Samuel Daigle a 17-year-old snowboarder died on Whistler Mountain Monday December 22, 2008 after hitting a large boulder in a closed, in-bounds area, according to a story in Pique News Magazine.
Staff Sergeant Steve Leclair with the Whistler RCMP said the snowboarder, who has not been identified pending approval from his family, was riding near the confluence of the Marmot and Lower Rat Fink runs, about a “three minute skiing time” from the top of the Emerald Chair. . . . “Normally they are within the ski area boundary, however due to the snow conditions they were designated beyond boundary,” he said.
Daigle was “honoured by the provincial government this year for taking part in a cycling fundraiser for the homeless.” This is the fourth recorded death at Whistler Blackcomb since January 1, 2008.
Ben Stiller must be a little handier at acting than he is at snowboarding. The creator of Tropic Thunder (the funniest movie we saw last year) apparently broke his hand while snowboarding last Sunday.
. . . the star went to New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital Sunday where he was treated for the injury, but released from the facility later that day. . . . “One of the hospital’s top hand specialists was called in to treat him,” the New York Daily News quoted a source as saying.
Hopefully, he doesn’t give it up. We could use a good “Shredding Vacation From Hell meets Zoolander” next year.
A favorite topic of discussion whenever it snows in SoCal is how badly everyone there drives. For five Whittier, California snowboarders who “took a wrong turn” on the way home from Big Bear on Sunday, driving in the snow became an overnight nightmare, according to a story on KABC.
The teenagers were headed back from Big Bear down Highway 18 when they apparently took a wrong turn onto a road that hadn’t been plowed. It was very dangerous, they got stuck, and they had to spend the night in their car freezing. There was no cell phone service so they couldn’t get through to their parents.
Luckily, the next morning with the help of a Sheriff’s deputy and a snow loader they were able to get out and back home. To those who live in the “real snow” this is probably more fuel for the SoCal drivers suck fire. But we’re glad they made it out okay.
Friends reported Crested Butte snowboarder Michael Bowen, 36, missing on Thursday after he did not return from a snowboard trip in the “Happy Chutes” on the east side of Mount Emmons.
“He frequently and routinely skied in precarious, extreme conditions, hundreds of times,” Smith said. “The . . . area he was in could only be accessed by an expert.”
According to a story in the Denver Post Bowen’s body was found Saturday December 20, 2008 under 3 to 4 feet of snow at the bottom of an avalanche path.” The avalanche was located below the ridge of Trapper’s Way in the backcountry three miles south of the Crested Butte Ski Area. A memorial services will be held in Crested Butte on January 3, 2009.
Bob McKnight,Joe Scirocco,Bruce Thomas, and Marty Samuels covered a lot of ground in last week’s conference call, but there was one topic that they didn’t go over: the rumor that Quiksilver is actively negotiating the sale of DC Shoes.
This rumor has gained momentum lately most likely because the deal seems to make sense. On the conference call DC was repeatedly spoken of as a bright spot in Quiksilver’s brand portfolio. If Quik could unload DC Shoes for somewhere in the $700 million range, that would go a long way toward covering the company’s $1 billion debt. It would also allow Quiksilver to get back to basics with its core business after spending a couple years running the whole expansion thing into the ground. Not to mention it being a relief to many DC employees who believe all their hard work is being blown by bad business decision at the mothership. It probably wouldn’t hurt the company’s stock price, either.
EXPN’s snowboard blogger Tracy Anderson got to sneak in a little interview during the media storm that followed Danny Davis‘ Winter Dew halfpipe win at Breckenridge yesterday and it perfectly captures the kind of chaos that the new media spotlight is brining to snowboarding:
Okay, okay…listen for all ya’ll who don’t know what snowboarding is, this is my run: I dropped in, did a switch back 7, umm…back 9, front 10, cab 10, front 9. You got it?
And for all ya’ll who do know snowboarding, click the link for the rest of the interview.
Hey, look: Shaun White has won another contest. This time it’s slopestyle at the Breckenridge stop of the Winter Dew Tour.
The 22-year old White scored a 95.17 on his second run, which began with a frontside 270 at the top rail, a frontside 1080 on the first jump to a backside 900. He finished with an impressive 1260, a three and a half revolution spin, on the bottom jump.“I knew I could do it, I just kind of believed in that spin at the end there,” White said. “I didn’t really practice it at all, but for some reason I knew I had it.”
Spencer O’Brien apparently edged Jenny Jones for the women’s slope. All the press release details and full results after the jump. [click to continue…]
We’d really like to say that Christian action sports movies like ONEYear don’t creep us out a little, but they do. Not because we’re God haters, but more because we think religion is private. Listening to people spill their salvation stories on film has always felt a little like listening to our grandmother talk about how much she loves sex.
Apparently, Andy Finch, Kelly Clark, Tommy Czeschin, Matt Hammer, Janna Meyen, and Dave Downing don’t agree. But we’re not here to tell them they are wrong, praise God. Just to tell them we think it’s a little creepy when they share too much.
