Quandary Peak - 14,265 ft

Okay, we’re skipping around a bit now, chronologically, that is. Way back at the start of May, my brother Paul brought his work buddy, Travis, to Colorado to ski Quandary Peak. Actually, Travis had been wanting to ski this particular 14er for quite some time now, and so was the major impetus for the trip. (credit where credit’s due). On the southernish side of Quandary, Cristo Couloir takes you from 100 ft below the summit down to Blue Lakes Dam some 2500 ft below. Here's a good link.

The couloir laughing at my unfounded confidence behind my back. It was a long climb.

Lots of drudgery and trudgery...

Paul crests the final ridge! Hurrah! Travis close behind... (me like these pics)

Summit!

It took us a bit longer than expected to summit this beast, so the snow was a little slushy on the way down. That didn't stop us from enjoying the moment. Travis had a little extra excitement as he surfed a wetslide for a couple hundred feet near the top. Action shots follow... thanks for the great pics, guys.

Please take note of my artistic sky fade...

A fun chute section to finish things off.

After scarfing some pizza, watching Planet B-Boy (and trying some of their moves on the carpet--rug burn, ouch) and ~10 hrs of sack time, we mustered the strength to seek out some more turns up on Loveland Pass. Fortunately (and probably necessarily) no hiking was involved. At Loveland Pass, you can ski from the top of the pass down to a switchback and hitchhike your way back up. About 5 runs was enough for us. Thanks for coming out guys. Let's bag another next spring.

Gregory Canyon Hike

Commuting by bus to the far side of Denver for school is a pain, but we can't possibly leave Boulder. Not with a backyard like this.
So we shan't.

Fourth of July Road Ride

A brief warning: Carl and I are on a mission. We are determined to get out more this summer, which, for readers of this blog, could mean a tedious recounting of hikes, rides, and camping trips that are likely to become indistiguishable from one another. That said, we will do our best to diversify our posts, and I'll be sure to forget the camera at home once in a while.

Without further ado...
A couple of MANY weekends ago we cruised up to this popular spot near Eldora ski resort for an easy mountain bike ride on a gorgeous day.
Still lots of good snow up there, which Carl returned to for a run on a couloir.

GH Surprise Visit

Back in March/April 09: My sis had some plane ticket credits around, about to expire, so my brother and I used them to spend a weekend in Gig Harbor. We kept it a secret from the parents, arranging a clandestine airport pickup. I think my favorite quote from mom as we barged in was "You dopes!" and from dad: "Well, I wish you would have let me know sooner; I could have had some work ready for you!" (both quotes of course came with big smiles)

Quickly after our surprise, we sunk into the usual exhilarating Bauer household fun:
doesn't everyone look enthralled at Paul's latest garden photos? or maybe he's teaching us some python.

No, we wouldn't be doing that for too long. Not with the best baby in the world in town. Bam, pictures!
"And this is how you keep lookup costs constant while maximizing the load factor of your hash table." Actually I think we're more confused than him at this point.

Flipping some crepes...
Rabbi Camden Crepowitz.

Besides some library dvds, our evenings were occupied by a childhood game called BoobyTrap. Pretty simple, but oh so stressful. Red - 5pts, Blue - 2pts, Yellow - 1pt and if the spring-loaded wall moves more than 1/4inch on your pull, you have to ditch the peg and lose your turn. Here was a particularly precarious result. Which would you pull?

More baby torturing...

On our last day together, we took a walk in some new trails carved out of a couple blocks of forest near our house. The community has plans to raze it to the ground and put a park with baseball/soccer fields in its place. What a shame. Mom and Dad fought to the bitter end, but couldn't hold off the slew of young parents. Did you know England used to be entirely forested? Now it is bare as Rabbi Camden's noggin. Speaking of, here he is 4x4ing in the trails. We think Keith should outfit his ride with a little 2-stroke.
Much less activity than our usual visits, but fun all the same, what with the baby action and all.

Our 2nd Anniversary Dinner - 1/6/09

Bochini visits

Yes, we're still alive. Sorry, we haven't been doing too well on the blog updates since Tory started nursing school (which she is dominating!). She just finished her first semester this week and finally has some time to relax/play. Anyway, we have some catching up to do with you all, so here's a little anecdote from back in December ('08 style).

My good friend from high school, Paul Bochan (a.k.a. Spicoli, Boch, Bochini, Big man Bosse (actually I just made that one up)) decided to spend a day in CO on his way back to Minnesota from visiting family over the holidays. The plan was a 3/4 day at Vail, then straight to the airport for his flight home. The conditions in the bowls weren't the greatest, but we found some great tree spots and speedy groomers. Here's Boch going big in the trees.

It was a fantastically blue bird day with views abounding.
Thanks for stoppin' by Paul! I had a great time, per usual.

Turkey by the Bay

This year we gave our thanks in Coos Bay, Oregon with both Bauer and Caldera clans. It was a massive gathering of friends, family and seafood, and it ended much too quickly. Many thanks to our hosts!

First, and most importantly, we must introduce the little guy - Camden Everett Caldera! We got to experience Em and Keith's new baby boy in all his two-week newness. Behold...

Support his head!Carl summed it up: he's the best baby in the world.


The Caldera's house is just a block away from the beach, so we hit the bay the first afternoon in search of clams. Carl, Tory and Heidi, going after a biggun.
Go Dwayne! Real men don't break for photos...We came home with our permit limit of clams that we later cleaned (Melody removed the shells), sliced and enjoyed. There's just something about catching your own dinner...

Ping-pong was also a pervasive theme of the weekend. We were ruthless.

Up early our second day, we hunter-gatherers hit the bay in a rowboat and canoe for a long morning of crabbing.

Paul and Carl hauling the rowboat to the water
Gracie, passively mauling a vicious crab
Enjoying the morning's bounty on shore
Who knew 30 crabs could feed so many for so long? No seriously, ALL of us...ALL weekend.

Coos Bay view at sunset. Gorgeous.
We'd love to make this a more frequent tradition, if allowed. It was fun getting out to the coast and sharing the holiday with everyone!