Snowboarding event

The 2015 US Open for Snowboarding was held at Vail this year.  As in February, being a spectator is free.  There much less formal structure to this event;  no stadium, no security for all spectators, and no presentation of flags for each country participating.  Spectators walked up the sleep slopes along a fence protecting the half-pipe.  I stood at a good vantage point to be able to see the half-pipe competition and the slope-style riders.

 The women were competing the day I went to see the event.  Participants are judged on style, technique, and the  "tricks"  performed.  Judges use the tall posts in the background to determine the height of each rider's acrobatic tricks.  "Getting good air"  is a goal.

This is slope style.  A rider achieves  "good air" coming up a steep slope and launches a trick at the top.

I wonder how many times he fell while learning this trick.

A rider with good form in the air.

end of February

Hello blog world.  No I did not fall into a crevasse.  There has not been much blog-worthy happening.  Avon is such a bird drought.  The office has entered a slow period, after the Skiing Championships and waiting for the Spring Break families to come in March.  The skiers are happy with the recent 7 inches of snow on the mountain tops.  A few weeks ago I drove south (and east) on Hwy 24 to visit my friend Sandi who lives in a small town in the forest.  She and her boyfriend feed birds on the back porch.  Abert's squirrels come to the feeders occasionally.

I have been avoiding posting photos of snowy landscapes because the East Coast has received so much snow, and sub-zero temperatures.  I found this icicle cascades on a local building.

The wastewater treatment facility in Silverthorne hosts a nice collection of ducks each winter.  Ring-necked Ducks are one of my favorites.

more photos from ski races

Friday morning I arrived a bit later and the stadium was full.  Most people were content to watch the Women's races on the big screen monitors.  I walked up the steep hill to a place I could see over the 4 layers of snow fences and watch each woman zipping by.

This is Lindsey Vonn of the USA team.  She finished 5th.

This is Tina Maze of Slovenia, who posted the fastest time of the race. 

View of finish line from up-slope.  taken as I started down the hill.  It was quite steep and I was  "boot-skiing"  for half of the descent.










An informal presentation of flowers ceremony is held immediately at the conclusion of the races.  A formal medals ceremony is held each evening at a big plaza in Vail. 

Ski races

     Beaver Creek / Vail won the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships for 2015.  The event started on Monday despite the weather.  Needless to say, there are many many people  here to watch the races. Being a spectator is free, and there are caravans of buses to transport people to the stadiums to watch events.  The overnight lodging is the expensive part for most of the guests. 
     Yesterday I took the buses up to the Village and to the race finish location.  Red Tail Stadium was built for this event, and will be dismantled at the end of the season.  The Men's Super G race was just about to start as I arrived.  All the big name skiers from the Olympics are here to compete.
     From the stadium at the finish line only a small portion of the course can be seen.  You have to love technology !!  Big screen monitors show each racer on the course from start to finish.  This is Bode Miller starting on the course.  Unfortunately he crashed into a gate and did not finish.

 This is a European skier coming down fast toward the finish line.

This is Ted Ligety, an American racer, who
skied well but not fast enough for a medal.













This is a European Skier who did quite well on the course.

A spectator's view of the course and the finish line.

Alpine birds

Avian life in Avon has been minimal.  Black-billed Magpies are seen everyday.  Sometimes I see a flock of House Sparrows or hear a Mountain Chickadee.  During my recent days off, I drove to Golden, on the western edge of metro Denver.  There were many reports of Rosy-finches coming to feeders in a residential area.
      Gray-crowned, and Brown-capped Rosy-finches are the 2 species in this flock.

     Rosy-finches are northern forest birds, often living above timberline in the high mountains.  In the winter they descend to lower elevations seeking food and shelter.  A set of feeders or conifers with many cones can be very attractive to a hungry flock of Rosy-finches.  This area of western Denver has hosted Rosy-finches in previous winters.  In 2015 all the friends and relatives came in one big flock, easily 50 - 60 birds, descending on the feeders at one home.  It was an amazing sight to watch these gregarious pink and brown birds fill up each platform feeder and spill out onto the ground.  All busy eating without fighting.

     Other birds came too:  Black-capped Chickadees, Pine Siskins, American Goldfinches, Cassin's Finches, House Finches, a variety of Juncos, a Downy Woodpecker, a Flicker, and Sparrows.  Song, a White-throated, White-crowneds, and an American Tree Sparrow.  A protected platform feeder was provided on the front porch to allow the sparrows to eat in peace, away from the flocks of Rosy-finches.  Later in the morning a small group of Red-wing Blackbirds to investigate the seeds.

 The Tree Sparrows are so pretty I could not resist photographing them too.  They move fast, no perfect pictures.

    

a Sunbreak

Gray-white skies and falling snowflakes have been what's happening here for the past 10 days.  Yesterday morning blue sky appeared and I took a few photos.  I found a camera-shy Magpie hiding in a Spruce tree.

It finally came out to forage in the old grass and spruce cone bits.












Eagle River is acquiring a frozen top.  Many nights with temperatures in the teens and below make for a frosty river.










start of Bachelor Gulch Road

Snowy CBC

     The snow was forecasted several days ahead.  I was hoping for less than an inch because Christmas Bird Count was Sunday, the 14th.  Sunday morning I swept 5 inches of snow off Silver truck !!   I would meet the group of birders in Eagle, CO about 20 miles to the west.  All went well with the driving and I was assigned to section 2, riding with Bill and Kathy in their Subaru.
     We drove up Valley Rd (Gypsum Canyon Rd or FS 412) into White River National Forest.  The red dirt road goes thru grasslands and pastures, later climbing in elevation to a Pinyon-Juniper forest.  Snow was still falling, temperature was about 35 F.  Birds were doing the smart thing, staying hidden in dense thickets and out of the storm.  For our morning's efforts, 14 species were tallied.  Highlights were a Rough legged Hawk chasing a young Red tailed Hawk, a Dipper standing on a rock in a grey, cold-looking creek.   Photo above:   Not a creature was stirring, not even a Chickadee.

     I had today off as well, so I picked up the snowshoes and boarded the bus up to Beaver Creek Village.  Mountains across the valley were covered in a blanket of snow.  The Nordic Center opened 2 days ago.  My old wooden snowshoes caused quite some excitement when I went in to find a map.  2 men photographed them with smartphones !