Dubai, I feel your pain.

So about 2 months ago, a friend of mine called me from Dubai. Not really where I expected to hear from him, but it was cool. After a few minutes of small talk, I asked him to pick me up a T-shirt from Ski Dubai. Haven't heard from him since. Haven't gotten any T-shirt either.

Perhaps it's because of the debt crisis facing that poor country. I saw this article on the interwebs today and now everything is making sense.
Dubai, I feel your pain.

Black Mountain Express, I am eager to meet you.

Arapahoe Basin has dismantled it's Exhibition lift (one of the old, slow chairlifts at the base of the mountain, which often had LONG lines) and is now constructing a new chairlift that they are calling the Black Mountain Express. This is good news for the Obsessive Skier. I am eager to meet you, Black Mountain Express.

I like the high country.

Yesterday, I drove the Moffat Road to the Forest Lakes Trailhead, then walked to/over the Needle's Eye Tunnel, across "Hell Hill", and stopped at this point above the trestles for the old Moffat Road Rail Line. It took me 3.5 hours to get home from from the spot where I took this photo. An hour of walking, and two-and-a-half hours of driving. The 12 miles from the Rollinsville/East Portal turnoff to the Forest Lakes Trailhead are REALLY bumpy and rocky.

No snow? No problem!

A "Fool" for Christ: Manute Bol, 1962-2010

The Obsessive Skier was saddened this week when he learned of the recent death of former NBA center Manute Bol.

Jon Shields, writing in the Wall Street Journal, gives us a respectful and encouraging summary of this unique man's life. Please click here to read the article.

PS: I will buy a cookie for anyone who can tell me the name of the man pictured next to Bol in this photo.

Dust on Snow = Rapid Runoff

After returning from two weeks in Florida, I was eager to check out the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area's Web Cam.

I was shocked by how quickly the snow had melted since my last skiing day there just a few weeks ago on Memorial Day.

This article explains why the snow is melting so fast and the spring runoff is so rapid.

Manatees are such gentle creatures