danz
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Posts posted by danz
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Seattle is wonderful...and the summers here are the best kept secret in the world! truly spectacular. If you like the outdoors, if you like a laid back west-coast attitude, and if you like coffee you will love seattle.
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Steven's Pass is my home mountain...it is a 1.5-2hr drive from seattle center. It is a great mtn. with lots to explore.
The largest resort, also about a 2hr drive, is Crystal Mtn. This is a huge area, with over 3,000' of vert, and lots of BC access. Incredible views of Mt. Rainier make it a real treat on a bluebird day.
Closer is Alpental/Snoqualmie. You can get there in under an hour. Alpental is the only mountain with any challenging terrain. If you have safety gear and know-how, then there is great bc access at alpental.
As toque said, Baker is where it's at. That mountain has crazy terrain, although I must say it is not the greatest layout. And if the weather holds out, the views from there a spectacular. It is more like a 2.5-3.5 hr drive though...
the season we have been having here has been amazing! we just survived a month drought, but the snow is back in full force now (had a wonderful 40cm "sick day" last week). The snowpack is deep and the lift-accessed skiing is superb.
enjoy!
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hey...
yes, the winter beard is coming in nicely this season. Nice and warm for those windy snowy days.
toque...believe it or not, but the "little accident" was actually 2 seasons ago (time flies)...and I have fully recovered (was even riding last season too). Where are you located these days?? is mt. baker accessible for you? If so, we should hook up for some turns...
dan
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report from my East Coast friens say there is no snow anywhere...all east coast resorts are hurting and are probably surviving purely on man-made stuff.
Hunter Mtn. NY is a relatively simple day trip from the city...and you could certainly spend 3 days there if you want, but it might be better to trek up further north into NH,VT,ME and spend 3 days there (think 6hr+ driving from nyc). Just keep your eye on the snow reports, because things aren't looking so hot now
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hey SJ family...
been a long time since I have checked in on here...hope you are all well and enjoying the snow. Well, actually, a quick browse on the forums and it seems you guys are hurting a bit this year. Keep the faith, I am sure the snow will pick up! (I will have gandalf send some positive vibes your way)
The pacific northwest has been getting pounded this year! We are currently in the middle of our second major storm cycle that has dropped about 115cm in the last few days (and still falling!).
Life is good on the snow here, and I have been getting my fill. On day 10 with 4 amazing days (3 of them in mid november!).
fattwins...you will be pleased to hear I am taking a level 1 avie course in jan. Very excited about that...
peace...
danz
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hope all you old school snowjapners are enjoying the snow out there...
I just rode at the Meadows on Mt. Hood last weekend, and it was, ummm, good to be on skiis, but not much else. Past week in hood river was the crappiest weather ever...from snow to ice to rain to snow to some strange substance inbetween that changes consistency every 30sec, but still manages to freeze trees to the point of structural failure...
all that beautiful snow that came down in the nw in nov. is quickly melting melting away...I miss the pow
danz
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not really related to sj vids, but this is a video thread, and I thought some of you might want to see a vid of what I missed at Mt. Baker this season...
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I just can't resist...
I have had my rio karma since 12/03 and my battery has degraded to about 10hrs/charge now
and I consider myself a heavy user too... -
love the "virtual faceshots" with that head-cam!
(I wanna ski....
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sorry
hehe...
seriously, I have no clue what happened. I was riding with enderzero, and he also didn't see it. The mountain just opened and was definetly in early season operation. Only 2 lifts were open worth riding, and the only terrain worth skiing were the groomers. We definetly did not go off piste (that would have destroyed my skiis), and there was no park in place. My guess is I hit some unmarked obstacle that caused me to launch out of my skiis and into a tree or something...my jacket was shredded, but my helmet showed no impact point (but my face sure did...). I remember ski patrol did not even have to move me far to get me moving (on the sled of course).
I have a theory that gandalf was playing some cruel joke on me because I left him at home that day...
anyway, can't really tell you more, cause that's all I know. I certainly consider myself lucky...considering.
all of you should make some deep powder turns in my honor!
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haven't dropped by here in a while, so I thought I would swing by to let you all know how the season in the great pacific nortwhest is going...
How can I eloquently sum it up thus far: IT SUCKS! yes, this has been a terrible season here for 2 reasons...weather and injury...
I think snow-wise, this is one of the worst seasons in over 30years. All the big resorts (Mt. Baker, Steven's Pass, Snoqualmie to name a few) are CLOSED. Mt. Baker holds the WORLD RECORD for most snow in a season ('99) but can't even stay open for 2 weeks in a row this year. Even Blackcomb/Whistler hasn't seen its base depth change in over a month. The weather is warm, there is not even all that rain I hear about Seattle...just sunny and warm. Pathetic...What is worse is that other parts of the country are having EPIC seasons...Lake Tahoe got 10 feetof fresh in 10 days over new years!!! Amazing
My misery from weather is immense, as you might imagine. But I also managed a season ending injury on 12/28 (one of the few days the mtn. was open...in fact, it was opening day at my home mtn stevens pass). I can not remember any of the details, as I lost conciousnss (I can't even piece together events leading up to it). The result was an airlift to a hospital, 3 days in teh hospital, a broken back, neck, face and teeth. Sounds bad...I guess it is, but it culd have been much worse. I am rehabing and plan on skiing next season. The good news is I get a refund on my pass, whereas all my friends are stuck with theirs (the ironoy...).
Anyway, consider yourselves lucky. I should have stayed in japan another winter. You can't break your neck in waist deep pow...
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if it makes you guys feel any better, the pacific north-west has been dismal so far. I was at Blackcomb/Whistler this week, and while it felt great to get my first days under my belt, the snow was just not there...very early season coverage.
My local seattle based mtns have not even opened yet! (except Baker)
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db..
I said "virtually fly themselves"...and that was in response to the ability of an untrained pilot to guide a plane into the wtc...I was not talking about landing.
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here is another link for you, although undoubtedly you will find faults with it...that is your specialty after all.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/911_pentagon_757_plane_evidence.html
It has nice, labeled, photographic evidence for you.
But you are right...of course Purdue University is in on the conspiracy with the rest of the big wigs...how naive of me to think they might have any credibility.
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wow...what a thread...
http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/020910.Sozen.Pentagon.html
http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/cmh/simulation/
a link with some engineering clout (it is a non-technical article) that shows a plane could indeed cause that type of damage to the pentagon. 2nd link actually has simulations. How many engineers are in here anyways? I am not a structures guy, but the impact of a plane moving at 200-300mph into a wall built with concrete on the order of 10,000 tons (I think way more than that), would not survive with much "visible" debree...Certainly, the wings would do no real damage either, as they are designed for lift, not impact
As for flying these planes, they practically fly themselves these days, and I bet that I could even guide one into the wtc towers...
If your ideas of what kind of damage a crashing plane can do comes from hollywood, then you need to realign your reality meter...
it was a plane.
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hey sunrise...
check out the mpio HD300
another recordable with dap with some other nice features...not sure what the recording specs are, but looks nice...
danz
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I prefer rope-hopping when possible to rope-ducking...
we should just stop ducking all together...rope hopping is the wave of the future....
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I am still waiting for mine...although I doubt it will be as fat as your check db. But every yen helps! they don't call me 1yen for nothing...
my problem is my "tax representative" also happens to be my ex-gf...that could be awkward...
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I have been to Aspen and niseko...frankly, I can not see any resort in Japan becoming anything remotley close to Aspen.
Aspen's image comes from its ritzy clientele, fancy art galleries, exquisite cuisine, and not to mention, a great mountain resort. Can you imagine any resort town in Japan having an art gallery without "OMIYAGE!" written in green letters?? I didn't think so.
I don't think Japan has really grasped the concept of a "Destination Resort"...
my .02
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sorry...not zwelgen...
but, she was supposed to swing by seattle last week...and then again today...but apparently she had car troubles and is stuck in Vancouver. On her way to fernie for the winter...rough life she lives...
this zwelgen update is brought to you by danz
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I've skied in the rain in new england while the resorts were still trying to blow their man-made snow...
that sucked...
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crazyski...
well I hope chelsea's roomate is more of a looker than chelsea
send me a pm before you hit seattle...we should at least grab some beers...and if you have room on the floor for me at blackcomb, I will bring gandalf and a sleeping bag (I am so broke
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yo crazyski!!!
you gonna be in whistler in dec?? well, if all goes well I might be finished with my avie course by then...and also finished with my quarter...
make a pitstop in seatle and we can sneak in some turns!
danz
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I=I=I...
Actually, the biggest hits to battery life occur whenever you need to access the hard-drive, or depending on the complexity of the codec (for example, .ogg uses more battery life, although it is a better codec than mp3 in terms of quality v. file size)
And yes, Karma does do gapless very well...and as for the battery hit, it stills performs longer than ipod ( I seem to get 12 solid hours on mine, with mp3, ogg, and wma all mixed in there )
snow-USA
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
hey cb...
season has been fantastic...on day 40. Just got back from a quick 2-day whistler escape and had some great conditions with about 25cm of fresh and bluebird ta boot. That area is massive!
with the snowpack we have this year, hoping to ski into may/june as I start to learn some of the many bc routes out here...
as for school...I am in no rush to get out! probably another 2-3 yrs if I play things out right (although could finish sooner if I wanted to).
slow...pineapple express is the affectionate term we give to weather systems with origins from the hawaiin tropics. It usually means lots and lots of rain with warmer temperatures...so not so good for us snow riders. more info from the always trustworthy wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineapple_Express
oh yah...the brews here are deeeeelicious