A quick two days in Moab.

So not ski related but hey, it’s crazy dry down here in the south west right now so what do you do when there is no snow? You go mountain biking!

Day 1 was on The Whole Enchilada. 26 miles and 7000 vertical feet of descending from the alpine at 12,500 ft. In the La Sals and all the way down to the Colorado River. This ride defines epic ride

Day two was spent on hyamesa back to Captain Ahab.



Then there was the drive home through Navajo country and Monument Valley.

GREAT photos!

Yeah  
+1
Very cool,RA. Also I found myself watching The Blizzard of Naz again the other day. Thanks for that. Between you and NEPA I'm having a hard time justifying my continuing NYS residency.

Brownski wrote

Yeah  
+1
Very cool,RA. Also I found myself watching The Blizzard of Naz again the other day. Thanks for that. Between you and NEPA I'm having a hard time justifying my continuing NYS residency.

Awesome pics, RA. I need to mt. Bike the SW. Looks truly epic.


And, Brownski, what about the traffic, taxes, and high retail prices?? Shall I continue? It's a crapshoot where I'll end up in retirement. I think a lot will depend on my kids. But, I am going to try my hardest to get them to see the light of mountain living. :).

Marcski wrote

And, Brownski, what about the traffic, taxes, and high retail prices?? Shall I continue? It's a crapshoot where I'll end up in retirement. I think a lot will depend on my kids. But, I am going to try my hardest to get them to see the light of mountain living. :).

Exactly.

Nice..One of my fantasy rides..

Did you use the shuttle for the whole enchi?

wow - wow - wow

that's all i got

Great pictures.  How warm is it there this time of year?

JasonWx wrote

Nice..One of my fantasy rides..

Did you use the shuttle for the whole enchi?

Ya, we rode with two good friends that live there and another mutual friend from Fruita and they set up a self shuttle. I can’t imagine doing it without a shuttle. I guess some people would be into that but you would blow a ton of gas getting to the ride. It’s not an easy 26 miles at all. It’s freaking gnarly the whole way and takes a lot of focus with technical riding moves over and over again. From what they were telling me there are tons of people that get in over their heads on that ride.

D.B. Cooper wrote

Great pictures.  How warm is it there this time of year?

It varies but generally from Burro Pass down is under some snow by now. It’s a tricky ride because of the extreme elevation change. We had 70’s on Porcupine Rim and it was in the 50’s for our climb up to the pass. If your doing this ride in the summer you could have near freezing temps at the start and be around 110 once your on Porcupine. I just heard that it was still dry last Thursday and started scheming and Monday was the day. The La Sals are probably getting some snow today and tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for your positive responses! I love Nysb

Great Pictures.

I, too, would love to get to Southern Utah/Western Colorado for mountain biking, but I find it hard to justify spending money on mountain bike trips involving planes when I could use that money for ski trips involving planes.

My trip to this area is going to have to wait until I have a good few months to hit Fruita/Telluride/Durango/Moab/Gooseberry Mesa/Bryce/Zion/Arches/etc. I'd need an adventure van or a solid camper. September-Late November seems like a good time for this. Then I can hole up at some PNW ski resort, get a job, and live in the parking lot for the winter. I wonder how long I could keep that kind of lifestyle going before I'd have to go back to a real job, homeownership and lawn maintenance...

Marcski wrote

 It's a crapshoot where I'll end up in retirement. I think a lot will depend on my kids. But, I am going to try my hardest to get them to see the light of mountain living. :).

My parents just moved where they wanted anyway. I see them on holidays & in the summer when they're in the ADKs, but I don't think you should base your life decisions on your kids (easy for me to say b/c I don't have kids, I guess). I think if you live in a cool place, they'll come to you.

As far as moving out of NY: I think NY is a good place to make the money one needs to live out west. Salaries are good here, and the living is good enough. Yeah, we don't have huge mountains, huge snowfall, huge expanses of public land, and the scenery isn't as awe-inspiring as it is out west. But there are lots of things to like about the outdoors in the east, too (awesome foliage, lots of back roads for road biking, quaint little towns, lakes & rivers with water in them, mountain bike trails that don't require 8,000 ft. of elevation change, more numerous ski areas, etc.).

But yes, as much as I like the east, I'm a firm believer that every mountain person like us should live out west for a while. Both RA and nepa started in the east (as far as I know). Some of us are just waiting a bit longer to move out.

MC2 5678F589 wrote

I don't think you should base your life decisions on your kids (easy for me to say b/c I don't have kids, I guess). I think if you live in a cool place, they'll come to you.

For many that I know, the kids thing is about schools.  I have no idea how much a specific school matters, but I do know that places that are expensive to live, are expensive in part due to the schools.  Our property taxes are really high and 70% of it is school tax.

One thing I would recommend is that if you are going to move anywhere, do it before your kids start school.  Neve would be so bummed right now if we moved her to a new school.

MC2 5678F589 wrote

Marcski wrote

 It's a crapshoot where I'll end up in retirement. I think a lot will depend on my kids. But, I am going to try my hardest to get them to see the light of mountain living. :).

 mountain bike trails that don't require 8,000 ft. of elevation change, more numerous ski areas, etc.).

We have lots of those too. :)

Harvey wrote

MC2 5678F589 wrote

I don't think you should base your life decisions on your kids (easy for me to say b/c I don't have kids, I guess). I think if you live in a cool place, they'll come to you.

For many that I know, the kids thing is about schools.  I have no idea how much a specific school matters, but I do know that places that are expensive to live, are expensive in part due to the schools.  Our property taxes are really high and 70% of it is school tax.

One thing I would recommend is that if you are going to move anywhere, do it before your kids start school.  Neve would be so bummed right now if we moved her to a new school.

I'm not sold on the better schools are always the ones in expensive areas or the ones rated as better actually are. We had Cody in the highest rated school here and it kind of sucked. The parents had an urban like competitive attitude that reminded me of the tri-state area or Scottsdale and it showed in a lot of the kids. I don't want my kid to be in that sort of environment. For her, as it did for me it had a more negative impact than it was positive. She's in a different school now, is excelling in her work and has a third of the homework.

I guess after my experience growing up I really want my daughter to enjoy her childhood and not to have too much pressure on her. In the end, none of this shit or ourselves is as important as we want to believe it is.

That's why I said "I have no idea how much a specific school matters."  What I was trying to say is the perception that expensive schools are better is real.

I do know that when the shit hit the fan in 2009 lots of kids with Wall Street Dads were pulled out of some expensive private schools (30k/year) and put into our school. They were not killing it academically by any means. Some were put into remedial to catch up.

Harvey wrote

That's why I said "I have no idea how much a specific school matters."  What I was trying to say is the perception that expensive schools are better is real.

I do know that when the shit hit the fan in 2009 lots of kids with Wall Street Dads were pulled out of some expensive private schools (30k/year) and put into our school. They were not killing it academically by any means. Some were put into remedial to catch up.

Interesting. Maybe those expensive private schools let a lot slide to please those high dollar paying customers :D

I agree with MC, every eastern skier or mountain biker should live out west at some point.  It's a totally different life style.  I did it for 10 years (Telluride), but family brought me back to the ADKs.  Family definitely wins though.  But, now our daughter lives in Aspen, so can't wait for retirement for the extended visits.  

raisingarizona wrote

JasonWx wrote

Nice..One of my fantasy rides..

Did you use the shuttle for the whole enchi?

Ya, we rode with two good friends that live there and another mutual friend from Fruita and they set up a self shuttle. I can’t imagine doing it without a shuttle. I guess some people would be into that but you would blow a ton of gas getting to the ride. It’s not an easy 26 miles at all. It’s freaking gnarly the whole way and takes a lot of focus with technical riding moves over and over again. From what they were telling me there are tons of people that get in over their heads on that ride.

It's easy to get in over your head in the desert..26 miles even with a shuttle is a MASSIVE ride..