… and it only took seven of us to fit into a Toyota Prius. Sweet.

To recap:

1 long hike from Aspen to Crested Butte.

2 pairs of socks in one hike

8 tuna fish and jalapeno cheese crackers at the top of West Maroon Pass

2 beers in Dolly’s Mountain Shuttle when Dolly picked us up

2 shows for the Two-Plank World Premiere

5 athletes and a lot of friends showed up

8 bottles of $65 champagne at LoBar for the “Set In Motion” after party (Thanks G.R.!!)

35 staff and friends of the Aspen Daily News in C.B. for the newspaper’s annual retreat

1 free dinner at Donitas Mexican Restaurant on the Aspen Daily News tab

1 huge bonfire where the entire town of C.B. partied hard and looked even funnier doing it

10 hours of total sleep from Friday morning to Sunday evening

7 sweaty, tired, not especially hungry journalists, ski bums, county engineers, and hybrid-car owners stuffed into the back of Rose’s Prius.

2 hour drive back in the above mentioned vehicle

Click here for more pictures from this crazy trip. Thanks again G.R.!

I want to personally thank everyone who helped me live like a rock star this past weekend. Corey, thanks for the place to crash and for making the sweet ski film. G.R., thanks for providing the conversation and entertainment, not to mention the photos and champagne. Zach, Rose, Anna, Jamie, and Katie – thanks for the best ride I’ve ever had in a Prius. And everybody else, holy shit. Party hearty!

The memories are larger than life and I can’t wait to do it all again next year!

Well, it’s now 12:20 a.m. and I am about to crash for the night. I’m waking up early to hike to Crested Butte from the Maroon Bells for the World Premiere of Two-Plank Production’s “Set In Motion.” My good friend, G.R., and I will be heading out early in the morning to make the trek.

West Maroon Pass will be our route for the day. With 6 1/2 miles to go to reach our shuttle on the other side, the drink specials at the after party for the show will be great! We might not be able to hike back the next morning, though. Heh.

If you’re heading to the Two-Plank’s annual movie premiere and after-party bash, I’ll see you there! I want some good pictures with some peeps this weekend! Cheers!

================================================================

!!! THIS JUST IN: COREY TIBJLAS UPDATES “SET IN MOTION” BETA !!!

“So in light of new beverage sponsors and contributors, we have extended it to you for a better party. $3 with movie ticket! ($5 at the door w/o).

Drink specials: Free Go Fast + $4 Absolut Vodka and Captain. Jager shot specials, $2 PBRs and HAPPY HOUR all night long!

10pm – 2am with DJ TWO3 and the movie playing on 8 LCD screens on loop in the background.

Lo Bar – 3rd and Elk – Crested Butte” – Corey Tibjlas, Founder, Two-Plank Prod.

================================================================

Well, our return from Cataract Canyon brought us in the the full swing of Fall. Leaves are changing, the morning and evening temps have been dropping excessively, and shorts and sweatshirts have become a mainstay of my fashion approach. Aspen, for all its glamour and glitz, felt a little too small for this guy, and I found myself in need of some serious escapism. Then I heard the phone ring.

“Hey Tats, soooo I decided that you’re coming to Steamboat with me tomorrow.”

Simple as that. It turned out that her good friend Danny Shafer was playing a show there that next evening at the Old Town Pub.

“I’m in.” I told her And with those few words, my friend Dina played some sort of Jedi-mind-trick on me and the next morning I was pushing the TatsVan to its limits, topping the speedometer out at 85 mph. After a few phone calls from the road (I know, shouldn’t be talking and driving!), Dina and I arranged to meet in Wolcott, CO just off the the hustle and bustle that is I-70 in September. Away from all the tractor-trailers and Colorado State Patrol, Dina and I rendezvoused across the street from the Wolcott Yacht Club. Why is there a yacht club in the middle of Colorado, you ask? Who knows. We parked the TatsVan and I hopped in Dina’s 4Runner for the 70 or so miles to da ‘Boat.

And without further ado, here are the photos of a necessary road trip with my friend and accomplice, Dina.

Dina gives the thumbs up on playing in the railyard. (Phippsburg, CO. We had to cross 4 tracks to get to the train engines for this photo shoot!)
I was so stoked about the trains!

I think Dina was happy too. “Ta-da!”

Dina got a little dirty from leaning on the railing. Luckily she had some wet-naps in the glovebox. I thought that was a bit weird, but hey, she lives out of her car too!

It seems Fall has fallen as evidenced by the color of the trees. Pictures don’t do it justice, but this little drive displayed a brilliant splash of oranges, yellows, bright greens, and a big blue sky above it all.

Another hour later, we made it to Steamboat Springs. This is as far as I can update for now. More pictures from our trip will be posted tomorrow!

It’s been 10 whole days since I last accessed this wonderous thing known as the Internet. Spelled with a capital I, the constant communicator’s dream retains a certain aura of existence that is difficult to understand with all its dizzying multitudes of information being passed back and forth and up and down and all around. To the adventurer, upon his return to all the conveniences and pitfalls of society at-large, the Internet seems at once both the fly and the bumbling elephant in the room.

I’ve found myself surfing Facebook, opening my Gmail, checking up on the Maggots over at TGR; all while resharpening my mind like the point of a pencil back to the daily routines that dictate our lives outside of that realm we call nature. So, with that in mind, I’m going to take my time in collecting photos, stories and memories from our Cataract Canyon trip through the deserts of Utah.

In the meantime, much like the elephant with the fly on its tail, I’ll have to learn to ignore society’s constant annoyances and live with them. At least until the next adventure beckons…

——————————————————————————————-

NRS Pelican Micro Cases

I use these cases to keep things like my cell phone dry and protected. If you’re clumsy like me and can’t stay away from dangerous or wet places, then buy one for yourself!

Available Sizes:1010, 1020, 1030

ON SALE:

$15.56 (20% off)

For Immediate Release

Marit Fischer | Base Camp Communications | 801-450-3244 | mfischer@basecampcomm.com

Tramdock.com goes One Deal at a Time
Retail site serves up high-end ski gear at less than half the price

PARK CITY, Utah (Sept. 2, 2008) Pig to bacon, rain to snow, Clark Kent to Superman theres no question that some transformations make this world a better place, period. Like Tramdock.com to Tramdock.com. Today, fresh out of the phone booth, Tramdock became the numero uno one-deal-at-a-time ski gear site on the planet.

Tramdock.com sells the same high-end skis and ski gear it always sold, but now its just one item at a time, at ridiculously marked-down prices (50-80% below retail). Every night at midnight (MST) the Tramdock crew drops one new, insanely discounted ski deal on the site. As soon as that deal sells out, a new item lists and goes until its gone.

The new Tramdock is the skiers version of Backcountry.coms three successful one-deal-at-a-time (ODAT) sites: SteepandCheap.com, WhiskeyMilitia.com and Chainlove.com. Like the rest of the fam, Tramdock highlights the sale item with a large product photo, detailed specs and the slashed price. Since each deal is only featured until it sells out, you can track the remaining availability and the sell-through rate in real time so you always know how fast you need to act before the deal is done.

Vendors appreciate the ODAT model because the one-deal-at-a-time set-up moves their quality products without harming brand equity. The limited-time availability forces people to act, so the gear sells lightening fast. This keeps the product pipes clear and reduces retail backup and overstock.

Ski gears always been a major draw on Steep and Cheap. How could we not pay attention to the high demand and fast sell-outs? We took a hint from our customers and vendors and overhauled the existing Tramdock retail site into ODAT. said Andreas Fulks, Tramdock.coms head buyer. So while Steep and Cheap will hone in even more on the hardcore trail runner, climber, alpinist, and backpacker, Tramdock is now the go-to site for the sickest deals on ski gear.

To make sure you dont miss anything and to get an instant ping every time another Tramdock steal is posted, you can sign up for a bevy of alerts desktop, browser, IM bots and RSS. Plus, daily emails keep you tuned to whats going down on the site.

Tramdock is not for beaters. Tramdock is for hard-core, 365-days-a-year ski addicts who know what they want, can recognize a screamin deal, and can grab it before its gone. With brands like 4frnt, Rossignol, Dynastar, Scott, Smith, Salomon, and Dakine in the lineup, youre sure to score what you crave.

About Backcountry.com

Backcountry.com is an online retailer of performance outdoor adventure gear and apparel. The e-commerce site carries more than 400 brands in various categories, including biking, backpacking, camping, hiking, climbing, trail running, paddling, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and adventure travel. Backcountry.com also operates SteepandCheap.com, Dogfunk.com, WhiskeyMilitia.com and Chainlove.com.

CLICK ON THE LINKS ABOVE!!! DO IT!!