Basque Festival

Sitting down to watch "Caddyshack" after a short yet hard day on the slopes. Last night Craig and I supported his co-worker Dominic by going to a Basque Festival. The people there were so warm and energetic, sharing drinks, heart-warming food, traditional dancing and "irritzas" (throaty yowls hollered across the mountains to warn of Nazi invasions). What an experience to be welcomed to a celebration about such an ancient, distinctive, and proud heritage! Definitely highlighted by the festive costumes: crimson, twirling skirts, rustic patterns, ballet flats with espadrille laces, and lots of neckerchiefs!

Back to the slopes.

The 2009-2010 ski season has been lean. Not much snow. Not much sun. Not much motivation to go skiing. But today, that changed! The day began slowly because of we decided to get Valentine's Day drunk last night (that's another story). Anyway, we made plans to ski with our friend Jeff, who is a Michigander, but now lives in San Francisco. At 8:45 am, and after a trip to McDonalds for Breanne's egg mcmuffin, we met Jeff at The Canyons for a big day of skiing.
It was shaping up to be a great day...a few inches of new snow, sunshine, and nice temps. We skied trees, steeps, and bumps all morning. It was fantastic! Unfortunately for Breanne, she had to leave at 12:00 for work. But Jeff and Craig skied like rock stars until the lifts closed...Perhaps that is an exaggeration, but that's the way I remember it!

It's been a while since we've posted anything here, but we're back! Since Thanksgiving, Breanne and Craig have both been steadily working, which has adversely affected their play time in the Wasatch Mountains. However, we did have a couple of memorable visits from Dirk & Steph (our Michigan snowboarding buddies), and from Joel Fortuna.
Dirk and Steph were here in Park City over Christmas, and we were able to spend some great days on the slopes of Snowbird and The Canyons with them. Actually, it hasn't snowed here since they left town, so we're really hoping they come back soon!!!
Joel visited last week, and, for three days, kidnapped Craig and drove him to Portland, Oregon. But Craig didn't object much, and as it turned out, Craig and Breanne inherited many fine pieces of furniture and other housewares from Joel's former apartment in Portland...Thanks, Brother!
How's the skiing, you ask? In a word...terrible. Neither of us has bothered to strap on the skis and dodge rocks in the past 2 weeks. But the forecast looks REALLY good for next week!
Today, Craig, Gordie, and Greta hiked to the peak of Parley's Summit (Breanne was working, unfortunately). Here are some pictures from the adventure....
It took about 3 hours trying to keep our footing over snow-covered singletrack to reach the summit. Along the way, we met many dogs, a few other hikers, and a couple backcountry skiers. The skiers were nice enough to let Craig in on the secret stashes of backcountry powder. Next time he WILL bring his skis, but probably not the dogs...