Frolicking Through the Winter Months

To make up for my lameness in not posting any stoke all winter long, this post is all about the random days out and about with my camera. I also came-up with one of the most ridiculous names I could think of for a post just to commemorate this historic period in our lives.

Detailed trip reports of the more insane activities will follow, right now this is just the side-activities.

Roxborough State Park with Caitlin and Whitney (Jan 9th, 2010):

Ben Thought there was Something Funny Tasting in the Water (Jan 16th, 2010):

Scenics from the Biggest and Brightest Full-Moon of the Year (January 30th, 2010)(Summit County, CO):

Hiking Around Eldorado State Park with Caitlin and the Sister (Jan 18th, 2010):

Storm Blowing over Red Mountain – Awesome Time-lapse photos to follow – March 7th, 2010, 4:57pm:

Storm 30 mins later 5:33pm:

The Trees on the Side of My House After some Wet Snow- For some reason when they get the smallest amount of snow on them they can completely bend over and touch the ground (March 24th, 2010):

Anyways we had to find other activities to focus in on throughout the winter since the snow was so spotty. The only thing that I never got around to was climbing days out on the rock; I hit up the backyard wall a number of times but never got around to climbing in the snow (as in previous years).

More updates on there way including a Denver Zoo and the real report on Winter!!!

If you are following on a feed, all full updates can be found on my website here: http://andylibrande.com/news/

Optimus Prime Owns My Climbing Wall

Optimus Prime is the awe-inspiring leader of the Autobot forces. On the battlefield, there are few who rival Optimus Prime’s prowess. He is easily the strongest of any Autobot his size, and what he lacks in raw firepower he easily compensates with guts. He would sacrifice his life to protect his fellow Autobots or those under their care.

In the eyes of Transformer fans, this is God.

http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Optimus_Prime_%28G1%29

Could not resist the above description of Optimus Prime when I was looking for good photos to base my newest addition to the climbing wall.

A couple weeks ago Caitlin and I set-out to add a new feature to the climbing wall and messed around with a couple of designs. Caitlin suggested the Triangle type shape in the corner of the wall and then we started building.

Once we had all of the pieces cut-out we somehow came to the conclusion that the shape kind of looked like an Optimus Prime face and thus the rest of the project we were focused on making the best volume that I have ever seen.

Materials and Construction for the Optimus Prime Climbing Volume:

1 4×8′ of plywood (the stuff that is ~$25-30 sheet not the $40-50 stuff) (Plenty left-over as well)
4 Metal Angles
Wood-screws
T-nuts
Black/White/Red/Blue Spray Paint
Tools: Circular Saw, Jig-saw, Screw-gun, straight-edge, triangle, big-ass hammer

Started by cutting the shape based upon the angle to the wall. Due to the complexities of the angle we did a couple sample cuts in some shitty wood I had laying around until it was pretty close. Once we started the front panel was the first piece and we tacked it to the wall to measure the side-pieces. Measuring the side pieces was all about precision with the lengths and the angle to the wall. Once we had the main angles all we had to do was cut the edges at an angle where they would fit together. Then I bent the metal angles until they were at the correct angle and screwed them onto the main board after we had put T-nuts into each piece.The last step was painting with multiple black layers first, taping out the design, then white, red, and blue. Hang-up and enjoy.

Here are a few pictures of the design process and the final product:

Caitlin holding the Optimus to give you an understanding of its size:

Optimus during construction. The wood 2×4 pieces never got used.

Optimus after receiving numerous Black Paint coats, then being taped-off for the face features, and with a little white:

Taking Optimus for a Test spin:

It’s so beautiful I have a hard time putting holds onto it right now:

If you are following via a feed, here is the permalink: http://andylibrande.com/news/2010/04/optimus-prime-owns-my-climbing-wall/

Quick Winter Teaser

Posted: March 31, 2010
By: andylibrande
In: Colorado, Snow, Summit County/I-70 Area
0

Well I jacked-up my main computer with a virus that makes Adolf Hitler seem like an adorable little kitten. Therefore I have been slacking on an insane scale with my website updates.

We have had some really nice days skiing in the last month or so (finally!) and here are a few quick ones to hold you over until I can get my ass in gear and get around 1,000 photos (about 5GB’s) uploaded and processed.

Deep turns at Montezuma by Trent (March 6th, 2010):

Jim Donovan taking a nice smooth entry (March 6th, 2010):

Caitlin cruising some nice turns (March 28th, 2010: ):

Beautiful Montezuma during a late afternoon windstorm (March 28th, 2010):

Well that’s it for the moment and more will be on the way.

If you are following from a feed here is the permalink: http://andylibrande.com/news/2010/03/quick-winter-teaser/

Time for some randomness?

Well I have not been out taking any photos recently due to the lack of snow that Colorado has been getting. Also on top of that I have somehow contracted the nastiest virus on my computer and have put little effort in cleaning it up so I have not had time to process the few photos that I have taken.

Anyways here is a bunch of cool stuff I have found on the internet lately:

My Buddy Jon Jay’s recent exploits to RMNP: http://jonathanjay.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/pillow-talk-in-the-dream-chutes/

My Buddy Owen Mckee’s Awesome Exploits of being Unemployed:

Hilarious Video of Backcountry Skiing on Berthoud Pass:

TIMMY TUESDAYS, REDNECK BACKCOUNTRY from Cedar Wright on Vimeo.

An awesome climbing film short:

Also Make sure to check the behind the scenes of the above video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNgdN48RnRY&

Collection of Some Pretty Sweet Home Climbing Walls:

http://mountainproject.com/v/general_climbing/what_does_your_woody_look_like/106606591__1

Well here is to hoping to get some sweet snow and finally shoot some awesome photos!!!

RIP 2005-2010

There has not been a single piece of equipment that has ever defined my outdoor experience as my last snowboard did. Throughout my life I have always viewed all outdoor gear as a good tool, a piece of equipment that assists in outdoor explorations, and I have only focused on using high-quality tools that will last. Over the past five years of adventures I have been through an enormous amount of snow gear; four jackets, three pairs of snowboard pants, two snow backpacks, two pairs of boots, and countless base layers, goggles, and gloves. However I have only had one snowboard.

Almost five years ago I purchased the Palmer Honeycomb snowboard. At that point in my life I had just started to really experience snowboarding and this snowboard helped propel me into the rider that I am today. From the deep powder days in Jackson Hole, to the glorious backcountry days throughout the Rocky Mountains, to the backyard kickers in friends yards, to the aggressive big mountain lines in remote areas, this board has been the single piece of equipment to carry me through it all.

For almost five years and well over 120 days of riding, this board had stood the test of time. Everything I threw at this board it withheld. Numerous deep core-shots were easily fixed, the sidewalls were strong as ever, and outside of some minor wear and tear it never slowed-down.

Based on the incredibly solid build of the board I always thought that I would have it forever. Therefore it was only fitting that the last day of my board was on the first bottomless inbounds powder day of a very dismal season. Much better for the legacy to abruptly end then slowly fad into memory as the backup board. Abruptly it did end as I misgauged a pillow and dug the tip which catapulted me forward into the deep snow. Unharmed, I stood and took my first turn and immediately fell and noticed that the entire front end of the board had snapped in two. This was the end of the legacy, and as I spent the next hour making my way down to the base area, I could not feel anything but joy as I reminisced about all the good times this board had brought me and helped define my life.

Hopefully I will cross paths with another board of this caliber, however at this moment I am grateful that this piece of equipment lasted as long as it did.

Thank you Palmer for making a quality board and I leave all of you with a few of the moments that defined me over the past five seasons.

(pics of broken board will be posted shortly)