Casting A Line On The Roaring Fork

Yesterday was a fly fishing excursion with Outside in Aspen.  I had a blast fly fishing the Roaring Fork River with Aspen Outfitting.  We did do plenty of climbing up and down the river banks as we went for great fishing spots on the river.

I had a blast casting a line trying to hook some big trout.

After that I spent some time walking around Aspen with friends.

Wild Time at Glenwood Caverns

After driving to Glenwood Springs Friday, some of my cousins and I went wild in the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.  I know - not exactly a tough workout but we did a lot of walking and of course holding on tight on some of the rides.

The craziest one I did was the Giant Canyon Swing that goes 48mph, pulls 3Gs, and is 1300 feet above the Colorado River at its highest point.  

We also walked to and from dinner so got in at least a mile there!

Taking A Ride On An ATV

Sunday I got a chance to ride with Telluride ATV.  It was a blast going through the trees on some rocky dirt roads near Telluride.  While it's not a break a sweat kind of workout, you do have to use core strength to stay balanced on the ATV and even some quads as you go through the twists, turns, and maneuver the terrain.

It was great to be outside on a beautiful day soaking up some picturesque views.

We did stop and walk around in a meadow for a break before heading back.  We ATV'ed for about 2.5 hours.

Ok, I know it's a stretch for a workout but that's what I did before driving the six hours back to Denver.  And it was a heck of a lot of fun!

Jeeping Saturday

After spending the morning walking around Telluride I went on a jeep tour with Telluride Outside.  It was a fun shoot as we headed up to the Tomboy Mine, then back down in to Telluride, and then up to Bridal Veil Falls.

Not sure how much of a workout it counts for but you do have to do a lot of holding on as you get bounced around in the jeep on the bumpy roads!

At Smuggler Mine on way to Tomboy Mine

Bridal Veil Falls

Up To Highest Point In Red Rocks Park

Even though I was pretty tired Saturday, I got up and took to the hills.  Two of my cousins decided to do the last minute hike with me.  We planned to beat the cold, rainy and snowy weather and yes we did.  We hiked up Mount Morrison, which neither of my cousins had ever done.

Instead of just up and back down the same trail, we actually started on the backside in Idledale, which has an elevation of 6,460 feet.  We started at 8:20am and made it up to the top at 9:07am, in 47 minutes.  We were moving at a pretty good clip to reach the top at 7,881 feet, climbing about 1,400 feet.

It was beautiful at the top with views of some of Colorado's highest peaks including Longs, Evans, and Pikes Peaks.  One of my favorite views was Mount Evans surrounded by clouds.

Then at 9:20am we started the over 1,400 foot and 1.3 or 1.4 mile hike down, which was very steep and rocky.  It's considered a Class 2 hike, which means you have to climb in spots and use your hands to maneuver.  There were a few moments I regretted that I was in running shoes instead of hiking shoes.

But through some climbing through rocks and a few slides on some small scree we made it down and were walking to breakfast at 10:30am.

Definitely a thigh burner and great workout in just over two hours.  

Snowmobile Saturday

Snowmobiling...not much of a workout, right?  Wrong!  I found that out Saturday when I went snowmobiling with Telluride Snowmobile Adventures.  I went out with my guide Ben and his friend Andy on an intermediate snowmobile tour.  We covered over 15 miles through trees, twists, turns and incredible scenery.  My favorite spot on the tour was the Alta Ghost Town.

Alta Ghost Town

I also loves maneuvering through the trees.  Steering the snowmobile through turns, some uphill and some down, was a big upper body workout.  Got a little bit of core and leg work to since you do have to lean into the turns.  Ben used the phrase "Sneak a cheek" to describe how you should lean into the turn.  In other words....scoot half your booty off snowmobile in turns!

Back side of Gold Hill Chutes

I did start the day with a long dog walk down Main Street, past Town Park and in to another residential area of Telluride and enjoyed some beautiful moments of the sun rising over the mountains.

Hike & Ski In Same Day At Telluride

On a beautiful chilly Friday morning, the folks at The Hotel Telluride recommended I go up Jud Wiebe Trail for a nice hike.  They said I would get a combination of dirt, mud, and snow.  It's a locals favorite hike.  So off I went.  As I went higher I did get into some snow and ice.  I also got some incredible views of Telluride.

I was on a time schedule and the snow and ice slowed me down a little on the hike.  To do the whole hike it takes about an hour and half but with the snow and ice it takes about two hours.  So I made it almost to the top and had to turn back down to make my ski time.

Well on the way down, even though I was trying to be careful in the snow and icy spots, I slipped on ice and fell flat on my back and slammed my elbow into a rock.  Not exactly what I'd planned!  Thankfully I hit the rock just below the elbow and didn't break a bone.  But I have a huge bruise and swollen elbow/arm from that adventure.

Some of what I hiked through on Jud Wiebe Trail

So I hurried down as fast as I could after my spill and got ready for skiing.  It was a beautiful spring day for skiing at Telluride!  I actually covered a lot of ground as we road up Sunshine Express then skied over to Prospect Express to the where you can start hike to go up Palmyra Peak.

Palmyra Peak

From there we skied Galloping Goose, after a spill at top of run from my boots not fulling clipping in to bindings from packed snow.  Then up Gold Hill Express to Revelation Bowl and down to Woozley's Way and lunch at Bon Vivant.  After lunch we skied down after a fun afternoon on the slopes! 

Travel Day To LA

Friday was a travel day that was jammed packed.  From station to airport to two photo shoots in LA....made for a very long day that went from before 3am to after 11pm (MDT).  Such a crazy day that finding time to eat lunch or dinner didn't happen.  I made up on the eating part during breakfast at The Blvd at the Beverly Wilshire Saturday!

Mush, Mush

Yesterday I went dog sledding with Dog Sled Rides of Winter Park.  This was a different adventure from the first time I went dog sledding a little over a year ago.  I was hoping to drive my own sled but that's not what this outfitter does.  Instead my friends Catrina and Nancy and I were bundled up in sleeping bags and sled covers and sent off on an adventure with a musher and 7-8 dogs.  The musher drove the sled and we just sat back and soaked up scenery while enjoying the ride.  In this workout the dogs definitely were the workers.  We went on about a 45 minute ride and covered about 5 miles.  The dogs will do 1-3 runs a day depending on their abilities.  Some of the dogs have trained for the Iditarod.  These dogs are born to run and going dog sledding is a great chance to see that.

After the ride, we got a chance to play with dogs.  You can tell they are very happy.

Going For The Bumps

I've never tried skiing moguls and yesterday was my day to attempt them.  Mary Jane at Winter Park is known as the bumps capital of the United States.  Skiing the bumps is technical, intimidating, and just plan ole hard.  Keep in mind that Mary Jane's motto is "No Pain, No Jane."

I headed with instructor JT Thompson along with my friends Nancy and Catrina, who were helping me film the adventure.

I really like JT's moguls lesson that was in and out of bumps.  Technically he's the best instructor or guide that I've had.  He really broke down my skiing and got me really good on blue runs then progressing into the moguls.

First moguls run I tried at Winter Park was Jabber Rabbit (it's part of Jabberwocky and White Rabbit runs).  JT just took me straight across the bumps going back and forth across the run instead of straight down.  This was were I felt a little broken and very intimidated by those bumps.  I couldn't figure out why it wasn't clicking.  So out of the bumps we went and he really helped straighten up my posture, getting me to press shins more into the boots, upper body up and legs relaxed.  I loved his BOB term for posture - booty over boots.  In moguls straight posture is essential.

Got down first bumps with no falls!

The thing that clicked with me post was when JT had me hold my poles halfway down, arms out straight making what he called a Hollywood picture frame.  That helped keep my upper body up straight and lower body moved with the mountain.  I've heard repeatedly when out skiing, let the mountain do the work.  With this drill I finally got what that is suppose to feel like.  Up until this point I've been athletic enough to get myself down the mountain and getting better each time I ski.  But this lesson just propelled me to a point where I can tackle steeper slopes and harder terrain like moguls.

We did a few more blues and short moguls runs then headed up to the top of Mary Jane.  I had a blast skiing moguls on Mary Jane and it was there that I felt like I was truly skiing my first moguls run going around, in between, and down the moguls.

A lot of people told me to expect to fall a lot.  Well I didn't fall once during my lesson.  I truly credit JT for that.  He skied beside me, sometimes holding my hand or arm, in front of me creating a line for me to follow, and beside me cheering me on then smiling while the light bulb went off in my head and I got it.

Can't wait to attempt moguls again!

Running in the Desert

Running in the desert....sounds like a rock song, right?  As I was heading out of the JW Marriott Desert Springs for a run this morning, I asked one of the guys where I should go.  He immediately said go across the street and run to Desert Willow and back to 2 miles or around the Desert Springs for 3.8 miles.

Barely got out the door and was already snapping pictures of the pink flamingos on the property.

After crossing the street to head to Desert Willow, the terrain gets more desert looking with the golf course looking like an oasis.  It was 52 degrees as I started the run and the bunnies were hopping everywhere.  As I took a picture of three bunnies, a fourth one came hopping by.

I really enjoyed the solitude and peacefulness of running alongside the golf course before it got busy with golfers.

So up and back I went to Desert Willow then decided to keep running and started around the Desert Springs.  I was on a couple of main roads going the 3.8 miles around.  There was one spot that just stopped me in my running tracks.  

I just loved the beauty of the golf course, trees, and reflection of trees in the pond.  I cruised around and added a little more distance to make the 6 miles.  

Since I was also traveling today, I was so glad I got the run in first thing in the morning.  As I got in line at the Starbucks in the resort, I smiled remembering the many days in San Antonio I ran to Starbucks for coffee.  I'd get up, do my run and end at a Starbucks that was a quarter of a mile away from where I lived.  It was incentive to run and I got a nice cool down walk with coffee.  It's been awhile since I ran for coffee and so fitting for me today with a great run in an incredible setting of an oasis in the desert.

Walking The Course

Yesterday I flew to Palm Springs for Patrick Warburton's Golf for Kids benefitting St Jude.  Didn't have time for a workout but did get to walk the course during tournament to talk to some of the players.  It was a fun, very relaxed workout for me on the Classic Club course in Palm Springs.

Plus I got to meet some really nice celebrities, include Alice Cooper.  Could not believe how nice this heavy metal icon is and he's an excellent golfer!

Snowshoe Saturday

Saturday I did a first - snowshoe in Rocky Mountain National Park.  I went with some friends and did a shoot.  It was an absolute blast.  Mileage-wise we didn't go that far - about a mile and quarter to mile and a half.  But racing with kids across the frozen Bear Lake I got in a little extra.  We also did do a little running through the powder and snowshoeing uphill to get to Nymph Lake.  Snowshoeing burns 350-550 calories per hour.  I love the workout!

Skiing Breckenridge

Saturday I skied Breckenridge with my friend Hope and her 16 year old daughter Chrizney.  It was Chrizney's first time to ski.  She'd taken a lesson Friday.  But it took us awhile to get down our first run.  I certainly saw some big falls.  In the cold and wind, I became Coach Jen as we slowly got down her first run.

There's something to be said to watching someone try something for the first time.  The first day of skiing for Chrizney turned into a much better experience once we did some of the ski school runs.  Her last run of the day she made it all the way without a fall or even a wobble!

Snowmobiling

After running around in the snow and cold for live shots for several hours at Snow Sculpting Championships in Breckenridge, I headed out with some friends for adventure in the afternoon.  We went snowmobiling with Good Times Adventures.  Okay, I know it's not super strenuous but I'm counting snowmobiling for two hours as my workout.  We climbed to close to 12,000 feet as we road up to Georgia Pass on the Continental Divide.

It was the first time I'd gone snowmobiling and it was a blast!  Can't wait to go weaving through the trees again.

Skiing Powder Day at Beaver Creek

Sunday was a powder day at Beaver Creek.  9" of new snow fell Saturday night and early Sunday.  So two friends and I headed out to feel the burn in our legs from skiing powder.  It was a blast!

Check out my Powder Day! Skiing Beaver Creek Swept Away blog for the video of my powder day at Beaver Creek.

Skiing With A Ski Film Veteran

Saturday I got to ski with my friend, Chris Anthony.  He's been in 21 Warren Miller films and is a big mountain skier.  Yes it's been an incredible week for me getting one-on-one lessons with Billy Kidd at Steamboat Springs and Saturday skiing Beaver Creek with Chris.

We had a blast.  Chris worked on technique with me, keeping me in that ski like a world champion mentality.

If you know Beaver Creek, we trained on Lattigo and Gold Dust.  These are two blue runs.


Couple of things Chris worked with me on:

Keep your shoulders and chest forward.  Think belly to the base.
Look down mountain, not at your ski tips or just a few feet in front of you.
As you pole plant, stand up then bend into the turn as you put weight into the downhill (or outside) ski.

After a few runs with Chris, he headed out to ski with another friend who is a very advanced skier.

I took a couple more runs with my friend Carl, who's a blues to blacks skier.

Great day skiing with friends and working on my technique!

Ski and Snowshoe Friday

Friday was a fun day on the slopes and snowshoeing.  In the morning, my friend Jackie and I headed out to hit the slopes at Buttermilk in Aspen.  She's a green to blue every once in awhile skier and I'm a little more advanced as a green/blue skier.  This was only my second time out on the slopes this season and we had a ball.  I used the runs like Homestead Road to practice and really focus on my technique and just a day to get comfortable back on skis.  We did several runs then head in for a quick lunch and an afternoon of snowshoe.

For the snowshoeing we took the gondola up Aspen Mountain (Ajax) and then off we went with our guide Daniel on the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies tour.  Jackie's 7-year-old daughter went with us.  It's a fun thing for families to do and we had a great time.  It's a two hour outing but you do stop along this educational tour.  The views of the Highlands Bowl, Mount Sopris and the Elk Mountains, and the Continental Divide were amazing.

Hiking Wilder Gulch To Ptarmigan Hill

Sunday I did a hike with two friends visiting their friends in the Beaver Creek/Vail area.  We'd headed over to Wilder Gulch, which you access at the rest area of exit 190 on I-70.  It's about a 7.1 hike round trip to the top of Ptarmigan with an approximate 1,200 foot elevation gain.  The hike is called Wilder Gulch to Ptarmigan Hill.

Since I was so sore, bruised, and scratched up from Saturday's mountain bike crash and miles of hiking, I loved doing a not so rushed hike in beautiful scenery.  We made it to Ptarmigan Pass in a little under hour forty-five minutes.  From there it's a steeper climb up to the top of Ptarmigan Hill and an elevation of 12,145 feet.  It's a beautiful view from the top. You have a great view of Machine Gun Ridge and Mount of the Holy Cross.

We did a leisurely walk back down really soaking up the views and numerous wildflowers.

Hiking & Biking Up A Storm in Beaver Creek

Saturday turned into an all day workout for me at Beaver Creek.  It started at 7:15am when I took off on the Lost Buck Trail.  I headed out on what I thought would be just a nice hike/jog but it turned into a 3 miles hike/run with three hill intervals added in.  There's something about hiking or jogging by a ski slope that just inspired me to run intervals to the top of the hill.

For there it was out on a mountain biking adventure at 9:15am with my guide Laura.  Little did I know that I would be going 14 miles and there would be a crash.  I'm still a pretty novice mountain biker.  I'm a much better road cyclist.  At Beaver Creek we road the Centennial Lift then took off on Cinch to Dally to Village to Village over the Arrowhead.  Somewhere on the Village to Village I bit it going downhill while trying to shoot video.  In Arrowhead we caught the bike trail and then bus back to Beaver Creek for a quick lunch at Spruce Saddle, off of the Centennial Lift.

Laura was up for a hike so she went with me.  We took the Royal Elk Trail to Beaver Lake at an elevation of 9,746 feet.  After a quick break to soak up the beauty of the lake it was back down the Beaver Lake Trail to my hotel The Osprey.  Round trip it was a 6 mile hike.

That's 9 miles on foot and 14 on bike - not bad for a day's workout!