Ski Touring!

Last week on a perfectly calm lake day, we decided to go ski touring!  I just got some sweet second hand gear and wanted to test it out!

 We had to drive past Lake Tahoe to get to where we were going to ski.

 We got going on a HOT Sunny amazing day!! Arlette led the way!

 Marco and Eben brought up the rear...

 My new skis!! And my new poles!!  yeah!!

 Playing catch with the dog and admiring Marco's beauty poles.

 Marco and I at the top!  Looking out over Lake Tahoe.

 And then... back to some endless yard work... trying to get something green in the desert. wish me luck!

mtn biking, skiing & ski touring!! fun in tahoe!

Fun times in Tahoe!! Mountain biking, skiing and ski touring are some of the activities keeping us busy!

 Rockin out on the chair to my music backpack!

 more reflections with Eben

 Lake Tahoe in the distance... amazing!

 But the MOST AMAZING part of the day was the ski-in ski-out starbucks halfway down Squaw!! I was a happy skier!

 my favourite landmark! dead tree

 sooooo much posing!! but such a beautiful spot & day!

Back to ALASKA.... a few final pics from the last day

 Macho Man was there!

 and one of my truckee podium domination teammates nate holland!

 watching CRAZY jumping snowMACHINING tricks from the RV

 insane.

 ridiculously insane

 drive back to anchorage...

 MOOSE EVERYWHERE! i think I saw 6 total!

 And the final, grossest part of the trip... emptying the tanks!!! eww

ha!
Anyway good times!

ARCTIC WOMAN!

Last week Marco and I went to Alaska to compete at "arctic man"....

It's a race that combines downhill racing and getting towed (like water skiing) by a snowmachine (what I learned is what you should call ski-doo's (which is what I thought everyone called them! haha))

It's CRAZY.

The race is 4:15 (my time) of PURE BURNING LACTIC ACID.  Not only that, but you get pulled up a rough and bumpy hill at 80mph (130kph) and have to hold on NO MATTER WHAT.  Then, when you think your legs are more dead than they have ever been, you need to "whip" yourself away from the skidoo (snowmachine whatever) and then launch off a downhill jump and keep tucking for another 40 seconds!! 

These animals have nothing to do with it.

 ROAR.

... so anyway, I arrived in Alaska on a beautiful blue sky sunny day!

 The drive to "arctic man" was beautiful!

 We passed Matanuska Glacier....

 we passed amazing pure white mountains.

 Although we gained little elevation, we drove north of the tree line into the arctic!

 I have so many pictures of the drive, but it was one of the more beautiful drives of my life!! Comparable to highway 12 in Utah from Escalante towards Moab.

 The further we got from civilization, the closer we got to the Arctic Man base.

 almost there!

 ARRIVAL!! this is exactly what it was: trailers, porto-potties, amazing mountains, and great friends!

 As we all rolled in at dusk (which is at about 10pm) we set up camp and settled in.

 MARCO AND I.... in our battle gear!  We had to wear full face masks because when you are getting towed behind a SNOWMACHINE huge ice chunks fly at you hard and fast.

 Looking back down at camp, literally the middle of nowhere.

 Maddy (she came too!!) practicing the "hookup".  After about 1:30 of downhilling you then have to "hookup" with your sled before the GNARLY part of the race: getting towed up a canyon behind the snowmachine.

 Marco, ripping!!  Right after this point you launch off a jump!

 "apres training.... checking out the mountains, embracing the sled-headedness!"

 Jason ripping some sweet powwwwww

 Nate was there too!! He ripped some sweet lines AND won Arctic Man for snowboarders!

 BEAUTIFUL

 Marco, in his element!

 Another amazing shot of what we were surrounded by for the week.

 Camp, at night.

 having too much fun around the campfire

 friends!!! Tyler (marco and Nates driver) Marco, Nate and MAddy!!

 the arctic man gift shop....

 do you think i'd look good in wolf?

So anyway, my driver Julie and I won the women's Arctic Man Race!!! Maddy and her driver Danie were second!
We hung out with about 1000 sleds at the bottom of the race!! Mario, Luigi, and the KING OF THE NORTH were there too! (and julie! hiding!)

 THE TIMES!!!
I was only 11 seconds off Marco! ha!

 And I beat Nate by 40 seconds!! hahaha. (it's slower for boarders)
Nate and Jason and friends.

 JUlie and I!!! One of the most badass chicks I've ever met!!!!!  She rocks on a sled! it's crazy impressive!  This is our race pose!

 winner's circle: Nate, Burntski and Marco!

 Winner's dinner: KING CRAB!
THIS WAS A HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK FOR ME... sooooooooooo delicious.

 mmmmm

 just the average campsite grilling.

 Julie and I ready for awards!

 Podium shot with Julie, me, Danie, another team, and Maddy!

 Winner's got sweet beer mugs!! full! Marco, Burntski, Howard (the guy that started it all) and Tyler!

 ARCTIC COUPLE!

WHAT A CRAZY WEEK! So much funnnnnnnnnnnnn!!  Thanks to Trent and Global Fuel for making it all possible!!