47 Search Results for "died"

• News: Avalanches Kill Two Skie News: Avalanches Kill Two Skiers In Wyoming

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    Story via the Jackson Hole Daily
    
    Jackson Hole, Wyo. - A pair of unrelated avalanches near Jackson killed two backcountry skiers Sunday.
    
    Elizabeth “Liza” Benson, 28, and Nick Gillespie, 30, died from trauma in two separate slides, officials reported. The fatalities were the first of the winter and came after fresh snowfall over the weekend broke a prolonged dry spell in Jackson Hole.
    
    Benson was skiing in the Cliff Creek drainage, off Hoback Canyon in Sublette County, in a group of five people. The party, including her boyfriend and a physician, were skiing in the Clause Creek area, commonly reached by snowmobile.
    
    A slide with an 8-inch crown swept her into a tree at about 9,200 feet elevation, according to reports from the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center and the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office. The Sublette Sheriff’s Office received a call from the group at about 3:25 p.m.
    
    The initial report was that a skier had been injured. The doctor in the group pronounced Benson dead during the phone call, the sheriff’s department said.

    ............
    
    Gillespie, a seasonal trail crew worker in Grand Teton National Park, was the second valley resident to be killed Sunday. He was descending the southeast slopes of Survey Peak, near the park’s north boundary, when he got caught in an avalanche around 5 p.m.
    
    Gillespie was skiing in a group of four that had been staying at the Upper Berry Creek patrol cabin since Thursday, park officials said.
    
    The group climbed and skied the 9,277-foot peak that day. Two remained near the base of the mountain while Gillespie and a partner made a second lap, park deputy chief of interpretation Mike Nicklas said.
    
    Gillespie descended first and apparently triggered the avalanche.
    
    Read The Rest Of The Story
    
    Ream More On Wyoming Snowpack

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  • 5 months ago
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• Through The Lens Of Tristan Gr Through The Lens Of Tristan Greszko

  • From: kimhavell
  • Description:

    “Through The lens” is a regular column on TetonGravity.com that highlights the work of a photographer in the ski and snowboard industries. The series exists to celebrate the photographers who bring us extraordinary imagery, to get to know who they are, and to understand their process.
    
    Tristan Greszko, a gifted athlete and photographer based in Jackson, Wyo., is known for his creation and adaptation of unique angles in photo and art imagery. Greszko enjoys working in various artistic mediums including alternate photo processes, screen-printing projects, film, and other creative outlets. His work on projects like the Tiny Jackson Hole video in 2011 catapulted him overnight into the public realm. And, as local lore goes, he is one of a handful of skiers to straight-line “Once is Enough,” a serious and steep line in the JHMR backcountry.
    
    Greszko took art classes in high school and later began to develop his photo skills through on-snow work in Vermont. After moving to Jackson in 2006, Tristan co-created the Teton Artlab, developing this multi-purpose, non-profit venue to provide affordable workspace for local artists. The lab maintains a quirky and creative atmosphere in which artists congregate and collaborate.
    
    Keep an eye out: With his distinctive captures and creativity, Greszko explores new ways to share his world of photo and art from a deep well of talent.
    
    
    1. The Start.
    
    In 2005, I moved from Atlanta to Vermont for a job snow reporting at Okemo and was in charge of shooting “Photo of the Day.” I also bought my first camera and shot the now-defunct Vermont Freeskiing Open. The years between 2005 and 2010, I spent almost every waking hour immersing myself in photography, learning, failing a lot, and collecting a few decent images here and there.
    
    In 2010, after 4 years working in the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort marketing department, I left my job to devote more time and energy to being a professional photographer. By that spring, I felt I had a strong portfolio and a skill set competent enough to finally, truly call myself a photographer. And now, two years later, I feel like I'm starting to produce some great images. So, I feel like, in many ways, I'm just getting going.
    
    
    2. The Inspiration.
    
    The most obvious choice is my dad, though it comes with a big footnote. The older I get the more I realize how similar we are in so many ways. He had a rare, boundless curiosity about the world, a mischievous sense of adventure, and was obsessive about his interests, which I very clearly inherited. He was a technically perfect, beautiful skier, had a dark sense of humor, tinkered with art and photography, and had a passion for the mountains that bordered on religious fanaticism.
    
    The footnote is that both of my parents died when I was 14. I was just a naive little kid in 9th grade when it happened, so I say all this after many years of reflection, coming to terms with it all, and you know, building up a bit of a mythology about who he was.  It's hard to say if I'd be as driven or independent as I am today if I had a more normal, happy childhood, but his influence is undeniable and I couldn't imagine a better life in spite of it all. 
    
    There are a few industry people that inspire me, too, right now.
    
    Steve Casimiro of Adventure Journal has a wonderfully articulate way with words and images that explain this eternal search and the insatiable lust for adventure that we're all seeking. He does it casually and poetically, and very well.
    
    Curt Morgan of Brain Farm Cinema … Well, there's no one like Curt out there.  We went to the same high school back in New York. He has accomplished some very big things to say the least.
    
    Tahoe photographer Andy Bardon is a good friend of mine who shares a similar aesthetic and work ethic, and is a machine in the mountains. It's been awesome seeing him start to blow up.
    
    
    3. The Future.
    
    I think my goals are pretty simple. I'd like to sustain a lifetime of exploring, adventuring, and being curious about the world, and working really hard and dreaming big. I'd like to think that my work inspires people to live better, and seek out richer, more rewarding experiences too.  Hopefully, I can continue to find amazing people along the way to share the adventure with — finding and keeping interesting, passionate people around me is always an important necessity.  And, as for my dreams, well, I'll just keep those to myself for now. I like it better that way.
    
    I'm at a point where I'm confident, have some momentum, and feel like I can do some big things if I start pushing and putting my work out there.  I like to fly under the radar and evade unnecessary attention but when I think about where I've come from in the past few years — and what I'm capable of now — I'm really excited for the future. I'd like to step up into a much bigger arena and work with bigger clients: The North Faces, Patagonias, Red Bulls and National Geographics of the outdoor/adventure world.
    
    
    4. The Business.
    
    I like this quote by artist Chuck Close:
    
    “The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.”
    
    The most important thing I've learned is to get out and actually DO what you want to do. It’s important to go out and TAKE it instead of sitting around waffling about it.  If you pursue something long enough, you'll find an audience, and you'll definitely find a way to get by, and probably thrive.  A lot of people think giving it all up and moving to the mountains is crazy but I think the opposite is true. It’s crazy how most people live —working in an anonymous job in an anonymous city.  I work hard to stay afloat but it rarely feels like I'm truly working, at least not in the way it felt before I moved to Jackson.
    
    
    5.  The Source.
    
    I like shooting with the unknowns — the people who you've never heard of and who ski harder than most and keep their mouth shut about it.  Skier Andrew Whiteford and I shot a lot when we moved to Jackson and he's done really well for himself. Good friend and ripper AJ Puccia has been another favorite athlete. There are a few other shots of people you've probably never heard of that are some of my favorite photos ever. These are all athletes that can do anything you ask, happy to shoot, look good while doing it, and are super humble at the same time.
    
    I crave frequent change, stimulation, and novelty. Lately, I've been shooting a lot of random personal projects like some short videos of this summer's crazy wild fires (in Big Piney, WY and Jackson) and photos of the Northern Lights that were going off in Jackson in the early fall. I've also been road tripping all over the West for the past two years shooting a whole range of weird, amazing locations. And, I just completed an exciting Teton aerial shoot that I've wanted to do forever.
    
    
    6. The Industry.
    
    Remote control/drone platforms are definitely next in line to blow up big time.  Where the military goes, so goes civilian technology. I bought a Cinestar 8 multi-rotor helicopter this past spring. It's already allowed me to shoot some stunning photos and video, but I'm basically still operating with training wheels. When it all comes together, the cinematography and unique perspectives are really stunning.
    
    
    7. Career Highlights.
    
    -Construction of the JH Tram - I have thousands of shots of every step of building the new JH tram over the two-year construction period.  No idea what I'll ever do with them but it's awesome to have been the sole photographer on such a piece of history that's so close to the community.
    
    -Tiny Jackson Hole - I spent a ton of time, 400-plus hours making that video and the response blew me away.  It was a labor of love for sure and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.
    
    -Alpinist Spread - Alpinist 33 featured the Grand Teton as that issue's mountain profile. One of my favorite shots ever run was a double-page spread on the opening page of the article, Grand Teton: A Map of the Wild by Renny Jackson.  Given the Grand's influence on American alpinism, it was an honor to be in such legendary company.
    
    -JH Tram Heli Shoot, 2009 - We did a sunrise shoot of the new tram with Corey Gavitt of TGR. It was my first time shooting out the door of a helicopter, with patrollers throwing bombs below us, patrollers dropping into Corbet's, and the new Tram in perfect morning light.
     
    -TGR/Erik Roner ski-BASE of Cajun Couloir - Erik Roner is an amazing guy and completely nuts. So, seeing him ski base Cajun while perched up above in the old tram was a really special thing though the anxious anticipation beforehand was really intense.
    
    -Aerials in Indian Creek - the first time I shot climbing with the “Octokopter “- also completely terrifying flying the helicopter off the top of a giant boulder and trying to ease up next to a climber 80 feet off the deck but overall it was a great success and learning experience. It took me another three months before my first epic crash!
    
    
    To follow Tristan:
    
    http://www.tristangreszko.com
    http://instagram.com/tgreszko
    http://blog.tetonartlab.com

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  • 5 months ago
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• News: Craig Kelly, Wayne Wong News: Craig Kelly, Wayne Wong And More To Join Ski And Snowboard Hall of Fame

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    Wayne Wong showing off his signature "Wong Banger."
    
    ISHPEMING, MI - Freestyle skiing pioneer Wayne Wong and world champion freestyle moguls skier Jeremy Bloom lead an outstanding class of six inductees elected to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. Joining them will be Alpine World Championship medalist Kirsten Clark, world champion and snowboarding pioneer Craig Kelly, acclaimed international ski instructor and leader Horst Abraham and ski resort developer Hans Geier. U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame Chairman Bernie Weichsel made the announcement.
    
    Wayne Wong is regarded by many as a living legend. He was the leading and most popular skier of his day when hotdog or freestyle skiing was emerging on the scene. The inventor of the famous “Wong Banger” and a star of countless skiing movies, Wong packaged his fame into being a true ambassador for skiing and continues to this day to convey his passion and enjoyment for the benefit of ski sports across the country. Both SKI and Powder magazines have named him among the most influential skiers in the 20th century.
    
    Jeremy Bloom was also a star of freestyle skiing who won two World Cup titles and a World Championship and was one of America’s most visible skiing stars in the mid-2000’s. In 2003 he won gold in the dual moguls event at the World Championships and a silver in the individual moguls. Two years later he won his third World Championship medal as well as earning the moguls and overall World Cup titles. His six straight wins in World Cup competition set a record that stood for seven years. Bloom was also a football star at the University of Colorado and played for two years for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.
    
    Kirsten Clark started racing at the age of seven, developing her skiing skills at Maine’s Sugarloaf Mountain. During her 13 year career on the U.S. Ski Team she won 12 U.S. titles and reached the World Cup podium eight times. In 2003 she won a World Championship silver medal in the super G. From 1998 to 2002 she strung together five straight U.S. downhill titles. A three time Olympian, Clark was respected for her quiet leadership and the high standards she set preparing for competition. Lindsey Vonn said of her, “Clarkie was always someone I looked up to.”
    
    Craig Kelly is the third snowboarding honoree to be elected to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. A winner of four world titles in the early days of the sport, Kelly was one of its most influential pioneers working with Jake Burton Carpenter to open countless ski areas to the sport in the 1980s. He also played a key role during the early years of Burton Snowboards. The holder of an honors degree in chemical engineering, he starred in numerous skiing and snowboarding films over 20 years. The first true professional snowboarder, he was awarded TransWorld Snowboarding’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. He died a year later in an avalanche while seeking to become the first fully certified Canadian Mountain Guide as a snowboarder.
    
    Horst Abraham is an Austrian native who rewrote the script for American ski instruction that had a significant impact internationally. Through his work America’s ski instructors emerged as world leaders in their field. Starting with the Aspen Ski School and later the technical director for the Vail Ski School, he eventually became the education vice president for the Professional Ski Instructors of America. As the developer of what became known as the American Teaching Method in 1980, focusing on teaching skiing skills instead of skiing turns, he led the U.S. to become the world leader in snow sports education.
    
    Hans Geier was a leading manager and developer of ski areas across the United States for nearly 30 years. From the time he completed Pennsylvania’s Ski Round Top in 1971 until his retirement in 1998, he had a large impact on the growth of the sport. Most notably he was the general manager of Steamboat Springs resort in Colorado from 1981 to 1990 when he led it through a $43 million expansion, growing annual skier visits from 360,000 to over a million and putting the resort’s finances in the black. In 1994 he was hired as president of Doppelmayr Corporation for North America, a position he held until his retirement in 1998. He also served on numerous ski association boards including the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) and chairman of Colorado Ski Country. In 1988 the NSAA presented to him its Lifetime Achievement Award.
    
    The induction of the Class of 2012 will take place at the Marriott Vail Resort in Vail, CO on April 13, 2013 as the concluding event for Skiing Heritage Week celebrating Vail’s 50th anniversary.
    
    The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame provides highly respected perpetual national recognition to athletes competing in skiing and snowboarding and of the builders of these sports who have made the highest level of national and/or international achievement and contribution to American skiing and snowboarding. It is located in Ishpeming, MI, the birthplace of organized skiing in America, where it also serves as the headquarters for the International Skiing History Association.

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• Game On: Tahoe Goes Off In Oct Game On: Tahoe Goes Off In October

  • From: sethlightcap
  • Description:

    72 hours into winter, Allison Lightcap slashes a deep drift on Donner Summit.
    
    Story and Photos by Seth Lightcap
    
    More than a few Lake Tahoe folk got the lights turned out on their summer lifestyle last week. After a mild fall with very little rain, Old Man Winter flipped the switch with authority. A potent storm blew into the Sierra on October 21 and dumped nearly four feet of snow on the crest over the next three days. There was no window of tacky singletrack for the mountain bikes and motos this year. Tahoe went from dusty, powdery trails to straight-up pow turns in 24 hours!
    
    It’s not the first time the Sierra ski season has opened with an overnight pummeling, but the last week of October 2012 will go down as something special. The combination of immediate coverage and cold pow made for unbelievably good skiing conditions within a day of the first flakes falling. But don’t take my word for it. I know seeing is believing. Here’s a gallery of shots from last week celebrating the epic start to winter in the Sierra:
    
    The storm track favored North Tahoe. Donner Summit and the neighboring peaks of Sugar Bowl ski resort got especially creamed. 
    
    Earning your turns is the only option if you want to shred the Sierra crest in October. Squaw Valley opened one base level chairlift for four hours on Thursday and Boreal did the same Friday to Sunday, but no upper mountain lifts have cracked in California yet. Allison Lightcap started her season on her splitboard.
    
    The storm came in gusty on Sunday but the winds died Monday night. Tuesday and Wednesday it snowed steadily. Terrain at 8,000 feet was left with a couple feet of cream atop a couple feet of dense windpack - a perfect insta-base.
    
    Moss Halladay lights up a turn testing the depths of a loaded gully dropping off the crest.
    
    Allison Lightcap threads a line into one of the ‘Sisters’ chutes at Sugar Bowl.

    You can bet Sugar Bowl ambassador Daron Rahlves has been out charging laps around his home turf.

    Even speed racer Rahlves has kept his turns relatively mellow. Despite the thick blanket of fresh snow, lurking rocks still abound.
    
    Ryland Bell left his home in Alaska just in time. He drove into Tahoe and wallowed into waist deep snow the next day.
    
    Field of fall foliage turned field of dreams for Ryland Bell.
    
    Matt Clark barrels into the white room while the storm was still pounding.
    
    All of the Tahoe Basin got some snow but only select areas got enough to safely ski. Brennan Lagasse swam through a shark tank skiing this pitch.
    
    These first tours were the perfect shakedown to remind you what you forgot about backcountry skiing over the summer. Brennan Lagasse won’t leave home without his skin wax next mission. 

    From a mild fall to dead winter overnight - Chris Galvin lives the Tahoe dream tearing into an October pow turn.

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  • 8 months ago
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• News: Dynafit Athlete Benedikt News: Dynafit Athlete Benedikt Böhm Completes Speed Summit Of Manaslu

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    

    A long cherished dream of Benedikt Böhm came true on September 30. After 15 hours and 3,300 metres of climbing without oxygen, he stood on the summit of 8,163-meter Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world located in Nepal. After equally exceptional climbs, his partners, Sebastian Haag and Constantin Pade, were stopped just short of the summit.

    The ascent took place in the aftermath of the avalanche that claimed several lives a week before. Although over-shadowed by this tragedy, the climbers decided to make one last attempt to climb the peak because of the years of preparation and mental commitment. The fact that they had done everything possible to help the victims of the accident helped them make the decision.
    
    “The decision to try for the summit after such a tragedy was a difficult one, but ultimately I decided to climb in their honour and it also helped me cope with the emotional challenges I was also going through from being first on-scene to such a tragedy,” said Benedikt Böhm.

    For Böhm and Haag, the journey up Manaslu began five years earlier. In 2007 they travelled to Manaslu with the same goal in mind, but had to turn back at 7,300 metres due to the danger of avalanches. This time around, after acclimatizing for weeks and a whole day of decision-making in base camp, the team had a stroke of luck: a weather window and stable snowpack.

    

    Setting off at 6 p.m. from base camp at 5,000 meter and without oxygen, Benedikt and Sebastian had almost 3,300 vertical metres of climbing ahead of them to reach the summit. Conditions deteriorated at 7,400 metres and the three climbers were battling fierce storms and icy cold.  Böhm, who went on ahead of the team, waited for Haag in an unoccupied tent at camp two. After an hour it was time to get underway again, and they considered abandoning the attempt, but mustered the effort to continue the ascent as a group. The wind eased off as the sun went down. Benedikt Böhm went the final 150 meters alone to reach the summit at 9 in the morning, after five hours of climbing from camp two. Happy, but humbled in remembrance of the accident a few days previously, he did not pose for the usual victory shot on the summit. Instead, he dedicated the ascent to the climbers who had died in the accident. After waiting for an hour he went back to meet with Sebastian Haag and Constantin Pade who chose to turn back 150 meters short of the summit to save their energy for a safe ski descent.
    
    “The most important thing of any expedition is first and foremost to come home safely,” commented Sebastian Haag. “The events of the past few weeks have given me even more respect for the power of these mountains and my first goal is to see my family again.” Skiing together, the group reached base camp after 8 hours of descent. The total climb, including speed ascent and ski descent, took 23.5 hours. Typical climbs up Manaslu using oxygen take four days.

    It was an unbelievable achievement, not just for Benedikt Böhm, but for the whole team on Manaslu. According to official records, it is the first-ever speed ascent of Manaslu coupled with a subsequent ski descent.

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  • 8 months ago
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• Taking Flight With Theo – Earl Taking Flight With Theo – Early Days At The Rendezvous

  • From: SamPetri
  • Description:

    

    On Sept. 20, 2012, legendary ski guide Theo Meiners, pictured above, died in a fall at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska, during the International Snow Science Workshop. He was 59 years old. Theo was the owner and operator of Alaska Rendezvous Heli Ski Guides in Valdez, Alaska. Below is a story about a trip that ski photographer Flip McCririck took with JP Auclair and Kent Kreitler during its first season in operation.
    
    Photos by Flip McCririck
    
    It was rugged at first — just a seemingly random roadhouse on the side of the Richardson Highway in Valdez, Alaska, with a helicopter parked out back. It was 2001, the first season Theo Meiners’ Alaska Rendezvous Heli-Ski Guides operation was open for business. He had four guides, a handful of clients and an endless sea of mountains to explore.
    
    Rolling into the Rendezvous in a rented RV in late May was Kent Kreitler, JP Auclair, cinematographer Ben Mullen and then Freeze Magazine photo editor Flip McCririck. They were in search of the magical, mystical “Hatchetland” — a zone made famous in Standard Films’ snowboard movies.
    
    It was the crew’s last-ditch effort to finish their segments for Matchstick Productions’ “Ski Movie 2: High Society” and for Poor Boys Productions’ “Royalty.” It was late in the season, conditions were questionable and budgets were blown. But they heard Theo could take them where they wanted to go.

    “We were throwing all caution to the wind,” Flip McCririck said. “We were trying to save their segments. There wasn’t that much snow in Alaska that year and we were kind of bummed, to be honest. We weren’t that stoked. But then we met up with Mr. Stoke himself, and everything changed.”
    
    An extremely excited Theo Meiners welcomed the crew with open arms and a grand smile. Though he had limited resources on his recently purchased land, he set them up and they got down to work. In the big mountain arena, the making of movies is often at odds with risk management. Theo hammered the message of sticking to protocol, making a set of rules and using them, McCririck said. This, along with his stoked ease in the mountains created headspace for the team, critical for the making of compelling imagery. Theo’s method and style of delivery is at the root of how most crews now work and play in big mountain terrain. 

    “We totally and completely crushed it. The images appeared in Freeze and the next year, the Kreitler shot appeared on the cover of Warren Miller’s SnoWorld. It wouldn’t have been possible with out Theo. Theo saved the day.”
    
    McCririck’s images were some of the first to come out of The Rendezvous and keyed skiers in on the fact that there was a new heli operation in Valdez.
    
    As the Rendezvous has evolved over the years, it has became less of a place for film crews and ski movies and more of a place where anyone who loves to ride powder can come and have the best day of their life. When Theo passed away, he was in the middle of expanding his lodge for the coming season to accommodate all the skiers and snowboarders who now come every season. Currently the Rendezvous crew, including his son Aidan and daughter Ali, are in Valdez helping finish the expansion and to ready the lodge for winter.
    
    “Sad times up here at 45 mile,” Aidan Meiners said. “We are working hard moving forward with my dad's vision for the Rendezvous, gives us something to do while we grieve."
    
    Theo Meiners made it happen for so many and in his passing, it seems like the whole ski world is grieving. His unbridled passion and his stoke for a life in the mountains will stay with us forever. He is deeply missed.

    Please enjoy these photos from the first season at the Rendezvous and be sure to make your way up there — it will be the best riding of your life.
    
    

    The Alaska Rendezvous Heli-Ski Guides office.

    Theo's house, also known as "The Billy Club" is perhaps the raddest ski pad on the planet. Inside are maps, guns, skis, and plenty of New Castle in the fridge.

    When Theo first bought the property it was full of random stuff like wire wheels. Here, Tom Hodge uses his snowcat to help pull one out of the way. Early on, Theo used them as tables.

    Theo hanging out during what looks like a down day.

    JP Auclair and Theo.

    Up, up and away.

    Theo, Kent Kreitler and JP Auclair.

    Theo probes the snowpack.
    
    JP Auclair sends it.

    Kent Kreitler skis The Tongue - this shot made the cover of SnoWorld.

    Can you find Kent Kreitler in this photo?

    It could have just stayed the Wind River Mountain Lodge, but Theo brought the helis, and for that we are all thankful! Thanks Theo!

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  • 8 months ago
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• From The Past To The Future: K From The Past To The Future: Kaya Turski Interview

  • From: ryandunfee
  • Description:

    

    Kaya Turski, slopestyle skiing's most dominant female competitor ever and one of the most confident-looking female skiers ever, is nominated along with surfer Carissa Moore and snowboarders Kelly Clark and Jamie Anderson for an ESPY award in the Best Female Action Sports Athlete category.  We sat down at our respective tables, connected through our cell phones, and got down to talking about the ESPYs, the Olympics, Kelly Sildaru, and where rollerblading stands since she left it to dominate the ski world.
    
    Using words other than “stoked” and “honored,” how would you describe your reaction to being nominated for this ESPY?
    
    Other than stoked and honored?  Very excited I guess?  I ‘d have to say that I’m honored.  It’s just an awesome opportunity to be named among these people that I’ve looked up to for so long and who are my heroes – it’s really great to be among them.
    
    How did you get into skiing in the first place?
    
    D-Structure, a Montreal skate and ski shop, was sponsoring me for rollerblading.  Rollerblading had kind of died down while I was in high school… and I decided to attend one of D-Structure’s ski events and kind of fell in love.  I had cruised on skis when I was younger, so I kind of knew how to ski, but I tried some boxes and rails and it totally clicked and I had such a blast.  So I decided to finish high school and then move out to Whistler to ski and have fun and see where it could take me – that’s how it all started.
    
    What is the level of women’s riding like in rollerblading these days versus skiing?  Would you ever go back?
    
    You know, I don’t know.  It’s probably running a really small scene.  But since about ten years ago there hasn’t been much support for rollerblading.  I think it’s definitely a sport that’s struggling, but there’s a small community out there that does it and loves it.
    
    What has the transition into Olympic training mode been like, how is that routine different from what you were doing before slopestyle was added to the Olympics?
    
    I don’t know that my routine has changed that much.  I tore my ACL and had an internal injury in 2007 and after that I really got on the gym grind.  I started working with a trainer that I still work with to this day, so my off-seasons have always been pretty intense in the gym, and I’ve always tried to take good care of my body.  Where it’s changed a lot is the support that I’m getting.  Being part of the Canadian National Team, now I have coaches, nutritionists, and doctors that I’m close contact with.  And Red Bull has always been supportive but there’s more going on now, and I’ve been working closely with my coach Matt Christensen, and so in that sense, it’s changed.

    
    Who are you looking at as your real competition for the Sochi Olympics?

    I don’t know that there’s anyone that’s not on the scene right now that will be a major threat at the Olympics.  I think that my teammate from Canada — Darrah Howell — she’s young, she’s new on the scene, and she’s got a lot of talent and is hungry.  Devin Logan is really strong and I see a lot of myself in those younger girls.  They’re young, they’re ready to throw down, and they’re willing to do it all and progressing at a really fast rate.  Anna Seagal is another really hard-working athlete who’s really training hard and working hard at her skiing, taking care of herself as well.  I could go on — a lot of girls have talent, but I’d say those three definitely have a good chance of doing well at the Olympics.
    
    How long will it be before you and Kelly Sildaru begin a T-Hall vs. Dumont-level X Games rivalry?
    
    Umm, probably as soon as she’s old enough to ski big jumps [laughing]…  I’ve seen what she can do and it’s really, really impressive.  She’s got a lot of talent and I’m looking forward to seeing her grow up and being able to attend these bigger events, because I definitely think she’ll be a force to be reckoned with — no doubt. 

    How are you sizing up your competitors, surfer Carissa Moore and snowboarders Kelly Clark and Jamie Anderson?
    
    They’re all extremely accomplished and extremely talented athletes, and they all deserve to be up there.  The amount that they’ve pushed their own sport, and Kelly who had an amazing year winning something like a dozen events in a row, and Carissa Moore who is killing it in surfing… I mean, everyone is doing super well. I’m not the type of girl to say “I’m the best; vote for me!” I think we all deserve to be up there and I’ve definitely put in my fair share of work to make it up there and be nominated.  For me it was a really great year — to be able to land the first switch 10 in competition and three-peat at the X Games was amazing.  I think for all of us it was a great year, and now it’s up to the voters to decide who deserves it.  I think we all in our own way do.
    
    Despite all the talk of equals, we would imagine Kaya might support the idea of you voting for her, the lone skier.  If you can spare a minute to do so, hop on over to ESPN’s website and do so.

    

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• Skiers Throw Down At Beartooth Skiers Throw Down At Beartooth Summer Session

  • From: SamPetri
  • Description:

    The first competitor dropped in double fisting beers. He stomped his air over a cliff, then busted a “screamin’ seaman” off a booter near the base. Thirty bros applauded from the cornice above. Below, a siren rang out from the judges’ stand, prompting the next skier to drop before the first competitor even finished.
    
    “We’re running it like this for the next three hours,” judge Trevor Leaf said.

    A Beartooth Summer Session competitor takes one of the bigger airs of the day Saturday on the upper section of Red Lodge International Summer Ski And Snowboard Camp. One of his skis clipped a rock, but stayed on. He double fist-pump claimed it. Photo by Drew Wajer.
    
    And so it went Saturday at ON3P Skis’ second annual Beartooth Summer Sessions big mountain freestyle skiing event. The competition took place at Red Lodge International Summer Ski And Snowboard Camp — a rugged, remote, tiny nugget of an area with 900-vert and two Poma lifts located off the top of Beartooth Pass in Wyoming, just northeast of Yellowstone National Park.
    
    The event featured a jam-session format where each competitor got three runs. Skiers would drop from a cornice in to a 40-degree face peppered with rocks and cliffs and make their way to a park that featured a couple of booters, a hip jump and a few rails. Skiers were judged on a combined score from the big mountain and freestyle terrain.

    The park featured a couple of booters, a hip jump, and a few rails. Photo by Drew Wajer.
    
    Who won?
    
    “No official results yet,” ON3P’s Kip Kirol said Tuesday. “I started tallying them but they are such chicken scratch I need to confirm a few things.”
    
    In the end, it doesn’t really matter who won — the whole event was an amateur throw down of progressive ski trickery way out in the hills, far away from cell phone reception. Picture a homegrown Red Bull Cold Rush or Red Bull Supernatural type of event happening in June on corn snow. What you have is a rendezvous of 20-year-old Rocky Mountain redneck ski thugs who are more passionate about the sport than a lot of people who make a decent living off it. In short, it was core. Core as fuck.

    ON3P's Trevor Leaf was the great orator of the event. Photo by Drew Wajer.
    
    The solid crew of competitors made a weekend out of it, camping at a Westmintser Spires Church Camp in Red Lodge, Montana, watching pig racing at a bar in Bear Creek at night and skiing during the day.
    
    “Basically the whole idea was to keep everyone as cohesive as possible without forcing anything,” Kip Kirol said. “What I was trying to do was for it to be like a summer camp where you’re not paying for après. Just a really really cheap, bad-ass ski experience.”

    Pig racing in Montana. Photo by Drew Wajer.
    
    Although ON3P is based out of Portland, Oregon, they throw the event on Beartooth Pass because it offers steep, rocky terrain, allowing for the “big mountain” portion of the event. On top of that, it’s a fun road trip for the ON3P crew.
    
    “We got back last night,” Kirol said. “It was great. The ride home was good. We stopped in Hood River and stomped on Sammy Carlson’s trampoline.”

    Kip Kirol of ON3P Skis. Photo by Drew Wajer. 
    
    Although relatively obscure, Red Lodge International Summer Ski And Snowboard Camp has been operating on Beartooth Pass since 1968, co-owner and operations manager Austin Hart said. Over the years, its name has changed several times. Many locals still refer to it as Red Lodge Race Camp, he said. Next season, Hart hopes to change the name to something shorter: Beartooth Basin, perhaps.

    Looking out at the whole ski area from the top. Photo by Drew Wajer.
    
    The area is typically open to the public from Memorial Day Weekend to the Fourth of July, although this year the last day of operations will be July 1. The hill has hosted racers, mogul skiers, and even acted as a training ground for Tanner Hall.
    
    Hart, who is 27 years old, took over his uncle Rob Hart’s share of the ski area in 2009 after Rob Hart died in a skiing accident.
    
    “I kind of got thrown into it,” Hart said. “ But I feel like a pretty lucky to employ my friends and ski around all June.”

    A skier drops in to big mountain section of the course, with the park below. Courtesy photo. 
    
    Hart wants ON3P to come back next year.
    
    “It’s awesome dude, I love it,” Hart said. “We need these events to bring the crowd who wants to ski there. It’s definitely a big mountain free ride venue. The ON3P guys brought a lot of energy into it. I’m stoked on those guys. They’re cool.”

    Photo by Drew Wajer.

    This is the top of the mountain, which acts as a "base" area. ON3P gave away almost $7,000 worth of swag from Trew, Saga, Bloom and more to about 30 people. Photo by Drew Wajer.
    
    The Bear's Tooth on Beartooth Pass. Photo by Drew Wajer.

    Peace! Photo by Drew Wajer.

    For more, visit www.on3pskis.com and rlissc.com
    

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• News: Mount Rainier National P News: Mount Rainier National Park Climbing Ranger Dies During Rescue Attempt

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    

    A climbing ranger at Mount Rainier National Park died during a rescue attempt on the Emmons Glacier yesterday afternoon. Ranger Nick Hall, 34, fell from the 13,700-foot level to about 10,000 feet on the mountain's northeast side as he was helping to prepare other climbers for extrication by helicopter.

    At approximately 1:45 p.m. on June 21, 2012, a party of four climbers from Waco, Texas, fell at the 13,700-foot level of the Emmons Glacier as they were returning from a successful summit attempt on Mount Rainier. Two members of the party slid into a crevasse. A third member of the group was able to call for help using a cell phone. During the subsequent rescue at 4:59 p.m., as the first of the climbers was being evacuated by helicopter, Mount Rainier climbing ranger Nick Hall fell, sliding more than 3,000 feet down the side of the mountain. He did not respond to attempts to contact him and was not moving. Rescuers reached Ranger Hall several hours after the incident began and found him to be deceased.

    High winds and a rapidly lowering cloud-ceiling made rescue efforts extremely difficult, but with the help of Chinook helicopters from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, three members of the original climbing party were lifted off the mountain by about 9:00 p.m. and taken to Madigan Hospital. The remaining member of the party spent the night on the mountain with climbing rangers from Mount Rainier National Park, and rescue options were reassessed this morning. All four suffered non-life threatening injuries.

    Nick Hall was a 4-year veteran of Mount Rainier National Park's climbing program and a native of Patten, Maine. He was unmarried and has no children.

    Photo via www.nps.gov

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• News: Sarah Burke To Be Induct News: Sarah Burke To Be Inducted Into Canadian Olympic Hall Of Fame

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    
    Toronto, Canada — Skier Sarah Burke will be inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced today. As someone who voluntarily worked hard to help the sport of skiing grow and progress, Burke will be inducted as a “builder”.

    “Sarah was one of those extraordinary women who believed that anything was possible,” Burke’s mother Jan Phelan said. “I think that her belief not only helped her succeed, but inspired others to be the best that they could be. I know that Sarah would be happy that all she worked for and sought to achieve is being honored with her induction into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.
    The 2012 Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame Gala Dinner and Induction Ceremony will take place September 21, 2012, at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, capping off a week of activities from Ottawa to Toronto.

    Sarah Burke was raised in Midland, Ontario, Canada, and got her start skiing with her family when she was five years old. She first competed in moguls and was a member of Team Ontario before switching to freeskiing and winning the Halfpipe competition at the 2001 U.S. Open of Freeskiing.

    Burke was a four-time X Games gold medalist in the Superpipe, winning the event in 2007-2009 and 2011 and adding a silver medal in 2005.

    Burke was also a world champion in 2005 when she won the Halfpipe competition in Ruka, Finland. She was an influential voice to have Superpipe added to the 2014 Olympic program in Sochi.

    Among her legendary accomplishments, Burke was the first woman to land a 1080-degree spin (three full rotations) in competition and won the 2007 ESPY award as Best Female Action Sports Athlete.

    A freestyle skier and pioneer in the Halfpipe event, Sarah Burke died this past winter after a training accident.

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• Video: The First of Many — JT Video: The First of Many — JT Holmes And Matthias Giraud Ski Off A 260-Foot Cliff

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    Man, Super Frenchie Matthias Giraud is at it again and this time he's brought JT Holmes along for the adventure. According to what Giraud writes below, this is Holmes' first Ski-BASE jump since March, 26, 2009, which is the day Shane McConkey died after having a complication with his chute during a ski-BASE jump in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. Holmes was with McConkey on that tragic day, which must make returning to the sport that much more difficult. To being with, ski-BASE jumping takes a lot of mental strength. But to go back to it after witnessing an accident like that is on another level. Giraud has it right when he writes below that Holmes is "celebrating life."

    Below are words from Matthais Giraud:
    
    It's not everyday that you get to ski off a 260-foot cliff, launch a double backflip, and fly away in a parachute.
    
    As I am getting ready to ski, JT turns towards me, shakes my hand, and says, "To the first of many."
    
    This day was a long time coming; we had talked about this day for years.
    
    This is our first jump together. It is also JT's first ski BASE jump since that tragic day, March 26, 2009—a date which will live in infamy—JT survives a ski BASE flight in the Italian Dolomites, but his good friend, wingman, and one of my mentors, Shane McConkey, does not.
    
    Even if we are aware of the risks and accept them, witnessing the loss of a friend and mentor is the most traumatic experience a skier and BASE jumper can endure.
    
    But, JT is an example of composure and focus, and he carries on with the spirit of BASE jumping and skiing, that is, celebrating life!
    
    Today, I am incredibly honored to be along his side as he gets back on the horse, the first of many.
    
    Let's never forget the words of McConkey: "There's nothing better than sliding down snow and flying through the air"
    
    Welcome back, JT!

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• News: Colorado Avalanche Victi News: Colorado Avalanche Victim's Family Sues Winter Park Resort

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    

    Story by Kristen Lodge of the Vail Daily:
    
    GRAND COUNTY, Colorado — The family of Christopher Norris, who died in January at Winter Park Resort after being caught in an avalanche in the Trestle Trees area, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Grand County District Court.
    
    The complaint has been filed against Intrawest Winter Park Operations Corporation, which manages and operates Winter Park Resort.
    
    The complaint alleges that Winter Park officials knew or should have known about the slopes within the boundaries of the Winter Park Resort that could have been prone to avalanches. The document also states that the resort knew about avalanche warnings that day and that they should have known the Trestle Trees area was likely to experience avalanches and therefore was not safe.
    
    Winter Park Resort officials “had the duty to close those areas within its boundary which it knew or should have known posed an avalanche hazard to skiers under the conditions existing on January 22, 2012,” according to the complaint.
    
    Intrawest officials in Denver referred inquiries to Winter Park Resort, which did not respond to three phone calls beginning May 18 seeking response to the lawsuit's allegations.
    
    Salyndra E. Fleury is the surviving spouse and has hired attorney James Heckbert, of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh and Jardine, P.C., who is working from Steamboat Springs.
    
    “There were avalanche warnings in the backcountry, and they were telling people to go to the safety of ski areas where they control avalanches,” said Heckbert in a phone interview May 17.
    
    “Ski areas are the experts. There is inherent risk as a part of skiing. You may hit a rock — that is part of skiing in a ski area, that is inherent risk. An avalanche is not part of the inherent risk in a ski resort,” he said.
    
    The Trestle Trees were not roped off, and signs were not posted showing the area as closed, he said.
    
    The next step in the process is for Winter Park to respond to the claim as part of the discovery process.
    
    State law
    The Colorado Ski Safety Act states that “no skier may make any claim against or recover from any ski area operator for injury resulting from any of the inherent dangers and risks of skiing.”
    
    The Act also states the limit of liability attributable to non-economic loss or injury is $250,000.
    
    According to The Colorado Avalanche Center, Norris' death was the second avalanche-related fatality of the Jan. 22 weekend. The Colorado Avalanche Center's website warned of high avalanche danger all weekend and cautioned, “Triggering avalanches is likely on any snow-covered slope 30 degrees or steeper that did not slide during the natural cycle yesterday. The natural
    
    avalanche cycle has largely run its course, so I will drop the Avalanche Warning, but natural avalanches are still possible today. Triggering slides will be easy today, and some of them will be bigger than what we have seen so far this winter.”

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• News: Finnish Ski-Mountaineer News: Finnish Ski-Mountaineer Dies In Fall On Mount McKinley

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    TALKEETNA, Alaska: A 36-year-old Finnish mountaineer died from injuries incurred in a fall while descending Mt. McKinley the afternoon of Wednesday, May 23. Ilkka Uusitalo of Oulu, Finland was skiing down the 40- to 45-degree slope known as the 'Orient Express' with two teammates when he fell from an elevation of 17,800 feet and was unable to self-arrest. Uusitalo tumbled through snow, ice, and rocks, coming to a stop in a crevasse at 15,850 feet.
    
    While one of his teammates continued down to the NPS ranger camp at 14,200 feet for rescue assistance, Uusitalo's other teammate rappelled into the crevasse with the help of a nearby team. They determined that Uusitalo was likely deceased.

    

    An NPS response team arrived on scene approximately one hour later, and Ranger Tucker Chenoweth was lowered 60 feet into the crevasse by his team of 3 volunteer rangers. After confirming that Uusitalo was deceased, the NPS patrol members hauled both Chenoweth and the victim out to the glacier surface. Soon after, Uusitalo's body was evacuated via a long line operation by the park's A-Star B3 helicopter to the Kahiltna Basecamp, then on to Talkeetna.
    
    This accident is the second fatal fall on Mt. McKinley this climbing season. Since 1972, 16 fatalities have occurred during descents of the Orient Express.

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• Video: Welcome To Chamonix - M Video: Welcome To Chamonix - Matthias Giraud Ski-BASE Jump

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    The following words come from Matthias Giraud, AKA Super Frenchie:

    Blue sky, fresh powder and a big cliff in Chamonix. This is why I love my job!

    However, the day started with terrible news when I got a message saying that 3 persons died in an avalanche and 2 of them were friends.

    My knees were shaking while riding the gondola to the top of Les Grands Montets and the cold temperatures of the early morning climb did not help.

    I was feeling nauseous and wondering why I keep skiing and BASE jumping when every year I go through the struggle of losing friends.

    Every jump gets harder and harder but as soon as I stand on the top on a beautiful powder run just like the one you are about to see, it all of the sudden makes sense.

    The last breath of air before dropping is so crisp and powerful.

    As it goes through your lungs compressed with fear, your body loosens up and everything makes sense.

    What we do is not a choice. We dedicate our lives to our sport and the mountains because we were born to do it.

    Living a life of purpose and passion requires courage. Fear is a corral made to keep you safe but life begins once you jump the fence.

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• knowing the master's coach out knowing the master's coach outlet store online

  • From: momobear
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     "Bai Jianling Jiang Yuyu bow aside momowuyu, he quietly:" little nephew is willing to go to sea stars lack begs. "Jiang Baisheng looked at him:" boy, you see things too easy, lack will give it to you? "Bai Jianling looked up:" he won't give, I no panacea to transfer him with fire. "Jiang Baisheng sigh, keep silent. Jiang Yuyu laughed: "father, we go together! "Next to the deer woman:" he and I also have two no, can't walk! "Jiang Baisheng coldly:" Ive! ” "Kwong Hui master nodded:" Yes, pinseng will they take a step. "Accent falls, on the right hand sleeve. The 36 members of embrace of the monk Buddhist monk's cane, your interface, is not a sound reason, is to wait knowing the master's command. See kwong Hui master coat of pomelo, you sure enough, go out. Know, the stepcoach outlet store online
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    Put aside today doesn't count, there three days, they have been cut close channels, have been solved at the moment, he has returned to martial arts, of each other, of course, totally unexpected. Tomorrow, he must write the pretended spirit full Xuan Gong mnemonics, and encourage a slack in preparedness, to send spring peach came in for supper in the evening, surprise her uniform, they can out of this room. As long as the outside, even if it was attacked, he learned, expect to escape from the wheat fragrance should be is not a difficult thing.

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• Grandpa not to town coach keyc Grandpa not to town coach keychain for sale

  • From: momobear
  • Description:

    "The old earthquake earthquake:" well, little old Lu Ding, and heroes in Sth "Ji Zhaoxun laughs:" fame of central China's martial arts ' shadowless sword ', why are people like this! "Tones in a sink, went on:" you might think and I do not hate, but then as you are sinister and vicious mean, kill two young JI, the nurse one ' s hatred of my parents! Sth "Lu Ding sound:" so, you sth Son of Ji Yao ping? "Ji Zhaoxun cold laughing:" well, then since you have heard the rumors of my father and my mother, you shouldn't make your son and discipline to their name, you ask while knowing the answer, is deliberately point two Yang JI, seriously, you are the most heinous crimes, coach sunglasses on sale
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• News: Avalanche Kills Five For News: Avalanche Kills Five Foreign Tourists In Norway

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    From the Boston Globe: OSLO — Five people were killed and one person was dug out alive after Swiss and French skiers were buried by an avalanche Monday on Norway’s Arctic fringe.
    
    Rescuers located the victims through beacons from their radio transceivers, but only the first person they found survived, a Swiss man who was taken to a local hospital in stable condition.

    Here is the slide in Engnes Valley. Photo: Arild Hansen

    A 3,000-foot wall of snow came crashing down on the skiers on Sorbmegaisa mountain, 40 miles east of the northern city of Tromsoe, police spokesman Morten Pettersen said. The last victim was found buried under 20 feet of snow.
    
    Four Swiss and one French skier died in the avalanche, which started at a height of 3,600 feet and was 2,000 feet long.
    
    Jenny Piaget, a spokeswoman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry, confirmed that four Swiss citizens had been killed and one injured. They were not named.

    ACCIDENT LOCATION: The avalanche was in Alta municipality in Troms earlier today.

    The victims were among 12 people out skiing when the avalanche struck about 2:30 p.m.
    
    Rescuers tracked the avalanche transceivers through the heaps of snow as they scrambled to dig out the victims. Police announced after 7 p.m. that the last victim had been found.
    
    “It was a demanding search,’’ said Tor Indrevold of the local Red Cross team, explaining that rescuers were “digging down two stories’’ of snow.
    
    The northern tip of Norway is popular among tourists who come to experience the Arctic wilderness or marvel at the Northern Lights. The region also offers cross-country skiing, reindeer sledding, ice fishing, and snowmobile rides.
    
    But avalanches are common in the area. Two Norwegian skiers were killed by a snowslide on the island of Kvaloeya, just outside Tromsoe, in February.
    
    Indrevold said the weather this season had raised the risk of avalanches, since heavy snow was followed by mild weather. He said the avalanche danger level in the area was three on a five-point scale.

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• News: Stevens Pass Avalanche K News: Stevens Pass Avalanche Kills 3 Skiers, Alpental Avalanche Kills Snowboarder

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    Stevens Pass, Wash. — Reports confirm that Freeskiing World Tour head judge Jim Jack, Stevens Pass director of marketing Chris Rudolph and skier John Brenan died Sunday in a slide outside of Stevens Pass ski resort in Tunnel Creek drainage.
    
    At Alpental on Sunday, a 41-year-old snowboarder was killed after triggering an avalanche and being swept over a cliff. His name has not been released.

    In the above MSNBC video professional skier Elyse Saugstad — who survived the Stevens Pass slide — recounts the tragic day.

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• News: East Coast Resorts Get P News: East Coast Resorts Get Primed For Ski Season

  • From: ryandunfee
  • Description:

    Despite the fact that it’s been warm enough for a few resorts to keep the lifts open for mountain biking into the first weekend in December, it is indeed technically winter on the East Coast.  When the snow does come, skiers and riders will find that more and more hills are now catering to the burgeoning freeride population carrying 120-waisted, rockered pow skis onto their lifts and befuddling the rest of the region who is still on tiny carving skis.  

    The name of the game for many resorts this summer was to have as many employees as possible (as well as volunteers) marching around the woods to cut and clear new glades.  From tiny Plattekill in central New York to Sugarloaf in northern Maine, many resorts have expanded into their woody environs.  Outside of that, there are a few other interesting tidbits in East Coast resort news, from water parks to new freeride programs and everything in between.  Before you buy your pass or plan your trips, read up on the news from the East’s best hills for freeriding.

    

    The new high-speed quad charilift at Hunter Mountain. 

    NEW YORK

    Hunter Mountain

    One of the closest to downtown N.Y.C. and thus one of the busiest, Hunter Mountain is opening a new high-speed quad, the Zephyr Express, on the resort’s west side, which holds the hill’s steepest terrain, best bumps and quality glades if you’re smart enough to keep your eyes open.  Hunter’s also got a new mobile site, 54 new snow guns and a new groomer.

    Season pass: $949 for adults. 
    Day ticket: $68 for adults, $61 for 13-18.
    Specials:  Available online until Christmas Eve and then for mid-week only after that, the 3X card gets you three days of skiing for $119.

    Plattekill

    While known more for its world-class mountain biking than its ski terrain, Plattekill is a favorite N.Y. maggot haunt when the East Coast blizzards swing farther south as they have in the past few seasons.  The independent, family-owned hill organized a work day this year to clean out some new glades, so mags can look forward to a little more space in the trees when they stop by this winter.

    Season pass: $575 for adults. 
    Day tickets: $56, $44 for college students and juniors (8-17).
    Specials: $15 lift tickets on Jan. 6, Feb. 3, and March 2.  $30 early-season rates in effect until Christmas Eve.

    Whiteface

    The resort with the biggest vertical drop in the East and the only in-bounds terrain requiring an avalanche-trained ski patrol staff returns to the 2012 season unchanged from 2011.  Some minor refurbishing and capital projects have been undertaken, but other than that, nothing new.  For those looking to get a chance to ski The Slides — 35 acres of hike-to open chutes at Whiteface Summit — your best bet is March, when the snow is deeper, stable enough to be skied and occasionally pow.  Especially if another 250-inch season hits like last year.

    Season pass: $720 for adults, $385 for teens and college students.
    Day ticket: $79 for adults, $64 for teens.
    Specials: The Empire Card goes for $89 and gets you your first and sixth days of skiing free and $15 off all other days.

    

    The Lincoln Limo at Surgarbush.

    VERMONT

    Sugarbush

    A new, cheaper young adult pass (the adeptly well-coined “For20’s” pass) is being offered for $399.  The resort saved 23 tons of C02 emissions last year by switching its off-road fleet to biodiesel. The Lincoln Limo, New England’s only “cat skiing,” gives you the chance to score snowcat-assisted first tracks before the lifts open on powder days.  For those who want to shred Sugarbush’s endless Slide Brook Basin glades covering all 200 acres between Mt. Ellen and Lincoln Peak, and don’t want to spend a night in the woods, guided tours are available including with Warren Miller legend and Sugarbush mascot John Egan.  Uncanny for the East, Sugarbush also has a Mountaineering Blazers program for kids where they skin around Slide Brook and learn backcountry skills, winter camping, and improve their big-mountain skiing.

    Season pass: $1,569 for adults 30+ $399 for young adults 19-29, $479 for youth 7-18.  Cheaper passes available for Mt. Ellen-only or Mt. Ellen Plus passes.
    Day tickets: $58-$88, depending on type of pass. 
    Specials: SugarDirect card for $99 gets you your eleventh day and one other day free, and 20 percent off all weekend days (25 percent for weekdays).

    Also be sure to check out the benefit event for the Flyin’ Ryan Foundation, which was set up after Vermont freeskier Ryan Hawks died tragically at the Kirkwood stop of the Freeskiing World Tour last spring and seeks to provide scholarships for gifted but disadvantaged athletes and adventurers.

    Jay Peak

    For those of you who didn’t get a chance to read about Jay’s $50 million expansion earlier this fall, there are some big things going on in the Northeast Kingdom.  While no new terrain or lifts will be opened this winter, Jay’s taken a few big steps to combat their reputation of shady lodging and non-existent off-hill entertainment by opening a new Tram Haus Lodge with high-quality studios and a new bar and restaurant, a new ice rink, golf course club house, cross-country ski center and the Pump Haus and Conference Center, an indoor water park with a surfable wave, lazy river and a handful of waterslides including an aqua loop. 

    Season pass: $799 for adults. 
    Day tickets:  $75 for adults, $55 for 6-18.
    Specials:  Anyone from Vermont or with a season’s pass at another mountain gets a day ticket for $55 any day of the year.  The 581 card costs $99 and gets you $19 off any ticket you buy.

    Stowe

    A new high-speed quad replaces the former fixed-grip Fourrunner Quad that accesses Mount Mansfield, the resort’s most popular lift along with the Gondola. Although, you’ll still have to buy the locals just as many beers to find the goods. The Fourrunner should help clear out Stowe’s legendary weekend lift lines a bit quicker.  Outside of that, a gondola ride now brings you across the Stowe parking lot to Spruce’s tamer trails and environmental award-winning luxury accommodations.

    Season pass: $1,996 for adults, $499 for college students.
    Day ticket: $88 ($92 Saturdays) for adults, $66 ($69 Saturdays) for kids.
    Specials: The StoweSeven, StoweSix, and StoweFive season passes offer significantly cheaper passes that exclude holiday periods, Saturdays, or weekends altogether. 

    Mad River Glen

    Not too much has changed at the legendary co-op for this year; the single chair is still spinning, the snow’s all natural, snowboarding still isn’t allowed, and if you’re interested in buying a share in MRG’s unique co-op operation, they go for $2,000 a pop.  Stop by Feb. 11 for the 2012 Ski The East Freeride Tour stop at MRG — the Unconventional Terrain Competition — which will give you a chance to compete in a big-mountain comp format on the cliff-strewn Liftline trail.

    Season pass: $963 for adults, $609 for a Saturday-blackout pass, Triple Major College Pass gets MRG, Bolton, and Jay for $299.
    Day tickets:  $66 for adults, $50 for 6-18.
    Specials:  The Mad Card gets you 3 days for $144, and the 30 Day Ticket lets skiers and riders ride for 30 consecutive days from the day of purchase for $332.   Might be good if your new ACL is set to go by March. …

    Bolton Valley

    Not too much news to report from one of Vermont’s more affordable hills, which also has the most extensive night skiing in Vermont and an on-site wind turbine.  While not packing as much vert as bigger hills like Stowe and Jay, Bolton’s down-home operation has some super fun woods and great backcountry for those who come equipped to hike around, or who want to take part in a guided tour of Bolton’s unmarked stashes that are stuffed with about 310 inches of snow annually.

    Season pass: $599 for adults, $429 for Triple Major College Pass for Bolton, Jay, and MRG.
    Day tickets: $55 for adults, $44 for youth, seniors and college students.
    Specials: $199 Powder Pass gets you four days plus one free before Christmas.

    Magic Mountain

    Three Vounteer Days this fall brought out a 100+ strong crew each day to clear glades and re-paint the classic Red Double — pretty much the only lift running at Magic and the only one you’ll ever need to access the small hill’s awesome and laissez-faire managed terrain.  The co-op, a true bastion of Vermont ski culture, will also be having Danielle Lillard head up a new Freeskiing Team program at Magic.   This will build on the success of the Magic Extreme Challenge as a key stop of the Ski The East Freeride Tour in establishing Magic as southern Vermont’s center for freeride skiing, and a welcome alternative to the tame blues southern VT’s more corporate resorts are known for.

    Season pass: $449 for adults and teens, $149 for college students.
    Day tickets: $59 for adults, $51 for teens.
    Specials: a special Holiday White-Out Pass goes for $279 and gets you 19 days of skiing during Christmas Week, MLK Day Weekend, and President’s Week, when it will likely be less crowded than nearby Stratton and Okemo.

    

    Skiing some epic powder at Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire. 

    NEW HAMPSHIRE

    Cannon Mountain

    Cannon Mtn., which received 248 inches of snow in the 2010-’11 season, the second highest snow total in its history, returns with the second season of the re-opened Mittersill double chair.  Mittersill was a previously-shuttered and unmanaged hike-to face of the mountain that required a shuttle transfer back to the base, but is now accessed by a new double chair that opened 71 days last season, exceeding the resort’s expectations.  The resort treats the area as an extended gladed terrain – i.e. no snowmaking, grooming, and limited patrolling.  While several locals were distraught at the idea of improving access to their favorite stash, Cannon’s marketing director, Greg Keeler, heard almost no negative feedback from locals once the chair opened last January. 

    Season pass: $760 for adults. 
    Day tickets: $68 for adults, $55 for 13-18.
    Specials: 2-for $68 every Tuesday & Thursday outside of Christmas and February vacation weeks, $36 every Wednesday for New Hampshire residents.

    

    Cutting the Brackett Basin glade at Sugarloaf in Maine.  

    

    Shredding the Brackett Basin glade at Sugarloaf in Maine. 

    MAINE

    Sugarloaf

    If you’ve had a chance to read a recent issue of Powder Magazine, you’d know the big news is Sugarloaf’s gladed sidecountry expansion along the ridge toward Burnt Mountain.  Last year, 270 new acres of glades opened up, and 100 more come on line this year, some from additional clearing in existing terrain, and some from further expansion along the ridge.  As well, a new fixed-grip quad – the fastest model on the market – replaces the Spillway East chair, and has been built lower and is heavier to minimize closures and swinging chairs from Sugarloaf’s infamous high winds.
    
    Season pass: $1,149 for adults, and $899 for teens — works at Sunday River and Loon Mtn. as well.
    Day ticket: $77 for adults, $66 for teens.
    Specials:  Maine residents ride for $39/day every Wednesday, and the Frequent Skier Card, which works at Sugarloaf, Sunday River, and Loon Mtn., New Hapshire, costs $97, gets you one free ticket, $15 off weekend tickets, and $25 off weekday tickets.

    Saddleback

    If you make your way to Sugarloaf, you definitely have to take the hour drive over to Saddleback.  Much like Magic Mtn. and Mad River Glen in Vermont, Saddleback is all fixed-grip lifts, great glades, and true New England ski culture.  As well, the Kennebago Quad is separate from the more beginner-friendly areas and hosts the Casablanca glades, some of the highest and steepest tree skiing in the East.  Some additional tree clearing went down on the glades off the Kennebago and several trails were graded smoother in order to be able to be opened with less snow.

    Season pass: $699 for adults, $249 for college students, and $399 for 7-18.
    Day ticket:  $59 for adults, $49 for 71-18 year olds as well as college students.
    Specials:  Maine residents get a $29 ticket the first Sunday of every month.

    

    Saddleback glades in Maine. 

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• Jamie Pierre Tribute 1973-2011 Jamie Pierre Tribute 1973-2011

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
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    On November 13, 2011 our friend Jamie Pierre died in an avalanche while skiing in Utah. We will always remember Jamie as being an incredible skier, but more importantly as a father, husband and friend. He will be missed.

    The way he inspired us was anything but conventional and for that we thank him.

    Jamie Pierre 1973-2011

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