Marc's Public Blog


All | Aquariums | Arduino | Btrfs | Cars | Cats | Clubbing | Computers | Dining | Diving | Electronics | Exercising | Festivals | Flying | Halloween | Hiking | Linux | Linuxha | Monuments | Museums | Outings | Public | Rc | Sciencemuseums | Solar | Tfsf | Trips




More pages: March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 October 2003 August 2003 July 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 January 2003 November 2002 October 2002 July 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 April 1999 March 1999 September 1997 August 1997 July 1996 September 1993 July 1991 December 1988 December 1985 January 1980



2012/02/27 4 days of Powder in South Lake Tahoe
π 2012-02-27 01:01 in Nsnow, Snow
My group had a yearly offsite in South Lake Tahoe. I thought the snow was going to suck, but we got lucky, it just started snowing before we got there.

First, I wanted to thank Caltrans for stopping everyone and forcing them to put chains on to crest 50 when there was virtually no snow at all (barely traces). By forcing people to put chains when they are clearly not needed, in a misguided attempt to prevent accidents by forcing people to drive on asphalt with unneeded chains, you are teaching us that we shouldn't believe you when you say chains are needed. and find ways to bypass/cheat chain control.
Really, not cool guys.


Despite Caltrans' attempts to slow us enough so that we would really be in the middle of the storm, we eventually got to South Lake Tahoe, late for our party (yeah 7H bus ride for a 3H trip).


The next morning, heavenly claimed up to 17 inches (yeah, really?), and even if that was a "slight" exaggeration, they did have a good amount of fresh powder on top of tree trunks and rocks.


very 'small' line of locals
very 'small' line of locals


Obviously, the groomers aren't quite my thing, and I'm otherwise not a huge heavenly fan, but I do enjoy the Skyway Glades between sky express and Pinnacles. This was all closed due to lack of snow, even Ellie's was closed still, but I went powder hunting anyway, even if it cost me a bunch of grooves in my board :)




pinacles was still a bit bare
pinacles was still a bit bare

but if you knew where to get your snow...
but if you knew where to get your snow...

Milky Way Bowl was better if you hiked to the top of it



Mott and Killbrew were still closed for business...


That evening Maciej and I figured that it would be smart to be in Kirkwood before the next wave of the upcoming storm came, adn he got us to his condo just before the snow started falling harder. This allowed us to enjoy fresh powder with a usable base at kirkwood on Wed morning.
While only cornice was running to the top, they did a good job running it most of the day despite the winds and blizzard like conditions at times. More pow for me, yeah! The best part was that snow on wed, and self filling tracks were quite good and there was virtually no line:





Thursday, everyone, their brother, sister and dog came to kirkwood. By 09:00 when cornice opened, there actually was a bit of a line for first tracks, but nothing too bad. Fantastic snow and self filling tracks all day :)


my coworker Marcin also had transportation trouble that stopped him from getting to work.
my coworker Marcin also had transportation trouble that stopped him from getting to work.



Then the wall eventually opened. That also led to a long line :)



but it was worth it :)
but it was worth it :)

Thursday truly was a great snow day, except for the miserable weather :)
On Friday, it was a bluebird with still some powder to be had if you went a bit farther for it. The ski boundary was open towards Emigrant lake, so I took Arturo and Karl there for nice powder that was left over.


Palisades
Palisades

More Palisades
More Palisades



getting to the ski boundary
getting to the ski boundary

and there we were. Plenty of freshies
and there we were. Plenty of freshies


back for more :)
back for more :)


The 3rd day (yellow) is the only day I was able to go off both ski boundaries on both sides, or for that matter, not ride Cornice almost all day :) but turns out the other 2 days were still the best :)


And that was it. 4 days of the best contiguous snow you could have gotten this year. I got lucky to have a company outing at the right time by sheer luck, and cool coworkers to get me around and host me. Thanks all!

2012/02/19 Very Late Season Start at Kirkwood
π 2012-02-19 01:01 in Nsnow, Snow
As sad as it is, by Feb 19th, I had not gone to Tahoe once this season yet. The conditions just didn't warrant the trip since their base coverage was so low.

So kirkwood had a bit ore than other folks, but they were still suffering. I got cliffed out in places I otherwise knew, and Eagle Bowl was very bare with grass everywhere still, it looked like early december.

Anyway, I made the best of it :)

the wall, not looking good, can't even traverse
the wall, not looking good, can't even traverse

eagle bowl looks way too green...
eagle bowl looks way too green...

did I mention way too much vegetation that didn't belong?
did I mention way too much vegetation that didn't belong?

doh, cliffed out
doh, cliffed out

crap, cliffed out again
crap, cliffed out again

seriously, how do I get down?
seriously, how do I get down?

I then went to the back side to check out the snow at the boundary there and go all the way to Emigrant Lake:

the wave, still bare
the wave, still bare

thanks to the tow rope, it wasn't too hard to get to the boundary
thanks to the tow rope, it wasn't too hard to get to the boundary

'access today', yeah!
'access today', yeah!

no good way down
no good way down

but I was able to find another way. view from the bottom of the lake
but I was able to find another way. view from the bottom of the lake

in the end I got to the bottom of chair 3 and hiked back up from there.
in the end I got to the bottom of chair 3 and hiked back up from there.

first time I got down that ridge and mostly made it back
first time I got down that ridge and mostly made it back

the snow on that side was just wind blown and crusty
the snow on that side was just wind blown and crusty

Day 2: back from more.


Hi Jim!
Hi Jim!

bottom of sunrise wasn't pretty...
bottom of sunrise wasn't pretty...

and before we knew it, time to go home. Go Jim!



2012/02/18 Quick Bike Ride by Steven's Creek Trail
π 2012-02-18 01:01 in Exercising
We haven't been able to go exercising outside much due to Jennifer's ankle needing extra care until she can have surgery to fix her ligaments. That said, we've still gone biking a bit, which seems ok for her, so we took Steven's Creek trail to the Shoreline LAke to have a little lunch.


those duck birdies were all over
those duck birdies were all over

They have very strange half webbed feet with claws
They have very strange half webbed feet with claws


2012/02/05 Test Driving the Ferrari FF around Aspen, Colorado
π 2012-02-05 01:01 in Cars, Ncars
Initially I had signed up for a Ferrari drive the FF on snow and ice racetrack course, and was much looking forward to driving the 660HP FF sideways on snow and ice (I mean, how was it possible to say no to that?).
Unfortunately, due to abysmal snowfalls this year, while Colorado had more snow than we did in Tahoe, it wasn't enough for the snow racetrack. At the last minute Ferrari contacted us to let us know that they had to turn the track event into a street rally and also gave us the option of cancelling.
I figured I had already made plans to go and snowboard afterwards, and while it wouldn't quite be what I was hoping for, I figured driving around some new FFs still couldn't be half bad, so I went :)

appealing snow track seen from the plane while landing in Aspen
appealing snow track seen from the plane while landing in Aspen

In the end, we drove to two different nice lunch locations around Aspen. For the most part, no snow, but luckily we found some unmelted snow on the road around our lunch place, and hit a bit of a snowstorm at the top of a pass.

The first morning, we got an introduction to the cars:


the trunk can be quite roomy :)
the trunk can be quite roomy :)


the parking cameras are good
the parking cameras are good



my partners in crime and our instructors
my partners in crime and our instructors

Got a briefing before going:




It was a bit agonizing to drive such fast cars at the legal speed limit on great curvy roads when they were dry, but thankfully it was more interesting to experience how the traction control worked in the few bits of driving we did in the snow.
Let's start with the first day:




driver switch, just in time for me to try driving in the snow
driver switch, just in time for me to try driving in the snow



and we got to our lunch spot
and we got to our lunch spot

lunch with my 2 co-drivers :)
lunch with my 2 co-drivers :)






driver switch again, just in time for me to drive in small snowstorm over the peak. Yeah!
driver switch again, just in time for me to drive in small snowstorm over the peak. Yeah!


we had better traction than this poor truck
we had better traction than this poor truck


the pictures taken from outside were from the event photographer
the pictures taken from outside were from the event photographer


And that was it for day #1.

My verdict: while the car would obviously start to fishtail a bit when 660hp were gunned in the straight line in the snow, when in snow mode, except for understeering if you went too fast into a turn (which is kind of impossible for any car to fix due to physics), it handled superbly. Because we were on public roads, I only dared pushing it so much to see if it would misbehave or not, and all I got was indeed a bit of understeer in a turn, and nothing else. I gave it too much power in some snow turn and the on demand 4WD system kicked in without me knowing and allowed me to make a normal turn at a speed much higher than any rear wheel drive car I know would have. I was almost scary because it pretty much behaved as if the snow wasn't there :)

The next day, we came back for more and a drive towards Vail this time. Weather was sunny, so no snow, but that was ok, the scenery was pretty.




Aaaah, tunnels. THOSE were fun :)
Aaaah, tunnels. THOSE were fun :)



We then had lunch not too far from Vail:

Our lunch break spot
Our lunch break spot




And then back on the road:



from the event photographer, taking me in action
from the event photographer, taking me in action

We had a bit more road room to try the car acceleration and of the best part was going through some beautiful tunnels. Tombo captured better sound than me on his cell phone (first video) and I put a few bits together from the GoPro videos. Nothing really spectactular, and that's actually part of the point: the car works really hard to go fast without going sideways and generally to keep you out of trouble :)

If you want a better video, Tiff did a slightly better job than me :)

And before we knew it, it was over. While in the end it wasn't the hella fun drive sideways in the snow event that I was hoping for, considering that the weather did not allow for it, Ferrari did a great job coming up with alternate plans and plotting two fun drives for us to try the cars out and explore the beautiful scenery around Aspen.

This also gave me an excuse to go snowboarding around the Aspen Mountains, which is never a bad thing :)

Thanks to the organizers, the instructors, and my partners in crime for the good time we all had.

2012/02/05 Quick Trip to Aspen, Colorado
π 2012-02-05 01:01 in Nsnow, Ntrips, Snow, Trips
Since I was signed up for the Ferrari FF driving experience, that was a good excuse to visit Aspen and go snowboarding there.

Aspen is a nice little town, albeit expensive. Two of its main ski resorts were actually much better than had expected (Snowmass and Highland), so it was time well spent.

Aspen airport is 'fun', it's a super dangerous airport when it's IFR and most planes can only land one way with no chance of go around (for bigger planes, you land, or else) since the other side of the runway quickly takes you into tall pointy peaks :)

beautiful during nice weather though
beautiful during nice weather though

Aspen Ajax goes right into town
Aspen Ajax goes right into town



we got a nice little dusting
we got a nice little dusting



Aspen has a fantastic public transport system. They had bus going to all their ski resorts every 10 to 20mn. The first morning, I went so snowmass, the farthest resort (30mn) and also the biggest mountain.




their top terrain was open, but still a bit bare in spots.
their top terrain was open, but still a bit bare in spots.

EX terrain was available though :)
EX terrain was available though :)


Snowmass was definitely a nice place, and the dusting of fresh snow definitely helped.
The next day, I went to the more nearby Aspen Highlands which thankfully had received a few extra inches of freshies:

the nice busses provided by the city
the nice busses provided by the city





the cat that gives you a lift to the hiking terrain and pseudo-back country
the cat that gives you a lift to the hiking terrain and pseudo-back country

the ride sure beat walking :)
the ride sure beat walking :)

the rest was on foot though, and that was almost 45mn to get to the top :)
the rest was on foot though, and that was almost 45mn to get to the top :)

I was mostly in shape, but my body sure didn't do as well at 12,000ft
I was mostly in shape, but my body sure didn't do as well at 12,000ft

Finally got to the top
Finally got to the top

which got me to nice open terrain with fresh powder.
which got me to nice open terrain with fresh powder.







Aspen Highlands was great, I really loved it. Of course the fresh snow didn't hurt, but the terrain was interesting, and the back country experience is kind of unique for a resort.

The last day, I finished with Aspen Ajax, the local mountain you can walk to. Well, it was there so I kind of had to go, but honestly it wasn't nearly as nice as the two others mountains. However, the view on Aspen was quite nice, and snowboarding one extra day still beat a kick in the balls :)










nice view on Aspen Airport
nice view on Aspen Airport

very nice ungroomed terrain
very nice ungroomed terrain


And that was it, 3 days of fun snowboarding and a nice visit of Aspen.

See more images for Quick Trip to Aspen, Colorado
2012/02/04 Dinner at Baume
π 2012-02-04 01:01 in Dining, Ndining
For our early Valentine's day, I took Jennifer to Baume. Baume was founded by the ex-chef from chez TJ (which explains why chez TJ now went way down).

Baume wasn't cheap of course, but it was very interesting food. Molecular dining as they say, stuff that comes from liquid nitrogen, interesting different consistencies mixed together, and so forth.

All in all, it was quite enjoyable.





See more images for Dinner at Baume
2012/02/01 Our new Xmas Picture
π 2012-02-01 01:01 in Cats
I was too late for last year, but since everyone sends pictures of their kids and all, I nailed the picture we'll use for next year :)

Happy everything! :)


See more images for Our new Xmas Picture

More pages: March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 October 2003 August 2003 July 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 January 2003 November 2002 October 2002 July 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 April 1999 March 1999 September 1997 August 1997 July 1996 September 1993 July 1991 December 1988 December 1985 January 1980

Contact Email