It's not skiing exactly, but it's the greatest thing I've seen all week
November 6, 2009, 5:49 PM
By: John Symms
This is a ski blog, right? Lots of people who ski also play soccer. And if they don't play soccer, they at least like the idea of soccer. Put your personal views on soccer, skiing, aside. This video transcends all that.
Ben Moxham said he felt off since he hadn't done tricks in about a week.
Nate Abbott
Mike Hornbeck is happy.
Ah, opening day—nothing like it. And especially when Keystone opens, as it did yesterday, Nov. 5, with an insane set-up in the park. Beautiful weather all week, in the 50s with blue skies, though, meant they opened with less runs than expected. Then again, the weather made it feel like I could ski every day this winter.
I rode the gondola with someone all skiers might consider a hero. The man told me he'd skied every day last season and expects to do the same this winter. Better than a Pro, he has the job I've always wanted: retiree. And in addition to being retired, he's divorced. Not that sweet you say? Well, all that freedom meant the dude got in 240-some days at A-Basin, Breckenridge, Vail, Heavenly and Keystone last year—every possible day with the Epic Pass.
Nate Abbott
The Keystone snowmaking and parks gods provideth.
That was far and away the most days anyone racked up on one of those passes, so the fine folks at Vail Resorts comped his pass for this season. I didn't catch his name but it's not a stretch to call him Mr. Epic.
Even if you're not a jobless swinging single with time and quad muscles to burn, there's a goal for you, a bright shining light at the end of the ski season. It might already be too late to keep pace with Mr. Epic, but each of us can aspire to get out there as much as possible. I am, in the word of the great Vince Lombardi, going to take it one day at a time. I hope I saw you yesterday and I hope to see you on closing day—if not sometime in between.
A decade of photos from the world's most infamous backcountry gap
November 5, 2009, 1:52 AM
By: John Symms
Photo: Brent Benson
Chad's Gap. Who knew that a couple mine tailing piles could be so fun? Peep The Gallery »
Salt Lake City photographer Brent Benson has been shooting skiers on Chad's Gap since it was first built. In that time, he's amassed a portfolio from the gap that includes such illustrious names as Candide Thovex, Jon Olsson, and Tanner Hall. And here I am, still wondering how you get to it from the base of Alta.
Sarah Burke at Mt. Hood, Windells Camp, Aug. 8, 2009.
(Ed's note: Colorado-based photographer Nate Abbott has climbed aboard the ESPN Freeskiing blog-a-neering bus. Nate's first piece appears HERE ».)
Everyone heard about the big storm in Colorado... but honestly, it's only just November so the ski world is mostly Internet speculation, long hours at the gym and a parade of 1080s on scaffoldings. So as an excuse to show pictures of Sarah Burke, I asked some questions of Ms. Burke over Blackberry Messenger while she was in London (Ontario) for a Jay-Z show.
Seriously, who doesn't love pics of Sarah? On tap for next week—some returns from Keystone's opening day and other quantifiable stoke.
Nate Abbott
Burke's no-joke 900: Winter X Games, Aspen, Jan. '09.
So, Jay-Z tonight? Are you a big fan? SARAH BURKE: "Yes, huge fan! Show was sooo good!"
Will seeing Jay in concert will spur you on to new urban skiing opportunities?
"I think so... It's the third time I've seen him, so I am really hoping that this time it does!"
Tall tees and K Feds all winter long. How many layers of tall tee make you legit?
"Zero—so not into the tall tee. Guys are wearing freakin dresses on the hill. I don't get it! I like long shirts to ride in but it's gone too far these days. Not backin' it."
Other than live hip-hop what's the preseason plan for you? And what goals do you have for the season?
"Hmmmm, so many goals, so little time. I have not been this excited to ski since I was 15. Having time off last year with a broken back was good for me. Lit the fire again and now I am so amped up for the winter."
"I wanna learn more tricks in pipe and slope and keep pushing myself there, but I am also really excited to get back into filming. It's been a while so I can't wait to shred pow and do some filming with GBaby and the girls!"
So you'll be a part of Say My Name?
"I hope so. I love shredding with Grete. She is super fun and laid back but likes to get sh-- done too. I think she is gonna make sure the film is sick and done right. She has picked the best of the best to be in the movie."
A question or two about Bushy OK? (Sarah's boyfriend is Rory Bushfield, man of action.)
"Haha, for sure."
Has he ever gotten you to jump off a bridge?
"Yes. Silly question! That boy has got me to do so many questionable things. I once found myself leaping out to a tree, shimmying down it to a ledge, then down another tree—all the while over a huge 70-foot cliff. It was the only way down!"
"But I am always stoked after hangin' with him 'cause I know I've pushed myself... Always a good/interesting time with the Bush."
When will we see you on snow next?
"I will be heading to Colorado at the end of November; cannot wait. I had a couple really great days in New Zealand, so I'm all fired up."
In a couple of days, Henrik Windstedt and last year's KOS winner PK Hunder will choose the recipients of four open contest slots from the 20 top-rated (by you) videos. The winners of the video contest will be announced next Monday, November 9, just in time for a November 19 flight to Stockholm to go up to like $10,000.
Here are my picks for the top four in the video contest:
Some things you out grow, like Seth Morrison and this 1991-vintage speed suit here. Other things, like trusted ski boots, you hang onto forever. FULL STORY »
Ed's note: Consider the source—whether it's drinking water, Af-Pak insurgents or marketeers, guerilla and otherwise, singing the praises of accoutrement in the vast ski-gear-o-sphere. So full disclosure here: Seth Morrison is sponsored by Full Tilt Boots. Seth has also been riding early incarnations of the same boots since before he was, you know, sponsored at all. So not only is Seth biased, Seth is uniquely qualified to discuss how his feet became intertwined in ski boot history—which is just what he does in the latest installment of Morrison Hotel... FULL STORY »
"We've been updating as necessary," says Logan. "Today that meant creating a new separate page for all the incidents in October." The avalanche incidents in Colorado now number seven, with nine skiers/riders caught: "Of those nine, three have been partly buried and two have been fully buried," says Logan. The most recent, Oct. 31, involved a 17-year-old from Vail who was life-flighted by heli off a slope near Fremont Pass.
In Colorado, avalanche fatalities—going by the statistics—are always a matter of when, not if. But this season is feeling particularly ominous. Maybe two or three seasons of relative stability are working to re-write institutional memory about Colorado snowpack: Some of the least predictable and most fragile in the world.
"I'm frankly amazed by some of the stuff people are jumping into in early October, mid-October. Forty-five degree lines and then they're surprised when something avalanches? They're wandering into avalanche terrain, they're getting after some aggressive lines and then they're triggering things," says Logan.
Russ Henshaw freezes out Bobby Brown to win the UK's season opener
November 2, 2009, 3:13 PM
By: John Symms
The London Freeze concluded yesterday at the Battersea Power Station in London.
Getty Images
UK skiers as a whole performed well on their home turf, including James Woods, who finished eighth in the rail jam.
Saturday's Ski Freeze Grind rail jam competition proved to be a big day for both comebacks and up-and-comers as Canadian Corey Vanular put a QED on his two-year knee injury convalescence with a win over young Americans Gus Kenworthy and Matt Walker.
Freeze Grind Rail Jam Final Standings:
Corey Vanular
Gus Kenworthy
Matt Walker
Phil Casabon
Matt Margetts
Tom Wallisch
Paddy Graham
James Woods
Teen Hearththrob Bobby Brown
Oscar Harlaut
Next came the main event, Sunday's International Freestyle Ski Big Air contest, which reminds me of a joke I heard the other day:
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Double cork 1260.
Double cork 1260 who?
Sunday's winner, Aussie Russ Henshaw.
That's it. That's the whole joke.
Aussie Russ Henshaw brought out his double cork 1260 to narrowly edge out the double cork 1260 of American Teen Heartthrob Bobby Brown and take home the British big air title home for displaced generations past.
Norwegian Andreas Håtveit's double cork 1080 left him a mere 180 degrees short of gold, but it was still good enough to land him on the podium in third place.
International Freestyle Ski Big Air Final Standings:
Russ Henshaw
Teen Heartthrob Bobby Brown
Andreas Håtveit
Benedict Mayr
Jacob Wester
Corey Vanular
Roy Kittler
Elias Ambühl
Scandinavian freestyle mag Fri Flyt recently released this video of the contest. Scan about halfway through for the bulk of the double corks.
Musical obligations keep high-profile UK rider out of London's top big air
October 30, 2009, 5:25 PM
By: John Symms
The London Freeze big air event has just gotten underway with the Battle of Britain ski competition. The top 4 UK riders from this contest will earn themselves a slot in the International Ski Big Air which will take place this Sunday.
Notably missing from all start lists of London't premier ski big air event is UK native Leigh Powis, whose recent appearance in Poor Boyz Productions' newest release Every Day Is A Saturday, has gained him some international notoriety. And thanks to the intrepid work of photographer Dan Carr, I know Leigh's been training:
So why isn't the UK boy holding it down on his terra mater? Perplexing as it may seem, Leigh's absence from the early-season contest scene makes a lot of sense when we remember his off-season touring obligations:
PK Hunder won last year's London Freeze with a double cork 1080. This year's contest is certain to offer us a glimpse of the inexorable progression of the sport as somebody else wins (PK is still out of commission from a neck injury at JOI) this year's contest with a double cork 1260. Who will it be? Check here for results very soon.
I don't normally post savage bail videos, but this one is easily the coolest thing to happen at last year's London Freeze that you didn't already know about. And it's of a snowboarder, so, you know.
Entering the dragon last night at Deer Valley, Utah.
Kevin Moloney/Getty
Denver is basically flipping out over the big ol' storm.
So what happened is this thing called a "storm." In skiing parlance, it "dumped," particularly on snow weary cities like Denver. Storms are always a bother for Denver commuters, but they usually work in the interest of skiing—especially when you live in Mountain Town. And when is it that the maggot-dom is out shredding Red Rocks in Denver? Not everyday. But it happened Oct. 29, thanks to this big o'l storm. The storm even replicated backcountry conditions in urban jib yards like Salt Lake City and Boulder (more photos to follow...). Road closures from the big 'ol storm included Independence Pass (for the season) and 140 miles of 1-70 east of Denver. And while the storm didn't nail some ski resorts (anti-jinx), this much we know: Wolf Creek got 24 inches and they're opening up for the season tomorrow, Halloween Day. Same with Solitude in the Church of BCC (the opening part, not the 24 inch part). This all and other things points to one thing: Ski resorts may not be cranking up their lifts yet, but the season of '09/10 is on...
