Westbound Boarder

I’m dreaming of a wh– Okay, so its not exactly a “white Christmas” (yet) here in Salt Lake City, but hey, I’m spending Christmas in Salt Lake City!  After 4 fabulous days at the Dew Tour and 1 day shredding Keystone (amazing resort, btw, review to come later) I’m continuing on my winter break resort tour here in Salt Lake City.  Danielle and Lance just bought an adorable house here in SLC, so I’m excited to stay here and shred for 3 weeks straight before Danielle and I head to Squaw at Tahoe.  And we’ve got quite the line-up – Park City, Brighton, Snowbird, Snowbasin… our goal is to try out and review as many new resorts in SLC as possible.  But for now… of to explore the little town of Park City!

Merry Christmas Eve, and I hope you’re eve is merry and white!

Today was the last day of the first Winter Dew Tour stop here in Breckenridge, Colorado, and with nearly 2 feet of fresh pow blanketing the slopes, it was a nice way to end the four-day-long tour.  Norway’s Torstein Horgmo took first on the men’s side with a score of 96.50.  His winning run included a frontside noseblunt slide to fakie, a switch frontside double cork 10 and a switch backside 9.

Taking first place in the women’s heat and defending her Dew Tour Championship title was Tahoe’s own Jamie Anderson.  This was her fifth first place Dew Tour finish, which she snabbed with a score of 93.00 and a run that included a back 180, switch back 180, fifty-fifty, back 3 and a corked front 3.

The full snowboard slopestyle results are below.  Overall, it’s been a great four days, but man am I ready to shred the slopes!  So tomorrow, it’s Keystone for me!

Women’s Slopestyle Final Results

Also, this just in – video highlights from yesterday’s halfpipe event below!

I’m out here in Breckenridge, Colorado again for the third day of the first Winter Dew Tour Stop, the Nike 6.0 Open.  With prelim rounds behind us, today riders prepped for the men’s and women’s ski and snowboard halfpipe finals.  Unlike yesterday’s sunshine, though, today’s weather blanketed the pipe with snow, which threw competitors for a loop and slowed them down considerably.

Louie Vito ended up winning the men’s pipe finals with a score of 90.25, and considering the second place male, Matt Ladley, finished with a 75, I’d say Louie stomped it.  His winning set included a front double ten, cab double ten and a crippler (no double corks, Louie?)  You can tell just by looking at the scores that the conditions threw several riders off.  Olympic bronze medalist Scotty Lago, for example, finished with a best score of only 14.

On the women’s side, Spain’s Queralt Castellet took first place, with Elena Hight following right behind.  I’m surprised Kelly Clark, who took sixth in the finals, didn’t end up finishing with a higher score, especially since she took first in the prelims, followed by Elena Hight.

Despite the heavy snow that slowed down the pipe, today’s event was a success, and riders continued to push the boundaries with stylish tricks and good momentum.

Check out the full halfpipe finals results below, and tune in tomorrow for slopestyle.

Women’s Superpipe Final Results

Men’s Superpipe Final Results

Men’s Ski Superpipe Final Results

*Results courtesy of Alli

I’m out here in Breckenridge helping out with the first winter Dew Tour stop of the season – its been one heck of a tour so far!  More than 380 riders from 18 different countries are competing in this year’s tour, including Kelly Clark, Elena Hight, JJ Thomas, Scotty Lago, Sage Kostenburg, Mason Aguirre, Jamie Anderson, Chanelle Sladics, and Louie Vito.  This year, the tour opted to follow the new industry standard and debut a 22 foot halfpipe instead of the 18 foot pipe it has used in the past, so we should see some pretty sick tricks over the next couple of days.

Today, Kevin Pearce made a quick appearance in the village (apparently it is one of his first public appearances since his big injury), and he should be all set for an interview with Fuel TV tomorrow afternoon.

Yesterday and today, the tour held qualifying rounds, and the men’s superpipe finals are on deck for tomorrow.  Keep checking back for the latest updates!

To give you a little sneak peak of the slopestyle course, check out the video from Alli below.

I love this new video from TTR World Tour on the progression of snowboarding.  It takes a deeper look at new progressive tricks, such as the double cork, and questions whether a snowboarder can even have a shot at winning a big competition without it.  It is neat to see how far snowboarding has come over the past decade, but also a bit scary, because most riders don’t have access to the safety mechanisms in order to try new tricks of like these. 

Now I wonder… what’s next?  Check out the video and let us know what YOU think!

One of our favorite snowboard brands, Planet Earth is introducing a new perspective. As if they haven’t already done enough with keeping up on the most fashionable (because admit it, that matters) AND eco-sensitive product line in action sports, they are now looking out for the little guys.

What’s Planet Earth’s Perspectives? It is a mic for people making things happen, because let’s get real not all of us are pro’s. The perspectives series offers down to earth, real life stories in the form of videos, interviews and photos to be shared with the rest of the planet. The Planet Earth Perspectives, in my opinion serves as motivation for all of the shredders out there who have one thing in common, the love of their sport.

As we anxiously await the start of the 2011 winter season, all of our fav snowboard brands are beginning to introduce to the world their fantastic and innovative 2011 snowboard lines. This season we are excited to be demoing some of these shredstix for ourselves and with that we introduce to you the latest and greatest available from Ride. The Ride DH 2.4, is available now in limited quantities and boasts primo response, pop and landing stability. This twin board also provides the best of both worlds; the surfy feel of the rocker and the hard charging pop of the traditional camber, which is an overwhelming trend of the season.

On top of this hybrid tech this board offers, the graphics are sick. Dethkills has done it again and provided this board with a rich organic design bound to please the masses. Check it out and grab it while its hot (and still available) as this is a limited edition and won’t last long. Check back once the snow falls as we will be providing comprehensive reviews on a plethora of the ladies boards that ride offers such as the Oh-La-La and the Bandita bindings. Now think snow!

I’ve always had big dreams to quit my professional job and become a lifty for a season… but sadly, I think I’m a bit past my prime   Nonetheless, I still think it would be a cool experience, so resort job calls always catch my eye.  Which brings me to the most recent one I came across… If you live in SoCal and have big dreams of working at a resort (and, might I add, skiing for FREE all season long) Bear Mountain and Snow Summit are hosting job fairs the next couple of weekends (they’ll be interviewing at these job fairs, so dress to impress!)  Full-time and part-time jobs are available for both indoor and outdoor positions, including ski and snowboard instructors, snowmakers, groomers, lift operators, lift attendants, food servers, dishwashers, cooks and ticket sales. Deets below!

Saturday, October 2, 2010
8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Snow Summit
880 Summit Drive
Big Bear Lake, CA
www.snowsummit.com

Saturday, October 16, 2010
8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Bear Mountain
43101 Goldmine Drive
Big Bear Lake, CA
www.bearmountain.com

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!

I’ve lived in SoCal for two years of my life now, but if you count the 13 years I lived here growing up, that’s 15 years total.  15 winters.  Can you believe I had never been to Mammoth?  Well, a few weeks ago, I decided I was going to change that.

After a particularly long week at work in Seattle, Washington, I decided it was about time to finally head to Mammoth.  It was May, mind you, but reports of continuous fresh pow flooded my ears all spring.  Powder and sun in May?  Um, sold!  My flight home from Seattle landed at LAX around 5:30pm, so I headed home, threw some cloths into a bag, and by 7pm my friend Matty and I were cramped up in his tough (and slightly smelly) Toyota, gear, pillows and sleeping bags sprawled in the back, cruising up the 405 freeway toward Mammoth.

We arrived around midnight (we took an hour-long detour in search of food… we ended up at Panda Express; figures) and stayed in a quaint little pad that must have slept at least 14.  Yeah, the place was tight, but cozy.  We pretty much hit the sack immediately, in preparation for the long day that lay ahead.

Now, I was told that it was pretty cold at Mammoth, so as soon as our alarms went off next morning (ok, well, after hitting the snooze button a few times) I piled on the layers.  Two pairs of pants, three top layers, and two pairs of socks later, I was bundled and ready to hit the slopes… only to find that it was at least 50 degrees F but the time we got up to the hill.  Translation, I could have worn a bikini and made out just fine.

From the main town area, you can either take a tram from the bottom to the hill or drive up.  It’s maybe a 10-minute drive and parking kind of stinks, but if you’re willing to shell out 20 bucks you’re granted premium parking right in the lot (we don’t like exercise, so we opted for that route).  We picked up our tickets (beware – lift tickets will run you a whopping 87 bucks, but rumor has it prices will rise to 92 next year, making Mammoth one of the highest priced mountain resorts in the US) and were finally ready to face the hill and shred some ridiculous spring snow.  And the sun definitely wasn’t stopping the pow from being anything less than amazing.

One of the great things about Mammoth is that there really is something for everyone.  There’s more than 90 acres of free terrain that incorporates a nice mix of beginner and advanced slopes.  There are some fun tree runs, but plenty of bowls and open groomers as well.  We spent the morning shredding the terrain (I’m sure we didn’t even begin to graze the surface of all that was available to us) but the real fun began in the park.

With three pipes and seven parks, Mammoth is continually touted as having one of the best parks in the nation.  And I can definitely see why.  Their park area was pretty sick.  It had a nice mix of jumps and they were very well groomed, but also a good number of mid-sized jumps, just enough to challenge me without completely scaring me off.  There were a few 70 footers, too (and people were actually doing them )  This year toward the end of the season, Mammoth even brought in a landing pad where riders could try new tricks or perfect the old… you know, without dying and such.

My favorite thing about Mammoth, though, is the chill and laid-back vibe this hill resonates, especially in the less-crowded spring season.  Everyone spends their days chilling in the park or hanging on the benches outside with a drink in hand before they start round two.  Out of any resort I’ve been to, Mammoth is hands down the most fun, whether you’re riding or not.  And the nightlife ain’t too shabby, either.

Insider Tip: Given its close proximity to what is commonly referred to as the mecca of action sports (ahem, LA) there is always something going down at Mammoth.  Before you plan your trip out though, be sure to check the events calendar on the Mammoth website before solidifying your trip dates. The best weekends to go are the weekends when there’s something big going down – the Roxy Chicken Jam or the West Coast Invitational, for instance.  And there’s always a pro or two to be spotted – especially when you go during a big event weekend.  I saw US Olympic rider Greg Bretz and Tyler Flanagan in the park line several times, for instance, and I bumped into Elena Hight at lunch.

With more than 45 feet of snow falling throughout the 2009/10 season, Mammoth Mountain is currently slated to stay open through the Fourth of July weekend.  So if you’re still looking to satisfy your snowboard fix, you still have a whole month to make it up!

If I were to sum up Mammoth in three words or less, it might sound a little something like this – Great snow, killer parks, and awesome local vibe (Okay, so that may be a few words over three, but you get the idea…)  All in all, Mammoth is a mountain worth going for.

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