by The Editors on January 26, 2009
Wouldn’t you know it: right when everyone is packing to head to the desert (i.e. Las Vegas for SIA) Mammoth gets the best dump of new snow it’s had all season.
A massive winter storm pounded Mammoth Mountain, dumping nearly five feet of fresh snow at Main Lodge in the last four days. . . . After unseasonably warm temperatures earlier this month, this storm delivered exactly what Mammoth needed. Although it was a warm storm, precipitation was all snow at Main Lodge (elevation 8,953ft). On Saturday, temperatures dropped significantly and by Monday morning when the skies cleared, temperatures were down in the teens, leaving . . . snowboarders with a perfect bluebird powder day.
Damn you, mother nature.
by The Editors on January 20, 2009
by The Editors on January 10, 2009
Marty Odom, the Vail sharpshooter photographer who captured the photos seen around the world lied when he said that he was not on the job and was using his own camera when he shot the photo, according to a story in the Denver Post.
We apologize for what this rogue employee did,” said David Peri, a spokesman for SharpShooter Imaging. “Our reputation has been sullied. This is not the way we conduct business.” . . . Peri said Odom was wearing a SharpShooter uniform, had checked out the company’s camera and had even
Looks like the skier isn’t the only one caught with his pants down.
[Link: Denver Post]
by The Editors on January 8, 2009
Early this morning a snowcat and driver were caught in an avalanche while grooming an access road on Whistler Mountain in an area that was closed to the public, according to a story on Pique Newsmagazine.
The machine was operating on Pika’s Traverse when the slide occurred at approximately 1:30 a.m. Thursday, according to a release from Whistler Blackcomb. The slide pushed the snow groomer sideways approximately 100 metres down the side of the run. . . .The driver of the snowcat sustained minor injuries from broken glass that cut his hand.
Damn, Whistler certainly is having trouble keeping snow on the mountain. This is the fourth avalanche at the resort since December 31, 2008
[Link: Pique Newsmagazine]
by The Editors on January 7, 2009
According to a story in the Vail Trail Marty Odom, the a Sharpshooter photographer (who was not working and used his own camera) who got the photo of the bare-assed skier may get fired.
“I was out on my own with my own camera, so I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Odom said. “I thought it was going to be the photo of the New Year.” . . . However, when he arrived at work on Monday, he was told that he was suspended until further notice. . . . “We all know what that means,” said Odom, who has been working for Sharpshooters since the beginning of the season. “I guess it embarrassed Vail Resorts, and they called (my) shop.”
Not a bad price to pay for getting the shot that was seen around the world (it was even featured in the monologue of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night [10:26 into the show]). And no, Marty is not sorry he shot it.
[Link: Vail Trail via Deadspin]
by The Editors on January 6, 2009
by The Editors on January 4, 2009
The winter of 1988-89 was the first full season that Vail allowed snowboarders to ride the mountain. For those old enough to remember the days of not being able to ride anywhere, this means one thing: you’re old. And so is Ray Sforzo. He was there 20 years ago and he’s still there today:
“It seems to be working out pretty well,” said Sforzo, who founded Vail’s snowboard school and directed it for 15 years. “There’s less and less negative interface. Instead of the idiot snowboarder cut me off, now it’s just the idiot cut me off. . . .“Obviously it’s more mainstream,” Sforzo said. “It’s a pretty substantial part of our ski school revenue. A lot of kids are lured to snowboarding.”
Hard to believe it was ever an issue.
[Link: Vail Daily]
by The Editors on January 4, 2009
Happy New Year, skier. Here’s how he got there according to a story on The Tackled-Box.
This guy got toilet seated on the Blue Sky Basin lift chair. Chair came around with the seat up and dude got toilet seated. Lifty left the housing and the guy fell through catching his pants and Under Armor in the framework which saved him from falling on his head in the river below.
He reportedly hung there for 40 minutes before Vail lift workers could get him down.
[Link: The Tackled-Box and The Danger Zone and The Smoking Gun]
by The Editors on January 2, 2009
To keep snowboarders and skiers from ducking ropes in to dangerous terrain, Whistler-Blackcomb has posted guards to stand watch over popular out-of-bounds spots, according to a story on Canada.com.
The areas where the deadly slides occurred had earlier been marked out-of-bounds and “not recommended” for use as a result of avalanche warnings based on the snow conditions. Those runs are now marked “closed” and guards are turning people away, said Whistler Blackcomb official Doug Forseth. . . . He said the resort is taking a “zero tolerance” attitude toward anyone caught sneaking into the closed areas, and employees will seize season’s passes. . . . “This is very serious. We don’t want to pull them out or call their families, or put our people in danger,” Forseth said.
With three avalanches and two deaths in two days, it’s probably a good idea.
[Link: Canada.com]
by The Editors on January 1, 2009
James Blanning, 72, a well-known Aspen crank delivered “bombs wrapped as as Christmas presents to two banks Wednesday along with notes threatening “mass death” if they did not turn over tens of thousands of dollars.”
Blanning, who had lived in the Aspen his whole life, was found dead in his car Wednesday December 31, 2008 after apparently shooting himself, according to a story on CNN.
The incidents Wednesday sparked the evacuation of a 16-block area of Aspen on New Year’s Eve, one of the busiest days of the year for businesses in Aspen. . . . Bomb squads ultimately detonated the devices, and no one was injured.
We’re guessing ESPN is pretty glad this didn’t go down during the X Games.
[Link: CNN and The New York Times]
Wouldn’t you know it: right when everyone is packing to head to the desert (i.e. Las Vegas for SIA) Mammoth gets the best dump of new snow it’s had all season.
