Why do cars park where they shouldn't?

Please join me for a presentation on parking patters in North Adams and recommendations for the smallest city in Massachusetts. December 11th, 4:00 pm, City Council Chambers. 

Chasing snow and gravel in the Cascades

My ski coach has given me quite a few memorable quotes, including one about "making lemonade from zest" when there is little or no snow during the start of the race season. Normally the Pacific NW has plenty of snow, but this pre-Thanksgiving weekend saw an extreme warming after a nice dump of powder. So, as any snow bunny is bound to do, I've been chasing snow and trying to avoid the fine line between gravel, ice, and snow that forms in the mountains.
Alpine ski areas rely on snow for business, and are quite apt at managing their snow. So when they close to conserve snow, its a perfect time to link up cat tracks between cabins, skate around terrain park features, and make a nice workout from just a few acres of snow. Intervals are perfect, as are uphill and downhill technique work, variable snow quality training, and slalom turns.
But sometimes an alpine area gets boring. At Stevens Pass, there was plenty of snow at 4,000 feet on November 25th, but dropping to 3000 feet where the nordic center is located yielded a gravel road with bits of snow and ice- not good for skiing or running. Closer to Leavenworth, the Icicle provided better running, with snow-free trails up until the start of thick forest. Poles in hand, scraping against bushes and slipping on trailside puddles turned to ice blocks. 

Planning, planning, planning. Departing?

Somewhere deep inside I have a love for snow.  As a member of the Nordic ski team at Williams, I have skied thousands of kilometers, but they haven't added up to anything except for a few race results. So last year I decided to ski around the world sometime after graduation, sharing my love of snow and skiing with hundreds of small villages that are otherwise isolated during winter. The plan is to use local overland transportation in the absence of snow, and ski between villages in the prescience. Starting in S America from June until September, then heading to the Caucuses or Himalaya for early skiing and then continuing on through Eurasia. 

The more I have traveled and researched in developing mountain regions, the more the need for sustainable tourism has become apparent. In some places, like the Wakhan of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, tour operators are realizing the limits and un sustainability of jeep tours, and are turning to trekking. But the question of what to do during winter, with poor road conditions but equal beauty, still puzzles many, and drives others to drinking and other social hills. Skiers tend to be a wealthier, adventurous clientele, and developing ski tourism allows a balancing of the load of tourists on the environment, spreads wealth throughout the year, and provides winter employment when agriculture and guiding are not possible.

Two big goals exist: to introduce village to village ski touring as a reliable source of winter income in villages, and create a creative work showcasing winter life in isolated villages which may never be visited by foreigners in winter.

If you'd like to follow the process, just keep up with the blog. To join in on part, make sure your company's gear makes it to ________, or chat, just shoot an email to becorwin@yahoo.com.

Two of my addictions in one picture

Rarely do I complain about food as loudly as I do when there is a banana shortage or an absence of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I just wish I could be back on the boiling streets of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan eating these delicious banana popsicles. A statement as fake as the flavor and color: they are truly delicious. But some chemical, fat, or texture mates with my tongue and demands more. The perfect combination of unhealthy and delicious, both in moderation of course. 

Normally I experiment with foods when I get bored, and the results are often exciting- whipped cream vinaigrette made at the ice cream  and salad stations, sprite, lemonade, and watermelon syrup. But its hard to mess with a scoop- or five- of slightly soft mint chocolate chip ice cream with a drizzle of chocolate and oreos. Ice cream sandwiches of all types, yes, but if mint chocolate is available, it goes down by itself. For now though, because Driscoll dining hall fails at ice cream selection and banana stocking during dinner, I resort to creativity. My promise to you: one new desert combination, every month, posted to this blog. It will be delicious and creatable using just simple dining hall ingredients. 

Is it OK to kill a cyclist?
Why we need things like the vulnerable user laws... This will slowly change once more politicians start riding and getting hit, but until then, ride safe but aggressive, and take out some life insurance. 

Crossing of the Pamirs

Across the Pamirs in a UAZ jeep that kept overheating. But it was cheap, fast, and beautiful. 

A creative Svalbard video

What happens when I have 200 seconds, a bunch of footage, and a desire to match transient pictures with text. Let me know what you think. Pacing, mismatch of words and text, voice...

https://vimeo.com/78549423