I have no choice; a lot of skiing will have to be done.

Without a computer at home for the time being it has been nice to not have that crutch around when you get bored. But the downside is the fact that when you want to check emails, search the net for information, or write a blog, well you are just shit out of luck. So I rigged up something with a coat hanger, calculator and my PS2 and that is how I am writing this right now -ok think I have had way too much coffee this morning sorry about that.

I was able to enjoy a great week off with family and friends. Many great laughs, meals, card games and much more. The gifts as always were way too many but as always they were great and useful -camping gear that needs replacing, under armour clothing -amazing dry-fit clothing- movies and other practical items. The week long festivities were topped off with a great hike followed by an amazing day of skiing this past Saturday.

But one gift in particular made me feel like a kid again. That feeling you got when you opened the box and couldn’t believe your own eyes. This left you asking "did you actually by this for me?" "I can’t believe it." The gift was a pair of Rossignol Z1 skis that my beautiful wife gave me for Christmas and graduation. I had never owned a pair of Rossis before but always thought their quality and attention to skier preferences made them worth checking out. What made it even better was that she bought herself a pair of Rossi Attractions.

We were able to try them out at Mont Blanc on Saturday quiet, and the weather was perfect; about -2 and snowing a great deal. There was a 95cm base with 7cm of fresh powder that had fallen in the previous 24 hours. So with the new fresh stuff falling on us it was time to get on the hill asap. What a perfect day.

The Z1 are an intermediate/advanced parabolic all mountain ski that are extremely aggressive in any condition. We tested are skis from powder to ice by carving one turn in powder and then making our way over to the icier sections -weren’t many as there was so much snow it was amazing- and the skis held on everything. Really fast skis that hold well over kickers and big jumps. I didn’t have a chance to make it to the ski park and hit some of the bigger jumps and rails and so on but there is plenty of season left.

The drop from my old 185cm skis to these 163cm skis was amazing. The speed and turning ability is completely unmatched by any other ski I have ever owned or rented. Tracy’s are of a similar style just in the ladies format. She has dropped about 20cms as well and found that her skis we much more responsive and fun then anything she has ever had as well.

Should be a great season filled with day trips, weekly night skiing at fortune, along with a few weekend trips. We will again most likely return to Mont Blanc this up coming weekend. It’s a great hill and its proximity to Tremblant makes it a quiet mountain b/c most people go to Tremblant.

Funny thing is Tremblant is a great hill but over hyped as it is way to busy and expensive for how much skiing you get in. The lift lines were minimal to nil on Sat at Mont Blanc and Tracy and I averaged 5 runs an hour. That is a lot of skiing when you consider we skied for about 6hours. At Tremblant you can expect to be in line for longer then it takes to get down the mountain, plus the length of time sitting on the lift.

I hope that everyone has enjoyed their holidays and have a safe and Happy New year. Resolutions are always fun but make sure they are realistic. This is the time of year that I see the gym fill with people and then around mid to late February the regulars start to notice the daily patrons start thinning out.

Some of my top resolutions are to volunteer more, get as many people hiking on my 2008 Hike for a cure as possible -details to follow-, travel, ski as much as possible, train hard and just generally take things in stride and relax.

-An Irish Blessing for New Years in Gaelic
'Go mbeire muid beo ar an am seo arís.

'May we be alive at this time next year.

Have Fun!