Unto The Breach! » Travel

Anthony Sloan – You’ll be missed.

Tom — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:51:13 +0000

Today I heard of the passing of a friend of mine, Anthony Sloan. Anthony’s passing during his sleep was a shock because he was young and healthy and it came without warning.

Anthony was an avid and accomplished mountain biker. He was an equally avid photographer; although quite modest about his talent, his skill behind the lens was truly – I am not exaggerating – unequalled. These two passions, combined with his life-long love of the outdoors – in particular the American Southwest – leave a huge and unparalleled legacy of images of stunning beauty of some of the most remarkable vistas in America. If you happen to share any of these same passions that energized Anthony, do yourself a favor and spend some time perusing his work.

As much as I’m impressed by Anthony’s photography, I was more inspired by his personality. Anthony was one of the kindest souls I have ever met. I count myself fortunate for the times I got to ride with him, and I’m saddened that there won’t be many more.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Places to visit in 2009

Tom — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:00:30 +0000

I love magazine articles on great places to travel…it gets me dreaming! Here’s New York Time’s list of great places to visit in 2009. If I can get to a few of these over the course of the year it’ll make for a great year!

The Economist: Best Books of 2009 The best economics and business books of the year, according...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Skiing is Fun!

Tom — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 23:45:27 +0000

I first skied when I was maybe 5 years old. It has always been one of my favorite things.

I’m on a vacation up here in Whistler, BC. Whistler is my single favorite ski area in the whole world; it really is a remarkable place, in many ways. The mountains are challenging; the vistas are remarkable; the ambiance is dreamy; and the food is superb. I’ve been fortunate to be able to spend a lot of time up here and know the place well.

The skiing conditions Monday and Tuesday featured fantastic snow but tough weather. I mean really tough: cold, snowing, foggy, and windy. I remember when I was younger that weather didn’t really faze me, and if the snow was good, I still had a blast no matter what mother nature was doing. But Monday and Tuesday, I wasn’t having a blast on the slopes. Skiing wasn’t orgasmic for me like it used to be. I wondered if perhaps I was just “moving on to a new stage in my life”.

Today (Wednesday) dawned brilliantly clear. Sadly I had an investor call at 10am, but it was brief and I was on the slopes by 10:30.

To make a long story short, the previous days’ inclement weather had kept much of the good terrain closed, so today there was blue sky and 2 feet of untouched freshie all over the place. So, to use the local jargon, today I schrelped. I haven’t had this much fun skiing in probably 5 or 6 years. I mean it was epic good, an undeniable 10 out of 10! And, skiing is once again a contender for the love of my life!

Hiking up Spanky’s

Looking down Diamond Bowl – 2000 vertical feet of 45 degree yumminess!

For the record, here is a chronological list of my schrelpings:
- Spanky’s (Ruby Bowl)
- Spanky’s (Diamond Bowl) (with new X-Files actor friend Robert)
- Spanky’s (Diamond Bowl) (with Robert)
- Spanky’s (Diamond Bowl) (with Robert)
- Spanky’s (Diamond Bowl)
- Pakalolo (worst run of the day – it was crusty and windblown)
- Couloir Extreme (surprisingly great snow)
- Pasta with Marinara – rushed! – no time to lose!
- Cougar Chutes (with friends from Calgary)
- Spanky’s (Diamond Bowl) (with friends from Calgary)
- Spanky’s (Ruby Bowl)
Wow, what fun!

There’s a cool map of one of my favorite playgrounds here.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.