Final day at Pajarito Ski Area, NM

Today was the last day of the season that the lifts were running. It was slushy and very nice conditions as long as you stayed clear of the bare rocks. I went up there a few hours Friday also for a long lunch at the ski hill - one of the nice things about working here.

Sale frenzy and climbing in Abq

Walt and I drove down early to get a good spot in the line to the Scratch & Dent sale at REI in Albuquerque. Henrik arrived at the same time as us and there was already a long line. When they opened it was just crazy. So much people and so much junk. I did not find anything worth buying. The others found some stuff.

We had brunch at the International House of Pancakes which is very close to REI. I had a stack of blueberry pancakes which were tasty and full of energy. The next stop was at the Stone Age climbing gym where I started out at their big boulder with sides of varying steepness. After some time Walt and Henrik gave up the rope and showed me another boulder area upstairs. There had been a competition recently so some problems had points posted by them. Our own competition was started by Henrik. There was a bunch of nice problems up here so we spent the rest of our energy up here. Too bad this place is 90 minutes from here.

Before heading home we grabbed something to eat at Kelly's in Nob Hill. We sat outside in the shade and the temperature was just right - really nice. They brew their own beer and had a large list to choose from.

Banff Mountain Film Festival, Santa Fe

Yesterday I went to see the Banff Mountain Film Festival at the Lensic in Santa Fe. Most of the films were entertaining while a few were a bit slow. Unfortunately, I had already seen King Lines which was the best part. A long film showed a norwegian female base-jumper and freeride skier, Karina Hollekim. She started base-jumping after only 20-something sky dives but she was certain that it was her thing to do. In the film she had an accident during a competition and broke almost everything below her waist. After multiple surgeries she is apparently able to walk but cannot flex her legs much. However, she is planning to be able to ski again.

Another interesting film was a film about a very tricky north shore/trail course in the woods. It must be a lot of work to put such a course in the woods.

Gearing up

Finally, I am equipped to go bouldering. After dropping off Veronica at the airport in ABQ I went by REI and got the MadRock Mad Pad with a 20 % off coupon. I also bought the Jemez climbing guide book which includes the bouldering in Ponderosa.

 

Visit

I have had Veronica here for two weeks (March 8-22) and now she is on her way home. The picture above is from her second day here when we went up to Pajarito to ski. During her first week here we also went to Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The Old Town in Abq was really nice. On Saturday it was time for Skiesta at Pajarito with a live band and skiing comps. Unfortunately, Veronica fell after lunch and twisted her right knee badly. I was skiing behind her so I was able to get to her quickly to get the skis off and ask people in the lift to call the ski patrol. They came after a while and put a support around her leg and got her in a tobaggan. There was not much they could do in the patrol room apart from putting her leg in a cardboard support. I drove down to the medical center where they x-rayed and examined her. She got a brace, crutches, and pain killers. It took five or so hours before we got to go home.

The next day we drove to Las Vegas, NV, as planned. We had booked a room for two nights through priceline and got a good deal at Palazzo. We left Los Alamos later than originally planned after a cold shower since there was no warm water (more about that later). It was very windy on I-40 and a lot of tumbling weed was crossing the road - it was like in a western movie. After a late lunch stop in a snowy Flagstaff we turned out on I-40 again and I noticed that a police car was blocking the ramp just after us. After some miles the lines began and we crawled forward for 90 minutes before we got to an exit where we had to turn around and head back to Flagstaff. Apparently, there had been a 80 car accident further west on I-40. One of the men directing the traffic did not give any advice about how to get to Las Vegas so we had to go to a gas station in Flagstaff to buy a map and ask the personnel if they knew exactly where the accident had happened. They phone the department of transport and the woman there advised us to go south and take a looong detour. However, she had also said that the accident happened close to Bellemont which meant that we could go up towards Grand Canyon to get a shorter detour. The road conditions were pretty bad and there was quite a lot of traffic so it was just a matter of staying on the road. The snow and the freezing temperatures continued for a while and when the road finally was clear and the temperature above freezing it was nice to be able to increase the speed. We finally arrived Palazzo after midnight Nevada time so it was a long trip.

The main thing we did in Vegas was visiting an outlet. We got to borrow a wheelchair from the hotel so I was driving Veronica wherever she wanted to go. I can tell that it is not very convenient to get around clothes stores with a wheelchair.

The hotel room was very nice and we got to spend some time in it since Veronica probably had gotten a blood clot on the way to Vegas and in the evening she did not feel well at all. We ordered room service which was the first time for me.

The original plan was to go to Grand Canyon on the way home, but after the last night and Veronicas condition we decided to go straight home. There was no snow and not much wind this day so driving was a lot better. However, since we go out of Vegas around noon we got home around ten and I was pretty tired the last stretch. It is more tiring to drive in the dark on american highways since there are less reflexes along the sides of the road.

When we got to the apartment there was a note saying that the water heater was broken and a new one would not be installed until earliest Friday. They had opened two empty apartments so we could use their showers but being on crutches it is not that funny to get to another building to take a shower. But what could we do about it - nothing.

Saturday we headed down to Abq early to find presents to her brothers. We were more lucky at the malls. It was then time to go to the airport. We had to pack the gifts into the suitcases and they could not have swallowed much more, which became evident when they got on the scale. Veronica had to pay $50 for the excess weight. She got a wheelchair and we had some lunch. Just as we finished eating she heard her name called over the speakers. We went to a courtesy phone and she was told that she had to go back to the check in desk since her suitcases had been found to be locked. Neither of us were aware about that you cannot fly with locked luggage in the US. She gave them the numbers for the combination locks. I was of course not allowed beyond the security check so we said goodbye there with the wheelchair guy . Walking to the car that I was alone again after two weeks of company.

Skiing Santa Fe

The Santa Fe ski area is pretty close but still so far away when you have a season pass at Pajarito (20 minutes away). Today was the first day at this ski area. The conditions were not the best - icy, cold and with total white-out on the highest parts. During the day some snow fell and the conditions grew better. It was the first day with my new Scarpa T1 boots, which I bought on a sale in Santa Fe the day before. 40 % off made it impossible to resist. They sure are worth every penny since I started to grow some cartilage on top of my left foot due to my old T1's which are probably around ten years old.