I'm baaaack

[Ripzalot]

I'm back on the board so time to see how my homies on passion are doing.

So howya doin'? :)

I 'hear' congrats are in order for Bunda and TBone. Congrats! Other than that, that's all I could skim off the posts. ADSL is fast but not that fast. Canuck? NoKnees? SC? Liz? e? Rebekka? And my dear sweet Canaria?

Same ol same ol here in Euroland. Slow start to the season. Its gettin cold but not much precip. But I did manage to get in day one at Verbier yesterday. One run open, going in circles all day long. I finally broke down and bought a season pass this season, so I'll be getting to know G3000 intimately. And bought a minidv/helmetcam setup so you will too. :)

Ciao for now...

[NoKnees]

Man, I can just hear the ice under that dust from here.

Anyway, glad to see you back. Starting to wonder if something happened to ya...

Got a couple days in Tahoe already. They opened in late October and have okay coverage, but nothing special. Need some more new snow to make it truly worthwhile to get back up there. At least I was able to get out and dust off the board and my healing achilles... So far so good..

Can't wait to start seeing those Monday morning summaries of your weekend rides...

[Tantrum]

Slow start here as well. Hit Keystone on Saturday with 1000s of my closest friends and only a handful of runs open. I was with my 6-year-old and it was scary seeing those out of control snowboarders get too close to her. BTW, I never realized how much the kids swear these days. I fully expect the youngster to ask, "What does fu*kin' mean?" At any rate, did you get out to CO this summer for some biking? I remember something about a trip out but never heard more.

[LazyL]

Good to see you here, Ripz. Looking forward to more of your studly photo-studded trip reportage.

The new Helmet Cam rig should take your Best-Dressed (aka Best Booty) shots to a whole new (ever-lower) level, eh? :p

G3000 still sounds like an Acura coupe to me. Have fun with your season pass!

[canuck]

hey man!!
must be snowboarding season again...

welcome back, am looking forward to more sweet Euro pics!

[canuck]

It's GLACIER 3000

sounds more like a bad Sci-fi series?

[LazyL]

It's GLACIER 3000

sounds more like a bad Sci-fi series?

Sounds also like an excellent ice wine vintage? Meaning, one that will be ripe long after I'm gone...bluchhh.

Pour THAT in your Chateau jacuzzi, baby!
:p

[canuck]

"excellent ice wine" is an oxymoron

kinda like suave mehugtree?

snicker

[DrBunda]

Hey dude!! Thanks!

Glad to see you back. Thought of you during the Charmonix section of the Warren Miller flick. Can't wait to see all your pics this season. Keep 'em coming!!!!

Have a great season!

[Ripzalot]

At any rate, did you get out to CO this summer for some biking? I remember something about a trip out but never heard more.

and tantrum! no, the CO trip was cancelled/postponed till some other year. it was meant to be a family reunion shindig but people started bailing and i wasnt about fly 7000 miles just to do what i have 30 miles from my front door. but the summer was iffy here. it was pretty wet but i managed to get about 15 days on the bullit. i had to cut short due to major shoulder injury from an superman endo in late august. i was in PT for two months. it still hurts too.

i'm looking forward to messing around with the helmetcam. i've taken stills of just about everyplace i've been at least 4 times. time to move on. helmetcam shots will definitely include booty shots for those interested. hehe!

[Tantrum]

Shoulders take some time to heal. If you do plan the CO trip, let me know.

[CanariaChick]

So good to hear from you again! Honestly, I'm thrilled to hear you are not the US guy residing in Switzerland that drifted into the ocean (and dissapeared) while taking windsurfing lessons this summer in the Canary Islands. Which by the way, 3 months in the islands gave room for tons of surfing, rock climbing and fun exploring around the interior of the islands. I finally figured out how to quickly load up photos on my blog, so check it out, I'll keep adding pictures, so you can see what you missed for not going surfing there this summer!

Sorry to hear about your biking injury though. Europe is calling, my brother wants me to join him for a snowboarding trip to Italy this Xmas, but seeing how our next family trip accross the pond is The One (and we just got back 2 months ago), it makes more sense to wait until the school year is over, as we will also rent out our home in Seattle, transfer our finances, blah, blah...

So, anyhow, we may get to ride together in the not too distant future, in the meanwhile, please feel free to make me drool with all the euro-footage you want!

[DrBunda]

So. I feel like I always ask you this, but...what's the scoopage? Sounds like its finally a done deal? You have convinced your hubby to move to the Canary Islands, if only for a few years to test it out? I probably missed a post when I was absent :( .

When will the big move take place? Are you super psyched it's finally going to happen??

[Coldcat]

Good to see you poppin' back up, and still happy in the eurolands.

I am STILL not married, only officially engaged. It is something we do mostly for financial/juridical reasons. After all, we are nearing the nine years together mark, and i've called her "my wife' for at least half that time. The non juridical part of being married was already agreed upon. So when we finally find a house that is both within our budget and our wishlist (yeah..the budget being the problem; the wish list is long enough) we'll just run in and out of the city hall.

Work is good, I got some commissions, did the designs for next (australian) season of Valhalla again, which was fun, and was accepted a "Real Artist" this summer, which means I can now go try get a work studio from the government for not too high a rent and have some tax cuts and can apply for grants and abroad artist residencies. (There's one in Fernie, Canada!!!) I am just ardorously working along, trying to make sense of this personal style I got.

Board wise, I am afraid, I will be once again not going or maybe going by the beginning of march when the cheap deals are going to be released. I have some money to spare, now, so it's better then last year, but it is still not much. I have been riding indoor slopes when the frenzy got too bad. But indoor slopes just don't cut it. Man, that pic of an icy verbier run is already a thousand times better!

In Holland, they are setting fire to mosques. I am ashamed. 200 people get killed in Madrid, and apart from some low scrawlings on walls, nothing, nada. In holland, one guy gets his throat cut, and three mosques and one school get bombed and burned.
So much for dutch tolerance.

Well, I HAD to put something political in there you know.

Looking forward to your pics!

[TBone]

Good to hear from you as well!

Season pass this year? Wow, you must be rich! ;)

Keep posting the crazy pics....I love the look of the mountains across the pond.

T

[NoKnees]

Sounds like a good fall. I'm still occasionally seeing the chripractor to put my lower back/hip back in place after a fall 2+ years ago. The sad thing was no one was around to see it... Wife got to appreciate the scrapes and pretty colors of black/blue/purple, and the sick yellow as it all fades away.... Not quite the same though..

Anyway, have fun with the Helmet Cam. Which one did you end up with? I need to get out there with mine this season. Been lazy so far..

[Tantrum]

I need to get out there with mine this season. Been lazy so far..And a willing subject.:D

[Reverend SC]

Hey bud! I was starting to lose hope of another season of unbelievable photo essays and cool narritives! But I really, really want to see more of Ripzalot Jr. this year :)

Welcome back!

[K2snowboard101]

wow looks like michigan..thin runs..lots of people...ice..only no mountains in the back -drop lol. looks good