I’m spending a couple days in Summit County with my friend Vincent. I never liked altitude much racing. On a road bike and especially MTB racing. But, x-country skiing is worse than both of those. Oxygen is needed for that sport. And there isn’t much here. Plus, my thumb isn’t working too great for skiing. Yesterday was my first ski day of the year. I couldn’t get the thumb splint to work with the ski grip no matter how hard I tried. I am a very bad patient. There is a reason that doctors put solid, non-removable casts on people. I’m a very bad candidate for a removable cast. The skiing was hilly with fresh, slow snow. I needed more air.

We did a pretty great hike up into the mountains with the dogs. Bromont had been on a leash through cyclo-x nationals and was aching for freedom. He got it. Too much. We hiked a couple hours and Bromont never came back. That isn’t that unusual for him. But, he didn’t come back for a long time. So, I grabbed a flashlight and headed back up the mountain. I was trying to “run”, but the pace was closer to a fast walk. I got a little over a mile up and there he was trying to chew ice off his paws. He whined like crazy when he saw me. It was impossible to be mad at him.

We’re driving back down to Denver today and then heading back to Kansas. I’m going to go by Vincent’s house and pick up a commercial hardwood floor sander that he isn’t using and never plans to use again. I have something like 6000 square feet of floor that needs sanding now that there is a roof covering it. We’ll see how quickly that occurs.

Coming down off the mountain with Vincent and Pascal (on Vincent's back).

Makeshift taping job so I could use my poles. It didn't work that well.