Here's a bunch of photos from some things we've been up to recently...
First of all, here's a couple pictures from the night I got back from Australia! So good to be home!
Chrissy's dad in the foreground, brother-in-law in the background.
Me and Chrissy, together again at last!
The Stowe Derby is a 16km dowhill/XC ski race. They start at the top of Stowe resort and then ski all the way into town. Chrissy had a buddy who was doing it, so we went along to watch. Taking fast downhill turns on XC skis sure did look tough, even for the pros. Her buddy finished thanks to an IPA (beer) refuel at the 3-mile-to-go mark. It was fun, and I'm thinking about doing it next year if I ever learn how to turn going downhill...
Chrissy and her best friend Katherine waiting for the action.
Katherine and I at the bottom of the downhill section.
Chrissy's buddy gets his beer handoff.
We've been able to do a little bit of snowshoeing in the back yard lately, but we have to go at night since we work during the day. Here's a shot of our front porch after a little trip.
Chrissy and the snowbanks by the front door.
A week after the time Chrissy and I snowshoed up Mt. Elmore, we went up it again with some of her buddies. The previous time we did it, we thought it'd be a good idea to bring sleds to make the descent more fun. It sure did! Unfortunately, it was a bit too fast in some places, and I almost hurt myself a couple times. Lower down, where the trail was wider, we were able to cut loose, but it was so packed and bumpy it killed our backs. Good times and gorgeous views anyway.
Left to right: Trent, Katherine, Craig, Desiree, and Chrissy.
Chrissy and I below the summit.
Observation tower at the top.
Chrissy admiring the 360-degree views.
The Worcester Range. This view is looking south. Montpelier is in the valley to the east (left) of the range and Stowe is in the valley to the west (right).
On the way down from the tower (we didn't have our sleds the last bit) there was a great place to just slide on your butt. Chrissy demonstrates will I try to extricate myself from thigh-deep snow.
One night, I forget the day, we had a private dance party. Silly music and a bit of wine leads to some interesting pictures. These are some of the less goofy ones. The things you do when you don't have TV...
Nothing too weird about that...
I take that back.
Last weekend, we decided to snowshoe up to a place called Taylor Lodge on the Long Trail. We did the same hike in the fall and it was gorgeous then as well. This time, we didn't quite make it to the lodge. We were confronted with a sketchy traverse that had a deep ravine on the downhill side of it. It's not far from the top, but we decided to play it safe and just turn around. It was very cold and windy anyway.
On the way back down from the sketchy traverse.
Easy trail through the woods as we approach the lake.
Don't know what the name of this lake is, but it's home to an exclusive private trout club. There are no tresspassing signs everywhere.
Interesting snow drifts around a rock on the lake shore.
Walking on the road on the way back to the car.
Today, I got in my first ride of the year! I haven't been on the bike in probably 5 months either because of being gone, or winter at home. It's been above freezing for 3 or 4 consecutive days, so I figured most of the ice on the roads was probably melted. And sure enough, it's full on mud season (at least until it snows again). I was able to do all the big climbs I struggled with this time last year, but once on the dirt roads, the going was wicked slow, even going downhill. The roads were muddy, but worse than that, they're soft, and it sucks the energy right out of you. Good 1.5 hour ride to start the season though.
Ah, mud season.
It's muddy enough in places to stop you in your tracks going downhill!
Mmmmmud.
The 'cross bike lives!
Yours truly.
A view to the east towards Spruce Mountain. Hurry up spring!
