So, here's my attempt at a blog. It appears that a few family members are keeping one going; I figured I'd give it a try. We'll see how log it last, though. Knowing my wonderful ability to follow through with things, I'd give this about 3 weeks. :) In the meantime....

I am healing nicely from my wonderful rib injury that occurred two weeks ago. Oops. One broken rib and 4 other ribs were torn away from the cartilage that attached them to my sternum. I tried to walk it off, but needless to say, and obviously noted by the picture, I didn't. I turned into being one of "those people" who get carted off the mountain. The 25 ft. gapped kicker that I launched off of ended up costing me about $2,000. At least I have a pretty cool scar to show for it: a portion of my left chest sits slightly higher (about an inch) than the right side.

Anyway, it took about 2 weeks, but I'm feeling ready to gently enjoy the mountains again, and there's a huge storm rolling through Vail this weekend. Since I have the "Epic" pass (which allows me unrestricted access to the largest resort in North America), I'm thinking that I'll be heading that way tomorrow morning at about 5:15 am. Gotta love the winter season!

A friend from Champaign (who now lives in St. Louis) visited a few weeks ago. In this pic, you'll see Tek, his girlfriend Emily, and I enjoying a mellow day at A-Basin.

Lastly, here's the crew that I rode with last year; however, this pic is from Sept. at St. Mary's Glacier. We did a bit of hiking (about 1 hour) to the top of this snowfield that contained a few features (a box, rail, and kicker). It certainly was a fun way to spend the afternoon. :)