Illinois is More Flat than Kansas.

My yard is flat. The street is flat. The whole town is flat. There's this one road named Ridge nearby that is perhaps 5-10 feet higher in elevation than the rest of the area. But for someone who used to live in Boulder County, Colorado where there is about 10,000 vertical feet of total elevation differential, the "Ridge" at Ridge Avenue is barely noticeable.

According to the Chicago Tribune, "Illinois is flatter than every state but one, according to researchers, and is less hilly even than Kansas, a place once proven to be flatter than an IHOP pancake."

The Tribune article goes on to tell us about Jerome Dobson, a University of Kansas geographer, who set out to compare how flat states actually are with how flat people think they are. In a 2013 survey that asked Americans which state is flattest, a full third of respondents guessed Kansas. But Dobson’s team found that Florida, with its low-lying coastal plains, was the flattest of the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C.

And Illinois is second. It's more flat than Kansas. Truth.

Imagine the Bairds in Aspen in the 1950s...

Ski School on the Little Nell, Aspen Mountain 1950, courtesy of Mary Eshbaugh Hayes & mehphotography.com

While at a memorial gathering for John W. Baird earlier today, I heard his son Steve Baird talk of his dad taking him skiing in Aspen in the 1950's because it was cheaper than skiing in the Midwest at the time. I don't know the Baird family well, but I'm glad to know that they love skiing too.

Add Wisconsin to the list.

The Obsessive Skier took a small group of friends to Wilmot Mountain yesterday, so add Wisconsin to the list of places where his obsession for making turns on snow has prevailed over the obstacles of geography and topography. He also taught a few friends how to ski with speed control and style. The obsession seems to be spreading...

I shall return.

The Obsessive Skier is planning a brief return from exile on Saturday, January 25th.

With a new group of "I've-never-ever-skied-before" friends, the Obsessive Skier will traverse the suburban landscape of Northeastern Illinois in a potentially-futile quest for a few turns at skifourlakes.com, God willing. Pray that it does not rain...

Family Values

I stopped by an open house this past Sunday afternoon. Nice house. Brick construction. Newer kitchen. Four bedrooms. Two and a half baths.

I wasn't thinking about skiing this day. I had not thought about skiing for quite some time, actually. Until I saw these three sets of kid skis and boots.

Anyone who has skied with a child knows both the joys and the perils of such risky behavior. Kids are unpredictable. Kids have wills of their own. Kids are often a lot like their parents.

Some kids go down the hill way too fast. Some kids make you carry them down the mountain in your arms because they are so afraid. Some kids will go up and down the mountain with you all day long. Provided you have enough candy in your pocket.

I salute you, "Mr. Northwest Evanston Dad with Three Sets of Kid's Skis in the Basement." You have earned my respect. And I share your family values.

What I did NOT do this Winter Break.

No kidding. 

The Obsessive Skier drove to and from Colorado in the past 7 days and did NOT go skiing.

But he did think about it. A lot.

Lake Effect Snow

We enjoyed some lake effect snow this Christmas holiday.

Too bad there's no such thing as "lake effect mountains". :-/

Chicagoland, Y U NO SNOW?

City of the Big Shoulders?
More like, "City of the Big Talk-About-Snow-But-Never-Get-Any-ers".

Where is all the snow that you Chicagolanders told me about before I moved here?
According to the Chicago Tribune, today's un-snowy forecast sets a new record for snowlessness here.

The Obsessive Skier is experiencing serious snow withdrawal symptoms and he's not happy about it.

Mount Trashmore, You Will Be Mine.

The "Big Hill" at Evanston's Mount Trashmore.

Oh yes, you will be mine.

The lid to the recycle bin was frozen shut this morning and that means only one thing. Ski season in Evanston is right around the corner. Soon, I'll be taking the first turns of my new life in Illinois on the biggest hill in our new town: Mount Trashmore.

Evidently, Evanston's Mount Trashmore is known around these parts as "THE BIG HILL".

What's THE BIG HILL? Here's what evanstonpatch.com says:  "If you're uninitiated, it's the nirvana of sledding/snowboarding/tubing and tobogganing.  It's a steep, icy slope, full of moguls -- a straight shot down – notwithstanding the other sledders/snowboarders/tubers and tobogganists.

If you've done THE BIG HILL before, you know it's also refered to as the "E.R. trip waiting to happen."  Or the Nightmare on Oakton Street."  Or the "I-can't-believe-I'm-letting-my-kids-go-down-this-deathtrap."  Or, for the more adventurous of us, the "I-can't-believe-my-kids-talked-me-into-going-down-this-lawsuit-of-a-hill-but-I'll-be-damned-if-I-let-them-go-down-it-alone" hill."

Oh yeah. Bring it on.

How Will I Vote? Like this...

Genius.

There in Spirit...

The Obsessive Skier no longer has Colorado plates, because he no longer lives in Colorado.

Thus the Obsessive Skier is not in line with all of the other obsessive skiers this morning at Arapahoe Basin.

But he is there in spirit...

Cougars in Chicagoland: Feeling at Home

A cougar has been sighted multiple times in Chicago's North Shore neighborhoods.

No, not Courteney Cox, but the fourth-largest cat on earth (8 feet long, 200 lbs), also known as a mountain lion, puma, or catamount.

Two months ago, I left Boulder, Colorado with my wife and kids. We moved to the Windy City (Chi-Town, Chicagoland, that "toddling town" Frank Sinatra & Tony Bennett were singing about...you know the place). Needless to say, when we left Boulder and moved here we weren't thinking that we'd need to keep our eyes open for cougars in our new neighborhood in Evanston near the North Shore.

But they are here. First there was a sighting in Schaumburg. Then, two more sightings in Glencoe and Northfield. And don't forget, Chicago Police shot a cougar they had cornered in an alley of the Roscoe Village neighborhood back in 2008. That's enough evidence for me. Those sneaky devils are here.

Bad things can happen when cougars and people are living near one another. Just ask the boy who was walking with his family on Boulder's Flagstaff Mountain in 2006 when he was attacked by a mean, hungry cougar that dragged him away by the head as his family fought back for the boy's life. (True story: Click here to read The Denver Post's article on this happy-hike-turned-nightmare.)

The past two months have not been easy for me and my family. Moving from Boulder to Evanston has forced each one of us to accept many changes. We are adjusting to our new life in this city. Some days are harder than others. But at least one thing has stayed the same: We must still keep our eyes open for mountain lions. And in a strange way, that is helping me feel "at home" here.

I can do this. I CAN do this. I can DO this!

Within weeks, the Obsessive Skier will move from Boulder County, Colorado to Chicagoland (Evanston, Illinois to be precise). Sigh.

Yes, I've already scheduled my first trip back to Colorado for some real skiing. But December is a long way away. And so, planning for an emergency Chicagoland ski escape has begun. Truly, there are emotional, meteorological, and geographical disappointments to be faced, but the Obsessive Skier will not be dismayed. In fact, there are a number of places near Chicago that provide lift-service to devoted skiers. I can do this. I CAN do this. I can DO this!

Ski Dubai Cap = Best. Gift. Ever.

My friend Maria went to Dubai recently, and she brought me back the best gift ever: a cap from Ski Dubai! Thanks so much, Maria!

Why yes, that is the flag of the United Arab Emirates on the side of the cap.

Don't believe that there is such a thing as Ski Dubai? Visit skidubai.com.

SIMPLY AWESOME!

Which Chicago ball club should be my #2?

The Obsessive Skier grew up in the STL watching Lou Brock and Al Hrabosky play at the old Busch Stadium, so he'll always be a St. Louis Cardinals fan. Brock-a-brellas and Stink-eyed Fu Manchus are hard to forget.

But it looks like the Obsessive Skier will be moving to the Chicago area in August. (Yes, he knows that there's not much good skiing in that area. You don't need to bring that up again. Thanks.)

So, which Chicago ball club should be his #2? I'm thinking the Cubs.

Should I be proud, or concerned?

Should I be proud, or concerned?

It's over.

I knew it was bad, but I wasn't prepared for yesterday's news that this year's ski season is...over.
There, I said it. It's over.

My plans for Memorial Day had been to ski with my family at Arapahoe Basin. But the snow has been melting too fast and skier visits to the resorts are way down, so the resort managers announced yesterday that it's all over this weekend.

Click here for a report from 9news.com with video.

Stupid global warming.

"Guy on a Buffalo" is my new favorite series.

I will be forever in the debt of Mr. Travis Blevins who introduced me to the "Guy on a Buffalo" series today. All I can say is, "Wow!" You must at least watch the first episode. Once you do, you'll understand why I've reposted 3 episodes. It's like those potato chips in that old ad. "You can't watch just one..."





It appears that "Guy on a Buffalo" finds it's inspiration from the 1978 film "Buffalo Rider", which you can learn more about by clicking here.

My apologies to all of the animal rights activists out there in web-land. I just couldn't resist...

There will be skiing at A-Basin on Memorial Day, but...

...it looks like we'll have to upload and download from the Black Mountain Express lift to reach the snow. It's melting fast at the bottom of the hill.