Saturday, April 26, 2008

I Have Found Paradise...And It Is Called Eden

I am going to be honest with all of you... I have not been training super hard lately for triathlon season. I don't know what it is. I just don't have the motivation just yet. Maybe it's the annual depression I get at this time of year when I can no longer really ski three times a week; maybe it's the mix between rain, snow, and sunshine we are getting; maybe it's the poor air quality we have in the valley as of late... Disregarding the real reason for my lack of training, it remains the truth. This proves to be a problem when I want to do a race of some sort that is happening within a few days and I am not technically ready for it. I faced this problem this week when I was confronted by my dear wife to run a race up in Eden, UT. We were both under the understanding that this was a half marathon and even though I had not been training, I figured I could run 13.1 miles. The problem got even bigger when we went to sign up and the race was actually a 30K (18.64 miles) instead. We had already decided we were going to do it and now we had to decide whether to back out or not. Those of you who know me, know that I am no quitter. We signed up on Tuesday. We went for a short run on Wednesday morning to "train," but only 4.5 miles to get the legs going. Then we took Thursday and Friday off to rest for the race. Stacy has been training. She was considerably more ready for this than I was, but I still think we were both a little out of our league. We awoke this morning early so as to get to Eden in time for the race. Neither of us had ever been to this beautiful town so we did have a little trouble getting to our destination (it turns out that the infallible Google Maps is, indeed, fallible). We did, finally, arrive at the race site with little time to spare. We quickly prepared and stretched a bit for the race. Going into this race, both Stacy and I saw it as a test of our mental toughness and ability. We were there to finish; not to win or even really compete, but just to do it and allow ourselves the knowledge that we can, in fact, run that far when it comes time for the Half Ironman in August. We went slow. We kept a steady pace. We did not once take a break or even walk. We simply kept going at our comfortable pace. My legs began to feel heavy at mile six. At mile twelve my back and knees began to give me a hard time. And at mile seventeen my ankle chimed in a bit. But we made it. We had a Gu and a Gatorade at every aid station which were spaced every three miles (let me take this opportunity to say that while Gu is disgusting, I do have to say that the Vanilla Bean flavor is one of the most palletable ones I have tried). It took us a long time, but we finished. We ran strong the entire 18.64 miles. We did it. I have done a few races in my life, but let me just say that I have never been more sore immediately after a race before today. I am sure this has everything to do with my lack of training, so I plan to do a little more next time so as to avoid this fate. Now, allow me to explain the title of this post as I sure, by now, you are saying to yourselves, "what does that have to do with the race?" Well, I'll tell you. Eden, Utah is now my favorite place in the world. If I could find a way to move there right now I would do it. It sits well beyond Ogden in its own valley with mountain ranges surrounding you. During our time searching for the race site in the car and the entire 18.64 miles of the run, we saw two places of business... the hotel where we started the race, and a gas station outside the hotel. The rest of the entire valley is filled with farming homes. One way I feel I was able to finish the race was simply by looking around at the beauty of Eden and picking out possible ski lines for my future in Eden. I am serious. Some of you may think I am joking. I could not be more serious. If my wife was into it (she's not as in love with Eden as I am), I would move there right now. I would just have to find a job within some reasonable distance. I have taken the liberty to add a little bonus to many of the photos on this post. You will notice black arrows on the pictures. These arrows are pointing to some of the ski lines I spotted, and these aren't the half of them! The entire valley is surrounded by ski lines, and it all feeds right back into the valley - a dawn patrollers dream! For those of you reading this, I would be delighted to hear of any possible employment opportunities you may know of in or around Eden. Until then I will simply look forward to the occasional weekend jaunt or just a spur of the moment visit to the area I now believe could very well have been the site God himself gave the same name some years ago.


Friday, April 25, 2008

My Flickr Photos

dvbutcher. Get yours at bighugelabs.com/flickr

It seems like it has been forever since I have updated this blog. The skiing just went straight from amazing to crappy. We actually did get some snow this week, but no one would join me on the hill. I write this post, however, not to whine about the time of year and my inability to ski or really get into my summer sports (this really is the hardest time of year for me); instead, I write this post to inform you that during this down time I have taken the liberty to create a photo site on Flickr where I have posted my favorite photos I have taken over the last couple of years. I am getting more and more into photography, and I imagine this site will be growing exponentially as I have more opportunities to get out and take photos with my new camera. I will keep the link on the right of this page for your linking pleasure, or you can feel free to just bookmark this address: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dustinbutcher/. Check it out when you get a chance. Let me know what you think. Peace.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Day 51 - Thursday Apr 10 - Wait...What Month is This?

Another 14 inches? On top of the 20 inches from the Monday storm? This could not be happening in April, right? On the contrary, my good friends, it is. This morning was epic. The snow was phenomenal. The skiing was fantastic. And the weather was beautiful. For any of you who were wondering what the term "Bluebird" meant... this is it. I met CJ at the mouth of Little Cottonwood this morning at 5:30. Much to my surprise, there was a large group of people there as well. Two of these people were Rick and Dug from Tuesday. Well, it turns out that we have somewhat mutual ski friends. We were one of the first cars that headed up the canyon. When we passed the first gate there was a UDOT truck there getting ready to close it for the next hour or so - we barely made it. Only the first three cars of the group made it up Little. The rest, I assume, went to Big. We went back to Scotty's and broke trail through at least 14 inches deep all the way up. This wasn't too bad, though, thanks to four of us that are in pretty good shape. This four was CJ, Rick, Ben, and myself (although, I barely kept up with these guys even when I wasn't breaking). There were a couple others up there with us, but I only knew one of them - Paul. Yes, the same Paul that we skied with one time this winter when CJ bailed on both of us and he asked if he could join our group. On the summit CJ made some comment about this being a mormon party and I commented on how I don't like skiing with those mormons. Little do they know that it was all in jest and I am one of them! Skiing in the chute provided some interesting results. It was super deep, but you had to manage the sluffing underneath you. I set up to take some photos just outside of the chute and I think I got some cool ones. The one of CJ at the top of this post is classic. That is for real! He is not falling or anything. He is just in a standard turn. That just tells you how much snow we were skiing this morning! Some snow did move my way and I managed to lose one of my Kinco gloves. It is a good thing they are only $5/pair or else I would be bummed out. I pulled out my skinnier gloves out of my pack and then skied down the bowl to meet the crew. I don't know how to describe the shear awesomeness of this. I was on my Asylums today and they were so much fun. This is the perfect day for these skis (I am just glad I have skins for them now). CJ, Ben, and I decided it was worth doing another lap. We skinned back to the top and got another sweet line in. This time I put the camera in the pack and worried about skiing. I do like taking photos, but I don't want to be the guy who has to take photos every line just to be sure he doesn't miss the money shot. Not that I am against getting the money shot, I am just willing to sacrifice the occasional money shot for some amazing turns. This time we skied all the way to the bottom and my quads were feeling it, but it was so worth it. The snow this morning was every bit as good as any other day this year. I could not ask for anything better in April. Yes, it is April. Yes, I did ski. Yes, I did enjoy it. On Ski.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Day 50 - Tuesday Apr 8 - Go On, Make Some New Friends



It really shouldn't be this hard to find ski partners on a day like today. We had 18" yesterday at Alta. You would think that people would be lining up to ski today. This appears to not be the case with the group I ski with. Jer never committed. He said he had homework and stuff that was going to keep him up all night. CJ half committed (again) and I got a firm commitment from Has. I was a little skeptical at these commitments because if CJ doesn't completely commit he usually doesn't come, and Has has slept in in the past. Needless to say, it was not a huge surprise when I was alone in the Big Cottonwood parking lot at 5:15. I called Has and awoke him from his slumber. I tried to reach CJ, but to no avail. The snow was too good and this was my first available day with my new camera, so I was not going to let this get me down. I decided that I usually see a few groups of dp'ers in the Little Cottonwood parking lot so I went over there and approached one of them. I simply told them I have lame friends and I was looking for a partner or two to ski with this morning. They were kind and allowed me to tag along. Their names were Rick and Dug. We decided to ski Scotty's. The skinning was nice and hard with my occasional break to take photos (c'mon, I have to utilize the new gear). We reached the top just in time to witness a beautiful morning. I talked them into skiing a certain line so I could set up a cool photo... and it totally worked. Check out the photo of Dug on top of the valley below. That is why I am so stoked for this new camera. I had so many cool photos to choose from today. You should all be excited to have a greater caliber of photos on this blog from now on. Oh yeah, the skiing today was fantastic! After coming out of the chute at the top, the bowl was deep and face shots every turn! It was like we were back in the middle of winter! We are supposed to get another 10 inches or so before Thursday morning so I am hoping this post will be convincing enough for those that were hesitant today. On Ski.






Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Day 49 - Tuesday Apr 1 - Not Skiing Today Would Be Foolish

I had a dream last night that all my ski partners canceled. I then decided to not go to class and Stacy and I bought Alta day passes. We got on a mysterious lift which took us down canyon to Snowbird's Gad Valley. I had to talk some people into letting us on the lifts there so we could get some turns in before I had to be to class by 10:30. I glanced at my watch (I don't wear a watch) and saw it was 10:25! It was as close as I get to a nightmare. I awoke in a cold sweat. Luckily, after cancellations from CJ, Cody, and Evan; Jer stayed true and we were still able to do some skiing this morning. He picked me up at 4:45 and we went straight to Butler Fork. It was rather cold and dark up there. We had to get moving fast just to keep warm. By the time we reached the top it was just light enough to ski. I was so excited because there was a prime photo opportunity (for which I would have loved to have my new camera on order, but I had to settle for my old one today), but when I went to take the shot the flash went off automatically ruining the shot. It was a beautiful morning with a beautiful sunrise. We only had time for one lap as I had to get to school early in order to finish my finance homework. The new snow made for some good skiing. On ski.