Grrrrrrrrr.

Working on the weekend -- while sometimes necessary -- always blows. Today is no exception.

I woke up in a toxic mood, so I headed to the gym for a beat down before settling in at my desk.

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
Deadlifts @ 185#
Box jumps @ 36"
KB floor presses @ 35#
Sand bag get ups @ 80#
37:48

A quick trip to the Bay Leaf for some hash and eggs, and the suck begins . . .

"What then, when ridges are not safe?"

I feel compelled to keep ringing this bell:

THE BACKCOUNTRY IS AN EFFING NIGHTMARE RIGHT NOW.

When an experienced backcountry professional gets ripped off a 20 degree ridge line, it's time to crawl under the bed and hide. I'm jonesing to tour, but I can wait it out. I went to the gym yesterday; I think I'll go for a run today. The mountains will be there.

"It's all about us" -- a sad part II.

ksl.com - Man trapped in avalanche near Solitude

Fuck.

"It's about us."

Most of us know enough to keep a lid on it when the danger is high -- when it's been nuking for a couple of days and the wind hasn't quit, we stay away from uncontrolled avy terrain. But what about times of transition? It's been snowing hard for the last few hours, or the storm cycle ended yesterday . . . That's when most of us are capable of doing something stupid.

This excellent graphic from Drew Hardesty at the Utah Avalanche Center lays it out. Human factors -- it's all about us.

Keep your head up. Everywhere.

I had planned to write something about the fantastic skiing from the weekend, the great time I had ripping around with The Wee One, and the stereotype-defying peeps I met in the gondola at the 'Basin.

But then everything came crashing down.

The season's first avalanche fatality, just outside of Snowbasin. Rumors of Baldy sliding to the ground -- en masse -- at Alta. Not to mention the three Alta Ski Patrol members who took a nasty ride in Gunsight. West Monitor and West Desolation Ridge slid 1/2 mile wide each, with crowns ranging from two to ten feet.

It's gnarly out there right now. Everywhere. Let's all keep our heads up and take a deep breath.

No good can come from this. Photo courtesy of Brett Kobernik and the Utah Avalanche Center.

Long day.

Cooking dinner at 11:15 p.m. means this has been a long day. Nonetheless, I made it to the gym.

10 rounds
Mini leg blaster (with 10 squat jumps instead of 5)
3 x Scotty Bob @ 25 lbs
23:58

Shit got real in round six. Luckily, I had Annie with me to shout encouragement.


"What's the matter, Sally? Are you getting tired? Pick it up!!"

SLC at its finest.

The sun is shining in the valley. It's snowing in the mountains. This is why I live here.


The view from my office. Not bad.

It's time to re-engage.

The air has been bad. The skiing has been so-so. I haven't been sleeping well. My shoulders hurt and my legs feel weak. All in all, the slump-o-meter has been in the red zone.

And then I walked into the gym and saw a local fire fighter doing a truly awful workout in full gear. It was somehow scary and inspiring at the same time, and it was enough to knock me out of my funk.

It's time to get back in the game.

A hard man doing a hard thing. And a prime example of why action sports photographers do no use the iPhone.