Animals were a happy theme at this year's event. Here Randy, Joan and Benjamin show their ranching spirit. Mooo!

Alison, Tim & Co. dressed as rats with the Pied Piper of Hamlin... No, wait, maybe they're the "rat race".

Gorgeous peacocks made an appearance...

... as did partying penguins, seemingly not affected by global warming.

Celebrities also made a splash. "Bond, James Bond" made a debonair appearance.

We hear the Playboy Mansion is passe compared to Mountaineer Square. Hef brought Bunny for some racy on-slope action.

Apparently Amy Winehouse was just released from rehab.

Austin Powers made it to the top...

...followed closely by Fat Bastard and a Fembot.

Captain America made sure the race was safe for all.

An eighth-dimension doppleganger of Team Salomon/Crested Butte, well-equipped and riding a camel. Hope they brought a compass!

The Dukes of Hazzard, riding in the General Lee and accompanied by Cletus in his tow truck, were last down the course.

The bumper car girls were well protected.

Political statements were made for worthy local causes...

... and world events.

Giant Buddha made a silent protest for peace.

Other people showed their spirit in their music. Jerry Garcia rides piggyback with Deadhead Ed, seven speakers and a stereo! Yes, the stereo was playing exactly what you'd think, quite possibly something from Dick's Picks.

Some people were dressed too warmly (is that an Artesanos rug?) for the uphill but were comfortable on the downhill...

... while others had the opposite problem.

The Snow Bubble Queen demonstrated a flair for costuming with packing materiel. We think she should team up with Duct Tape Dominatrix from 2006.

Tequila-wielding Bandidos joined in the fun.

OK, not much of a costume, but Pat O'Neil did win the mens race. Congratulations Pat!

The planets in our solar system made fun of lonely exiled Pluto, recently demoted to star status.

Team Zissou (from "The Life Aquatic...") made a documentary-style showing...

... that soon turned a bit risque (not to mention cold).

As usual, Arliss pulls ahead of one of Jesus' apostles who apparently dropped his malt beverage.

Beverage finished and can crushed for recycling, the apostle shuffles towards his downhill slide...

While removing skins Bunny lost one ski down Fredo's. Hef gallantly skied down to pick it up, leaving Bunny to ski Avery alone on a single ski.

She was soon followed by the Apostle who begins his downhill with a prayer. [To catch Bunny or just make it down in one piece?]

Thanks to Al Johnson organizers Michele Zembal and the Alpineer, their cheerful crew of volunteers, CBMR, and all the other event sponsors for hosting another great race. See you next year!

As you may remember, our Brittany Duke is a rescue dog with a shady past. When rescued in Houston, TX 2-1/2 years ago, Duke was approximately three years old. We believe he survived his early years like most abandoned or ill-treated animals, cunningly escaping from Cruella deVille-ish owners to obtain food. Of course now Duke is lovingly cared for, heartily exercised and well-fed. So you might think he would happily stay at flyingcracker headquarters all day, lounging in the lap of canine luxury. You might be wrong.

Duke, like many dogs, has an insatiable curiousity, a powerful need to investigate the great outdoors. He wants to know who has been where and what they have been doing, and most importantly, how "it" smells. This winter we have seen more wildlife in our suburban landscape than normal. The huge snowpack has made foraging for food difficult for the critters. As elk, deer, bear, foxes and other animals venture nearer to civilization in search of a tasty morsel, Duke's olfactory senses sound a klaxon alarm which apparently cannot be ignored. Here a fox is seen next door in Mike and Robin's driveway, heading out to the street.

We observe foxes in the neighborhood nearly every day. Duke barks like crazy every time he sees a fox. "Woof woof woof!"

So far this winter Crested Butte has received 342" of snow, as measured by flyingcracker friend billy barr of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic. While Gothic receives much more snow than Crested Butte South, we get our fair share. When the snow piles up, Duke sometimes decides to go on walkabout by simply walking across the snow over top rail of our 42" high split rail fence.

CB South prohibits dogs roaming at large. So we dug a moat.

Nearly three feet wide and over sixty feet long, the moat keeps Duke inside the flyingcracker compound for the moment. Apparently he is not much of a long-jumper or we would have to widen it.

Like everyone else in town, we spend hours and hours clearing snow. This snowbank on the side of our driveway was created by nature, not plow, and stands eight feet high. The photo was taken several weeks ago; the snowbank is higher now. In the background you can just make out the peak of a two-story house across the street.

Of course we do enjoy recreation in and on the solid moisture. Mrs. Flyingcracker often skis with Duke and Ceilidh near the Cement Creek summer home group. As long as they can run on packed snow the dogs are quite happy. They now own doggie booties to keep their paws ice-free during these hikes.

When you have so much snow to work with, you find ways of using it for shelter. After reading an article about quinzees and forts we decided to build an igloo with our friends John and Peggy. This snazzy igloo kit was purchased from Grand Shelters in Longmont, CO. We read about this system in Cool Tools. Here we are starting on the first layer of blocks.

Peggy shovels fresh snow into the three-sided form. Packing the snow is done by hand and takes a few minutes for each block. As soon as you finish packing one block you move the form and start another. This is the third layer (of six) for an eight foot diameter igloo.

We picked a windy snowy day to build, perhaps not optimal conditions.

Just before the cap is packed in. We finished in the dark around 6:30 pm.

Ceilidh gives us a big smile!

That's about it for now. CBAC is predicting more snow tonight so we're going to get a head start shoveling the roof. Maybe you'll see me up there on the flyingcracker.com Whetstone webcam.

Thanks to the Crested Butte Professional Ski Patrol. These hardy men and women have the entire mountain open, "wall to wall and floor to ceiling" according to our friend Dave. Their work has been superlative, opening virtually all our extreme terrain before the new year, and then quickly getting those hundreds of acres open again after each big storm. Please tell your friendly patrol-person that you appreciate their early mornings and long days. Our recommendation? A sixer of beer or a foot massage gift certificate.

Thanks to the CB Land Trust, the CB Nordic Council, and Jackie & John Ingham for once again creating a fun nordic trail on the old Niccoli ranch and Ingham property. And thanks to the Crested Butte South Property Owners Association for grooming the trail. Since the CBSPOA pays for grooming, CB South residents can ski on this track for free. Get out there with your family and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Sorry, dogs are not allowed on the track.

Thanks to KBUT for getting local news back on the airwaves. First-year manager Dave Clayton has teamed up with Gunnison Country Times and Crested Butte News newspaper reporters to produce several local news items a week. These stories are aired weekdays just after NPR Headline News at noon and again at 6:30 pm after NPR's All Things Considered. On Saturday and Sunday the local stories air around 9 am. For those of you who, like us, cannot always listen at specific times, KBUT has recorded versions of all these stories on their new web site. KBUT is making great strides to better serve our community, and we strongly urge you to help out during their next pledge drive. [Disclosure: Graham Ullrich (your flyingcracker host) is a 9 year veteran of the KBUT Board of Directors.]

Thanks to the Crested Butte Avalanche Center for a) such a good local forecast, and b) providing their daily report to flyingcracker.com. At flyingcracker headquarters the CBAC report is the first weather item we view every morning. This season the CBAC forecasters have absolutely nailed it, beating NOAA day after day in clear and stormy weather. Well done!

Finally, thanks to flyingcracker fans around the world for all your kind emails. Here are some of the comments we have received lately:

"...just a note to say how much I've been enjoying the site. Rock on!" - Aron

"Hey Graham, I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your website, information and general quirkyness, we need more of you in the world." - Karah

"Love the new weather synopsis at the top of the page.  Great stuff!  However, I'm ignorant of weather jargon, so I don't know what you mean by T-2". Can you enlighten me?" - Joanne
(we emailed Joanne that T-2" means a "trace" to two inches of snow)

"i just gotta tell ya that i love your site... it's SO awesome.  it gives me all the cb info i need!  good job, dude." - Kristen

Thank you everyone for your support. We're glad you appreciate flyingcracker.com. Enjoy the new year!

These forecasts pertain to today, tonight and tomorrow, which is about as far out as we trust any prognostication. CBAC forecasts are provided during the winter ski season, usually November through April. During summer you'll have to wing it with NOAA. Until then, we hope you appreciate the CBAC's fine work.

The CBAC forecast can be found on the flyingcracker weather page. Additionally, you can add the CBAC forecast to your custom flyingcracker page.

Thanks to CBAC Director Alan Bernholtz who realized he could inform more of our community by working with flyingcracker. Thanks also to former resident and software wizard Peter Vanags for coding the RSS feed needed to expose the CBAC data.

If you are interested in supporting the non-profit Crested Butte Avalanche Center, contact them at 970-349-4022 or online at cbac@cbavalanchecenter.org.

If you love lemons and/or cocktails go to City Market in Gunnison and buy a bag of Meyer lemons. One bag of six lemons is $4, so they are a bit expensive. If all the Meyer lemon bags are gone, please ask the Produce department manager to order more. We're not kidding, this is a wonderful opportunity for all us classic cocktail (and lemon) lovers. If we are successful then our evenings might look something like this, a Meyer lemon sunset from CB South:

One final note. While in Costa Rica recently we happened upon a huge bin of ugly limes. As it turns out, these were another great hybrid, the Mandarin lime. Just like the Meyer lemon, the Mandarin lime is a slightly sweeter version of the common lime. The hint of mandarin orange taste lends itself well to nearly any lime-based cocktail. Be sure to try some during your next surfing adventure.