► Song of the week:
Primal Scream: "Rocks"
► CAIC benefit recap of the week:
As mentioned above and in previous weeks, Colorado's Avalanche Information Center was $25,000 short of their budget this year. A couple of passionate skiers recognized the urgency to not let such a valuable part of our season go to waste, and dedicated much of their free time to increasing awareness and organizing an amazing benefit to help raise money.
There was some speculation from the men behind the curtain (Joe and Aaron) that the event would not be as big as expected. Yes, there were lots of hype, but would people actually live up to their word and support such a great cause?
You be the judge.
And this is what the venue at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge looked like just four hours earlier:
Below are Joe and Aaron who many have to thank for the amount of money brought in to help close the budget gap.
As of press time of this week's entry, estimates are nearing $20,000 which far exceeds anyone's imaginations. In total, over 600 people showed up which translates to over $12,000 in donations alone not including items up for auction.
And with that, I can officially call myself an artist (or a photographer if you will). I had six pictures up for auction: four were blown up to 20"x10" on canvas and two at 20"x15". All had bids greater than $60, and they raised $465 altogether which still leaves me incredibly shocked even as I write this 4 days later. I would have been content had only one been bid on, but all six and for that amount? Never would I have imagined.
Even more surprising is that the photo below went for $140:
A few more pictures from the night:
► Skiing recap of the week:
On Friday, November 7, 2008, Keystone opened top-to-bottom for roughly 2,400 feet of vertical (by far the most offered of any resort at the moment). On Saturday, November 8, 2008, all of Colorado showed up.
Yes, the crowds were somewhat expected. The amount of shitshowness? Not so much. But it's early November, it's cold, and I'm skiing so the whining naysayers can continue naysaying and whining. Although the lines were long (about 15-20 minutes), can you really complain? As I type this, 12-24" of snow are expected in certain areas through the end of the week, so it only gets better from here on in.
To recap, Bernardo and I left Denver about quarter to 7 on Saturday and were skinning up River Run at Keystone shortly after 8:30 am. To our delightful surprise, ski patrol was more than cool about us earning our turns. A few stopped by to check on us on the way up but only to gently remind us to stay far off to the sides, which is expected since neither of us were anxious to be blindsided by some buffoon charging downhill out of control.
In about 90 minutes, Bernardo reached the summit and I was a couple hundred feet below him. For our first skin of the year, I was a bit disappointed with the amount of vert we covered per hour, but it will only get better in the coming weeks. After he left around noon to head over to Loveland, I met up with the roommates for a few more runs before calling it a day at 2:30 to get ready for the CAIC benefit that night.
The clan:
As always, Ryan (3rd from either side) looks mentally incapacitated.
► Halloween picture of the year:
My connection to the photo? I'm friends with the girl on the left. The future politician on the right is her friend that just recently moved to the mountains. Guys in Summit County, please pay attention.
► Quote of the week:
"Art is a jealous mistress, and, if a man have a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture, or philosophy, he makes a bad husband, and an ill provider."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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