zherman

So the end is near for the 2012 Snowbasin ski season.  Sadly it comes a full week earlier than expected.  JP closed a few days ago and it looks like the rest of the mountain is soon to follow.  I hope there are a few more days elsewhere in the state, but I am not overly optimistic considering how bad the snow has been this year.  Right now, Snowbasin is less than half its normal snow total for the year.

With the opening of Snowbasin on Thanksgiving, the 2011-2012 ski season has begun in my book.  Mind you, I did get a chance to ski the opening weekend at Solitude – which was super nice – but nowadays I consider the basin’s opening as the flag ship event to signal the start of my season.  We have not had much snow so far and the short term forecast does not look good, but the long term forecast indicates another la nina year which should mean above average snowfall.  Time will tell.

Well, I have lots of good pictures that I would like to share so I thought I would add some here instead of other social sites. 

So Spring is here and our new landscaping is coming back to life.  I really like the curb appeal.

Ski season is probably done but there is always the 4th of July and with the record snowfall that seems highly likely this year.  Here is a shot looking down the South Chutes at Snowbird in early May.

I love making lots of post as one can see by my frequent postings.  So, I thought the ski season was over a month ago yet somehow I keep getting to go skiing every weekend.  The record snow continues to pile up at Snowbird and the spring still seems to want winter to stick around.

I am not complaining although the kids do like the sunshine which has been absent for a while now.  Also, all this moisture has been difficult with weeds in the yard.  I will try to ski once more this weekend and maybe that will be the end of the season with the exception of possible July 4th skiing (weather dependent).

We had our first significant snow fall of the season this past week.  While the summer was productive, I am always glad when the leaves turn colors, the cold weather returns, and my old friend Orion is back in the night sky where he belongs.

This summer was very active considering how crazy work has been and with us expecting a new kid.  I got in a whole bunch of good hikes in the mountains including one hike up St. Mary’s Glacier with old friends.  I also rekindled my love for disc golf as I hit the “links” almost every week with Rexx.  Additionally, I spent quite a bit of time (and money) flying planes again (Cessna 172R and TechnamP92).

We also managed to make numerous trips around the west which reunited us with old friends.  Now, I did not get back into mountain biking or skating, but I am happy with this summer’s results.

Time to get the ski gear out and start praying to the snow gods.

Well, it is amazing how fast professionals can get work done.  What would have literally taking me every weekend for the rest of Summer was finished in under a week by the guys at Tesch Landscaping.  They did some beautiful work.

As some of you know, this is what our yard once looked like.  Now the shed was blocked last year by my neighbor’s new fence but our front yard was pretty much a huge expanse of grass.  Alast, no more! Work has begun to transform our simple flat yard into a mock high alpine environment.  Here is the first day’s progression.

Well, we did another epic trip, this time to Colorado.  1400 miles in 8 days.  We spent several days with family; we spent several days in the mountains; We spent every day having fun.  I also got to hike and ski St. Mary’s snowfield for the first time in a decade.  It was very pleasant up there.

So we just got back from an 8 day, 2200 mile trek around the great state of Montana.  Along the way we visited the ranch, spent several days in Glacier National Park, and spent a hell of a lot of time in the car.  It’s good to be back home.

Snowbasin closed this past weekend which pretty much indicates the end of the ski season.  The year was marginal in terms of snow but I got a lot of good days in.  We also had 3 ski vacations this season to North Lake Tahoe, Brian Head, and Sun Valley.  I figure next year’s ski trips will be fairly few with the new kid and all.  Now it is time to get out the  bike and hiking boots and enjoy the warm weather.