Na na na naaaaaaaaa

hey hey heeeeeeeeey

Goodbye

classes.

Yesterday was my last day of classes and I'm pretty stoked to be done. Since I don't have plans to head to grad school, this may be the end of rigidly structured learning for quite a while. I know that I'm ready for a break. Of course, I've still got a couple of exams and final projects to knock out.

Over the weekend I went kayaking with a bunch of Outing Clubbers. It was West Fest which is the bi-annual release of the West River in Jamaica, Vermont (yes, Jamaica!). We did the lower section which is fun Class II rapids and where one year ago I swam in an eddy and have gotten (and given myself) crap about it ever since. I managed to figure out the eddy turn a bit better and conquered the eddy. BUT! It did manage to own two of the beginners on our trip. I knew that thing was tricky.

Good times, although I wish I was shorter and felt more comfortable in teeny whitewater kayaks. Then again, being tall is good times.

No more classes! Woot!

Goodbye Stratton Hello Chinese food

This weekend marked the end of ski season up at Stratton. I've had a pass there for a three years now and it has been a bit of a love-hate relationship. With graduation coming quickly and ambiguity of the plans after that, it'll probably be a while before I get back.

Last year Jeff, Scott D, and myself started a tradition where on the last day of the season we all actually spent money on the WaffleHaus waffles at the base. Normally we're dirt bags and bring PB&J and granola bars, but on the last day of the season, you've gotta go huge and after being taunted by the waffle smell all year long, it's about time.

Sadly, the WaffleHaus wasn't even open this weekend! Tragedy ensued until we realized that the tradition was only 1 year old anyway. Fagetaboutit.

Instead we went for some cheeseburgers and brews. Goodbye Stratton, it's been rad.



On Sunday I decided I should take up a culinary adventure. I know how to cook stereotypical staple meals from a bunch of different cultures: Spaghetti, Burgers, Tacos, etc. But I haven't really learned how to cook anything Asian. I decided to get after some sesame chicken (it looked more or less the easiest). I was pretty stoked when I discovered the 1.5 lbs of chicken I cooked would require half a cup of sugar. That's a lot of sugar.



It turned out really well, and I'll definitely be cooking it again. I forgot pineapples and cashews so maybe those will get thrown in next time.

Have a good one!

Hey look it's Spriummer?

Naturally, I've gotten behind with my blogging again...

I sprained my ankle two weeks ago in a Gunther FC soccer game. Injuries suck and time off sports/outdoors stuff is rough on me. I've been fidgety. With the onset of the end of in-bounds season this weekend, I went to the health center to make sure nothing was truly out of wack. They told me to stay off it for five to six weeks and that they often saw people back in after getting aggressive too early. I think see saw the fidget in my eyes. I went skiing today.



One of those is not like the rest. Ewwwwwwww feet! Note the Burger King crown cuz I rock!

Okemo today was pretty darn fun. The temperatures made it up to a blistering 70 degrees and I skied in shorts and a t-shirt all day = wicked fun. It's sad that the snow is melting, but I enjoy just racing around in the soft spring snow. More like summer snow.



Hurray Shorts!



Skiiable? Sketchy? Oh yeah.

Badasses

Today I stumbled across an article about speed climber Rolando Garibotti who recently completed the Grand Traverse in a stunning 6 hours and 49 minutes. The Grand Traverse climbs 10 peaks in Grand Teton National Park; it usually takes mortal 2 or 3 days to climb to the top of ONE of these peaks. This man is clearly badass and I love the description of the end of his day:

"Garibotti soon strolled into the Exum office near the south shore of Jenny Lake carrying two ice cream bars, two bottles of Gatorade and a can of Red Bull energy drink in his arms. "He showed up like he was going to work," said Exum office worker Cyndy Hargis. "He didn't even look tired."

Badass.

I also admire him for his perspective on things:

"I don't view [the record] as something particularly special," he said. "Anyone can walk up to Amphitheater Lake for the first time and have the same richness of experience."

and

"The time really doesn't matter. The fun exercise that day was searching within me for everything there was and making sure it all got out."

So true! Jea! Go outside! Full article: http://www.exumguides.com/news/garibotti2.shtml



Some of the peaks in the Grand Traverse (I think, this is as close as I got )

I also saw the end of Crocodile Dundee II today and confirmed that Dundee is pure badass too. I wish he had more of a TV show so perhaps he could have gained the prominence of Chuck Norris.

Snowy Moss!

Kind of feeling lazy today, so this is brief. I was in Seattle a while ago and enjoyed getting to know the town and Pacific NorthWest in general. I got to go on a hike with Taylor (a recent RPI grad) and some of his crew (which was pretty rad) and I'm amazed at how the moisture lets moss thrive even in winter. Is this cool or what?

Home and Hangin'

My trip out West went well and hopefully something will pop out of the opportunities I've had in the past couple of weeks. I'm home now and reasonably grumpy. I twisted an ankle in an intraural soccer game this week and wasn't able to go on a trip to Jay Peak in Northern Vermont. Quite a bummer, and it's been a quiet weekend.

On the other hand, a sprained ankle isn't too bad and it's healing quickly. And our soccer team (go Gunther!) rocked pretty hardcore.

A couple of weeks ago, I headed to the High Peaks with Jesse, Kyle, Nathan, and Ben. We wanted to climb both Cascade and Porter in the day. I dig spring in the mountains because there is still snow everywhere but you often get bluebird days like these.

After a couple hours of hiking, we made it to the top of Porter. We were pretty stoked (Ben captured this moment):



From the top of Porter you can see Cascade (Objective #2)



We back-tracked to the trail junction and worked our way up Cascade. While Porter isn't really above the tree-line, Cascade is. And it blows in a super windy kind of way.



I am superman!

Have a good one!