Visit to Mars...

This was last night; I had an interesting dream. I found myself somehow visiting the planet Mars. I was actually picking rocks around. They were gold plated in parts and looking absolutely wonderful, I wanted to bring some back, but wasn't sure I could even do that.

I was also looking forward – with some trepidation – to the trip back to Earth. I don't remember if I even was wearing a space suit; at any rate it felt more like ski clothes than a heavy-duty cosmonaut outfit. Then “they” called us up and asked us to board some big SUV. I remember they told us to roll-up the windows as there was no breathable air out.

Then I woke up. I was a bit disappointed; I wish I'd get back to the red planet some day...

Ski-kaleidoscope

Yesterday afternoon turned out into fantastic ski time. The weather was dreary, snowy and cold. I still pushed myself to go out for a few hours and to find eight-times more snow on the mountain that had accumulated onto my driveway.

That fresh snow was silky-smooth and turned everything into magic again. I did a few runs that I seldom ski and one of them in particular – a long, athletic mogul descent – twice! I had great fun, felt great, except for my rock skis that by now are clearly dragging me behind.

What I wanted to express though, that with skiing, and particularly when the weather is far from ideal, conditions create a array of unique experiences that can never be fully duplicated. In fact, they're truly never the same.

So you folks that may feel jaded and “tired” from ordinary, “perfect” skiing, pay attention to that. If you want some change, refresh your experience with skiing and recharge your “enthusiasm batteries,” embrace dire weather conditions and get yourself out of some debilitating routine!

Keeping the “big picture” in sight...

We get blindsided so many times by little pesky life details or annoyances that we often forget to keep our mind and our focus on really the big picture.

Every time small problems creep up into our lives, we should always re-frame them into their true context or some larger perspective and take them only for how important they really are. We always fall into the trap of being overwhelmed by minute health issues and never really value the very big ones.

Same thing in business or in relationships. Our emotions often are the fuel that take tiny things out of proportion and can blow mole-hills into impassable mountains.

As a good friend of mine used to say: “As long are we're alive...” but I probably am repeating myself!

Armstrong and the US Department of Justice

The “60 minutes” news segment about Lance Armstrong and the statements from Travis Tygard, CEO of USADA show clearly that the cyclist is a fraud.

Today my point is more about whether former president George W. Bush who got pretty close to him when doping wasn't even on the US radar screen, is the one who helped get Armstrong off the hook with the DOJ, something worth exploring...

What do you think?

Last day of Sundance...

Sunday always sees the conclusion of long stretch of 10 days of Sundance film festival. Usually, there's no skiing for us on that special day that gives us a chance to line up very early in the morning in order to watch some of the prized movies that were recognized the night before at the MARC theather, just half-a-mile from our home.

This year we'll try to see two movies. We'll get on line very, very early this morning, hoping to get the two pairs of tickets we need. The line will be crazy long and if we can judge it by yesterday, our choices might be quite limited. We'll see what we get. Sure, there's always the skiing option!

Beat up!

Like most years before, we've been volunteering at the Sundance Film Festival and while our work shift was unchanged, from 6:45 am to 10 am for six days, it just killed us this time.

Perhaps it was the drastic change of pace for our cushy routine, with a 5 am wake-up call and a morning run in the complete darkness with headlamps?

Maybe it was the fact of standing up for hours in a damp, cold tent working the cash register for me and going up and down some distant flights of stairs for my wife, but it took the very best of us. Felt like lots of work and brutal wear and tear.

Will we recover? I hope so... Will we doing again? I'm afraid so...

We might as well live an exceptional life!

Yesterday, in the context of the Sundance Film Festival, we went to see a great documentary called “Cutie and the Boxer” that goes in a long way in showing how some people can live exceptional lives without being filthy rich and super famous.

This true story is about an 80 year old modern art painter (who paints while boxing!) and his 58 year old artist wife, both Japanese, living in New York and going through existence in the most unique and interesting way possible.

Too many humans settle into lives that is boring, uninteresting and for in the end, just degrading. The opposite is true of this couple's tumultuous life; it's refreshing, romantic and embodies an emotional testimony about growing older and still staying in love...

Taking in bad news...

Just like the yin and the yang, bad news go hand-in-hand with good news. When we get lots of great news, we should always expect to get a pretty decent share of bad ones. Then, when it happens, what should we do?

Fall into a deep depression, consider suicide or digest what we get, meaning understanding the underlying facts soberly and calmly, before coming up with the best plan to deal with them.

This could be finding a solution, taking a loss, starting over again plus a number of other not-so-pleasant remedies. The sooner we handle the bad news, the sooner they'll be behind us.

Just one important detail to keep in mind though; if the bad news is something we have any control over, let's make sure to learn from it and to draw the experience that will guarantee it's only a one-time occurrence!

“Rock skis” extra power

I have already lauded the virtues of bad snow as an active tool to becoming a much better skier. Today, I'll expand the debate to include terrible skis too. If you're skiing on silky-smooth, brand new skis, you don't know how good you have it.

Since the season has been short in new snow so far, I have been reluctant to mount my brand new Scott skis to see them trashed the first day I'll take them to my favorite spots on the mountain. That's it; I'm “saving” them for better days and I know these will come, if not in February, for sure in March and April. In the meantime, I am still skiing on what have become my “rock skis.”

The most notorious of the three pairs that still populate my rack and share that denomination is a pair of Dynastar Legend that must be at least seven years hold. They still work, but ski like rough 2 x 4s, handle unpredictably and require super-human skills to be controlled and hopefully steered into some sensible direction.

While I suffer hardship while still using these "boards," my potential skills are getting even better and I don't even know how sweet my new Scott Reverse will be, the day they get mounted and get finally christened on some real, deep Utah powder!

Whole Foods or Whole Fool?

Only days ago, Whole Foods’ co-founder and co-CEO John Mackey was promoting his new book, “Conscious Capitalism,” and while interviewed on NPR vehemently criticized Obamacare, comparing it to fascism.

This for sure won't earn him more customers as I, for one, will go out of my way to avoid patronizing his stores. But this goes beyond the mistake CEO make all the time, to take on a political cause.

First who are Whole Food customers? For the most part, educated folks that value good quality food and are much more likely to vote for Barack Obama than Mitt Romney.

Second, what is Whole Foods all about (at least on paper)? Good health and safe environment, two values championed by the Democrats and ridiculed by Republicans.

Just get out of sight John Mackey and eat up your stupid book alone. I hope the board of directors at Whole Foods votes you out in a hurry!

Sundance Film Festival Facts

Sundance began in Salt Lake City in August 1978, as the Utah/US Film Festival. In 1981, the festival moved to Park City, and was now held in January. The move from late summer to mid-winter was done on Sydney Pollack's recommendation, who thought that having it in a ski resort during winter would draw more attention from Hollywood.

This year marks the 32nd festival held in our little town and it is said to draw close to 50,000 visitors. In Park City alone, there is a dozen of movie theater that altogether can seat 4,635 people at one time. In addition, there are also 6 screening locations in nearby Salt Lake City and Ogden (2,564 seats) as well as Robert Redford's Sundance Ski Resort (164 seats).

The festival that just opened up last Thrusday night, January 17, will conclude on Sunday, January 26. The event provides a huge economic boost for Park City and the State of Utah that respectively should see a volume of business (lodging, food, transportation, among other revenue) respectively in the $50 million and $90 million range...

The results are in!

Do you remember on my special Christmas present? The DNA analysis from “23andMe”? Well, I've since done the test and received the results.

The first batch did not interest that much as it was mainly focused on my future health risks, something I'm not looking forward to anyway, and since it failed to tell me when I will die, I remained rather dismissive about it.

The second batch of results involved my ancestral grouping and showed both my maternal and paternal lineages.

Starting with my mom's line, it confirmed that her group is one that dominates in Europe, reaching peak concentrations along the Atlantic coast. It's also common in many parts of the Near East and Caucasus Mountains, where it can half of the population. That group is about 40,000 years old and because it's so common in Europe, it also is shared by members of continent's royal houses. For instance, famous people like Marie Antoinette and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh must be related to me. Learning this made me extremely happy!

My dad's line is also extremely common in Europe, but somewhat younger at 17,000 years of age (see, I wasn't quite born yesterday), and spread after the end of the Ice Age. Various branches of that group trace the many migrations that have shaped Europe, from the arrival of farmers between about 10,000 and 7,000 years ago to the movements of ethnic groups such as the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. Interesting, but nothing breathtaking like learning that I originated from some smart monkey, prehistorical horse or even a lowly insect.

Today, I feel a lot better about myself and am totally clear as to where my roots come from!

Common Sense College

We all get impressed by Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard, to name a few prestigious universities, but what about the lowly, little-understood and yet so powerful “university of common sense?” I'm not saying that big schools are turning their nose at the great value common sense represents, but that the best education, in the most acclaimed schools in the world, is nothing without a strong dose of basic, common sense.

How can one get credit for that? By following the example of successful and content people and by learning to appreciate the basic things in life. Also, by remaining sanely skeptical, thinking critically, refusing to take the popular shortcuts on the path of life and appreciating the little things of daily life.

How long does it take to graduate from that school? A lifetime if you're patient and start early!

Four times 20 year-old!

Today is Jean Vuanet's 80th birthday. Yesterday, I was skiing with two American guys who were about my age and had no idea who this man was. I mentioned the 1960 Olympic Games, Squaw Valley and the famous eye-wear brand, but it didn't help.

Should I add that one of them had been working as a ski patrolman for 10 years and the other has been in the retail ski business all his life? Well, my circumstances are quite different. Jean Vuarnet's dad was our family doctor and I remember vividly when the Downhill Olympic Champion received a true hero's welcome that March day of 1960 in Morzine, France.

Before Killy and many other skiers, Vuarnet was my hero and I've seen him many times when I still was working at my family's restaurant in Les Lindarets, a small mountain hamlet that he was particularly found of. Later, I still remember his 40th birthday party in his beautiful contemporary home in Avoriaz, the ski resort he dreamed and helped build.

Time does fly, but memories are tenacious. Happy 80th birthday Jean!

Shooting videos with GoPro

For more than two years now, I've been experimenting with my GoPro video camera and figuring out the best way to get ski movies that are captivating and yet stable enough so those who watch them don't get sea-sick. It is not easy, so today, I'm going to explain what I've learned and what I'll try to do more of, in the near future.

To start, there a need to have a clear reference point, forward or back, that is followed or leads the action, to give the viewer a good perspective, a true sense of what's going on and where the action really is. Therein lies the difficulty: Following or preceding a “moving target.”

Next, one must ski as smoothly as possible, therefore avoiding big bumps and rough terrain; these ideal conditions quickly limit themselves to groomed runs and fresh, deep snow. There's also the camera location that always is a major consideration; I still feel the cam needs to be placed on the skier's head, not the thorax and that the angle needs to be carefully adjusted so we can see the sky, the landscape, with the skier dead center and, please, not the cameraman ski tips!

Finally, because of the “fish-eye lens” of the camera, it becomes imperative to stay as close as possible to the subject and, in so doing, match his or her speed. A lot easier said that done... Stay tuned for some future samples!

Ups, downs and spice of life

What would we do without a continuous string of ups and downs? Would we find enough excitement or could we cruise comfortably through a predictable, boring and flat existence? I personally would not like to lead a “flat” life.

I also have learned that the greater the amplitude between two opposite situations, the greater the rewards and the more punishing the penalties. So it probably becomes a matter of tolerance for these two extremes and a matter of ability to take them in stride.

 I believe I need to feel some variations between good and bad, pleasure and pain, success and failure, wonderful and terrible. I can tell that, as I become more mature, I require less variation or amplitude than when I was younger and adrenaline-dependent, but I still need some measure of ups and downs. I see that variation as a fair measure of what makes living interesting.

I could call it “spice of life...”

Handling mean emails

I have learned, long time ago, that emails are essentially meant to convey factual information and are not a conduit for distilling opinions or materials that could be offensive to others. This is why I do my best to think twice before I send a joke that could be poorly received by some. I said “do my best” because at times, even my best was far from satisfactory!

At any rate, disparaging or vulgar jokes should never be sent by email and the same applies to venom-laden political messages. Talking of these, one of my neighbor just sent me one that was disparaging president Obama, while she clearly knew that I supported Obama over Romney in the last election. I saw her email, read it twice and let it rest for 24 hours.

I had one of three choices: Ignoring and deleting the message, which I do most of the time, blocking her future emails, something I will do when there is blatant, repeated abuse or responding if it can be a "teachable moment;" because it precisely was such an opportunity, I chose to respond.

I composed a response that I thought was making a good positive point while teaching her a valuable lesson. This lady, who is about my age and comes from a European country, is a permanent resident, but not a U.S. Citizen. My answer went like this: “Good for you! If you feel so strongly about these issues and wish you can make a tangible impact on the way things go in this country, you absolutely must become a U.S. Citizen...”

Like her, I also know that her native country is among some that would revoke her birth citizenship if she became American, so that's probably why she won't spit “inside the tent.” At any rate I turned her "nastygram"into a courteous suggestion she can ponder about.

Golden Globes vs. Oscars

Last night, instead of watching the “Golden Globes,” we braved the freezing cold and went out to see a movie. That's when I caught myself thinking: “If my life depended on it, would I be able to tell the difference between the Golden Globes and the Oscars?”  My answer was a resounding no. So I guess, that in that instance, my ignorance could kill me.

At this time of the year, we're served the Golden Globes first, then the Oscars. The main differences between the two events is that the former are given to all forms of media (film, music, etc.) while the latter only apply to films (including documentary and animation.)

The Golden Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and cover both domestic and foreign productions. On the other hand, the Oscars are awarded by the American Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science and remain the most prestigious.

Remember that and you'll stay alive should your life ever depend on knowing this difference!

Switching to... Positive!

I have that friend that, when I talk to him, never fails to complain about anything and everything; the government, morality, modernism and all kinds of things ending in “ism...”  I could see him as a pain in the ass, but sometime, when I can successfully turn his “switch” from negative to positive, he can be very, very good and profound.

I was speaking with him recently and managed to turn a list of opening complaints into a discussion about genuine, original and well-taken observations about life and nature, thus transforming a negative exchange into a positive and rewarding interaction.

Bottom line: From now on, I've made a commitment to turn all those who begin as nay-Sayers into “smiley faces” and debaters of good news. We'll see if that newest resolution will stick!

Biting the... powder!

Yesterday was powder day and video time. We were shooting a video at Deer Valley Resort to celebrate the first January snowfall and switching back into true Utah winter mode.

I was filming the 44 year old Heidi Voelker, former US Ski Team member, who now serves at the Ambassador of Skiing at that ski resort. The snow was beautiful but blown in the most open areas, which with low visibility made skiing tricky, if not treacherous.

Filming a fast skier like Heidi on bumpy terrain with a helmet cam isn't easy either as the main objective is to keep the head (hence the camera) steady, aimed at the skier evolving ahead and of course, remain in control. Suffice to say that I took at least two spills that did cost me tons of energy. I discovered that, at my age, getting back on my feet is much harder than when I was in my twenties.

Powder snow and its inherent fleeting support makes the exercise that much more difficult and I've heard that older skiers who used to helicopter ski a lot, finally give it up because they simply can't get back up on their own and this would hold up the rest of the group.

I'm not quite there yet and will fight that curse with all my might. Last night, I was already practicing getting back up on the family room rug. My wife thought watching me struggling on the floor was highly entertaining!

Snow dance?

To produce snow, I believe more in snow guns than any snow dance; not that I'm not spiritual, but because I'm a lousy dancer. This was obviously what I thought two days ago.

Since that, I went skiing twice in my favorite spot, Lady Morgan in Deer Valley, and did what I love to do there: Dance through the trees. I certainly am more graceful dancing on skis than in my dress shoes, and I love to meander through the huge evergreen trees that populate Centennial, on of the best runs that lift has to offer.

The big trees must have been impressed and must have collectively pulled their weight to get us the wonderful snow we received yesterday and today. Yeah, now I believe in snow dance, but just on skis!

The classic realtor trick

It's been a long time since I had received a realtor letter announcing that there was someone interested in buying my home as an incentive to get the listing. It just happened today.

The form letter was sent to my PO Box by Suzanne and Jay Sheridan, and the couple realtor at Prudential Utah Real Estate had obviously no clue what my home looks like, yet represents that there are three buyers that are looking for homes in my area and none of these hypothetical purchasers would even be interested in my residence.

Currently, 48 homes and condos are listed in that same general area. Single family homes are ranging in price from $682,000 up to just under $9 million and with 20 of them priced over $1 million. In addition, homes priced between $1 and $2 million just don't sell and there are 10 of them. Obviously, these realtors are “fishing” for listings and doing so quite blindly through mass mailings.

This goes to show what's wrong with real estate marketing and with the astronomical 6% commission asked from seller. This big and easy money attracts all sorts of dubious characters who have no special skills and are into it only for the fast buck.

I really hope that somehow, someday, someone with the vision of Google founders finds a way to break the MLS and the National Association of Realtors cartel and brings down the cost of buying and selling real estate at what should be, true market value and not highway robbery.

In real terms, we shouldn't pay more than between $1,000 and $5,000 in commission when selling a home, based on the complexity of the transaction, not its listing price. This way, clowns that “fish” for listings like these, might have to get a real, productive job.

Heating, cooling and telecoms

All things change and some change much more than others. Take the relationship between the cost of telecommunications and that of heating and cooling our own homes. For more than 30 years, and ever since we've owned a single family home in the United States, I have kept track of these expenses.

In the early 80s, telecom cost was about 6% of the cost of heating (not cooling, we didn't have air-conditioning then) and we didn't use the phone as we do today, plus international communications were still extremely pricey. We also used oil for heating which was relatively expensive.

In the mid-eighties, we moved to Utah and took advantage of cheap natural gas which cut considerably into our heating bill. At the same time, fac-simile machines appeared and required a second phone line. Mobile telephony came at the beginning of the nineties and added more costs to the family budget. Then, dial-up internet and cheaper international telecommunications came in the mid-nineties and boosted consumption even more.

Before the millennium, the advent of DSL and even more affordable international calling kept on growing the monthly phone bill. The introduction of Voice-over-IP in the early 2000 saved some money for a while before smart phones ate all that up.

During all that time, energy cost have kept constant and in fact have come down when adjusted for inflation. Telecoms that once were just 6% of the cost of heating, cooling and cooking have grown to become 155% of that same expense in 2011!

A Parkite's prayer

When I was a little kid and when my knowledge of jokes and sayings was also in its enfancy, I was struck by a prayer attributed to my local folks from the Savoie region of the French Alps, that went a bit like this:

A Savoyard's prayer 
God Almighty, keep me healthy for long,
Get me some lovin' on occasion,
Be super gentle with my taxation,
Don't expect me to work all day long,
But let me drink an awful lot of Apremont!

As you may not know, “Apremont” is a dry, white wine from Savoie. I think this prayer was adapted from a similar one found in some other French province, but somehow in those day it worked and got very well received when printed on some postcard that visiting tourists would send home.

A Facebook friend of mine just posted it today and this inspired me to write an equivalent prayer, that one named “A Parkite Prayer” and would apply to folks like me living in Park City Utah. So this is what I came up with:

A Parkite's Prayer
God, keep me super-active at my age,
Give me more love than I can manage,
Keep me out of inversion*,
Dump deep powder on countless occasions,
And fill my glass with Wasatch Evolution!**



* inversion weather is a deep smog that keeps the sun away for week on, at lower altitudes in the Salt Lake Valley near the Great Salt Lake 
** Wasatch Evolution is one of many beer locally brewed in Park City.
 

A Skier's New Year Wishes

Today and to usher a significant change in my usual blog content, here's my first ever poem. You are allowed to smirk, laugh loudly and dismiss it if you want. I need to begin somewhere... 

A Skier's New Year Wishes

Happy New Year to any turns,
The free, the short, the ones we earn.
Happy New Year to all schusses,
On narrow trails with “death cookies.”

Happy New Year to sticking rocks,
That will cut up more than one notch
Into our bases and steel edges,
To provoke most of our crashes

Happy New Year to scared tourists,
That we'll avoid as great purists.
And Happy New Year to collisions
That we'll preempt with swift actions!

Belated birthday present

On the last day of the year and a short time after my birthday, I decided to offer myself a present by hiking up to Murdock Peak at Canyons Resort.

For years the steep access trail was winking at me every time I'd ski by it, but unlike the other hikes at Park City or Deer Valley, I had never ascended that seemingly forbidding hill that can be climbed to its very top in less than 21 minutes.

So, that's just what I did with the intention of skiing “One Hundred Turns” one of its farthest run to the Northeast side of the ridge, but that one was closed and instead, I had to content myself with “Five Trees” which was okay, but ended up in tangle of twigs and aspen trees. A nice present that I plan to repeat!

Keeping skiing interesting

We haven't had any significant amount of new snow in days now; it's getting hard, skied out and this is precisely when it becomes time to find more ways than one, all around the mountain.

This is the time to discover new areas, new angles and explore places we've never been to. My curious approach to the terrain and its hidden treasures is, without a doubt, one of the reasons I know all the places I ski quite well and, most importantly, why I never get bored with the sport.

I suspect that there are hundreds of new paths that are left for me to explore and I will probably never experience them all, yet all alone remember them perfectly. Don't be jaded; start exploring your mountain today and rediscover how fun and ever-changing skiing really is!

Bad vs. Good Folks

I recently run into the “The Success Factor Indicator” chart on Facebook and found it, for the most past fantastic. According to MaryEllen Tribby, founder and CEO of WorkingMomsOnly.com, “this chart was inspired and composed after meeting and working with some of the smartest, most successful entrepreneurs in the world...”

One of my few points of disagreement with the visual is that its title might be somewhat of a misnomer as we know successful folks like Donald Trump or Rush Limbaugh that don't act as suggested by the chart. A more appropriate set of names for the chart should be “Good People” vs. “Bad People” as in my view, being good automatically makes you both happier and successful.

This said, this little chart is a wonderful compass for leading a great life and embark on a much happier new year!

Doing the “tourist” thing...

Last night, we were fortunate to be invited for dinner at the Park City Viking Yurt, a small restaurant located higher up on the slope, 1,000 feet above Park City. Like many such “touristy” experiences, most of the thrill is in the journey and not so much the destination.

We sat on a huge sleigh holding 32 passengers, pulled by a “Pisten Bully” snow cat in freezing temperatures. The ride took us 20 minute to get to the Asian-style wood framed dwelling and the five-course dinner Norvegian style. The food was pretty good with the soup and meat clearly standing out. Our company was awesome which made for a wonderful evening.

This is the kind of entertainment visitors love and local should perhaps experience once in their lifetime; for me, I have had a chance to do that a half-a-dozen times between the Alps and in the Rocky Mountains using a variety of modes of transportation, so I am now satisfied that I have almost seen that kind of activity under all of its possible forms...

Simple goals for the New Year

For years, I have set resolutions and have never really kept track of how good I had been with them, yet alone met them altogether!

This year, I want to change things a bit and focus on fuzzy objectives, but nonetheless big goals, and see how they end up serving me and the people I come in contact with on a regular basis. So this is the general framework, let's now explore them in details:

• First and foremost, I want to stop worrying about events or elements that are out of my control (earthquakes, end of the world, sudden death, etc.) 
• Next, I only want to address events or elements that I can affect through my attention, my efforts and some personal intervention. 
• Finally, I want to be living in the moment and enjoying that time to its fullest, that is, give others my undivided attention, avoid multitasking and be present when I'm supposed to...

What a concept!

“Dude you shred!”

This arguably would be the comment that struck me the most on this first day of the year. It was posted on my Youtube site by – I assume – some much younger “Dude” than me, who watched one of my video from two years ago, shot skiing down the “X-Files,” at Deer Valley Resort.

I'm sure this young man doesn't even suspect that I might be more than three times his age and could easily be his grand-father, but frankly who cares? When one loves skiing, age has to take a back seat...

Happy New Year to all!