Josh Chauvet, Michael Gregory and the Unbound Park Crew had some pretty nice features set up considering that it was opening day at Mammoth. Laps were made and it looked a little like this. . . only smoother, trust us.
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Danny Thomas and the Arbor crew on the first chair.
Snowboarders began gathering at 10 PM last night (November 10, 2010) at the bottom of Mammoth Mountain’s Chair 1 to make sure they were first in line for the 2010-11 winter. Danny Thomas, Patrick Reddy, Chris Peroddi, John Farr, Marley McPhillips, and friends brought a tent and BBQ’d hotdogs all night.
“It’s not easy sleeping in a tent when you keep getting woken up by the cat driving around,” said one of the snow campers. “They came in and kicked us out around 5 AM, but we by that time we had our spot.”
The sun came up over a cloud-covered mountain, but by 7:30 it was full blue-bird and the line was filling. By the time the line began moving at 8:30 AM there were a couple hundred people ready to ride (mostly snowboarders, oddly).
There is something to be said for cold, crisp air, blue skies, and a snowboard back in the snow and sliding. It’s borderline double rainbow action.
Follow the jump for more photos.
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We learned today from a Scott Hulet story on The Surfer’s Journal that big wave surfer and industry legend Phillip “Flippy” Hoffman died early this morning (November 10, 2010) in Mission Viejo, California. Hoffman had reportedly been battling “unspecified pulmonary issues.” He was 81.
Born in Glendale, California in 1930, Flippy (as the surfing world knows him) was a member of the first wave of California surfers to chase big Hawaiian surf in the 1950s. Along with his roommate, Bob Simmons, Hoffman was the first mainland surfer to take up residence on the North Shore of Oahu. . . Along with his brother, Walter Hoffman, Flippy owned and operated Hoffman California Fabrics, a custom textile house supplying California surf brands.
The Hoffmans are one of the world’s foremost surf families. Flippy will greatly be missed. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Click here for more info.
[Link: The Surfer’s Journal]
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Anthony Prince, an Australian snowboarder who recently completed four years in prison for robbing a Vail, Colorado WestStar bank on March 21, 2005, has now written a book about his experiences titled Bank Robbery For Beginners: A Story of Criminal Stupidity and its Very Serious Consequences.
At the time of the crime Prince and his friend Luke Carroll were given the name “the Dumb & Dumber robbers” for bungling their crime so completely. Now this book tells his side, according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Prince said he hoped he could lose the “dumb and dumber” tag. . . “I’ve been internationally humiliated for what I’ve done, so I feel I deserve to tell my side of the story.”
In an audio interview with Statewide Afternoons’ with Fiona Wyllie Prince explains it all with surprising eloquence.
[Link: Sydney Morning Herald, ABC.net.au, via Real Vail]
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Yes, it’s compelling and those fingers are pretty good on that board. We have the strangest urge to buy a $500 scarf.
[Link: High Snobiety]
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Denver Sports (a.k.a. Metro Denver Sports Commission) is apparently hosting a FIS Snowboard Big Air contest in Denver’s Civic Center during the SIA Show on January 26, 2011. In an email sent out today they said the following:
As an SIA member and Snow Show participant, we’re opening a special Pre-Sale to you today. But you’ll need to hurry. Tickets are limited, and this party will almost certainly sell out. . . All tickets are General Admission Standing with premium viewing. All Session Passes (for both days) and a limited number of Single Session Passes are available at this time. Limit of 8 per transaction. . . Individual VIP passes are also available. Reserved VIP seated hospitality is also available directly through Denver Sports.
What they fail to mention in this “special Pre-Sale” email is how much the tickets will cost. One ticket to stand and watch a big air snowboard contest: $75. And for the VIP visitor it will cost $250 per person. Apparently, the altitude isn’t the only thing that’s high in Denver.
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A New Jersey businessman loses his shit over a bush in front of his building in what may be one of the best rants ever caught on tape. The dead silence at the end of the clip is the best part.
[Link: emerica]
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Surfers, friends, and family of Andy Irons will gather this Sunday, November 14, 2010 in both Hawaii and Huntington Beach, California to pay tribute to the life of the three-time ASP World Champion.
The family memorial service will be held at Pine Trees in Hanalei Bay, Kauai at 11:00 AM, while a Southern California memorial will be held the same day at 12:30 PM on the South side of the Huntington Beach Pier. Both memorials will be followed by an honorary paddle out to pay tribute to his legacy.
For more information, click the links.
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Billabong founder Gordon Merchant has decided to pay $8 million dollars to help save a business that makes biodegradable plastics. Plantic Technologies is a Melbourne, Australia-based company that creates “green” plastics made from corn starch, according to as story on Goldcoast,com.au.
Since Plantic’s shares listed at 64 pence ($1.02) each in 2005, they have fallen to ‘penny dreadful’ status, trading around 4 pence for most of the year and creating a sizeable hole in the value of Mr Merchant’s original investment. . . The businessman, who is currently in the US attending the funeral of surfer Andy Irons, has proposed a scheme of arrangement where he would acquire the remaining capital of Plantic that he does not already own. . . Mr Merchant made the offer of 8 pence a share on July 24, and this has since boosted the Plantic share price to around the offer level over the past three months. . . The Plantic board has recommended shareholders accept the offer, in the absence of a superior bid.
Hopefully, it will all work out. The world could use better plastic.
[Link: Goldcoast.com.au]
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Kristopher John Anderson, 17, of Napa, California died Saturday night at 9:15 PM after being hit by a car while skateboarding on Silverado Trail near Highland Ave., according to a story in the Mercury News.
He was found lying nearby on the west shoulder of Silverado Trail and Winding Way, police said. . . Napa County sheriff’s Capt. Tracey Stuart said Anderson was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m. Saturday. An autopsy is scheduled for today. . . The driver of the car that struck Anderson, Benjamin Espinosa, 29, of Napa, remained at the scene and cooperated with police, Paniagua said.
Anderson was a senior at Valley Oak High School in Napa. His friends held a candlelight vigil procession last night from the Napa skatepark to the intersection where was killed. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
[Link: Mercury News and Napa Valley Register]
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