:mattLandia:

Sorry for the absence folks, but a man can't be blamed for withdrawl from the public's view when he's surrounded by the majesty and solitude of craggy peaks and long-winding meadows of snowy goodness.

Last Saturday, Natasha and I headed up to stay with her brother George at his house in Alta. The "Big House" as it's called, sits high above the resort and is only accessible by snow mobile, ski's , or boot power. Saturday was spent packing up our stuff from the hotel, doing a bit of riding over lunch, and then ferrying out stuff up the house. George welcomed up us with huge plates of salmon and grilled veggies... Yum.

Sunday and Monday were spent skiing, snowboarding, sipping hot Chai Lattes and playing Scrabble at the lodge. (Enjoy the word 'Gorp' Charlene...) The weather continued to be extraordinarily hot, but the snow base was sufficiently deep to afford some decent riding conditions from about 10:30 A.M. till 3-ish. George spent a lot of time telling us about backcountry riding, avalanches, life at Alta Lodge, and such. A big thank you to George, for being the consumate host. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't know how to use the following words in the proper canyon context: Pow, Corned-up, Skinning, Crud, Huck, Nukin', Boot-it, Inversion, and Switch. Example:

"Dude, didn't get the pow, but it's corned-up all right so lets's skin up to the spine and huck ourselves into the chute - switch!"

For those of you who might head out to Utah this season to ride, my recommendation is Mineral Basin on the backside of Snowbird. Huge. Open. Majestic. Sunny. Make the trip if you can! Mineral Basin was the site of my last ride of the trip, in the setting sun, The Faint blaring from my iPod, with snow spraying gently from the tail of my board. Rip-your-head-off awesome.

The night before flying back to Atlanta was spent hanging out with my Aunt Jeanie, Laura, Tapin and family. Aunt Jeanie and Laura fed us gobs of yummy homemade mexican, and then we all sat around and played catch up our personal current events and such. Makes me really miss family, you know? Anyway, thanks to everyone who made us feel welcome, and come on down to the South anytime. We'll cook up some grits and teach ya'll some werds that'll make ya feel downright local.