2006: ASPEN “HOW’S YOUR ASPEN?”
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DAY 1: WINTER PALOOZA
It is a wintry evening, deep in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. Tired skiers are solemn in thought as snowflakes of pure white fall to the ground with the silence of feathers. But then the Paloozians roll in!!
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DAY 1: THE LIGHTS ARE ON
By the time we arrive in Aspen, the sun is already setting as crews prepare under the spotlights of the Winter X-Games on Buttermilk Mountain.
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DAY 1: MEXICAN FOOD
The festivities get under way at The Cantina in Aspen, where the lads kick things off with gusto by partaking in sweet margaritas and spicy tacos.
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DAY 1: NIGHT ONE BEVERAGES
Chris and Dave settle in to do some carb-loading before they attack the Aspen Bowls in the morning.
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DAY 1: AL ON THE ALERT
Determined not to fall asleep on the job on day one, Allie is wide-eyed and bushy-tailed at dinner.
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DAY 1: THE OLDEST BAR IN ASPEN
After dinner, the Paloozians head over to the world-famous Red Onion, which has been serving up stiff drinks and good times to the citizens of Aspen since 1892.
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DAY 1: DINK IS BACK
After a painful three-year hiatus, Dean is back in action as the Palooza makes its way back to Colorado.
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DAY 1: MIDNIGHT SNACK
Before the Paloozians head home for the night, Milo gets himself a little scooby snack for the road.
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DAY 1: DOWN GOES MILO
And here he is laughing like a jackal at the condo, trapped between his bed and insanity. At least he keeps his junk under wraps (which is more than we can say for Sean).
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DAY 2: THE CRACK OF DAWN
It’s just past sunrise and the Paloozians are up and ready to grab their boards and hit the mountain. Impressive.
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DAY 2: THE OPENING RUN
Clem is looking quite fired up to jump out of the gondola and start tearing up the slopes.
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DAY 2: THE SNOWBOARDERS
Milo and Craig are strapped in and ready to lead the snowboarding contingent for the day.
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DAY 2: AND THEY'RE OFF
Milo hops on his board and gets it rolling. It looks like he’s finally adopted Craig’s magical arm-extension technique.
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DAY 2: ASPENS IN ASPENS
They don’t call it Aspen cuz it’s filled with Palm Trees, folks. Otherwise they’d call it something like Palmdale, Palm Springs or Palm Beach. Of course, there’s no beach either. But anyway, let’s get back to Palooza.
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DAY 2: BACK TO THE TOP
Sean riding up the main gondola, with the town of Aspen in the background. The Gondola takes you four miles up the hill, so you have plenty of time to get warmed up.
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DAY 2: B-LUV CHILLIN'
Bill takes a quick cat nap during the 20 minute ride to the top.
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DAY 2: THE SKIERS
Dave, Dean and Chris take a break on the other side of the mountain before getting back on their skis.
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DAY 2: LUNCHTIME
The snowboarding Paloozians take a lunch break at the top of the mountain. Here’s Craig checking out the menu.
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DAY 2: FROSTY COLD ONES
Sean is already looking a bit wiped from the strain of snowboarding. Cold beers to the rescue!
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DAY 2: GAME TIME!
Refreshed by his IPA, Allie straps on his helmet and is ready to get back on that mountain.
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DAY 2: WAY UP THERE
The view of the slopes below from the gondola.
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DAY 2: X-GAMES CONCERT
After a great first day on the slopes, the boys are able to catch Everclear as part of the X-Games Concert Series.
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DAY 2: RIGHT ON CUE
As sure as the sun will eventually set each day, so too will our hero eventually partake in a little public sleeping. Oddly enough, it is again while talking to his doting bride.
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DAY 2: X-GAMES
After running into her at Starbucks earlier that day, the Paloozians watch Gretchen Blieler fly by in the X-Games Super Pipe competition.
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DAY 2: CHILLY NIGHT
Needless to say, it’s a tad chilly up there. Or perhaps this was the moment that the wiring on Clem's crotch heater had malfunctioned.
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DAY 3: FRIDAY BREAKFAST
The boys get things off to a good start with a tasty German breakfast at Wiener Stube. Yes, there is sausage involved.
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DAY 3: HEADING TO SNOWMASS
Aspen has four resorts—Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and today’s pick, Snowmass. Fortunately for the knuckle-dragging Paloozians, Snowmass is best for snowboarding.
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DAY 3: CRAIG VS THE PIPE
It's amazing how easy this pipe looks from these pictures. It’s not. Here's Craig winding his way toward a high-speed drop in with dreams of glory.
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DAY 3: YEAH, NOT SO MUCH
A clean entry is quickly followed by a first bank wipe-out and a crowd of laughing spectators. Clearly that booty is just way too big.
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DAY 3: BLUEBIRD SKIES
The sky on a sunny day at a Colorado ski resort is just insane. Somewhere between blue and black.
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DAY 3: THE SKIERS
The skiing Paloozians head over to the double blacks of Hanging Valley. Here are Dean and Chris hiking up.
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DAY 3: SOME LIGHT BUMPS
A few Paloozians are about the descend this nice little stretch of bumpage.
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DAY 3: CLEM TAKES A BREAK
The skiing group seems to like to spend more time hiking than skiing. Here’s Clem taking a much needed breather.
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DAY 3: STEEP SLOPE
The ski boys here taking on a pretty intense stretch.
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DAY 3: ASPEN VALLEY
Great view of the Rockies on a crisp winter day.
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DAY 3: BENTLEY'S
Apres ski on day three takes place at Bentley’s, one of dozens of cool bars in Aspen. Nothing beats a cold beer in a warm bar after a long day of skiing.
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DAY 3: BEER TIME
After some showers, the boys move onto the J-Bar in the Hotel Jerome. Bill looks thrilled to have survived two straight days of hardcore snowboarding.
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DAY 3: SNOW STORIES
Dink and Wreck compare skiing/snowboarding notes.
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DAY 3: DINNER AT RUTH'S CHRIS
From there, the boys amble over to Ruth’s Chris for the traditional Paloozian steak feast with all the fixings.
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DAY 3: TALL TALES
Craig and Chris are spellbound by Sean’s graphic recounting of a rabid gopher attack on the mountain.
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DAY 3: A GREAT DAY OF SKIING
The ski boys laugh at the suggestion that they try snowboarding tomorrow.
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DAY 3: STEAK TIME
The boys settle in for a monster refueling session.
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DAY 3: MORE X-GAMES
Several Paloozians head back to the X-Games to watch the big boys grab just insane amounts of air in the super pipe.
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DAY 3: I KNOW THAT MOHAWK
US Hall of Fame skier, Glen Plake makes his way up the hill to catch Shaun White crush the super pipe competition.
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DAY 3: PAUL ARRIVES
Paul Johnston and Clem check out some X-Games action.
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DAY 4: SKI GROUP GOES WILD
While the boarders take the day off to go snowmobiling, the skiers decide to take on some extreme back bowl skiing. Here's the view from their snow cat.
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DAY 4: NOW THEY HIKE
From the snow cat ride, they have to hike for over a mile to get to what seems like the top of the world.
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DAY 4: END OF THE HIKE
Yep. That’s that’s pretty damn high up there.
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DAY 4: A WARNING
It's always re-assuring when you see a sign with a skull and crossbones reminding you that you're making a bad decision. But Paloozians have long chosen fun over safety.
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DAY 4: GOOD TIMES
Chris and Paul stop to snap a pic on a perfect ski day.
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DAY 4: DEAN AND CHRIS
The boys make the long trek down to the mountain base.
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DAY 4: NOT MUCH POWDER
Dave takes a quick breather to check in with Clem and plan their route down the hill.
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DAY 4: PAUL ON THE HILL
Paul “Midnight” Johnston takes a break in the action.
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DAY 4: THE SNOWMOBILERS
The rest of the Paloozians are near the famous Maroon Bells peaks before they get in some snowmobiling.
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DAY 4: GAME TIME!
The boys get ready to mount their steeds and hit the trail.
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DAY 4: AND THEY'RE OFF!
Here's the trail from Craig's rig. That's Milo up in front as we make our way up into the heart of the mountain.
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DAY 4: THE LODGE
High up the mountain, the boys stop at The T-Lazy-7 Lodge for some barbecued cheeseburgers.
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DAY 4: A LITTLE SNOW-GRILLING
Nothing beats the taste of a freshly grilled cheeseburger at 10,000 feet in altitude.
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DAY 4: GOOD EATIN'
A little blury, but you get the idea. Yum.
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DAY 4: MOUNTED CREATURES
There are quite a few antler-bearing animal heads mounted on the walls inside the burger lodge.
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DAY 4: WAIT A MINUTE
Including this one that the locals claim is known as a “blackalope”, which the Paloozians haven’t heard of before. The open eyes are simply haunting.
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DAY 4: MISSION ALSO ACCOMPLISHED
The boys return their rigs down at the base.
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DAY 5: HEADING HOME
Sunday brings an early start as most of the Paloozians leave early to catch their flights home. Along the way, Milo does some Milo stuff at the Dillon outlet mall.
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DAY 5: IDAHO SPRINGS PIT STOP
A trip down I-70 from the mountains is hardly complete without a stop at Beau Jo’s—the founding father of Colorado mountain-style pizza. Here’s Al grabbing a slice.
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DAY 5: JUST LOOK AT THAT
The Paloozians slighly prefer Hernando’s in Winter Park, but Beau Jo’s is damn close. Plus they have a salad bar. And like just like that, another Palooza is in the books.
Inside Colopalooza: Craig Jacobin