Five men were nearly killed near New Zealand’s Remarkable’s ski area when they set off an avalanche on Saturday, July 25, 2009 that resulted in 1,000 “tonnes” of snow sliding down the mountain, according to Radio NZ.
Chris Cochraine, an avalanche forecaster for the Mountain Safety Council in Queenstown, says the men were not prepared and were not carrying locator transponders or shovels. . . . Mr Cochraine says the men are lucky to be alive, and that their actions were foolish when clear warnings had been given about avoiding steep terrain. . . He says the avalanche risk in the region is the worst he has seen in 25 years.
Transworld Snowboarding’s Team Shoot Out video drops today in the Apple iTunes store at 3 PM PST 5 PM PST. From the looks of the teaser it will likely be well-worth $4.99.
[Update: As a commenter just pointed out it is now 4 PM and there is no Team Shoot Out video released anywhere. This wouldn’t be Transworld’s first web glictch for the day. Earlier this morning there were no sites at all. Let us know if it ever shows up. We do, however, love it when websites to countdowns to absolutely NOTHING. . . Oh, 4:35 PM Update: They’ve put some time back on the clock. Now it looks like the release will be at 5 PM PST. But we’re kind of over it now.]
Snowboard Club UK is reporting that the European Winter X Games will be held March 10-12, 2010 in Tignes, France.
The event will bring together ESPN’s world class X Games franchise with France’s leading pay TV broadcaster and local expertise of Tignes. A definitive list of the world’s top winter action sports athletes will be invited to France to compete for medals and prize money.
ESPN’s X Games franchise is getting a bigger and bigger footprint every day. Why not?
Back in the mid 90s Trevor Snowden was a hard charging snowboarder on the up. But at a 1997 big air competition in Washington State all that changed. Trevor went in a little hot and overshot the landing. In the crash he ended up breaking his T12 vertebrae and losing the use of his legs, according to a story in the Nevada Appeal.
In the 12 years since the accident, Snowden has become a pioneer in adaptive action sports. He’s turned his “disability” into his brand. Even his motorcycle, a Honda 450 that is customized with a roll cage around his legs, boasts his nickname, “Trevair.” And Trevor has seen a lot of air. His Web site, trevair.com, is littered with photos from stunts ranging from a 55-foot jump over two Cadillacs to a box grind over fire that was broadcast on ABC.
A man dressed like a snowboarder robbed a Ballard, Washington convenience store this morning shooting and killing the clerk on duty, according to a story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
“When our officers got there, the victim, who is apparently a store employee at that gas station/convenience store, had sustained gunshot wounds to the abdomen and thigh,” Seattle Police Det. Jeff Kappel said. . . .The suspect is a skinny man of unknown race in his mid 20s and about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, wearing a dark Burton snowboard cap, sunglasses, a dark bandanna with stars, a dark jacket with a “multicolored ethnic pattern,” dark pants, black shoes with a white stripe and carrying a black satchel bag, Kappel said.
If this guy looks familiar call the Seattle Police department.
[Update July 28, 2009: A 17-year-old local resident and former student-athlete at Ingraham High School with a history of violent crime was arrested Monday afternoon in connection with Sunday’s slaying of Melwani, according to a story in the Seattle Times. “The suspect is already facing a felony third-degree assault and attempted robbery charges in an unrelated case, according to juvenile court documents.” via comments . . . ]
A little peek into some of what we missed at Mt. Hood this summer. No signs of a slowing economy at Windell’s Snowboard Camp, huh? It’s also good to see it the Rome SDS team in action.
It’s the middle of summer, but the Snow Industries of America wants everyone to know that the show’s move to Denver, Colorado (yee haw) is the best thing ever and they’ve got video proof from the likes of Joel Gomez, Dave Roseberger, Andrew Marriner, Rick Alden (and some guys we don’t know from some ski companies) in this six minute “come to cowtown” video.
Late Saturday night July 18, 2009 three men reportedly broke in the Whislter offices of the Camp of Champions and made off with “a large sum of cash and other items,” according to a story in the Whistler Question.
Images of the three males were captured by video surveillance cameras at the Camp of Champions office, located at Whistler Blackcomb staff housing on Glacier Lane, on Saturday at 11:43 p.m., Whistler RCMP Sgt. Steve Wright said in a statement issued on Monday (July 20). . . Police believe the suspects gained entry by forcing open a rear window of an office that is not under surveillance. They tried to enter a number of rooms, Sgt. Wright said.
If the guy in the video (or his hat) look familiar call the Mounted Police at (604) 932-3044.
Mike Basich’s241-USA.com Ford E-350 one ton diesel van (featured in the film 91 Word For Snow) is for sale on ebay, so he’s decided to give everyone an up-close nine-minute tour. . . Looks like it would be perfect for living in down by the river. Someone has bid $20,100.00 but the reserve has not yet been met. Better dive in quickly.
Looks like Shaun Palmer is getting back in the saddle again. According to Tackled Box, he’s already gotten a second place in the California Golden State Championships in Fontana. Here’s what Shaun told Dirt Rag Mag:
“I have always done better in my sports when I stayed involved in two or three at a time. The worst thing for me is for my bad brains to sit around idle. I have to stay busy and the panic of racing downhill will keep me sharp and help me to achieve my Olympic dreams”, says Palmer. ” Of course, I miss being at the races and I miss the fans but mostly I miss hanging out with my friends, especially Peaty.”
