing Lake Julius with a polar bear (okay, just a huge dog)

Melissa & Winders

Julie, Ed, & Chinook the polar bear

Under much pressure from the hagglers in the crowd,

Ed pulled a back-flip...

even if he landed on his head (ouch!).

Upper High Meadows area

...going up Mt. Baldy

Ed near the top

An unnamed peak Ed & Brandon enjoyed

some nice tracks...

a few more...

an unnamed peak...to be skiied next year?

this hill, our last run of the trip, turned out to be the best...

Ed & Julie, Brandon & Heather, Melissa & Jeremy
and the pups Winders and Chinook