I am a Skier.

Penn,
I want to tell you about a world you may never get to know. It's fall 2008 and my new skis are on the way...ungodly big mothers that are more than I should be meddling with. The winter is coming, still full of promise and prayer. And you turn three on Sunday and I hope to be taking you skiing soon. It will scare you and excite and hopefully become for you what it has become for me: a lifestyle, a vocation, a way to find my partner in life and the only connection with an ethereal plane that I have ever known.
In a graceless world I find fluidity and rhythm on the hill. The mountains forgive me my runaway-freight train fu that is often described as unwise. But it's mine and anyone who knows me can spot my plume from miles away.
I want you to feel what I feel Penn, I want you to know the bitter cold of the High Traverse in whiteout, the relentless dumping that seems to be Alta's gift to the world. I want to ski with you and show you all of the shots that I love. Maybe you will let me tell you the stories of when Dad was unafraid. Of a time when to turn meant to admit defeat.
I am a skier. And Penn, I'd like you to have that chance as well. I just pray for the snow to stay in the mountains for enough years that you can know the pure joy of bottomless relentless foolishly deep powder. And when you ski the deep-may it still exist- perhaps you'll find a church within and be instilled with a faith that only those who enter the white room can know. And when you do, please pray for it to continue for generations to come. It's good this thing we do, letting gravity have her way with us, leaving us soaked head to toe in powder and happy once again that the world is just as it is.
On a rapidly warming planet I know fresh tracks shouldn't be my first concern...but on your third birthday and the many more you have in the future, they are.
-J. Bresee

What Are You Doing This Weekend!?!?

Be Jealous, Roxy- Be Very Jealous!!!

Some would say that the only difference between men & boys is the size (and horsepower!) of their toys! After years of human-powered cycling, I finally caved and got one with an engine... introducing my 2003 BMW F650GS! Of course, if I had followed the status quo of 99% of Army flight school students, I would have bought a sport bike (crotch rocket) or a Harley- all great bikes, but of course I don't do well with things that can't get dirty ;) The F650GS falls into the "Enduro" or "Dual Sport" category of bikes, the kind you can ride from Cape to Cairo...if you have the ass that could endure that journey I suppose! In the meantime however, I'll be cruising to the Gulf Coast and maybe a roadtrip in May to the infamous 'Tail of the Dragon' in the Great Smokey Mtn National Park!

It is not uncommon for this bike to reach 100,000 miles on the odometer and keep on chugging. Besides the incredible reliability, I dig the ABS, 65 mpg, and hard case paniers to haul the gear!

Roommates! Ekzhin and I after a Saturday afternoon ride with friends...

And for those of you not in the know- "Roxy" is my Cannondale road-eating machine. I try not to neglect her too much, but the Beemer seems to win out more often than not!

One Year Ago...

Every once in a while I catch myself reminiscing- thinking, "What was I up to- one year ago in the Middle East???" Many days are blurred together from a seemingly endless time hanging out at our apartment, chilling in a cafe, sweatin' at the gym, and er- studying at the library (keep your comments to yourself :) I certainly miss my friends from my time in Jerusalem, but I have to say I wouldn't change where I'm at even if I could. Well, ok if I could convince the Army to move its flight training to the Front Range in Colorado, I'd be there! But seriously, I feel like I have the best 'job' in the world and I wouldn't change a thing.

But back to that nostalgia and the Middle East...An obvious memory that will certainly be with me for a lifetime was celebrating Easter Sunday in Jerusalem with my parents- and not to forget it being the day Amo arrived for our three week M.E. extravaganza! Celebrating Christian holidays in a city of primarily Jews & Muslims was quite remarkable and strange, really. Just the little things caught me off guard, such as when I started to wish the Israeli cashier at the grocery store a "Happy Easter" and caught myself as I realized she didn't even know it was a holiday. And life isn't the same without stores selling those delicious little Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs!!! (I still wonder how the 'eggs' are better than the 'cups'...one mystery of a thousand that perplexes me on a daily basis).

Yet, back to my story- Easter 2007 was a beautiful spring day in Jerusalem where we celebrated mass at the Notre Dame church. Just before the final procession, the priest took a survey of the congregation to count the number of countries represented from all the travellers. I cannot remember the exact number, but I know that over twenty countries were represented on that day in the Holy City, literally a ten-minute walk from Calvary and the current day structure known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Moments like that- being with my parents in celebration on Easter, among hundreds of Christian pilgrims from across the globe- reminded me of how truly special this place was!

And finally, a short mention of one of my favorite panoramic shots- pictured above. I stumbled upon this unique "Stations of the Cross" while wandering through the back halls of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and was immediately in awe of not only the iron smiths amazing work, but the sequence of hardships & sacrifices Christ endured on that fateful day, ending as we know with...

MEDEVAC to the Rescue!!!

Army MEDEVAC to the rescue! This picture was taken off the army.mil homepage and shows the capability of hoist missions to rescue soldiers when the helo can't touch down. Pretty damn cool!

Dunker!!!

Recently at Ft. Rucker, Alabama I completed the 'Dunker' course which is two days of fun in the classroom and the pool in Helicopter Overwater Survival Training (HOST). The course is taught by a bunch of old(er) retired Navy rescue swimmers- so as you can imagine, they have a lot of fun but also take the training very seriously!
Check out the video here on YouTube!
The large contraption being lowered into the water is designed to replicate the cockpit and crew cabins of various Army helicopters. Each door and window is designed to simulate those of the Blackhawk, Chinook, or Apache aircrafts. After a series of initial training, we strap in to the crew seats of the dunker and prepare for the ride! At the 15 second mark on the video, you see the Dunker complete its rollover- this is when the escape sequence begins. During the first stage of training we used bottled air, so the sequence goes 1)insert and clear regulator 2) find reference point 3) unbuckle seatbelt 4) jettison doorway 5)escape. This all takes about 10-15 seconds on a good day. Remember, all of this is after flipping upside down in 15 feet of water! After becoming comfortable with bottled air we go lights out! The fun really begins when you are six feet below water, upside down, and wearing blacked out goggles- a true test of anybodies ability to stay cool, calm, and collected. Eventually we progress to 'nighttime/no air' and finally some exercises in dround proofing and use of life rafts. Not a bad day at the office, eh. It's hard to call this "work" somedays.

A User's Manual to Seat 21C

This hilarious blog entry on the NYTimes Blog "Jet Lagged: Navigating the Unfriendly Skies" left me rolling yesterday in the library! Beware: you may burst out in laughter while reading this article! Do not spray coffee all over your keyboard- I've heard it's not very good for the computer. Rarely does a writer come along that can turn a very common experience for thousands of people into such a comical journey.
Enjoy, Z