Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We're having a wonderful holiday season here in CB... Steve made it in on Sunday night and it's been a blast ever since.

I patrolled the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - even did the Torchlight Parade which was fun.

Liz got a phone call from one of her first patients thanking her for being so kind, caring, gentle, and nice. Needless to say it was a great phone call to receive - and what made it even better is that the lady called in and spoke with our supervisor because Liz wasn't there. I'm so proud of my honey!

Just so you know I've moved the blog to www.mark-ewing.com or www.3wing.net - they both resolve to the same place.

Holiday party, aerial flights, Party with the monkeys

We just returned to CB from a 4 day stint on the front range. We started the trip off by going to the IPS holiday party - as always it was a blast. White elephant gifts were exchanged and we ended up with some horribly tacky gifts as per usual. The party was followed up with the Second City performance of How I Lost my Denverginity - it was pretty darn funny - gotta love improv.

I flew 4 aerial properties on Friday - it was a gorgeous day for flying (well actually, for riding - as I used a helicopter for the flights.) It was in the high 60s and buzzing around Denver at low-altitude with the door off is always a good time.

We saw a bunch of Scot Lefavor's new work - which was good - check it out here: www.scotlefavor.com

We saw Laverne and her new baby as well as John and Christmas and their new baby - John and Christmas's kid is only 3 weeks old and bigger and weighs more than Laverne's baby who is 5 mos old! And to imagine that Christmas had her baby naturally with a mid-wife in a bath tub with no medication... gawd!

It's good to be back in town - such a gorgeous place.

I officially have a shift every Tuesday morning with the CB ambulance - so hopefully that will be good experience to add to Patrol.

We finally got our own beacons, shovels, and probes - as well as skins... back country here we come!

Steve is coming to town for Christmas - it's going to be awesome!!!

Patrol - Ben - Front Range Visit

Ben was just in town for the weekend. We had a great time - though it flew by... as vacations do best. Ben had an atypical experience for a vacationer here... he got to drink beers in the Patrol Lockerroom after skiing on Friday - we then happened to be first on scene to a Traumatic Brain Injury on Saturday (I was off duty) - but I ran the scene until patrol got there - and then held hands-on-stabilization for his spine while we loaded him up onto the tobaggon. We then were Bubba and Betty the Bear for the Christmas Parade in town. A friend of ours works for the Chamber of Commerce and asked Liz to be Bubba - but Liz got called in for Patrol - so Ben and I offered to do it... it was hillarious.

Last week was part-timer training for Patrol - we worked all week - and learned the ins and outs of the mountain and its operation. It's going to be a great job.

This week I work Patrol tomorrow - Liz works today - and then we're off to Boulder for the IPS holiday party - we'll be down in the Front Range for 3 days - so if you're reading this and you're down there - CALL US!

While we're down there I've got 4 properties to shoot from a helicopter - so that should be fun too.

For those that are slow on the uptick - Shawn and Meghan got engaged - YAY!!! Colby and Kelly got engaged as well!! YAY!!!

No... we haven't set a date yet - but we will... Perhaps late March of '08 so that you all can come and enjoy some Spring Skiing?? Perhaps the 24th?? We'll keep you updated.

Patrol - Powder - Tday

Turkey Day was our first day on patrol here at CB - it was a fun day - smiles on our faces for the entirety of the "work" day. No injuries to speak of which made for a day of skiing around the hill and showing a "presence." I did get to open some new "product" to the public - which meant I got my first powder turns on the hill - not too shabby. All in all it was a great day... though I did sit in the swiveling office chair in dispatch and manage to make my knee pop in a way that I have never heard - and hope to never hear again... it's now swollen and sore - and I've been icing it and keeping it elevated ever since. (Bummer cause it's a powder day today... and I'm not out there skiing it...)

Turkey day was great food with great friends. I made Yams with Marshmallows on top - and they were a much-talked about hit... but nothing compared to Liz's pumpkin pies and apple pies... yummy in my tummy!

We'll post pics of us in our uniforms here shortly - we forgot the camera in the locker room...

Skiing, Bald Eagles, Cows, and Passing our OEC

We skied this weekend - opening day at CB was on Saturday. It's incredible to have a world class ski mountain out our backdoor.










We drove to Gunnison this morning to run some errands and saw a bunch of bald eagles on the way back. Pretty amazing to see so many bald eagles in one spot - all feeding off of the dying Kokanee Salmon.








Further up the road they were driving cattle down the road.

Later on this evening we had to take our Outdoor Emergency Care written and practical exams - (they're a National Ski Patrol standard requirement). Liz and I both passed!

Our first day of official patrolling will be on Thursday! (yes that's right - Thanksgiving)



Liz and I will be returning to PA for a visit in January - the 4th through the 10th - let us know if any of you will be around.

Snowmobiling

Went snowmobiling for the first time this season the other day - sooo much snow... The kind of light fluffy powder that just wants you to dig a hole and plant your sled and hope it grows something fun for next season... in other words I got stuck a few times...

New Sled!

YAY for the new sled!

Patrol Training

We finished our first week of Patrol Training this week. It was a blast.... we worked on explosives, snowmobiles, lift evacuations, and medical training. The current patrollers were all very warm and welcoming - which was a pleasant surprise after an initial interview full of questions as to how we would deal with controlling, stubborn, obnoxious, alpha personalities....


The mountain opens the 18th of November - we're excited!!

Our House

Thought I'd post some familiar pics - but with our house marked on them....













Ski Patrol training starts tomorrow.

Liz ripped it up on her new mountain bike this afternoon - she loves it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

The Goodness Continues

LIZ GOT HIRED AS PATROL TODAY!! We're officially both new members of The Crested Butte Ski Patrol - YAY!!

I was offered the job today to be the photographer for the local newspaper - I would be the weekend photographer - the only problem is that it means I'd have to work every weekend... and I'm not sure what my schedule is going to look like yet for Patrol. I'd love to make it work though - cause boy that sounds like a fun job!

We had a pumpkin carving party the other night... it was a blast. Mine ended up looking like a puffer fish - though it was more just an abstract idea.

Halloween was ridiculous last night - I dressed up as an electric cowboy - a sweet gaper one-piece ski suit with my EL-wire wrapped around my body. Liz went as a hot ski bunny with her red EL-wire on her - CB wasn't ready for EL-wire and we cleaned house with best costume awards at two bars! I won a $100 bar tab - which I promptly spent on the rest of the Budweisers the bar had and handed them out to everyone. Liz won $50 cash money... yeah - we rocked it.

Skiing

We had our first day of the season yesterday. We drove about 2.5 hours to Wolf Creek who has the slogan - "The Most Snow in Colorado" (its got a nice ring eh? - yeah it does - say it again - you know you want to...) And they do, in fact, have the most snow in Colorado - with over 56 inches in September and October - they opened on Friday with a 20inch base - not too shabby - they even had Montezuma bowl open which is some pretty decent extreme terrain. Never did we think we'd be skiing a resort with extremes open this early in the season - let alone anything more than a single white ribbon of death (which is what we fondly call the one or 2 runs that most resorts open early season.)

We dropped our first little cliffs - skied our first powder turns - and had a merry old time. And for all of this.... LIZ WAS ON ALPINE SKIS!! Yes, that's right - she's practicing up her alpine skills since Crested Butte has told her no telemark skiing allowed on Patrol. She did awesome for her first time back on Alpines - she'll be ripping it up in no time.

Believe it or not - I took no pictures - not a single one. I did take a little video - but Liz would kill me if I posted it here.

If you're ever interested in Energy Drinks - check out Dan Mayer's site (Shawn's little br0) he has made quite the name for himself in the Energy Drink world - The AP just released an article featuring him... http://www.bandddesigns.com/energy/
Here's the article: Energy drinks in the news!

Liz gets the final word from Patrol on Wednesday - keep everything crossed.

New House

I posted some pics of our new digs - they're quite comfy - and like I said before, they require visitors. So COME.

Here they are.

I got hired!!

I heard from the Director of Crested Butte Ski Patrol this morning - he offered me a job!!! I'm officially part of one of the hardest ski patrols to become a part of!! I'm excited!

Still no word.... and other news.

As of 9:40am this morning we still have yet to hear from Patrol -

We surprised Liz's parents and flew them over Canyonlands National Park and The Maze District where we went backpacking. It was incredible. The terrain out there looks otherworldly from the air too... Rich (Liz's dad) got to take off and fly the first part of the trip - despite the sudden altitude change from Michigan to 12,500 we all had fun.

After the flight Liz's dad and I went fly fishing with my buddy Cam - he took us on a float down the Gunnison river - it was ridiculous fishing. The trout were hitting on egg patterns that simulate all of the eggs from the Kokanee Salmon that just ran up the Gunnison river. Floating is definitely the way to fish - if you spook the fish with a bad cast you just wait 2 seconds and you'll float on down to a whole new group that are just eyeing your bait like it's the tastiest thing they've ever seen. Needless to say I caught the biggest trout of my life yesterday - and LOTS of them!

Flobots Produce their first Music Video

They're gonna be famous someday....

Here it is Jesse Walker (former 1069 college roommate) rocking it out with the Flobots and their new music video for their song "Handlebars":

We're back and moved in

We're back from the Maze District - pictures can be found HERE. It was an incredible trip - though I would never do it the same way again. We ended up carrying a 75lb raft down to the river with us (over 9 miles each way) so that we would save ourselves 7 hours
of driving on dirt roads. Well we may have saved drive time but we definitely didn't save hiking time... Regardless - we made it into the Maze by Friday afternoon and were absolutely blown away by the geography there. It is unlike anything I've ever seen - otherworldly to say the least. The silence - the utter and absolute quiet was incredible and seemingly good for the soul.

Liz celebrated her birthday there on the 14th of October - it was a rainy day - so we decided that Sunday the 15th was actually her birth DAY being that she had from 8:51pm on the 14th and 8:51pm on the 15th to celebrate her first actual 24 hours in this world. Sunday the 15th was a glorious sunny day and provided an incredible backdrop for her special day. We had an incredible time together - what an amazing place to spend 5 days.

We returned home to the chaos of moving. We're finally all moved into our new place - though we still have random boxes laying around the need to be dealt with. The new place is gorgeous and requires many visitors - so start planning your trip!

Liz's parents are here until this Thursday which so far has proven to be a great thing. This is our first time getting to spend quality time just the four of us with no other distractions. I'm happy for the time together.

We picked them up from the airport in Aspen yesterday and returned home to a surprise that I had arranged for Liz - A NEW MOUNTAIN BIKE! Liz's parents, my parents, and I all went in on an incredible gift for her birthday - she was sooooo surprised.

We'll post some pics of the new place and the new bike soon. Hope everyone is well.

The Maze District

We leave tomorrow for 5 days of backpacking the Maze district of Canyonlands UT. It's going to be incredible.
As per the National Parks Website:

The Maze

With its confusing network of steep-walled canyons, the Maze remains the least accessible district of Canyonlands. Due to the district's remoteness and the difficulty of roads and trails, travel to the Maze requires more time, as well as a greater degree of self-sufficiency. Rarely do visitors spend less than three days in the Maze, and the area can easily absorb a week-long trip.

Maze visitors should be skilled in the use of topographic maps and, if traveling by vehicle, in technical four-wheel-driving.

One geologist has called the Maze District a "30 square mile puzzle in sandstone." The "puzzle" is an incredible series of finger like canyons that provide great hiking opportunities for the adventurous (and proficient). The infrequently visited Maze District is near nothing and is accessible only on foot or by 4wd vehicle.

The infrequently visited MAZE DISTRICT is an extraordinarily wild and inhospitable area of great beauty. It features remarkably convoluted slickrock canyons and wonderful red rock formations. Exploring the Maze requires navigating rugged and often difficult 4wd roads (unless, of course, you hike in). Much of the best hiking is among confusing and difficult, though fascinating, finger like canyons. There are no services or supplies anywhere near the Maze, which remains one of the wildest and most pristine areas in the lower 48. It is for the experienced, prepared and adventurous.

Sounds like fun eh??

um... Snow?

It's snowing again - ha - here's the weather forecast:

· Tonight: Snow likely. Low 29F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches.

· Tomorrow: Occasional snow showers. High near 40F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snowfall around one inch.

So we're waiting patiently to hear back about another new place - there is the potential of it just being a housesitting job - which would be cheap - but there's also the potential of it being a full-on lease. It's a 2BR house in town - the entire upstairs is one BIG room with cathedral ceilings and plants - and a loft with lots of beds - it's all wood - and it's all hand made by this guy that just moved to TN with his fam.... it's gorgeous. Cross all your extremeties... and the master bedroom has a steam bath!! NICE... and in-floor radiant heat... NICE....

Things were going our way...

We've had a great last few days - I'll list em off:

Last Sunday we went to Penny Hot Springs which is between Redstone and Carbondale out over Kebler pass. The hot springs were gorgeous and the water was HOT! 130 degrees hot - so it involved a lot of mixing of the cold snow melt into the hot spring to make it comfortable. On the way over Kebler pass (which happens to be the most photographed spot in CO due to it having the largest Aspen grove in the US - talk about Fall Colors) we saw an avalanche - so be sure to check out the photos which can be found here.

Thursday I had the most profitable day of my aerial photography career - I shot 5 properties in one flight. Liz got to come along for the scenic ride down to the front range.

Friday I had the most fun day of flying of my life - I flew a group of rafters into a tiny remote strip in the middle of no where Utah... we landed on a tiny dirt strip on top of a butte surrounded by cliffs on all sides - pics can be found here.

Saturday I rode the Dyke trail with my buddy Jamie - the fall colors were incredible! Pics can be found here.

Sunday Liz took me on an off-site ride with a family of 6 - we rode horses out into the Raggeds Wilderness - it was gorgeous - Pics from the ride can be found here.

We were about to sign a lease today for a new place. This wasn't going to be just any new place - it was going to be an entire restaurant on Elk ave.. It has a greenhouse and all kinds of crazy cool things about it - but alas - as we were just about to do a walk through with the landlord - the owner called and decided that he didn't need caretakers anymore and that construction was going to start right away... needless to say we're bummed.

So back to the task at hand of looking for a new place to live..... -sniff-

Vinotok Pictures and Liz in the Rocky Mountain News

Liz was just featured in a photo essay of Fall in the Colorado Rockies - check it out here.

I posted pictures of Vinotok - they can be found here.

Vinotok was a an interesting festival to say the least. The evening started with dancing in the street that they ironically call mumming. (Ironic because in Philly they have a parade called the Mummers Parade) The mumming is used to gather the crowds that then all watch the trial of the Grump. He of course is found guilty and is sentenced to burn at the stake. There were definite throwbacks to the Monty Python witch trial - BURN HIM! HE'S A WITCH!
The trial is followed by a procession down Elk Ave (main street) with drumming and chanting of Burn the Grump - Burn the Grump. It all culminates with the burning of the grump - and as the photos show - it was quite entertaining.

Our friends Leslie and Jamie run their business www.trailsource.com out of the building that faces the burn pile - so we had fantastic views.

Random Photos

Some random photos from fall, croquet, Chuck's wedding (Chuck is the owner of Fantasy Ranch), mountains, snow, etc - can all be found here.

Winter Wonderland in September

Yes, it snowed - and it's supposed to continue to snow till tomorrow night. We had a flat tire this morning - OF ALL MORNINGS!! Nothing like changing a tire in the snow!! Good thing that we had the spare sitting in the back of the car. Why was it in the back of the car you may ask? Well - we drove up Gunsight Pass the other day just for grins, fall colors, and photos - and on the way back down we discovered our spare sitting in the middle of the dirt road! Apparently the rocky road caused the cable to snap that holds the sucker up under the car... it was a funny discovery to say the least.




















We went to see John Hammond play the other night - whooee he knocked our socks off - incredible blues musician - and the faces he made while playing the harmonica - whailing on the guitar - and stomping his foot = TREMENDOUS.

I posted some pics of a fall ride that Liz and I took the other day with a newly engaged couple - they can be found here.

This cave up gunsight pass had BIG POINTY TEETH!

Tonight and tomorrow we celebrate Vinotok which is a weird Crested Buttian festival to celebrate the equinox. Ironically it all culminates in the burning of the Grump which is a symbol of everyone's negative emotions and fears. It's going to be fun!

Plus we're going to see the premier of Two Planks' new ski movie tonight and then Matchstick Productions new ski movie next Friday - we hear that ski movies are fun to watch here - I can imagine being that both film companies are based out of Crested Butte.

Yeah - we've moved to the mountains officially - Spring moved straight into late fall - and now we're getting into WINTER!!!

• Tonight: Windy. Periods of rain and snow this evening will become snow showers overnight. Low 28F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of precip 60%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph early.
• Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy with scattered snow showers or flurries that will mix with rain at times. Thunder possible. High 44F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 50%.
• Tomorrow night: Cloudy with rain and snow in the evening. Snow showers late. Thunder is possible early. Low 29F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 60%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected.
• Friday: Mostly cloudy with snow flurries and snow showers possible. Cold. High around 35F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Some snow accumulation possible.
• Saturday: Chance of a few snow showers. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the upper teens.
• Sunday: Occasional showers possible. Highs in the upper 40s and lows in the upper 20s.

Our friend Damien took great pics of Burning Man - I'll hopefully post a link to those soon...

Flew to Denver yesterday for an aerial shoot and then a photo shoot for the new IPS website - it was a glorious day - for the first time in my flying career did I hear the Weather Briefer say - "I've got a two word weather briefing for you today - Clear Skies" .... too bad clear skies are normally associated with unstable or choppy air... and yes it was a bit choppy - but nonetheless - GLORIOUS.

Falling Farther into Just What We Are.

I just wrote a long email to my friends from high school - figured I'd post it here for all to read:

The Burn was an incredible experience to say the least - the androgynous pic was from a lingerie party (which required female attire for all attendees - needless to say I was not very risque compared to some men that showed up - at least I had a sexy little vixen in a black corset, butterfly wings and a thong to dance with...)

On the way back from Nevada we stopped in Utah - where I thought about buying a house. 184k for a 3200 ft^2 house... unbelievable and it had character (it even had a laundry chute) and it was close to skiing... after doing more research it turns out that Logan (where we were looking) is 95% Mormon and also happens to have the worst air quality in the US. The reason for the poor air quality was the reason I loved it so much - we drove up over the mountains and down into this valley and there were BARNS and CORN FIELDS!! It was just like home... but surrounded by mountains. It's the agriculture and the resulting temperature inversions that cause the air to be so bad.... so we moved on. We then looked at Sandy, UT - which is just south East of Salt Lake and is at the entrance to Little Cottonwood canyon (which is where Alta and Snowbird are) - homes were cheap there and we would be 6 miles from some of the best skiing I've ever had in my life... but we'd be in tract homes with no character - and basically be in a suburb - and I hate suburbs. Funny thing about all of this was that despite being surrounded by Mormons, I kept my hair dyed red in two mohawks (that looked sort of like devil horns... funny shit I tell ya - definitely an experiment in social norms).

So we drove back to little ol' Crested Butte where it's hard to get anywhere being that it's 5 hours from Denver and 3 hours from Grand Junction... but it is in the middle of the out doors - which I love every day. Too bad a single family home here goes for $1.2M (hence our looking elsewhere - cause it'd be really nice to be able to buy instead of continuing this tradition of renting for the past 10 years of my life.) Rent is only 300$ a person and we are ski-in ski-out and mtn bike-in mtn bike-out so I can't complain. Apparently though the condo we're in loses all of its natural light as the snow piles up... I can't live in a cave. So we're looking for a new place now - as our lease ends in the middle of November.

Went for a mtn bike ride yesterday that was absolutely gorgeous - the fall leaves are starting to change - and there is nothing better than ripping through an Aspen grove as the sun peers down through the golden glow that the leaves create... COME VISIT! We're thinking about having either a summer or fall wedding out here. We have yet to decide on a date. Initially we were thinking a holiday (4th of July or Labor day) but we were shot down by my parents who just had to travel on Labor day for my cousin's wedding - they claimed it's so much more hectic and expensive then just any other weekend in fall or summer (which makes sense).

Rode horses with Liz today and took pics of a recently married couple on their honeymoon. We applied officially for Ski Patrol today in that we met with the Head of Patrol and handed in our hard copy applications in person. Hopefully that went well. They start interviewing in the middle of October... so we'll know more in a month.

Back from the Burn Part I

Words can not describe all that was there... it was an experience beyond belief. Creative efforts were as common as the air we breathe - and breathe it in we did.

The Man:



The Burninator:



2BLEVE:



The long drive to Black Rock City








The morning welcomed us as we made our way slowly into the desert.








Upon arrival on the playa....








More pics to come.

Pics as Promised

Here you go:

Flying into the Crested Butte Valley - funny how Mt. Crested Butte just pops out of nowhere.

The Peak of Mt. Crested Butte in the foreground with the town in the background.

Downtown Crested Butte. Looks like Mr. Roger's Neighborhood if you ask me.

Climax Mine's Tailing Pond - that's not natural..
The Climax Mine was once the largest underground molybdenum mine in the world.

Another image of the same tailing pond.

Gypsy, the bikes, THE FLOBOTS

We returned from Chicago on Sunday - exhausted. We had a great time with Liz's family - we saw Katie's performance 3 times - each one was great! The cast party after the opening night was at a ridiculous home on the shore of Lake Michigan. The place had a basketball court in the basement - and a private golf course on the beach... ridiculous.

Katie played Baby Louise and did a stellar job - the music is still stuck in my head. It was good to finally meet more of Liz's family - Uncles - Aunts - Cousins - a grand ol' time was had.

We got back to Denver and went to the BassPro shop where I got to spend my birthday gift certificate from work - it was great. Liz got a private fly fishing casting lesson - also great.

We then stopped by Laverne's house to see her tiny new baby!! Pics of the tiniest cutest thing in the world can be found here.

We then got the car fixed - I put another alternator on the car on Wednesday before we left - apparently one of the hoses wasn't replaced after we cleaned out the air intake - so it was bogging and stalling... once we figured out that that was the case it was a simple, painless, and free repair.

We got new bikes!! We got some cruisers for Burning Man - they should be fun - we took some before and after pics - Liz's bike is gonna be rad.

Monday night we saw The Flobots play at Red Rocks - it was a great show. I can't imagine what it must feel like to play up on that stage - all I know is that I've never seen Jesse with such a huge grin on his face. Here's a video of the last bit of Handlebars - it's large so beware.

Tuesday I had another aerial photography flight to Silverthorne and Colorado Springs - but the weather was bad on the front range so I only shot one of the properties and then spent some time buzzing around crested butte taking pics - it's gorgeous up here - we flew over Copper, Breckenridge, Aspen, Aspen Highlands, and Buttermilk ski areas - then over the Maroon Belles - it was incredible. We also flew over the Climax Molybdenum mine - which made for some interesting photos. I'll post pics soon.

Things are good here - I applied for a spot with a co-op gallery here in town and was rejected... I'll be interested to see who they chose out of the six of us applying for the one open spot. Bummer.

We've been playing extreme croquet as well - I'll post pics of that too...

Off to Chicago

We're off to Chicago for the weekend to see Katie (Liz's sister) in Patti LuPone's Production of Gypsy - it's her first paying gig - and at the age of 12 - I'd say she has a bright future ahead of her!

An article about it can be found here.

Life here has been good - Liz and I are working through some things prior to setting a date and location for the wedding.

I've been flying a lot which has been great - even better is the fact that I'm getting paid for it - being that I've got a slew of new aerial photography clients.

This is flying over Cottonwood Pass and the Taylor Reservoir. The clouds below are actually radiation fog from the reservoir.






















This is between Buena Vista and Fairplay, CO on the way down to the front range for a shoot over Littleton, CO - it was a glorious day to be flying!

Tuesday the 15th I have a flight to Fairplay, up to Silverthorne, and then down to Colorado Springs - should be fun.