Quade

A year after I went thru my treatment I got tipped off about an old friend from Steamboat who's son was going thru Leukemia and was going to need a transplant.  It's one thing to be fighting thru this as an adult but to see a kid go thru the destruction, it would be brutal.  I got to visit Quade while he was in the hospital too.  They weren't allowing any visitors but his direct family, but when his Dad told the Doctors I had been thru the regiman, they gave me the green light.
When I met Quade, he was exactly as I expected, sitting in a room, medical shit all around him and a Dad with just that look.  We chatted, hugged and hi'5d and I was out of there.  I got in the elevator and pushed down and then just started crying.  The emotion of a kid in there just got to me.
Quade had a full recovery and is back being a kid.  His Dad sent me this vid that the hospital did on him and the people that made his recovery possible.  I had over 50 transfusions during my time in there and it never dawned on me the people that gave for my cause.  I only thought of my bone marrow donor.
So from me, by way of Quade making me recognize, thank you blood donors.  Thank you some 50 plus people that went to the blood bank to donate, not knowing where it went. 

MILO MALKOSKI 16 YEAR VIDEO PROJECT 2016

This is a video I did for Milo's 16th birthday (2 years ago), that I never posted but as I was cleaning out my computer today discovered. Sad too as 2 years later, he's 18 and about to leave the house for college. #emptynester

Bye Bye Blue Ridge Swim Team

12 summers of swimming for Blue Ridge Swim Club came to an end last Tuesday night with our meet against Sheridan Beach. The kid was the last male standing from the many that started on swim team with him many years ago but have all since quit. He says he hated it and only did it because we made him finish what he started but was always smiling out of the water because he had 11 girls graduate next to him. During the graduation ceremony, Coach Carlos said "I can’t believe how far he got in swimming with how little effort he put into it.  If you keep this up in life, you'll do just fine.” Congrats kid.

Wallis, Milo and Tessa. 

 11 ladies and one dude graduated from the team this year and are off to college. 

 Coach Carlos

Stay gold Pony Boi and Cobra Kai.

Whistler Valley Snowboard Camp

There's something about Canadians, they are so hospitable and nice its almost annoying.  But being the suckers for nice people punishment we packed our bags during Americas week of independence celebration along with Milo's birthday and headed north to Whistler BC, to hook up with all our Canadian and Spokane friends for a week of snowboarding, biking, skating, bears and world cup soccer.  

Rob Picard has run the Whistler Valley Snowboard Club for 20+ years and last year saw and opportunity to keep the kids on shred during the summer with the demise of The Camp Of Champions snowboard camp that ran for the previous 25 years.  We went up for the inaugural launch of the camp and had a blast so it was only fitting  that we return for year two of the camp. 

This year there were three, six day sessions running.  We went to session two, that had close to 50 kids in attendance.  What blew me away with this camp was the coaching.  The coaches at WVSC weren't dudes trying to film their summer part in between pretending to coach the kids to learn new tricks.  These coaches truly coached.  They spent the day on the glacier, at a feature working with the kids to get whatever trick or progression of a trick that the camper would communicate to them they wanted to get. 


Lots of this going thru the boarder and on the road to Whistler.  We were one of the few going to stand sideways. 

 But we brought our bikes as well.  I got 3 days of riding lifts on bikes there. 

 Gnar above, Milo here.

 Bears

 On the first day of camp, ran into this dude from Steamboat, Dan GIlchrist.  Dan was notorious for "hey, I got this bike ride (insert hike, ski or whatever) that Im looking at, its like an hour long are you in?" Then 8 hours later you would come out of the trail and he'd be like "whoa, that took longer than I thought."  So when he said "do you want to go ride bikes?"  I was hesitant. 

 Bear

 We had a few cm's of new snow for our first day of riding lifts. 

 July 4th groomers.

 Hey, dig out that tube and move it like 2inches ok?

 Owen Cline

 Rob Picard

 Truth Smith

 Lunch

 Canadian tradition

 Kim and Jason Cline our partners on the trip along with their two rats, Owen and Mr. Progression Session Wyatt. 

WeGnar

 So we didnt have beers for the ride off the mountain, but the mountain had some.  We went up and bought these but the Aussi said she had to open them because it was alcohol.  We told her no, it was lemonade.  "Oh, Budweiser makes lemonade?  Cool." 

 Backward helmet steeze.

 The Chomlacks our Canadian homeys.  Along with Latifa the dog here. 

 Why Wy

 Gnar Producer

 Finn Finestone

 Jadyn Chomlack

Thanks to all for the hospitality, niceness and good times at one of the raddest places for action guys to go too. 

Milo School History deck

Kindergarten thru the last day of his senior year, 30 seconds to show 13 years.