It's Real

I know it is cold right now in Utah but over here it is ridiculous. All season long we have had race delay, to postponement, to cancellation. It has been tough.
Some of the stuff I have witnessed has been astounding. Currently I am in Val DesIere, France, home of the best snow I have seen in Europe during 2007. For the first time we can actually ski outside of the race venue. It feels like we are at an actual ski resort. But then again, it rained all last night up to 3000m and they cancelled our training run for today. The storm that just hit is supposed to be followed by a huge warm front which is going to threaten our up coming races in Kitbuhel, Austria.
In Kitz, they have been trucking and helicoptering snow in just to get their races off. The Hannenkam is the biggest event of the year for that region. It generates roughly 8-11 million euros for the city during the 3 days it is held. They will do anything to get these races off. To race down the Hannenkam surrounded by green Tyrolean mountains may seem weird but it is a common occurrence on the World Cup Ski circut this season.
I have been trying to talk to locals in some of these regions to see what they think about the weather. Responses have varied. Some of the youth agree with the global warming but they say the old folks say this happens every 50 years? It seems to me during those droughts it was actually a drought and the weather was still cold? And the lack of snow was due to lack of storms. We have had several storms this season but it seems to rain with every storm.
Maybe I am brain washed because of the books I have been reading, but I do see the signs they warn us of. I am witnessing the sadness and chaos every day I am over here. I must admit, it is nice to ski and then get in a T Shirt and have lunch out on a deck and enjoy the sun. But soon I think the skiing may be gone!!
Right now I am reading a book called Weather Makers by Tim Flannery. It is a more in depth scientific journal about the cause and effects of Global Warming. I highly recommend it. We need change in this world and as soon as possible. Our government needs to makes some moves fast but the best way we can go about this as individuals is by being examples. Gain some knowledge about the subject and make a difference. Check some of this stuff out as well, it can be quite convincing. http://www.worldwatch.org/, look at the state of the world books, and http://climatecrisis.org/
I hope everyone is well where they are right now and they ar enjoying the substances mother nature has provided for them.

Here is a good quote from Edward Abby, another author I highly recomend.

"One final paragraph of advice: Do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am --- a relunctant enthusiast . . . a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half for yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breath deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: you will out live the bastards."

Happy Birthday Blake!!


Wengen this year!!! Last season I would walk out my door in the morning and see kids sledding to school! This season you could run in shorts and a T shirt every afternoon!