Jan 26-27, 2011, A gift for 100 months

January 2011 marks 100 consecutive months of skiing for me, and so far, it has been an amazing month. 

To celebrate I made a new pair of skis to remember this occasion, something that resembles what Snowshoe Thompson would have made back in the day €“ the top sheet on the left ski is pear wood veneer; the right ski is maple veneer; the ski€™s core is fine €“ I€™m kidding €“ pine from HomeDepot; the sidewalls are made from Jatoba, Brazilian cherry; and Snowshoe didn't use this but I added some special composite fibers, viscoelastic jibberish, and metal):



All this month I€™ve been skiing a few days a week since January 1, including dawn patrolling before going to work once a week.  Now yesterday, Jan. 26, I took the Squeaker after work up to one of our favorite spots above Mt. Rose pass to get some quiet time, reflect on things, and capture some light:





The ski down at dusk was over crusty and crunchy old snow, so it was not that great.  In fact, it sucked!  But on a day like this it€™s not about the quality of the snow.

Finally, this morning, Jan. 27, I received a wonderful gift:  the birth of our new baby girl, Norie, at 8:07 am, weighing 6 pounds, and stretching 20 inches.  Mother and baby are healthy and doing well.  One-hundred months doesn€™t get any sweeter than this!