Westbound Boarder

Allright folks, get ready for some sick conditions coming to the SoCal mountains this week.  It’s finally snowing!  And with rain in LA expected to continue throughout the week, this should be the El Nino storm we all have been hoping for.  Mt. High has already seen 3 inches of fresh pow at the peak, with the base receiving a mixture of snow and rain.  The snow level is expected to drop to 5,500 feet tonight, making for tons of fresh pow tomorrow and throughout the rest of the week.  Bear, on the other hand, (while the temperature is 38F at the moment) is expecting 8 – 16 inches tomorrow.

Busy week in snowboard land; here’s some of our fav picks from around the Web!

• Catch the Olympics on Yahoo!: Today, Yahoo! announced it will provide Olympic fans with an exclusive Web site and mobile experience for the 2010 Vancouver Games. (Check out the microsite here).  Less than one month to go!  Also, starting January 25^th, fans will be able to submit their favorite winter sports photos for a chance to win multiple prizes, ranging from digital cameras to a trip to the U.S. Freestyle Skiing Championship at Squaw Valley in March 2010.
• Haiti Disaster; How You Can Help: By now, many of you already know about the 7.0 Earthquake that devastated Haiti on Tuesday, Jan. 12.  Check out this blog post from Spectacular Adventures for more info. on how you can help.
• Bearics Teaser: Inside Etnies and Bear Mountain’s private snow park; sweet vid!
• Surf Expo 2010 Gallery: The 2010 Surf Expo is currently going on, and Transworl has the low down (in 140 pictures or less) here.  I’m really digging some of the new swimwear lines.
• Dew Tour Comes to Utah; Results Are In: After a successful first event at Breckenridge earlier this month, the Dew Tour, Round Two, moves to Snowbasin.  Elena Hight and Elijah Teter lead in the Pipe Prelims (surprised?)  Be sure to catch the Pipe Finals on Sat.

News Bits

• FUEL TV launched an iPhone application.  The application is available here in the iTunes store, free of charge.  The content is syndicated from the Fuel.tv website and includes nine video podcast channels, updates from the FUEL TV blogs, and Twitter integration. There’s also a community photo blog; FUEL TV show information, news updates, and schedules; and all of it can be seamlessly shared via a simple Twitter button. The app will also allow for streaming live events, and will be able to download a selection of FUEL TV shows in the near future.  Sounds pretty sick (I wish I had an iPhone!  Maybe now I have incentive to go buy one…)
• College Night returns to Mt. High.  Last year, Mt. High announced a series of three College Night Events, and apparently the series was popular, because it’s back!  And this time with six events.  If you’re in college and live in SoCal, this event sounds like a lot of fun – $20 Night passes, half-off appetizers, half-off draft beer (21+), $1 hot dogs, live DJs, and hookups from industry partners. College Night will take place from 5pm to 10pm in the Bullwheel Bar & Grill on January 14th, January 21st, February 4th, February 11th, February 25th, and March 4^th, 2010.  This season the January 21st, February 11^th, and March 4^th events will also include a rail competition complete with its own prize pool.
• Gatorade Free Flow Tour, the official amateur series of the Dew Tour, coming to a town near you.  We watched part of the pipe tour go down in Vail this past weekend, and it was pretty sick.  Now, let’s see some ladies!

Danielle already summed the season pass prices of the PacNW so take a gander if you are in the market. Lookin for a resort in California? Well look no further! We have the most popular resorts season pass prices summarized right here. Take a look for yourself:

Southern California Mountain Resorts

• Mt. Baldy – $699 (Adult), $375 (13 – 21)
• Mountain High – $299 through Oct. 31
• Big Bear (Bear Mountain and Snow Summit) – Ride at 2 resorts for the price of one.  Season passes range in price depending on what type you get.  Options include:

• Midweek (M – F) – $299 (Adult), $249 (13 – 21) through Nov. 29
• Midweek plus Sunday – $399 (Adult), $319 (13 – 21) through Nov. 29
• Anytime – $699 (Adult), $599 (13 – 21) through Nov. 29
• Night – $149 (Adult), $79 (13 – 21) through Nov. 29

Central and Northern California Mountain Resorts

• Mammoth Mountain – $576 (Adult), $432 (13 – 18)
• Sierra Summit – $369 (Adult), $329 (13 – 18) before Nov. 30
• Badger Pass – $229 (Adult), $199 (13 – 18) through Oct. 31

Lake Tahoe

• Heavenly – $369 (Adult), $299 (13 – 18) (Not valid blackout dates)
• Diamond Peak – $454 (Adult), $209 (College), $188 (15 – 17) plus midweek and beginner separate pricing
• Mt. Rose – $333 before Oct. 1
• Northstar-at-Tahoe – $699 (Adult), $399 (13 – 22), $259 (College) Pass also valid at Sierra-at-Tahoe
• Alpine Meadows – $799 (Adult), $499 (Adult with blackout dates), $299 (13 – 18) before Sept. 30
• Squaw Valley – A variety of different packages, from $649 (Adult) and $499 (13 – 22)

Do you ride somewhere in California not mentioned here? Let us know, we would love to hear about what mountain you call home.

Just because summer has officially come to a close does not mean there’s nothing to do.  In fact, our event calendar is just beginning to ramp up.  So if you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, check out our list below (by the time you’re done reading this post, you won’t know where to begin!  Is it Friday yet?!)

• Sunset Strip Music Festival: Sept. 11 – 12 — If you live relatively near Hollywood (or even if you don’t) this two-day event should be an awesome time.  The strip will be closed for performances at several different locations, including two outdoor stages, The Roxy, House of Blues, and other large venues located along the famous Sunset strip.  Headliners include Ozzy Osbourne, Korn, Pepper, Unwritten Law, LMFAO, and more, and tickets are $39.50/day in advance, or $50 at the gate, plus additional charges for club events. Additional Details.
• World Premiere of Forum’s “Forever”: Friday, Sept. 11 at the Balboa Theater (868 4th Ave. @ E Street, San Diego), Doors open at 7pm — This Friday, Forum will be debuting its sixth film, “Forever,” featuring Forum team riders such as Peter Line, Eddie Wall, John Jackson, Jake Welch, Stevie Bell and Cameron Pierce (all will be in attendance). The film will be shown alongside Standard Film’s “Black Winter.”  Additional Details. (Don’t live in SD? Totally no worries, its just the first stop of many).
• MSA Classic’s Opening Party and Keep A Breast Foundation Benefit: Friday, Sept. 11 at the Writer’s Boot Camp Bergamot Station Arts Center (2525 Michigan Ave., Building 1) in Santa Monica from 7 to 11 p.m. — Tomorrow the Malibu Surfing Association and Global Surf Industries will host the MSA Classic Opening Party, which will benefit the Keep A Breast Foundation. The party will feature free food and drink (free? yes!), pro surfers, a photography show by Roxy team rider Kassia Meador and Simone Reddingius, a Classic Hot Rod and Kustom Car Show, a raffle, and musical performances by MK & the Gentleman and The Holloys. There is  $5 suggested donation (but it’s going to a good cause, so don’t sweat).  Additional Details. (I’ll be stopping by, so make sure you stop by to say what’s up!)

Pencil This In: Events on the Horizon

• Saturday, Sept. 19: Bear Mountain Hot Dawgs and Hand Rails
• Saturday, Sept. 26: Red Bull Soapbox Los Angeles
• Sunday, October 4: Sixth Annual Night by the Ocean (Kodak Theater, Los Angeles)

March is usually the snowiest month at California mountains?  I had no idea!  I thought for sure the season would be done by March 1.  (Thanks, Bear Blog, for that tid bit of info.)

Other news from SoCal…

• Bear Mountain’s Superpipe is currently under construction.
• Sick (and free) concert at Mt. High Friday the 27th – Shiny Toy Guns.
• The Active BroDown ShowDown, a slopestyle competition for amateur and pro riders, is coming up this Saturday at Bear Mountain.
• Later that night, the Hot Dawgz and Handrails Qualifier will take place also at Bear. The top two competitors will get an invitation to the Main Event in September.

This one will be a quickie, but if you’re thinking about hitting the slopes this weekend… don’t think; do it!  The storm that brushed through LA Sunday through Tuesday definitely left more than just mud.  Bear Mountain is reporting 18 inches of fresh powder this week, while Mt. High has received 17 to 19 inches since Sunday.  The even better news?  Blue-bird skies and spring weather all weekend!  If the bare-backed mountain has deterred you from hitting the slopes as of late, now’s the perfect weekend to head to the hill just in time to finish up the season strong.

Is your home mountain also experiencing massive pow?  Let’s hear it in the comments!  Oh, and please… go snowboarding already!

After heading to Bear Mountain, CA for the first time in years, I thought a review of the resort was in order.  Let me preface this post by saying, good snow in SoCal is hard to come by.  With 85 degree weather in the dead of winter (yes, its true) SoCal is known for its beaches – NOT its mountains!  Well, you wouldn’t think so, anyway.

Last weekend when I competed in the Burton AM Series, I got the opportunity to ride at Bear Mountain Resort (part of Big Bear) and I just have to say, I was quite impressed!  It was a park rider’s heaven, and combined with the 50 degree, ride-in-your-T-shirt weather, a perfect day.

Big Bear contains two separate hills – Bear Mountain and Snow Summit – and with the price of one ticket you get to ride at both.  Typically, Bear Mountain is known as more of a “snowboarder’s resort,” while Snow Summit is the side for skiiers (though neither side discriminates!)  Bear Mountain is only open during the day, while you can ride Snow Summit at night, so combine the two and make one long day!

I only had the chance to hit up Bear Mountain, so I’ll talk about that resort in this post.  I had my hesitations about heading to Big Bear – It hadn’t snowed in days, and I had just ridden at Vail a few weeks prior (quite the difference).  But I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  Bear Mountain is about as close to LA as a mountain can get, and the resort definitely knows it’s assets.  See, at most mountains, you can usually find a terrain park or two, maybe even a halfpipe, but Bear Mountain (since, admittedly, it doesn’t have the best free terrain) is basically one huge park.  I love sunshine, and I love riding the park when the sun shines just enough to soften your landing, so Bear Mountain was like a dream for me.

The mountain has 12 lifts and several runs, however, you would probably be able to hit up every run in only half a day.  There isn’t a ton of variety, however, they have more jumps and jibs than I’ve ever seen on one single mountain, and even a half and susperpipe.  The one thing I didn’t really like about the mountain is that there wasn’t much order to placement of things – jumps and jibs were randomly sprinkled throughout the hill, parks aren’t marked off, and no one called drop.  At one point, it took my 6 times to actually get a solid run through the park I was riding because people kept cutting me off or stopping in front of the lip…  So frustrating!   I definitely saw more than one accident throughout the course of the day because people weren’t as careful here as they are at other mountains.  I’m sure if you go on a weekday, though, things wouldn’t be quite as bad.

As for cost… not bad at all, in the grand spectrum of what you get.  Lift tickets run $53 for a full day, $30 at night, and a hot dog was only about 3 bucks! (Take that, 12 dollar hot dog I bought at Vail!)  And don’t forget, you can ride free on your birthday!

Being a great, but relatively close, weekend getaway for most So-Californians, Big Bear has a great town with a ton of stuff to do.  I didn’t stay in the town so I won’t go into too much detail, but if you’re planning on riding a few days in a row I’d recommend you check it out.

Have you been to Big Bear?  Tell us what you thought!  And check out my pics below, from the drive up.  Great view!

If you’ve been following along, yesterday I competed in the Burton AM Series at Bear Mountain, CA.  What an experience!  I haven’t competed since my high school snowboard team days (much less ridden through the park this year!) so it was a lot of fun to be a part of the competition.

Now, I know I said in my last post that if you have never competed before, the Burton AM Series is a great place to start… Well, after spending a day in the comp. I might have to revise that statement a bit  Though it was a great time, many of the girls competing were sponsored, and if they weren’t they should have been.  Also, I expected the jumps to be pretty decently sized (after all, it is the amateur qualifier to the US Open!) but one look at the jumps on my way up the chair lift made me think twice about competing, myself… Well, almost  The jumps were HUGE! (Don’t believe me? Check out our pics on Flickr!)  If you’re not used to riding the park (basically, a park expert) it might be dangerous to push yourself on jumps you aren’t quite ready for.

However, cautions aside, if you are comfortable with the park I’d highly recommend you take a look at competing in the Burton AM Series.  The event was well-organized and a ton of fun, and competing in a comp. of this stature is a great way to push your ability and give you something to work toward.  For me, it was a bit of a stretch (especially since the last time I went big in the park I wound up with a broken arm!), but I faced my fears and did it, and I’m glad I did!  Though I didn’t make the top 4 (final qualifiers), I wasn’t last, either!  I was somewhere in the middle, but I’m just glad I did it at all.  It always feels so rewarding to know that you pushed yourself and did the best you could.

Overall, watching the girls compete in this competition was incredibly inspiring and it really made me realize that snowboarding has come a long way for women in the past few years.  When I competed back in high school, jaws dropped in awe when a chick could pull a backside half-cab with decent air.  Yesterday, I saw a girl do a backside 5 w/nose grab, and with killer air!  Oh, and there was a 9-year-old competing in the comp. who was awesome!  I couldn’t believe it; I overheard one of the girls saying that she really wanted to hit the first kick but her mom wouldn’t let her.  Yesterday, I really saw firsthand the advancement female riders are making in the sport, and the industry.  I think men are finally starting to realize it’s not just their sport any longer! 

Hopefully this post doesn’t deter you from wanting to compete in the future.  It really is one of the best things you can do to improve your skill on the hill; the competitive vibe you feel while training for and during a comp. will test your limits to the max, and you’ll find yourself trying things you normally would brush aside in no time.  Stay tuned for part 2 of this post later this week; I’ll give you newbies a few tips to think about while prepping for your first competition!  You’ll be pro in no time.

Traditionally, the US Open (snowboarding) has only been open to pro riders.  Not anymore!  Last year, Burton announced the Burton AM Series, a competition for amateur riders, with men and women champs winning $1,000 and a wildcard entry into the Open Series.  And the second annual series is well underway, with stops in 6 US locations.  

If your new year’s resolution is to compete this year, I suggest you try this one out!  I haven’t competed since high school, but I’ve really wanted to get back into it, so I challenged myself to this one  After researching it a bit (and becoming a tad bit intimidated watching videos of the pro Burton team!) I decided, what the heck… at least I tried, right?  The worst that can happen is I get last place  So, I’m doing it; tomorrow at Bear Mountain, which I’m so stoked about because I haven’t been to Bear Mountain yet, and what a great excuse to go!   

If you’re also thinking about competing, most of the info. you need is on the Burton AM Series Web site.  You can register here (it’s $10 per event; open to 30 women) and you can compete in slopestyle, halfpipe, or both. 

This year’s schedule is as follows:

• Northstar-at-Tahoe, CA: Jan. 10 – 11
• Bear Mountain, CA: Jan. 19 (Slopestyle only; pipe cancelled due to weather conditions)
• Keystone, CO: Jan. 24 – 25
• Snoqualmie, WA: Jan. 31 (Slopestyle only; pipe cancelled due to weather conditions)
• Park City, UT: Feb. 7 – 8
• Waterville Valley, NH: March 14 – 15

The big clincher – the Burton Global Open Series, US – will be held at Stratton Mountain, VT, March 16 – 22, 2009.  Competitors (pros and those who’ve obtained a wildcard entry through the AM series) will compete for the 2009 women’s and men’s championship titles, each worth $100,000, and events at large will take place around the globe (Europe, Japan, Canada, US, New Zealand, Australia).  So whether you’re a competitor or you simply just want to watch, be sure to mark those dates on your calendar because it should be a pretty sweet comp!  I’ll report back after tomorrow’s big event