IMGP0177.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

We've had a good storm cycle for the past couple of weeks and my son is really getting the hang of powder skiing. Sure is fun!
I shot this on my new Pentax K-5 and DA 40mm Limited lens at Monarch Mountain, Co recently. A pretty compact combo that I have really been enjoying lately. The weather seals of this camera give me a little more confidence using it in harsh conditions and it just feels right in my hand.

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I recently got a promotional email from Silverton Mountain pitching their heli ski sale. $50 per drop for something that's usually several times that at a minimum. I know the snow isn't working out well in Colorado this year but I thought it was worth a try. We also get a Silverton day on our Monarch passes, so that was even more incentive.

I went down with a couple of friends and we stayed at the Triangle Motel in Silverton. We headed up to the mountain early to make sure we got spots. The base area experience at Silverton is pretty rustic with a yurt for a loge and simple manual systems for everything. Our heli passes were made with duct tape and a sharpie.

The snow looked kind of shiny near the top of Silverton Mountain's only lift.

After a warm-up run on some pretty thin and firm snow it was time to go get in line for our ride.

The pilot seemed to be enjoying his job and really banked some turns and made me wonder if I was going to lose my lunch for a moment. But I kept it together and took in the scenery. That's a pretty neat way to see the terrain!

Here's our destination, Pyramid:

Then suddenly we were there and it was time to hop out and ski!

There were guides posted at the drop zone to direct us. They had helpful advice like "Stay left there; going right heads into the no-fall death zone." I heeded those helpful tips!

Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of our run. It was very difficult skiing with breakable crust and a few big slabs of ice. I came out of one of my skis when the tip went under a very stiff crust and had to work pretty hard to just make it down in once piece. But we all made it and even with the poor skiing I have to say it was fun and worth the price.

For the rest of the day we just did some lift/hike served skiing. We found that boilerplate firm snow was the best skiing of the day! I hear they got more snow after this so hopefully snow conditions have improved significantly! I imagine heli drop prices went back up too.

Finally, a bus shot. This is the new upgraded bus which is pretty nice compared to the old bread truck they used a couple of years ago. Stuff like this is what makes Silverton a quirky and rustic skiers mountain. I hope they keep it that way!

Think snow!

-MattB

Update: Sadly, there was a fatality there the next day. A young woman fell about 1500 vertical Feet and didn't survive her injuries. I can see how this might happen and it's very sad. My deepest condolences to her friends and family.

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We had two races at Hartman Rocks on Saturday, a brutal looking trail running race called the Pummeler's Butt, and the Growler Series final mountain bike race. It was a beautiful day and all the local hammerheads were out giving it their best. Many did both events!
I have images available at my Zenfolio site, so stop by if you are looking for photos to purchase (prints or electronic for non-commercial use). If you want a photo for a non-profit organization, please contact me and I can help you out!

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IMGP6950.jpg, originally uploaded by MattB.net.

This shot from the river festival last weekend was on the cover of our local paper this morning. I'm pretty happy about that! Not a lot of money involved but the recognition is always nice. I like the shot too.
I was getting a lot of photos of the tricks they were throwing but decided I wanted to zoom in a little closer for some facial expressions while these guys were in the midst of all this chaos. That decision worked out pretty well.

I shoot mostly with primes but sometimes a zoom is the better tool and this was one of those times. I used my Pentax DA L 55-300mm which is an inexpensive lens that produces images better than the price would suggest. The tradeoff is it doesn't do that well in low light or trying to get a really narrow DOF (it's slow). One day when I'm feeling flush I'll get a nice fast zoom ($$) but until then this will have to do!

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