Training Log Archive: Swampfox

Skiing was so nice today with fresh snow, fresh grooming, and no wind that I needed no excuses to keep going until dark. But sometimes I do, and then I like to do things like come up with phony adages. It's good to keep in practice for those occasions where the skill might be needed, so today's effort resulted in: "The easier the sum is to do, the more likely the numbers were added up correctly." Must be March Madness! ; )

Came home to find out some Wall Streeter types were evidently fully occupied today, probably adding up lots and lots of sums (and subtracting some too, no doubt.)

C • Some were only required to ... 3

A brief night run around the hood, as one noted APer might put it.

Dropped off tax stuff--so fine to be done with that for another year!--and rode over to West Laramie, along the Greenway and back home.

There were about 2" of new snow from last night's snow. And almost no skiers. It probably helps that UW is now on Spring Break, even if I am not.

After skiing, I headed further into the National Forest to a secret location to assess mapping feasibility. It may be the Ides of March, but snow depths were matter of factly stating the point that it is still too soon to get started. I did see a stunning bluebird though, so the tide may be turning spring soon.

After running, I returned home for some dinner.

After dinner, I stumbled across an archived NPR performance that REM gave this week in Austin, TX, which is my kind of town. A great show! From some of the comments, I gather that the present Administration is not exactly REM's kind of administration. For many years, REM has been my kind of band.

Springlike white, puffy clouds in the sky, borne on winterlike blow-'em-down winds.

Light snow during half the ski, and intensifying towards the end.

Out in The Flats. The House Was a Rockin'.

The west side of the valley was hidden behind clouds extending to the ground, hinting at snow, perhaps. After dropping off some tax stuff at the Post, I whooped it on back, feeling like a 2/3's liberated taxman. It's gonna be yee-haw time again soon! Really, taxes are the most fun thing you can do outside of bed.

The first headline I saw when I got home was: "Taxman Whoops It up, Lifts Five Elephants." Well, actually, not. Actually the headline was: "Foreclosures Filings Rise for 26th Month In Row." Even in Arizona, that would be a lot of months in a row. Some people have suggested that is even higher than the Pres can count, but I don't know about that.

Some of last night's grooming held up and didn't melt and then re-freeze, so skiing today was much improved over yesterday. New snow may be headed this way...or not.

The wind engines started cranking up last night and showed no signs of respite during the day. If anything, by late afternoon it was windier than West Texas, with the main difference being that the winds were stronger here, while down there they have more armadillos lining the roads.

That meant biking was not on.

This time of year, if you go up skiing in the morning you can usually count on nicely groomed snow. If you go out at mid-day and the sun is out, you can count on softening snow and maybe even some ski babes if the conditions are extra fine, and snowsnake worries are negligible. But if you shape your day up poorly and don't post your skis up until late afternoon, then you are going to spend your time skittering across the frozen ruts like a jungle spider, with not the slightest chance of ever getting a pole plant.

And that's the way it was: the winds were howling, the ski were clattering, and the ski poles would have been more useful for a shishkabob.

Ran some deeply snowed in trails at Happy Jack after skiing to see how things stood. And the way things stood was: deep and snowy! ; ) Nice opportunities for postholing too, in snow accumulation zones below most any rim. Lotta snow lotta snow.

Full sunshine, light breeze up from the south, no gloves needed even at the 10 o-clock hour; the mercy rule was invoked and Spring notches another victory.

While I was out, I thought a little about the news out from last night. Just like Kansas fans take comfort from the idea that "my coach can eat your coach" (and, really, he could), New Yorkers are no doubt comforted and relieved in knowing that at least their governor doesn't consort with low class prostitutes.

It was like, yeah, totally Spring skiing, you know? Awesome at mid-day!

Rode south of town. It was pretty fine, and became progressively chillier as a big ole cloud snuck up and got between the sun and me. It looks like work is starting up again at a new development for the horsy crowd, entitled "The Paddocks". It looks like it will be opulent and will probably be just the kind of thing that applied mathematicians will find irresistable.

C • Maybe next sabbatical... 7

In the final analysis, today gets marked down as a victory for Spring, and a loss for Winter. The presence of lacrosse and rugby squads out for the first day of practice on the green fields (well, actually they're still quite brown for the time being) of strife tilted the edge over to Spring.

Conditions on the trails were a mix of winter and spring, depending on the exposure to the sun. Lots of folks were out, enjoying the later afternoon punted up by the time change. Plus, it was a nice afternoon no matter how you looked at it. Large parts of the parking lot that had been buried by massive, advancing snowdrifts had been cleared, and made usable again. Off in the distance in the Twin Mountains, you could almost hear the snowsnakes starting to dig their summer hibernation tunnels.