Sore backs, nearby avalanches & drawing a cub

The biggest mystery to me this morning, other than how anybody could ever watch Glen Beck, is why the heck my back is sore. True I lifted weights for the first time in a week but I took it easy. Also because of the hand, I stayed away from free weights and just did machines.

But it's baffling because I worked out chest, triceps and core - not back. Or it could be this is the first time I lifted since I got a massage on Saturday.

So sorry Kirsten. I undid all of the good work you did on my knots on Saturday evening. Must schedule a return visit for January.

Found it amusing that two skiers triggered a series of avalanches two valleys over from where Dan & I snowshoes and dug avy pits.

From CAIC:
Even though the weather has not been impacting the the snowpack much the last few days, triggered avalanches are still a problem. Yesterday near Dry Gulch east of Ike Tunnel, riders/skiers remotely triggered a good sized slab off Trelease Mtn. The crown was about 1,000 ft away from the skiers when it was triggered. The debris stopped around 400 feet away as it hit a large flat bench. That slide triggered another slide in the next bowl over, (on the other side of a tree island which was about 200 ft wide). Both slopes were estimated at 35-38 degrees steep, NNE aspects above treeline running to below treeline.

I told Dan even after seeing the apparent weak layers in the snowpack, and after triggering collapses with very little effort, I would have felt comfortable skiing where we were. There were a couple of reasons why:

* We were at about tree line and the east aspect we were on was sparsely covered with trees. It created many open slopes but with heavier forestation above us, I felt good that there was enough anchor points to stave off any catastrophic slides.

* We were at about 30-35 degrees. Ideal angles for avys. But what I was seeing and how the snow was reacting, I would suspect that steeper terrain would be the locale for the bad avalanches.

Putting together the children's story book for Hannah & Ryan. I got plenty of stickers, stamps and other little illustrations to make it interesting for the kids. The thing that I was missing was my main character; Cub Bear.

Came across some sketches that will make a good templet for the mischievous protagonist.




And remember, please leave the marmots alone. They're going to wheeze their noses off!