The season ending Billabong Flaunt Itwomen”s Slopestyle and Rail Jam is going down April 9, 2011 at Sierra-at-Tahoe. It is the seventh and final stop on the 2011 Flaunt it tour. And yes, with 700 inches of snow so far this season, we’re guessing the conditions are going to be just right.
With a cash purse of $10,000 plus additional product and prizes up for grabs, including Contour HD GPS Video cameras, Sony PIIQ headphones, and Dakine, VZ, and Billabong product, girls are encouraged to register early to secure their spot. Additionally, Flaunt It 2011 has bumped up to a 4Star event on the prestigious Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour, as riders collect valuable TTR Ranking Points at all Flaunt It contests.
One question: will the girls be wearing bikinis during this competition? There are 40 spots available first come first flaunted so NorCal shred girls need to get on it. Follow the jump for all the details. [click to continue…]
Snowboarder Kathleen Willhide-Michiulis, 43, of Santa Clarita, California lost one leg and badly injured her other after a collision with a Mammoth Mountain snowcat saw her get tangled in the cat’s spinning tiller on Friday afternoon March 25, 2011, according to a story on Mammoth Times.
Kathleen Willhide-Michiulis collided with the snowcat and became entangled in the back track and the tiller – a spinning part of the cat that is designed to break up ice. The tines spin at about 1,200 rpms. . . She also suffered facial lacerations and other major injuries, including a broken femur and tibia on her other leg.
An unnamed ski-area employee is quoted as saying, “Her leg was gone.” Willhide-Michiulis was reportedly on her last run on Mambo when the collision occurred. After a visit to Mammoth Hospital she was reportedly airlifted to a Reno hospital where she remained on Tuesday, March 29, 2011, according to the LA Times.
The 10th Annual Ride Shakedown from Mont Saint-Sauveur, Quebec and the best part is that none of us have to travel to Quebec, deal with Canada’s French frontier to see it all go down. Nope. Thank to our friends at Fuel.TV we can catch it all live online. Show starts Saturday April 2, 2011at 4 PM PT. Tune in to see if Forrest Bailey and Jess Kimura and repeat their wins from last year.
A 20-year-old snowboarder died Sunday, March 27, 2011 in an avalanche out of bounds near Stevens Pass in Washington, according to a story in the Seattle PI.
“The victim and three friends were snowboarding when the man went down the hill in a slightly different direction than the others and was hit from behind by an avalanche and carried into a tree,” King County Sgt. John Urquhart said in a statement. “The three other men were not injured and managed to dig the victim out. He suffered injuries from hitting the tree and was not breathing.”
The name of the snowboarder has not been released. He is the 18th snowboard death in North America since December 20, 2010. Our thought are with the snowboarders family and friends. We’ve been saying this too much this year, but it’s still true.
[Update March 28, 2011: Authorities have released the name of the snowboarder who died in the avalanche. Riley McCarthy, 20, of Tukwila, Washington. He was a sophomore at the University of Washington, according to the Seattle PI]
Ever wonder what happened to Burton Snowboards employee Doug Powell? Back in the 90s Doug put in 8 years at the Big B before deciding that he’d rather be a physician and work on people, according to a story on Defense Video & Information Distribution System.
Though he thoroughly enjoyed his work at Burton Snowboards and the environment that kind of work provided, Powell said he continued to feel like something important was missing from his life. . . “After eight years at Burton, I started feeling a strong desire to get away from business and start doing something that would have an impact on people’s lives,” said Powell. “At that point, I began volunteering at a hospital in Burlington, Vt.”
Powell got his pre-med classes done by going to night school while still working at Burton. He was admitted to medical school when he was 40 years old. Now “Doc” Powell is “brigade surgeon assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division” as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Not bad for a former shred.
Each storm seems to bring more bad news. The body of missing snowboarder Phillip Walker, 22, of San Jose, California was found in a tree well and “covered in several inches of snow” just before noon Sunday, March 27, 2011 at Sierra-at-Tahoe, according to a story in the El Dorado Hills Telegraph.
According to El Dorado County Sheriff officials, Walker may have struck a tree, but it has not been determined if severe winter weather was a contributing factor in the young man’s death.
Walker was reportedly snowboarding with his brother on Saturday, March 26, 2011, on the “Upper Powderhorn Trail” when he was reported missing. Walker is at least the 17th snowboard death in North America since December 20, 2010. Our thoughts are with Walker’s family and friends.
James Drummond, of Redding, California was riding Mt. Shasta with his helmet camera rolling when he tripped up and went headfirst into a tree well on Wednesday, March 23, 2011. Drummond was stuck upside down in the well for over a half hour before a cellphone call from his wife saved his life, according to a story on KRCRTV.com.
At first, I thought it was just a stumble,” said Drummond. “I went and put my hands out in front of me and when my hands touched the snow, it was like there was a false bottom.” . . .As Drummond struggled to make an airway, he says he was able to reach his cell phone. Just then, he says his wife miraculously called him as he was trying to call her. . . Leanne Drummond – James’ wife – then called the Ski Patrol, who then called the trapped snowboarder to help keep him calm.
Rescue crews were able to locate Drummond in about a half an hour. Drummond said he thought several times of Alexander Gautreaux, 23, a snowboarder who died on February 17, 2011 after falling into a similar well. Click the link to watch the video of a white powder run that goes all black.
Burton Snowboards has announced today that they have signed a licensing agreement with Korea’s “leading fashion company” LG Fashion to not only distribute Burton products but to license the brand to design streetwear in Korea.
To celebrate the new partnership, LG Fashion invited Burton Snowboards’ Co-Owner Donna Carpenter to a ceremony in Seoul this week where executives from the two companies officially signed the agreement. . . “It is a true honor for me to be in Korea to personally sign our new partnership agreement with LG Fashion,” said Donna. “With dozens of winter resorts and a snowy climate, Korea is a very important market for us, and we’ve always wanted to enhance Burton’s presence here. Now that we have such a reputable and established partner as LG Fashion, we can take Burton to a whole new level in the Korean marketplace.”
Not a bad way to go big in Korea quickly, but is this licensing deal the beginning of the end of Burton as we know it? [click to continue…]
