Brian Shelton

I posted last week that a friend of Adventure Insider underwent surgery to have a tumor removed from his brain.  I am please to inform you that the surgery went well and Brian is on his way to recovery and looks forward to getting back on belay.  In the mean time the climbing competition to raise money for this expensive surgery is planned for April 3, 2010 at the Sport Climbing Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Registration will begin at 5:30 and the competition will begin at 6:00.  The cost is $10 for a very worth cause.  Don’t worry about you climbing ability, there will be prizes for all abilities in addition to raffles and an all around good time.  A party will follow the competition.  Members of Adventure Insider will be there including Erick, Shane, and CJ.  Great prizes have been donated by Patagonia, Mountain Hardwear, Prana, Outdoor Research, Black Diamond, Diver’s Reef, and NOLS to name a few.  If you have questions please leave a comment and we will get back to you.

We hope to see you there!

For many years my roommates and I had passes to Ski Cooper, near Leadville, Colorado. Cooper is one of the smallest ski areas in Colorado, but it’s extremely family friendly. The lifts are slower, the runs are shorter, and it’s generally a more relaxing atmosphere than larger resorts.

After we married, Angie and I decided to take advantage of the Liberty Pass offered by Vail resorts. This special pass for military members offers unlimited skiing at Keystone and Arapahoe Basin for less than half of a full price season pass. I had been to Keystone and other large resorts before, so I knew what to expect. That year we hit Keystone 5 or 6 times, including one multi-day trip when we stayed in Silverthorne. We also boarded a day or two up at A-Basin, which is a really great place but has become very crowded over the past few years. Overall though, we didn’t really care for Keystone as much as other resorts, and couldn’t handle the crowds up the road at A-Basin.

Last year we bit the bullet and bought the full price Colorado Pass which included Breckenridge, A-Basin, and Keystone. We only went to Breck since we’re not big fans of the other two any more. The pass is pretty pricey (I think we paid $450 each), but if you get enough days in it can be worth it. What we realized about halfway through the season is that we really don’t like crowds. Since we can usually only hit the slopes on weekends, and we like to sleep in a little, by the time we arrive on a Saturday morning, the entire resort is usually packed.

In addition to the lift lines and crowded slopes, we really don’t like being so far from our FJ Cruiser. We like to go back to the FJ at lunch time for a sandwich, some great tunes, and a little relaxation. That’s very difficult to do at a large resort. At Breck, that entails taking a gondola, and usually a bus to get to a large parking lot and finally back to the car. It’s really not worth it. What ends up happening is that we’re stuck eating an overpriced chicken sandwich at a VERY crowded mountainside venue. In addition to our passes, we were dropping another $60-70 every time we went (gas, parking, food, etc). Our snowboarding hobby got expensive very quickly.

That’s not to say that we didn’t enjoy ourselves. The snow is usually pretty good, and the runs are nice and long. For great terrain and lots of variety, Breckenridge is hard to beat. Also, on the rare occasion that we were able to hit the slopes during the week, the resort was generally pretty quiet. With the large crowds removed, some of the other drawbacks are easily overlooked. I highly recommend a larger resort like Breck for those coming to Colorado on vacation.

This year, since Angie isn’t able to board, I chose to grab a military pass at Monarch again. The smaller resort with far less people is much better for my tastes, especially on the weekend. I’ve been able to get to the slopes very early in the morning and get some great turns before any lift lines form. Looking forward, with the new addition to our family on the way, I think we’ll be sticking with either Monarch or Ski Cooper for the foreseeable future. I don’t like the thought of teaching our little one to ski/board on a crowded resort mountain.

What are your thoughts on large resorts versus smaller ski areas? Do you prefer the ultra fast lifts and multi-mountain terrain, or smaller areas that are more cost effective and convenient? We’d love to hear about your favorite small ski areas, next season is just around the corner and we’re looking for places to check out!

My fitness activities range from light days at the gym to hard core circuit courses. I usually prefer to get my cardio workouts on the trails in and around Colorado Springs, usually with a few pounds of gear strapped to my back. Unfortunately I don’t always have time to get out for cardio, so I have to rely on what the local fitness center has to offer. While stair climbers, elliptical machines, and stationary bikes all work fine for cardio, I know that the best workout in a short time is running. The problem is, I REALLY don’t like running.

I’ve had to run for time pretty regularly since I joined Civil Air Patrol over 20 years ago, and I’ve never liked it. When I first joined the Air Force, my run times were average at best, I’ve never been a fast runner. As I’ve aged, I’ve developed minor knee irritations that have required a brace on occasion, which has definitely slowed my run times. While I still meet the standards for the AF, I’ve really felt that I’ve been held back a little.

Last year a friend of mine posted on Facebook about a not-so-new running ‘shoe’ called the Vibram Five Fingers. The premise of the Five Fingers is to mimic running barefoot, since barefoot running is much more efficient and safe than even the best running shoe. The philosophy is that humans have been running for thousands of years, yet running shoes have only been around for a few decades. The Five Fingers is basically a glove for your foot; each toe has its own pocket to go in. This logic made a lot of sense to me, so I decided to try a pair out.

I called around to all the stores in Colorado Springs and only found one that sells the Five Fingers, our trusty locally owned Mountain Chalet. When I went down to try on a pair of Five Fingers, I was lucky enough to be helped by a salesperson that’s been a fan of them for years. She gave me a quick run down of the options and I decided that the KSO would be the best fit for me.

When I first pulled the size 41 KSO Five Fingers out and tried to put them on, I immediately realized there was a learning curve here. I’m not kidding when I say it took a good 10 minutes to get that first shoe on. Even though the Five Fingers uses a more precise sizing scheme, everyone’s foot is a little different. In fact, I’ve been told that some people may not be able to find a size that fits them well. The key to learning how to wear these shoes is figuring out how to ‘work’ your toes into the pockets. The second shoe only took 5 minutes, and now I can don the Five Fingers nearly as quickly as any other shoe.

Let’s talk about results. While I can’t guarantee that everyone will respond well to the Five Fingers, if my results are typical, most people will see fairly immediate benefits. There is, however, a re-training period of a couple of weeks to get used to running more efficiently. While the specifics are beyond the scope of this article (see below for some great resources), suffice it to say that when you learn to run without slamming your heel into the ground, you’re going to be much more efficient.

My run times (for the 1.5 mile fitness test that I’m required to take) have dropped by an average of 30 seconds over the last few months. Beyond that, while I’m still not a HUGE fan of running (you won’t see me in any marathons), with the Five Fingers I almost look forward to it. What’s more, I’ve not had to wear a knee brace at all since I’ve been using these shoes. Since running is more efficient and less jarring, the impact is less intense and my knees are very thankful for that. In fact, there have been times that my knees have hurt (from wearing dress shoes at work) when I began running, but stop hurting after running for a few minutes in the Five Fingers. I’m not sure if this is typical, but it sure has me sold! I’m considering buying a set of KSO Treks for light hiking this summer. I’ll let you know how that works out.

When it comes to indoor training for any type of adventure, good cardio is a must. I’ve become a huge fan of the Vibram Five Fingers and the barefoot running philosophy in general, it really makes sense. If you’re looking to increase your running efficiency and decrease the impact, head down to your local outfitter and try on a set of Five Fingers.

RESOURCES
Vibram Five Fingers KSO – Mens  (Buy)
A great resource for barefoot running.
A Harvard study on barefoot running
Great video showing the benefits of barefoot running.
A Barefoot running blog

1. I really am 13 years old in this tape, even though I look 10
2. To this day I’m not much of a swimmer, but in 1989 I could’ve been called ‘afraid’ of the water. Rafting & canoeing was a big step for me.
3. I don’t wear stupid things on my head anymore.

So without further comment, I present “The Wilderness – 1989”

1989 Wilderness Adventure in West Virginia from Shane Williams on Vimeo.

Wow…that wasn’t too bad, was it?

Here I am 20 years later, and the love for adventure that was born so long ago is alive and well. While life (house, job, responsibilities) sometimes has to come before the adventures I so badly want to take, I still manage to get outside pretty often. I’m blessed with a wife who loves the outdoors as much as I do, and I can’t wait to start teaching our son about how amazing the world can be. During the next few months things will be kind of slow, but by the end of this year I have no doubt that the entire Williams family will be exploring the outdoors once again.

I managed to get up to Monarch Ski Area on Saturday the 2nd for my first snowboarding trip of ’10.  It was a solo affair, since Angie is unable to board this year with our child on the way. I had checked several of my iPhone Ski Report apps before leaving an read that Monarch only got 1″ of powder the previous night. Luckily snow was in the forecast for Saturday, so I was hoping for a smaller than usual crowd for New Years weekend & plenty of room to stretch.

I left Colorado Springs dark & early, a good hour before sunrise so that I could get to Monarch by the time they opened at 9am. By the time I got to the parking lot it was already 1/3 full, so I still had a short trek to the lift. I spend most of my time at Monarch on the Advanced & intermediate only lift (Breeze Way), and that early in the morning there was virtually no one in line.

My first few runs were very nearly first tracks. There were a few riders here & there, but for the most part I was all alone. The wind & snow in my face, burning down some of my favorite (albeit short) runs in Colorado, carving wide & fast; that’s what winter is all about.

The great thing about living in Colorado is that it truly is an area for all seasons. From backpacking in August (See the Raggeds Wilderness) to 4×4 trails all summer and snow fun in the winter, there’s always something to do and I’m NEVER bored.

Now if I can only figure out a way to get paid for it!