Archive for the 'Ski' Category

Today was our last “official’ day on the hill. Cleaning out the ski locker all the way down to the spent duct-tape balls, empty Hotties wrappers and that broken goggle lens from January got me all teary-eyed.

This was a ski season I’ll never forget. BIG snow in Tahoe. And more BIG snow in Tahoe. New fat skis. New thooperphat skis. Seven a.m. KAAAHHHBOOOOMS as avvy control woke us up to unreal powder.

Dozens of days of good times on the hill with dozens of family, friends and colleagues. Hundreds and hundreds of runs with Logan and Cody. Logan can ski everything now. Cody’s almost there. It’s an unreal feeling to not have to wait for the kids anymore!

The free wifi in the lodge at Alpine Meadows made it a little easier to work/ski/work/ski. And the 450+ inches of snow made it easy to ski and ski and ski and ski.

Sad to see it end, but it’s time to get back on the bikes. Here’s some video clips from today with the LoganCody knuck’n around the hill. ‘Till next season!

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Last weekend the LoganCody competed in a cool little air contest at Alpine Meadows. Props to Justin at Snowbomb.com for organizing and dealing with the usual parent BS. (Rant: why do parents CARE so much about prizes for their 6 yo!? Some parents were idiots because this event wasn’t judges like the Olympics…EVERYONE was a winner and that seemed to upset a few Type-A “my-kid-is-fifth-in-the-nation” dorks. Go to Killington then…sheesh!)

Anyway, for those of you who know the little snots, there’s a cool video of the contest. Photos here. Cody’s in the red pants and green sweatshirt. Logan is in all black pants, green sweatshirt. He’s got the yellow Reno Bike Project sticker on top of his helmet. They all got Shane McConkey, Tanner Hall and Johnny Moseley huck dolls and were stoked!

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The final stop of The North Face Masters competitive big mountain snowboarding tour wrapped up April 7 at Alyeska Resort in Alaska’s Chugach Mountains. Laura Dewey of Snowbird, Utah, rode with controlled aggression and took home the title with 66.05 points. Rob Kingwill of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, pulled every last card out of his sleeve to earn him a total of 80.67 points overall. The North Face Young Gun Award was 20 year-old Jonathan Penfield, from Snowbird, Utah. Clif Dimon won the overall title of The North Face Masters and Susan Mol and Laura Dewey tied for the women’s overall tour title.

The North Face Masters was broadcast live the world. Highlights of the finals broadcast, photos, stories, profiles and more video content can be seen at www.thenorthface.com/masters.

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The final stop of The North Face Masters big mountain competitive snowboarding tournament is in full action at Alyeska Resort, Alaska with an international field of competitors chasing the $45,000 total tour cash purse.

Shannon Yates of Snowbird, Utah has taken the lead in the women’s competition with 22.17 points. The North Face Masters current point’s leader, Susan Mol of Crested Butte, CO, is just behind Yates with 21.17 points, while Alyeska’s own Tina Harmon is in third with 20.17 points. Rob Kingwell of Victor, Wyoming, is in top position in the men’s field with 25.33 points, just ahead of Moonlight Basin, Montana’s Korey Kaczmarek, who sits in second with 25.17. Martin Gallant of Whistler, BC, holds third position with 22.67 points.

Watch live full coverage of The North Face Masters Finals on www.thenorthface.com/masters, www.futuresnowboarding.com, or www.alyeskaresort.com.  For more information, and to see videos, athlete bios, and photos from the Snowbird event, please log on to www.thenorthface.com/masters.

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Huge props to Jackie Passo for taking the women’s title at the 11th Annual Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals on North Baldy at Snowbird Ski Resort, Utah. Jackie is a local Squaw athlete sponsored by Reno-Based Moment Skis (www.momentskis.com), which is what I ski on. She won on the Moment Ruby’s. What a run - it was an amazing line even for men. I was riding up the Summit Six chairlift at Alpine Meadows with Moment Skis CEO Casey Hakansson as Jackie stomped it. He got the good word by text messages from the crowd watching it live in Snowbird. CLICK HERE to watch Jackie’s run. You can go usfreeskiing.com to watch the final and super final rounds. The tour wraps up at The Subaru Freeskiing World Championships at Alyeska, AK, April 9-13.

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SKI Magazine calls it “The social event of the year in the Lake Tahoe Region…" which is funny because SKI Magazine targets an older 50+ demographic and I can tell you that there’s not a lot of 50-year-old folks there. That said, SKI Magazine is right. This is a social event not to be missed. Unless your lame. Then you should probably miss it…

Anyway, in the spring of 2005, the Squaw community got together to throw a prom – not a high school prom, a ski town prom in which all proceeds went to charity. Three years and three Proms later, the Squaw Valley Prom is recognized as one the premier ski town bashes in the country.

I missed last year because of an out-of-town speaking engagement where I actually got paid, but will be up there this year. Unfortunately my attorney and doctor may not make it which is always uncomfortable to me to be out in public without them. <grin>

At least who takes themselves to serious is in Austin for SXSW leaving the rest of us to make silly in Tahoe.

Order up the corsages, make a hair appointment, and find a date because the 4th Annual Squaw Valley Prom, “Enchantment Under KT,” is on again this year! The legendary event will go down at Squaw Valley’s Plaza Bar on Saturday March 8, 2008. Get your tickets on sale at www.squawvalleyprom.com.

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The Subaru U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Championships (USEFC) at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) last week showcased both world-class skiing and record snowfall. CBMR Pro Ropes were dropped from the usually “off limits” vertical, cliff-strewn “Big Hourglass” to challenge finalists and super finalists. Whistler, BC’s Jen Ashton dominated the women’s field. Her powerhouse approach led her to a first-place finish in the women’s field with a final score of 93.00. Colby Adams of Breckenridge, CO came in at number two with 89.00 points, and Alta, UT’s Hannah Whitney took third place with a 79.25 point total.

Coming into the men’s finals in top position, Dane Tudor of Red Mountain, BC skied flawlessly. He also made history in executing an incredible launch across "Gary’s Gap," a terrain feature never before successfully landed in competition. Sick Bird Award winner Kiffor Berg of Aspen, CO blew the crowd away during his Super Finals run, lining up to an 80+ foot drop and dropping in for the long flight. After a full slate of action-packed, often mind-blowing skiing, it was Whistler, CO’s Brett Crabtree who racked up 112 points to take away one of the most coveted titles in freeskiing. Cliff Bennett of Snowbird, UT claimed the number two spot just behind Bennett with 110.99 points, and Tudor finished in third with 110.75 points.

The North Face Young Gun awards for amazing athletes in the under 21 crowd went to 18-year-old up-and-comers Tudor (first place) and  Adams (second place).  In the Master’s category, Squaw Valley, CA’s Nancy Elrod came away in top position with 66.58 points, followed by Michelle Keener of Big Sky, MT with 62.15, and Teri Siebert of Vail, CO, in third place with 44.48 points. The men’s Masters was led by Scott Kennett of Telluride, CO, with 83.83 points, Marc Schllhorn of Crested Butte, CO with 77.5, and Tim Naylor of Taos, NM, in third position with a score of 70.33.

Next up…

2008 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series & Freeskiing World Tour Schedule

• Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open, Jackson Hole, WY, March 13-16

• Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals, Snowbird, UT, March 18-23 (World Tour #2)

• Subaru Freeskiing World Championships and Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series Finals, Alyeska, AK, April 9-13 (World Tour #3)

Watch complete same-day coverage on www.usfreeskiing.com

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This year’s Subaru Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open is consistently bringing out the best of the best in big mountain freeskiing’s elite. The sold-out roster of 120 competitors faced wind-packed snow conditions during the second leg of the competition earlier this week, with Elyse Saugstad of Alyeska, Alaska grasping the women’s title with a total of 97.51 points. Squaw Valley’s own Allie Donovan took second with 92.26 points and Crested Butte, Colorado’s Tanya Christensen claimed third place with 89.14 points. The men’s competition blew away spectators with non-stop powerhouse skiing with perfectly-executed backflips, multi-hit cliff drops and airplane turns. Kirkwood, California’s Craig Garbiel –who rides for Reno’s MOMENT ski company — claimed top honors with 115.01 points, followed by Mt. Bachelor, Oregon’s Jesse Bryan with 110.76 points and Bryce Newcomb of Sun Valley, ID, who put in a hard-charging performance to earn third place, with 110.63 total points.

Griffin Post took home the coveted Tobias Lee Memorial Sick Bird Award. Next up…

2008 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series & Freeskiing World Tour Schedule

• Subaru U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Championships, Crested Butte, CO, February 19-23 (World Tour #1)

• Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open, Jackson Hole, WY, March 13-16

• Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals, Snowbird, UT, March 18-23 (World Tour #2)

• Subaru Freeskiing World Championships and Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series Finals, Alyeska, AK, April 9-13 (World Tour #3)

Check out comprehensive same-day video coverage on www.usfreeskiing.com.

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