Life's a chair

Empire Chairlift

Empire Chairlift

Thought I'd post some chairlift photos I had lying around. Just got off the 10 day Presidents' Day rush, gearing up for 3 weeks of Spring Breaks. Hopefully my third trip to the clinic will cure me of what seems to be a seasonal sickness. 

The Jumpoff: Chris

The photojournalist in me sort of took over the friend in me after this fall. Sorry about it Chris, but the ski tips in the powder make for a nice blooper.

The Jumpoff: Dace

Taken at Brighton a few days after one of our few big storms. That's Dace.

FIS Freestyle

The long way around

Somewhere on Route 191

A few hours of weeding and editing later and it looked like a good trip. It keeps boggling my mind that I live in Utah, I think it's the Mormon factor and the weird alcohol restriction laws. Because if you think about it, this state is pretty awesome with its (usually) world class skiing, beautiful national parks, and seemingly limitless activities to indulge in. Not too shabby.

Grand View Point

Grand View Point Overlook

Island in the Sky

Mesa Arch

Sunrise through Mesa Arch

Woke up in time for the sunrise at Mesa Arch. There were around 7 other photographers during the course of the morning. I always enjoy events like this where it's just a bunch of enthusiasts excited to get an awesome shot. Again, I was bumming for my wide angle, but I'm pretty happy with the above.

Green River Overlook

The desert cliffs became purple in the late sunset

The two day trip kind of became a blend of sunrises and sunsets. After taking what could be my editor's photo under Delicate (I haven't forgotten photo department), it was off to Canyonlands National Park to shoot the sunset at Green River Outlook. I am happy to say my trip to Canyonlands went a lot smoother than Aron Ralston's, I came away with both arms and legs intact.

Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch

Look familiar? It's featured in the design of one of the Utah license plates. Of course my wide angle lens was malfunctioning this trip, so I had to settle for 24mm as my widest. I still got some stuff I liked, but I think I have to go back with my lens now that it seems to be working again (go figure). Lounge-lizarding around Delicate was a great way to spend the afternoon (you really can't go wrong when you have Swedish fish and Fireball).

Partition Arch

View from Partition Arch

Even though it feels like forever ago since I posted, it really hasn't been too long. I guess I just haven't had time for words. But now I have a minute and I'll write some down.

Since Utah's 2012 winter season should be known as "the greatest sham on Earth" due to lack of snow, during my few days off last week I opted not to ski and to explore the state. I think I was on skis every day for a month. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome, but I needed a break. It was off to Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. I took a bazillion photos, which I'm still in the process of editing. But here's what I got from the almost sunrise shoot at Partition Arch.