Riding Armstrong...

A few days ago, I was telling about the new Armstrong Trail in Park City. Yesterday, I finally rode it on my mountain bike, this time, equipped with my Garmin watch so I could measure what I was doing. At first, I thought I would die as the trail began with a hard, steep section. It's not that it gets better after that; it keeps on climbing with endless regularity, but I guess that I got used to it... About half a dozen men aged 25 to 40 passed me, seemingly effortlessly.


Two-third up the hill, I finally caught up with another one only to find out that the cyclist in question was wearing pink shorts and was a girl! I finally made it to the Mid-Mountain junction, kept on going up another two-third of the mile before I reach the apex of the climb at 8,404 feet. The downhill portion to and through Spiro was both fun and fast. Will I do this again this season? Perhaps, but I'm sure glad I did!

Park City skiing

Once more, and for an astounding 5th year in a row, our very own Deer Valley Resort was named North-American number one resort by the Ski Magazine readers. Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) slid a bit number 4 to 6, while Canyons moved up from 20 to 16. All this means is that , combined, our three local mountains are solidifying their position as the number one ski destination on the continent. It's obviously a highly positive reflection on positive people policies embraced by Deer Valley Resort, on the unparalleled accessibility of our ski resorts and of old town Park City attractiveness in terms of restaurants, nightlife and shopping options.

Both Canyons and PCMR are lucky to have Deer Valley to emulate and one would expect that eventually their ranking should rise up to some higher level, but there's of course no guarantee. Honest, self-examination is indeed a grueling exercise. It's all in the hands of their respective management that must be able to see the (obvious) opportunities for improvement. I have already suggested that the very best insurance for staying forever at the helm of North-American skiing would be for the three Park City mountains to interconnect, but unlike what is common place in the Alps is a complicated development here in America and I won't revisit this argument today!

Judging less...

It recently occurred to me that most of our lives is pretty much managed by our genes and our DNA, and while we can change the course of some events, we can't really change who we are. I've never given much credence that we're more the product of environment than that of our own parents.

We all were born with certain sets of traits and while we can work at smoothing the ones that are too sharp for a harmonious social life, it seems almost impossible to totally eliminate some of the kirks we may have that are offensive to others. When we turn that observation around and apply it to certain folks we encounter and don't necessarily appreciate, it forces us to be much more tolerant and much less of a judge. Self-transformation is indeed very hard to operate!

Discovering a new trail...

Today, we finally decided to go and hike up the brand new Armstrong Trail at the base of of Park City Mountain Resort that share a trail-head with Spiro. Named after a family that worked hard in favor of open space and not the cycling champion (as we always thought) this trail is uphill-only for biker and both directions for hikers and horses.

That trail is 4 miles long, with 1300 vertical feet elevation gain, and a top altitude is 8,150 feet right where it meets the Mid-Mountain Trail. We managed to miss that junction just by 0.4 mile because it was getting late, we didn't have a map and didn't know how close we were from that point. The climbing is sustained but not too steep and later this week I plan to test it for myself on the mountain bike!

People don't change much...

During our recent European trip we were wondering about how people we know had changed over the years, and the only significant change we found was mostly in the way they looked (we hadn't been there for a good three years) with sometime some pretty significant differences – some had not changed a bit while others had undergone a more visible transformation.

This simply to say that people don't change much as such and if one expects changes in society, political life or business development, it's necessary to look beyond the evolution of a single person and reach for a new generation. That's right, in my view change has been coming and will continue to arrive from new, fresh generations. Just like the founders of Google or Facebook or, years ago, the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. So if you want your world to change for the better, don't elect or re-elect and old politician!

A committed skied

We're walking in our neighborhood and the man is cleaning up dry plants from his yard. He says hi, we ask what he's doing; he tells us and then goes “I skied 153 days last winter...” and we begin a long conversation. John lives in Park City but hardly ever skis around town. Instead, he's been skiing some 130 times in Alta, our Utah “Cult” resort that, in winter, is about one hour drive – each way – from his home. Talk about dedication!

This, with a spouse that works at our great Deer Valley Resort and seems to have a very hard time to get him to ski there with her! To top this all, our man is 10 year older than I, yes, well into his seventies. There's lots of hope in this world!

Another trip to Europe...

Early this week we returned from a great trip to Europe in which we saw many people that are dear to us. All went perfectly well and as we're now sorting our memories out, coping with jet-lag and catching up with household chores, we're still feeling a bit dizzy, not too sure where we really are and where we ought to be. One thing feels almost one hundred percent sure: We're delighted to be back home.

We still have found links with France, but those keep on fading, especially after having spent more than half of our lives in America. Our European counterparts keep on growing apart from us, ever so slightly, than after adding years and decades, the split begin to appear distinctly clear. Then we ask ourselves the question we've been pondering for years and years: If we had to do it again, would we move to America? After a few seconds, the response returns the same, unequivocal and loud, Yes!