Christmas Time in South Lake Tahoe

Beautiful Beautiful Tahoe...

Got myself a set up for this year!

More sunsets

Some great views

Christmas Cheer!

Beautiful views from Heavenly

Finally got Pliny the Elder at Stateline!

A view from the chairlifts

A view from my daily commute to work

A sunset from the office

It got pretty busy 

A view from the office

The Chaos Ebbs

WORK

So I've been working quite a bit, which is why the blog posts have been few and far between.  I've had about 5 days off in the last 45 days, and in that time we've been running maximum capacity numbers (~20 person zip trips).  It's been exhausting, but I've also learned a lot, and I feel like I've become a better person because of it. 

The good news is that the busiest part of the season is now past us, and I'm almost done with my first year of work.  Like many things in life, seniority has its perks, and I'm getting close to starting to see some of those benefits!  Come this winter I'll be a second year instructor which is going to be awesome!

On The Horizon

South Dewey Lake

(Pic from Google)

At long last we're beginning to get some more free time, so there are a couple of challenges I'd like to conquer this season.  Among them are the mountains in the back of this picture here, the Deweys.  I'm also hoping to continue to get stronger in my climbing as well. 

And, of course, I'll be enjoying the weird and wonderful life that is living in Skagway.  

CLIC International Conference

In the more distant future, I'll be heading to Big Sky Montana for a wilderness medicine conference.  Still not really sure what adventures this will hold, but it'll almost definitely be interesting!

I'll be heading home to North Carolina for a bit after Montana, and then...

Then I really don't know what will happen.  It's all kind of up in the air, but the plan is to find a crag I can camp at and just climb and run around there for a few weeks. I also may end up traveling and visiting people. Hard to say at this point...

And come November 11th, I'll be heading back to South Lake Tahoe!

Love it. 

HEAVENLY

So my time in Heavenly is still a while away, but I'll be going back as a duel-certified returning coach.  This means I will have significantly more priority at the start of this season then I had last season, which is awesome!  I expect I'll be skiing a lot more this season (it's where consistent work is), but it's hard to know for sure at this point.  Either way it'll be awesome!

INFINITY AND BEYOND

And to those of you who are wondering what will be happening after this snow season, the plan is to keep guiding and instructing for a long while to come.  I don't know if I'll stay at the exact companies I'm at now for that entire time, but I definitely want to be a part of helping people feel alive in the great outdoors! 

You guys stay awesome!

Chris

Also, Touching the Void isn't happening.  God Bless You Mr. Rosewater is. Stay tuned for that review!

There and Back Again

So after working through the craziness that was March, and then the stress that was Certification, it was finally time for...

Rest & Relaxation

And we'll begin with the end of the Ski School Season

Cookout!

And then some quality Lake Tahoe views!

Yes, you have seen something very similar to this picture before.
(This time summer actually stayed...)

My favorite peak

(the one in the middle)

My climbing therapy

(This little 20 second traverse helped to keep me sane.  And yes, I did just traverse the bottom)

And the Mountain!

Ridge Run!

(the one in the middle)

 Gotta love Spring conditions...

  Heavenly... (AHHHH)

AND

Heavenly was actually really cool, as they gave all the employees a ride day!  The day after the mountain closed, we all got to go ride for about four hours, and enjoy a free lunch!

 Yes, those are actual Gummy Bears on her helmet

Goodbye!

  The sad ride down...

And then I packed...

And then...

 Bye Tahoe!
(this was the best pic I could get in the cramped van, haha)


 And after plenty of plane rides...

 I got home!

And as my room was a MESS from all the junk I gathered in college, it was time to do some serious cleaning!
(Also, as I had no car, there wasn't much else to do...)

My helpful cleaning friend

Cleaning has its merits... 

 (found this gem in my closet - a jacket from when I was 14.  Little small, but pretty cool!)

And after I got done cleaning and packing, I did a little climbing (thanks to the fam lending me a car), and then we went on a family hike!

To
Hanging Rock, NC!

Setting out...

 Some sweet Falls

 Walkin!

 And more falls...

And more walking... 

 And a fam pic!

The Trail!

(Awesome!)

And done!

And then I went home, did some last minute packing, and went to bed!

(And it's called there and back again because I was there (West) and back (East)

Enjoy!
Chris

PS - I may extend this post a little bit, but I have no idea what my internet is going to look like up there, so I'm just doing this now while I can

February in Tahoe

Hey!

So remember how I said last time that I can't take pictures at work? (no).  Well I can't, and that's why I haven't really had much to blog about.  It has been a while though, and I figure between pictures and funny stories, I have enough material now to blog.

So without further ado, views of Tahoe!

They haven't had a half pipe in 3 years.  Guess I chose the right season to come!

The bottom.  And yes, it is huge, the walls are 18' high.

Post Card Material...

Some awesome signs

More great views

And here are some random things I've been up to:

Saw this on the way home.  Caught my eye.

Official Certification!

Ye Olde Library(-e)

Got nominated for teaching a lesson in Espanol!

AND MOST EXCITING OF ALL!

My J-E-R-K of a roommate finally got kicked out of our place.
(I helped him move into the other place)

And now it's SKI WEEK, which is where Cali gets the whole week off for President's Day.  Kind of running on fumes right now (so tired), but come Monday things should quiet down a little bit!

Also, I'm super close to finishing the Two Towers and Cat's Cradle.  Reviews should be coming in the near future.

Enjoy!

Chris