Visit from Mariah

Mariah and her boyfriend Jose came to visit for the weekend at the end of January.  My parents met up with all of us (plus boyfriends) at Maddox, the family favorite, to have dinner to kick off the weekend.  We came back to Logan, played some Monopoly and called it a night.

On Saturday we got out the snowshoes and went up Logan Canyon near Tony Grove to march around in the snow.  It was a great workout and we enjoyed the sun and snow!

Jose and Mariah

The next day we went skiing at the Beav.  It was another beautiful sunny day for being out enjoying the snow and doing our winter sports. Blair, Jake, Mariah, Jose and I all piled into the Jetta with our gear and equipment and drove up to the resort. We had a great barbeque lunch with Grandma's potato salad and called it a day around 4. We had a pot roast waiting for us when we got home and jumped in the hot tub to warm up and relax. It was a great weekend visit!

Blair and I on the lift 

Splitting My Board

This was something that just kind of happened this season. I wasn't planning on getting a ski pass so when Jake mentioned splitting my board, I thought about it and decided "why not?" So, I got the kit back in November sometime and it never snowed so there really was no pressure to get it done.  Finally we got some snow and just decided to go for it a few weeks ago.  Jake had me do pretty much all the steps.  I drew the line, cut the board, applied the epoxy, marked and drilled the holes etc.  I can't say how sad I was the hours after I cut it in half.  It just seemed broken :(.  However, since I've ridden it and climbed with it/skins I realized it's not too much different and a whole lot of fun still! 

Cut line.

After the cut. I may be smiling but I'm not really stoked. 

Letting the epoxy dry

Applying the first hardware.

This is the part where I had to have help, I couldn't get those things in the board. I wasn't strong enough, so Jake hammered them for me.

As you can see, he is very competent

Pretty much the finished product. I'll have to post about the actual touring when I get a picture!

So, this was a cool project and I've gotten a lot of compliments and "ooooh, that's so cool!" It's hard work and the board is heavy with all the hardware.  There are pro's and con's and if you are thinking about the sport, I'd try it first with rental gear and go with someone who is familiar with backcountry!

Here's a little about splitboards: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splitboard or splitboard.com

A splitboard is a snowboard that can be separated into two parts. The two parts are used like skis with climbing skins to ascend slopes the same wayalpine touring or telemark skis are used. The two halves can then be connected to form a regular snowboard for descent.^[1]

Splitboarding started in the mid-1990s and has grown in popularity in recent years. There has been much innovation that has helped lure new users into the sport, including splitboard specific bindings from companies like Spark R&D, Voile-USA and Karakoram. These bindings are designed to reduce the weight associated with the adapter plate/standard binding combination. The reduced weight is crucial in increasing range and duration of extended uphill climbs. The binding's lower foot bed also increases board feel.

And if you'd like to order your own kit: http://www.voile-usa.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=1100&Category_Code=Voile_Splitboard_Hardware&Product_Count=

Also make sure you order skins!

Now go PLAY!

Snowboard Comp at Brighton

January Trip to Southern Utah

It has been an unusually warm winter, and by unusually, I mean basically no snow. So we decided to take a long weekend and head to the Cedar City/Virgin/Zion area and take advantage of the 60* weather. We rolled into town late Friday night, got up and ran some errands for the weekend camping and ended up in Virgin in the early afternoon.  Jake's friends have a camping/mountain biking spot that they love to go to so we stayed there. I went for a road bike ride up the Kolob Terrace Road and holy crap it was hard.

We camped in Virgin that night and hung out with friends and had a great time.  The mountain bikers got some sweet biking in as you can see. 

Lori, Jake's Mom took us shooting and out to dinner while we were there as well. 

On Sunday we went into Zion National Park and rode around the emerald pools and up to the top.  It was great weather and Zion was as beautiful as usual. 

 

 This was a great trip for a mid winter lull.  I was so stoked to get on my bike twice in one weekend in the middle of January! I hope I can get down to Southern Utah again soon!

Hawaii 2011-2012

Grandma Hill took the family to Kauai for New Year's Eve.  We flew in on the 27th and came home on the 3rd of January.  Seven days of paradise was lovely, and coming back to the frozen arctic that we call Utah wasn't the top choice on my list of things to do. While we were there we went on a cool hike along the Na' Pali coast, scuba dived, ate, swam in the pool, laid out in the sun, shopped at the farmers market, read, ate, went on drives around the island, snorkeled, rode bikes along the coast, had the best snow cones and sailed on a catamaran. Oh, and ate some more.  It was lovely. Here is a photo safari of the grand adventures!

The first morning on the Island

Our resort

farmers market

Hiking on the Na Pali Coast

The coast line

Hike...

After my first dive in Kauai

Mariah and I after the first dive

The family just off the dive boat

World's best snowcone

Another beautiful morning in Kauai

Aboard the Catamaran

Na Pali Coastline boat tour

Flight to Hawaii

Ladies on the Beach

Grandma and the resort in the background

Banging pots and pans at midnight on New Years Eve. It was my idea...

Snorkeling!

Christmas 2011

I headed home for the Holidays just in time for my little sister's birthday.  We went out to lunch at a fun new Mexican restaurant and went bowling later that night. Bowling with my family was... delightful. 

Les and Mariah, bowling

Our tree that we cut down earlier in Dec.

The next day (23rd) is a big day in the Hill home.  We grocery shop for hours and prep as much food as we can for our seven course annual Christmas Eve dinner. This year, I was in charge of the Hors Douvres. 

The Menu:
Red Lentil and Pecan Pate
Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Baked Brie Bites

Cranberry Cider

Italian Cocktail Meatballs with Herbs and Ricotta

Roasted Chestnut Soup with Thyme Cream

Festive Roast Butternut Salad

Rosemary Dijon Crusted Standing Rib Roast
Phyllo-wrapped Asparagus with Prosciutto

Carmelized Cumin Roasted Carrots

Truffled Pommes Anna

Caramel-Pecan Dequoise 

My mom, dad, sister and I cooked for a couple of days. Our guests arrived in the early evening and we started with hors douvres.  Unfortunately, I was really sick over the holiday so I didn't do much more than sit after dinner got started.  After dinner we have a 'talent show' which includes many poorly performed piano pieces, a story or poem and some random stuff like iphone tricks or singing.  After the talent show, we read the Christmas Story from the Bible and then it's time to open gifts! It's always a really fun time with the family and our special guests.  I love this tradition and can't wait to do it for the years to come.

One of the tables for Christmas Eve Dinner