Xmas 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

Here's wishing everyone all my best and happiness in 2008.
After two weeks of relaxation with friends and family, it's time to get back to reality. Xmas in California is top notch, we lack our 4 seasons here, but few other places can you be skiing one day and trail running in shorts the next. I had 8 days on the slopes either on xc or downhill skis, and with 10 ft of new snow in parts of the Sierra, it's time to head back up this weekend.

Squaw was the venue for downhill, and most of the xc was at the very formidable terrain at Tahoe Donner. Click on the two video's on this link...both under the theme of "who needs a lift when you have skinny frictionless skis to get you up there?" TD has a 1200 ft ascent/descent.

http://www.tahoedonner.com/tahoe/SITE/top/listing.cfm/activity/9176/7.75703.12820565/direct?c=1

Click on the photos to enlarge..

Hope to be back soon with some more winterscapes/ T

Squaw, off Shirley Lake

The dock at Chinquapin

Mike hauling up Lakeview trail

my first Old La Honda

of the season

Sunset over the Pacific after the major storm of Jan 4.

Moonlight over Squaw 12/28...200mm

SF Bay Oil Spill

Just back from a late evening trail run up Willow Camp trail from the beach, south on Coastal trail, and Matt Davis back down...a slightly painful 2,100 ft climb but amazingly clear air thanks to a soaking rain yesterday. Can't say the same about the water tho - the tragic 58,000 gallon spill in the Bay has made its way up to Stinson. Just after the run I grabbed the camera and shot these of an evening crew sweeping the beach for oil globs//T

Autumn on Mt Tam

After many weeks off from photo blogin', I decided to spend a Sunday shooting on the trails rather than running them. It's hard to find, but there is fall folliage in the Bay Area, and Mt Tam has its share. And with a couple early season rains last week, the waterfalls have come alive and added to the spectacle. These shots are on Catarack Trail accessed from Rock Springs parking lot.// T

Maui

Just back from 5 days in Maui. My first visit to Hawaii..and it was love at first site. The impetus was a wedding of one of my best buds, Mark Freeland, who couldnt have picked a more romantic/beautiful place to tie the knot. We were on the southwest side of the island, with full views of sunsets, great access to a marine reserve for diving/snorkeling (Ahihi-Kinau Marine Reserve), a nice little learning break for surfing, and good restaurants. Something about swimming with giant turtles, standing up on a surfboard for the first time, sipping mai tais with long-time close friends (my UNC boys & their wives)...tends to bring a perma-smile to the face. The beach pics here are from "Big Beach" at Makena State Park. And the sunrise shots on the mountain were taken at 5:55AM on the top of Haleakala National Park, a magical moment despite the throng of people that like me were shivering in their short-sleeve shirts. Next trip back I will definitely bring the bike to climb one of the highest single ascents in the world (the asphalt looked amazingly good for fast ascents too). On that point, my bike is getting rebuilt this weekend and my virgin post-injury bike ride is coming soon. Huge fan of Maui....and cant wait to get back. T

Fireworks

Pics from my friends Christian & Amy's rooftop. They look better big, so click on the image and it will enlarge. I was the geek who brought the tripod to the party. This was the first fogless fireworks San Fran had seen in a long while. Just four hours before taking these shots in the 55 degree night, wearing down parkas, I was driving through Sacramento with the car thermometer reading 105! A 50 degree swing, only in California. Added pics at the bottom too: the church at Washington Sq and Chrissy Field July 4th revelry in the perfect weather. Tom

Tahoe

It's been a while since the last update, and alas the blog is getting a little stale? I did just spent two days in Tahoe though, and have a couple pics, so why not drop them in and write a couple words...blog CPR.

As most Bay Area folks know, you are pretty much guaranteed sunshine and deep blue skies in this amazing place. This weekend was no exception. We had a couple great trail runs, one up to the Rim Trail behind Tahoe XC, on the north shore, and another in the Ward Creek area on the backside of Alpine Meadows. My buddy Mike brought a little Canon on the latter run and these are some of the scenes from the trail. One piece of unfortunate news from the weekend was the spreading of a major wildfire in South Lake Tahoe. The last 2 shots at the bottom were taken a mere 3 hours after the blaze started, seen accross the lake from the north shore.

On other news, I hit the 3 months mark since elbow surgery. There is progress but the snail pace tests my resolve (I am stuck on 15-20 degrees from straight). But the mind is sane, as I have re-discovered my old love of trail running, and am even dragging my sleepy carcass into the pool 2-3x a week at 7 in the AM.

I am also knee deep into a new job that I started in May with a company called Sana Security in San Mateo. Its a lot of fun, a little manic as you would expect from a small company, but the anti-virus software is making some good noise in the marketplace, and it is exciting to feel the daily buzz as we are keeping pace with our aggressive plans. http://www.sanasecurity.com/corporate.php. T