Wear On Earth

Me and Michael Franti after the show. He put on a show that even got my dad "jumpin". 

Hey all.  Sorry for such a delay in putting up an update however the last 4 weeks have definitely been a whirl wind.  I have stopped in no less than 9 states in this time.  Taken 9 commercial flight (of which only about 1/2 were on schedule).  Flown a private aircraft from Lubbock, TX back to Potsdam, NY and in this time I managed to spend only 2 nights (of the last 30) in my own bed.

This trip was both business and pleasure in nature. Naturally Goose was brought as he excels in both areas.  We started in Salt Lake with a few hard days at the Outdoor Retailer trade show.  We lined a bunch of new brands which will start rolling in over the next weeks and months. Quick OR highlight list.

1. Wolverine hosts Michael Franti for a private show at the Depot.
2. Michael Franti pulls Goose on stage and hands him a guitar (see video).
3. BeardBeanie

As far as skiing goes everyone knows Utah is home of the "best snow on earth".  Historically we have been very lucky with our dates in Salt lake.   This year proved again to have Ulr's blessing and opened the skis with 7 feet of snow.  I had just grabbed a new set of Black Diamond Amperages and some Fritchi Diamirs specifically for this mission.

We hit up Alta, Solitude,  Brighton, and our favorite Powder Mountain.  We skied until our legs could turn no more, then did an extra run just to make sure we had not forgotten any turns.  See attached video for a sample of what Utah has to offer.  There is a reason people quit their jobs and move to Utah, it's not the beer (which is improving).  It's all about the POW.  This year the snow was so deep that one of our party had to be rescued by ski patrol after getting stuck in a snow hole that was 7 feet deep.  Ski patrol spent almost 3 hours getting him and "Craig" (a random passerby who foolishly tried to help and consequently got stuck) out of their hole.

After a solid few days in Utah it was time to spit ways.  My dad and brother headed home.  Goose and his daughter Beth were going to stay in SLC and have their fill of face-shots. I was going to go visit my buddy Dave down in Grand Junction right as the San Juan's started going off.

However that's going to get it's own blog and video for next week.

Year 'round Mother Nature tirelessly concocts weather intended to keep me indoors. Nonetheless I have braved blizzards, gale force winds and torrential flooding - the kinds of natural disasters that get sane people to hunker down safely at home. But every day, despite the worst weather, I am compelled to get outdoors. I can’t ignore [...]

It's finally starting to feel like winter in upstate New York,  in fact today's high
in Potsdam is a beautiful 9 F. Yesterday I tried to get one last mountain bike ride in only to be sent home humbled for a ride on the trainer. Since most of the snow had melted I figured it'd be a sure thing to catch a quick ride on the Clarkson trails. I had just got my brand new Specialized Stumpjumper Expert Carbon - the new rig that is going to carry my butt through the CO mountains at the Leadville 100 race this summer. Needless to say, I was really jonesing to get out and see what she had to offer.

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Well this year I broke down and I just received my 2012 Specialized Expert Pro 29'er.  Even though we live in the North Country, NY I've been able to do about 4 hours of trail riding with it so far. Now I'd like to share my first impressions.

To be honest, after about 5minutes of riding I wasn't even thinking "hrmmmm…this is different".  In fact, it felt so natural that it really wasn't a "transition" at all.  This was simply my new bike, nothing more.  But with this bike…ooooh my.  I could roll over just about anything.  I have to try and find things to 'test' what I can and cannot get over.  So far…I haven't found much.

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It has been absolutely crazy at the shop.  At this point I can tell you what everyone is getting for the holidays.  You all are getting socks.  Yup socks.  I am not sure why there is such a negative connotation with getting socks as a present, well as long as they are Smartwool socks.  If you haven't had a set before consider your self warned, get a set and magically you life will be better.  Well at least your feet will be happier. Speaking of happy feet mine were today as Shannon and I got our first rides in on our new 2012 Specialized Stump Jumper 29er.

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Twitter is a buzz right now with different riders planning out the 2012 road season.  It may seem far away however it sneaks up quick, the road season will be in full swing in under 4 months and some of us are still racing cross into mid-December.  In between team emails asking about goals for the 2012 road campaign and contacting sponsors I thought back to the success of this past year.

Overall the team had 36 top 10 finishes, 9 podiums, and 2 wins including the New York State Criterium Championships, not bad for a second year shop team with under 10 guys on it huh?  See the goal of this team was to field a pretty strong Cat 3 team and we are getting there, slowly but surly as we have brought a few guys through the ranks into the 3's this past year and hope to bring on a few more.

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Early Season Shred from Kyle Dowman on Vimeo.

Arriving back to Jackson from a nice stay back east with the parents, I was eager to witness the snow I had been tracking for the last week from my computer. It wasn't a huge amount of snow but Mother Nature had blessed the Tetons with an ample 30 inches to get this party started. So to end all this anticipation I met up with a few friends and headed to Idaho to get a little hiking in at Grand Targee. I was a super sunny day, which is very uncommon for that area, setting the mood for some early seasons turns.

Enjoy.

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It's getting to be that time of year again: the days are shorter, the snow is staying and every radio station is playing non-stop Christmas carols. Everyone is starting to think about those certain gifts they would love to receive for Christmas. I've created my adventure christmas list to share with all of you outdoor [...]

So the store has been starting to get real busy with eager holiday shoppers.  Just like every other season I get the age old question. "What should I get _______(insert name) they are into _________ (insert hobby)?" Well I hate to admit it but somehow even after six years I still don't really have the answer. But I decided this year I am finally going to have an answer and lucky for you I am sharing it with everyone.

I am your typical guy who has everything, heck I may have more outdoor gear than anyone I have ever met.  Seriously we can't fit a car in our garage. With this in mind I am going to give you the ultimate top 10 gifts for the guy who has everything.

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Hello Everyone! Thank you for visiting my blog. My name is Katie Oram, also known as KO. I am a young 22 year-old outdoor enthusiast currently in my freshman year of life. This blog is going to be a journal-esque format of my many adventures. Pretty much I just love being outside and try to get out as much as I can. I just graduated from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY and am originally from New Hampshire so my heart is in the East Coast, though, I am currently residing in Jackson, WY. I am an avid skiier, hiker, runner and I bike around now and again. I don't really know what I want to do with my life, but right now I'm teaching environmental education at the Teton Science Schools and I love it. My closest companion at the moment is my bicycle - a 1970ish crescent road bike (if you don't know what this is, you should google it - she's an orange beauty). Sadly, I'm about to hang her up for the season, but no need to worry, my tele skis are coming out this weekend! I'll report soon on the snow here in Teton County.

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