Palisades’ KT-22 Slides Moments After Open

by The Editors on January 10, 2024

Now that the sun has set over the Sierra, the press conference is over, and releases have gone out, here is the official word on the day:

At around 9:30 AM on Janaury 10, 2024 four Palisades Tahoe guests were involved in an avalanche in the “GS gully area, to the skier’s right of the KT-22.” One skier, Kenneth Kidd, 66, of Truckee and Point Reyes, California died. Another was injured, and two others were able to get free of the snow with no serious injuries. No one is currently reported missing.

According to the resort the “cause of the avalanche is under investigation.” In other words, the resort is attempting to figure out how their avalanche mitigation measures failed to recognize the potential dangers on a slope that in hindsight was totally unstable.

This is not the first time the Palisades Tahoe has had an avalanche event or issues with avalanche control.

On March 3, 2018 five guests were buried in an avalanche near the Olympic Lady lift.

In 2017 the resort was fined $20,000 after a ski patroler died in an explosion during avalanche control on January 24.

On December 25, 2008 a skier was killed in avalanche in the Red Dog area of the resort.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Forbes Checks In With Chip Wilson

by The Editors on January 5, 2024

The thing that no one ever mentions about Westbeach (and Lululemon) founder Chip Wilson is that the guy can dance. Put on some swing music and he will drag the most uncoordinated person out on the floor and make them look like Willa Ma Ricker. This vision keeps coming back to us as we’ve watched Wilson negotiate all kinds of business successes and snafus over the years. But now, as a guy with a reportedly $7 billion wallet and a large chunk of Atomic and Salomon parent company Amer Sport some are wondering what he’s been up to lately. Forbes finds out.

Wilson, who famously stepped away from the yoga-inspired fashion brand he started in 2013 after landing in hot water for blaming an issue with see-through leggings on “some women’s bodies,” specifically those with thicker thighs, has spent a good chunk of the past year opening up about his disease, a rare form of muscular dystrophy that slowly eats away at muscle strength in the upper body and shoulders. Though he was diagnosed with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) over 30 years ago, more than a decade before he started Lululemon in 1998, it wasn’t until last year that he revealed his diagnosis and launched a full-scale assault on FSHD, which impacts an estimated 870,000 people around the world. Citing his likely need for a wheelchair in the next few years, the Vancouver-based billionaire in March 2022 pledged the equivalent of $75 million to a new organization he set up to stamp out FSHD by 2027.

For the rest of the interview, please click the link and if you don’t have a subscription to Forbes, you can just turn javascript off in your browser and read it for free.

[Link: Forbes]

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It’s Simple: Shaun White Is A Sweat

by The Editors on December 20, 2023

This clip from Shaun White’s Bomb Hole interview gets to the crux of the issue Shaun and snowboarding have always had. And what no one pointed out to him is that the “issue” has nothing to do with what he has done or not done for snowboarding or snowboarding culture.

The bottom line is that Shaun White is, and always has been, a total sweat. He takes things very seriously. From the time he started in action sports he’s put every single waking moment into getting better at whatever he is doing. He has very little time for anything (or anyone) else. Every move he makes is calculated to get him closer to his current goals.

Even as a kid skateboarding at the Encinitas Y he attacked it with the complete lack of joy one sees in German fetishists. Doing a trick over and over and over, not noticing anything else. Many snowboarders (and even more skateboarders) don’t like sweats. It’s that simple.

Shaun is trying to be nice in this interview. He wants to show that he’s just a regular guy who loves snowboarding like everyone else. But that’s not really true. He approaches it like no one else. As a result, he became the best in the world. He doesn’t need to apologize for the way he approaches life and shouldn’t feel bad for even a minute. But if he’s wondering why he was (and is) treated the way he is by snowboarders and “the industry” (and that seems to be his question in this clip) then that’s the reason. Glad we could help.

[Editors’ Note: Donna Carpenter is also a sweat. A business sweat. So, yeah, it’s funny she would call out Shaun. Then again, we are all most critical of what we are.]

[Link: The Bomb Hole Podcast]

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Cop Gets 2 Years For Hassling Skateboarder

by The Editors on December 11, 2023

In a story you rarely see, Miguel Vega, 33, of Corona, CA, a former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, was just sent to federal prison for two years for “violating the civil rights” of a skateboarder at the Compton skate park by “improperly detaining him and then acting to cover up his actions,” according to a story on MyNewsLA.

Vega pleaded guilty in September to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, a crime that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison. He admitted to having falsely imprisoned the 23-year-old skateboarder in his patrol car, which crashed during a subsequent chase, leaving the man injured. He also admitted filing false reports to cover up his and his partner’s unlawful conduct. . . Vega’s former partner, Christopher Hernandez, 37, pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy. A sentencing hearing is set in Los Angeles federal court for Jan. 8, at which time he will face up to five years in federal prison.

Bad cop, go to prison. Skateboarding finally wins one. We’ll keep you posted.

[Link: MyNewsLA]

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Give The Gift Of The Snowboarder’s Journal

by The Editors on December 11, 2023

Give the gift of snowboarding that keeps giving all season long with a subscription to The Snowboarder’s Journal. Get a hat at 50% off and support independent snowboarding in print.

From now until December 18, get 50% off the Head in the Clouds Tech Cap with print subscription. Hat ships immediately, subscription starts with upcoming issue.

There is no better magazine about snowboarding. Click the link to subscribe.

[Link: The Snowboarder’s Journal]

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Lake Tahoe Backcountry Demo 2024

by The Editors on December 11, 2023

Alpenglow Sports is hosting their 18th-annual Lake Tahoe Backcountry Demo at Palisades Tahoe (Alpine Meadows), on January 6, 2024. Participants can test splitboards and other backcountry gear from a long list of companies. The event is free, open to the public and runs from 9 am to 2:30 pm.

The Lake Tahoe Backcountry Demo is for anyone interested in backcountry equipment, whether they are seeking to add to an existing quiver or taking the plunge on a first setup. “The reality is that backcountry gear is expensive and lasts forever, so we want people to get their dream or new setup after being able to put it to the test. This way they can feel confident in their purchase and enjoy being in the wilderness with gear they know and trust,” according to event founder and Alpenglow owner Brendan Madigan. There will be aggressive discounts on the latest and greatest backcountry equipment, but only for participants who register for the event.

Jones Snowboards will be on hand with an incredible lineup of boards to demo including the Ultralight Butterfly, Hovercraft 2.0, Stratos, Mind Expander, Solution/Flagship and the Dream Weaver.

For the complete details, please follow the jump or click here for the website.

[click to continue…]

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Own A Real, Signed Chunk Of The Berrics

by The Editors on December 7, 2023

The Berrics is reportedly moving. And in the process of returning their warehouse to its original warehouse condition they’ve chopped the park up into little pieces. Feel how you will about that. The oddest part is that (in association with ABD Collectables) they have encased signed pieces of Berrics concrete in plastic blocks and are selling them for $99. But there’s more!

Every pre-order will have the chance to get a free flight and hotel to BATB 14 Finals Night.

No joke. Want a Berrics paperweight? (Can’t imagine why you would). But if you do, please click the link and shop away. You never know who might have signed the piece you get. And maybe, just maybe these will be even bigger than NFTs one day!

[Link: ABD Collectables]

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Billionaire Ball Sports Guys Buy We Are Camp

by The Editors on December 6, 2023

Apparently, Josh Harris and David Blitzer (the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers and NJ Devils sporting teams) have purchased the Mt. Hood snowboard camp conglomerate known as We Are Camp. They’re saying they purchased it in partnership with the one and only snowboarder/business man Shaun White according to a story on TMZ Sports.

“I’m honored to officially partner with We Are Camp along with Josh and David. I’m excited to step in and help elevate a place that’s so special to me, so come June, you’ll know where to find me!”

Shaun White is just the icing on the cake. Looks like We Are Camp got a wonderful exit and now the sports guys can pour money into it for a while. They’ve for sure made money easier ways than running snowboard camps. How long do you think it will take them to flip the camps to the next round of PE bros?

[Link: TMZ Sports]

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Jacob Stunt Lands Him Six Months In Prison

by The Editors on December 4, 2023

Trevor Jacob the talented snowboarder, skateboarder, pilot, and Youtuber who crashed his small airplane for views back in November of 2021 has reportedly been sentenced to six months in prison according to a story on Courthouse New Service.

Trevor Jacob, 30, was spared the 12-month prison term prosecutors sought at his sentencing Monday in downtown Los Angeles. . . “I apologize from the bottom of my heart,” Jacob said in a tearful plea for leniency at Monday’s hearing. “I look back in complete shame on my conduct.” . . . U.S. District Judge John Walter, while acknowledging that Jacob’s regret for the Nov. 24, 2021, stunt was sincere, said the offense required a prison sentence and not just probation, as his attorney had suggested.

Yeah, we’re bummed for him, but just think of the stories he’ll have to tell when he’s back out and on the tubes.

[Link: Courthouse News Service]

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Monster Children Turns 20 Years Old

by The Editors on November 29, 2023

Congrats and happy birthday to those stalwart Aussies hipsters who keep the action culture print dream alive with their parties, promotions, and pop-cultural sensibilities printed on actual paper and distributed the old fashioned way–by truck.

Twenty years is a long time to be at the wheel swerving this way that that to avoid the potholes most other print publications have fallen into on their profit driven roads to ruin. To celebrate the staff in Sydney threw a monster party and apparently it was rather large.

It was huge. We’re still hungover. Was it a dream? Thank you to all of our friends, staff, contributors, and fine people who work so closely with us now and throughout the last twenty to make Monster Children what it is that came out to celebrate. After all this time, it is you who keeps us in the game.

If you’re in NYC stop by Saturdays NYC on Crosby Street tonight (Wednesday, November 29, 2023) for the stateside version of the birthday party. Free everything will be provided apparently. For photo proof of all the Sydney festivities, please click the link.

[Link: Monster Children]

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