After a winter of pretty thin, but adequate snow conditions..we finally got thrashed by a quality Alberta clipper today & this evening. Barring a heat wave, this should help in keeping us skiing right through March. Had a fun time playin outside after dinner with O and N. Quality.


Crankset...check.
The Surly- 'Mr.Whirly'crankset that will go on the Surly Ogre..when it arrives in April.



peace
e

photos by eric berglund

Snow was coming down in big flakes and the conditions were rocket.

Five of seven or eight chariots lined up on a sunday morning at Kamview. We dig winter.



peace
e


photo's by eric

To those in the northern hemisphere...
Happy Winter Solstice.


Short days and long nights, but plenty of goodness to be had in this season. Get out there and find a way to enjoy it.

peace
e


photo by eric berglund

A healthy amount of nordic these days. Other than Lutsen, my Boykin spaniel, up ahead, tearing the hell out of the dog trail, it was immaculate when i set out sunday morning. groomed to perfection.



Longer days and warmer sun, but still plenty of skiing left in the season.
Sorry for the lull in posting. Life beyond the interweb happens.

be well
peace
e

photo's by eric berglund

Wicked afternoon ski. Cruising through the woods on fresh snow, listening to my body as i breath deep and exhale, move cyclically, changing rhythm and pace only as the terrain dictates. Winter. Embrace it. Shortest days of the year, but also the most alive.


be well
and
peace all

e

When you're out in the woods hunting, senses attune, you tend to pick up on nuances that might otherwise go unnoticed on a normal day.

These two days were cold...-30C cold, with north winds to add extra snap to the air. This plant was carving a perfect arc back and forth in the otherwise untouched snow. The bend in the plant apparent in the shadow.

Animal tracks of all sorts.


peace
e

photo's by eric berglund

Monster bucks

Snowy Mornings


Winter out there. Finished loading down one of the two freezers last night with nearly 100lbs of moose meat and still have some venison to deal with. Seems like a lot of meat, but when Oskar polished off the same amount of tenderloin that i ate at dinner last night, all of sudden i'm not too concerned...and imagine what's to come?!

Winds cranking out there 37 knots ESE...someone should get some waves tomorrow morning amongst the snow and rain.

be well
peace
e


photo's by
eric berglund

Lots of point and shoot these days for some reason; but so be it.

Off to the Sleeping Giant Loppet early Saturday morning. Warm and spring like, kind of bizarre. Pretty sure the temperature at the start line was hovering around 0C just before 10AM and well over 10C by mid day. Lot's of kids, families and smiling faces. Fast skis for the first bit, but progressively softening snow over the course of the race, made for a bit of slog by the end. Not as fast going as last year, that's for sure. Definitely felt the burn of not having the most restful sleep the night before. Oh, well. Dig deep, ski hard. Work all those muscles, bones and tendons to the fullest and feel good.









The magical white crow. Not that you can tell that it's body is white in this photo, but it is. He or she is nesting in the neighborhood, as N saw it on Friday and we saw it again today on a morning walk. The goal now is to sleuth it out and capture it with the big lens.



peace
e

photo's by eric berglund

Back to winter after some freakish rain and well above freezing temps that stuck me in a crappy mood until things turned around on Thursday. Fresh snow, some sunshine and some training for the Sleeping Giant Loppet this weekend made up for mother natures nonsense last week. My folks came out from the prairies and Erv, Sue and Stella (the elder boykin) from MN and we mostly skied it up and had an all 'round festive weekend with the only bummer being Nances heel blisters (anyone know of nordic boots for a gal with AA (narrow) heels). And since today was a holiday aka 'Family Day', it made the weekend all that much better. A'ight...some shots.

Freshness

View of Sleepy G. on Sunday morning

Ole timers crushing another climb and smiling about it.

Licheny white pine

The ever attentive and never rambunctious Lutsen...ha. as if.



peace
e

photo's by e

The weekend...eat, ski, eat, ski, eat, merriment, dominoes, sleep, repeat.







Some of the best weather yet this winter. Stopped on my way home, just as the sun was setting along the northshore to capture the purple and orange sky over what little open water there is out there on the lake.

photos By: eric berglund

Hit up the New Year right with a cross country ski with Nance and the pup Wednesday afternoon, some fondueing in the eve with friends and then a satisfying and fun surf on Thursday afternoon. But the party didn't stop there....rocked it at the local hill friday in the sun and the cold with the big tele sticks. And to top it all off, got a another 20cm (maybe more) of snow last night.woot.

First session of 2009



Dude rips




peace

photos By: eric berglund

Laid down some fresh tracks at lunch-hour today. Things should be full tilt at the ski areas after the dump we got last night and the forecast of more to come.



The local surf crew got together last night down at the Apollo to hang out, swap stories and watch some films. Good times, with the stoke running high about the potential for some waves this weekend. Off to play the good ole hockey game.

peace
e

photo by: eric berglund

Went for a skate ski during my lunch hour yesterday, a fresh layer of snow had fallen over night and it was relatively fast going. As i cruised through the woods, listening to the birds, my breathing and the slice of skis through the snow, i started to think about gliding. Whether it be effortless or not, the act or art of gliding is very satisfying. Gliding down the face of a wave, a mountain, over snow, or down a river, it is a sensation, mostly unto itself that makes you want more. No surf this weekend, but plenty of good snow to enjoy. Here's a scanned in shot from a few years ago on the Churchill River in northern Saskatchewan.

Josh and i committing- Summer 2003