Colorado
Mood:  happy
Topic: Travel
On Thursday I woke up and decided that I was going to go on an adventure on bike through boulder in search of the best deals in back country gear. I left the house around 11:00am and got to my fist destination, Boulder Outdoor Center in about 10 minutes. From there I traveled to Recreational Equipment Inc, and from there I went to Neptune Mountaineering. What I discovered is that every item I needed was a different price at each store. I picked out what items I needed at what store and went back later that night to purchase all my gear. I got a Millet Rock and Ice back pack, a DTS tracker avalanche beacon, an led/halogen headlamp, a BCA collapsible shovel/avalanche probe mix, a Columbia fleece jacket, a Rocky Mountain topographical map, and a pair of size 30 Tubb snowshoes.
That night before dinner with the family I went to my aunt and uncles good friend “Larry the Boot Fitter”. He sizes and fits ski boots and snowboard boots. He put some padding in my snowboard boot to help it conform to the arch in my foot.
After that I went back to the house to eat pizza with the entire family.
The next morning I woke up and my Aunt Paul and I headed into the mountains to WINTER PARK SKI RESORT. It was amazing we headed through Berthod Pass and I was able to see some serious avalanche terrain. We got to Winter Park suited up and headed strait up two lifts to the Parsens bowl. We took a few runs down the bowl and then on our third time up the lift we decided we were going to head to the Vasquez cirque chutes and get an amazing powder run in. I hiked up to the peak of the bowl and took a picture of the sign that listed the elevation. From there I began my hike to the back chutes. My aunt was on skis and so was Paul so they made much better time and got much farther then I did much faster. As I was walking a Ski Patroller drove his snowmobile up to me and through a rope attached o the back of the snowmobile out to me. Immediately I reached down and grabbed the rope getting a good grip he then started the snowmobile again and towed me full speed out to the back chutes. I passed my aunt and Paul smiling ear to ear showing off my hot new ride. When I got to the back chutes I picked out the best chute and waited for my aunt and Paul to catch up to me. All of us looked over the side of the chute and our eyes grew very wide. Looking down it was an almost completely untracked strait chute of powder. 1 by 1 we dropped into the chute making powder turns all the way to the bottom.
The next morning (Saturday) we headed up to Eldora for our first field day of avalanche training. Throughout the day we learned about all of our equipment, and the best ways to use it. We also learned about observing snow pack and weather, digging snow pits and many other tools for back country tours. The 2nd field day and last day of avalanche training we headed out on a small day tour into the back country of Eldora. We planned our trip checked the conditions and headed out on an extremely windy day into the back country. As we began the hike we tested our beacons and then hunter assigned me the position to lead my group to the checkpoint. When we got to the check point we had a quick snack and while we were talking someone suddenly screamed avalanche, and so began the avalanche practice scenario. As quick as they good 4 selected volunteers went through everything we learned and quickly dug out the beacon. From there we climbed up the slope in our snowshoes and began our trek to an area called Lost Lake. When we arrived we looked across the lake at the large mountain that we noticed had many pockets of deep powder and steep slopes that could easily create avalanches. I got a picture standing on the lake in front of the mountain that I am very proud of.
After that trek we headed back to the lodge to receive our certificates stating that we are certified in level 1 avalanche training. That night I packed and prepared for the long day of traveling the next day.
I left my aunt and uncles house at 2:45am and headed to the bus that shuttles to the airport. After 2 planes I arrived in Ohio at 4:00pm.

Monday Tuesday and Wednesday in Colorado
Mood:  happy
Topic: Snowboarding
So on Monday afternoon I arrived in Boulder CO to visit my family and take a course on Avalanche safety. On Tuesday morning my aunt Liz got me a ride up to Eldora Ski Resort at 7:30am with one of her fellow ski instructors (my aunt Liz is a ski instructor at Eldora). After a 45 minute car ride up to Eldora I finally got suited up and ready to hit the slopes. Since I was one of the first people there besides ski patrol and the instructors I picked a run that nobody had gone down so that I could make the first tracks. My first run down was absolutely beautiful. I shot down the mountain very fast, the fresh powder shooting out behind my board as I Carved down the slopes. On my 2nd run down someone else had also visited the run I went down. I pulled out my camera and got some very mediocre footage of my eye point of view riding down the hill.

Eldora


Then after a great Day of riding all over Eldora it was time for me to find a ride down to the town Nederland where my in classroom avalanche training was being held. I got a ride down to Nederland dropped my snowboarding gear off at the firehouse conference room and started to venture around the town. I first went to the local health food store to get a snack. I ended up eating 3 vegetarian egg rolls had some orange juice and cliff bar. From there I went to a boarding shop called Guru Sports. It had n amazing amount of boards and quite the selection of other gear. I hung out in there for about 30 minutes and then headed back over to the Firehouse conference room where my class was being held.

The class was amazing. I learned an incredible amount of information in 3 hours. I learned about avalanche formations, about snow metamorphism, about the different types of crystals and layers of snow, about the sizes of avalanches, the different types, and much much more. They handed us a book on our training that we can take home and review whenever. They also gave us our extensive equipment list for the 2 field days when we actually trek a little bit into the back country. They also had a speaker from the Colorado Avalanch Information Center come in and give a speech on a case study of an avalanche disaster. And tell us how to understand the avalanche forecast on the website and over the phone so we can make better decisions about traveling the backcountry.
The depth in which the system for safe avalanche traveling covers is amazing. There are millions of tables and graphs for finding out whether or not it is safe to travel. Our avalanche teachers told us there is not set rule for avoiding an avalanche but there are vague rules you can follow to reduce the risk by a large amount. “It’s all about decisions and whether or not your choices will put you in harms way. That’s why we are educating you to distinguish these decisions”.



Wednesday was pretty much the exact same schedule I woke up and headed to Eldora with Paul (the ski instructor), but today I did a little bit more extreme of boarding based on the weather. When we arrived at Eldora the wind was blowing extremely hard from the NW and there was a large amount of snow being dropped onto the mountain. I suited up as warm as possible and headed up the lift to the top of the mtn. I pent the majority of the day observing everything I had learned about the previous night. I even went to get a glimpse at an area where I was told there had recently been an avalanche and sure enough I could see the flank marks still from a distance. I also spent a lot of time traveling around the double black diamonds and through the glades occasionally reaching very high speeds traveling down a single black diamond.

the lookout 1

the lookout 2

That night I headed to my last in class course before the field days on Saturday and Sunday. Yet again my head was crammed with information on search and rescue, trip planning, terrain evaluation, and much more.

I am completely excited for the field days and will make sure to fill you in on everything that happens this week.


Colorado

Las Vegas
Mood:  hungry
Topic: Travel

Las Vegas

Last weekend I went to Las Vegas AKA Sin City with my parents and some close family friends. The flight there was beautiful. We left the ground at 6 in the morning during -4 degrees weather, only to fly straight up through the clouds to the sunshine. We arrived in Las Vegas at 8:30 am Pacific standard time (3 hours behind Ohio). We took an airport shuttle Straight to our hotel, The New York New York.
As I walked through the doors I was suddenly mesmorized by the sheer scale of everything. There was alot of activity for 8:30 in the morning. Slot machines blinking in every direction, dropping their prizes to the fixated gambler in front of them. We went up stairs to our room to drop off our bags, and then went straight to the Excalibur for some breakfast.
The first 2 days were spent just walking around the strip, looking at all of the sites we have seen on tv. We went to The Bellagio, The Mirage , The Venetian, The Paris, The MGM Grand, The Mandalay Bay, and The Luxor. The scale of each hotel was very impressive. The New York, New York was a much smaller simulation of the real New York NY. The Venetian was a much smaller version of Venice Italy, and the Paris was a much smaller version of the real city in France. By the end of each day I was completely exhausted from all of the walking, not to mention the time difference.
Next thing I did was go to the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef. It was amazing They had Golden Crocodiles, Water monitors, assorted reef fish, Sting rays, Jellyfish, Eels, Sea turtles, Groupers, and of course many different species of shark.
I spent the last full day doing nothing but taking pictures of "Sin City". I backtracked to every spot where I had wished I had my camera the previous days.
Later that night I went over to the Bellagio with my mom to see the fountain. It was absolutely amazing. The water shot up as high as 50 feet, if not more with some classical background music playing in formation with the water. Later that night we went to the Eiffel tower at the Paris hotel and casino. We rode up to the top of the tower to get some amazing views of the city. While we were up there I noticed that the fountains were starting to go off. So I ran over to snap some pictures. It was alot of fun being over that city and watching the nightlife pass by below.
The morning, and after noon before we left I went to the Siegfried and Roy Wildlife Habitat at the Mirage. The first thing in the exhibit were dolphins in a 2 million gallon aquarium. You could view them above water and below water through the looking glass. As I continued to stroll through the exhibit I saw an Asian elephant, a Panther, 3 white lions, many tigers, a leopard, and many white tigers,all of whom seemed to be the happiest caged animals in the world. I was extremely impressed with their habitats.
When we arrived at the airport at 2:30 pm I discovered we had 2 hours before our plane left. The plane arrived, and as we were waiting to board we heard a womans voice come over the speaker". unfortunately due to flight regulations and a missing part on the sliding door we will not be able to depart. We are checking to see if we can find the part anywhere in Las Vegas other wise we will have to have it sent in before the plane can depart. We will keep you updated plz be patient with us." Sure enough we waited for an hour and a half before we got any information on the situation. We waited in Las Vegas till 11:15 pm. They finally recieved the part from LA and we left for Cleveland.I woke up on the plane to hear the captain telling us that "we had been stuck in a holding pattern over Cleveland, and due to bad weather we will be flying into Pittsburgh." He also told us there would be busses waiting for us in Pittsburgh to take us to Cleveland. At this point I was exhausted and could see the sun rising in the east from the plane window. When we arrived in Pittsburgh we headed straight to the baggage claim only to wait an hour for our bags to get there.From there we rented a car avoiding the wait for them to figure out drivers for the bus. As we left we heard the pilot saying that he never said there would be busses. At that point we were very happy we decided to rent a car.
After 2 hours of driving we arrived in Cleveland at 1:00 PM. Happy to be home I walked into my bedroom laid down, and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was completely asleep.


Overall I would say my summary of Las Vegas is that it is not meant for anyone under 21 and if you were over 21 with a few friends it really would be "The Sin City".



This is the link for The Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage.
Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat

^^^This is a picture of the Hotel and Casino we stayed in.

^^^This is another picture that I didnt take of the fountains at the Bellagio.

My Studio
Mood:  chillin'
Topic: Music
This is a picture of the small but amazingly adequate studio I have setup in my room. I use this to record, write, and listen to songs. I also use it to record other band's songs . I just thought it would be interesting to let everyone see where I do a large amount of my music work. I have a 78 Fender P Bass, A Gibson SG, a yamaha keyboard, and an accoustic ovation as show in the pictures. My recording equipment includes a digital mixing board, an Imac with garage band on it, and much sound equipment as shown in the pictures. I spend late nights and early mornings in front of this equipment drilling into new songs.
Random stuff

Review of the concert last week
Mood:  blue
Topic: Concerts
So a few days ago I went to a concert in Cleveland Heights. I arrived at the concert and arrived to find my friend Justin (The Concert Manager) standing outside awaiting the arrival of the two headlining bands , SGR, and The Highschool Football Heroes. Apparently as he told me when I met up with him they were supposed to arrive thirty minute before I did. The bands who had already arrived were , FAT K, and The Rightful Rulers. I walked inside to find that FAT K had just started there set. In my opinion after hearing them they werent that great,They needed alot more practice with eachother, and the guitarist could use more skill with his instrument. They also played a mdeiocre cover of "Super Orgy Porno Party" by The Planet Smashers. The next band was The Rightful Rulers. I must say that this was one of the most refreshing bands I have seen in the Cleveland ska scene in quite a while. They play a more traditional Rude Boys ska. They also had absolutely everybody insinde The Grog Shop up and dancing. The next two bands , SGR , and The Highschool Football Heroes were absolutely horrible. SGR sounded like a fusion of disco and ska and played alot of covers, and The Highschool Football Heroes were a mix of ska and emo which was absolutely terrible because if you took away the Whining voices they would sound pretty cool. In all total I would say the concert was worth it just to see The Rightful Rulers. Here is there URL The Rightful RulersSo a

October Vice Presidential Debate Pictures
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Photography

                                                                                                   
Vice Presidential Debate pictures

These are pictures of the VP Debate I found on my computer from october. I took these for indymedia.com's cleveland center and they were later featured on the page. I hope you enjoy them.

Ocean Kayaking
Mood:  hungry
Topic: Kayaking
Ok so I am making this blog for those of you who have never been ocean kayaking. The last time I was in Sandiego I was visiting my aunt uncle, and my cousin. We decided one day I was there that we were going to go ocean kayaking. Micheal had already been kayaking but I had never done it. So the next day we decided to head down to the rental store and give it a try. We got to the rental store and got completely suited up, but instead of us each having our own kayaks we rented a two person because we figured it would be more comedic if the kayak spun under the water with both of us in it. So the rental shop sent a truck with us, the kayak, and our equipment to the beach. We got out of the truck and carried the kayak to the water. I got in the front seat and my cousin Micheal sat in the back. We began to row out torwards the horizon breaking through the waves till we finally got out to calm water. We began to paddle torwards where we knew there was a kelp bed. As I began to see kelp drifting beneath us we slowed the pace down a little. I looked down and I saw the kelp runing 5,10,15, then 20 feet until I couldnt see the rest which had dissapeared into the blue ocean. That was one of the strangest feelings of vertigo I have ever had. We began to row torwards what we knew was a marine protection reserve. Slowly we rowed over this more shallow area of coast. On our way through this area we saw countless multicolored fish and other sea creatures. We also saw a numbe rof different types of marine plants that amazed us with there brilliant colors shimering through the water. This was possibly one of the coolest experiences I have ever had with the ocean and I would completely suggest that everyone trys it at lest once.


To see the route I took when i Kayaked look at this pic

Amazing Year in Pictures Album
Mood:  hungry
Topic: Photography
Year In Pictures


This is some photographic work I not only found interesting, but I found it to be a very accusate picture portrayal of the year. I hope you enjoy.

Fly with an eagle
Mood:  down
Topic: Interesting News!
Fly With The EaglesTake a ride on an eagle.....enjoy!
My dad showed me this site yesterday and I thought that it would be a good thing to share.I don tknow about you but I have always thought it would be awesome have a birds eye view. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.


 




 








 






 




 

Good Music
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: The Police, Reggatta De Blanc
Topic: Music
Well I thought that I would let you all know some of the music I have been listening to lately. I have been listening to lots of Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue", Jaco Pastorius's "self titled album", The Slackers, Against me, and the The Police.If you have not heard "kind of blue" and you are either into or curious about amazing jazz, then you should immediately go out and get it. if you get it, make sure to check out the amazing song (#1) So What. Jaco Pastorious, is considered one of the most amazing modern jazz bassists out there and his self titled album is real proof of his ability as an amazing bassist. The Slackers most recent album, "Close My Eyes" is probably one of the most addicting traditional Ska albums I have ever heard. Check out (#2) Old Dog and (#5) Real War. Against me is an amazing folk punk rock band. Check out the album "Reinventing Axel Rose". The Police's, "Regatta De Blanc" is probably one of my favorite cds currently. If you go out to get it make sure to check out (#2) Regatta De Blanc (#4) Bring On The Night (#8) The Beds Too Big Without You. If you want to hear some absolutely amazing local Music from the Cleveland area. here are a links to a few of my favorite local bands.Here are the Skatastrophes which consist of a few of my best friends and Home boys. http://www.myspace.com/theskatastrophes. Here are The Broadview Gutters http://profiles.myspace.com/users/14679835. heres there homepage www.thebroadviewgutters.com. My biggest inspiration comes from talking to Jay Clarke ( the Guitarist/lead singer) about music at guitar center. If you live in the area you should come check out either of these band's concerts. They are fun and you will probably see me there if you go. I hope you get to check out and enjoy(or not enjoy) what im listening too.