We were very cozy inside the Colorado Creek cabin, just a few over the max amount. It was no problem though because a snowcave was built and Ann slept in there. It was great ski into the cabin and only 6miles. On the way out we went up Compeau Trail to the ridge.
Ben skiing on the way out.
Fernie in the snowcave with Ann.
Trevor is in town and we had super fun party on Christmas Eve with polish food and wine. What a great holiday to celebrate with Trevor in town, Trevor donated his kidney to me and it has been almost a year!
The girls in front of Brown's amazing chocolate dessert.
We all walked down the trail to John's house for the dessert and champagne.
Ed and I skied the trails behind his house on Christmas, I love the winter wonderland of Fairbanks skiing.
I was at AGU in San Francisco for a week and decided at the very last minute to fly to Chicago for the weekend before my regular every other week Mayo visit. We headed out to the North Ave shops and met up with my brother Jeff and his finance Jen.
Later that night, we drove to New Buffalo Michigan to visit my brother Tim and his girlfriend Jill. We ate at the usual Skips and then went down to the beach for a huge snowball fight. It was such a fun time and we all laughed a ton. I even took a video of the event, but you can not see much in the dark. Jeff, Tim and I raced to the lake and back...Jeff won. Jen's sister Beth threw a crazy snow curve ball. I am the dork with my new backpack on.
Sunday we went to Babcia's house to make uszka. Babcia made the dough and mushroom filling before we arrived. Here is my mom rolling the dough.
Moja robzinia uszka. Babcia ma doswiatezenie jarobicz uszka. My grandma passes along the tradition of making the uszka for the borscht. I am making borscht in Alaska for a Christmas eve for a group of friends, but I may have to buy mushroom tortalleni instead of homemade uszka.
We then boiled the uszka for 5 minutes and cooled.
The final uszka ready for the soup that will be cooked this week. The cooking takes days and it is all for Christmas eve.
I went to the AGU conference for a week in San Francisco and saw a ton of science talks as well as other colleagues. My lab was there showing posters and giving presentations. It was also a time catch up with old friends....
Megan and I hanging out at a fancy Italian restaurant downtown. We met bike racing in Boulder Colorado, but she is also an Atmospheric Chemist and was attending AGU.
Michelle and I met ice climbing in Colorado many years ago and now lives in San Francisco. We had so much fun seeing the city from the local point of view. She lives in Bernal Heights and we hiked to see great veiws of the city as well as hooping and hanging with Nina eating Indian pizza.
Dan and I on a coffee run to Peet's from the conference. Dan is overlooking the Moscone convention center where the conference was.
The is Richard's cabin in the now famous White Mountains from all the publicity from Ed and Ann's White 100 mile race that was out on AP from Washington to NC. We skied in at night 21 miles one way on a unknown trail and I still have a cast on my broken wrist! Kristen and I skied in together and it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, but of course super fun.
Kristen and I started skiing in at 2pm up the 5 mile climb from the McKay Creek trail head off the Steese. It was dark in about an hour and the rest of the long evening was dark. I am glad I have my new 3/4 metal edge waxable backcountry skis, the trail was steeper then we thought & we had some fun descents on skinny skiis.
Ed, Dan and Lisa skied in later that night. This is Dan the next day on the ski out. He brought Sky in and I was so thankful to have a skijor dog for the ski out.
Sky pulled like a champ. I stopped to take a self portrait and give her a ham sandwich.
We all went out to Chatanika Lodge on the drive home. Richard's cabin landscape is diverse with overflow on Champion Creek and old growth spruce trees, a real treat in the Whites.
The girls at Kat's Thanksgiving dinner. Kat served up a great meal and everyone brought sides and wine. A few hilarious stories too, a good time was had by all. I have a cool purple cast for my broken wrist, but still have another ski trip planned.
Ben and Galen toasting at scotch and socks night.
A group of us met for Thanksgiving day ski. I skijored using a split skijor leash, Pella and Lucy. We still were no match for Sky and Ty, but we had a good ski chasing them.
We skied into Tolovana Hot Springs on Friday night and it was around -27F. At mile 3 of 12, a totally flat part of the trail, I fell hard on my wrist. It swelled and bruised immediately, but I made it skiing with 1 pole. Dan and Ed made a splint by chopping fire wood. The trail was in excellent conditions and the temps were warm for Tolovana.
I am glad we stayed the weekend, because the weather was great and the hot springs beautiful. We also had great Northern Lights on the ski in.
Ben enjoying the hot springs.
Sky soaking up the sunshine in the cabin.
Skiing out with splint and sling in some daylight near the top of the dome. From our last 50 below trip, Pella has a new polartech windproof fleece jacket for frostbite (she had it last year on her belly). The jacket worked great from Cold Spot Feed, no frostbite.
Dan made Ben and I some awesome ski pogies last night for our upcoming cold ski trip this weekend to Tolovana. He started by using the solder iron to cut the rip stop fabric and we used Ed's as a model pogie.
Dan sewing the ski pogies.
The finished product! Go Dan!
I went for a walk today with Kristen and Anna. The new snow has been great for skiing.
Poops(Molly) and Pella. Pella's paws were cold and it is only -12F. It is bootie time for Pella
Brown had a nice dinner party for Cob's birthday tonight. Anna is helping hold Galen in this picture. Cob received some great new music I am going burn soon. Tim Easton and Swell Season (the Frames couple from Once) as well as some other great gifts.
Brown made a Boston Cream pie and Cob blew out a lighter instead of candles, really 62 is too many for a cake :-)
It is that time of year for endless skate skiing and winter cabin trip pictures. The trails at UAF are pretty good and the girls and Jackson were out for a ski both days this weekend. I am still in field at night, but trying to get some skiing in. I ski my butt off trying to keep up with these ladies and it sure is fun. I have also started a new work blog for my field work www.n2o5.blogspot.com
Jackson and Magan gearing up for the Backcountry Winter Classic this year.
The snow came late this year, but at least we are still skiing on Halloween. Dan gave Patrick two seconds of instruction with fast Sky and they were off. He did great his first time skijoring and only a few times skate skiing. I am working nights in the field finally, but still get out to ski when I wake up.
Starting off again for a last leg back to the cars. I switched Pella for Lucy after a mile and Lucy played great. Pella played in the culvert...what else is new?
Ben and I skate skiing UAF skarland loop today. It was a bit slow at -9 F, but still super fun. Ben is skiing fast already.
Ben feeding baby Galen. Aw, they are both so cute. Ben is wearing his halloween costume, he dressed up as an environmental chemistry graduate student and helped all night in the field :-)
Birthday girl Kat and Mike on the ice. Mike gave me some great pointers today, Trevor will be so proud :-)
Group shot. Maybe a Kat b-day tradition, but I sure hope not. We really need to be skiing!
Magan and Dan going at it. Though (and this is my first Hockey term I'll through out there), I think they are high sticking??
Ed corralled us all into a hockey game on frozen Smith Lake. The light was awesome, the temp warm 18F, and ice frozen. We usually have snow by now and we are skiing the groomed Smith Lake, but not this year so we are playing hockey instead. There were some impressive players, Lars jumping, young Tanner and graceful Ed.
These would be the some of the other players :-)
Ed going after the puck.
Ed, Adrian, Sharon and Lars...practicing for our next game.
Silhouette of Ben playing "old school Iowa pond hockey".
