Snow Sports and/or Surfing

You've been warned.

 

Donde?

 

Where is this? Need to stay away

 

San Clemente between T Street and Calafia. Basically straight in from Seal Rock, which is probably what draws the sharks.
Great surf BTW!

 

I have two boards with me here in Arizona, could not part with them. Sold my 5’10” before moving but kept my 1984 M & M and a 8’6” Robert august from the late 80s. I also have a 6’6” infinity mid 70s single fin at my brothers Back in California. I might have to get a new board with two possibly three wave pools being made out here.

 

You should ALWAYS stay out longer!

 

Dual sessions today. The first at Bolsa Chica with one of my first surfing buddies. He had to help me get over my wave-catching slump. I caught a few - which is better than my last three sessions. Oh and it was sunny, calm and, well a little crowded. 1-3' Poor shape, but caught a few corners.

Then afternoon sesh with my daughter at Doheny. Little brat is now trying to beat my wave count. Not hard to do. She - 7. Me - 6. Sunny and crowded, but the vibe there is very Waikiki - every wave's a party wave and nobody cares.

 

The water temp in South Orange County is now 72° plus. I trunked it today with a short sleeve top and never noticed the water (except when it was up my nose). Usually there's a little chill when it first hits exposed skin. Not today.

Come and get it while you can! Or don't. 'Cuz crowds. That said, I was at Middle Trestles and there were only about 6-10 others - all pleasant. Waves were chest to head high.

 

Snow Valley added to the Indy Pass.
https://www.skimag.com/news/ski-for-less-than-2-a-day-on-this-season-pass-to-72-resorts/

Vail/Epic Pass has the next move…the original and biggest megapass is now the only megapass with no SoCal acreage…

I’m thinking about starting a SPAC to buy Mt Waterman as a “flip.”

 

Not sure that would be good with no snowmaking and a warmer/ drought climate.

 

Does it count as riding my bike if I rode down to Trestles and back? Part of it was on dirt, and there was a two-foot drop I chose to walk.

The water was friggin' cooooold! The day before I left for CO, the water was around 74° and I was trunking it. Today, there were dudes in full suits, booties and neoprene caps/hoods. I donned my long-sleeve spring suit. It was sunny when I got into the water, but then the fog rolled in (instead of waves). Spring suit was not sufficient.

So let's sum up - no waves, foggy and freezing cold. I think I should take up a less fickle sport - like maybe mt. biking.

 

Foggy, cold and small this morning, but glassy and actually quite fun on the longboard. However, I cut my session short due to the apex predator I saw in the lineup. Dorsal fin + vertical tail = belly boarding to the beach for me. I am sure that they are out there all the time, but seeing one 10 feet from my buddy, cruising after another surfer prompted many of us call it good and head in. As the total surfer bro stereotype dude who was being stalked said (in a total Jeff Spicoli surfer drawl) "That was enough exhilaration for me today. I've never seen a shark in the lineup before. I figured if I charge at him it might scare him away." I expected him to end with "So I told him, hey bud, let's party!"

I estimate that it was 30 feet long with a mouth as big as a trash dumpster!

OK, well, maybe 6' based on it being about 2.5-3' from dorsal fin to tip of tail. Nice fishy! Where is @SnakeCharmer and his gear when you need him?

 

@herzalot do not watch this guy's videos

 

Juvenile Great White, almost certainly. Nice taste of Mother Nature you got today.

 

My buddy kicked one off that was "investigating" him with its mouth at Bolsa.

 

As posted in "I didn't ride my bike today cuzz..."

This morning, I went "surfing" in the rain with @littlewave I put surfing in quotes because I never actually caught a wave. I did crash upon takeoff twice, so there's that. Brett got 3 or 4. It was fairly large out there, but not very powerful. The high tide made the waves back off rather than break - except on the inside. Even longboarders were struggling to catch 'em even thought the waves were head high. The water was delightfully warm though - I would say 70° plus.

Brett is a highly competent surfer. I hope he will go with me again sometime in conditions in which I might be more successful.

 

Why surfing is better than mt. biking:

• Equipment is cheaper
• No STRAVA
• Surfer bods look better than biker bods. FACT!
• Chicks dig surfers. And female surfers are... well, if I say more I will be a #metoo violator
• Fewer injuries (unless you catch air a lot surfing - then it's goodbye ankles)
• Not hot
• Surf locations!

Why Mt. Biking is better than surfing:

• Once you decide to ride - you will ride. No having to "catch" a trail. No having to jockey with other bikers to ride a trail. Much higher payoff to time ratio - like almost 1:1 if you consider climbing as part of the fun. If you are riding your board for three minutes in a two hour session, that's epic!
• Far less fickle in terms of conditions. Surfing relies on tide, wind, swell direction, wave shape and countless other conditions to make it surfable.
• More places in the world to mt. bike.
• You won't drown
• Aerobic challenge. Surfing can be hella aerobic, but in a far different way than mt. biking.

What they have in common:

There are critters and conditions that want to hurt you or kill and eat you.

• Surfing: jellyfish, stingrays, sharks, rocks, coral reefs, other surfers, runoff
• Mt. Biking: poison oak, tarantulas, tarantula hawks, rattlesnakes, bees, mt. lions, grizzly bears, rocks, cliffs, trees, gravity in general

And finally, both are being ruined by e-bikes!

Feel free to challenge or add to this list.

 

I’m just speculating because I am not a surfer but speak to a few occasionally. My understanding is that surfers are generally ultra competitive for position out there and occasionally combative. Who needs Strava in the water? My name is Dennis the Menace, and I am a Strava junkie.

 

Yes - that is the lore. I've only seen a couple of confrontations, but I avoid potentially aggressive crowds. I hear Palos Verde is nuts with localism.

And yes, you have to be somewhat aggressive in catching your waves in a crowd. If you back off or fail to catch a couple, everyone will notice and you are toast. They will catch everything that comes your way.

 

I think ebikes might look good in the surf

 

I don't think I'm doing it right...

 

Tell the faculty on Monday those freshmen are rough!

 

or your wife is...

 

Board meeting got a little out of control...

 

I dig the shirt! Yeesh, that's close. Fin? I surf like once a year, and took a fin to the dome last time out, a month or so ago. No stitches, but a few what-happened-to-yous the next day at work.

 

Got out. Turned around, caught a nice first wave - medium sized open right. Rode it past its logical conclusion and vaulted off the back of the wave as it collapsed into shore break. Board flew up in the air and as I came up I go - "Oh Sh!t, the board nearly hit me in the..." and then it did. Blunt nose of my 7'8" short longboard tagged me. It didn't feel like it hit very hard, so I went out to catch another wave, and I noticed the blood. I asked a fellow surfer to assess the damage. "That might need a stitch or two. I'm thinking your session is over." So I went in. Based on my beach towel, I wasn't bleeding much so I asked a guy on the beach. He said, "It's not too bad. You're already wet. Keep surfing." But it was throbbing and my contact wasn't happy, so I decided to head home and call it a one-wave session. It was a good wave, well ridden. And the water was warm. All good.

 

Reading this and it reminds me why I don’t miss surfing that much. I follow the WSL and really enjoy watching it. I also miss the actual art of riding a wave but it’s all the crap that goes into that 8 seconds that’s the bummer. I never thought I’d say I don’t surf or that I live in Arizona but here I am. We are getting a new wave pool out here and I am more than intrigued. Knowing that every time I surf I’ll get 10 waves that are all good is really taking out all the negatives. Let’s see how things go, maybe I will be a surfer again but a dorky Rick Kane wave pool surfer from Arizona.

 

Damn, Chris, way to keep those sensory organs intact! Speedy healing and positive net karmic balance to you.

 

James Niehues announced his retirement from ski area painting. The good news is that he’s taken up sketching National Park scenery. His Yosemite Valley or Long’s Peak might just be on its way to my living room wall.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/r...drona-to-colorado/LUBGE66FZJ7URW4AVWGG7I3HMQ/

In other ski news:
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10039-211007-norway-intact-skis

 

Friggin' GLORIOUS out there this morning. 2-4' - glassy. Peaky. Sunny. Calm. Warm air, cool water. I was overdressed in a 2-3 full suit.

8 good rides in an hour, including a couple I would have to rate as "excellent" for me. That's about double my usual productivity.

I headed home to be a good hubby and father, but when I got home, the girls said "We're going to Fascist Island to go do girl stuff. See ya!"

Hmmm, shoulda just stayed in the water another hour.