Jiminy Peak
a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ErSlrNP9QXQ/S2y9toVf8kI/AAAAAAAAEYM/c71ulMpY_lU/s1600-h/Jiminy+lift+ticket.jpg"img style="cursor: pointer; float: left; width: 165px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ErSlrNP9QXQ/S2y9toVf8kI/AAAAAAAAEYM/c71ulMpY_lU/s200/Jiminy+lift+ticket.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434927441948701250" border="0" //aToday's ski adventure was Jiminy Peak in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.br /'Twas a mild day, about 26° at the slope. Snow conditions were good. Although the grooming didn't hold up very long, we got first tracks on a couple of runs.br /br /All was well, until the third or fourth run down West Way when I suggested we try "John Hancock" which is an easy Green that had never been open when we had been there before.br /br /We got first tracks on this one and the grooming was, therefore, in excellent shape. As often happens when nobody else is using a trail, you eventually find out why!br /br /When we got to the bottom, there was no lift running from there so it was a long trek uphill to the main lift. Not a pleasant walk in ski boots carrying skis and poles. Ah well, such is life!br /br /After lunch, we did 3 easy runs until the crud got bad and we got tired. No sense in pushing it and getting hurt. Maturity is knowing when to quit, right? Live to ski again another day!br /br /Next week, I am planning on going out by myself and taking a lesson. I'm in my fourth year of skiing now and haven't taken a lesson since my first. Time to learn something new and unlearn some bad habits I've probably developed.br /br /Onward and upward! And then downward. ;-)div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7323354418986149123-8076296796509787115?l=funfit50.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
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Jiminy Peak
a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ErSlrNP9QXQ/S2y9toVf8kI/AAAAAAAAEYM/c71ulMpY_lU/s1600-h/Jiminy+lift+ticket.jpg"img style="cursor: pointer; float: left; width: 165px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ErSlrNP9QXQ/S2y9toVf8kI/AAAAAAAAEYM/c71ulMpY_lU/s200/Jiminy+lift+ticket.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434927441948701250" border="0" //aToday's ski adventure was Jiminy Peak in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.br /'Twas a mild day, about 26° at the slope. Snow conditions were good. Although the grooming didn't hold up very long, we got first tracks on a couple of runs.br /br /All was well, until the third or fourth run down West Way when I suggested we try "John Hancock" which is an easy Green that had never been open when we had been there before.br /br /We got first tracks on this one and the grooming was, therefore, in excellent shape. As often happens when nobody else is using a trail, you eventually find out why!br /br /When we got to the bottom, there was no lift running from there so it was a long trek uphill to the main lift. Not a pleasant walk in ski boots carrying skis and poles. Ah well, such is life!br /br /After lunch, we did 3 easy runs until the crud got bad and we got tired. No sense in pushing it and getting hurt. Maturity is knowing when to quit, right? Live to ski again another day!br /br /Next week, I am planning on going out by myself and taking a lesson. I'm in my fourth year of skiing now and haven't taken a lesson since my first. Time to learn something new and unlearn some bad habits I've probably developed.br /br /Onward and upward! And then downward. ;-)div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7323354418986149123-8076296796509787115?l=funfit50.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
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Painissimo!
Wow, am I hurting from my last day of skiing. I was trying to beat my previous record of 12 runs in a day only that wasn't my record. The 12 was for 12 ski days in a season. Oh well.br /br /I did 11 runs on Friday and boy am I hurting now. Stuff that doesn't usually hurt when I ski. Like my calves and neck. My neck may be from a fall I took and my head whipped back into the surface. Glad I started wearing a helmet.br /br /So that was a good workout. I have a cold too. Maybe I got run down plus the x-treem kold may have zapped my immune system. I don't know. I didn't feel wiped at the end of the day.br /br /On another note, I found this article on exercising for us "older" folks and I liked it cause it made sense for me. It's from Dr. Gabe Mirkin who is a nationally prominent retired doctor who cycles 200 mi/week and he's in his 70's. I won't go into the detail of it here but basically he's saying to take it easy to avoid getting injured which is what so frequently happens when older folks try to follow programs that are intended for much younger people. It has encouraged me to go back to the gym. As you may know if you've been following this blog, I don't like the gym environment but it's really a godsend in the winter or any other time when the conditions or availability of daylight make it difficult if not impossible to get enough exercise.br /br /I want to get back in shape this winter and skiing once again has been my primary motivator. When you can downhill ski only once a week or less, you just can't put in that many runs before getting too tired to safely continue. That's why I started biking seriously 3 years ago, to stay in shape for skiing during the off season. Then I got to love cycling for it's own sake.br /br /So now, even though my skiing is better, I want to be able to stay on the slopes longer.br /br /Now, we usually knock off at about 2:30PM after hitting the hill at 10AM and 1 hour break for lunch. There's still plenty of daylight left and most lifts don't shutdown until 4.br /br /The only problem to overcome as far as working out at the gym is concerned, is when to do it.br /br /The best time is really in the morning before work but as I need to be on the job by 8 I would probably need to get up at 4:30 to get an hour in at the gym. I've gotten used to getting up at 5 and taking my time waking up and getting ready. I have come to value that time but I'm ready to take another look at it. The other alternative is to work out after I get off from work at 4 but the gym is usually crowded with kids at that time.br /br /I guess it's just getting used to it again.br /br /Time will tell.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7323354418986149123-2324359910902875439?l=funfit50.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
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Painissimo!
Wow, am I hurting from my last day of skiing. I was trying to beat my previous record of 12 runs in a day only that wasn't my record. The 12 was for 12 ski days in a season. Oh well.br /br /I did 11 runs on Friday and boy am I hurting now. Stuff that doesn't usually hurt when I ski. Like my calves and neck. My neck may be from a fall I took and my head whipped back into the surface. Glad I started wearing a helmet.br /br /So that was a good workout. I have a cold too. Maybe I got run down plus the x-treem kold may have zapped my immune system. I don't know. I didn't feel wiped at the end of the day.br /br /On another note, I found this article on exercising for us "older" folks and I liked it cause it made sense for me. It's from Dr. Gabe Mirkin who is a nationally prominent retired doctor who cycles 200 mi/week and he's in his 70's. I won't go into the detail of it here but basically he's saying to take it easy to avoid getting injured which is what so frequently happens when older folks try to follow programs that are intended for much younger people. It has encouraged me to go back to the gym. As you may know if you've been following this blog, I don't like the gym environment but it's really a godsend in the winter or any other time when the conditions or availability of daylight make it difficult if not impossible to get enough exercise.br /br /I want to get back in shape this winter and skiing once again has been my primary motivator. When you can downhill ski only once a week or less, you just can't put in that many runs before getting too tired to safely continue. That's why I started biking seriously 3 years ago, to stay in shape for skiing during the off season. Then I got to love cycling for it's own sake.br /br /So now, even though my skiing is better, I want to be able to stay on the slopes longer.br /br /Now, we usually knock off at about 2:30PM after hitting the hill at 10AM and 1 hour break for lunch. There's still plenty of daylight left and most lifts don't shutdown until 4.br /br /The only problem to overcome as far as working out at the gym is concerned, is when to do it.br /br /The best time is really in the morning before work but as I need to be on the job by 8 I would probably need to get up at 4:30 to get an hour in at the gym. I've gotten used to getting up at 5 and taking my time waking up and getting ready. I have come to value that time but I'm ready to take another look at it. The other alternative is to work out after I get off from work at 4 but the gym is usually crowded with kids at that time.br /br /I guess it's just getting used to it again.br /br /Time will tell.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7323354418986149123-2324359910902875439?l=funfit50.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
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K-K-K-KOLD!!
Well, today I took the day off from work and skied a href="http://www.plattekill.com"Plattekill/a in the Catskill Mtns. of New York.br /br /I was a little leery about it because the temperature on Monday had reached almost 60° with torrential rains. And today the temperature plunged down to the single digits and that means .... ICE!br /br /Plattekill is a small, family operated hill with 35 trails and limited snow making capability so I was concerned about their ability to recover from the bad weather.br /br /As it turns out they had 12 trails open (enough for me!) and had received several inches of fresh natural snow over the week since Monday .... AND ... SKIER APPRECIATION DAYS. That means $15 lift tickets!br /br /I really, really wanted to go to Plattekill this year. I hadn't been for 2 years and the last time Mrs. MTBMan1 and I went we had a great time.br /br /But boy was it cold. Woo-EEE!br /br /10° at the base and 0° at the top! And 20+ mph winds.br /br /I have to say although my fingertips have gotten cold in the past this was the first time my toes got cold. My boots are really warm even with thin socks. But today was the exception.br /br /It was also the first time I ever seriously worried about frostbite. The only part of me that was exposed was a little area around my goggles and that was really stinging when we rode the lift. Oh well, as long as you can still feel it ... right?br /br /Mrs. MTBMan1 stayed home this time and I went with my friend Mike and his son Harrison. They snowboard. Mike is somewhat of a beginner and Harrison is quite good, able to ride the whole mountain and the terrain parks, etc.br /br /As usual, I warmed up with a couple of green runs. The trail was in good condition all day and while easy it is fun and interesting with a couple of switchbacks and a deceptively fast finish.br /br /After that we did a blue intermediate which I hadn't done before, "Sundown" which transitions to "Shredded Mozzarella" at the halfway point. Sundown was in good shape, some crud but it was all soft and light. It also had a nice switchback. The lower trail, Mozzarell, was rougher and right near the end had a very rough ice patch on a curve that was like going over a washboard. I never did learn to avoid that one.br /br /Harrison coaxed his dad into doing "Northface" which is a double-black diamond which transitions into a blue intermediate. I took a pass on that one. I asked Mike where his car keys were in case I had to drive home.br /"I'm carrying them."br /"Well, in that case I guess we'll have to retrieve your body to get them."br /br /I'm happy to say Mike survived by riding down on his butt with the board's side edge pushed out in front not even scraping the surface.br /br /After lunch, I finished up the day with about 5 runs on the green trail. It was "smart" for me not to push it when I was tired so I could have fun and try new things without getting out of control.br /br /Another successful mission! And I'm proud to say we persevered through the cold.br /br /My hands are still tingling! ;-)div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7323354418986149123-6348917024799659708?l=funfit50.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
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K-K-K-KOLD!!
Well, today I took the day off from work and skied a href="http://www.plattekill.com"Plattekill/a in the Catskill Mtns. of New York.br /br /I was a little leery about it because the temperature on Monday had reached almost 60° with torrential rains. And today the temperature plunged down to the single digits and that means .... ICE!br /br /Plattekill is a small, family operated hill with 35 trails and limited snow making capability so I was concerned about their ability to recover from the bad weather.br /br /As it turns out they had 12 trails open (enough for me!) and had received several inches of fresh natural snow over the week since Monday .... AND ... SKIER APPRECIATION DAYS. That means $15 lift tickets!br /br /I really, really wanted to go to Plattekill this year. I hadn't been for 2 years and the last time Mrs. MTBMan1 and I went we had a great time.br /br /But boy was it cold. Woo-EEE!br /br /10° at the base and 0° at the top! And 20+ mph winds.br /br /I have to say although my fingertips have gotten cold in the past this was the first time my toes got cold. My boots are really warm even with thin socks. But today was the exception.br /br /It was also the first time I ever seriously worried about frostbite. The only part of me that was exposed was a little area around my goggles and that was really stinging when we rode the lift. Oh well, as long as you can still feel it ... right?br /br /Mrs. MTBMan1 stayed home this time and I went with my friend Mike and his son Harrison. They snowboard. Mike is somewhat of a beginner and Harrison is quite good, able to ride the whole mountain and the terrain parks, etc.br /br /As usual, I warmed up with a couple of green runs. The trail was in good condition all day and while easy it is fun and interesting with a couple of switchbacks and a deceptively fast finish.br /br /After that we did a blue intermediate which I hadn't done before, "Sundown" which transitions to "Shredded Mozzarella" at the halfway point. Sundown was in good shape, some crud but it was all soft and light. It also had a nice switchback. The lower trail, Mozzarell, was rougher and right near the end had a very rough ice patch on a curve that was like going over a washboard. I never did learn to avoid that one.br /br /Harrison coaxed his dad into doing "Northface" which is a double-black diamond which transitions into a blue intermediate. I took a pass on that one. I asked Mike where his car keys were in case I had to drive home.br /"I'm carrying them."br /"Well, in that case I guess we'll have to retrieve your body to get them."br /br /I'm happy to say Mike survived by riding down on his butt with the board's side edge pushed out in front not even scraping the surface.br /br /After lunch, I finished up the day with about 5 runs on the green trail. It was "smart" for me not to push it when I was tired so I could have fun and try new things without getting out of control.br /br /Another successful mission! And I'm proud to say we persevered through the cold.br /br /My hands are still tingling! ;-)div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7323354418986149123-6348917024799659708?l=funfit50.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
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I Like Winter!
I was chatting with someone I hadn't seen for awhile tonight and asked how he was doing with the winter. As is so common with people here in the NorthEast, he complained about it. I, in my turn, told him that I like the winter. He said, well, yeah, you ski. But I realized this winter that I ski partly because I like winter not the other way around. I like the cold, the wind, the snow.br /br /I like to bundle up with all my gear. I've found that it helps a lot with enjoyment of the season to dress appropriately. You see a lot of people running around with no gloves, hats, light jackets or sweaters. Of course they're cold!br /br /Mrs. MTBMan1 and I took a walk in a county "park" called Lawson Lake last week. The ground at the house was clear and Lawson was only 15 minutes away so we expected to be walking on bare or only partly covered ground. Well there was maybe a foot or more of snow on the trail!br /br /We walked for awhile but decided to turn back because it was the kind of snow where it will support you for a few steps and then suddenly break through. We didn't want to get hurt. It span style="font-style: italic;"was/span a beautiful, bluebird day, though!br /br /I was having visions of coming back with cross-country skis and did just that the next day. It was pretty nice. I didn't do any serious hills because I'm a bit out of shape and a (great) bit overweight and the now was soft, deep and wet. Not good for trying to control cross-country skis at downhill speeds. I did bail on one hill but I was pleased at my new-this-year getting-up skills!br /br /I'd like to get snowshoes. They would have been perfect for those conditions.br /br /So call me Nanuk of the North or Admiral Perry or Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, I don't care!br /br /See you on the hill!br /br /Tomorrow .... Plattekill Mtn. in the Catskills with my friend Mike and his son.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7323354418986149123-8097880492023341798?l=funfit50.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
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I Like Winter!
I was chatting with someone I hadn't seen for awhile tonight and asked how he was doing with the winter. As is so common with people here in the NorthEast, he complained about it. I, in my turn, told him that I like the winter. He said, well, yeah, you ski. But I realized this winter that I ski partly because I like winter not the other way around. I like the cold, the wind, the snow.br /br /I like to bundle up with all my gear. I've found that it helps a lot with enjoyment of the season to dress appropriately. You see a lot of people running around with no gloves, hats, light jackets or sweaters. Of course they're cold!br /br /Mrs. MTBMan1 and I took a walk in a county "park" called Lawson Lake last week. The ground at the house was clear and Lawson was only 15 minutes away so we expected to be walking on bare or only partly covered ground. Well there was maybe a foot or more of snow on the trail!br /br /We walked for awhile but decided to turn back because it was the kind of snow where it will support you for a few steps and then suddenly break through. We didn't want to get hurt. It span style="font-style: italic;"was/span a beautiful, bluebird day, though!br /br /I was having visions of coming back with cross-country skis and did just that the next day. It was pretty nice. I didn't do any serious hills because I'm a bit out of shape and a (great) bit overweight and the now was soft, deep and wet. Not good for trying to control cross-country skis at downhill speeds. I did bail on one hill but I was pleased at my new-this-year getting-up skills!br /br /I'd like to get snowshoes. They would have been perfect for those conditions.br /br /So call me Nanuk of the North or Admiral Perry or Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, I don't care!br /br /See you on the hill!br /br /Tomorrow .... Plattekill Mtn. in the Catskills with my friend Mike and his son.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7323354418986149123-8097880492023341798?l=funfit50.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
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Beware the Last Run
Went skiing at Bromley in Vermont today. It was a 10! Literally. I found this site "a href="http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/ski/snowwatcher?from=ski_snowwatchprefs"My Snow watcher/a" that rates 3 days of the resorts that you choose to track.br /br /The ratings are 1 to 10 with 10 being the best conditions. And they weren't wrong!br /br /The snow was gorgeous and it was snowing lightly all day. It wasn't too crowded and the temp was 32° at the base. Colder and windier up top but the quad was quick.br /br /Anyway, as I've said before, I usually get in trouble by doing one more run after I should quit.br /br /We were doing pretty well, strength and energy wise and we were doing our predecided upon last run and we took an easy run too but maybe it was overconfidence, I found myself on ice on a narrow trail side sloping towards the woods going too fast. It happened pretty quick so I decided to bail rather than risk getting into the woods with a nasty looking ravine amongst the trees.br /br /I was going pretty fast. I flipped over a couple of times and felt the yard sale getting laid out. Poles here, skis there, arms over there. I felt everything pretty loosely so I wasn't afraid of getting hurt and I slid for a good ways after I stopped rolling.br /When I stopped I was in position to get right up on my feet and gave the guy behind me a big grin and a thumbs up when he looked to see if I was OK.br /br /It was kind of fun.br /br /The real problem was, I couldn't find one of my skis!br /br /Mrs. MTBMan1 came up behind. She hadn't seen the spill (wish I had that one on video!) but from the fact that I was covered with snow from head to foot figured that I had taken a fall.br /br /Seeing the one ski, she asked me if I skied the trail on one. But no, I couldn't figure out what happened to the other ski.br /br /I retraced my imprints in the snow from where I started the bail and checked out the various possible trajectories for my ski.br /br /I finally found it out toward the ravine that I was headed for. It apparently had flown through the air like a missile and embedded itself in the snow at just such an angle that it wasn't visible until I came right up on it. They have the stoppers on them so they won't slide on the snow when released but this one took right off through space!br /br /It really was fun but of course I'm glad I didn't get hurt. Just got a scrape on my shin from something.br /br /Great day with a lot of memories.br /br /Oh, yeah, total cost for the day ... $29!br /br /Here's a pic of Mrs. MTBMan1 reveling in God's creation .... the parabolic ski!br /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ErSlrNP9QXQ/S1e2nrO-1qI/AAAAAAAAEXM/P66_8L5StKQ/s1600-h/IMG_1968.JPG"img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ErSlrNP9QXQ/S1e2nrO-1qI/AAAAAAAAEXM/P66_8L5StKQ/s400/IMG_1968.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429008668555138722" border="0" //adiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7323354418986149123-9139647958540345452?l=funfit50.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
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Beware the Last Run
Went skiing at Bromley in Vermont today. It was a 10! Literally. I found this site "a href="http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/ski/snowwatcher?from=ski_snowwatchprefs"My Snow watcher/a" that rates 3 days of the resorts that you choose to track.br /br /The ratings are 1 to 10 with 10 being the best conditions. And they weren't wrong!br /br /The snow was gorgeous and it was snowing lightly all day. It wasn't too crowded and the temp was 32° at the base. Colder and windier up top but the quad was quick.br /br /Anyway, as I've said before, I usually get in trouble by doing one more run after I should quit.br /br /We were doing pretty well, strength and energy wise and we were doing our predecided upon last run and we took an easy run too but maybe it was overconfidence, I found myself on ice on a narrow trail side sloping towards the woods going too fast. It happened pretty quick so I decided to bail rather than risk getting into the woods with a nasty looking ravine amongst the trees.br /br /I was going pretty fast. I flipped over a couple of times and felt the yard sale getting laid out. Poles here, skis there, arms over there. I felt everything pretty loosely so I wasn't afraid of getting hurt and I slid for a good ways after I stopped rolling.br /When I stopped I was in position to get right up on my feet and gave the guy behind me a big grin and a thumbs up when he looked to see if I was OK.br /br /It was kind of fun.br /br /The real problem was, I couldn't find one of my skis!br /br /Mrs. MTBMan1 came up behind. She hadn't seen the spill (wish I had that one on video!) but from the fact that I was covered with snow from head to foot figured that I had taken a fall.br /br /Seeing the one ski, she asked me if I skied the trail on one. But no, I couldn't figure out what happened to the other ski.br /br /I retraced my imprints in the snow from where I started the bail and checked out the various possible trajectories for my ski.br /br /I finally found it out toward the ravine that I was headed for. It apparently had flown through the air like a missile and embedded itself in the snow at just such an angle that it wasn't visible until I came right up on it. They have the stoppers on them so they won't slide on the snow when released but this one took right off through space!br /br /It really was fun but of course I'm glad I didn't get hurt. Just got a scrape on my shin from something.br /br /Great day with a lot of memories.br /br /Oh, yeah, total cost for the day ... $29!br /br /Here's a pic of Mrs. MTBMan1 reveling in God's creation .... the parabolic ski!br /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ErSlrNP9QXQ/S1e2nrO-1qI/AAAAAAAAEXM/P66_8L5StKQ/s1600-h/IMG_1968.JPG"img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ErSlrNP9QXQ/S1e2nrO-1qI/AAAAAAAAEXM/P66_8L5StKQ/s400/IMG_1968.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429008668555138722" border="0" //adiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7323354418986149123-9139647958540345452?l=funfit50.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
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