Crest on Cruisers Recap

Thank you all.

We cannot express how grateful we are for everyone's generosity and thoughtfulness in putting together Crest on Cruisers. The event was fun and silly and it raised about $3,000 for Charlie's Hippotherapy. We have been overwhelmed with the support of this amazing community and cannot thank you all enough. We received donations from friends and family, and even some strangers. We made new friends and had a wonderful time. Charlie doesn't realize (yet) what an amazing community surrounds him and awaits his every heroic step. We can't wait to post updates from his hippotherapy sessions. But in the mean time, enjoy these pictures from the event.

For those who were not able to attend, we appreciate your thoughts and generous support. We look forward to paying it forward next year in support of other families. We are truly amazed by the support we have received.

A special thank you goes to Chris Petty for conceiving of and organizing the event. Also to Stacey Zavadil for creating the website promoting the event. We love you guys.

Crest On Cruisers

Charlie’s Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy was not a surprise to us. But for our friends and family, it has struck a nerve. Several of our friends in Park City have decided to organize a unique fundraising bike ride to help pay for Charlie to attend private hippotherapy sessions at Park City’s National Ability Center. Needless to say, this has touched us deeply and we’re so appreciative.

The bike ride is called Crest on Cruisers and it’s quite silly actually. On September 11th, we’ll be riding beach cruisers from the top of Guardsman’s Pass (9,150' elevation) to the Wasatch Crest Trail along the top of Deer Valley Resort. The ride, although short, quickly gains 700+ feet of elevation over a steep dualtrack, culminating in the loose, rocky stretch to the top known as “Puke Hill”. An arduous task even for seasoned mountain bikers, this ride is intended to be impossible on comfort bikes. But the effort will be fun to watch and all attempts will be met with applause and gratitude.

Most importantly, we hope to make this ride an anual event, benefitting a different deserving party each year. When I was informed that we were to be this year’s beneficiaries, I decided to focus on making this a success for years to come in order to pay it forward.

To date (8.22) this amazing effort has raised $1840 online and we could not be more grateful for everyone’s kindness and consideration. Special thanks to Chris Petty, Stacey Zavadil, Joe Johnson, Carolyn Wawra and all those who have helped organize this amazing event. And thanks also to all those who have donated and registered for the event. We are truly humbled by your generosity.

Spalluto's (first) Trip to Utah

Our good friend Mike Spalluto was recently asked if he'd be willing to attend a conference in Salt Lake City...during ski season. After wiping the drool from his mouth he enthusiastically agreed and booked a few extra days to ski with us. He also brought Dave Walsh, a family friend who helped teach Mike to ski. They arrived late last Thursday with huge smiles on their faces and ski boots in their carry-ons. Unfortunately, they happened upon Utah during one of the longest winter high-pressure systems in recent memory. But they were up for warm bluebird skiing too.

Day 1: We hit The Canyons. Having performed some design work for lift tickets, their warm-up day was free. In awe of the shear magnitude before them, they let me take the reigns and I guided them straight to the high traverse on 9990. They looked out over the spine with wonder and anticipation, before dropping into the pines. We trekked all the way out to Dreamcatcher and back to Super Condor before ending the day at Silverado Bowl. We knew we were done when Mike literally wrapped himself around a tree and had to be manually ejected from his ski binding.

Day 2: Deer Valley. Taking the executive route, we introduced the boys to America's #1 resort by taking a tour of the 5-star property where Sarah works. We also met up with Matt Albrecht, his wife Leigh and her parents Laird and Freia. Skiing with the groups was not terribly chaotic as they were all great skiers. Again, we covered the entire resort and left exhausted. That night we didn't even bother going out after skiing. We simply rested up to do it again.

Day 3: Snowbasin in Ogden, Utah. North of Salt Lake are two formidable hidden gems. Powder Mountain and Snowbasin represent a very rare contingent of under-skied and under-publicized powder paradises. Our first venture to Snowbasin was a huge eye-opener. About an hour-drive from our house in Heber, this mountain was quiet, lavish, and absolutely epic in terms of terrain. With dramatic, rocky peaks and open bowl skiing everywhere, Snowbasin truly represents western skiing. But what's more is that even though it hadn't snowed in a week, we still found unracked lines and soft steeps begging to be carved. We ended the day with a triumphant run down the 2002 Olympic Men's Downhill course starting area. I can honestly say I had no idea how steep those race courses get, but having taken a separate gondola to the top of this pitch, listening to the operator read us our last rights and then dropping in over a blind lip, I'd say I have a new respect for the guys who shove out from the gates and straightline gnarly lines like that.

Day 4: Alta. I saved Alta for the last day because I knew Mike had been dreaming of skiing there for years. Mike and Dave even rented fat skis for that one day just to get the full experience. We met up with Patty and Gary at Goldminer's Daughter Lodge and before we knew it, we had a crew of people Dave's age willing to show us around. After a warm up through Ballroom we made runs in Fred's Trees, Westward Ho, and Eagle's Nest before hitting the backside and Chartreuse. Finally, in the afternoon Dave said simply "Dude, I'm done." Mike agreed and as we took a hero run down through Ballroom I knew I had done a pretty good job getting them to all the best spots.

Mike eventually went to his conference and will be leaving SLC on the redeye tonight. Hopefully this will become and annual tradition and hopefully next year they'll be able to plan their trip around fresh snow. But for now, they at least have a taste.

You can view more pictures here:
http://flickr.com/photos/7527772@N05/sets/72157613221714765/

Onward.

Just a quick announcement: I officially no longer work for FetchDog. About a month ago I was informed that due to recent the economic cluster-f***, FD would be making drastic cutbacks. I was given a relatively generous warning, considering most people were told to clean out their desks the same day. Many other employees were asked to swallow pay-cuts in order to keep their jobs. So I won't feel sorry for myself.

I am optimistic (as usual) that this will be a positive turn of events for me. There were some good things about working there but overall, I was never particularly cut out to work from home. At one point about 6 months ago, I even considered taking another job until Fetch talked me out of it. There's a certain irony there, for sure.

Anyway, I've been considering other opportunities. I was very touched that FlashPoint (a Park City-based interactive agency from whom I've been renting office space) has made room for me on their team. I'll be working part-time with the great folks at FlashPoint while I pursue independent projects on the side and try to ski as much as possible this winter. As I said, this could be a VERY positive turn of events.

Dear Winter: We're ready for ya...

The morning temperatures are in the teens now and we're ready to start getting our schralp on. The golf and mountain-biking seasons are dwindling, the sun sets early, and we've had a few dustings on top of the hills. So dear Winter, bring it on. Let's do this!

FetchDog comes to Utah

This Winter, FetchDog investors David Shaw and Glenn Close came to Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. Sarah and I were fortunate enough to meet them at the Egyptian Theatre and then to ski with them at Sundance Resort for Sarah's birthday. While riding the lift with Glenn, Sarah and I suggested that she should feature Sundance Ski Patroller Tracy Christensen on her Lively Licks Blog. Tracy is a great patroller but he's also the handler of Mick, one of Sundance's Avalanche Rescue Dogs. We explained the important role that Avy dogs play at Utah's ski resorts and how sophisticated their training is. We also encouraged her to participate in Mick's training by allowing herself to be buried in a fake avalanche to let Mick show off his talents. She was of course completely game, and went along with the idea.

Upon meeting Tracy and Mick, Glenn was immediately impressed and couldn't wait to feature them on FetchDog. She also had her step-son Ben shoot some video for the blog post which is now live at FetchDog. The video shows Glenn and David being buried into the snow at Sundance and waiting for Mick to rescue them in a very realistic simulation.

VIEW IT HERE »

You'll also be able to make a donation to Sundance Avalanche Rescue Dogs in Tracy's Charitable Shop. Just start your shopping with Tracy's recommendations and a percentage of sales (of those items or not) go to benefit Sundance's Avalanche Rescue Dogs and their vital training.
Check it out!

Pond-skimming, Utah Style

Saturday was one of those perfect spring days. As the afternoon festivities approached at the Canyons, the place just got sunnier and warmer. When Sarah and I showed up at the contestant area, we bumped into our buddy, Chris Petty who hooked us up with VIP passes for the winners circle. We hung out for a bit and caught up with Canyons locals, but once the event kicked off we were totally focussed on mayhem and nonsense. The crowd was thick and costumes were intense. Have a look.















We were also psyched to hook up with our friends, Chris, Richie, Max, Liz, Regina, Ahdena, Eddie, Brian, and Katie. But what really sucked is that after the "festivities" I was left with the most ridiculous sunburn. My forehead immediately blistered up and started weeping by Sunday night. But I deserve it for not remembering my sunblock! D'OH!

Dogs On Parade: "Howl-o-ween" takes over Main Street in Park City, UT

For our third year now, My wife Sarah and I dressed up our dogs for the October phenomenon known as Howl-o-ween in Park City, UT. Historic Main Street is the heart of this affluent ski town with its funky restaurants, bars and shopping. It's also the cultural epicenter for the über hip Sundance Film Festival. But for one-afternoon a year, the whole town goes to the dogs. Main Street is shut down to autos for a few hours while children are allowed to trick-or-treat at local businesses. But around 5pm the butt-sniffing mayhem begins. A town like this is full of dogs large and small. Their diverse owners have made this area their home for a variety lifestyle-oriented reasons and it makes for an eclectic arrangement of tail-wagging hilarity.

Our first year at the parade, we were a little reluctant to go overboard with costumes. Blü, our Weimaraner and Roxie our notoriously shy Siberian Husky were not used to dressing up and we expected some resistance. We found some little tutus at Target and tied them on. When we hit the scene and they saw all the other dogs in costume they got so excited that it's become one of our favorite oddities about this little town. This year we put a little more effort into it and found some hysterical dog-specific costumes. Roxie wore a Dorothy costume from the Wizard of Oz, while Blü was ecstatic in her Tin Man costume. They also exchanged "pleasantries" with the likes of Batman and Robin, Hanna Montana, Darth Vader, Wonder Woman, Yoda, Elvis, Buzz Lightyear, angels, devils, witches, princesses, pirates, you name it. And each dog seems to adopt a certain swagger in their costumes. Roxie, who normally hates crowds, was so brave in her costume — like she really was somebody else. Blü of course was her goofy self, but was noticeably proud of her new identity, and didn't seem all that eager to have it taken off.

Anyway, a good time was had by all. Maybe we'll see you and your trick-or-treater out there next year!