Kyle and I started of the 2010 year by sleeping in, since has been in the 40s/50s in Tahoe, but going below freezing at night. Although there had been a fire in the power room at Kirkwood, and they were only running a few lifts, we figured we might as well check it out over the other South Lake resorts. Things didn’t get off to a great start when we were told that only 2 lifts were running, and that the tickets were full priced. We decided that $72 was a bit too steep, and opted to hike up to the western facing east side of the valley. The 800 foot climb took about 45 minutes, and the descent took about 4. Earn your turns.

The day improved when they sold us a discounted half day ticket that will also be good for a full day later in the year, and opened up several more chairs. We got a few runs in on the groomers, and the snow was surprisingly good and fast. Overall it was a good early season day, though it definitely highlighted the need for snow.

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The weather finally broke for our trip, and Theresa and I got to go on our heliboard trip. After the requisite training on beacons, avalanche safety, etc, we headed to the heliport for some info on the helicopters, before being taken to Ipsoot, or Hidden Peak. I rode a Winterstick Swallowtail 181 that Dan was going to be riding, but unfortunately he broke his collar bone a few days earlier. There was a photographer on the trip, and this was the photo that decided who “won” the trip… it says it right on the bottom of my board. Win.

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Burning Man 2001. This was the first year that Mike and Jack came along, and it was an especially dusty year. For some reason my parents had given me a baby mannequin arm for my birthday, and it seemed appropriate to bring as an accoutrement. My camera at the time, a trusty Sanyo SX112, for some reason had a issue where the colors would be distorted – or it’s entirely possible that periods of time just looked that way in the Black Rock desert.

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