November, 2007

The sky's are grey and getting darkier and the wind has picked up. Looks like the constipation of high pressure has ended and snow will dump. Big snows in the mountains of southern and eastern Utah, with less snow in heart of the Wasatch, but still very welcomed. 8 to 12 inches expected for Snowbird and Alta which both opened (barely) today.

Waist Deep in the Wasatch is blog about the ski season in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, home to the 2002 Winter Olympics and the Greatest Snow on Earth.

It's the last day of November and the mountains have received only a few feet of snow. Solitude and Park City are open with a few runs, and Alta opens tomorrow with a few man made snow runs. The backcountry is spotty.

Is Santa looking for a deal on gifts for the kids? Upside Over is offering a 10% holiday discount for purchases made on their website. Upside Over offers a wide variety of outdoor clothing and gear for kids. If you're looking for gifts for kids, check them out. Click Here to visit Upside Over. Enter coupon code: Holiday07 when you checkout to get 10% off

Google announced today that they are working a funding programs that are working toward producing renewable energy at a cost cheaper than coal... and they are hoping to achieve this in years instead of decades.

View of the Grand Canyon from Yavapai point.

If you can't get to the Grand Canyon, take a look at this Grand Canyon Webcam.

Webcam of old faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park.

The shopping season is upon us. Stay at home, beat the crowds and get your gifts online. Here are some deals and coupons we found from our favorite outdoor merchants. Enjoy... and please let us know if you find any deals you would like to share.

Save 10% On Burton Clothing and Gear at 800-SKI-SHOP.com. Coupon Code: Cocoa

Solitude, Utah opened on Friday, November 16th. They have a few man made - machine groomed runs open. More snow is forecast for the Thanksgiving weekend... and it's needed, all over the west. I remember a few years back when we had similar weather. It was warm very late into November, then right around Thanksgiving we got hammer. 100 inches in 100 hours. The pattern changed and we had storms lined up past New Years. Hopefully that change is in the air.

800-Ski-Shop.com
Altrec.com Outdoors
Liftopia.com

The EPA estimates that solid waste (trash, not what you're thinking) per person per day has doubled in the last 35 years. The average person now produces 4.4 pounds of waste per day. That's pretty striking. It's not just the problem of what we do with the waste, it's showing we are consuming more. What can we do? Reduce. Take a second while you're shopping this holiday season and remember these tips:

1. Paper or Plastic? None.
2. If you need a bag, bring your own, or consolidate your purchases into one bag.

We've started a photo gallery called Sunsets. It's a cool place to view and post your favorite photos of sunsets. Take a break out of your day, relax and take in some some sunsets.

There's something about the sunset that always sends you into thought. Even if it's a quick glimpse on your way home from work. No sunset is ever the same. New colors, new scenes, new perspectives.

As I always say, you get what you pay for. It couldn't be truer with this fork. Yes, this is expensive, however I've had the Fox TALAS RLC forx for over four years and I haven't had a problem. I've put on thousands of miles in the desert and in the mountains, and it still works like the day I bought it. The FOX TALAS RLC is the deluxe version of the TALAS series. TALAS means Travel Adjust Linear Air Spring. You can adjust the travel of the fork on the fly while you are riding with a few turns of a knob. The travel adjust between 100 and 140mm.

Backcountry.com has created a new product category for their items. It's called the Green Goat. This new category showcases products that are environmentally friendly. We all know that Green is a big buzz word now, but all of us in the outdoor community have always tried to live this way. Whatever you want to call it, this new interest in "environmental consciousness" is good thing. The Green Goat gives it's Green endorsement to companies whose products are made with recycled or organic materials. They also support those companies that are environmentally compliant.

Liftopia is a new website that is offering discounted ski and snowboard lift tickets for a number of resorts across the country. The process is rather simple. Like many of the travel sites, you pick a region, select your date, number of skiers and ages, and Liftopia's search engine find resorts and tickets that match your query. If you decide to purchase the tickets, you can pay with your credit card or with paypal. You need to create an account with Liftopia.com to place your order.

I've used this pack for over two years with my daughter, starting when she was 6 months old. I've mainly used the pack for short day hikes, ski tours and downhill skiing. It's great too if you just want to have a way to carry your child around at big events like fairs or concerts. This pack differs from many of the other child carriers in two ways. First, it has a frame stand that allows you to set the pack down and put your child in it. This comes in very handy if you are alone, and when carrying the pack on the ski lift. Second, there is much more storage than other child carriers.

This Article in the Tahoe Daily Tribune brings up a very interesting point about natural carbon emissions and one that I new of, but never really realized the affect.

"In one week, Southern California's wildfires spewed the same amount of carbon dioxide - the primary global-warming gas - as the state's power plants and vehicles did, scientists figure."