A Wild Gift

Bob Jonas is a legend.

When I grow up, I want to be just like him. He is an inspiration to everyone he meets, and truly a "wild gift" himself. This lean, lanky and humble man has worn many hats in his lifetime.

Bob Jonas spent time working as a fishery biologist in Alaska, US Forest Service wilderness ranger, and a middle school teacher. The author of the Putnam tome, Total Skiing, he worked in Greenland, and later, spent 20 years as an outfitter guiding people in and out of the wilderness areas of Alaska, Idaho and Yellowstone with his business Sun Valley Trekking, which he recently sold. Most importantly, Bob Jonas is an outdoorsman and ambassador for all things in nature, and he is most comfortable in the mountains, forests, deserts and waterways of the open lands that engulf such a large part of our world, and for which we are all stewards.

But Bob Jonas is special. He has a deep respect for the wilderness, nature, and humankind's relationship with its planet, and because of his passion, he has now undertaken a much more powerful mission. A mission so important that it needs to be shared with the world.

It is truly a Wild Gift.

Bob Jonas founded Wild Gift with the belief that exceptional young men and women are needed as leaders, to become better world entrepreneurs who promote the stewardship for wild nature and the development of sustainable communities. Wild Gift supports their projects in industry, the arts, education, the environment and politics, and their professions to build communities whose citizens live in harmony with each other and wild nature.

Wild Gift is working to provide the world with a network of leaders whose work will bring peace to humankind and balance with wild nature.

I had the good fortune to spend time in the wilderness this week with two such leaders, Pete Land and Lauren Bauman, both alumnae of Wild Gift who are now carrying on the work they began in the program through Bob Jonas' mentoring. This week, Bob Jonas took us all out into the Grand Staircase Escalante National Park in Southeastern Utah on a canyoneering adventure where we camped under the stars each night, explored slot canyons, and backpacked through the spectacular Coyote Gulch. During our adventure, we got to know each other well, and we had endless conversations about our goals and ideas for how we can influence others to co-exist more sustainably and peacefully with nature and our planet.

I learned about the projects that have become the life work of these two young leaders I spent time with in the desert.

Lauren Bauman works in the city of Boston to green affordable housing - thus both improving environmental performance while at the same time reducing operating costs in housing projects by using green retrofitting techniques. Lauren is an expert on toilets - and believe it or not, a green toilet can save thousands of gallons of water.

Pete Land is a remarkable and talented young man, and the founder of Tamarack Media, in Vermont. His company works to draw from a network of environmentally invested media professionals to produce websites, videos and print materials for clients that include schools, non profit organizations, foundations and green businesses.

Pete is an artist with a keen eye for details often overlooked. His photographs are spectacular, and I was blessed to have him act as my videographer during our Wild Gift Trip, which you'll see highlights from on The Open next Sunday morning. If you're interested in taking a Wild Gift trip, and supporting this remarkable and important mission, visit www.wildgift.org

And think about taking a Wild Gift trip, it's an awesome way to give back to nature and at the same time, to Get Out in The Open!!!

Back in the Saddle

Rain rain go away. Come again another day.

This has been my mantra for the last month, and I'm always a little depressed during what I like to call the "transition time" between winter and spring. As soon as the corn melts and skiing ends, I like to be planting my spinach and arugula and tuning my mountain bikes in anticipation of fat tire days to come.

But not this year.

Mother Nature has been an evil witch, bringing on devastation of biblical proportions across the world, and deluging our own mountains, woods and trails with monsoon like precipitation. Thankfully, it is coming to an end, and my grumpiness is improving. Being cooped up is a dreadful thing. But I haven't hit anyone with a frying pan, thankfully, and fortunately I've been able to get out and get a few rides in over the last couple weeks in some amazing places where the rocky trails are surprisingly dry.

Jim Thorpe is one such place.

I rode there with my friend Tom last week and it was amazing. Tom does guided tours and can show you the way, if you so desire. I highly recommend contacting him, and he'll be taking us on some great adventures out in The Open this summer. If you can't wait, visit his website at www.thejtx.com. Work on your fitness now because if you can get high enough, the views of the Lehigh River Gorge are breathtaking, and although some trails are wet, others are fine, and the legendary rock gardens in this scenic and challenging mountain biking mecca drain well. Of course, conscientious riders avoid trails that are wet for conservation reasons - erosion is a problem and no one wants to hammer delicate muddy trails when they are in their most vulnerable condition. So pick and choose your route wisely til the mud season ends.

Merli Sarnoski Park in Greenfield Township is another great spot, lots of huge rocks and scenic trails - one of the most technically challenging tours for big wheels in our region. I love my 29 inch wheels - BIG tires to rollover BIG stuff. Since gas is expensive and the park is close to home, I can tell you I'll be letting it rip there a lot this summer, with a team of Niner Riders. Sunday rides there are awesome - give yourself a few hours because there is lots of rugged terrain to eat up. I should know, I was just there with Lynn and Mike, my favorite Sunday crew.

Which brings me to my next happiness - a new magic carpet ride is on its way for me - so stay tuned and more on that later!

Garmont NTN Gear with K2 Adventure Skis ROCK!

So the winter is winding down. But there is still lots of snow to be had, and for the next week you'll find me tearing it up at Elk Mountain. And there's no better time to think about trying something new for next year. I spent years wondering what it would be like to be a freeheeler and thanks to the new NTN gear from Garmont, I had the chance to get loose this season. Let me tell you, there are lots more places I can go with my boards now that I can make a tele turn. Does it mean I am a "teleskier?" Well, there are those who would argue with my "technique." But hey, who wrote the rules? I'm not trying to impress anyone with a deep knee lungeing technique. Ouuuuch. I simply wanted to find a way to get UP and DOWN the mountain more efficiently when there isn't a chairlift to take me there. In balance, and efficiently, with no wasted energy that is so important in the backcountry. And for me, there is no better feeling than shredding all kinds of turns - from big GS turns to cover distance, to short, smooth floating POW turns, to wiggling through a tight line of big bumps or trees, to yes, a nice long floating tele turn - the feeling of simply walking along in perfect balance on my skis. As telemark guru Biff from the North American Telemark Organization puts it, it is simply finding a "better way to dance on the snow." So how do YOU dance on the snow? There are so many ways - Ballet, Jazz, Disco, Tap, Michael Jackson moonwalk, whatever makes you happy. So enjoy - and if you want to do it all with one set of equipment then check out this video, and try it for yourself!

Off the Rictor Scale

K2 Rictor, that is.

You got it, these boards rock. Monkey see monkey do. After seeing The Open Pro Staff skier

Ryan tear up everything underfoot with these all mountain monsters, Neal got himself a pair from our good buddy Lee at Aspen East Ski Shop just down the road from Killington Mountain on Route 4.

Its one of the top K2 dealers in the country and these guys know their boards, and just about everything else, too.

Conditions were stellar, and bumps and tree skiing were the best I've ever seen at Killington. Check out the video of these boys, no its not an earthquake, just some serious shredding high on the Rictor scale.

Close to Heaven

It's been a long winter so far for me.

I spent the last six weeks saying goodbye to my father, Attorney Edward J. Geist, a supportive, compassionate and wise man who worked so hard, giving his life to his family - myself, my mom and my 6 brothers and sisters. He passed away last Friday at age 73, and I feel like I've been robbed.

So what does one do to celebrate the life of such a great man, and to contemplate how to go forward without his guiding hand and sound advice?

The answer I came up with - get up as close to heaven as one can and help him on his way.

And that is exactly what I plan to do.

Yesterday I loaded up my jeep with camera and editing equipment and supplies for a week, and my boy Neal Shubert flew up from Miami to join me, and together, we made the road trip north to the biggest, highest mountain we could get ourselves on - Killington, Vermont.

Driving up the access road I was shocked to see so much snow - I felt like I was in the Sierras. In fact, I've not seen this much snow here in Vermont at one time in several years. My friends here at The Beast are truly having an epic season. I know I will be close to heaven this week.

With their help, I secured an awesome last second condo to live in, and Neal and I arrived last night and made it our own. Fresh flowers, candles, a roaring fire and a Longtrail ale later, we were ready to make dinner -

Seared Mahi Mahi Miami style. Recipe follows:

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse and dry the mahi mahi filets, season with sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and a dusting of curry powder.

To a sizzling hot saute pan add a tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook the fish 2 minutes per side, then place the pan on the top shelf of the hot oven and bake for 5 minutes.

Remove the fish from the pan and rest the filets on a bed of greens atop warm plates while you make the sauce. To the saute pan and drippings, add 1/4 cup of Neal's homemade organic Mango Chutney, heat to boiling, add a tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar and reduce.

Serve over fish with steamed sugar snap peas and wild rice pilaf.

After such a good meal and sound sleep, I'm ready to hop on the Gondola and head to the heavens, and come down ripping turns on my Garmont NTN setup and K2 Paybacks. I can't wait. I know Dad will be there with me every second. Stay tuned for ski conditions up here at the Beast!