Westbound Boarder

Today I learned that Charlie Sperr of legendary, “Charlie’s Mountain View” restaurant and bar in beautiful Government Camp Oregon passed away in his sleep over the weekend. I had the very good fortune of sitting down with Charlie for about an hour this spring and found him to be a really open, engaging and an interesting part of our mountain heritage.

Charlie first came up to the mountain when he was 10 years old and spent a lot of his time both fishing and skiing. During WWII, he spent 4 years, 11 months and 6 days (he made sure to point out) primarily in the South Pacific. When he told me of his time in the war he got that far away look in his eyes that I’ve seen before when the old vets are telling of their time fighting overseas. After WWII, he went to OSU and was later drafted to fight in the Korean War. He had just bought a house, had a baby and was sent to California to become a transportation officer. He wound up managing the mail which he didn’t like very much and signed up for Naval training instead. From there Charlie went into psychological warfare training at Georgetown University. In the summer of 1951 he was sent to Voice of America and was shipped out to Idaho. This proved to be the perfect location for Charlie as he skied every weekend and even taught some too. Up until recently, Charlie had been to Sun Valley every year for 58 years straight!

Charlie opened the Mountain View on June 19, 1977. After speaking with Charlie, I was amazed by his memory and retention of every little detail. He opened the Ratskeller in 1963 and had the Ratskeller West in Cannon Beach back in 1969. Additionally he had the Inn Between both at the beach and in Government Camp. Last but not least, Charlie had the Tyee Valley Saloon, the Thunderhead and snow removal for the town. Quite the entrepreneur to the say the least!

In 1983 Charlie invested roughly $100K to build the infrastructure required to provide cable television in Government Camp. Charlie Vision as it is affectionately known to the locals. When asked if it made any money, Charlie sort of leaned back in his chair, smiled and said,”no, not really”. One of the more interesting aspects of Charlie Vision is the live camera trained down upon the town. In the winter, few things are quite as pleasant as curling up next to the woodstove; listening to Charlie’s classical music and watching folks stroll around in the snow.

Stepping into the dimly lit bar is a little like stepping into the un-official museum of the mountain. There are so many memories in that place you can almost still hear the revelry even when the place is quiet. In addition to live music, great libations and dancing till the wee hours, Charlie’s has also hosted a few different ski clubs and associations. Every year, usually in November there is a “Pray for Snow” party the Schnee Vogeli Ski Club hosts. In February, the Skiyiente Ski Club throw s a King Winter party in which one lucky (or unlucky depending on who you talk to) individual is crowned King Winter for the year. All the prior King’s photos are placed up on the wall and its great fun to go back in time and see the entire former King’s! You might just see someone’s Dad or Grandfather up there!

So, there you have it. A little history lesson on one of Government Camp’s founding Fathers. If you’re ever in Guvvy as we locals call it, take some time and stop in to pay homage to the best bar in town!

R.I.P. Charlie - You will be missed!

As usual and as promised, the sickest links of the week:

• Nike 6.0 To Launch a Women’s Apparel Line: This week, Transworld Business announced that beloved action sports brand Nike 6.0 is launching a women’s apparel line in the fall of 2010.  The line is inspired by Nike 6.0 team athletes Monyca Byrne-Wickey, Ellery Hollingsworth, and Carissa Moore and will be available in retail this fall.
• Secret Sweet Spots: What’s hot in the good ole Oregon? Check out MtHoodTerritory.com to find out and you could win a trip! That is right, all you have to do is watch a video, answer a question and you are entered. Two weeks, two videos and two chances left to enter…it is that simple.
• Don’t forget to check out our recap of the West Coast Invitational!

As many of you know, professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce was seriously injured during a half pipe training session on 12/31/2009. However the Pearce family shared good news with us today, nearly four full months later.

As reported on the families preferred outlet (The Well Wishes to our Friend Kevin Pearce Facebook Page) for Kevin, his family and his friends to post inspiration as well as Kevin’s progress, brought the world some great news today. As of April 14, 2010 Pearce was released from the inpatient Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Program at Craig Hospital. Kevin will continue daily outpatient therapy with Craig Hospital while residing in the Denver area (in a home that has been generously loaned to the Pearce family for the last several months.) Kevin’s outpatient treatment is expected to be the final step in Colorado before returning to his Norwich, VT home in the upcoming weeks, where he will continue to make strides towards a FULL RECOVERY!!!

It really shows that the prayers and inspiration everyone has been putting out there are really working for Kevin. With that, the Pearce family was sure to express their most sincere gratitude to Kevin’s rehabilitation team and for all of the continued support from all of you which they know is speeding up his progress.

Keep riding for Kevin as he continues to make drastic strides to a full recover. Keep it up Kevin!

Some Friday news tid bits for you today; enjoy!

Links to Surf

• Surf + Travel + Documentary + Timmy Curran = Awesome! Timmy Curran’s newest venture “The Union Express,” a documentary that follows him along the California coast as he checks out the major surf spots, is set to be released on iTunes April 14.  Check out the trailer over at HUCK; I’m buying this one for sure!
• Win a 14-Day Trip To Greece: Wait a minute… say what?  This just in - Contiki Vacations, Diane’s Beachwear and FOAM Magazine are offering a chance to win a fourteen-day trip to Greece. The vacation package includes visits to Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Ios, and a shopping spree at Diane’s to find that perfect bikini for sunbathing and island-hopping in style.  Sweepstakes candidates can submit their entries here.  The contest runs through April 2010 and the winner will be announced on Foam’s website May 5, 2010. The winner will receive one Contiki Greek Island Hopping trip which includes hotel accommodations, meals, a dedicated crew to show the sights and a $200 gift certificate to Diane’s Beachwear.

News Bits

• Check out Spring-A-Ma-Jig at Mt. High this Saturday: Not only is it Louie Vite ride day at High, its also the first annual 9of three) Spring-A-Ma-Jig rail jam and pond skim! (Apparently Vito’s a guest judge for the bikini contest).  Deets over at Mt. High’s Web site.
• The Dew Tour selects Las Vegas to host the final stop of the 2010 season: Action sports… Vegas… Best of both worlds! (Where can I sign up?)  Last week, the Alliance of Action Sports announced that it selected las Vegas to host the Dew Tour Championships (the fifth and final stop of the Tour), as well as the final awards ceremony.  The tour will commence October 14 - 17, 2010 at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.  Tickets for the 2010 Dew Tour will be on sale soon and will be available via Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster box offices.  Visit allisports.com for more information.  Full tour schedule:
  • Skate Open, ISF Skateboarding World Championships: June 25-26 Boston, Mass. - TD Garden
  • Nike 6.0 BMX Open: July 23-24 Chicago, Ill. - Museum Campus
  • Wendy’s Invitational: Aug. 12-15 Portland, Ore. - Rose Quarter
  • Toyota Challenge: Sept. 16-19 Salt Lake City, Utah - EnergySolutions Arena
  • Dew Tour Championships: Oct. 14-17 Las Vegas, Nev. - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

It’s always fun to watch unsponsored amateur riders throw down, and this season some of them threw down hard during the Gatorade Free Flow Tour for a chance at the big leagues.

I was lucky enough to catch 2 Gatorade Free Flow stops this season - one at Vail and one at Mt. High.  The lovely folks at FUEL TV put together a recap vid so you can watch highlights from the 10 stop tour event.  Below are air dates and times.  Check it out and let us know your favorite riders in the comments below!

“Gatorade Free Flow Tour Winter 2009″ Air Dates:

Tuesday, 3/23/2010 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT in Snow Pack
Tuesday, 3/23/2010 11:00 PM ET / 8:00 PM PT
Saturday, 3/27/2010 9:00 AM ET / 6:00 AM PT
Tuesday, 3/30/2010 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT
Wednesday, 3/31/2010 4:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM PT
Tuesday, 4/6/2010 3:00 PM ET / 12:00 PM PT
Saturday, 4/10/2010 1:30 PM ET / 10:30 AM PT
Wednesday, 4/14/2010 6:30 PM ET / 3:30 PM PT
Tuesday, 4/20/2010 9:30 PM ET / 6:30 PM PT
Saturday 4/24/2010 1:30 PM ET / 10:30 AM PT

This past weekend, the Mavericks Surf Competition at Half-Moon Bay (NorCal) took an unexpected turn when what some media outlets are calling a “rogue wave” (although they were not technically rogue waves, as rogues typically occur offshore) came and wiped out spectators.  More than 12 people were injured in the accident, according to CNN, and 3 people were hospitalized with broken bones.  From CNN:

They were “sneaker waves,” waves near the shore that are unexpectedly and significantly larger than others occurring at the time, said Larry Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Monterey, California…

Saturday’s sneaker waves were the result of several factors, including a storm in the Gulf of Alaska, Smith said. The storm, many hundreds of miles north of Princeton-by-the-Sea, was kicking up high waves — 18 to 22 feet — well off California’s shore.

Don’t believe me?  Check out the video for yourself!  It sucks that three people were hospitalized; otherwise, it is kind of funny (and ironic?) if you think about it.  Perhaps fate played a part here, and wanted to give everyone a chance to take part in the comp. 

Weather forecast?  Freezing.  Swell?  EPIC!!! The Mavericks Surf Contest, presented by Sony Ericsson, will be going on throughout the day today near Half Moon Bay, CA, and in case you can’t catch the action live … no worries!  Ustream (one of my clients) will be streaming the event live all day long.  The stream is below!  The first heat will begin around 8:00a.m. PT, with the finals anticipated to conclude at 2:45p.m. PT.  You can also check out live event updates via their Facebook Fan page.

Online video chat by Ustream

The Winter X Games is one of the largest annual contests of the year and is notorious for pushing its competitors to the next level and raising industry standards year after year.  This year was no exception, especially since the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver B.C. are right around the corner. The X Games are a great opportunity for women snowboarders to showcase their skills, while raising the bar for womens snowboarding. There were three female snowboard competitions during this past weekend’s event.  Snowboard Cross, a treacherous, windy, and super fast, five person race, the Slopestyle park comp, and of course the 22′ Super Pipe. The super pipe contest was awesome this year, and the U.S. girls ripped it up. In fact, the girls who podiumed where all on the U.S. woman’s Olympic team. First place went to Gretchen Bleiler, a Colorado local, second was Kelly Clark, and third was Hannah Teeter. Kelly was the only girl to do a 900 and absolutely popped the highest out of the pipe, but it was Gretchen Bleiler who had her trademarked crippler 720, which is sort of like a rodeo, but more inverted and stylish. Hannah Teeter had a great bag of tricks with perfect 540’s as well. Unfortunately, one of my favorite riders, Elena Hight, didn’t medal, though she did kill the Dew tour stop at Snow Basin (Ogden, UT), getting first in the woman’s Super Pipe.

Slopestyle was impressive this year, with a few different riders than the Super Pipe and plenty of tricks to go with them. The slopestyle course was made up of a rail garden and three giant jumps, stretching from 50′ to almost 70′ to finish off the run. Jenny Jones from Great Brittan won the Gold, Jamie Anderson won the Silver, and Janna Meyen-Weatherby won Bronze. Janna has been tearing up contests for years - she’s 32 years old and making it look effortless over the jumps. She was also the only girl to stick a 900. Jamie Anderson was great on the rails, doing a 360 nose bonk, and she killed it on the jumps with clean 7’s all around. It was Jones, though, with her perfect run with big air and style over all of the jumps pulling the consecutive 540’s with no sketchy landings, who conquered. Also have to give credit to Eero Ettala for the mens, stomping the best run I’ve ever seen in a contest. His first slopestyle run consisted of the double cork 1080, double backside rodeo 900, and then a double back flip. I knew this guy was good, but wow, taking a safe gold with no one even coming close to his score.

Once again, our favorite “must reads” from around the Web.  Make sure you check out the ESPN X Games going on right now and through the weekend in Aspen!  Oh, and if you haven’t already entered our socks giveaway, make sure you do so!

• 15-Year-Old Snowboarder Named to Austrailian Olympic Team: I love seeing and meeting young shredders, but this is unreal!  In Austrailia, a 15-year-old snowboarder was named to the Aussie Olympic Team.  Rad!
• Teter for Haiti: We all know Hannah Teter is an awesome snowboarder, but she’s also an awesome person.  She typically donates all of her prize money to a clean water charity, however, this year she donated her winnings from the US Snowboarding Grand Prix to Haiti.
• Preparation is key to ski trip success: Great advice from the New York Times on taking family ski trips.  Key theme?  Efficiency!
• Snowboarding Postage Stamp Revealed: Wow.  You know snowboarding has made an impact when they release a postage stamp with a snowboarder on the face.  Very cool!  Bummer that it is only available at Park City post office locations, though.
• Will Bright be the First Female to Crack The Double Cork Code? Well, I can’t exactly answer that question, but she sure does hope so!  FYI, love her training schedule - eat, sleep, and snowboard.

Tara Dakides, a legend in women’s snowboarding and perhaps the first women to really push the boundaries in the sport for women, will be appearing on “The Daily Habit” on Fuel TV tonight, along with Boris Said, Sal Masekela and the cast of “Frozen.”  The show will air tonight (Wednesday) at 6p.m. PT/9p.m. ET.

From the press release:

Today, X Games gold medal winner and Baja 1000 driver, Tara Dakides is back on the Habit, joined by X Games host Sal Masekela. Plus, NASCAR and Baja 1000 driver Boris Said stops by. Also, actors Shawn Ashmore, Emma Bell and Kevin Zegers are here to tell us about “Frozen,” a thriller that takes place on a ski lift.

Tara Dakides’ sponsors include: Vans, Sessions, Omatic, KMC Wheels, Wide Open. Boris Said’s sponsors include: Spy Optic, No Fear. Sal Masekela’s sponsors include: Quiksilver, Nixon, and Celtek.

Check it out!

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