A brief recap of my first month

Greetings from Big Sky!

As I type this I am enjoying my usual Rusty Nail at the Lone Peak Brewery...how fitting :)  I don't mean to make this look like all peaches and cream on a Saturday because I do have other regular duties!  Living here is like anywhere else just with like-minded people, better views, and a genuinely better vibe.

Most of my days are spent pursuing my job search.  Sure, I take break to enjoy life here, but I do need employment for many reasons.  I simply will not take a job to have one, but need to match my hours and wage requirements to a position I can properly and happily perform at.  Interestingly, I have secured a job zip-line guiding for Montana Whitewater (http://www.montanawhitewater.com/) but not until May.  The search of local papers, bulletin boards, and websites such as craigslist is endless, but the right opportunities are elusive.

Many other hours are devoted to seeking housing for May and beyond.  Trying to find a place is hard enough, but with 2 dogs it is a real challenge.  Housing is roughly the same as the Twin Cities, but buying a house is another story; much of the land here is National Forest or National Park which makes private land a premium and thus inflates prices.  I will deal with that hurdle when the time comes.

Besides my normal routine, I also make time to socialize and network.  Making new friends may come easy for me, but finding time to spend with others based upon work schedules and new snow is also a challenge.  Meeting business owners has proven easier as most manage their businesses themselves and are glad to chat with you about anything.  A special shout out to Lone Peak Brewery (http://www.lonepeakbrewery.com/), where owners Steve and Vicky run an amazing brewery with great food (be sure to try the tempura green beans).  Thanks also to the employees, including those I inevitably fail to mention: RaRa, Ben, Doug, Liam, and Becky.

When time allows....wait, who am I kidding....when conditions allow I take the day to snowboard at Moonlight Basin (http://www.moonlightbasin.com/)!  When the annual Shred-Fest crew was here a week ago we rode for a day at Big Sky Resort as well (http://www.bigskyresort.com/).  Snowboarding will comprise the majority of my video footage over the next several months, so stay tuned for at least once video each week!  I can't promise bootomless pow, endless pillow-drops, or massive cliff drops but I can promise a great view at what of my life's passion is and a great understanding of what MT has to offer.  I will also be posting footage from my "previous life" in the near future.

For my new yearly goal I had focused on landing a clean 540 spin.  However, after realizing my mountain dreams I am stepping it up a notch.  No, I will not be doing 100 days again this season nor will I be doing a crazy corked 1080 stalefish! Instead, I fully intend to snowboard each of the 12 months this year in MT and document it!  "How neat is that!"

So sit back and relax....enjoy the tales and the footage, and be sure to check back often to see how a Former Flat-Lander makes his own path in Big Sky, MT!

FFL

PS: yes, I did finish my Rusty Nail while writing this!

A long time coming: President's Day pow for Shred-Fest '11!

Sorry to start my blog out of chronological order, but too many people lack patience so I caved-in and edited up my most recent footage.  Well, to be correct it would be Kyle's footage as he was the guest camera-man of the day, so sorry for those of you praying for pure snowboarding (we plan to angle the cam up more next time he rocks it).  Taken on 2/21/2011, there was 5-18" of fresh Cold Smoke on top of the previous day's 5"+ and we finally had a blue-bird to boot, though Moonlight Basin is always in the shade of Lone Peak.  Watch for glimpses Vern, Jeremy, Cassi, Shanna, Louie, Michael, and myself throughout.  Be sure to check Cassi's brief footage hucking "my first cliff"!  Easily one of my top ten best days of snowboarding to date!

I would like to point out that I have a chip in the exterior lens that obscures a small section on the video, but I plan to replace it soon!  Also, I am learning to deal with condensation inside the camera housing so some of my other footage has a fog effect.  My footage and processing will only get better!  I also need to learn to link Vimeo videos because YouTube has limitations for video size and length, so feel free to send suggestions.

http://www.vimeo.com/20328692

I hope you enjoyed it and check back next week for more footage!  Shred-on in the meantime :)

FFL