Weekly Newsletter: February 3rd-9th, 2025

This week, Keith went on a tough training ride, Lindsey did yoga with sharks, and we both enjoyed back-to-back powder days at Snowbird! 🚵‍♂️ 🧘‍♀️ 🏔️

Check out our new posts and videos 🆕 🎥 📝

Lodging on the Camino: From Hostels to Hotels

Keith and I enjoyed the various and inexpensive options for lodging along the Camino de Santiago. Each night was a little different and offered different amenities.

Keith and LindseyLindsey Huster

Climbing canyons and wicked winds! 🚵‍♂️ 🌬️

The weather in Utah made a dramatic turn for the warmer this week. Temperatures skyrocketed to 60°F+ (15.6°C+) which made for perfect outdoor riding conditions. Keith took advantage of this beautiful weather to tackle a long and arduous training route.

Keith rode from our home in Orem, UT to the mouth of American Fork Canyon. The initial phase of this training ride provided a roughly 20-mile (32-kilometer) warmup before the start of the canyon climb. Keith has ridden up this canyon a few times now and he was interested to see how his new shorter cranks (165mm) and smaller chainring (30-tooth) would impact his climbing ability.

The new shorter cranks and smaller chainring were amazing! Keith set personal records on Strava for nearly every segment of the climb. 🏆 Keith ascended the canyon until he reached Tibble Fork Reservoir. At this point, he took a short break and prepared for the long descent back down the canyon.

During the climb, Keith had heard the whipping winds above his head. He had also fought a bit of a headwind on his way to the canyon. The descent was nothing short of hair raising! 😱 The winds started gusting upwards of 40 mph (64 kph) and they were constantly shifting directions. This made it extremely difficult to keep the bike steady during the descent. Eventually, Keith made it back down to the mouth of the canyon where he finally escaped the high winds.

Keith then made his way back home. Thankfully, the winds had calmed down at this point so his ride home was steady and relaxing. All in all, Keith's training ride covered nearly 52 miles (84 kilometers) with 3,130 feet (954 meters) of elevation gain.

Yoga with the Sharks 🧘‍♀️🦈

Lindsey is always looking for fun local events. The unique yoga experiences typically are quite pricey, so when she ran across Yoga with the Sharks for only $25 she knew it was quite the deal! Loveland Living Planet Aquarium and Yoga 6 team up to offer this combo ticket that includes entrance to the aquarium at 4:00 pm, followed by an hour long yoga class at 6:30 pm.

Lindsey invited Stephanie and immediately she was on board. They met at the aquarium around 5:00 pm to explore before the class. Lindsey then found out that she had never been to the aquarium. They were able to see the majority of the exhibits before yoga started.

The yoga class takes place in the event hall with a large window to the shark habitat. The blue glow from the tank and low lighting made for a relaxing and soothing yoga experience. The instructor did an excellent job guiding everyone through the class meant for all levels. Lindsey and Stephanie felt like it was a great workout and really enjoyed the added bonus of watching the sharks, fish and sea turtle join the class through the window. They are looking forward to attending the class again sometime soon!

Back to back powder days ⛷️ ❄️

We had an amazing weekend of skiing at Snowbird, finally!!! Saturday was nothing short of incredible... and weird at the same time. Nearly 11 inches (28 centimeters) of graupel fell from the overnight storm and was mixed in with another 8 inches (20 centimeters) of light and fluffy snow.

The best way that I can explain graupel is a soft form of hail, sort of like small styrofoam balls. It's not uncommon to see graupel in the mountains but it normally only falls as a very thin layer. This much graupel was wild! It felt like you were skiing through sand rather than snow. It was surprisingly fun and made for an amazing day.

Sunday was a full-on bluebird day. 😎 Snowbird received another 5 inches (13 centimeters) of snow overnight which refreshed most of the mountain. The morning started off super cold but the sun quickly warmed us up, along with a hard charging lap into Mineral Basin. The crowds were down thanks to it being Sunday and Super Bowl Sunday at that.

We hope this is the start of a return to typical crowds and snow conditions in Little Cottonwood Canyon. 🤞

Upcoming posts and videos 👷‍ 👷‍♀️️

Lindsey is continuing her work on the post series from our three-week adventure along the Camino De Santiago, Portuguese Route! Those posts are being published as she has time. We also have several prior trips that we haven't yet shared, so be sure to subscribe to our blog if you haven't done so already.

We hope that you are enjoying our newsletters. Winter is in full swing, how are you spending your winter season? Let us know in the comments section below.👇 💬