Picto Diary - 24 to 28 February 2026 - Boot-Up
Above: Success Run. Deer Valley, UT. 24 February 2026.
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Rainbow. I would assume this is a rare image. Timing was right.
Above: Deer Valley. UT. 25 February 2026.
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Image: Snow Park Parking Lot.
Today looked like it was going to be the worst of ski days. It had rained much of the previous night and was drizzling when The Pope and Mwah (sic) arrived at the Snow Park Parking lot, seen in the image. It was about 42 degrees at Snow Park at 8:30 AM and it had not frozen the night before. It looks like numerous others decided not to ski today considering the empty Lot 5 around 11:30 AM... time of this image.
Surprise. DV opened the Carpenter Lift a half hour early to allow early skiers to ski more runs before the snow slushed up later in the day. Above 7700 feet there was three inches of overnight snow. I got 13 runs in on non-sticky, even if about wet, snow. We skied most of the Flagstaff runs including some repeats. As seen in the image, the runs were "empty" as many had stayed home.
The Pope and Mwah (sic) skied back to Snow Park after the break at my office at Empire Lodge. We left the mountain by 11:30 AM. By then everything was turning mushy. But we learned that you could get a good morning of skiing in even when the prospects look otherwise bleak.
Above: Z, Roy and Grrr. Salt Lake City, UT. 25 February 2026.
Image by Koessler. Expressions remind me of the old-time images taken in the 19th century shortly after photography was invented.
Above: Deer Valley, UT. 26 February 2026
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My Office. West Wing, Empire Lodge. Mid morning break.
Above: LSDM Friday AM Colloquium. Wasatch Bagel, Park City, UT. 27 February 2026.
Image: IBM China, holding up micro bit, reports on LSDM sanctioned seminar for LSDM ROMEOs by Boot-Up. Event was held earlier this week at the home of Dee Manire, seated just behind Don at right in image. Ari Ioannides and Don Sanger, Boot-Up backers, gave a presentation on Boot-Up to LSDM on 21 January 2026. Others in image: The Two Jacks at left: Latham and Watkins, right; Wasatch Bagel employee, Monica, at the counter.
Other Topics du Jour
Carlton, recent SMU grad, talks about upcoming internship with Wasatch Advisors.
Carrie ski accident. Recovering. Improving.
Medical glitch ends F16's flying days. He retires in 13 months in any case.
https://allevents.in/salt-lake-city/topaz-pilgrimage-2026/100001982475827567
per today’s discussion
Medal of Honor Citation — CW5 Eric A. Slover
Chief Warrant Officer Five Eric A. Slover, United States Army, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, above and beyond the call of duty, on January 3, 2026, during a mission in Venezuela in support of Operation Absolute Resolve.
As the lead MH-47 helicopter pilot tasked with a complex infiltration through hostile integrated air defense systems, Chief Warrant Officer Slover expertly led his aircraft through hazardous terrain and adverse conditions to deliver military forces to the designated landing zone. Upon touchdown, his aircraft was immediately engaged by multiple enemy machine-gun positions at close range. Despite being struck by 15 armor-piercing rounds — four of which hit his leg — he maintained control of the aircraft and its position in the line of fire, ensuring the safe insertion of ground forces.
After his team disembarked, and though severely wounded, Chief Warrant Officer Slover identified hostile heavy machine-gun positions targeting both his aircraft and fellow forces. He maneuvered his aircraft to enable his door gunner to deliver effective suppressive fire, successfully neutralizing the threats.
Chief Warrant Officer Slover’s extraordinary heroism, unwavering resolve, and selfless actions saved countless American lives and ensured the successful completion of the mission. His valor reflects great credit upon himself and the United States Army.
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Matt Benelli (Semper Fi) Co-Founder |
Cafe Deux Magots, Paris, France. Foreground, 'Cake. 'Cake attended the Boot Up seminar in Park City last week.
Above: Deer Valley, UT. 27 February 2026.
The Pope and The Bishop.
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Gnarly surface... loose ridged grain snow, flat lighting, ice chunks led to early departure from the slopes
Above: Iron Canyon. Park City, UT. 27 February 2026.
Tom preens.
Above: US 189 SB. Wasatch County 27 February 2026.
Provo Peak. Elevation 11,068 feet.
Above: Ranthambore, Rajasthan, India. 2017 (Nostalgia post). 28 February 2026.
Today, 28 February 2026, I received an invitation to join a motorcycle tour from Eligio Arturi, Mototouring, Milan, Italy, to join on an upcoming motorcycle tour of Rajasthan, India. I have ridden with Eligio and Mototouring more than once... from Johannesburg to Dar es Salaam, for one. After RSVP--ing no, to Eligio, but expressing excitement about the destinations of the Mototouring tour, Eligio suggested I join by car. Herewith is my stream of conscious reminiscence to Eligio about motorcycling in India and sighting tigers:
Eligio,
Thanks for the suggestion of going on the Rajasthan motorcycle trip in a car. Not this time... but you've seriously tweaked my interest. I would like to keep abreast of your India motorcycle trip options... by car... for future consideration.
I love India. In the early '70's Margaret and I lived in New Delhi for 18 months and Calcutta for 18 months. We've been back at least fifteen times, the last trip to Gujarat in 2024.
My only motorcycle riding experience in India:
Circa 2008. Burt Richmond was there... but I don't remember the tour company. Was it Mototouring... you!!?? We motorcycle tour goers flew into Siliguri, West Bengal from New Delhi. We rode Royal Enfield bikes north to Darjeeling, West Bengal and then east across the entirety of Bhutan. From eastern Bhutan we rode south, back into India, to Guwahati, Assam. The chaos, cacophony, dust, and smoke, while riding amidst trucks, cars, busses, pedestrians, motorcycles, animal carts, on the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu bridge over the Brahmaputra River from North Guwahati to Guwahati, Assam, India was one of the highlights of my lifetime motorcycling experience.
I've been to Assam on two other (non-motorcycling) occasions (1974 and 2008). Purpose: to visit Kaziranga National Park and ride elephants into the tall grass to see the endangered white rhino. You've probably seen this famous YouTube of a tiger attack at Kaziranga which occurred in 2004.
Bing Videos
Tiger sightings at Kaziranga are rare as the tigers stay mostly in the tall grass. Ranthambore, where your tour is going, is considered the best place in India to see a tiger where I was lucky to sight one in 2017. However, when I asked my Ranthambore guide what percent of the visitors there see a tiger, he said, "only 50% in Ranthambore."
Circa 1973 I saw a tiger, on a nighttime stakeout, in Alwar, Rajasthan. India has done a great job rebuilding its tiger population since I saw that tiger in Alwar in 1973. In 1973 the wild tiger population in India was estimated at 1800. There are 3700 tigers in 58 reserves in India today. 75% of the world population of Bengal tigers is in India.
The Bhutan portion of motorcycle trip wasn't my favorite ride. The trip was well organized, but low visibility dampened the experience.
I met a future good riding friend on the Bhutan ride, Ed Fredrichs from San Francisco. Ed was a San Francisco architect... well connected as a member of the San Francisco based, ultra-uppity, secretive Bohemian Club. He passed away circa eight years ago). Chuck Cobb, former US Ambassador to Iceland, is also a member of the Bohemian Club. I know Chuck from Miami days, where he was a "big." Currently, Chuck and I are both Overseers at Stanford's Hoover Institution; I see Chuck in Palo Alto occasionally.
In 2009, the year after returning from the Bhutan/Guwahati trip, I took the California Zephir AMTRAK from Salt Lake City to Denver and picked up a new Royal Enfield motorcycle. There was no Royal Enfield dealer in Salt Lake at that time. I rode the bike back from Denver to Park City and thereafter put, perhaps, 5000 miles on it before I sold it two or three years later. I remember climbing the Rockies on the 'Enfield, riding westbound from Denver on I-70, not being able to reach more than 50 MPH. I weighed 275 pounds at the time. On the flats I could get 65 MPH to 70 MPH. I enjoyed having the bike. Just moved on to other things. Now I keep a 2023 Goldwing (12K miles) at my house in Ivins, UT and a 2021 Multistrada, my third Multistrada (15K miles) in the Park City house. With three riding friends, in early February this year, completed a 1600-mile round trip (Goldwing): Ivins, UT, Death Valley, CA, Palm Desert, CA, and Harris Ranch, CA, Ivins, UT.
Sorry... you got me started on a reminiscence. It was the mention of India that did it.
PS. Bharatpur. There were so many birds of all types that I asked our guide if the park was really a bird aviary (zoo). The guide also took us off the beaten track to show us a twenty-foot-long python.
PSS. Giorgia Meloni rocks.
SDT