Another skier lost. No guts, no glory?

Since I'm recently "back on the mountain" this ski season, I've been learning more about the ski world and it's players. Especially the ones who have been lost and severely injured. As I entered the mountain world again, the first was Shane McConkey from Squaw Valley USA who died last year in March when his ski base jump went wrong in the Italian Dolomites (He couldn't release one of his skis, went into a uncontrollable bad spin, and then crashed). Shane was 39 years old. Nothing but goodness has been uttered from anyone who's wrote or spoke of Shane. One word that comes to mind is Bodhisattva. Perhaps more enlightened than "Bodhi" in Point Break. And Swayze's character didn't ski THEN jump and sore like a bird.

Shane McConkey, RIP

Just a few days ago another from Squaw Valley was lost, and this time at Squaw. Only 26 years old, Winter X Games freestyler CR Johnson was skiing off a cliff and fell face first into rocks off of Squaw's famous Headwall. The ski community refers to CR as legendary. Like Shane, CR had a hugh heart and good soul which makes the loss even greater. Unbelievable that in 2005, CR almost died after a head injury that left him in a coma and hospitalized for 34 days.

CR Johnson, RIP

As seen in many ski racing and snowboarding crashes (Kevin Pearce of "Frends"), the reminder of skiing/boarding as a dangerous sport echoes very loud. I have a vintage ski Colorado t-shirt (courtesy of my older brother) that reads the famous line: "No Guts, No Glory." Is it all worth the risk? Must you truly be gutsy to obtain all the glory?

Quirky helmet luck for the ladies?

Excitement is still thriving at the 21st Winter Olympic Games. Some of the recent interest is with the media's coverage of Lindsey Vonn vs. Julia Mancuso (which I will cover soon). In the meantime, fashion on the slopes is looking fierce and fun! I would like to be a winter Olympian just for all the styling free team USA clothes! However while on the slopes, two olympic ski racing ladies maintain forward fashion even on their helmets.

USA's Julia Mancuso has been known for wearing a tiara on the podium, but she also sports one on her racing helmet. For luck? According to Mancuso the tiara "represents believing in yourself and everyone's a princess..." and that "everyone should rock a tiara." Mancuso rocked her tiara on the podium twice for her SILVER medals for Downhill and Combined in Vancouver.

(February 23, 2010 - Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images North America)

The Slovenian racer, Tina Maze, has also won two SILVER medals in Vancouver but for Super-G and Giant Slalom. Maze's helmet design? And extra set of eyes! Creepy? I'll let you be the judge.

(Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

So is it lucky to have a creative and quirky helmet? Well, these ladies both won double SILVER medals. Perhaps it helped a little of their mental game. At least for silver.

Who's this sexy Norwegian alpine skier?

AKSEL LUND SVINDAL. That is his name and I plan on wearing it out (sorry Pee Wee).

So far in the 21st Winter Olympic Games, he's won a GOLD (Super-G) and SILVER (Downhill). How many more medals will he win this Winter Olympic Games? He is a beast on skis. Correction -- He is a sexy beast on skis.

Born December 26, 1982 in Norway, he's a two-time winner of the Men's Overall Alpine Skiing World Championship (2007, 2009). In November of 2007, he had a horrific crash in Beaver Creek, CO during a training run for the Birds of Prey Downhill race. In true Viking style, he returned in 2008 and won Downhill and Super-G races at the very place he was injured.

He was raised by his father and number 1 fan, Bjoern, after his mother Ina died when he was eight years old. She was a skier on the European Cup B-Team. His younger brother Simen also skied competitively until 2007. So Aksel, we are both from skiing families, huh?

The next hurdle for this American Ski Bunny is deciding who to cheer for: Aksel or the men's American skiers? Okay, I'll cheer for them all!

Bode, Lindsey, Julia, oh MY!

In the midst of the second week of the 21st Winter Olympic Games, things are really exciting for Team USA. Especially the USA Ski Team! A quick look at some events and medals delivered so far:

Alpine Skiing:
Bode Miller: GOLD (Combined), SILVER (Super-G), BRONZE (Downhill)
Lindsey Vonn: GOLD (Downhill), BRONZE (Super-G)
Julia Mancuso: SILVER (Downhill), SILVER (Combined)
The young Andrew Weibrecht won his first Olympic medal, BRONZE (Super-G)

Snowboarding:
Shaun White: GOLD (Halfpipe)
Scotty Lago: BRONZE (Halfpipe) -- Left the Games due to "racy" photos with his medal.
Hannah Teter: SILVER (Halfpipe)
Kelly Clark: BRONZE (Halfpipe)

Freestyle Ski:
Hannah Kearney: GOLD (Moguls)
Shannon Bahrke: BRONZE (Moguls)
Byron Wilson: BRONZE (Moguls)

If Bode Miller wins 1 more medal in these here Winter Olympic Games, he will break the record for the most medals won by a male skier in a single Games!

Ted Ligety, who sports pink goggles, has not yet won a medal. He won a GOLD (Combined) in 2006 at Turin. For the sake of his skills and amazing pink goggles, I really hope he gets a medal in Vancouver!

Left to Right: Andrew Weibrecht, Lindsey Vonn, Bode Miller, Julia Mancuso

Copper Mountain, you're silly

Copper Mountain's RIDE SOMETHING NEW deal tells us to "End Mountain Monogamy and Come Get Some!" Aka, the Swinger's Pass, allows people with other season ski resort passes the ability to ski for the day at Copper Mountain (Colorado) for only $39! That's a good deal for a non-college student, thank you! Their commercial is quite funny (I laughed out loud) but it made me sad for the regular girlfriend mountain. Every time I watch it, I try to tell her to stop being so annoying, but she never listens to me. 


Good work, Copper! Make me laugh some more please...

A Mt. Baldy First: Single, Shirtless & Rough

Now that I have your attention, I want to tell you about my first trip to Mt. Baldy this past weekend.  Single, shirtless and rough was indeed the cliff notes to my first adventurous day trip there.


Excitement stirred my bones at the Baseline Road exit off the 210 before reaching the mountain. Why? Because I saw the snow capped San Gabriel Mountain peaks where Mt. Baldy, or Mt. San Antonio resides. It was going to be a good early spring ski day in February!

The tagline on Mt. Baldy's website speaks the truth: "Real Mountain. Real Close." It also declares the area as "Southern California's Best Kept Secret." Another claim that's completely true from my first visit. So with two legitimate truths, you really can't go wrong. Baldy has only 4 chair lifts (easily labeled 1, 2, 3, 4) with Chair #1 running down to the parking lot. But don't let that fool you. Their 26 runs cover a lot of advanced terrain. With more dry erase "No Beginner" boards I've ever seen, this ski spot only 60 minutes from Burbank proved to be very interesting and a lot of fun.

SINGLE. I was skiing single. One ski buddy was in the Alps, another busy with family so I decided to go solo since I had a voucher and the last time I hit the slopes was Squaw Valley during New Years. I was snow restless. Regardless, with all the friendly men around, I wasn't lonely my first time at Baldy! The reoccurring callout line to me was, "Are you a single?" I chatted with many nice men. Two gave me much needed and useful boot advice. Though, not all the guys ended up being courteous (story near the end).
SHIRTLESS. No, not me, but I came across 4 shirtless men. The first was skiing and rocking jeans at the bottom of Chair #3. Not the fake jean-looking snow pants the Winter Olympic Snowboarders are wearing. He was also not in the best shape or very young. He did however have some nice marlin back tattoos. The other guys were around the parking lot where the temperature clocked at about 63 degrees when I left in the afternoon. Thank you early spring ski day!
ROUGH. You can either ride Chair #1 back down to the parking lot or you can ski down. According to the trail map, Run 26 or Sugarpine is intermediate blue. Taking a closer look, it's really a black diamond (the map slightly confuses). As a reminder, my footbeds are loose and I've been sticking to intermediate runs since getting back from my sabbatical. Of course, when I realized my mistake, it was too late. Steep and narrow was the name of this game.
Like all sports, skiing is mental and it's tough when you're not focused. Chair #1 rides above Sugarpine where I made many mental rests to prepare myself getting down the hill. The 1st of my 3 chair lift hecklers was funny and cute. As I was chapsticking he called out, "Yeah, chapstick time!" He was surprised I heard him. He continued his narrative descriptions as I started to put my gloves back on. Now the 2nd Heckler I had earlier chatted with while waiting in the Chair #4 line with his buddies. "Hey white pants, I remember you!" (side note: I was wearing bright white ski pants) Heckler 2 and his buddies wanted me to join them for apres ski up top. "If I get down there, I'm going to want to f you." (F being the F word) Yeah, no thanks Heckler 2. The final heckler, Heckler 3, wasn't bad but when you're trying to focus on a tough run and hear, "You've got a long way to go..." thanks for stating the obvious bud, now shut up.


The result of all this? My first mini yard sale. About 30 feet of my camera, then my left ski, then me. At least I wasn't the only one falling down the run and that made me feel better. Some nice boarders helped me and the rest was (ha ha of course it was) easy. I laughed all the way to my car and driving back to the highway.

Chair #3

Guy rocking mini skis

View from trail off Chair #3

Overall, it was a really fun day. The snow was especially slushy on the runs off Chair #4, and if I had a straw and some cherry syrup, I would've made my own Snoopy Slushy! Well, off the groomed path of course. 


It is a mountain to monitor when a big storm hits. If you're looking for something close, fun, and advanced, Baldy is for you! It's a ski spot, not a ski resort. I'll definitely be back. I mean, the guys are really nice. Well, most of them...

Speaking of Backside...

Browsing the fantastic skinet.com, my eyes stumbled on an equally fantastic picture of a backside. Not a mountain's backside but a gentleman's peaking out of a Salomon Conspiracy one piece ski suit. The same chemical green (yes, that's what it's color name is) one piece that big mountain skier Cody Townsend was giving away earlier this season on his website.

Intrigued of course, I clicked on the picture and read Todd Bove's review of this power suit. Good for backcountry and deep powder days but more importantly, it can hold 17 beers for apres ski! Any man's dream. All sounds worthy, right? I've never been a fan of one piece snow suits for myself, but I would go skiing with the guy and his showingly backside sense of humor. Hey, I'll be sporting my Salomon boots. We'd be a Salomon advertisement billboard.

It appears to be a high selling item (for packing all those beers perhaps). It's sold out on the Salomon website! Regardless, you can check out the details HERE and try to score one elsewhere. Good luck, as I've tried to search the notable sites (backcountry.com, backcountryoutlet.com, etc.).

Single? Meet a Valentine on a Chairlift this weekend.

I've said it before. People meet on the mountain. My parents and filmmaker Warren Miller met his wife on the slopes. Most of the time it happens during après ski, but how about on the chairlift?

Image by © Condé Nast Archive

This Valentine's day weekend, there are several ski resorts hosting Chairlift Speed Dating for singles. And it's not their first time. Many have been doing it for a few years already due to success rates! If you think about, it's a great idea if people aren't super serious about it. You could get unlucky with a crazy who takes it to the limit (chairlift speak or The Eagles for music fans). Regardless, all in good fun. I'm planning on skiing this weekend, but the resorts nearby don't seem to be offering. Now if you live in Oregon or Idaho, you've got it made with more than one option. Also, these are only for heterosexual matching-up so if you're looking for some same sex action, these aren't for you.


If anyone tries it, please let me know how it goes!


OREGON
Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort (fitting for the name, right?)
Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort 


NEW HAMPSHIRE
Black Mountain Ski Resort 


IDAHO
Schweitzer Mountain Resort 
Brundage Mountain Resort 

Winter X Games, Winter Olympic Games, Winter Gamed Out?

First, if you are looking for technical information and specific athletic injuries, you will have to go to one of the other ski websites. I will give brief notes and thoughts. My interest in these here games are exactly that, interest. Why bore you with what you can read at 10 other sites?


Even during my skiing sabbatical (which just ended after about 10 years) I loved watching the Winter Olympic Games. Hello, ice skating. And heck, I love the Summer Olympics too but I'm a cold lover. Wait, I must rephrase. I'm a lover of the cold. This ski season has been very busy not only for me but for games. The Winter X Games, the Winter Olympic Games, The Winter I'm trying to keep up with it all. I think I watched the Winter X Games before, but I don't specifically remember. 


This year I caught some of the Winter X Games action! It's in it's 14th year and Aspen/Snowmass has been hosting the games since 2002. When I first turned the tube on, I was surprised when a snowmobiling event was happening. Amazing, really. And there's not just one snowmobiling event. Oh no. There are FIVE: Best Trick, Freestyle, Knock Out, SnoCross, and Adaptive SnoCross. I also watched the Men's and Women's Skier X events. Basically, a half dozen skiers race combing freestyle and alpine skills. This event will be making it's debut at the Winter Olympic Games this year in Vancouver, but it will be called Ski Cross. I guess the X is for the X Games only?


There are exciting things happening in alpine skiing as far as I've been paying attention to for the 21st Winter Olympic Games. Enter the most winningest female skier, Lindsey Vonn. She's everywhere including being a part of a new sexy issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. She's an amazing athlete and she's cool and beautiful. However, it seems almost all skiing athletes are good-looking. The guys, like Erik Fisher, are lookers and rule the slopes too. This continues to prove my theory: High altitudes does wonder for the soul and skin. That or it's all the Red Bull the mountain athletes are drinking. Red Bull sponsorship is EVERYWHERE on the slopes. So when someone there jokes about it being something in their coffee, they're probably not lying.


All these Winter Games are fun, but I'm starting to get winter gamed out. I'm holding out though, I must. The Olympics are only 2 DAYS AWAY!! Get ready!

Riding the Krazy Karpet

This is a finders gem! Krazy Karpet? The seventies rule. The commercial says you can use it for either sand, grass, or snow, but of course you would use it for snow play tobogganing fun! Perhaps once the snow melts, a grassy side of the mountain would be worthy too.


Krazy Karpets are now called, Wacky Carpets.  According to Todd Lambeth of Canadian Design Resource, "The no frills design of the Wacky Carpet is all part of it’s charm. A slick surface with handles pretty much sums it up. It’s lack of comfort and control are made up for in it’s unpredictability and shear speed which makes for a wild ride down the local toboggan hill."


It seems you can still get your own space age plastic slider from H2O Recreation in Chomedey Québec. Those Canadians are scoring major points. They know about mountain life! Get your plastic slider and head to the acclaimed Mont Tremblant Ski Resort, in Québec, Candada.


So when your skied/boarded legs are tired, remember there's more mountain fun to be had.

D.C. Snowfest 2010

This past weekend, Washington, D.C. welcomed a ton of beautiful snow. A ton. As of late afternoon yesterday (Sunday, February 7) there was a record of over 32 inches measured at nearby Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The most D.C.'s seen before was 28 inches in 1922!


The weekend was filled with snowfest excitement. There were snowball fights in Dupont Circle, iced snowman chess played, and cars and tables buried high high high!


Tens of thousands workers were given the day off today. I've never had a Snow Day in my adulthood (probably since I live in Southern California), but I remember the few minutes of anticipation when hearing the school closing announcements in the early morning. Most of the time, my private school never closed but when it did, pure joy.


More snow is headed to the Mid-Atlantic later this week. Get those cross-country skis waxed and ready to go!

Below are some glorious pictures a good friend took around the Capitol this weekend. Thank you Brandon Tudor!

Snow-beers

After Dupont Circle Snowball Fight

Iced Snowman Chess anyone?

Walking down Q Street

The National Mall

Greatest Snow on the Earth, in Utah?

My dreams of skiing in Utah remains strong. Every year in January, I know people who trek to Park City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. This year since I am recently  "back on the mountain," I'm aware of more people going to Utah for the snow. According to SKI UTAH, it's the Greatest Snow on the Earth. So when Ringling Bros  and Barnum & Bailey Circus rolls itself in Utah, look out people! That's double duty greatness! Tigers and snowflakes running crazy! Tigers skiing, perhaps?

I was amused by the SKI UTAH snowflake commercial I saw the other night.  This snowflake campaign has been around for a couple years, but I don't remember seeing it before. Below is the spot that made me laugh out loud. These adverts will be running through the airing of the Winter Olympic Games 2010.

The SKI UTAH Greatest Flake Contest (that would be snowflake) has been extended to February 26, 2010! Make your 30-60 video essay on why Skiing/Snowboarding is the bestest in Utah and win a pair of Rossingol S3 skis or a Burton Air 148 Snowboard! So if you do the video with another snow lover, make sure you flip a coin to decide who will get the winnings unless you plan to share the planks or board.

So my question holds. Does Utah really have the greatest snow on the earth? I know it's a good tagline, but does their claim hold any truth? So far, my adventures lead me to believe Lake Tahoe mountains have pretty great snow. It's like buttah (thanks Linda Richman). However to be fair,  since I haven't skied many places, my ability to properly score card is weak. The pathway to new mountain adventures has already started the paving process for me. Or shall I say, plowing. 

Snowballin' (Après-Ski) Film Reviewed!

The wait has ended!  I found, I received, I watched, and now I will review.  You know which film I'm talking about.  The one who's amazing poster I posted, Après-Ski. The 1971 French-Canadian after dark film (that's right, AFTER DARK) was directed by Roger Cardinal.  I should have assumed that due to a certain nipple exposure on the poster, it was an AFTER DARK feature. Regardless, the bright-eyed swoomer was fooled. I mean, it is a 1971 French-Canadian film. 


Let's first look at the film's description according to NETFLIX:

"Journey back to the sexually liberal world of 1971 Canada, where hunky ski instructors find wintertime fun with a bevy of beautiful snow bunny students. Celine Lomez and future U.S. soap celeb Daniel Pilon star in this sex farce on the slopes. Filmed in the gorgeous mountains of Quebec, Snowballin’ – also know as Après-Ski – features lots of naughty humor and a hip soundtrack."


Unfortunately, the copy I watched was dubbed in English. I never prefer dubbed, even action based foreign films. I like hearing the actor voices, not the bad dubbing actors (even if the actual actors are bad).  However, I think the dubbed version is all that's available. 


The top menu is brilliant. There's a selection of film clips playing with the title track of the film, Après-Ski by Céline Lomez. Initially surprised and caught off guard, there are naked women in the clip selects. Wow. Okay, so it's that type of movie. Continuing on to play, the beginning title sequence is mostly a naked couple spooning without the title cards. Then, after 2/3 of the song, the titles begin to play. Another surprise. Wow. At this point, I official realize it's not just a sexy international flick. I forge ahead.


More unfortunate bad news. This sex farce film is lacking content, ski moments, and good dialogue. Okay, it's funny to hear the dubbing choices calling a ski instructor a "professor" but the other lame dialogue makes me hope it's the dubbing company who messed up, not the actual screenwriter. My favorite line of the film is near the end. It's by the new good-looking ski "professor" Phillip's (Daniel Pilon) last conquered ski bunny. Poor Phillip is genuinely falling in love with her, Karen, the sexy blonde model. He tries to stop her before she leaves the next morning with her photographer/soon to be husband, Bob. When he asks her why she stayed with him last night, her response is classic: "Things happen at night, but then comes another day." Poetic, ski bunny Karen. Phillip chases after them in his car, but stops when he sees 2 ladies hitchhiking on the side of the road. And that's the end of the movie. 


So Phillip, not really into Karen as much as you thought, huh? Back to your ways of keeping ski bunny score cards with the other two "professor" buddies?


A shocking moment that stood out is the 3 ski "professor's" snowmobiling with ladies and only the men are wearing helmets. There's a crash and one of the guys is carried away in an ambulance. Don't worry, his honey riding on the back sans helmet is not hurt. Another is watching Phillip throw a naked woman off a balcony into a pile of snow. Don't worry, he and the other clothed "professor's" leapt after. Ah, the seventies.


The soundtrack is highly enjoyable, and overall the film was amusing. Out of a 2 skis/2 poles rating, I give it 2 poles. Yes, you can enjoy that pun. I know I did.

Free Lift Ticket Dilemma

We all like free things. Even celebrities who can afford anything but receive freebies anyway (this paradox I have been trying to solve). Free stuff generally equals happiness, especially if the stuff is worthy - like a lift ticket to a ski resort! A couple weeks ago, I started looking at lift tickets deals.  During the season, the ones usually offered are for college students, not for us thirty-somethings. 


When I went to Ski Dazzle and scored my beautiful meant for me K2's, I received a Big Bear Mountain Resorts lift ticket voucher for either Bear Mountain or Snow Summit. Score, right? Well not a total score since there are many restrictions. I received another lift ticket voucher to Heavenly Ski Resort (Tahoe) at a showing of Warren Miller's newest film Dynasty, but once again it had many restrictions. Hey, thanks for the vouchers but can you give out useful ones, please? No, that would be too easy.


Last week, I vaguely remembered catching parts of a television commercial (while distracted doing something else) where you could test drive a Ford car and receive a free Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort lift ticket. I was reminded again this weekend when friends told me about this seemingly cool deal. Due to the lack of sincerity with past vouchers, I began research. Some people I found had success stories, but I also found many with fails. I decided to call Ford dealerships in my area. Unfortunately, they were all out of the tickets and/or it ended today - great timing as usual for me. I really was looking forward to test driving a Ford too. I mean, my first car was my brother's 1985 white Ford Mustang convertible. I had to load it's trunk with bags of soil during the winter to help the rear-wheel swerve effect on the icy Cleveland roads. Mustang Sara, was my parent's jokingly nickname. 


Alas, no test driving for Mustang Sara this time. The search for lift ticket deals continue. Hopefully one day soon, the dilemma will be solved.