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• Rahlves' Banzai Tour Finishes Rahlves' Banzai Tour Finishes Strong

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

     

    Truckee, Calif. (March 12, 2013) –Throughout the past two months, skiers, snowboarders and spectators alike have descended upon the Tahoe area to compete in and watch the rowdiest race in the Sierra. Rahlves’ Banzai Tour brought in tough competition from across the country to four renown Lake Tahoe resorts for the ultimate test of ski and riding skills.  The tour also entertained guests with quintessential pre and après ski parties, exciting results, and photo finishes.  

    Starting at Kirkwood Mountain Resort, athletes were challenged by “The Wall,” which proved to be one of the most challenging races to date, as competitors had to drop into an intimidating 20 ft. vertical wall right out of the gate. For the second tour stop hosted at Alpine Meadows, athletes were tested with fast and rough terrain, while spectators were entertained with the closest and most dramatic photo finish in Banzai history. With warm spring-like weather on the first day of the Squaw Valley tour stop, and formidable conditions on Sunday, Squaw tested the resilience of Rahlves’ Banzai Tour, as well as the dedication of tour participants. However, with fresh snow in the forecast, Rahlves’ Banzai Tour rallied for the final tour stop at Sugar Bowl Resort, home of the original Silver Belt Banzai.  

    The Sugar Bowl Final and Super Final concluded the tour in true Banzai style, complete with strong competition paired with music, barbecue, libations and the beloved Banzai atmosphere of camaraderie and healthy competition. Banzai veterans Johnny Bochenek, Kyle Coxon and John Lange took the top spots for men’s skiing during the Silver Belt, which also qualified Lange as the final athlete to compete in the Super Final. Men’s snowboarded Chelone Miller raced to first in the Silver Belt, while women’s snowboarder Kiana Putman and women’s skier Shannon Rahlves both secured the top spot in their respective categories. The men’s Super Final provided drama and a $5,000 paycheck to Salt Lake City skier Kyle Coxon. “The Sugar Bowl final and Super Final were awesome,” said Daron Rahlves. “It was a beautiful day, fans lined the course and the athletes delivered a great show. I wanted to be skiing in the Super Final, but instead was an excited fan like the rest watching and stoked for Kyle Coxon taking home the 5 grand. I will be back in the Super Final next year so those boys better start training now ha, ha.  I’m so grateful to my wife and kids for the endless support, all the sponsors, the fans and athletes for making this year’s tour the best yet. ”

     

    2013 Sugar Bowl Silver Belt Banzai Top Finishers Included:

    • Men Ski    1st Johnny Bochenek; 2nd Kyle Coxon;          3rd John Lange

    • Men Snowboard    1st Chelone Miller;     2nd Sylvain Duclos;     3rd Lucas Dehmlow 

    • Women Ski            1st Shannon Rahlves;  2nd Shelly Robertson; 3rd Hannah Jermstad

    • Women Snowboard    1st Kiana Putman;       2nd Macy Price;           3rd Carrie Hall

     

    2013 RBT Overall Top Finishers Included:

    • Men Ski          1st Johnny Bochenek;  2nd Kyle Coxon;         3rd John Lange

    • Men Snowboard  1st Chelone Miller;      2nd Lucas Dehmlow;  3rd Adam DeVargas

    • Women Ski        1st Shannon Rahlves;  2nd Shelly Robertson; 3rd Hannah Jermstad, 

    • Women Snowboard    1st Casey Lucas;          2nd Macy Price;          3rd Anna Weber

     

    2013 RBT total prize purse winnings:

     

    Men Ski

    •Johnny Bochenek$14,200

    •Kyle Coxon  $9,500

    •Jesse Maddex$3,900

    •John Lange$2,600

     

    Men Snowboard

    •Chelone Miller$8,150

    •Lucas Dehmlow$2,900

    •Adam DeVargas$2,150

     

    Women Ski

    •Shannon Rahlves$6,750

    •Shelly Robertson$2,000

    •Hannah Jermstad$1,000

     

    Women Snowboard

    •Casey Lucas$2,550

    •Macy Price$1,100

    •Iris Lazzareschi$750

     

    For those who are curious about the tour’s name, Banzai is a Japanese term expressed as an exuberant cheer meaning, “Long Life!” or “Hurray!”  An apt name for a high-spirited downhill ski and snowboard competition, the Silver Belt Race first took place in the 1940s at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort and was re-introduced with the head-to-head action by Daron Rahlves and Sugar Bowl in 2009. The race continued with one event for another year, and then Rahlves decided to take the show on the road, officially launching Rahlves’ Banzai Tour and expanding to stops at four of Lake Tahoe's premier resorts.

    The Rahlves Banzai tour is presented by Bank of The West. The Rahlves Banzai Tour is also supported by sponsors such as Red Bull, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Contour, CEP “intelligent sportswear”, North Lake Tahoe Chamber/VCB/Resort Association, Spyder, Atomic, Start Haus Ski Shop, Wend Wax, COAL, SVE/BOSE, The Bar Effect, World Cup Supply, Jagermeister, Snow Fest, Sports Insurance, Technical Equipment Cleaners, Resort at Squaw Creek, ZINKA, 101.5 Truckee Tahoe Radio, Tahoe TV, POWDER Mag, High Fives Foundation and CRUX Events, thereby creating an alluring $80,000 prize purse. For more information, to check out previous race results, videos and to register, visit www.rahlvesbanzai.com. For up-to-the-minute news, “Like” The Rahlves’ Banzai Tour on Facebook and follow @RahlvesBanzai on Twitter & download the free Official Banzai App on your smart phone at banzai.genzplay.com

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  • 2 months ago
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• Sage And Adam Clark Team Up Fo Sage And Adam Clark Team Up For The Co-Lab $100K Video Contest

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    
    
    It’s real: We’re giving away $100,000.
    
    As part of The Co-Lab contest, Teton Gravity Research is giving $100,000 to the athlete and production team that can create the best freeskiing video segment of 2013.
    
    The Co-Lab is a skill-based contest, open to the public, where skiers will showcase their ability and creativity in their original, up to 5-minute video segment filmed between November 1, 2012, and May 31, 2013. 
    
    Once all videos are submitted to TetonGravity.com by May 31, the public will vote for their favorite videos from June 10 to July 15. On July 19, the top 21 videos will be announced. From July 22 to August 9, the athletes from those top 21 videos will vote for their favorite segments. On September 20, a feature-length Co-Lab film will be released, category winners will be announced, and one athlete will get $100,000.
    
    The Co-Lab contest is open to everyone and anyone can win. With the right talent, a crew from New Hampshire, Minnesota or even Florida could pull off a winning edit. Creativity will lead to victory, not helicopters, big budgets or professional athletes – although those things may help.
    
    Recently, we caught up with Sage Cattabriga-Alosa and Adam Clark, who have teamed up to enter The Co-Lab. While this is a high profile crew, they have the same chance of winning as you and your crew. The mantra of the contest is “Of the People, by the People, for the People,” so the general public will decide which video features the coolest and most progressive riding.
    
    We don’t pick the winner. We just provide the platform.
    
    Below are Sage and Adam’s thoughts on The Co-Lab.
    
    Are you filming for The Co-Lab yet? Send us your Co-Lab stories to CoLab@TetonGravity.com and you could be featured on this site.
    
    Be sure to use the hashtag #TGRCoLab on Twitter and Instagram.
    
    Adam Clark frames up a shot for The Co-Lab $100,000 freeski video contest.
    
    TGR: Have you started shooting for The Co-Lab? If so, where?
    
    Sage Cattabriga-Alosa: Yeah, Adam and I did a bit of shooting in Utah during the month of December. 
    
    Adam Clark: Yes, we started shooting around Alta and Utah backcountry. Utah had a great start to the season. Sage and I were mostly focused on freeskiing, but Sage found a few sweet features that we pulled the camera out for.
    
    TGR: Why did you decide to team up with Adam Clark? Adam, Why did you team up with Sage?
    
    Sage: Clark and I have been close friends for a long time and always enjoy bouncing creative ideas back and forth. When I heard about the comp, I knew I wanted to partner up with him.
    
    Adam: We have worked together for a long time. I think 2002 was our first year shooting together. We have a lot of similar tastes in art and skiing.
    
    TGR: Other than the $100,000 prize, what attracts you to The Co-Lab contest?
    
    Sage: The opportunity and motivation to work on a personal piece where we can take our individual creativity to its limit was the most attractive thing about the contest.
    
    Adam: Its something unique to skiing, there's never been anything quite like it. 
    
    TGR: As pros, how are you going to manage shooting for TGR's annual film and shooting for The Co-Lab?
    
    Sage: Over the winter, I have some trips scheduled with TGR and some windows to fit in some shooting for The Co-Lab.
    
    Adam: I've chiseled out time to shoot The Co-Lab. I've just said ‘no’ to a few other shoots because I'm excited to give this a try.
    
    Adam Clark's Co-Lab filming kit.
    
    TGR: What do you think makes a good ski segment?
    
    Sage: A theme, good content, and creativity.
    
    Adam: Always great skiing, style. I'm a fan a unique angles and storytelling without words.
    
    TGR: How do you hope to improve on what's been done?
    
    Sage: I just want to put together a creative piece that people enjoy to watch. It's not my intention to better what other people have done in the past.
    
    Adam: I'm just hoping to make something different and fun that keeps somebody’s attention for five minutes.
    
    TGR: Who are you most excited to see enter in The Co-Lab contest?
    
    Sage: I am really excited to see what gets put out there. It will be cool to see who puts out material and what the various visions and interpretations come out of it.
    
    Adam: People that I have never heard of. I know there's some dark horses out there that are super talented skiers and filmers. It would also be really cool to see some top name athletes that have their own vision of what they would want to see as their segment.
    
    TGR: What do you think will make a winning Co-Lab edit? Will it be the locations? The cinematography? The athletic talent? The editing? The music?
    
    Sage: It really depends. Bottom line, something that is fun to watch and gets people fired up.
    
    Adam: A combination of all of that. I'm hoping to see some really epic editing and action!
    
    TGR: If you win, what would you do with $100,000?
    
    Sage: Split it with Adam, pay taxes on 30 percent and go to Brookstone next time I'm at the airport and get one of those cool RC helicopters.
    
    Adam: Keep travelling around skiing pow. Maybe buy a new camera. Depends, maybe Sage will keep it all to himself. …
    
    Adam Clark, in the streets.

    Camera gear is available on sale at Amazon.com

    Any questions? Get more information below:
    
    Go To The Co-Lab Contest Page
    
    Get The Co-Lab Overview
    
    See The Co-Lab Schedule
    
    Read The Official Rules
    
    Read The Frequently Asked Questions
    
    

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  • 4 months ago
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• Freeride World Tour Heads To C Freeride World Tour Heads To Chamonix For Stop No. 3

  • From: gregfitzsimmons
  • Description:

    The Swatch Freeride World Tour By The North Face venue in Chamonix, France.
    
    The third stop of the Swatch Freeride World Tour by The North Face will go down on Saturday, January 26, in Chamonix, France. And, as has been the fortunate circumstance of the newly unified FWT so far this season, Chamonix’s conditions and terrain are primed for a great show.
    
    The Alps will have hosted the second and third stops of the Freeride World Tour, with stops on the Italian and French sides of the Mont Blanc in Courmayeur and Chamonix. Prior to settling down in the French hub of freeriding, the second stop of the FWT went down last week on the rocky and steep venue in Courmayeur. The male field of ski and snowboard competitors battled it out during the event in Italy.
    
    
    A recap video of FWT stop No. 2 in Courmayeur, Italy.
    
    Courmayeur recap:
    
    With deep pow underfoot, blue skies over head, the south side of the Mont Blanc as the backdrop, and Courmayeur’s gnarly 1,200-foot Tête d’Arp as the venue, the male competitors—33 skiers and 15 riders—laid it down. The Tête d’Arp terrain offered something for every approach to competitive big-mountain skiing and riding. With a technical, rocky top section out of the start gate, a playful mini-golf zone down the ridge, and steep chutes to air into and link up, the venue allowed for full-tilt chargers and park-inspired jibbers to do their thing.
    
    In the end, Italian big-mountain-jibber Markus Eder posted the highest score of the day in front of his home crowd. Eder opted for the playful mini-golf zone off the ridge and laced high-speed turns before lofting a huge, sleepy, left-side three in an exposed section. Eder managed to throw a backie and make some switch pow turns, too. His blend of big-mountain blasting up high and playful tricks on the lower portion earned him a score of 89.67 and the top spot with the men.
    
    “I’m stoked with my line,” said Eder. “I hoped to be on the podium but to win is really fantastic.” 
    
    Swiss skier Jérémie Heitz has gotten comfortable on the podium this season, with consecutive second place finishes at the first two stops of the FWT. The consistent skiing from Heitz means he’ll be donning the yellow jersey in Chamonix, which denotes the overall tour leader. Heitz is quickly making a name for himself for his charging, fall-line approach and patented high-speed doubles. So far, Heitz’s insanely fast runs have left spectators spinning and has forced judges to go back to a replay because both of his technical runs have taken place in a flash.
    
    Sweden’s Reine Barkered, last year’s overall FWT Champion, rounded out the skiing podium in Italy. Other highlights included Julien Lopez’s all-or-nothing approach. Lopez was the last skier to drop into Tête d’Arp, and rather than playing it safe and keeping his line to his feet, the “Flying Frenchman” pointed ’em. Unfortunately, Lopez lost control and took about 10 high-speed tomahawks down about 300-vertical-feet of the venue; fortunately, Lopez didn’t bang himself up and walked away to collect his “yard-saled” gear. (Check out the footage of Lopez’s crash; it’s full-on!)
    
    On the snowboard side, Frenchman Aurélien Routens snagged his first FWT win ever. Routens nuked through the venue with a fast, clean run that included a few exposed airs at the top steep section. Routens capped off the winning run with a sick straight line at the bottom, earning a score of 83.67.
    
    “It’s very emotional for me to win here,” said Routens. “It’s the first time I take the first step of the podium at a FWT stop. I was just riding as I am used to ride in my hometown La Grave. It’s a nice surprise and I am super happy.”
    
    Jackson Hole’s John Rodosky’s creative line garnered him a second place finish with a score of 78.67. Rodosky found a handful of cool natural terrain features to throw his freestyle tricks. Swiss Emilien rounded out the Snowboard podium.
    
    
    The Swatch Freeride World Tour By The North Face Stop No. 3 preview video.
    
    Chamonix preview:
    
    Now, after the short commute through the Mont Blanc Tunnel—or the ski to Chamonix via the world-renowned Vallée Blanche that a few athletes opted for to get from Courmayeur, Italy to downtown Chamonix, France—the field of male skiers and riders have met up with the female competitors for this weekend’s comp in Cham.
    
    The third event will go down on Saturday, January 26 and there will be a live feed of the contest on TetonGravity.com. Due to snow conditions, the FWT had to change the venue to La Flégère at the top of the Index lift. And, the venue looks sweet.
    
    On the men’s skiing side, you always have to tune in to watch Tabke, Chamonix local and past champ Aurélien Ducroz, Sweden’s Reine Barkered, and New Zealand’s Sam Smoothy. But, a few other names to take note of are current obviously overall FWT leader Jérémie Heitz, American skier Lars Chickering-Ayers, Zermat-based mountain guide/pro skier Sam Anthamatten, and Utah’s Oakley White Allen; all four bring a similar fall-line strategy to the Chamonix venue that could easily be rewarded by the judges—if they stay upright.
    
    Jackson Hole’s longtime competitive skier Jess McMillan has made the trip to Cham to compete against reigning FWT overall champion Christine Hargin, and the rest of the women’s field. (I’d bet the house on McMillan, she’s talented, strong, and a seasoned competitive skier.)
    
    You’d be a fool to overlook Chamonix local Xavier de Le Rue and Squaw’s Ralph Backstrom during the Men’s Snowboard contest. Both have had a lot of success in Chamonix and could be interchangeable atop the podium if they stand their lines up. Lastly, Margot Rozies and Elodie Mouthon—the two women from France that finished second and third, respectively, in Revy—are ready to represent their country in Cham when Saturday’s event gets going.
    
    CLICK HERE to watch the event live on Saturday Jan. 26 at 9 a.m. CET (that's 1 a.m. MST).
    
    And, check out the #FWT13 hashtag on Twitter for updates.

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  • 5 months ago
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• Through The Lens Of Jim Harris Through The Lens Of Jim Harris

  • From: kimhavell
  • Description:

    Chris Davenport skis a chute in Antarctica. Photo by Jim Harris.
    
    “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.
    
    Jim Harris is a TGR success story. An athlete with an artistic eye and a photographer of great strength and perseverance, Jim hit the big time from an unlikely start. Through honest and thoughtful posts on the TGR web forums, Jim unwittingly developed a huge following and grabbed the attention of industry players. Proving himself time and time again in the field and at the computer, Jim has photographs, stories, and drawings featured across varied media spots, print and online, in the world of adventure sport. He is humble, adventurous, and bright, and gets things done.
    
    Jim has been behind the lens for Sweetgrass Productions, Powderwhore Productions, Camp4Collective, First Ascent, Powder Magazine and more. From scaling 20,000-foot peaks in Bolivia to descending steep couloirs in Antarctica to negotiating a pack raft down Alaskan rivers, this motivated talent keeps at it as he proves that with heart and hard work, success will be a reality.
    
    Jim’s sincere and straight-up approach resonates with his audiences. Follow his creative journeys as “GnarWhale” on TGR and as Perpetual Weekend online at his Blog, Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter sites. www.perpetualweekend.com
    
    Forrest McCarthy melts water at a ridge line campsite as a storm rolls in. Photo by Jim Harris.
    
    The Start.
    
    I was first interested in photography when I was a kid playing with this all-metal Nikormat that my dad had brought back from Japan a decade or two before I was born. I didn’t develop a twitchy shutter button finger until I was around 16 and started documenting the graffiti scene where I grew up. Looking back at those boxes of prints, I was pretty much just mechanically recording ephemeral art. A few years later I extracted myself from that scene by moving to Montana where I enrolled in Wildlife Biology and Fine Art courses. The blend of planning, creativity, daring, and community that made the street art scene compelling also runs through mountain culture. It didn’t take but a few weeks in Montana before I began pointing my camera at people on mountains.
    
    Studying Wildlife Biology seemed like a good route to finding a job that combined adventure with critical thinking, plus I was good at plant and animal identification. An empirical science education has proved to be a good framework for learning about the world, even though I never took up wearing one of those flat-brim Smokey hats. The fine art courses were just for kicks, but I regret missing the memo that my university had a Photo Journalism school.
    
    Andrew McLean skis the Chugach Mountains in Alaska. Photo by Jim Harris.
    
    TGR.
    
    While I’d been registered on TetonGravity.com’s message board for years, I rarely visited until I moved to the Wasatch Mountains in 2007 and discovered it offered a way to meet backcountry touring partners. Then I began posting photos of ski tours and that led to invites on more missions. One of those photo essays prompted Gordy Peifer to offer me a spot on one of his Straightline Advenutures Ski Camps, and another trip report garnered an invite to shoot with Powderewhore Productions in Alaska. That AK trip, in turn, resulted in my first print-published words and photos (Powder Magazine 40.1 “Beast out of the Earth”). Then I won a TGR and Smith Optics photo contest where the prize was an Ice Axe Expeditions ski cruise to Antarctica.
    
    I was sharing just for the sake of sharing and that idealism struck a chord with people. If I suddenly couldn’t sell photos and stories about the sort of trips I like to take, I’d be okay going right back to doing them just for the intrinsic rewards.
    
    Hi-fives with Andrew McLean after discovering and skiing a rad chute in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska. Photo by Jim Harris.
    
    Inspiration.
    
    Media-makers who also are high-performance athletes hold a role I admire. Photographers who can climb and ski alongside top athletes are the ones who, most often I think, bring back something insightful to share.
    
    Galen Rowell about tops my list of “photographers I wish had reincarnated as me.”
    
    Christian Pondella has crafted a career shooting photos with skis on his pack, an ice axe in one hand and that shines through in his photos.
    
    The Camp 4 Collective team brings boots-on-the-ledge perspective to their productions and it’s apparent in the art and illustrations of Renan Ozturk, Jeremy Collins and Adam Haynes.
    
    Leslie Anthony writes with legitimacy in his words and Fitz Cahall’s Dirtbag Diaries carry that too.
    
    What all of them have in common is this gonzo journalism approach where, because they can hang athletically, they’re able to convey a first-person narrative that offers candid, humanizing insights into the lives of super-human athletes.
    
    On the business side, I admire the people who help others to create content in our ski media ecosystem. When done well, enabling other peoples’ creativity is good for one’s own income. The TGR Forums empowered me and I hope the web ad revenue more than pays for the server space.
    
    Photographers Adam Barker and Chase Jarvis both open source some of their knowledge via web interviews and tutorials. They’re investing their knowledge in aspirant photographers while legitimizing their expertise at the same time. It’s both altruistic and shrewd.
    
    Sunrise on Illimani, Bolivia, while the city of La Paz still sleeps. Photo by Jim Harris.
    
    The Challenge.
    
    I want to be a really good storyteller. Sometimes when I speak, my thoughts branch into a tangent, then a tangent of that, until I’m caught in a spiraling fractal of storylines and everyone has stopped listening. So it takes some intention for me to spin a story well. Photo essays keep me on point and the narrative jogging along.
    
    At some heady level, wilderness adventure stories like the ones I want to tell are another variant of Joe Campbell’s monomyth: the hero marches off into the wild, conquers something untamable, perhaps then realizes that the real conquest happened inside his or her head, and then returns home to share the new wisdom.
    
    My challenge is that I don’t want to just tell those stories but want to actually watch them unfold too. Going up and down difficult mountains with interesting people carves as close to living that myth as I know how to get.
    
    Alan Schwer hops down a steep ski line at 19,000 feet on Volcan Pomarape, Bolivia. Photo by Jim Harris.
    
    The Business.
    
    The business-side of working as a self-employed creative is a murky learning curve. There’s no roadmap to “making it” and even things as dry as sending photos for an editor to review turn out to involve diplomatic maneuvering. Many working photographers will tell you that your photos are only valuable if you keep ‘em squirreled away, unseen by anyone but the editor, right until they appear in print. While I see the wisdom in that approach, the only reason I’m paid to take photos now is because I’ve enjoyed sharing pictures in the past. So, I’ve continued to post photos on TGR, though I’ve become more strategic about sharing.
    
    The ski photo world is a tough one to find recognition in, in part because much of it has fallen prey to this syndrome of collaborative competition where somebody says “Oh! Look at what they’re doing.  We should be doing that too.” Photo buyers, photo makers, and athletes all push one another to converge. One outcome is that photographers face an uphill battle when it comes to creating marketable work that also conveys individual style.
    
    On the other hand, who wants to feel like they’re leaving money on the table because they’re too elitist to take routine photos? Faced with that question, I’m no strict idealist. I’m not exactly shooting decorative cupcakes, but I’ve dug into commercial projects, studio opportunities, and jobs outside the ski industry. Sometimes they feel like art school assignments where students replicate some Old Master’s painting. Even if it’s not an approach that I’m particularly interested in, it’s impossible not to glean something useful. Those Elinchrom-lit sets are great for learning technique but they’re not where my aspirations lie.
    
    Tyler Jones leads a climb in the Waddington Range while Seth and Solveig Waterfall follow. Photo by Jim Harris.
    
    Being Diverse.
    
    When I was about ten I was way into these Redwall books about mice doing medieval things. My parents took me to a reading by the author, Brian Jacques, at the neighborhood bookstore and he described to us kids around him that he’d worked as a sailor, and a truck driver, and a milkman, and some jobs that I’ve forgotten before he eventually became a writer too. The notion that one could do a lot of things in a lifetime, rather than be stuck with just one profession, took root in my ten-year-old cortex that day.
    
    Photography has been my main focus for the last year or two, but it’s not my only outlet. I still dabble in woodcut printmaking, painting, shooting video, writing, and teaching. If this photo gig stops working out, I’ll always have the latitude to sidestep into one of these other roles.
    
    Solveig Waterfall skiing from the summit of Mt Waddington, BC over a cavernous crevasse. Photo by Jim Harris.
    
    Expedition Style.
    
    One thing that distinguishes me from the pack is that I like unstaged, one-take, expedition shooting. Long and difficult trips are full of little victories and disappointments and they make for great photographic moments. As a member of an expedition team, I share credit and blame for the ups and downs I’m chronicling. Every bit of the process from planning, traveling, climbing, skiing, cooking, laughing and just surviving together is rewarding.
    
    There are a couple big hurdles to being an expedition shooter. One is keeping one’s gear alive in the cold, wet, sandy, camera-killing places. That takes diligence but isn’t rocket surgery. Another is that one has to learn to suffer with grace. That takes practice and some balanced brain chemistry.
    
    The biggest hurdle, however, is managing the dual loyalties of being both a weight-pulling team member while also caring enough about one’s audience to stop helping your buddies and grab the camera. Jabbing a camera in someone’s face in a cruxy moment can be a bridge-burning move. It takes a pretty keen awareness of the group dynamic plus articulate communication to balance photographic and team needs.
    
    Before leaving for our first trip together, ski mountaineer Andrew McLean told me he was willing to ski for the camera but that he didn’t intend to re-hike anything for a missed shot. If you’ve skied with Andrew, you know that he zips uphill then right back down. Either I had to bully him into slowing down or learn to be quick on the draw, get the shot the first time, and not sulk when I misfired. I went with the second approach and haven’t regretted it.
    
    One-take shooting is an ethos I’ve embraced. Shooting actual skiing down actual lines, as opposed to the ubiquitous one-turn-wonder approach, feels truthy. As a bonus, there’s a lot more skiing involved in a “work” day.
    
    Chris Davenport skiing in Antarctica. Photo by Jim Harris.
    
    Turning Point.
    
    Three years ago, three friends and I spent a month backpacking and then rafting across Wrangell St Elias National Park. That trip changed my view of what’s achievable by a small, unsponsored team. I felt empowered by our success and humbled by the times I faltered.
    
    Back at home, I tried to summarize the story via a long column of captioned photos. The resulting trip report garnered a lot of attention that I never expected. Something about our mix of ambition, unique route, and amateur status really resonated with people, and not just the outdoorsy ones. Traffic poured in from Digg, Reddit and other link-sharing sites.
    
    Years later, I’m still feeling the reverberations of that trip. I’ve been back to the Wrangells once and have plans for another trip this year. I’m also packing today for a crazy Mexico adventure that I’ve been invited on because a couple of Alaska’s most-audacious wilderness travelers saw my photo essay and thought I’d be a good fit for their team. Looking back, it is comical how many doors have opened for me based on something that I never guessed would have much impact.
    
    Forrest McCarthy midway through a 120 mile traverse of the Abaroka Beartooth Mountains. Photo by Jim Harris.
    
    Future Direction.
    
    There’s been this recent uptick in the ski industry’s acknowledgment that what we do is risky. At a fundamental level, action sports culture pushes the idea that “advancing the sport” or “pushing the envelope” is the loftiest goal an athlete can strive for. I think that presumption deserves some scrutiny because it is steering our risk-taking. We’re not going to revert to blue-square level skiing in movies but it’s worth acknowledging that there are perhaps less death-defying ways to “advance the sport.”
    
    For me, that means looking for trips that are challenging because they’re remote, or because they require an endurance component, or because they offer a quirky perspective on the norm. Both writers and photographers search for unique angles. As someone with a growing grasp of both pursuits, I’m positioned to connect interesting story ideas with smart photos.
    
    Jim Harris' Powder Magazine cover photo. Skier unknown.
    
    Game Changers.
    
    A few years ago, I watched an acquaintance trigger and then swept by an avalanche. It was formative.  It changed how I communicate with partners, how I plan for a tour, and is a continual reminder to make conservative choices.
    
    Soon after that incident, I began teaching avalanche classes. Now that I’ve shifted to proselytizing wilderness skiing for a living, teaching the prophylactic aspect of it feels essential. Not only does it feel like righteous work but teaching avy classes also helps keep my skills honed.
    
    At the other end of the spectrum, one of my photos is running on the cover of the new Powder Magazine Photo Annual. For someone who’s only been making a living as a photographer for just over a year, it’s like putting boots on at 9:30 and somehow still catching first chair. That cover isn’t recognition I’d expected to have so soon in my photo career, but I’m grateful for it.
    
    Want to shoot like Jim, start with some high end DSLR camera gear available at Amazon.com

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  • 5 months ago
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• #instahashtagmagramstormski201 #instahashtagmagramstormski2012 Headed Right For Us!

  • From: gregfitzsimmons
  • Description:

    Many are saying Tahoe and the rest of the West is about to get pummeled with snow. Naysayers predict rain. #whatever #itson #7feetbitches !!
    
    Social media platforms, blogs, and websites are a-buzz, and the chatter in dive bars from Tahoe City to Santa Cruz has been incessant about the series of storms barreling down on the Sierra Nevada. While professional meteorologists—and a few amateur radar watchers—were talking about this four-storm system weeks ago, the general public has just recently become privy to the news: Tahoe is about to get buried!
    
    Over beers in Northern California’s dives and on headlines throughout the area, naysayers and sandbaggers are predicting rain. But those that know know that the first storm of the season—being dubbed “JW” by Kirkwood’s marketing guru Coop Cooper—signifies the actual beginning of winter in Tahoe.
    
    “Everyone in Tahoe keeps saying ‘wet’ because the newspapers keep writing that,” says Bryan Allegretto, the mastermind behind Tahoe’s preeminent weather website TahoeWeatherDiscussion.com — which will soon be joining forces with OpenSnow to create the dream resource for skiers and riders by skiers and riders. “That’s why I keep saying on my site, ‘don’t give in to this media trap.’ Some of the best and most fun days of riding in Tahoe are when the snow level is at like 7,500 feet. Most of these ski resorts — like Squaw who has a ton of lifts up high — have chairlifts that start at like 8,200 feet and go up from there. Everyone looks out their window downtown at lake level, around 6,000 feet, and sees rain and says, ‘It’s wet, I’m not going skiing.’ Meanwhile, up top some of us are skiing powder all by ourselves.”

    A series of four consecutive storms over a five to six day window are forecasted for the Tahoe region. The first system rolled through yesterday dropping anywhere from 6 to 8 inches. The next storm moves in Thursday night and will settle over Tahoe into Friday night. And, the biggest storm rolls in Saturday and into Sunday, with the possibility of precipitation lingering into Monday.
    
    “I’ve been telling people that we’re looking at a 7,000-foot snow level through Friday with a couple feet of snow and more on Saturday,” says Allegretto. “You have anywhere from 1,000 to 2,500 feet of vertical on these mountains that is going to get 3 to 7 feet of snow!”

    The good news for pow-starved skiers not located in the Sierra Nevada or Pacific Northwest — which looks to be getting hammered, too—is that these strong storms will be traveling east toward the Tetons and Rockies.
    
    “The strongest piece of the main west-coast storm will head east on Sunday night and Monday,” writes the prescient weather resource OpenSnow, “and should bring decent snow to many Colorado mountains, primarily from Aspen north to I-70 and the Wyoming border.”
    
    So, be patient and brace yourself for the unavoidable onslaught of blower Instagram pics and ubiquitous hashtags from Tahoe and the PNW that will be clogging your feeds this weekend. This beast of a storm is headed your way soon enough.
    
    Check back early next week for a recap from Tahoe. Until then, be safe, think cold, positive thoughts, and share your early season storm photos with us on Twitter and Instagram (@TetonGravity) by using the hashtag: #StormWatch. We’re eager to see those pow pics.

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• Check Yourself Before You Bury Check Yourself Before You Bury Yourself

  • From: ermecatino
  • Description:

    Avalanches and the mountains don’t care about your Facebook status, how many followers you have on Twitter, or if you used a filter on that photo from the ridge. They couldn’t care less.
    
    And the avalanche problem isn’t new. Last year's melancholy has forced many within the ski community to confront the issue. Last season 34 people passed away in avalanches within the U.S., just two short of the record. Equipment manufacturers and the industry as a whole are pushing the “backcountry market;" an increasing ammount of ski and snowboard video content and a constant fuel for stoke have spawned the GoPro generation of recreation skiers, and the relentless stream of media have created new social factors that we all face today. As a collective of skiers, we have better equipment, it’s as if we are golfers with new clubs that reach the green in one swing, but when we walk to the green we have to confront lions.
    
    An avalanche in November broke off on Sunset Peak in Utah. Photo by Bruce Tremper of the Utah Avalanche Center.
    
    “A lot of avalanches can be prevented with knowledge,” said Bruce Tremper of the Utah Avalanche Center. “We [avalanche centers] don't have a lot of money, and we can’t keep up with an industry that is pushing people into the backcountry.”
    
    In turn, Bruce and others within the snow-science field are working on ways they can prevent avalanche deaths with a shoestring budget.
    
    The UAC and other avalanche organizations advise skiers to make decisions based on evidence, but Tremper said people don’t, and are rolling the dice, learning their lessons the hard way.
    
    “People need to be humble, especially early in their avalanche career,” Tremper said. “Our perceptions are almost always wrong. … I just cringe when I hear ‘I just trust my gut,’ because they don’t know anything. Avalanches are hard to teach, what we’re doing works, but maybe not as well as we would like it to. … What we really need to do is get a virtual reality experience to see and feel things so when you guess wrong, you get hit with baseball bats or something like that. We don’t have a machine like that right now.”
    
    For skiers, getting educated is key, but that isn’t the final step. As Tremper notes getting your Avalanche Level 1 certification is misleading, as the level one course gives you enough information to start learning.
    
    “I call it your learners permit. It is where your education begins not ends,” Tremper said.
    
    This season whether you are an experienced skier or newbie, staying current is integral to your survival in the backcountry.
    
    “What I suggest is after people take a Level 1, every time it snows get out on safe or low consequence terrain and see what is happening — that’s where you really learn,” Tremper said.
    
    Tremper, a professional avalanche forecaster since 1978 and in his 27th season as director of UAC has seen enough mountainsides shatter like a glass.
    
    “People always assume they have better skills than they really do. It takes quite a few years. You really know hardly anything,” Tremper said.
    
    For Tremper, it took about 15 years as a professional before he felt he was skillful at traveling within avalanche terrain.
    
    “I was pretty lucky — luck has a lot to do with it, and we just don’t realize sometimes how close we are,” he said.
    
    Tremper, author of Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, is one of the most respected avalanche experts within the Utah skiing community.
    
    According to Tremper, this season Utah has started out with a relatively good snowpack — as long it keeps snowing. However, he notes that they missed some close calls.
    
    “The October storm was really faceted on the ground of northern aspects. When we received the November four-foot-storm, we had a lot of activity and there were close calls that could of easily been several deaths. Several people triggered slides, but no one took any serious rides — we were really lucky,” he said.
    
    In addition to the facets, the early season snowpack holds increased risk in avalanche terrain.
    
    “Early season avalanches are more dangerous because a small slide can send you bouncing through stumps and rocks, the incident of trauma is higher,” Tremper said.
    
    There is no denying that equipment upgrades have allowed skiers to get into the backcountry with ease, however, Tremper and other avalanche professionals are noticing an alarming trend.
    
    “People used to be a lot more cautious right after a snowstorm, today people are running to the steepest terrain and jumping right into it, you just can’t do that,” Tremper said.
    
    Shaun Raskin, pro-skier, guide, and avalanche course instructor has noted a similar trend, explaining how media could be influencing people’s personal risk assessment.
    
    “Previously there was no media of other skiers’ endeavors,” Raskin said. “You were stepping into a void.”
    
    This year at the UAC workshop, social media was said to play a role in peoples’ decision-making and plans for the day.
    
    Currently Raskin is seeing her “office” becoming a dangerous place as not everyone is taking the appropriate courses, yet are on avalanche terrain. Just two weeks ago she and her fiancé saw skiers descending upon a group skinning up for turns near the Cardiff backcountry zone, Utah.
    
    For Tremper, “it is total chaos, as no one is practicing any system.”
    
    Tremper is hoping to create better tools for connecting the right terrain (slope steepness) with danger rating.
    
    “We have to have some sort of system to allow us to make better decisions,” he said. “We need better avalanche eye balls, right now everyone is jumping in.”
    
    As the season kicks off across the country, avalanche centers such as the UAC and others across the west and east are holding avalanche courses, free workshops, and lectures, trying their earnest to educate skiers. For skiers and riders knowledge is power. So take a class, see what the mountains have to say, and be safe this winter.
    
    
    Below is a list of avalanche forecast websites for major mountain communities. Always check the avalanche report before heading out to the backcountry.
    
    Utah Avalanche Center
    
    Bridger Teton Avalanche Center
    
    Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center
    
    Colorado Avalanche Information Center
    
    Mount Washington, NH Avalanche Center
    
    Sierra Avalanche Center
    
    Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, MT
    
    
    Stay on top of the snowfall in your area with the TGR Snow Lab

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• News: Whistler Mountain Openin News: Whistler Mountain Opening Early - Saturday November 17, 2012

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    
    WHISTLER, BC - Thanks to cool temperatures, impressive snowmaking and natural snowfall Whistler Mountain will open five days early on Saturday, November 17. With five lifts running, guests will have the option to upload from either the Whistler Village Gondola or the Creekside Gondola. Blackcomb Mountain will open, as scheduled, on American Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 22, 2012.
     
    “In addition to new snow and a great forecast lining up towards the end of this week, our fleet of 220 state-of-the-art snow guns has converted over 70 million gallons of water into snow over the past few weeks. This ensures excellent on-piste coverage for quality skiing and riding on opening day,” says Doug MacFarlane, mountain manager at Whistler Blackcomb. “Despite the amount of snow we have made, we want to remind guests early season conditions will apply, especially off piste. It is important to obey mountain signage, ski and ride on open runs only and stay within the operational area marked by “Temporary Boundary” signage. Guests should be aware there will be rocks and other hazards below the snow surface; we do not recommend skiing and riding outside the temporary boundary in any circumstances.”
     
    First upload on the Whistler Village Gondola and Creekside Gondola will begin at 8:30 a.m. on November 17. Emerald Express, Big Red Express and the Franz Chair lifts will also be running, giving guests access to 1800 vertical feet of skiing and riding terrain. Six ski runs will be open, including Ego Bowl, Upper Whiskey Jack, Upper Franz, Papoose, Orange Peel and Pony Trail. For the most up-to-date information about lift status, visit www.whistlerblackcomb.com/the-mountain/lifts-and-grooming/index.
     
    This year, Whistler Blackcomb has set the bar high for opening day festivities. Along with a surprise musical act for guests waiting in line at the Whistler Village Gondola, the first 1500 people to upload either gondola will receive a gift. Tokens will range from hot chocolates to big ticket items like EDGE Cards, Snow School lessons, retail and rental gifts and surprises from partners including, Scandinave Spa Whistler, The Adventure Group Whistler, Extremely Canadian, Canadian Snowmobile, Coast Mountain Photography, CAN-SKI, Showcase, Powerade and Milk2Go.
     
    Whistler Mountain dining locations will also be open on November 17, including Essentially Blackcomb Cappuccino Bar in the Carleton Lodge, Dusty’s Bar & Grill in Creekside, the Roundhouse Lodge on Whistler Mountain, and the Garibaldi Lift Co., Whistler’s world-famous location for après.
     
    The latest version of Whistler Blackcomb’s Live Pass, Powered by TELUS app will be available for download for iPhone and Android from the Apple store and Google Play at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 13. The app allows skiers and riders to track their runs using GPS, share their speed and vertical as well as take and share photos with friends via Twitter and Facebook. More information can be found at whistlerblackcomb.com/app.
     
    Beginning November 16, Whistler Blackcomb’s Snow Report will be updated daily throughout the season and can be accessed online or by calling 604-932-4211 in Whistler, 604-687-7507 in Vancouver, or toll-free at 1-800-766-0449.
     
    For Canadian and Washington State residents, Whistler Blackcomb offers the EDGE Card, allowing guests to ski/ride from $65 (CDN) a day. EDGE Cards are valid for use all season long, and are available at early bird pricing until November 19 at whistlerblackcomb.com/save.
     
    Guests interested in planning a trip to Whistler can take advantage of the Early Season Winter Deal which includes two nights lodging and a two day lift ticket deal from $109 per person, per night. To book a trip to the No. 1 rated mountain resort in North America can visit whistlerblackcomb.com/lodgingdeals or call 1-888-403-4727.
    
    About Whistler Blackcomb
    
    Whistler Blackcomb, the official alpine skiing venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, is situated in the Resort Municipality of Whistler located in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia 125 kilometres (78 miles) from Vancouver, British Columbia. North America’s premier four season mountain resort, Whistler and Blackcomb are two side-by-side mountains which combined offer over 200 marked runs, 8,171 acres of terrain, 16 alpine bowls, three glaciers, receives on average over 1,192 centimetres (469 inches) of snow annually, and one of the longest ski seasons in North America. In the summer, Whistler Blackcomb offers a variety of activities, including hiking and biking trails, the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, and sightseeing on the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola.

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• News: Mountain Sports Internat News: Mountain Sports International Announces New Subaru Freeride Series

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    

    New Subaru Freeride Series Announced

    4-star Freeride World Qualifiers provide Launch Pad to the Freeride World Tour

    SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - Salt Lake City, Utah-based Mountain Sports International (MSI) announced the schedule for the 2013 Subaru Freeride Series today. The new series features three 4-star Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) ski events for men and women at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO (Feb. 7-10); Moonlight Basin Resort, MT (March 14-17); and the Subaru Freeride Nationals at Snowbird Ski Resort (April 11-14).  Two 2-star Freeride World Qualifier events will also be held as part of the series at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO (Feb. 6-7) and Snowbird Ski Resort (April 10-11).  The 2-star events provide an additional platform for athletes to earn Freeride World Qualifier points with the top men and women advancing to the corresponding day of 4-star competition. The full FWQ calendar will be released tomorrow with a full slate of worldwide events, including additional FWQ events in Canada and the United States.
     
    “These premier 4-star events provide crucial opportunities for athletes hoping to qualify for the world tour,” said Event Director Bryan Barlow of Mountain Sports International. “We are excited to provide this opportunity on the country's leading big mountain venues.”
     
    The Freeride World Qualifier point system (FWQ) has been developed as part of the newly unified Swatch Freeride World Tour by The North Face (FWT). All FWT events are designated as 5-star events. FWQs range from 1 to 4-stars and enable athletes to earn a corresponding ratio of points based on their performance at competitions. Accumulated points immediately affect an athlete's position on the FWT ranking system. The top ranked athletes will qualify to participate on the 2014 FWT.
     
    The first ever FWT season will start with a roster of 36 prequalified male skiers, 14 male snowboarders, 14 female skiers and seven female snowboarders. Athlete qualification for the 2013 FWT has been designated by previous tour performance and rankings on the 2012 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour, The North Face Masters of Snowboarding and Swatch Freeride World Tours. In the future, the FWT roster will be created through the FWQ point system granting FWT positions to athletes with the highest points on the FWT and regional Freeride World Qualifying events such as the Subaru Freeride Series. The 2013 season of FWQ competition will climax at the Freeride Nationals at Snowbird Ski Resort in April, the final opportunity for FWQ athletes to launch to the FWT.
     
    The Subaru Freeride Series is sponsored by Subaru, Sierra Nevada, Clif Bar, The North Face and Black Diamond
     
    Registration for Subaru Freeride Series will open Dec. 4, 2012. Riders will be able to create a profile and sign-up for the Subaru Freeride Series events of their choice through the Freeride World Qualifier registration system. Twenty-one days prior to the 4-star day of competition and 45 days prior to the 2-star event, registration for the events will close. Riders will then be determined off of the seeding list on the day registration closes.

    2013 Subaru Freeride Series Registration Schedule:

    Date	Class	Star	Location	Open	Closed
    Feb 6-7	SFS	2	Crested Butte, CO	Dec 4	Dec 23
    Feb 7-10	SFS	4	Crested Butte, CO	Dec 4	Jan 17
    Mar 14-17 Apr 10-11	SFS SFS	4 2	Moonlight Basin, MT Snowbird, UT	Dec 4 Dec 4	Feb 21 Feb 24
    Apr 11-14	SFS	4	Snowbird, UT	Dec 4	Mar 21

    
    For athlete information visit FWQ Americas on Facebook, follow the Subaru Freeride Series on Twitter at twitter.com/SubaruFreeride, or contact Julia Jimmerson, MSI athlete relations manager, at jjimmerson@mtsports.com or (801) 349-4616. A new website will be launched soon.

    For media or general information contact Jessica Kunzer, MSI marketing and communications director, at jkunzer@mtsports.com or (801) 349-4612.

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  • 7 months ago
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• News: Freeride World Tour Anno News: Freeride World Tour Announces New Subaru Freeride Series

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    

    New Subaru Freeride Series Announced

    4-star Freeride World Qualifiers provide Launch Pad to the Freeride World Tour

    SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - Salt Lake City, Utah-based Mountain Sports International (MSI) announced the schedule for the 2013 Subaru Freeride Series today. The new series features three 4-star Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) ski events for men and women at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO (Feb. 7-10); Moonlight Basin Resort, MT (March 14-17); and the Subaru Freeride Nationals at Snowbird Ski Resort (April 11-14).  Two 2-star Freeride World Qualifier events will also be held as part of the series at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO (Feb. 6-7) and Snowbird Ski Resort (April 10-11).  The 2-star events provide an additional platform for athletes to earn Freeride World Qualifier points with the top men and women advancing to the corresponding day of 4-star competition. The full FWQ calendar will be released tomorrow with a full slate of worldwide events, including additional FWQ events in Canada and the United States.
     
    “These premier 4-star events provide crucial opportunities for athletes hoping to qualify for the world tour,” said Event Director Bryan Barlow of Mountain Sports International. “We are excited to provide this opportunity on the country's leading big mountain venues.”
     
    The Freeride World Qualifier point system (FWQ) has been developed as part of the newly unified Swatch Freeride World Tour by The North Face (FWT). All FWT events are designated as 5-star events. FWQs range from 1 to 4-stars and enable athletes to earn a corresponding ratio of points based on their performance at competitions. Accumulated points immediately affect an athlete's position on the FWT ranking system. The top ranked athletes will qualify to participate on the 2014 FWT.
     
    The first ever FWT season will start with a roster of 36 prequalified male skiers, 14 male snowboarders, 14 female skiers and seven female snowboarders. Athlete qualification for the 2013 FWT has been designated by previous tour performance and rankings on the 2012 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour, The North Face Masters of Snowboarding and Swatch Freeride World Tours. In the future, the FWT roster will be created through the FWQ point system granting FWT positions to athletes with the highest points on the FWT and regional Freeride World Qualifying events such as the Subaru Freeride Series. The 2013 season of FWQ competition will climax at the Freeride Nationals at Snowbird Ski Resort in April, the final opportunity for FWQ athletes to launch to the FWT.
     
    The Subaru Freeride Series is sponsored by Subaru, Sierra Nevada, Clif Bar, The North Face and Black Diamond
     
    Registration for Subaru Freeride Series will open Dec. 4, 2012. Riders will be able to create a profile and sign-up for the Subaru Freeride Series events of their choice through the Freeride World Qualifier registration system. Twenty-one days prior to the 4-star day of competition and 45 days prior to the 2-star event, registration for the events will close. Riders will then be determined off of the seeding list on the day registration closes.

    2013 Subaru Freeride Series Registration Schedule:

    Date	Class	Star	Location	Open	Closed
    Feb 6-7	SFS	2	Crested Butte, CO	Dec 4	Dec 23
    Feb 7-10	SFS	4	Crested Butte, CO	Dec 4	Jan 17
    Mar 14-17 Apr 10-11	SFS SFS	4 2	Moonlight Basin, MT Snowbird, UT	Dec 4 Dec 4	Feb 21 Feb 24
    Apr 11-14	SFS	4	Snowbird, UT	Dec 4	Mar 21

    For athlete information visit FWQ Americas on Facebook, follow the Subaru Freeride Series on Twitter at twitter.com/SubaruFreeride, or contact Julia Jimmerson, MSI athlete relations manager, at jjimmerson@mtsports.com or (801) 349-4616. A new website will be launched soon.

    For media or general information contact Jessica Kunzer, MSI marketing and communications director, at jkunzer@mtsports.com or (801) 349-4612.

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  • 7 months ago
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• News: The Meeting 8 Snowsports News: The Meeting 8 Snowsports Film Festival Kicks Off This Weekend In Aspen - Full Schedule

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    

    Aspen/Snowmass will once again host The Meeting, September 27 - 29, 2012. The Meeting is the premier gathering of snowsports filmmakers, athletes, sponsors, media and fans.  The 8th installation of The Meeting will deliver a packed schedule of the top 2012-2013 ski and snowboard movies, panels, speakers, networking, music, art, and fun. See the full schedule below. And be sure to catch showings of TGR’s newest films: Jeremy Jones’ Further and The Dream Factory.

    We'll be there, so follow along on Twitter and Instagram @TetonGravity with the hashtag #TheMeeting8. Aspen/Snowmass will also be posting updates @AspenSnowmass.
    
    Buy Tickets To Movies At The Wheeler Opera House Here
    
    Buy Tickets To The Belly Up Shows Here
    
    Register For The Meeting
    
    Thursday, Sept. 27
    NEPSA Video Awards – Wheeler Opera House – $10
    
    6:30 p.m. – Doors Open
    7 p.m. – NEPSA Video Awards
    
    Showing 1 – Aspen Mountain Sundeck – $15
    
    9 p.m. – Gondola Upload Begins
    10:30 p.m. – MOVIE 1: Level 1- Sunny
    
    Friday, Sept. 28
    The Meeting Sessions & Lunch: Limelight Hotel – Registration Required
    
    10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
    The Meeting Greeting - Limelight Hotel - Registration Required
    
    3 p.m. - Happy Hour
    
    Showing 2 – Wheeler Opera House – $10
    
    4:30 p.m. - Doors
    5 p.m. - MOVIE 2: Jeremy Jones' Further
    6:30 p.m. - MOVIE 3: Burton - 13
    
    Showing 3 – Wheeler Opera House – $15
    
    8 p.m. - Doors
    8:30 p.m. - MOVIE 4: MSP - Superheroes of Stoke
    
    Showing 4 – Belly Up Aspen – $33 advance / $35 door
    
    9 p.m. - Doors
    9:30 p.m. - MOVIE 5: Givin - Too
    10:30 p.m. - Musical Performance featuring Stephen Marley
    
    Saturday, Sept. 29
    Industry Activity
    
    8 a.m. – 3 p.m. – Cart Racing at Woody Creek Race Track – Registration Required
    
    The Meeting Happy Hour: Limelight Hotel – Registration Required
    
    3:30 - 4:30 p.m. - Happy Hour
    
    Showing 5 – Wheeler Opera House – $10
    
    4:30 p.m. - Doors
    5 p.m. - MOVIE 6: Voleurz - Kill Your Boredom
    5:45 p.m. - MOVIE 7: PBP - WE: A Collection of Individuals
    
    Showing 6 - Wheeler Opera House - $15
    
    7:30 p.m. - Doors
    8 p.m. - SHORT 1: Sent Productions - Vaya a la Cumbre
    8:25 p.m. – MOVIE 8: Teton Gravity Research – The Dream Factory
    
    Showing 7 – Belly Up – $35 advance / $39 door
    
    9 p.m. - Doors
    9:30 p.m. - MOVIE 9: Pirates - Unique8
    10 p.m. - MOVIE 10: Standard Films - 2112
    11   p.m. - Musical Performance featuring Brit Floyd

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  • 9 months ago
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• Will Mountain Riders Alliance Will Mountain Riders Alliance Save The Future Of Skiing?

  • From: ryandunfee
  • Description:

    The Mountain Riders' Alliance, whose various efforts to launch their organization’s campaign for more affordable, authentic, and sustainable “Mountain Playgrounds” we’ve reported on at TetonGravity.com, has recently launched a crowd-funding campaign to raise money for administrative fees and business development funds for the general organization, as well as application fees for their Manitoba Mountain project on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.  Their campaign has raised $3,000 of its $10,000 goal with 11 days left in the campaign, and has a variety of perks available for donors.
    
    The MRA recently made headlines by partnering with Maine’s Mt. Abram, which they believe will provide a blueprint for how the organization’s Mountain Playground model will work.  The small Maine hill has a laid-back atmosphere, limited infrastructure, and has placed a priority on affordability and sustainability.  Adult weekend day tickets are only $49 — $30 cheaper than down the street at Sunday River, which is owned and operated by Boyne Resorts.  And Mt. Abram recently received the Golden Eagle Award for Environmental Excellence in the Small Resort category for their commitment to sustainability, having implemented a low energy snowmaking system, a wood pellet boiler for their base lodge, and is anticipating construction of a one-acre solar project that would make them the first ski area in the country to produce more energy than they consume.  MRA hopes to share best practices with Mt. Abram and showcase the ski area as a living example of their working philosophy.
    
    MRA’s campaign is named “Support the Future of Skiing,” as the organization believes view the current corporate resort model – high on infrastructure, real estate, non-skiing amenities, and energy – is putting skiing out of reach for many people while creating an experience that is distant from the true ideals of snowsports and ultimately, unsustainable.  Besides the anti-corporate idealism, the Mountain Riders’ Alliance believes there is a real market for their vision both in the hardcore and casual skiing communities, but need funding help for initial legal, accounting, and security registration fees for their LLC, cash to develop their MRA membership model, and money to pay for land use and lease permit applications for their Manitoba Mountain project, which has the potential to offer access to 10,000 acres of Alaskan big-mountain skiing after the construction of three surface lifts.
    
    Skiers and snowboarders who believe in MRA’s mission are encouraged to visit the fundraiser website at www.indiegogo.com/SupportTheFutureOfSkiing. Donor levels from a $10 “Groomed” donation with a thank-you shout-out on MRA’s Twitter to a $2,500 “Bottomless” donation that will provide the donor with an unlimited lifetime season pass to all current and future Mountain Playgrounds, an MRA t-shirt ski strap, and sticker set.  The fundraiser ends on midnight, Sunday Sept. 9.
    
    For more, visit www.mountainridersalliance.com

    The site of Manatoba Mountain is shown above. Read more about the project and see more photos here.

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  • 10 months ago
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• News: The Meeting 8 - New Form News: The Meeting 8 - New Format Details Announced For Aspen Event

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    

    
    Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado – Aspen/Snowmass is proud to announce an enhanced format for the eighth year of The Meeting in Aspen, Colorado, September 27-29, 2012. In addition to the screening of the top new ski and snowboard movies, the event includes live music and parties and the chance to connect with industry influencers and friends to kick off the season. The Meeting also features a list of noteworthy presenters and seminars on broad topics within the industry from branding to content distribution. The registration fee for The Meeting is $250 per person, which includes all of the panels, movies, activities, music and parties.
     
    “This year marks a serious evolution in The Meeting,” says Deric Gunshor, Senior Event Marketing Manager, Aspen Skiing Company. “In 2012, The Meeting sessions will expand beyond action sports and feature a powerful lineup of presenters with knowledge and experience in snowsports and beyond. The Meeting has grown immensely over its eight year history and we are excited to take this revered influencer event to the next level.”
     
    There will be three panels on Friday, September 28, regarding a range of topics including branding, content, distribution, online activation and more. The following panelists are confirmed and more speakers will be announced soon.
     
    Chase Jarvis – Visionary photographer, director, and fine artist with a consistent ambition to break down the barriers between new and traditional media, fine and commercial art. www.chasejarvis.com
     
    Robert Scoble – The web’s most influential gear and tech blogger. He’s a gadget lover, a technology savant, a Silicon Valley insider and author. www.scobleizer.com
     
    Scott Mellin – Founder and CEO of Factory Design Labs. www.factorylabs.com
     
    Alex Hillinger – A lover of all things creative, Alex collaborates with designers, artists, filmmakers, scientists and entrepreneurs with an aim to make positive changes in the world. www.goodchemistry.com
     
    Danny Grant – As General Manager of The Orchard Sports, Danny works directly with filmmakers and brands to help syndicate and monetize their premium content worldwide. www.theorchard.com
     
    Gary Arndt – Independent travel writer, photographer and speaker. Gary is also measured as the web's most influential independent travel writer via Klout. www.everything-everywhere.com
     
    Greg Lucia – Director of Brand Integration of Saatchi & Saatchi. www.saatchi.com
     
    Registration and Tickets:
    
    Registration for The Meeting is now live at www.aspensnowmass.com/meetingreg.
     
    Tickets to movies at the Wheeler Opera House and Sundeck on Aspen Mountain will be sold separately through the Wheeler Opera House box office starting the first week of September. Tickets for music and movies at the Belly Up Aspen are currently available. These tickets can be bought individually by the public not wishing to participate in the industry panels and activities.
     
    Movies:
    This year’s feature films include: Matchstick Productions, “Superheroes of Stoke,” Teton Gravity Research, “The Dream Factory,” Poor Boyz Productions, “WE: A Collection of Individuals,” Level 1, “Sunny,” Voleurz, “Kill Your Boredom,” Teton Gravity Research, “Further,” Burton, “13,” Given, “Too,” and Pirate Movie Productions, “Unique8.”
    
    Music:
    Stephen Marley will rock the Belly Up Aspen on Friday, September 28, and the world’s greatest Pink Floyd show, Brit Floyd, will play in Aspen for the first time on Saturday, September 29.
     
    LODGING:
    The Limelight Hotel will once again be the official headquarters for The Meeting. A special $198.25/night room rate is available for guests of the event. To book, call 1-800-433-0832 and reference “The Meeting.”
     
    Video and Photos:
    Follow @AspenSnowmass on twitter for all the latest updates. Please note the official hashtag of event: #TheMeeting8. To check out everything that went down at The Meeting 7 last year click here:https://vimeo.com/30143512 or visit http://ow.ly/dbxrf for photos.
    
    The complete film and event schedule will be announced soon.

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• News: X Games Athletes Nominat News: X Games Athletes Nominated For 2012 ESPY Awards

  • From: media-75233
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    Los Angeles, California — Eight of the world’s best action sport athletes, seven of which have competed in an X Games with thirty gold medals between them, are nominated for The 2012 ESPYs. The 20^th annual celebration of best moments from the year in sports will be televised live from the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on Wednesday, July 11, at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN/ESPNHD. The 2012 ESPYs, hosted by Rob Riggle, release the nominees for Best Male Action Sport Athlete and Best Female Action Sport Athlete categories.

    BEST MALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE NOMINEES

    Travis Rice, Snowboarding
    Named “Rider of the Year” by Snowboarder Magazine and “Adventurer of the Year” by National Geographic, Rice has filmed outstanding video parts year after year, producing jaw-dropping shots like his switch 540 over Chad’s Gap in Utah, a 120-foot backcountry gap jump.  

    Shaun White, Snowboarding and Skateboarding
    For 2011, White dominated in two sports where he earned his fifth consecutive SuperPipe gold at the Winter X Games in 2011, earning a perfect 100 on his final run. Six months later in Los Angeles, White won his first Vert gold since 2007 and his second Summer X Games gold medal in eight appearances.

    Kelly Slater, Surfing
    As the youngest person to win surfing’s top title (captured at the age of 20) and the oldest to do so (at the age of 39), Slater won his 11^th ASP World Tour title in 2011. For the 2012 surf season, Slater is currently in second place in the world rankings. 

    Ryan Villopoto, Motocross
    The 2011 motocross season was a five-way battle between Villopoto and four top riders. Villopoto consistently finished toward the top of his class each round, winning both the 2011 Motocross and the 2012 Supercross titles. In dominant fashion, Villopoto claimed his Supercross title by winning nine of the first fourteen events and clinching the crown with four races remaining.

    BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE NOMINEES 
    

    Jamie Anderson, Snowboarding
    For both winter versions of X Games in Aspen, Colorado and Tignes, France in 2012, Anderson dominated women’s Snowboard Slopesyle, winning gold at both events. Anderson continued her winning streak by taking the title at four Burton U.S. Open Slopestyle competitions – giving her the overall Burton title for 2012. 
    

    Kelly Clark, Snowboarding
    Clark has dominated the past two years with a winning streak of sixteen major halfpipe events, gold medals two years in a row at the winter version of X Games (Aspen, Colorado & Tignes, France) and has won the Dew Tour Cup over two consecutive years.
    

    Kaya Turski, Skiing
    Turski defended her 2011 Ski Slopestyle gold at the winter version of X Games in 2012 for both Aspen, Colorado and Tignes, France. Turski has three-peated at both X Games events and won both Dew Tour Women’s Ski Slopestyle competitions and the overall Dew Tour Slopestyle crown for 2012.   

    Carissa Moore, Surfing
    As of July 2011, Moore has won six ASP Women's World Tour events, two ASP WQS 6-Star events and an unprecedented eleven NSSA Titles. For 2011, Moore was declared the ASP Women’s World Champion – the youngest winner of the title. Throughout the 2011 Tour, Moore won the Billabong Rio Pro, Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic and the Roxy Pro Gold Coast.

     
    “Being included as a nominee with such an amazing group of talented women is a big honor,” said Kelly Clark, the 2002 Winter Olympic gold medalist in Snowboard SuperPipe.

    Fans will determine the winners in all ESPY categories (except the Arthur Ashe Courage Award and other special awards) by voting online or on ESPN Mobile Web at ESPN.com/espys. Voting for Best Team will stay open during the live show on ESPN.com/espysand Twitter, where fans can vote for their team by using the hash tag #BestTeam accompanied by the team name.
    
    The ESPYs gather top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements, reliving unforgettable moments and saluting the leading performers and performances. The 2012 ESPYs will recognize both sport-specific achievements, such as “Best MLB Player” and “Best WNBA Player,” as well as best-in-sport winners, such as “Best Team” or “Best Female Athlete” that pit nominees from different sports against each other. The ESPYs honor ESPN’s commitment to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, a partnership launched with the late Jimmy Valvano at the inaugural ESPYs in 1993.
    

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• Daron Rahlves, Jess McMillan A Daron Rahlves, Jess McMillan And Chris Davenport Ski The Ring Of Fire

  • From: drahlves
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    The Spyder Active Sports Land Yatch is seen parked in front of Mount Lassen in California. Skiers Chris Davenport, Jess McMillian and Daron Rahlves have been on the road skiing volcanoes out of this rig for the past two weeks.

    Words by Daron Rahlves
    
    On May 2, Captain Grant, our event director at Spyder Active Sports, hit the road in the Spyder Land Yacht from HQ in Boulder, Colo. After one stop in Salt Lake City to pick up Jess McMillian, the two were back on I-80 West to meet up with Chris Davenport and myself at Whole Foods Market in Reno, Nev.  This is where we loaded up the back garage with the food cache we were going to rely on for this epic trip called the “Ring of Fire.”
    
    The team’s mission: to climb and ski 16 volcanoes from California to the Pacific North West Cascades, practically back-to-back in a two and a half week period.
    
    My plan was less of a commitment, but still a mission in itself: to tour for four days and ski five volcanoes. 
    
    Starting in California with 10,457-foot Mount Lassen and 14,162-foot Mount Shasta, I was committed on the trip through Southern Oregon for 9,495-foot Mount McLoughlin, 9,182-foot Mount Thielsen and 9,065-foot Mount Bachelor. 
    
    What an opportunity to top-out on iconic peaks and score creamy corn in prime May conditions. It was a pleasure to hang out with Davenport, who has so many experiences summiting amazing mountains all around the world and the enthusiastic charger, Jess McMillian. I was eager to learn a few tips on preparing and achieving these ascents.

    
    Jess McMillan, Daron Rahlves, Jim Morrison and Chris Davenport on the summit of Mount Shasta.
    
    I’m always hungry to ski.  Growing up in Tahoe I learned to appreciate the mountains.  Then taking on a racing career, it kept my skiing experience locked into resort skiing.  My desire to see what’s out there and work to get it is at an all-time high.  My interest is not all over the planet, but more of what’s out my back door and this trip was a dream opportunity.  From Cali to Southern Oregon skiing volcanoes and taking in the surroundings of old growth forests, pristine lakes, ancient lava flows, wide open panels and terrain filled bowls after earning it delivers a stronger connection to the adventure.
    
    The weather was just what we needed.  We scored with clear nights and sunny days with calm winds, or none-at-all. On some days, you could light a match on top of the peak. 

    
    Daron Rahlves blasts down Mount Shasta.
    
    Northern California and Southern Oregon turned out to have a lot more snow than I expected.  We could start skinning right from the road or parking lot and even had to walk in over a partially snow covered dirt road 3 miles to the McLoughlin trail head. 
    
    Days started with wake up calls from 3:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. for the best climbing conditions and to limit the physical exertion by avoiding the intense solar radiation. Hulk Shakes, Bare Naked Granola, Greek Yogurt and fruit fueled us up for days on the Ring of Fire tour.  Clif shots, gels and electrolyte drinks / water were mostly what I consumed on the way up to keep the pace moving and keep Dav and Jess close.  Dav would get so fired up on the hiking and at times I’d shake my head when I was dripping wet and my heart was pounding.  My motivation was to take one step at a time to ultimately ski down, but deep down I can say that his outlook made for a better experience and made me take in the beauty of what we were doing and where we were.

    
    Chirs Carr, Jim Morrison, Jess McMillan, and Chris Davenport after skiing the West Face of Mount Shasta.
    
    Reaching the top was a great feeling and then to share it slapping high-fives from excited friends tops that off.  We had a variety of snow conditions, but most vert was dry, smooth chalk to buttery corn on the open faces.  Then it went into the trees and made for the most fun tree GS skiing chasing each other through a maze, picking lines at speed.  When it tightened up and we had trouble locating skin tracks and were surrounded by massive trunks and an enclosed canopy from the trees, I was able to help out the team with navigation using my Garmin Rino to track back the route.  It was total disorientation in those old growth forests and without a GPS we would have added on lots of time and expended a lot more energy.

    
    Oregon's Mount McLoughlin as seen through the trees.
    
    To put eyes on home base was a huge relief. Now we could wind down and most of all the feed was on!  Protein waffles, egg scrambles, recovery shakes, fruit, Red Bulls, jerky, cookies and water.  Heavy caloric intake sessions would then be followed with packing up the drying gear lying in the sun and then the wheels began to roll to the next one on the hit list. We had all kinds of great snacks for the road trip and then once we found our next place to post up, we ate like royalty with in-house recipes a Whole Foods nutritionist planed out for us.

    
    Chris Davenport updates his Twitter and Facebook followers from the summit of Oregon's Mount Thielsen. Follow him on Twitter @steepskiing see more updates at #volcanotour.
    
    Thinking back to the trip a recurring moment that set it apart was reaching the top of each volcano, we could then see the next volcano and look back to the one we did the day before.  To see where we were, standing on what we just climbed and then gazing out to the north for the next day was a very cool feeling.

    
    Looking at Diamond Lake and Mount Bailey from the summit of Oregon's Mount Thielsen.

    Thanks to Dav for dreaming up the Ring of Fire Tour and to Spyder and Whole Foods Market for helping us make it happen.
    
    Follow the adventure at blog.spyder.com and think about getting after a few or all of these volcanoes yourself.  My favorite was Mount Thielsen.  It was the full package, with skinning, booting, rock climbing to the summit, great views and the best skiing I had.  We left the Land Yacht at 6:08 a.m. and got back by 11 a.m. 

    Daron Rahlves skis from the summit of Mount Thielsen at break-neck speed. He also hits a pine tree like a slalom gate. Awesome.
    
    Thanks to Johnny Cash for putting these words into my head on the daily climb, “I fell into a burning ring of fire, I went down, down, down and the flames went higher…”  The broken record effect kept me plugging away.

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• News: Kaya Turski Wins Ski Slo News: Kaya Turski Wins Ski Slopestyle At Winter X Games With Switch 1080

  • From: media-75233
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    Aspen, Colo. — In previous years, with the gold already in hand, the dominant Kaya Turski’s final run was typically a victory lap.  But in 2012, the competition level was at an all-time high and Turski needed the final run to be her best run.

    And it was just that, as she scored a 95.00 to grab her third-consecutive gold in Women’s Ski Slopestyle – the first medal awarded at this year’s Winter X Games.
     
    "I've never seen the level so high as I've seen it today,” Turski said. “Everyone is taking training seriously, eating well, and working hard, it's going to be a crazy couple of years."
     
    Turski held off 18-year old Devin Logan, who’s score of 92.33 landed her the silver medal.
     
    "I was cheering on Kaya today,” an exuberant Logan said.  “We all want to push the sport every contest; I wanted her to put pressure on me to elevate the level of my riding, same with Anna (Segal).  I saw her run and I knew I could do it. We all root for each other while pushing each other at the sometime."
     
    Entering her final run, Turski stood in third place and knew that she needed to pull out all of the stops if she was to capture gold.  She ran smooth through the course executing as only she can and her switch 1080 off the final jump sealed the victory.
     
    “The switch 10 is definitely raising the bar, Anna (Segal) spinning both ways is raising the bar, Devin (Logan) getting inverted is as well, the level is getting really high, I’m just excited were pushing the sport, I think were all doing a good job of that."
     
    Australia’s Segal, who scored a 90.00 on here first run and led the competition through two rounds, grabbed the bronze.
     
    "I kind of always do that, I'm always focused on my first run," Segal said of her high score. "I was also really excited I pulled off a new trick (unnatural 7) in my second run."
     
    The Slopestyle course is approximately 1,600-feet long with six features and a vertical drop of 280 feet.  Skiers attempt multiple tricks throughout their run on specially designed jumps, rails, boxes and other obstacles.  Judging is based on creativity, trick competitions and style.  The competitors are ranked based on the best score of their three runs.
     
    For Winter X Games media information, including press releases, logos and additional images from past events, log on to www.espneventmedia.com. To view medalist runs, visit the Winter X Games You Tube Channel – http://www.youtube.com/xgames and follow the X Games on Twitter at Twitter.com/xgames.

    Results:

    1.     Kaya Turski             Montreal, QC, Canada     95.00
    2.     Devin Logan            West Dover, Vt.              92.33
    3.     Anna Segal              Melbourne, Australia      90.00
    4.     Keri Herman            Breckenridge, Colo.        87.00
    5.     Ashley Battersby      Chicago, Ill.                   86.00
    6.     Dara Howell             Huntsville, ON, Canada   81.33
    7.     Emma Dahlström     Torsby, Sweden              77.66
    8.     Meg Olenick             Aspen, Colo.                  71.00
    9.     Rose Battersby         Taupo, New Zealand       51.00
    10.    Kim Lamarre           Lac-Beauport, Canada    39.00

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• News: North Face Park And Pipe News: North Face Park And Pipe Open Returns For 2nd Season

  • From: media-75233
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    Athlete registration opens November 15, 2011 at 10 a.m. MST

    SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — Following a successful first season that sent four athletes to the 2011 Winter X Games, The North Face and Mountain Sports International announce the second annual The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series featuring three stops beginning at Blue Mountain Resort, Ontario, on January 12-15; followed by Northstar Resort, California, on February 9-12; and returning to Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, on March 8-11, 2012.

    “We are extremely excited to host this year’s The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series,” said Paul Pinchbeck, Director of Marketing at Blue Mountain Resorts Limited.  “It’s an honour to host such a high calibre event, especially with the recent addition of freeskiing to the Olympic Games. Blue Mountain has been a leader in embracing the growth of this sport and our renowned Badland’s Terrain Park will be the ideal setting for local athletes to showcase their talents.”

    The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series features one day of halfpipe competition and two days of slopestyle.  Judging is based on overall impression with categories including creativity, degree of difficulty, combinations, variations, style, and amplitude, with $60,000 in total prize money up for grabs. The competition at Blue Mountain Resort will be the last event the 2012 Winter X Games athlete selection committee will consider when making invites. The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series works in conjunction with the Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) on competition judging, and is a gold-level event.

    “I’m proud to be involved in this event as both head judge and AFP representative.  Open events have an important history in our sport, allowing up and coming amateurs to compete alongside top level pros, and this is why the AFP is excited to get behind this particular series,” said Steele Spence, head judge and AFP general manager. “After a stellar first year, The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series has been elevated to a higher ranking competition, and has become a solid stepping stone for competitors to climb their way up the AFP World Ranking to eventually earn invitations to top level events.”

    Athlete registration for all three stops opens November 15, 2011 at 10 a.m. MST at www.thenorthfaceppos.com. For more information, please visit www.thenorthfaceppos.com, www.facebook.com/thenorthfaceparkandpipeopenseries or on Twitter @tnfparkandpipe.

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• News: Las Vegas Ski Resort The News: Las Vegas Ski Resort The 'First' To Open

  • From: johnclarydavies
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    Las Vegas Ski And Snowboard Resort claims it was the first to open for the 2011-12 season. 

    — John Clary Davies

    On Friday, Oct. 7, employees at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, just 40 minutes from the strip, planned their opening day. There weren’t any press releases, Tweets or Facebook updates, just a call to some locals that they might want to be there by 7 a.m. the next morning. 

    “We didn’t want the word to get out,” said Vegas action sport manager Keith Pfahler. “Amazingly enough, it kind of spread and three or four kids from Big Bear slept in the parking lot. We didn’t advertise because we wanted to be the first to open.”

    The next morning, Vegas loaded the locals at 7:33 a.m., 27 minutes before Colorado’s Wolf Creek, so it could claim it was the first ski area to open in North America. They opened one run with a 12-inch combination of natural and man-made snow. Vegas continued operations on Sunday, but won’t spin lifts regularly until after Thanksgiving.

    Wolf Creek, meanwhile, with a 46-inch storm and 600 open acres, thought they were claiming the season’s first tracks.  

    

    A snowboarder gets deep in Wolf Creek's opening day powder on Oct. 8, 2011. Meanwhile, lifts were turning near Las Vegas. 

    “Had we known it was going to be like that we would have opened a half an hour earlier, but we didn’t know,” said Wolf Creek vice president of marketing sales Rosanne Pitcher. 

    The usual early season birds, such as Arapahoe Basin, Loveland Pass and Sunday River, waged a friendly contest on Twitter with the hash tag #racetoopen. Pitcher says Wolf Creek’s opening was more valid than the silent Vegas first chair because they had 1,500 guests each day, and plan to operate regularly on weekends. Arapahoe will have its own claim starting today, as it begins running lifts daily.

    “Semantically speaking, [Vegas] opened 27 minutes before we did,” said Pitcher. “But we’re operating for the ’11-’12 season, so we believe our ski area was the first to open for the season, if you’re talking about overall picture of it.”

    Lost in the mix is Mount Hood’s Timberline, who, after taking most of September off, began its regular '11-'12 weekend operations on Sept. 30. 

    “We don't get involved in that first game because we are always first,” said Timberline's Jon Tullis.

    

    There's always snow on Mount Hood. 

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• chase eric chase eric

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    http://www.twitalation.com-Features: 100 game levels, state-of-the-art Cocos2d game engine, login and tweet from your Twitter account, Login and post status from Facebook account, Scoreboard with top 1000 Scores, send an SMS ans emails to friend from the game. Connect Us @ http://www.facebook.com/twitalation, http://www.twitter.com/twitalation
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• News: Lars Chickering-Ayers, S News: Lars Chickering-Ayers, Sole Diaz Win FWT Chilean Freeskiing Championships

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    August 21, 2011

    From Mountain Sports International:

    Words: Keith Carlsen/MSI

    VALLE EL ARPA, CHILE — Three days ago, the 25-minute 4x4 road to Ski Arpa was covered in a snow-dirt soup. Now, after the finals of The North Face Chilean Freeskiing Championships, it’s paved with some of the best ski lines the remote South American cat skiing operation has ever witnessed. Freeskiing’s elite gathered this week in Los Andes, Chile, and made summer skiing history with Lars Chickering-Ayers and Sole Diaz taking the top spots on the podium. 

    “I like turning where the mountain makes you turn and when you’re on big mountain terrain, that’s how I ski,” said Chickering-Ayers, the veteran champion.

    In the men’s field, skiing talent rivaled some of the best this tour has ever seen. Mad River Glen’s Lars Chickering-Ayers took the win with a run that lasted six turns and 45 seconds.  Chickering-Ayers’ run was total commitment; he dropped fast out of the gate into an air that covered nearly 40-vertical feet of distance down the slope, hit a turn in soft snow, sailed smoothly through two more high speed turns and nailed a three on the money booter at the bottom. Rounding out the stout men’s field, were Josh Daiek, of Kirkwood, Calif., in second with a huge mid-slope three, and Kevin O’Meara of Squaw Valley, Calif., in third with one of the biggest airs off the cliff just below the start.

    Chilean Freeskiing Championships finals highlight video:

    This competition’s women’s field was the most consistently strong and clean in FWT history. Every woman knew her line, charged it, and for the most part, stomped landings.

    “I am so stoked for my win in Chile; I am the only Chilean woman in the comp and I won,” said an excited Sole Diaz. “I actually changed my run choice in the gate. I saw a couple of other girls do a new line and I knew I could ski it better.”

    In a proud moment on her home country’s turf, La Parva, Chile, local Sole Diaz, took the win by a full two points over two-time tour champion Angel Collinson of Snowbird, UT. Diaz skied similarly to Chickering-Ayers descending straight down the fall-line with no hesitation and dropping air upon air with style, fluidity and control.  Rounding out the women’s podium was Crystal Wright, of Jackson, Wyo., with her well-known grace and strength. 

    Setting the standard for the season 2012 Backcountry.com Sickbird Award, former Junior Freeskiing Champion Leo Ahrens, dropped an underflip 540 off the top booter, sticking his incredulous high-speed switch landing into the bowl before another massive three mid-venue.

    With helicopters flying overhead, cat and snowmobiles shuttling skiers to the top of the mountain, this event was the complete package. And being South America in August, there were a few challenges related to weather and snowpack. The intended day two venue for the Chilean Freeskiing Championships — Stairway to Heaven — was kept closed until inspection today to preserve the snow quality. Due to overnight winds that scoured the ridge tops, competition director Bryan Barlow felt it necessary for the athletes to get a feel for the venue. When they entered the venue today, they discovered the snow coverage was too thin to safely ski the way they wanted to in the venue. The athletes met with Barlow and made a unanimous decision to not ski Stairway to Heaven, and to instead, return to the day one venue, Cornices, for the second run of the competition. Upon returning to Cornices, event organizers determined the higher scoring lines from day one had deteriorated from the impact of ski traffic and became unsafe to ski. Barlow and the athletes realized the competitors who had intended on skiing these lines, now had no opportunity to inspect new lines, probe landings, and check take-offs. Therefore event organizers made it optional for all qualified skiers to compete in the changed finals venue and made it an optional day, which would make it a best of two runs. Several competitors, who had established a lead with their day-one lines, chose not to compete, letting their day one score stand.

    “Our Chilean Freeskiing Championships unofficially became the Chile Challenge,” said head judge Jim Norm Jack. “Conditions on the final face were too shallow and boney to provide a venue suitable for this level of competition. Safety being paramount, we opted to move back to Cornices. The athletes came together with the event organizers to put on one of the most exciting and spirited events we have ever seen. Relaxed and stoked, the skiers threw down dynamic runs. Today was a great celebration in the mountains and represented the full essence of our sport.”

    

    

     Highlight video from Day 1:

    For information, visit www.freeskiingworldtour.com, www.facebook.com/freeskiingworldtour, or follow us on Twitter at @FreeskiingWT.

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• News: Winter X Games 16 Dates News: Winter X Games 16 Dates Announced

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    June 15, 2011

    Bristol, Connecticut (ESPN) - ESPN announced Wednesday that the 2012 Winter X Games 16 will be held January 26-29 in Aspen, Colo. and the Winter X Games Europe 2012 will be held on March 14-16 in Tignes, France. Specific competition venues and event schedule will be announced at a later date.

    The X Games features athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in the following sports: snowboarding, snowmobiling and skiing. More than 125 athletes will compete from all over the globe in snowboarding and skiing in Tignes, France for the third year of Winter X Games Europe and over 200 of the best action sports athletes will compete at events in Aspen/ Snowmass, Colo. at Buttermilk Mountain for the premier Winter X Games event.

    Winter X Games 16 and Winter X Games Europe 2012 will be covered live on ESPN's family of networks as well as across ESPN's many digital media assets including ESPN.com/action, XGames.com and ESPN3.com. The X Games winter events include 24 original hours of high-definition coverage on ESPN and ESPN2 and 18 hours on ESPN 3D. A total of 34 hours of Winter X Games 15 content was also distributed across ESPN's digital platforms, including ESPN3.com, ESPN.com/Action, XGames.com and ESPN Mobile. Winter X Games content, results and updates were also distributed through the X Games social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Tumblr.

    Outside the United States, Winter X Games 15 was delivered to more than 382 million homes and live to 154 countries and territories, including Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Israel, Latin America, Mexico, Middle East and New Zealand.

    Visit X Games Website For More Information

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