Cupcakes and Rockstar

For a while now I have enjoyed the company of Hostess Cupcakes and Rockstar when Im waking up to go skiing. Some may call it my patented breakfast, i call it the quickest way to diabetes. Nevertheless I have now begun enjoying this delicious treat at work. Some days are slower than others, full of down time where I am learning a new process and not really hands on. My break and work schedule is dictated by my mentors both going on 30+ years with K2, 9am break, 12 lunch, 3:15break, 5pm departure. Its amazing how everything they do lines up with this schedule, its like they've been doing this for 30 years. My 9am break usually involves Rockstar and something else, Im going to try and convert to coffee or tea.

My ferry rides have been fairly social lately. Where before I would sit in my car and sleep now I go upstairs and meet coworkers. Its pretty nice really, when you move somewhere for a job and know nothing about where you live at the moment, theres a lot to talk about. I need to work on my name skills though. Im good at introducing myself but not good at remembering their name. Not 1 minute later could I tell you their name, Im going to work on this as well. Weening myself from cupcakes and rockstar to something healthier, and learning names better. Maybe the healthy diet will que my name remembering part of my brain.

Work will pick up in 2 weeks to a healthy jog. March 13th and 14th will be spent at a local ski area both skiing and in meetings with my department. We will ski till 1pm everyday and spend the afternoons and into the evening in planning meetings. Dinner will follow with a final meeting for the day afterwards, and repeat the next day. This isnt a bad way to have a meeting I've decided. March 19th a famed ski designer will come visit K2 and work with me on developing a new ski. I cant say much about it to anyone, but its a totally new thing and looks to be pretty cool. I've spent a few hours everyday getting ready for his arrival, I've already begun assembling parts, getting supplies ready, and making test skis to give us a head start for when he arrives. It will be quiet the rest of this week as most of the management team left for France for a ski test, rough life really. 10 days in Europe skiing cant be easy, especially when its for work. I'd like to stick around with this company long enough to make this a part of my schedule.

I apologize for the long post about nothing really, but felt I was due to blog my days, I will attach some pictures of my commute for you to enjoy. Goodbye until something eventful happens...

When it rains, it snows

The first thing anyone thinks when I say I'm living in Seattle is rain, and apparently it rains here often. It rains so often that on every sunny day people are outside in shorts enjoying the phenomena that I took for granted in Colorado. With the rain comes rain jackets, coffee, and wet socks (not too sure why my shoes leak but they do.) I'm not the biggest fan of rain but I have learned recently why it is good. Not only is there a rainforest within a few hours drive, but there is deep snow and steep mountains within a similar drive in the opposite direction. This weekend I set out on an adventure to experience Washington's mountains, a very good decision.

The forecast called for 7' (yes feet) of snow last week, I started by skiing alone monday at Mt. Baker, also called little whistler, and I think I found out why. The terrain at Baker is great, steep and deep snow everywhere I went. I spent most of my day meeting locals on chairlifts and sharing a run or two with them before finding another local to latch onto. Visibility was low all day because of the snowstorm but I still feel I experienced some of the good things Baker has to offer. I will be making another drive towards the canadian border to ski here again and explore the closed terrain I missed this trip.

My week passed and saturday began by meeting Miles (cu student, coworker on senior design project, working in seattle as an engineer) at Hayak ski area at Snoqualmie. Hayak has 2 chair lifts, one for the beginner hill, the other to the top. A small ski area more known more for their nordic skiing than anything else, but with amazing tree skiing and hikable terrain. Washington resorts boast open gates to national forest land that colorado resorts strictly forbid. Where in Colorado you would find ropes, fences and signs stating how you will loose your pass and be prosecuted, Washington displays a small "Cliff Area" sign. Miles and I explored terrain and attempted to ski a line that later led us to a 60' cliff forcing us to hike out. Miles and his curious nature slid to the edge of a 20+' cliff only to drop his snowboard and leave himself clinging to a tree. After navigating his tracks back up the hill we again were forced to hike around the cliff to find a small chute exiting the impassible terrain. To add to the excitement of skiing chest deep snow I was on a pair of K2 Hellbent skis, next years big mountain powder skis designed similar to a wakeboard. I called it product testing. Sunday I tested again

Sunday started with a longer drive to Crystal mountain. I headed off with Stewart and my roommate Jason. Stewart is a steamboat local and a K2 employee, he was also a CU student with me and ski teammate. Crystal mountain had been receiving snow all week as well and it was our job to find it, we did. Today I was skiing on a newer version of the K2 Seth with same rocker construction as the Hellbents but a bit narrower. To sum up my day, you should visit Crystal. Being the most un-resort like ski area, crystal boasts good lifts, amazing snow, a little mountain named Rainier next door, and terrain, lots and lots of terrain. The same forces that made Rainier's 14410' of mountain, it also created Crystals jagged cliffs, steep bowls and hikeable chutes. The lines we hiked to ski did not disappoint. Several feet of fresh snow had fallen in the previous days, we even observed a large avalanche running down a face after ski patrol blasted the closed terrain. And then they opened said terrain, epic. The heavy Washington snow sticks to steeps better than it does in CO, this means there's more skiable terrain. We hiked much of the day skiing deeper and deeper snow and finding lines only previously seen in ski movies. This is absolutely a skiers mountain with terrain to keep you progressing in your abilities. We finished the day with a beer and nachos at the Snorting Elk restaurant at the base. If I had to imagine what a chalet in Austria looks like full of locals after a day of skiing this was it. I will visit Crystal again, to ski the lines I didnt get to this time.

Background on work/life and longest post, i promise

To start off I should say why I moved to seattle, I did it for a job. I accepted a position with K2 Sports as a ski design engineering technician. This is my dream job, or at least what currently sparks my interests most. I took a big risk moving out here, I left my family, friends and girlfriend in colorado. I still think about my decision to relocate here but know this kind of opportunity doesnt happen often. Plus its a great adventure for me, something completely new to experience.

My Work - Working for k2 sports has its perks. My desk is surrounded by about 1000 pairs of skis, lots and lots of inline skates, (dont call them rollerblades, learned that lesson) snowboards, helmets, ski poles and skateboards. Its a relaxed environment where half the personnel skateboard to meetings. The dress code is also fairly relaxed, jeans and a tshirt are common where khakis and a collard shirt are rarely sported. Of course K2 has to be different and has chosen to be located on Vashon Island, a rural island in the Puget Sound. With this comes a commute via ferry to and from work. a 25min ferry ride surrouned by 20min drives leads to a long but relaxing commute. The picture above is taken from the ferry leaving Vashon Island some day in Feb, they dont have this in Colorado. I have been given the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in the ski industry. A recent photo shoot of Eric Pollard was actually shot at my press at work and should be in magazines next year. I'll take some pictures of me doing the same things and we'll compare. I will elaborate on my job in future postings to keep this short.

Where i live - I live in a 3bed townhouse in Fremont Seattle with 2 guys I met on craigslist. They are both realestate brokers and work different schedules than I do. When we're home together they are fun to be around and have introduced me to some of their friends, ones I can even call when I want to be social. Fremont is self proclaimed "Center of the Universe" and features a statue of Russia's Lenin in the center of town. (I got this picture online, I dont know the girl waving in the picture.) All i have experienced in downtown Fremont is getting my haircut, but i'm looking forward to exploring it further. Theres a grocery store a few blocks from home, a gas station, and a brewery as well. I have yet to visit the brewery but will plan on a tour when the weather is nice. I dont know my way around too well yet so I stick to the streets I know , I still consider getting lost as exploring.

Stay tuned to future blogs, they will be recapping my recent epic skiing voyages with lots of pictures.

First post, lots to recap

I've started this blog with the likes of Dave and Jordy also known for their blogging excellence, I would like to use this as a space to share my adventures and life situation up here in the pacific northwest. If you check jordy and daves blogs please check them before mine, I do not want to steal their thunder nor steal their readers, in fact I wouldnt be blogging if I wasnt so inspired by theirs. But if your ever curious about what Andy's doing in Seattle, this will be the place I will be posting it. I hope to attach pictures and diagrams of my adventures to keep you filled in as well, and maybe coerce some of you to join me up here.

I am hesitant already writing because i'm sure some family members (cathy/anne) will be reading and correcting my grammar and spelling. This is a rough draft of my days here, when I write a book I will edit it more thoroughly.

Welcome to my blog, from here on out they will be filled with my daily adventures and rants about my life. Andy Hytjan, representing the Pacific Northwest chapter of Dr. Ross's Japan Job, here we go. (those of you not knowing the japan job, disregard last sentence i'll explain later)