the Get Rolling Orbit

I am currently hiking several miles of hillside trails every week to prepare for my role as guide for Zephyr Adventures’ Royal Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu, starting on October 17. The dust dims the sheen of my new backpacking boots, my packing list gets longer, and I read (tragic)  stories from the 1500s about the conquest of Peru. I go to the gym, I dive into my full-time day job and I give the occasional skate lesson, but really, my heart and head are in Peru for a good portion of every day.  Read more... (502 words, 6 images, estimated 2:00 mins reading time)

On Sunday morning we carved turns on the east-facing corduroy groomed slopes until the surface became perfectly buttery. By 9:30 it was beginning to ripen all over the mountain, and the next two hours were “magic time” where every turn made us feel like the best skiers in the world!  We continued to follow the sun as it gradually softened the hard snow on the western slopes of Mammoth Mountain. By early afternoon, it finally became too soft to be enjoyable and we decided to quit so we could save our legs for more fun on Monday.  Read more... (266 words, 2 images, estimated 1:04 mins reading time)

Friday: Despite temps in the low 40’s it is beautiful weather here. Dan and I expect to ski for the next 3 days because there’s plenty of snow. With daylight saving time, the days are long and the skiing ends early, leaving lots of time for other outdoors recreation. The night life here is just as fun as the day life.

 Read more... (367 words, 3 images, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)