Kites, Slopes and Summit County

On Friday some kite boarders caught our eye so we went down to investigate. They are harnessed to gigantic kites and, controlling these, cut back and forth across frozen lake beds on snowboards. At times they hurl themselves into the air and glide in the wind.

Saturday marked our slope day of the Breckenridge area. We were skiing at Keystone and meeting up with one of the property managers and his friend who volunteered to be subjects for some ski footage. So, with tripod and bag strapped to my back and camera and bag on my director’s, we followed this experienced duo up the mountain.

They said the lift would be quicker than the enclosed gondola. It was. It was also a whole heckuva lot colder! It was about 0 degrees with wind whipping up to about 25mph. But I could grin and take it and new the slope would warm me up.

The main dude was and awesome skier. We had shot some of his properties earlier. One of these rooms cost $3,000 a night and was used by MTV. His buddy was good as well but didn’t hit the bumps as much. So, my director did a follow, holding onto the camera in both hands and following them down as they slalomed in front of him. I was more than happy just to mind his polls and follow along. It was enough, boarding with a very expensive tripod, I in no way wanted to put the camera in jeopardy. So, he got some good footage, which concluded with a crash, as he rammed into them when they stopped abruptly. But, the camera was safe.

We then filmed them as they went down a shoot with trees on either side. At that point we had got enough footage and we headed to Area-51 (A51) terrain park to catch some skiers and boarders doing tricks and jumps. We got a lot of nice footage as people were there training for the X Games. We saw skiers and boarders do tricks you would only see in competition. They would wind up before they hit the jump and spin continuous 540’s, back flips, launch switch(backwards) and nail the landing perfectly (often switch as well). The park had rails, boxes and half pipes, but the biggest attraction was the continual series of jumps each bigger than the previous.

After lunch we jettisoned our equipment and took in more runs with a dude we met at the bar. He was very quick on his skis, my director was pretty quick on his Teles (Telemarks, which are unique, cross-country time bindings, but down-hill skis), and I pull up the rear on my board. I tend to be pretty casual on my board, the edge seeing a lot of attention on steep slopes. ;) But with consistent groom and on intermediate slopes and get into a nice rhythm. You won’t see me in chutes or trees or embracing steeps. But the culture here I’ve found to be ‘everything does their own thing and that’s cool.’

The most fun part for me is being up in the mountains, taking in runs that can be 3 miles long. Looking below you, the masses of cars and village buildings are minuscule. The winds screams up at you at times, blowing snow and trying to press you back up the slope. But I get bored quick, the elevation robs ones muscles of oxygen if not acclimated and after a while, it all blurs together to me. I’ve had my fill of these slopes but I do hunger for thick powder which is something we have not had yet.

Last night we went to Food Hedz again where I had some lobster and crab macaroni and cheese and my director had some scallops. It was as good as it sounds. Got some wood for the fireplace, some wine and chilled.

Today we hit Keystone village, the same place where we had skied the day before. It was full of traffic and human congestion. You will see skiers with designer suits, skis over shoulder and swinging them precariously back and forth in front of your face. Many borders have this hip, lazy tendency of just dragging their board, grinding down their tail edge, as they tramp forward in a sloppy, baggy pants gait. But in the sea of people, most are just like anyone of us.

Taking a little drive, we went up Loveland Pass. Connecting the Loveland Ski Area with Arapahoe Basin. Along the way there are many avalanche signs and those warning of anti-avalanche artillery. The route winds up snake-like into the mountains. Around you can be seen signs of little ‘avis’ (avalanches). The alternative is going through Eisenhower tunnel. Hazardous material vehicles must take the pass. But in the case that the pass is closed due to avi or snow, the HAZMAT vehicles alone must use the tunnel, causing all waiting to cars to back up as these procedure completes itself. We hung out at the pass, caught some video and pictures and then back down we went.

Then we went around Breckenridge, got shots of people, shop fronts and mountain sky lines. Tonight we had Himilayan again, Rogan Josh and chicken in coconut milk. Although not much a dessert person, I had one of best I 've ever had. Though relatively common, Gulab Jamun was new to me. It was 3 little red spheres of dough that sat in a wonderfully sweet, sugar water and cardamon syrup. You must try it if you haven't yet!

I’m glad to be finished with two area shoots. Up ahead is Winter Park, Steamboat, Aspen and then possibly onto Utah.