So Far

Snow Good

 

Even after 11 years of living here in Woody Creek the stunning beauty of the Roaring Fork Valley quite takes my breath away, and when the weather conspires to produce the sort of winter we have enjoyed so far I have to pinch myself that in actual fact I really do call this wonderful place home.

~ ~ ~

A ‘playground for the rich’ it is for sure, but that doesn’t stop the rest of us from getting in on the act by revelling in the sheer beauty of it all, and when the weather has been as obliging as it has this winter it just serves as icing on the cake.

~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~

This winter however I’ve made the decision to swap downhill skis for for their much skinnier edge-less Nordic counterparts. Its my aim to explore and photograph the 150 kilometers of immaculately maintained and groomed cross-country trails that crisscross the upper valley, connecting not only the community at large but all four of the Aspen and Snowmass ski areas.

I’ll readily admit that, at the moment, I’m still somewhat wobbly on the skinny little bits of nothing that pass for skis in the cross-country world but, man, am I enjoying the change of scenery!

Skiing at such a snail’s pace allows for a much more leisurely appreciation of the frozen winter wonderland.

~ ~ ~

And so yesterday I made my way from Woody Creek along McClain Flats Road, “the back way” into Aspen, and on to the North Star Nature Reserve in order to enjoy the place for the first time on skis.

At the end of the season I’ll be releasing the full collection of photographs covering the various trails in my Postcard From martincooney.com series, but for now here’s a taster of what to expect.

~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

~ ~ ~

But before you go here’s a slideshow I put together for ‘Curvilinear Campfire’, the 12th and final carving of my recently completed ‘Autumn of 14 Collection of Colorado Yule Marble Sculpture’.

At this time of the year the sun slants through the cabin window at such a low angle it makes my wafer-thin curvilinear sculpture positively glow – perfectly illustrating the translucent nature of marble cut so thinly that light illuminates the sculpture from within.

~ ~ ~

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

~ ~ ~

 

‘Curvilinear Campfire’ wasn’t the only sculpture basking in the sun’s rays however, ‘Salt of the Earth’ pounced on the opportunity to light up his beguiling ‘Solar Powered Stare’.

You can check out the dramatic ‘Twin Splitting’, whereby ‘Salt of the Earth’ (or “Salty) was surgically separated from his sister, Girl in the Moon, by clicking here, and view pictures of his playful sibling (“Moongirl”) here.

Until next time, thanks for dropping by…

“Cheerio”

Martin