The Dark Side

I finally was able to break away from the photo biz for a midweek powder day at Abasin. I wanted to make sure and punish myself for my lack of exercise routine this winter so I decided to telemark ski.  It was my first real tele day since February 1, 2007.  Yes, I’m already sore.

I dove straight into a Pali run right away. Here are some random guys enjoying some turns. The coverage was pretty thin, so the new snow is needed. It was a little crusty underneath but overall the skiing was good.

It was fairly windy on the ridges, but not nearly as bad as it was in Boulder the day before. The temperature was quite mild so it was quite bearable. Down in the trees and in the bowls it was quite nice.

After two laps on Pali I headed over to the Lenawee Lift. Insert more pictures of skiers gettin’ some.

Um, make your own comment.

I found a place to get arty.

So then I hiked up to the double-black terrain in Montezuma bowl that is skier’s right. There really is some cool, steep terrain here. Parts of it are steep enough that you can’t see what’s below you from the top. I need to learn the lines better from the lift so I can know where to go. The coverage is so thin that I played it safe and stuck to the places I could see. There is also a nice cornice for launching at the top.

It was quite windy at the top at times.

I ventured down around the edges of the bowl looking for powder stashes in the trees. Most of the hiking terrain on skiers right still isn’t open. They did open Crags, but there was nasty sun crust underneath the powder and the coverage was super sketchy. Then I made my way over to the Lightening Trees and . . . jackpot! Untracked backcountry-like conditions at midday. Its a bit of work to get there and get out, so it probably isn’t worth it. You should never go there or tell anyone about it! Check out how far my poles went into the snow. That’s what I’m talkin’ about.

Things have been busy around the office and I’ve been working hard on a lot of business stuff lately.  Software, computers, and website updates have kept me from shooting random things too often.  Well a couple beers at the Mountain Sun yesterday changed that attitude, so I took a couple shots of a broom ball game at the ice rink across from my office.  Just for fun.

I finally managed to get up into the mountains again!  It took a flatlander to do it, even!  Florida photographer Matt Radlinski was in town so we headed up to Keystone on Monday.  Matt is 1/2 of a husband and wife team that form the K-gallery.  They are planning on moving to Denver in early 2010, so you’ve got a year to step up your game before they take all your clients away.  I shot some pics so he can gloat to all of his Florida friends.

I’m proud to say that I’ve landed my first magazine cover.  No it isn’t a wedding, portrait, or sports photo.  It is a subject that hits very close to home.  The model was very firm and shapely, but a bit cold.  Here is a photo of her that was not selected for the cover.  I’ll post the cover shot after the magazine is out in a couple weeks on the Steve Z Photography Blog.