I'm off from work through July 13, during which time I am going to be working mercilessly on Naked Edge, with the goal of finishing it by July 15, at which time I must start another project. I tried putting up a countdown clock here for fun's sake, but I couldn't get it to work.
So rather than leaving you with a countdown clock to stare at for the next two weeks, I thought I'd share a video of some of the most amazing powder skiing I've ever seen. Remember, I grew up in Colorado. Skiing lessons were part of PE in junior high. So when I say this is fantastic skiing, believe me, I know what I'm talking about.
I have no idea who these guys are, but they ski like powder demons. Why is this relevant? After all, it's July! True, true! BUT, Gabe Rossiter, the hero in Naked Edge is a mountain parks ranger and loves to ski. Not only does he love to ski, but he's amazing at it. None other than Julian Darcangelo says that Gabe is hell on skis. And now that you've got this video to watch, you can see what that means. These guys ski deep powder, taking face shots all the way, and they ski a couple of cliffs. (In ski lingo, "face shots" means having the power fly into your face. Outside of skiing, it's a porn term, and you can figure out for yourself what it means.)
In his younger years, Gabe chased powder. That is to say, he traveled wherever the powder was deep and the skiing was good. A lot of young guys live that way here, mostly sleeping in cars or vans and driving anywhere in the Rockies where the snow is dumping.
If you want to catch some of Gabe's other activities, you can search YouTube for heliskiing. He and Marc Hunter out of necessity go heliskiing, something I have actually done. I went heliskiing with a group of friends near Telluride. Heliskiing is where they fly you into the wilderness to some crazy high ridge in the mountains and drop you off in the snow and you ski down the mountain in deep powder. I suck at telemark skiing, so I kind of fall down the mountain while wearing skis. But, hey, I still went heliskiing, right?
After watching all of this snowy activity, hopefully you'll feel cooled off and refreshed.
I'm five chapters and an epilogue away from finishing Naked Edge. I'll check in if I can. If I'm focused on the story and can't come back to the real world, then you won't see me for a while. But do enjoy that crazy ripping in this video. I watch in awe.
And if I don't see you all again before Saturday, have a wonderful, safe Fourth of July!