The latest promotional video/advertisment for the Oakley Shaun White Air & Style in China on December 4, 2010. It’s going down in the Beijing Olympic Sports Center Stadium. Don’t think we’re going to make it for this one. Click the link for more info.
[Link: TTR]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Sierra-At-Tahoe gave snowboarders a little early season taste of deep, deep Sierra snow with a sneak opening on Tuesday, November 23, 2010. The resort had been buried in nearly nine feet of snow in the past seven days and resort General Manger John Rice (pictured right) could not have been happier.
“Up until last week, I wasn’t really sure how this season would go,” he said Tuesday morning. “We don’t have snow making so our business depends on the weather. But how about nine feet of snow the week before Thanksgiving? That will do, huh?”
Sierra’s lift crew fired up a few of the lower lifts (Nob Hill and Easy Rider) at little after 10 AM, but saved the Grandview chair (and the top of the mountain) for a surprise 12:30 opening. That’s when everyone got to float (or boat) through nine feet of fresh snow.
With no base layer in the trees it was absolutely bottomless (we know, we looked in several different spots). Upper Dynamite was technically closed but that didn’t stop anyone from exploiting the terrain. It was first tracks and snow-spackled smiles all around. We heard rumors that Abe and Elijah Teter were out getting some, but they we way too stealthy for us, unfortunately. It would have been fun to run a few with them.
This morning (Wednesday, November 24, 2010) Sierra is reporting clear skies, 7 degree temperatures, and an entire mountain of perfect, mid-winter snow. Damn.
[Link: Sierra-At-Tahoe]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Denver, Colorado based private equity fund KSL Capital Partners announced yesterday that they had acquired virtually all the assets of the Squaw Valley Development Company from the Cushing family for a undisclosed amount. The Cushing’s have run Squaw Valley since founder Alex Cushing opened the resort in 1949.
“It’s with a respectful eye for the past that I say this news is part of a new era in Squaw Valley’s incredible history,” said Andy Wirth, Squaw’s new President and CEO. “KSL is dedicated to further enhancing the resort and the guest experience by committing over $50 million in additional capital improvements over the next 3-5 years. The KSL team, all of whom are skiers and riders, are thrilled to be the new owners of Squaw Valley and are excited about the resort’s future.”
KSL currently owns several warmer climate resorts like La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, California or Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas, but the Squaw Valley purchase marks their first expedition into the winter resort business. This is not to say they have no experience. After years at Vail Associates, KSL’s Managing Directors Mike Shannon and Eric Resnick certainly know the ski business.
This purchase, along with Vail Resort’s recent operations deal at Northstar-At-Tahoe is kicking the entire Tahoe resort game up a notch. Industry insiders are saying that this is exactly what Squaw needed. “This is going to be a game-changer for sure,” said one resort executive.
We’ve never really liked riding Squaw. Maybe the changes KSL brings will give us a reason try it out again. For a complete list of resort upgrades follow the jump for a “personal letter” from Andy.
[click to continue…]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
An in-bounds avalanche this morning (November 22, 2010) at Colorado’s Wolf Creek Ski Area resulted in the death of the resort’s head of Ski Patrol Scott Kay and closed the resort for the rest of the day. Kay was the father of two boys 6 and 8. He was 41.
According to a release quoted in Westword the avalanche occurred at 7:45 AM while Kay was “working to protect others.”
Wolf Creek’s management and all its employees wish to express our deepest regrets at this loss of a wonderful man and close friend. Our sympathy and condolences go out to his wife and two children. . . To honor him, Wolf Creek will remain closed for the remainder of Monday, November 22, 2010 and, also to honor him, will reopen on Tuesday, November 23, 2010 at 8:30 a.m.
Our thoughts are with Kay’s family especially his wife, two boys. Messages are being left on Wolf Creek’s Facebook page.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Kevin Bransfield says he’s lucky to be alive after he got caught in a large avalanche last week on Colorado’s Berthoud Pass, according to a story on The Denver Channel.
“I kept sliding and sliding and sliding,” said Bransfield. “I thought I was going to get buried. I thought it was the end of my life.” . . Bransfield said at times, it felt like an eternity, waiting for the slide to stop. “It was large in every direction that I looked. It was all sliding,” he said. . . “All I could see was my board and my feet. All I saw was white the whole time,” said Bransfield. . . Bransfield was buried up to his neck. His dog was safe on the mountain, while his friends called for help.
Luckily, Bransfield was wearing his helmet. According to the story he should make a full recovered from his injuries in about eight weeks.
[Link: The Denver Channel]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Yobeat.com, the snowboard site that has been “making fun of snowboarding since 1997” is taking their T-shirts to retail, according to founder Brooke Geery.
“Really, what it’s been about for me all along is having the opportunity to start the best T-shirt company in the world. I have seen so many t-shirt start ups come and go, all been because they didn’t develop consumer base beforehand,” YoBeat founder Brooke Geery said. “We’ve spent nearly 15 years developing a following so that when we finally offered our products to shops, people would want them. It was simple, really.”
That is apparently why this week is “T-shirt Week” on the site.” It’s a dream come true,” Geery said. “If there is one thing the snowboard industry needs more of right now it’s T-shirts, and we’re excited to be able to step in and fill that void.”
Click here to order or follow the jump for all the details. [click to continue…]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Ross Rebagliati, the world’s first Olympic snowboard gold medal winner, has not has the same luck with British Columbia politics, according to a story in The Globe and Mail.
“For personal and family reasons, it is with regret that I must step down as the Liberal candidate in Okanagan–Coquihalla,” Mr. Rebagliati said in a news release Friday. “I remain steadfast in my support for the Liberal Party of Canada and our Leader Michael Ignatieff, but the time has come for me to focus on new life challenges.”
Rebagliati decided last October that he was going to seek office, but since then has apparently decided that (unlike the 1998 Nagano Olympics) he had very little chance of winning. Wonder what his new “life challenges” are going to be?
[Link: The Globe and Mail]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Writer, adventurer, director Charlie Smith and Super Action Agent Circe Wallace were married this weekend (Saturday, November 20, 2010) in Las Vegas in front of family, friends, and business associates. Smith dropped his writerly veneer and went straight for the heart with his last tweet on Friday:
Life. Is. Perfect. . . Or saturday night it will be.
Circe followed that up on Sunday evening with the following:
The first day of the rest of my life was beyond perfect. So much love and the most beautiful friends and family..thank you @chasdoesntsurf!. . . Everyone who attended thank you for making the room glow with Love. Here’s to doing next level shit.
We’re still wondering who is going to be on the top end of Circe’s usual 15/85 percent split, while at the same time figuring they’re both giving 100 percent. Congrats. . .
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Yesterday (November 20, 2010) the Salomon Backyard Bang went down in Denver. We hoped to have more complete results, but this is all we have.
Men
1st Frank Bourgeois $1500
2nd Cole Linzemeyer
3rd Cody Boan
Women
1st Courtney Cox $1000
2nd Lynn Niel
3rd Izzy Lalive
[Link: Yobeat] [click to continue…]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The surf, snow, skate Ultimate Boarder Championship is moving to San Diego and Mammoth for its fourth run. The week long event will be held April 2-9, 2011 with surfing at Seaside Reef in Cardiff, California; snowboarding at Mammoth Mountain, and skateboarding in the San Diego Sports Arena.
“We are looking for the one athlete in the world that can conquer all three board sports and truly rise above the rest,” said Ultimate Boarder® founder and CEO Tim Hoover. “The physical and mental discipline it takes to be good at even one of these sports is incredible, and to be competitive in all three is especially amazing. I’m excited about our new partnerships with Mammoth Mountain and the San Diego Sports Arena, as well as to be returning to Seaside Reef. We’re bringing the athletes to premiere locations, and we look forward to another year of celebrating the impact, skill and beauty defined by these board sports.”
For more of the details, follow the jump or click here for a photo gallery from last year.
[click to continue…]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
