Enjoy! Oh, by the way, if you want to share this image, go here…

The Denver Post takes a very negative slant, “It is clear that the development of Wolf Creek Pass isn’t in the public interest.” I’ve been following this topic for a while now and, frankly, not everyone is all upset about it. There are large groups who are making a lot of noise about potential environmental impact and economic impacts. I’d even say there is a fair amount of validity in this. However, at town meetings that Red and the gang have held in the past, a large number of people have supported his project and the economic gain it could bring to the area.

Honestly, I don’t know the specifics of the project. I would hope that it is fairly eco friendly and uses as much green technology as possible. If it is, indeed, a threat to the local ecosystem - then I don’t want it to happen. However, it’s my belief that the area will some day be developed. It’s an amazing place to ski/board. That said, I think groups should focus on guiding the project down the best path instead of trying to block it altogether. Just my $0.02.

Fall is in the air here in Colorado. The trees have been changing colors for the past month. Snow is starting to fall at high altitude. It’s a sign that snowboarding time is near! For me, it was also a sign that I was running out of time. You see, I had a mission this summer - to try downhill mountain biking. I went on the last weekend that Winter Park was open.

It wasn’t what I expected. I was actually scared for my life at times. Never have I felt that a helmet was justified until that day. I truly wanted full body armor. However, I somehow managed to survive.

My favorite part was the banked switchbacks. The sensation of leaning over so far and feeling the compression as you go through the turn is very unique. The jumps were fun, but they still spook me. I bruised a spleen not long ago on a failed jump. It doesn’t help that the trails were loose gravel.

It looks as though I may get another cool mountain biking opportunity in before the end of the summer. I’m working on a trip to Moab. I hear the ground is very “sticky” for bike tires. This will be interesting. At the least, it might keep me occupied until snowboarding season arrives.

I can’t believe that the summer is really coming to an end. I’ve accomplished much of what I’ve set out to do:

• I saw Alaska, and before it all melted from global warming!
• I attended Burning Man and it really did change my life.
• I tried out a kayak, and that thing is wobblier than I thought.
• I got in another surf trip, and I finally got the hang of paddling.
• I went backpacking, and survived in the woods for 4 days.
• I started a company, and I escaped the 9 to 5 grind.
• I got a fly reel, and I’m learning to fly fish.

There were a number of other goals I failed to get to. I had wanted to eat better and work out more. I’m not comfortable in my new kitchen and haven’t really been cooking good meals. My constant travel is keeping me from developing any kind of fitness routine; but I suppose that’s kind of an excuse. I had planned to rock climb outdoors and have not yet. I also planned to do downhill mountain biking. I may get to that soon, I have until the 21st. Time is running out for summer activities.

I still have to make a trip to Mexico. I think it may get in the way of my early season. I don’t expect to take this season as seriously as last. However, there’s a chance I may find myself in Steamboat Springs and working on a snowboarding related web project.

I can’t wait to start making some turns.

(PS - this post went live a little late… had some server problems…)

WOLF CREEK— The owners of Wolf Creek ski resort and developers of the proposed Village at Wolf Creek have reportedly settled their lawsuit over the project.

The Pitcher family, owners of the ski area through Wolf Creek Ski Corp. Inc., sued Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture over the $1 billion Village at Wolf Creek resort project in 2003.

U.S. District Court Judge John Kane dismissed the case last Tuesday without ruling as to the admissibility of any evidence presented, according to The Associated Press.

The Pitchers reportedly cooperated with the Village at Wolf Creek’s developers early on, but pulled out in the 1990s.

Led by Kingsbury Pitcher, they sued the joint venture, claiming they had no legal responsibility to help develop the resort. Leavell-McCombs countersued, alleging that the Pitchers had committed fraud and breached their contract.

The settlement cancels a trial that was scheduled for July 7. The Pitchers had reportedly threatened to introduce evidence of the political intrigue that has surrounded the Village since the 1980s. The two sides were haggling over political allegations when the settlement was announced…

A separate lawsuit filed by environmental groups over the development was settled out of court in February, with steps yet to be taken including evaluation of an access road by the U.S. Forest Service, approval of a highway access permit by the Colorado Department of Transportation and approval of development plans by Mineral County, which can only be considered after access is approved.

According to Honts, the next step will be with the Forest Service, which is under a court-ordered agreement to do another environmental impact study for proposed access roads to the development.

Forest Service spokesman Mike Blakeman said the government will bill McCombs for the costs of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for access roads and Forest Service employees will do most of the work on it, not a private contractor. Rio Grande National Forest (RGNF) officials will choose the team that does the environmental analysis.

I was beginning to think the whole project was going to fade away. Looks like things are rolling along at a snail’s pace.

At first, I wanted to hate this jacket. I really liked the placement of the pockets on my old coat. It took me a while to adjust to everything being out of place. Once I got over the shock of something new and different, I learned to love this jacket.

First of all, it’s a “shell”. This means it’s designed to be your outter most layer. With the vents open, the Jacket allows for a fair amount of fresh air. With just a t-shirt on underneath, it’s good for those days that aren’t too terribly cold. Close the vents and put a hoodie underneath and you’re ready for some frigid days.

The jacket has an attached hood which I rarely use. However, when I need it, I love it. The sleeves include those snazzy cuffs that wrap around your thumb and go inside your gloves - keeping snow off your wrists. There are tons of pockets including an MP3 pocket (and a special collar that allows you to insert headphones into the jacket), a tucked away pocket inside the zipper flap, a variety of exterior pockets (both button and zipper), and a pocket with a goggle wipe velcro’d inside. There’s also a removable powder skirt with buttons that will latch to your pants… but not my pants, as they buttons don’t fit right with my belt loops.

The jacket is light weight and water proof. It looks snazzy enough to wear as an every day jacket. In fact, I recently wore my jacket camping in Alaska. It not only kept me warm and dry, but kept the mosquitoes from eating me alive.

The quality of the jacket it top notch. I’ve caught a fair amount of tree limbs and have never torn or scratched the shell. After stinking it up with fish and campfire in AK, a quick run through the washing machine (and hung to dry) left the jacket looking and smelling like new.

I don’t think this jacket is perfect. I personally would prefer a removable hood (which Session offers in other models) and I would still adjust the placement of some of the pockets. I’ve found that larger items (such as a radio, phone, or flask) can often hang right around the base of your rib cage - which kinda sucks when you fall just right. Still, the jacket is awesome enough that I completely forget I’m wearing it while I’m riding - which is exactly what I want.

Conclusion: Recommended

Before the Mystic, I’d never experienced a true park board. If you’re considering a park board and have never owned one, you might want to demo one first. The first thing you’ll notice is a different edging. Where an all mountain board is sharp around the curves, a park board loses it’s edge near the ends as to not catch the snow while doing rotation tricks. This means you must have your carves on hard park dialed in a little better. You’ll also notice that a park board has a completely different flex pattern. The middle of the board tends to be springier while the ends are more firm.

The Mystic is one of Arbor’s bamboo core boards. Bamboo is lighter than carbon fiber and lasts twice as long. The use of bamboo also makes Arbor one of the most eco friendly boards on the market.

The base of the board uses a technology Arbor calls Struc Turn. From the website, “It prevents a vacuum from forming between the board and snow.” I quickly became aware of the effectiveness of Struc Turn on my very first ride. I thought a smaller board (I usually ride a 162) would be a bit slower. The Mystic accelerated much faster than any board I’ve ridden.

The mystic is a true twin tip. This is rather funny, as I set my bindings on the board backwards initially and never bothered to fix it. I spent a lot of time this season focused on improving my ability to ride switch. The twin nature of this board made it much easier. With my directional boards, it was difficult to tell what was different while riding switch - something I was doing versus how the board felt. With the twin, I could easily identify what I needed to focus on while riding switch.

Overall, the board is fairly light. It’s not as light as some of the new honeycomb boards coming out; however, you definitely won’t have to worry about a knee popping out of joint while riding the lift up.

Finally, the board just looks sexy. Traditionally, the Arbor boards have been mostly black with very classy and mostly green artwork. While the 04 artwork is, by far, my favorite - I still love my 07.

Conclusion Highly Recommended

The first thing you might notice about Cartel bindings is the wide variety of adjustments available. I honestly thought I was going to have to return my bindings after my first few rides. Once I realized just how much the bindings can be adjusted, I was good to go. While the 05s are highly adjustable, the 07s are even more so.

The Cartels are listed as a mid-grade binding on Burton’s website. However, they are also listed as the most responsive binding in their class. Personally, I found both the 05 and 07 bindings to be extremely responsive. The toe strap runs across the front of the boot, pushing your heel deep into the base of the binding. Your feet are connect to the board for a solid ride.

I only have one complaint with my 05 Cartels. The forward lean adjustment on the back of the 05 binding has a flip latch to lock them into an upright position. This seemed both superfluous and annoying. I have to unlatch the back of the binding before I could flip it down when jumping on a lift. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thought this was a bad design decision as it was removed in the 07 model! The new design, instead, uses a nifty wing nut that allows you the adjust the lean of the binding’s back quickly and easily.

There are a few other minor improvements on the 07. The straps now have a bit of jell inside, making for a snug and comfy fit. Overall, the binding is also lighter than the previous model while still being just as solid. The straps themselves are attached using a new style of nut with a flip up cover. When flipped open, the nut can be taken out by hand - with no tools. This allows you to adjust the length of your binding straps on the mountain at any time you wish. It’s particularly handy when you want to let someone else - with a different shoe size - ride your board.

Simply put, the 2007 Burton Cartel bindings are the best bindings I’ve ever had the pleasure to ride.

Conclusion: Recommended

I stretched a short bungee cord between two roof ties in my Xterra. This made for a perfect “runner” to which I can clip these leashes. The leash itself can be easily attached to a variety of objects. In the attached photo, I hung some rope. I’m sure this same scheme would work just fine in a garage setting.