Ring in the new year!

The busiest time of the year for Snowboard School is nearly finished, which is obvious due to my low immune system right now. Like most of my coworkers, I’m congested and coughing due to the nature of this hectic time. Nonetheless, the past few weeks have treated me well. I have had a number of great days on the hill: great clients, great lessons, and great tips. I had the pleasure to work for one of Hollywood’s hottest superstar actresses (see her new movie in theatres now) and make a new friend in a rock band (how’s that for starstruck), do a bit of freeriding (finally making it out to Outer Mongolia!) and enjoy a few more holiday social events…


(Pictured: The covered bridge on Bridge Street, Outer Mongolia, Outer Mongolia, morning view from the top of chair 11, morning view from top of chair 8)

In a nutshell:


A fabulous Timber Ridge Christmas was held in the “quiet building” K block on Christmas Eve. We had a gigantic celebration with twenty six members of my snowboarding family, filled with twenty two internationals without familes nearby. I enjoyed the loud cheers and bursts of laughter as every person made a toast at the celebration.


(Pictured: Dan, Kylie & Rose, Greg makes Hugarian fish soup)

The next day, I was happy to zoom home for the afternoon to have a nice dinner with mom and dad (missed you Mark), and a piano playing extravaganza.

A double hitter torch light parade highlighted the final nights of 2006. Snowboarding down the Golden Peak race hill in the dark with a flaming road flare in each hand is always a fun way to celebrate the new year (or salute the late President Ford). I love it for nothing more than tradition.


A few more December weeks have rolled by marked by Tuesdays and DJ Latenight’s pop music. It’s never a dull night watching people try out the pole…



Splitting bills and sharing cable with the neighbors...


I’m feeling good about my decision to turn down what might have been the best or the worst the attempt for me to integrate my snowboarding life with my career in television. A sad job offer from a small local station offered me a great career opportunity in terms of experience, but was unwilling to pay me for my completed days of training or offer me Colorado’s new minimum wage. As much as I would have loved the experience, I choose to wait for a real opportunity.

The question still remains, how long can I/will I keep up with this life? Some people have made this seasonal lifestyle a permanent one. Others have come but returned to the real world to enjoy a more stable routine. For me, my hopes to be a travel journalist for the Travel Channel’s 5 Takes show is still a primary goal. Of course, as the odds are bad, and a backup plan is necessary…but my audition video is nearly complete!

I’m enjoying being back in Vail. I love the community of friends I’ve made up here. I am often reminded that this is the reason I keep coming back to Vail. I’m constantly impressed by my fellow buddies passion for the sport. As a good friend of mine, John Evans, says, “Not knowing how to snowboard is like not being able to breathe, only worse.”

I’m also looking forward starring in a Vail Resorts commercial for the CNN airport network later this month. I will be giving snowboarding tips, so stay tuned!

Though I entered this winter thinking it was my last, I could entertain the idea of “just one more.”




(Pictured: Photos from New Years, friently morning new year's hugs)

LOST and FOUND

I woke up at 5am this morning with a terrible feeling that I lost something.

It's not because I lost my interest in snowboarding, I found that again yesterday.

My two scheduled days off this week got dedicated to Cert clinic, which was a big sacrifice when they were my only two days off this fortnight. The habit of hard work and improvement are still with me, as I press on towards the next snowboarding goal, Cert 3. But as I sat with my butt in the snow during the clinic listening to my peers 'practice teach,' I realized it might be a little early to go at it full force.

My brain is a little burned out on snowboard tech talk; there is a little attention span for words like "turn initiation, control and finish" and "timing, intensity and duration". Though I do welcome the challenge to obtain the next and final level of snowboard instructor certificaiton, well, I am not quite sure it's time. What felt most comfortable is when Greg and I skipped out on the clinic after lunch and hit the powder in O.S. and WFO trees and then did a few runs in the terrain park. :) I love snowboarding with Greg. He is my favorite tree riding partner and always challenges me to go a little faster and jump a little higher.

The season has been much more successful compared to my rocky start. It's rewarding to bump into a few of my old students around town who cannot keep their lips closed about their improvement. One of my students generously surprised me with two tickets to the Counting Crows concert last weekend! How cool is that!



As far as Cert, well, I am going to sit back and enjoy my days off and ride for now. I did enjoy the new things I was taught at the second day of Cert camp (ie. heel to heel!), and gained some confidence about my switch riding. For now, I will spend my days off exploring the mountain for myself, having fun riding trees, bumps, wherever, and working on spinning 1's and 3's in the park. Let's take it to the next level!

(Roommates: Poaching the tubing hill with Greg. This is my roommate Rose!)

As for whatever it is that's lost...hopefully I can find it again, too...

The Slow Season

This time of year is always considered the slow season. I have been sent home a number of days from work because there is no work, barely paying off my lunch with show up pay. But, when there is work, it is nice to have small student-to-teacher ratios and a short lunch line. The slow season sucks if you were hoping to make more than $20 show up pay for the day, but it’s great in terms of socializing.


DJ Late Night (a.k.a. my boss P. Schaf) has hosted two rockin’ evenings full of hip hop and dancing. The Rumpus Room is the place to be on Friday nights, and, our Tuesday night tradition at the Ski Bar will continue in full swing. I have been busy promoting and poster-making to support my esteemed supervisor. It has been nice to see that the invitations are well received.

Life at the Ridge has been great. It’s not the “Ghetto” I’d imagined, except for the part about hoping on a short bus with twenty other youngins each morning. I love being nearby friends, who fill nearly every door on this floor. The other night was a great example: I invited John and Stan over for dinner, and soon, our living room was full of friends catching up and hanging out. It is quite convenient! The place itself is basic but not gross as it’s reputation allows. Greg and I got lucky to get in the block next to the bus stop. That, paired with a seasonal lease, a comfy couch (and all other furniture) and a kitchen with a dishwasher make home a good place. Greg has been a terrific roommate. With a fully stocked fridge, we have been feeding ourselves quite well—I missed cooking all summer! We balance our big nights out with computer evenings making movies and blogging.

Music Video: Here It Goes Again, OK GO

Ok friends, dance your little hearts out...work out style...

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Ok+Go&search=Search

Welcome back to snowboard school

I kicked off the 2006-2007 ski/snowboard season like a true snowboarder bum: arriving with a carload of stuff, a few packets of ramen, and a friend's couch to crash on. Like every year, by opening day, I did not have a place to call my own. But still, the urge to lace up my boots and wax my snowboard called early (and so did the need to build a paycheck), so I was happy to suit up. By 9:30am on November 17th, I was happy to be standing in a circle among old friends, sharing highlights from our summers, and excitement about the upcoming winter season.

Greg was my buddy who let me sleep at his apartment for a week while I looked for somewhere to live. Despite the slim pickins, I knew things would work out; they always do. And when it did, I was lucky to get a housing voucher from work and move into Greg's apartment at the last employee housing effort in Vail--"The Ghetto" or "Timber Ritz" (Timber Ridge), located just across the highway from the mountain will be my home for this winter. Minus a small complication moving out the mountain employee who had parked my soon-to-be-room by mistake, things should be moving nicely by week two.

The past week was filled with highs and a few lows. Starting off the season with two refunded lessons was an unexpected beginning to the previous season filled with hard work and rightful rewards: One involved a student-teacher back stab, figuratively speaking, and the other was a literal open wound. A seemingly cool wanna-be snowboard instructor left my one hour private lesson with a big smile on her face...But her price-conscious attitude left her feeling unsatisfied with Vail's uncompetitive value for money, so she turned around and complained about feeling "pressured to purchase another lesson," to recieve two free hours of private instruction. What shit! (Maybe karama will give her a big kick in the butt). The second low of the low's was a freak accident which occurred under my watch: A girl caught her toe edge while unloading the beginner chair lift, landing in a back-bending scorpion, snowboard smacking her smack dab in the back of the head...young woman crying, blood dripping on her white pants...not a happy moment. It was quite upsetting, actually. Meanwhile, I'm suffering from a uncomfortable and painful rotator cuff injury…Not a good start for ol' Jules…But, as I said before, things will work out; they always do.

Alas, the highs always outweigh the lows and it has been wonderful to return to a place I love so much. The familiar faces and friends are cherished here, indeed. There is not just one particular person or persons here who makes me happy—everyone makes me happy. From lockeroom chats to beers at Mez, I am thankful to return to a fun, warm community of familiar faces. It's great being a "returner", knowing the lay of the land, who's who, and having an idea of what to expect for the months up and comming. It has been a pleasure to return to Vail for my third season.



AND, the exciting news...seems that I might be working some TV jobs here in the Vail Valley. More details later...

Home at last!

...20 hours and eight security checks later, I arrived safe and sound to the place I call home, Colorful Colorado! My oh my, it feels good to be back (however long that may be). It's quite wonderful to sleep in the same bed, have all access to a stocked fridge, and a car at my disposal...these are the little things one misses while away from home.

The family is well. Mom and dad were excited to show me the pictures from their Europe trip, and it was cool to see the places I recently visited in their photographs. Mark is enjoying CU, and he came home to teach me the 'tricks of the trade' for my new Mac.

If you have not already guessed it, I'm broke. I spent every cent that I saved from working in Korea. Four months teaching, two months in Europe and a new computer later...back at zero! Not too shabby...I guess that's better than being in the hole...

Traveling Jules travels no more. For now.

In a few days, traveling jules will hopefully (crossed fingers) unpack her backpack in a nice Vail lockoff (finding housing in Vail is impossible!) and begin teaching people how to do toe and heel side turns again. Instead of jumping on trains and navagating around cities, I will be jumping over ledges and navagating around through the trees. Here I come!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you friends and family for "Traveling with Jules" throughout Europe (and thank you for your kind words about the blog)! ;)

I hope I will continue to find interesting things to write about in Vail so I blog all winter! I can cover various topics like: how many inches of fresh powder we got overnight, how many days in, and how many fur coats seen...

Stay tuned...

Swiss Stop #4 - Snowboarding the Swiss Alps

Some thought we were crazy to go snowboarding in Switzerland the first weekend of November with a forecast of 0°F (-18°C) and 25mph (40km/h) wind, but that doesn't stop two hard core snowboard chicks like Chiara and me! On Saturday, my brave partner in crime, Chiara, met me halfway between Lausanne and Belinzona for an early season snowboarding weekend. She and two friends picked me up in Visp, and we made our way to snowboard two ski resorts open year round, Sass Fee and Zermatt. Chiara came prepared with an extra pair of long underwear, fleece, ski socks, coat, pants, goggles, beanie, and boots and dressed me in the car (Chiara is a good friend, indeed!). She also lent me her 154cm snowboard. It was about 10 centimeters too big and loads stiffer than my board back home (but free)--which reverted my snowboard skills down to a sloppy level 4. She, too, was handicapped, as she rode her sister's 157cm board with no edges on somewhat icy terrain. That was our first day in Sass Fee, the day Chiara and I bruised our thighs on crotch wrenching T-bars and looked like beginner snowboarders on the hill. :P

(Pictured: Views of crevasses in the glacier at Sass Fee)

(Pictured: small avalanche seen from the lift line)

Day two went much smoother. Chiara picked up her skis for a change, and I rationalized rental equipment. My legs, which suffered a bit from the damage done the day before, burned a bit in my beginner Burton boots with built-in forward lean.

We hopped on three humongous gondolas / cable cars--the Glacier Express carries a hundred people per car--before reaching the top. Zermatt, the the southernmost ski resort in Switzerland (which also easily connects you to Italy by snowboard in winter), is at 12,739.5 feet (3,883 meters) high. My jaw dropped when I saw the view. Wow. It was beautiful (and a beautiful day too, despite the bad forcast). The scenery was so different than Vail. The ragged and sharp rocky peaks of the Swiss Alps were far from the tree covered mountains back home. One cannot say which one is better, but the only word I can use for comparison is "different."

(Pictured: Views of some steep chutes in Zermatt)

All day, we had excellent views of the Matterhorn, Switzerland's most famous landmark (and key icon from the Swiss chocolate bar Toblerone). It stands 14,692 feet (4,478 meters) above sea level.



(Pictured: Trails covered at Zermatt during this early weekend in November)


(Pictured: Juliana Hotel, Juliana and the Matterhorn)

We had a fun drive home. We drove from one Swiss canton, Valais, to another, Ticino, passing through the Cento Valli (hundred valleys) road in Italy. We didn't really cover one hundred valleys, though we did do over a hundred sharp switchbacks as if we were on a sick amusement park ride. Anyone who is the least bit motion sick or hungover should NOT attempt to drive on this road! The cool part is that I have crossed the Swiss-Italian border eight times on this trip!


(Pictured: No cars are allowed in the town of Zermatt)

Swiss Stop #3 - Lausanne

Laurent, who was my best friend and roommate in Australia, is the man who introduced me to the wonderful world of traveling. He took me out of my shell on my first big trip away from home. Together, we trekked up and down the East coast of Australia during our Easter break from Uni. We sang songs in the car, ate chicken with our fingers, giggled until our stomachs hurt, and we even saw the late Steve Irwin, may he rest in peace. He also made me camp in the car and sleep in unusual places. We slept on the beach in wet sleeping bags, in a hammock-like bunk bed in a dirt floored tent the forest (Gagaju), and on the bedroom floor belonging to a teen stranger (Gavin)... Laurent introduced me to the world of backpacking. It was a magical semester, living with a vibrant and happy soul like Laurent. So, as you can imagine, it was a pleasure to visit my great friend on my tour through Europe.


I stayed with Laurent (pronounced LAH - HAU) at his apartment / parents house for seven days. His family lives in a beautiful home on Lake Geneva, which they built themselves, in Lutry (near Lausanne), the French part of Switzerland.

I met his beautiful girlfriend Lydia (who looks like Katie Holmes/Sandra Bullock) and his dynamic family of eight. His household was a whole lot more colorful than the Brady Bunch--Four boys, two girls, eight cats, three lizards, packs of rats (to feed the lizards), one parakeet, and a partridge in a pear tree. I loved having a place for dinner at the table of eleven. It's not the typical American family, albeit it's not the typical Swiss family either, but a happy home indeed.

His mother, Martin, is very smart. She makes the older kids cook dinner one night each week. Laurent cooked a special Swisss fondue for me--I still cannot believe these people consider bread, cheese, and pickles and full meal! What happened to the pyramid of foods? Anyways, it was delicious!


It was great to finally meet Laurent's little sisters Charlotte, who is adopted from Haiti, and Jade, who was adopted from Vietnam. Jade, at the tender age of fifteen, was a sweetheart, and we bonded over a few discussions about kitties and crushes. I also fell in love with the four new kitties, but I was disappointed to be reminded of my stupid allergies.

We started our week together driving all the way to Zurich for a party. Again, sleeping in an unusal place: a University office hallway.

We also went to a Halloween party!
Don't get the wrong idea, they DO NOT celebrate Halloween here...not really. Halloween is more of a commercial holiday in Switzerland. But, Laurent knew how much I loved Halloween and he made his association organize a costume party on my behalf! jk.
I was happy to bust out my bellydancing costume and souvenir from Turkey.

It was a shame that Laurent had to work all week, ah yes, the same thing happened when he visited me during Christmas and New Years week two years ago and I could not get a day off. Still, I entertained myself quite well with several day trips.

As Lausanne is the official World capital of the Olympics, I visited the Olympic Museum and enjoyed the visual markings of the high, long, and triple jumping records.



I took a scenic train ride through the colorful peaks and valleys to Gruyères, where I saw the cheese making process and the Gruyères castle and village.



I also toured Montreaux's Chilion castle and the popular town of Vevey.

Everday, I always managed to get lost (which is annoying when the trains run on the hour), but, I always found my way home to Laurent's each evening, just in time to watch a few episodes of Nip / Tuck.

Until next time, Au revoir Laurent!

Up next: One last visit with Chiara. To the Matterhorn!