Ski Bum Poet

I did hear of the Michael Vick Dog Fighting and Cruelty news story when it first broke out…whenever that was. I think like two weeks ago. I thought it was pretty shady and lame this day in age, to get your kicks from not only watching dogs kill one another, but also doing the killing yourself when your dog doesn’t make you money. Gosh what kind of people do that?

I don’t know what the status is of this case. Frankly, I don’t even really know who Michael Vick is. Not the biggest NFL fan here. But I do know that I got a kick out of VickDogChewToy.com…a thrown together site selling dog chew toys that resemble tough guy Mike. Hahaha. I may have to grab some of these to keep around as xmas gifts, etc. for friends that were just as disgusted as I was over this story.

You can buy the official Michael Vick Dog Chew Toy online for $7.00. (I don’t get a cent for that referral, BTW.) Let your dog chew on Michael Vick…

read more | digg story

Thought I would take the time to advance some awareness on an unfortunate situation in York, PA. (Lincoln Highway in Hallam) This stems from a letter to the editor my sister wrote to the York Blog.. an online publication of the York Daily Record/Sunday News. My sister is fighting the inhumane captivity of black bears so I am hoping to raise awareness of the situation. It’s really a shame that this type of captivity is allowed to continue. The stance taken by some (it’s apparent already from one of the comments on the blog post) is that the bears were orphaned and therefore the ice cream store owner is actually doing a good thing. Bah to that! What a joke. How about a humane cage with water and maybe a little grass and some trees. These bears should be removed from the ice cream shop and put in a real zoo..or a refuge. Here’s a snipet from the letter to the editor:

“Their living quarters consist of chain-link walls, a cement floor, and a rickety shelter that seems far too small. Their daily lives consist of lying in the sweltering summer heat of Southern PA, being on display for the public 24/7, having $0.25 handfuls of food pellets thrown at them occasionally, (despite other objects) and yes, a little, pink, rubber ball to play with to entertain the kids…”

Does this concrete floor and cage (pics below) resemble the American Black Bear Habitat? What a shame..

Read the Full Letter | digg story

Many reading this blog probably know where Cecret Lake is in Little Cottonwood Canyon. At least you’d know if you spent any time in Alta during the summer months. Well I found another Cecret Lake…and it’s inspired a renaissance in the passion of fishing I had growing up in central New York (Finger Lakes Region). When I was young I could leave my house on my BMX bike and within a few miles in every direction, have at large and small mouth bass, walleye, bullheads/catfish, and all sorts of pan fish. During the spring and fall rainbow trout runs, we’d retire the spinning reels and rods and grab the fly rods. Those rainbows were pretty easy to pull off their beds…and when you add up a strong current and 3-4 lb trout…DANG that was a fun fight.

At any rate, at my Cecret Lake in the Uintas I recently caught an amazing cut throat using a wolly worm tied to a size 8 hook on the only pole I own right now. It’s a 6 foot Ugly Stik by Shakespeare. I could barely get a 10′ cast with the fly, but that’s all I needed for this pristine inlet about 15 feet wide. I could see these big brown blobs just hanging out at the end of the current from the inlet. Didn’t take more than 5 minutes to hook one. It was the BIGGEST cut throat native…yes, it was native…that I had ever seen…22 inches. Let alone catch!! I took this female home. My pregnant wife wanted fresh mountain run off native trout, so I gave it to her. I won’t be taking many from my Cecret Lake, but I am sure hooking them at will in the evening hours. Want to know where my Cecret Lake is in the Uintas? So do 50 thousand other anglers in Utah. Sorry kids

Many of you have probably seen this already. It’s been circulating around the email world. I thought it was pretty dang interesting, although it has nothing to do with skiing, ski bumming or mountain culture. So have a read and I hope you enjoy!

The year is 1907. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. Statistics for the Year 1907:

• The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years old.
• Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
• Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
• A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
• There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.
• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
• Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.
• With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
• The average wage in the U.S. was 22 Cents per hour.
• The average U.S. Worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
• A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist made $2,500 per year, a veterinarian $1,500 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
• More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at HOME.
• Ninety percent of all U.S. Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as “substandard.”
• Sugar cost four cents a pound.
• Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
• Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
• Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
• Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
• Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza 2.Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke.
• The American flag had 45 stars, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn’t been admitted to the Union yet.
• The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!!
• Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn’t been invented yet.
• There was no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
• Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn’t read or write.
• Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
• Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.”
• There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.

Just try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. Food for thought.

Check it out.. wanted to mention an article I wrote for my job that outlines effective link building campaigns for your web site by using online press release distribution services like PRWeb.com. This has been our secret sauce as a new company. I just checked AvantLink’s history at PRWeb and we’ve produced and distributed 17 articles in the last 18 months at 200 smackers a pop. Seems like a lot of money but the ROI we’ve seen from branding our company as an authority in the “performance based marketing for merchants” space makes it a no brainer. Yes, we are the authority. Take a look at the results, to wit: over 92,000 results for the search term AvantLink in Google. Not bad for a company that started out in October of 2005!

Here’s a snippet from the article:

Once your press release is published, many news and related websites will pick up your article. Don’t be satisfied with just this. Blog about your press release, linking directly to the news source with a trackback URL. You can also post your news to different social bookmarking sites and social networks. Finally, add a Press Room to your site where you can feature the article.

read entire article | digg this shizzle

Interesting experience today. So there I was workin’ away on the web this morning when Adah, our white Kuvasz, started getting all antsy in the house. No biggie. She’s always worked up at the deer and any other animal outside….even at 2am. Here she is shortly after she became our pet:

At any rate, what Adah was worked up over today was a male Kuvasz just like her that was hanging around out in the yard for a bit. He had a brand stained on his nappy coat, so I knew right away that he wandered from the sheep herd about 8 miles up the canyon. Kuvasz is a very interesting breed. From the Kuvasz wiki page:

Kuvaszok are relatively intelligent for dogs and are often described as having a clownish sense of humor which can last throughout their adolescence and occasionally into adulthood.[2] They are an intensely loyal yet patient pet who appreciates attention but may also be somewhat aloof or independent, particularly with strangers. In keeping with their origins as a livestock guardian, Kuvaszok are known to be fierce protectors of their families.

As you can assume from that description I was a little hesitant to approach him. He was salty, dread covered and BIG. I wasn’t sure if he would snarl at me, and I was a little concerned about the dogs getting out and scraping with him. I let Chip out first and he ran up and they did fine. So then Adah said Hi. When I walked out I spoke in a calm and low voice and his tail wagged so I felt ok about it. He was approachable and by looking at his teeth I could tell he was still a young one…less than a year.

Well of course I wanted to keep him as this is Adah’s story as well (she wandered away from her sheep herd and found a family), but of course I knew that wasn’t an option. So I loaded him in the Subi, which was a challenge BTW (he didn’t know what to make of the car), and took him back to his herd. I had enough time to dig his demeanor, name him Magnus and snap a photo from the car right before I let him out with the 2500 sheep.

I told Danette if he finds his way back to our house again (he got a glimpse of the good life Chip and Adah were livin), we’ll have to talk her Dad into taking him in. He’s due for another canine companion.

Adah and Magnus (Adah is on viewer’s right…the smaller of the two):

We just had a cooooold storm move through the region for June 6th-7th. Up in Timberlakes we only got about 3 inches of snow but the temps dropped to 25 chilly degrees for two nights in a row. The baby greens, baby chard, radishes and sugar beets  (about all we can grow up here!) barely made it, and I lugged all the other summertime container gardens into the kitchen for two straight days. They were lookin’ a bit sad but at least they survived the cold. Let’s hope that’s that! I am kind of over snow for this year.

As reported at AltaCam on the ski forum, the upper elevations of Little Cottonwood received over 15 inches. There were sure to be some Alta hippies up there makin’ turns, but I wasn’t one of em. The photo below was taken from our deck on June 8th in the AM hours. That’s a direct site line to Brighton and Alta. Three days ago there was barely snow to be seen from this same view. Not to shabby for June in the Wasatch…although we’re trying to get the Crest Trail to DRY OUT not fill in with snow again! But it was a good storm for the reservoirs…

Attention Utah Internet Junkies… Ever heard of Utah Broadband? If not check them out and you’ll be glad you did!

I wanted to post and mention that Danette and I recently dropped our ISP at Allwest (DSL) in exchange for MUCH better Utah wireless Internet service from Utah Broadband. We live in a remote area of Wasatch County and fortunately we had the line of site necessary (to their Brighton tower) to access the UBB network. Incredible technology as well as top notch service!

This company is expanding quickly so chances are you can get on board with them. Their current coverage reaches a wide area. From their coverage page:

Utah Broadband has the largest coverage area of any local wireless ISP. We have continous coverage throughout all of Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Summit and Wasatch Counties. Below are rough estimates of our coverage area. If you’re not sure if you are covered, just give us a call!

Believe it or not, up in Timberlakes in Lake Creek Canyon (Wasatch County, Utah) we are now getting a sustained connection speed 7Xs faster than what we were getting with Allwest. I understand we were at the end of the line for Allwest, but the fact that we were paying what every other one of their customers were paying for their DSL service was a joke. The connection speed was at a crawl and over the course of the one year we used them they were down no less than 100 hours! Considering the fact that they never once offered reimbursement for the downtime we experienced, I have no problem ranting about them here. Friendly operators and techs only go so far…

So if you want highspeed wireless in Utah, check these guys out. And be sure you said the Ski Bum Poet sent ya! Actually, I do have a contact for UBB so drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch. My email: garymarcoccia@yahoo.com - Phone: 435-785-8067

I’m guilty. I am now almost a month behind in posting to my personal ranting platform, aka the Ski Bum Poet blog :). Sorry ’bout that…but what can I say…for a long time running now when the ski season ends, I disappear. Although in the past I would retreat deep into the deserts of Southern Utah, Moab specifically to thaw out, so to speak; nowadays I just disappear from posting and ranting about life and skiing in Little Cottonwood! For the most part, anyway. We did take one trip…

Danette and I went to central NY to visit my family. They live near Ithaca in a small town called Erin. It was a good time. The forest was turning green and there were some nice days of both sun and rain (living in Utah I miss those long, sustained rain storms that rhythmically hit the roof all night long)…not to mention quality family time. My parents have two catch ponds on their property to channel the runoff from the hill around the house, so I threw on the ‘ole white mister twister and caught large mouth bass (1-2 lbs) pretty much at will. Thanks to Dad for letting me catch his pet fish he feeds all the time I was nice and gentle and they all made it back into the ponds safe and sound, spare a sore mouth I’m sure.

Below is a good picture that’s featured on Danette’s Baby Belly Page of us and my folks at Taughannock Falls State Park near Ithaca, NY. That park is really impressive. A little piece of trivia I learned on this trip: Taughannock is the highest free standing waterfall in the Northeastern US…even higher than Niagra Falls. From the Wiki page I linked to above:

The main cataract of the falls is an astounding 215 ft drop, making it 33 ft taller than Niagara Falls and the largest single drop waterfall in the Northeastern United States.

So yeah, that was a good time. We returned to a lush green Timberlakes…which was nice. Apparently we had a ton of rain even in the higher elevations of the Uintas while we were gone. We missed a small flood according to Karen and Greg, our neighbors. I felt bad…Greg had to come up and dig out the culvert that runs under our driveway b/c the clog was starting to flood their yard. Thanks Greg

We’re both doing fine. Danette’s pregnancy is going smooth and I have great confidence that she’ll meet her goal of a natural delivery. That’s one strong woman. I am getting excited to meet our child face to face. Feeling some strong kicks in that belly of hers!

I’ve been getting some good pedaling in since we returned namely in Park City. Mountain Trails is doing a great job as always of cleaning up down trees and winter time debris. Kris Gray and K.C. Gaudet from The Pedal Wrench have been showing me some nice loops from town that I didn’t know existed. Go figure. I lived there in PC for two summers and never even knew of some of these interconnects. I guess I was spending too much time Deer Valley lift & shuttle freeriding, and not enough trail riding. So the cookie crumbles. At any rate, we’re having fun and I am hoping to get my hands on a 29er (29 inch single speed trail bike) and join the WXC gang in PC. WXC = Wobbly Cross Country

At any rate. That’s that. Besides some killer progress at AvantLink (check out one cool merchant that just launched with us - Upside Over - a store dedicated to outdoor gear for kids), I’ve been laying low working, riding and oh yeah, fishing up a storm. GBM

On March 9th I wrote a blog entry called ‘Spreading The Alta Love‘ in which I described a day of skiing with About.com Skiing Guide Mike Doyle and his daughter Katie. It was a great day in Little Cottonwood. Alta was in classic blue sky form and we had a blast taking the mountain tour from Baldy shoulder to Catherine’s Area.

Well not only did I make a couple of new friends who love to ski, but I found a great source for some progressive skiing related news and content out there. A couple of weeks ago (sorry Mike it took me so long to post!) Mike sent me a link to an interview with the producer’s of Steep, a new documentary that premiers at the Tribeca Film Festival, going on right now until May 7th. I haven’t seen the film yet but the interview Mike sent me was enough to peak my curiosity. In the interview, released on April 20th through LX.TV, the producers Kayce Jennings (widow of Peter Jennings) and Tom Yellin discuss the nature of what drives big mountain skiers and base jumpers to test their limits.

The idea behind the project has merit but until I see the film myself I am going to reserve judgment. From the interview alone, it’s a hard for me personally to get drawn in. Why? Because there is a difference between film producers who like to ski and people who are skiers telling a story like this. Sure they produced the film and worked closely with people like Doug Coombs and Shane McConkey but I doubt they’ve ever skied a 100-day season and I doubt they’ve ever ski cut a slope that released underneath them before. I think the story line from a salty ski bum hippie from the Alta Lodge or P-Dawg on this subject would be just as compelling. Sorry Kayce and Tom, no offense

There is an interesting discussion at the TGR forum. A lot of the Maggots seem to really like the idea of the film and there are some great reviews of the film from people who saw it: “Steep” The Documentary

Here is the Steep Trailer..

And here is the interview Mike sent me:

On this episode of Drinks W/LX, George Oliphant joins Executive Producers Kayce Jennings and Tom Yellin at Centrico to discuss their documentary Steep, premiering next week at the Tribeca Film Festival

Interview Permalink: Tribeca Film Festival Special: Steep

Take a look at the interview and trailer and share your thoughts.. GBM