sorrow and joy in the ups and downs...

I have finally settled back into the winterless Wasatch Range again.  The tailspin I spoke of last post has subsided momentarily, and I slept for two straight days.  The roller coaster of life has been moving with fervor.  I am blessed to be on the ride, but what a long strange trip it's been.  I am still all about the love, as any reader of these posts knows by now.  However, my appreciation of it's dual nature has been heavily reinforced as of late.  The sorrow and joy of the love in the human existence is powerful and equal.  More love equates to more joy, but also an equal and opposite amount of sorrow.  It brings us the greatest joys, and the deepest sorrows.    

I traveled incessantly to and from my Wisconsin home this month.  I celebrated another winter with a ski movie party at Wilmot Mt. on the 16th.  I returned to SLC only to turn around the following weekend to mourn my grandmother's passing.  Then I returned to SLC again only to return once more to mourn the passing of a dear family friend, and see my cousin married off.  

^The Schaetz family and my own have grown very close over one week a year vacations together for the last 27 years.  Sally Schaetz, the nurturing mother of the clan, passed away from the cancer she has so bravely fought for the last few years.  Her life and fight was an inspiration to anyone who was blessed by her acquaintance.  She was young, but her life was full.

^Dave and Sally Schaetz...

^...and then three young boys, Jon, Bobby, and Mike.  Now these boys are men, and they are proving to be shining examples of their mother's legacy.

^Sally and her husband, Dave, built their lives and family together.  My heart breaks for Dave, and yet it was the comfort of his home and family that warmed my heart with a cold beer after the wake on Thursday evening.  I was touched that our families could still smile and laugh together a little in the shadow of their loss.    

^This is a photo of the first vacation that we spent together all those years ago.  What a fabulous tradition that started that week.  I am thankful for epics like that, and the ones we will share together long into the future.

^Sally's newest grandchild Sofia is the manifestation of the beauty in the Schaetz family.  My own mother can not get enough of her adorable little personality.  I look forward to seeing her grow up with the children my wife and I plan to have one week each year in the warm summer glow of tradition in the north woods of Wisconsin. Just as her father, her uncles, and my brother and I did.

^Thankfully, the sorrow of love in the end of a young and gifted life is equally and oppositely manifested in the joy of two young people beginning a new life of their own.  The breadth of the emotion of witnessing my cousin getting married was vast amongst my family.  We recently mourned the loss of our patriarch grandmother and raw emotional state of us all was evident.  The wedding and celebration of the joy of Allissa and Keith's young love was so much more deeply appreciated by all of us.  It was a beautiful and special wedding.  I am thankful I can leave my home for a while on that joyous note.  Lord knows that I am very deeply appreciative for it now as much as ever.   

real gifts of real life...

I have been amidst a tailspin of the real gifts of real life in all of it's madness, sadness, and glory.  The Wasatch is still dry, I fought off a nasty illness, and my family and I mourned the loss of a patriarch.  Rita Formero was my grandmother, and the mother to my own.  I hurried back home to Wisconsin for the services just days after I had returned from there for the annual ski movie premiere party I throw at Wilmot Mountain.  Thankfully, I was able to sit and visit with grandma and grandpa while I was back for the party.  For that I will be forever grateful.  On that following Monday morning Christine and I received the tearful phone call from my mother.  I took a long hot shower, and then wrote down what was coming over me like the morning's steamy bath water.   


"My 30 years of memories and her influence now melts down into gold. However, it is not for a savings account. It is the kind of gold that diminishes in value if hoarded. It is the kind of gold that exponentially grows for eternity when shared. It is the kind of gold that brings true purpose. It thrives in the transaction of a caring embrace. It is 30 years with Grandma, and I will spend the rest of my life happily doing my part to share that kind of gold with everyone. I am rich with it."


I thought about trying to write more about her and everything she was to the line of people that filed out the front doors of the funeral home.  Instead, I will take my own advice, and just share some gold.

More then anything, I found my heart breaking for my grandpa, Don Formero.  By this time he has spent more of his life with her then he did without.  However, I take comfort in knowing that the pain that he and the rest of us feel is the love.  The love we have for her, and the love she has for us.  It only hurts so much because there is so much of it.  When thats had some time to settle in and realize it can then start to change back.  Back into that comfortably pleasant and warm feeling of all the very same love that gathers inside of Grandma's house each winter, on Christmas Eve.  Merry Christmas.    

homeward bound...

I am going home.  I am always excited to do so.  I miss my family, old friends, and the down to earth folks that call my little corner of the mid-west home.  This trip is a special one for me because I get to share a little bit of my crazy pro skiing lifestyle with my people at home in Wilmot, Wisconsin.  December 16th is a Friday night just around the corner.  The Telemark Skier Magazine van will be pulling into town, and throwing a movie premiere party at 8pm in the Iron Kettle Bar at Wilmot Mountain.  As a member of the TSM Crew, I have poured a lot of myself into this movie and the magazine.  Celebrating the culmination of all the hard work with my hometown is a blessing that does not fall short on me.  I am super pumped to be able to celebrate another winter with all of my people in Wilmot.  

^My roots run deep through the earth under this sign.  This place flows in my blood like the swift muddy waters of the Fox River.  Every time I drive past this sign the nostalgia overcomes me like the spring floods over the banks of the Fox.  Home is where the heart is, and there will always be a piece of mine pouring from the snow guns into the sky over the slopes of Wilmot Mountain.    

^The guns are blowing now with some cold temperatures settling into the Midwest.  The boys in the maintenance garage at Wilmot Mountain are bustling and hustling to get some coverage on the ground.  Snow making is an art here, and these guys are a pretty rough and tumble group of Picasso's.  I hope the weather comes in their favor.  I'd love to be able to make some turns with my old man when I get there.   

^The lights of Wilmot at dusk is a beautiful thing.  Winter is settling in, and the holidays are approaching fast.  Friday night, December 16th, is just around the corner, and I am wrapping up the finishing touches to get ready for the premiere party.  Everything is coming together, and I am getting super amped for the trip.  So here is to cold temperatures, blowing snow, a warm bar, a good ski movie, and a cold beer with some good folks in a great place for one hell of a good party.  Cheers.    

Wasatch stalling...

A few weeks ago now, old man winter arrived in the Wasatch Range.  Some time before turkey and gravy we had a nice set of storms that lined up pretty well.  The avalanche terrain was sketchy with an old October snow still lingering near the ground.  That layer wreaked havoc on the Wasatch including the death of the legendary ski pro, Jamie Pierre.  Since the shock of Pierre's passing the storms have retreated.  The Wasatch winter is stalling out.  Fortunately for me, the warm sunny days have afforded me the opportunity to pursue other efforts.

^Like walking the dog at sunset without freezing. 

^Enjoying the last efforts of the fall colors.

^Pretty cool chill spot.  Winter is taking it's time.  We might as well chill and wait.

^Why not sneak in some late season biking.  No sense in fighting mother nature.  We just took what she gave us, and went riding instead of skiing.  

^We visited Christine's mother on the Alpaca ranch that she works and lives on.  This one was not shy.  She came right up and posed for this photo.  The pleasant weather allowed for a nice stroll around the farm grounds.  The River Run Ranch is nestled in a really cool spot along the Weber River in the rural high country of Wanship, Utah.

My crazy life means I have to be flexible.  The off-season includes a variety of pursuits from day to day.  One day I will be working on a rental property.  The next day I will be selling ad space for Telemark Skier Magazine.  The day after that I could be working on a remodel project.  Then there is a night shift at the airport nearly every evening.   All the while training for the ski season that is late in arriving.  My day job should be skiing by now, but the storm scarcity in the Wasatch has afforded me some unexpected time.  Thus, I jumped on the opportunity to finish a remodel project that I've been neglecting.  Needless to say, that was a popular use of my time with my wife.  My brother-in-law, AJ, came out a while back and really moved this bathroom project along.  He is a stud workhorse, and I could barely keep up with him.  He sure was a big help.  Check out this timeline of things coming together.

^Early demo stages.  The toilet and sink used to be there.

^I was really excited to take a sledge hammer to the old cast iron tub.  I hated that old thing, and I took satisfaction in smashing the hell out of it.

^New plumbing and tub in.  Durock and waterproofing rolling.

^Durock on the floor, and ready for tile.

^Tiles on the floor, and more going up around the new tub.

^The work shop, and the supervisor.  She doesn't do much work, but she is cheap, and she keeps the job site in good spirits.

^After the unexpected extra time I finally have it close enough to finished to move back in.  Looking good to me.  Just some sealer and a shower curtain, and I am back in business.

^Vanity and toilet are in, operational, and leak free.  That is good in my book.  There are still some finishing touches yet to wrap up, but I am happy to be much further along at least.  The brownie points with my wife are nice too.  Happy wife, happy life.  She is a trooper for being able to handle my unorthodox lifestyle.  Maybe that's part of my charm, maybe not.  All I know is that she still keeps me around so I won't question her.  Soon enough the winter will finally set in, and I won't be able to get to this kind of work much through the crazy pro skiing schedule.  She is the one that has to suffer through project stages.  I am glad I was able to get a chance to get this one into a livable stage before the madness does begin.  I think I need a long hot shower now.