Mt. Baker Season Opening Day 2013-14

Mt. Baker Website

The snow God's have spoken and we were listening. It has been written. 

OPENING DAY FOR THE 2013-14 SEASON IS THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21!  

If you are one of the less fortunate and have a "real job" hopefully this weather system will continue to bring us more heaps of "Cascade Concrete" for your weekend warrior way. You could always take one of those coveted paid sick days and, "cough, cough," not make into the office. If you are a Western student may I recommend sending your lab or group partners that aren't into the cold and deep pow to pick up your assignments, take copious notes, and GET YOUR ASSES UP TO THE HILL!  For all of you "Washington State Ski Team Members," (i.e. seasonal workers collecting unemployment), UP YOURS. There is no doubt your slacker asses will be in line waiting for Chair 6 to open. 

I happen to have an early morning appointment that I cannot miss and will be desperately trying to find a ride up once my duties are complete. Follow the links below to see for yourself, but I promise you this is not a lie. I repeat, this is not a lie. If I don't see you there on Thursday we shall ride on Friday! Hope to see all of my ski-bum friends up shredding the gnar pow-pow VERY soon!

Warren Miller Photo Contest

http://www.skinet.com/warrenmiller/photo-contest/heli-contest/photos/all/18470

Check out this shot of me dropping the line on Mt. Herman Monday March 7, 2011. Please go to the linked page and click on the 'like' button to vote for us by May 1, 2011.  We could win a trip to Alaska to go heli-snowboarding if our photo gets the most votes!

Thanks!

Big Monday Cliff Dropping

Monday I went up to the mountain with a couple homeys to get some morning runs in. We found a couple of hits that we wanted to go for and did some major work on them. Carl and I hiked up to the drop spots and had our way with Mt. Herman. The first spot that we hit was pretty close to the ski area. Check out this video. I stomped the drop to the pillow, then it felt like my board grew a pair of wings.



After the first hit we went out and looked for some other things to ride. There wasn't much to get down on where we were at and the Sun was disappearing behind the storm clouds that were coming in. As we were searching for something fun to hit I saw a cliff band that looked pretty sweet. I decided on a line and went on a 45 minute hike up the mountain. The snow was getting pretty warm and setting the boot-pack was not very easy. At one point I thought that I was going to slip down the mountain backwards. The worst part about if that were to happen is that it would have been quite a ride, but a really bad spot to get pulled out of. I made my way up to the cliff band that I had wanted to ride and the guys mentioned that it didn't look as fun from where we had initially seen. They were able to guide me over to another spot to drop. The drop through the chute looked like it was about a 10-15 footer, but could have been rolled through without leaving the snow. As I started my turn down the chute I decided that I was going to pop an ollie. The jump ended up being about 30-40 feet from the point of my ollie to the landing. Check it out:



After that the clouds really came in and we headed back to town. It's beginning to look and feel a lot more like spring around here. Carl and I took a good walk through one of my favorite spots in town, Boulevard Park. The Sunset was pretty chill and made for decent conversation. Still a couple more weeks before the Ski Area at Baker goes to Weekends only. Then it will be time for hitting up the lakes and the bike trails on the regular!

Snow at Mt. Baker

Carson Artac Photo

It's not really good up there.

Don't come to ski at Mt. Baker right now.

I jumped off of stuff into snow.

I did that yesterday, too.

I shall do it again tomorrow.

There was actually an avalanche rescue up at the snowmobile zone.

Helicopter, too.

Hopefully no helicopter tomorrow.

And perhaps some blue skies.

That would be nice.

Winter All Over Again!

The past couple of days have been absolutely stellar.  Snow has been falling not only on the mountain but also in Bellingham.  It is currently snowing in town and I had a great day up on the hill today.  Yesterday I rode Mt. Baker with my homey, Avi.  He is from the Ham and has been living in Hawaii for the past year and a half.  We met a couple of years ago and he was my riding buddy.  He leaves in four days so I have been trying to get as much time in with him as I can.  This is a picture of Avi setting up his board in the back of his rig:

Mr. Avi Schwartz

We rode from about 10 until the final bell of the day.  The snow was great and deep, but still very unstable.  Baker had received over 8 inches and it was cold and fluffy.  The pow turns were plentiful.  At one point we had considered going for a hike but as we were heading out onto Upper Elbow we witnessed two slides.  The first slide came from above onto the hiking path.  There was a crew ahead of us and as they continued through the sluff another skier/snowboarder traveled above them and set off another slide.  The second slide came down and almost buried the crew as they stood there watching.  As two of the guys dug out a third we turned downhill.  That was the end of our thoughts on hiking for the afternoon.

We lapped a couple choice lines and had a really great day.  Here's a little bit of a run that we took through some deep trees:


Later on in the day we rode some other fun lines.  Here's a wreck for your enjoyment: (please feel free to laugh)


After riding all day we decided that it would be a good idea that if I were to catch a ride back up with him in the morning I should crash at his rent's pad.  It would cut off a bit of the morning commute and make for a much easier travel day.  I came home, packed up all of my things for the day, and put together the things that we needed to be able to wax our boards.  We hit the sack while watching a snow-porn.  Over the course of the night it got pretty cold in the basement and I was lacking in the blanket department.  On top of trying to solve problems and waking from very busy dreams several times through the night I was also a bit chilled.  I awoke this morning a bit sore from riding, yoga on Monday, and a great workout Sunday night.  It has all been adding up over the past few days and my body is ready for a rest.  But not until after we rode today!

As I was getting ready to head up to the mountain this morning I unpacked my clothes and realized that I had forgot to put a key ingredient into the bag: MY THERMAL PANTS!  As I told Avi of this fact he mentioned that he had an extra pair that I could borrow for the day.  I am 5'9" 1/2 (the 1/2 matters) and Avi is about 6'Large".  I have a 28" waist and assume that Avi's is not in the same area code.  This was proven by the amount of times I had to roll the waist of the thermals like a teenage girl rolls her booty shorts before going to the swimming pool.  It was actually quite humorous.

We got up to the mountain after a very long drive.  The roads were icy and people were having a lot of trouble getting up the hill at a decent traveling speed.  At one point we were driving 25 mph before we even hit Glacier.  Once we got to the hill we scraped our boards and headed out to the hill.  I honestly believe that having on Avi's "Big-Boy Pants" helped me do this:


Did you notice the skier crash? Stop laughing. It's not nice to laugh at skiers. They know not the error of their ways. =)

The day was a success and riding with Avi was a blast.  It will be sad to see the homey take off in a couple of days, but hopefully we get to ride again before he bounces back to the islands.  As for now, I am beat and need to get some much needed sleep before a long day of work, webinars, and business meetings tomorrow.  Life is pretty great when you think about it.  I am blessed to be in this wonderful place and have so many great people to share it with.  Thank you for reading and enjoying my life as I put it out there.

A Great Week

What a week it has been.  A lot of snowboarding.  A little bit of business.  A whole lot of growth.

Monday was the Del show, and also Valentine's Day.  Bummed we couldn't get into the Bellingham Circus Guild performance, then heading to Del for a less than stellar performance started the week of to an interesting foot.  By the end of the week Del had announced that he felt super bad about the show and is going to make it up to Bellingham by throwing a free show on March 18th.  What a guy?!

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were awesome days up on Mt. Baker.  There was fresh snow everyday and nothing was sliding.  The visibility on Tuesday wasn't good enough for any real killer hiking, but the snow in the ski area was great for shredding all day long.  Wednesday the weather got a little bit better as far as visibility.  I was riding with some good friends and we managed to take a couple of sketchy lines down some fun stuff. Here is a little bit of a run from that day:



Thursday was by far the best day on the mountain for me.  Visibility was great and got better as the day moved on.  I hiked around and got fresh tracks all day long.  In morning my friend Jessica and  I rode mostly in-bounds, but by the afternoon it was all backcountry riding.  The snow was mostly stable with only a few surface slides in steep places.  I saw a few friends taking some pretty aggressive lines, but it was in my best interest to just have fun riding the lines that I was comfortable with.  My knee has been giving me some problems lately, so I took it pretty easy. On my way out the Arm the third or fourth time I hiked up a little bit higher and took the back way down. This is probably my favorite hit on the mountain right now:



Here is a bit of a line that I took Thursday afternoon with Stone Malone and JP:



Friday I spent the morning trying to clear my head of some negativity and irrational thoughts.  I went to Yoga with Guy at the La Vida Dance studio on State Street in Bellingham.  When I arrived Guy was the only person there.  Shortly after I had changed out of my gear into the proper attire another lady came to the class.  Guy kept a really good pace and tried very hard to keep me in the mix.  He could sense that my mind was troubled and that I was not as present as I could/should have been.  Sometimes it's hard to compartmentalize all of the things that I have going on in my mind.  I am working on it and sobriety is helping.

Yesterday I went back up to the mountain with my married friends and we went for a nice hike out towards Table Mountain.  T is about ready to quit smoking cigs and it showed.  He was having some trouble with his breathing as we were hiking.  I have noticed that my hiking and overall energy level and endurance has skyrocketed since I quit the cigs.  I set my completely tobacco-free date and have all of the supplies that I need handy to help with the transition.  The power of positive thinking is going to help me out with this one.  That and the fact that I know how good I feel right now!  It was a beautiful day and here's proof:

Look at the love-birds hiking together.  So stoked on these two marvelous friends!

This is me smiling!

Today is a mental health day for me. I am going to head down to the waterfront and get some much more needed vitamin D and read a book for a while.  I have some work things to accomplish this evening, but today is just way too nice to sit inside.  =)

26th Annual Legendary Banked Slalom

It's that time of year again, boys and girls.  The time when some of snowboarding's most talented riders descend on Mt. Baker Ski Area and take to the Natural Halfpipe to race in the longest running snowboard competition in North America.  I have had the opportunity to be present at the past three or four of these events and I must say it is a really good time.

The events begin on Friday and go through til Sunday when the final race is held.  There are two qualifying days in which the top 25% will go on to the actual race on Sunday.  It is a one shot, one kill kind of race so there is a lot of pressure to do well on your one or two runs of the weekend.  Each day ends with a bonfire in the parking lot.  Saturday there is a party of sorts and a Baked Salmon BBQ, maybe a little bit of debauchery, too.  This Saturday will also hold the 10th Anniversary Party for Frequency, The Snowboarders Journal at Chair 9 Woodfire Pizza.  Tickets are $3 and there will be music and raffle prizes, and don't forget all of your favorite people.

After the last rider has sent the course on Sunday and a little bit of down time the awards are bestowed on the top riders.  It wouldn't be fair or just to leave out the most important part of the competition - The Golden Duct Tape!  The golden duct tape is the highly coveted award that goes out to the winner and most highly regarded snowboarder in all of the land, perhaps even the WORLD!  There also happens to be a little bit of an underground thing we like to call, "The Banked Sleddem."  That one is a little bit more difficult to locate.  It is kind of an annual cap to the event, but we shall see how that goes down this year, too.

I am finally getting back to life after my three week escapade.  The Super-Vaca followed by SIA, then the long drive back put a toll on my mind, soul, and body and I am just now getting back to reality.  This week I picked up a little bit of work and have been busy staying focused.  I took some time last night to head over to Mountain Militia HQ and helped out while the boys cranked out gear for the weekend.  They will be up on the hill taking donations in return for T-Shirts and will also have games for the kids.  Make sure to stop by the booth and say what up, check out the gear, and trade in a suggested $10 donation for a T! 

The parking lot is going to be crazy and I highly recommend carpooling with your 27 closest friends in that clown car Subaru.  The weather outlook is pretty sweet and there might be a snow storm on the way for the Finals, too.  Make sure to remember that drinking and driving is a serious deal, especially on 542!  The cops will be out in full force and they don't mess around.  Designate a driver, or invite a friend that doesn't drink and pay for their lift pass.  It's a lot cheaper than a DUI!  Also, drinking in the parking lot is illegal, so do your best to fly under the radar if you must.

See you up on the Mountain and hopefully shredding the gnar.  I might just take a little walk up on top of the mountain and catch the race from a little perch up on top of Hemispheres!

Post SIA11 Brief Re-Cap

SIA was a great time.  For my first experience at the trade show it was almost overwhelming but got a lot easier to manage as the days passed.  Some of the booths at the show were set up for just having fun while doing your business.  Who is this hippy?

I met so many radical people and had some awesome friendships develop.  I also had some really interesting things happen on the journey.  First off, I lost my wallet.  I went out to a couple of parties after the Transworld Rider's Poll Awards and ended up at a strip club.  I have never really enjoyed strip clubs.  I have been to my share over the years and to tell you the truth I find them to be quite depressing.  Nothing that I want to spend a whole lot of time doing.  I managed to stay longer than I had intended because I was hanging with a couple people that I found to be full of information about the industry and chose to talk to them about some of my ideas and gain further insight.  By the time that I got back the hotel that I was staying in I noticed that my wallet had gone MIA.  I honestly think it fell out of my pocket while I was sitting having a conversation, but it could have fallen out getting out of the cab, too.  Losing a wallet sucks, but the worst is when you are trying to be good and sober only to end up with a very important part of your life has disappeared. 

That was on Friday night/ Saturday morning.  The following two days at SIA were cool, but I was finding it hard to focus on my goals due to the fact that I had a very serious dilemma.  I hung out with the Mervin crew for a while those days and got to know the Mervin family pretty well.  I say family in the strongest sense of the word.  Those guys and gals are a riot and have one hell of a culture.  Lots of fun and lots of business.  It was a lot of fun helping out breakdown the booths and I made a couple of t-shirts in the process.  I did manage to make some new connections during the last two days of the show and that was pretty sweet, too.

Monday and Tuesday were the On Snow Demo days at Winter Park.  I ended up riding with the Wildcard and having a whole lot of fun.  I tested out a few different boards and have to say that my favorite of the two days has to be the 11/12 Attack Banana (2010/11 Specs).  It has the EC2 camber set-up and holds an edge like a dream.  I didn't particularly enjoy the lack of pop, but it was still a lot of fun on the Colorado hardpack while also very maneuverable in the park.  I tested a couple other LibTech and Gnu boards and they were just as enjoyable.  The only board that I didn't ride from Mervin was the 11/12 YESnowboard Basic w/ CamRock.  It was a lot more playful than the Attack Banana in the park and had really good pop.  I would have to say that I would choose the Banana over the YES board in Baker Pow due to the stiffness, but they both have great qualities and excellent construction.

I will add more pictures and videos of the show and the demo later on.

Today I took advantage of the free lift tickets to other Colorado resorts that came with the SIA package.  I rode Copper Mountain with a couple of friends, old and new.  The weather was really good as far as clear blue skies, however, the temperature left a lot to be desired.  At one point the temp dropped to -22.  It was really tough going back to my Nitro Team that I picked up last year, especially after really enjoying riding the GNU Mutant bindings for two days.  I still hauled ass all over the mountain and was having a ton of fun getting brainfreeze while keeping up and racing my skiier friends down the smooth, fast groomers.  I think my eyelids froze shut during one of the mach 10 descents. It would have been a totally different day had there been some fresh pow but I still had a great time racing the tracks, throwing up slash plumes, and hitting the park.  I even hit up the ice pipe a couple of times.  The last run down I took a pretty sweet fall from the lip of the pipe down to flat on my noggin.  I also slammed my knee during the same fall and it is already bruised and kinda painful to walk on.

After we left the mountain we got some grub and headed over to the local Breckenridge airport for some fly time with a new friend.  He owns his own plane and took us up.  We flew over the Rockies and buzzed some mountain tops and ski areas.

We also played with gravity.  Check out my nasty snag in this video.  This is how you catch a clipboard whilst it flies weightlessly through the air!

All in all I have had one hell of a ride.  Tomorrow we begin our journey back home on the road.  I am very excited to sleep in my own bed for the first time in two weeks.  The only thing standing in my way at this point is a good nights sleep and a 25 hour drive with Matarik!

SIA Pre-Show: Part Duex (Mostly About the Jones Line)

I spent last evening working on the Jones, YES, and Nidecker booth with the crews.  I intended on just saying hi, but ended up working all night with the guys.  I met Jeremy Jones and Forrest Shearer while helping these guys out with the arrangement and management of their booths.  This was around 6 PM, so I was already feeling quite out of it and not much of a conversationalist.  I had the opportunity to go and check out the Big Air Competition that was held outside of the Convention Center but: A) I didn't want to pay to see dudes snowboarding downtown and listen to crappy music, B) This is the industry that I want to operate in and to be able to be behind the scenes working on the setup of a booth for a company and people that I really admire was awesome.  Jeremy has a passion for this sport that I have always held a very high regard for.  It was a real treat to check out the line super early and see what the company has in-store for the consumer 2011-2012 season.

This year Jeremy has been working with a new company called KarakoramBC.  They are based out of Colorado and Washington and have created a proprietary splitboard binding system.  Last night the dudes were at the booth setting up the Jones Split line with their technology to be on display.  I talked with the guys and found out that the system is completely different than the Voile and Spark systems in that it actually creates a base that does not require moving pins and feeling like a glorified Tele or AT Ski.  This year the Hovercraft comes in either a solid or split, and the artwork was done by Mike Ennen.  The split will retail at $649.  The Mountain Twin split will retail at $749, while the "business" of the line, The Solution is going to be priced at $799.

Here is a look at the Jones' Booth from last night:

Wall of 2012 Boards to Touch

Boards with Descriptions and Inspirations

I also worked on the YESnowboard booth, too.  I have a shot from the pre-set and will have more to come.

 On an amusing note: the Nidecker guys are crazy and made a board with tons of QR codes all over it.  Have you ever heard of a site called WickedWeasel.com?  Well, sorry to spoil the fun but that is only one of the QR codes.  You have to get over to your shop that carries Nidecker to use your smart phone to see the rest!

Nidecker THU

We got out of the convention center at about 1130, then went to the hotel. Dropped off our bags. Went across the street.  The dudes got some beers.  I got a coke.  We all had perogies.  I finally passed out at about 145 AM.  Another crazy long day running on almost fumes for half of it!

OK, so here's a little bit more of an in-depth look at why I am really here.  I am looking for a job.  Not so much a job, but a career in the action sports industry.  Ultimately I would like to stay on the snowboarding side of the house, but at this point I know that I can make my skills kill it in any industry.  I don't want to just sell someone's widgets, I want to sell something that I know, use, can get behind, and promote with a passion.  So, there you have it.  Tomorrow is the job fair and I will be doing the rounds for my search, but I would really like to get down with a company on a deeper level.  I am also kind of picky about where it is that I am going to end up.   I would like to have my home base somewhere near. . . wait for it. . . a Mountain (or three!)

Time to get back to the show and see some more things.  Today is the actual day one.  I don't have any appointments, and I like that!

Super-Vaca 2011, Elk Lake and Bend, OR

For the past three or four years a few friends and I have been trying to arrange a meeting of greatness.  A couple of years ago two out of four made the trip.  This year we finally managed to pull it off.  We started planning in Summer of 2010 and got the plan of attack down.  Chris, Johnnie, Phil and I were all to meet in Bend, OR and spend a few days out at the Elk Lake Resort.  Phil has a buddy from work that is good friends with one of the owners and arranged the lodging.

As the time to head to Bend was closing in I was unsure of how I would be able to make the trip.  I tried to figure out my travel arrangements with some other friends to Bend, but we couldn't manage.  I ended up cashing in some air-miles and got a flight out of Seattle for pretty cheap.  Phil and Chris were scheduled to get into Redmond at 8 PM on Thursday, so I made my flight plans to arrive at 630.  I told my old friend Evan when I would be getting in so he picked me up at the airport and we went to his place in Bend for some dinner with his lady, Gena (pronounced Jenna.)  She owns a cute place right near 14th/Century which made it quite easy for Phil and Chris to scoop me up when they arrived.

From Gena and Evan's place we took the cab the rest of the way out to the Deschutes National Forest around Mount Bachelor.  We were dropped off at approximately 9 PM at the Dutchman Flat parking lot to await our chariot.  Phil, Chris and I hung out and watched the snowmobiles get loaded onto the trucks and trailers as the riders came back from their moonlight rides.  

After about thirty minutes at the snowpark we saw the floodlights and the headlights of the Snow-Burban. What's a "Snow-Burban" you ask?  It is a fully tricked out, lifted Suburban with Quad-Track designed to carry passengers and gear on snowy roads.  Pretty much as bad-ass as it gets.  The drive into Elk Lake took about an hour and we still had no idea what we were really getting into as the website hardly covers what to expect.

View Larger Map

We arrived at the cabin and unloaded the gear.  As we walked into the pad we were greeted by six or seven of the already drunk dudes that had been at the site since earlier in the day.  The other guys had already been out snowmobiling, had dinner, and started on their binge.  Actually, a couple of the guys were already to the point of passed out.  We went to one of the other cabins to say hi and meet the guys that were still up.  Chris, Phil, Mike and I hung out for a while and finally retired at around 1 or 2, after going down to the lake and doing the 7 second echo.  It is pretty sweet.  You can actually shout from a point at the side of the lake and the echo will travel all around the lake bouncing off of the mountains 7 times.

The next morning we woke up and got on our snow gear for the day ahead.  We walked down to the Lodge for some breakfast before our day of fun in the snow.  The menu is pretty decent for being a one-man kitchen show.  I had an order of biscuits and gravy that was excellent.  A bit spicy and very hearty.  The other guys were drinking fresh squeezed citrus juices with a splash of soda and vodka.  I opted for the juice and soda.  I loved how they had a real juicer on the bar!  After breakfast Chris, Phil and I had to fill out the necessary rental paperwork for the sleds, just in case we wrecked them or killed ourselves in the name of fun.  Apparently there is a $7,500 replacement cost for any of the rental sleds.  Probably a little bit more than the actual cost.  Phil took a single sled and Chris and I rode the Two-Up out to the snowpark and recreation area with the other 10 dudes.  We did a little bit of hill climbing, trail riding, played a little bit of high-mark, and got some air.  We tried to get up to the top of one of the mountains in the area for a view of the surrounding mountains, but as we climbed higher fog rolled in and the sleeting rain killed all hopes of seeing the range.  We rocked the sleds back to a small glen half way down the mountain.  We ripped around the area and took turns jumping the sleds over a small roller.  A couple of the guys had been drinking and one of the dudes lost control of his sled and took it straight into a tree. The sled wasn't damaged but it was pretty nice to have that reminder of why I don't drink.  About six of us dug the sled out of the tree well and everyone was ready to get out of the rain.  We hopped back on the sleds and went back to the lodge.  

Chris and I hung out at the cabin reading while the other guys hung out at the bar and drank for a while.  I read some more of the book that I have been reading, "A Million Little Pieces."  It is a great story about a man that had hit rock bottom and decided to quit drugs and alcohol.  I can see a few similarities in the main character and myself in how he tried to avoid his emotions and run from his feelings.  Johnnie's flight got in at 315 and Phil, Mike, and I hopped back on the snowmobiles to pick him up.  We rode out to the Dutchman and waited for his taxi to arrive.  On the way to the parking lot the extra helmet that we had brought for Jay fell off of Mike's sled and I ran it over.  It was ok, but the visor didn't make it.  We got to the parking lot and this is the greeting:

I drove Johnnie back to the cabin while Mike carried his bag on the back of his sled.  We raced back in the sleeting rain and made some pretty good time.  I actually got the sled up to 70 with Johnnie on the back.  At one point he said that he thought he was going to fly off the thing.  I'm glad he didn't, but it would have been pretty funny!

We got Johnnie settled into the cabin we all went over to the lodge for dinner and some socialization.  The rest of the crew was already there and pretty saucy.  I actually decided to take a night off the wagon to hang with the bros and drink a couple beers.  The night was going pretty well until Mitch (The Owner) and Rob were playing a game called "Root" in the snowy parking lot in front of the lodge.  The game is played by trying to knock the other person off balance to the point that they raise a leg and set it back down or take a step.  Mitch was in the process of falling down and there was a loud pop in his knee.  We weren't sure how bad it was but the way that he laid on the snow for almost half an hour it couldn't have been good.  We all tried to get the big guy up off the ground but he wasn't having it.  I pulled his sled around so that he could get back up to his cabin.  Mitch got up off the snow using a shovel and my shoulder.  I helped him board his sled and he went back to the cabin.  Mike walked and brought the sled back after he got him into the cabin and settled into his recliner.

Here's where things got really silly.  Johnnie doesn't drink very much anymore and we had been bought shots to accompany the beers.  When Mike returned with the sled Johnnie hopped on it and took off.  He hadn't ever driven a sled before and bounced sans helmet.  At first I thought he was just going to the cabin to crash out due to sleep deprivation and alcohol.  Not the case.  He actually took the sled out to the main road and hauled down the snowy road.  I guess he hit the kill switch on it and not knowing how to start it back up was stranded.  We sent a search party out to find him.  They got to him after about half an hour of being out in the cold with no lighting or idea where he was.  The two guys that went after him got the sled started and as he tried to get the sled back to the resort he rolled the damn thing onto himself when he drove it up the embankment.  Luckily he is a big dude and it didn't do any damage other than a bit of a scratch on his back from the ice.  They got to him and pulled the sled off and when they tried to start it back up the plugs were wet.  They towed the sled back to the resort and Johnnie crashed out in the cabin.  No one was hurt but after that I decided that there really isn't any reason for me to consume booze.  Too many friends have been destroyed by the stuff and I have had too many close calls myself.  I had been 18 days sober, had a few drinks, then swore it off altogether once again.  This was pretty much the end of day two of Super-Vaca.  Stay tuned for more to come!

Mount Baker Lengendary Banked Slalom Locals Qualifier

Today, January 17, 2011 was the Martin Luther King Jr. Local's Qualifier for this year's Legendary Banked Slalom at Mount Baker Ski Area.  The last few days have been pretty wet and in a bad way.  It has been really warm and rainy up on the Mountain and I was half expecting to need a snorkel to ride.  I carpooled up to the hill with my friends Brandon and Maggie in his Subaru station-wagon.  I arranged the ride last night after not being able to confirm one with some other people over the course of the evening.  Thankfully he was willing and able to come and swoop me up from my house even though they both live on the other side of town.

Brandon and Maggie arrived at my house at about 730 and we made the trek up to the mountain with two stops on the way.  The first one was at Maple Fuels so they could get some breakfast and gas.  I highly recommend calling ahead if you plan on grabbing a sandwich on your way.  They make a pretty mean breakfast croissant.  I like to get sausage, egg, pepper-jack, green peppers, and onion.  I snagged a Clif Bar and some juice.  Since I have quit drinking I don't buy beer but it is a good stop to grab yourself a sixer of tallboys if you want to save some cash on beer at the lodge.  If you do plan on drinking in the parking lot, which is illegal and you could get a fine if the troopers and park police catch you, the law is that you must be inside your vehicle.  Remember: keys out of the ignition!  The second stop was to drop Maggie's little dog off at a friend's house in Glacier.

We got to the parking lot at White Salmon Lodge at approximately 9.  Brandon and I went up to the third floor to sign the necessary paperwork (waivers).  We were both given our bibs that were to be taped to our front leg and headed back to the lot to get on our gear.  Once suited up we hopped on Chair 7 and rode down to Chair 5.  The course is set-up in the Natural Halfpipe with red gates on the right bank and blue gates on the left.  All of the riders were allowed to side-slip the course one time prior to the event beginning of the race.  Brandon had signed up for the Pro Men category and I the Older Amateurs.  The Pro Men raced at 1050 and Older Ams were supposed to begin at 1230, which meant after we slipped the course we had some time to kill.

We decided that we were going to take some turns in the meantime so we headed back up Chair 5 and rode back down Sam's Ridge to a fun descent through the trees.  The snow was pretty soft and there were some open spots with water rushing below the snowpack.  It was a little bit disconcerting, but all in all still a lot of fun.  Once we got to the bottom of the run we went over and took some runs down Chair 6 in the trees in an area called "Hidden Wave".  I'd tell you exactly where that is, but that takes the fun out of the name "Hidden."  The snow was still pretty fun and there was a lot of the hill that had some untouched terrain and good-ish powder.

Brandon made it up to the start of the course in time to watch some of the other guys take their runs and see what was and was not working.  We waited around for a bit before deciding to take a couple more laps to keep our legs warm.  Brandon was the second to last racer in his group which meant we were all hanging around and cheering on the other riders for quite sometime.  It was a lot of fun to watch on as the other guys were trying to stay on the course and make their way down to the finish.  Maggie and I moved down the side of the course to watch as he left the gate and she was able to set up to take a photo as he rode the course.  Brandon did really well and made every gate in pretty good time.

There were a lot of categories that went before I was able to go.  I saw a bunch of friends and was able to root them on from the sidelines!  After Brandon's run we took a little break and I got a cup of coffee in the lodge.  I met up with a couple friends that were up to cheer me and the other riders on and we hung out while I thawed out and let my gear dry from the rain/sleet/snow.  It wasn't as miserable as I was expecting, but was still pretty wet.

 I took a couple more runs before heading up to the start area while the youngsters and the ladies took their runs.  I was able to get my legs warm again and had a lot of fun pushing the snow around the mountain.  I made it up to the start and since there had been some delays for the patrol to smooth out the course I had a bit of time to stand around and wait for my turn.

The first time that I tried to race the qualifier two years ago I had been drinking beers and smoking some greens the whole day.  As you can probably assume I didn't do that well.  I finished the course and didn't miss any gates but I came in DFL.  I think it was not only due to the substances that I had taken in, but also because I was pretty new to the sport.  This time was a bit different.  The course was a lot less icy, however as the day went on the temperature had been dropping and the snow was falling a lot more than in the morning.    I have been feeling pretty good about my riding ability since quitting the booze and herbs which played out rather nicely.  I was really in tune with my body and breathing.  I stayed low, powered through the rutted turns, and made it through every gate.  This is my run:




Overall the day was a success, but since Brandon had to be at work by 5 we took off before the awards.  I don't know exactly how I did in the very large and competitive division that I had signed up for.  It is pretty tough to figure based on the amount of guys that have been riding for two to three times as many years and in the age group of 20-29.  Next year I will be able to race in the Masters or Pro Masters division.  I think I will shoot for the Pro Masters.  As for now I will be checking the Mt. Baker website to see how I did over the next few days.  If you raced today or know someone that did you can also see the results when they are posted.  I am not super competitive when it comes right down to it but this event was a lot of fun and there was definitely a lot of cheering and camaraderie for all of the racers.  I love the vibes at Baker!

Great job to all the people that showed up to race today.  Thanks to all the friends that didn't race but were still present to cheer on the homeys!  A huge thanks to all of the people that made the course and maintained it during the day!

Snowboarding Weekend and the Baker Beacon Rally

This weekend, rather Thursday through Saturday night,  it snowed up on Mt. Baker for the first time in a couple of weeks.  The snow was pretty light on hardpack in the ski area Saturday and got tracked out rather quickly.  I attribute a lot of it to the first weekend of school buses running up to the hill.  There were a lot of people up that don't normally ride the ski area and this was made readily apparent by the fact that I saw four chairs of people that missed the unload spot on Chair 3 (a lift that serves both sides of the mountain.)  There were quite a few collisions that I barely escaped and I saw quite a few go down that could have ended rather badly.  I managed to find some sweet powder stashes in the ski area and was able to get a little out-of-bounds with poor visibility.  It was tons of fun smashing pillows on some steeps.  I took one line that I thought was going to have a decent transition but turned out to be about a 20 foot drop off of the back side of a rock cliff.  I didn't exactly stomp the landing.  I was startled in the air as I passed over the rock face and when I hit the flat on the other side my knees came up to my face.  Thankfully I choose to wear a helmet at all times and saved my brain from another concussion!

I rocked the ski area again today, Sunday, and had a lot of fun.  I rode up with my "newlywed" friends and took a couple quick runs with them.  I then hooked up with a couple other friends and hiked up to a sweet powder stash with a wicked drop.  We rolled the drop the first lap and had to do it again.  Here is a little video of the second time I hit the drop.




After we hit it a second time we headed over to the zone where The Mount Baker Mountain Safety Education Center had set up a training course for the "Baker Beacon Rally" at 11.  There were three sections set up for single avalanche search, multiple burial, and a set up for a search race.  I wasn't pre-registered for the activities and was told to come back at 1230 to see if some of the 400 people who had pre-registered didn't show.  We almost headed over to the Arm to take a lap, but as we started to take off I started talking to my buddy who was doing some of the training and he let us bypass the wait and took us out to play/train.

After working the three stations that had been set-up we hung out and waited for the raffle.  There were some pretty sweet prizes from REI, Otovox, BCA, SPOT, Pieps,  and American Alpine Institute.  There might have been a couple more, but I am not too sure at this very moment.  Anyway, if you have interest in getting to know some very basic backcountry travel safety keep your eyes peeled next year for this event!

The Saturday Night Ride: WildCard Movies Fall 2010 Feature

"Prepare to get slammed into the back of your seat!"

The Saturday Night Ride Teaser 1 from Wild Card on Vimeo.

WildCard Movies has released the first of 3 teasers for this year's feature film, 

"The Saturday Night Ride". 

Featuring the riding of Patrick McCarthy, Nick Ennen, Forrest Burki, Andy Bergin-Sperry, Kurt Jensen, Tim Carlson, Andy Stern, Manuel Diaz, Jay Kelley, Shaun McKay, Joe Bosler, and Austin Sweetin.

If you are in the Bellingham area June 17, head to The Wild Buffalo House of Music for the Teaser Premier and mayhem to the sounds of Seattle's TRUCKASAURAS hosted by none other than Funner Snowboarding!

Tickets are 10 Bones with door prizes and giveaways throughout the evening.

 Get SLAMMED!

Season Ender

Winter is now officially OVER!

(That is if you only ride the chair lifts. ) 

Sunday was Mt. Baker's last day of lift riding for the masses.  The weekend was a good one, complete with powder on Friday and Saturday that turned to soft slush by the end of Sunday.  Not too bad for what most were calling a pretty shitty year.  I didn't agree, and still don't.  I feel that this has been one hell of a season!  I took some of the most amazing lines that I could have ever imagined, saw some of the nuttiest lines dropped by some rad rippers, spent some time with great friends, and managed to meet some more amazing people.

For the record:  Total Days Riding = 50

                         Total Days Hiking = 11

I'm pretty stoked to have that as my counter for a season in which I was obligated to spend quite a bit of time up on WWU campus dreaming of snow!

Now that I am transitioning to my climbing state of mind I can't stop thinking about how much fun it will still be to go and ride the areas that I can access by foot before I totally give up the board for the Summer.  There is still a chance that I might have to head up on the glaciers and slide around, too.  

Thanks to all of the great people that make the riding possible up at MBSA: Management, Operations, Admin, Patrol, Mountain Hosts, Medics, but especially the people that grind it out all season for next to nothing, bumping chairs, cleaning up after all the people that never seem to notice you hanging out in the lodge or bathrooms, behind the grills, and ripping around the parking lot parking cars.

  It's you guys that make it all possible at the ski area!

Let's do it again!

Fantastic Weekend!

This weekend was a great one!  Lots of fun stuff went down.  Friday I rode Baker and that was fun.  Saturday I went to Alderwood Mall, kinda fun.  I did a pretty good amount of people watching and some marketing research for a project that I am working on which offset the misery of actually being at a mall.  The trip home from the mall was actually more fun than the mall due to the fact that I had to be pretty clever and utilize my love of the back/side roads and maps to skirt around the horrible traffic on I-5 through Mount Vernon (Washington).  Once back in town I met up with my lady at her house, worked on a proposal for a little while, then we headed to the Wild Buffalo to get our tickets to RJD2 and Busdriver.

The RJD2 show was totally wicked.  The show sold out and the place was packed.  Great for the venue, but a little bit tough to get dancing space.  Jenna and I had to use some pretty wacky dancing maneuvers to keep our flow with the crowd.  Challenging and fun at the same time!

Yesterday I rallied Baker with a couple homeys.  We took a couple speed laps on the groomers and made sure to ride the lifts once or twice.  Most of the inbounds were slayed from the onslaught of Northwest Powderhounds taking advantage of the recent storm cycle.  Awesome April.  After the rounds inbounds we headed into the slack-country.  There were a couple groups of people out playing in the soft snow.  We dug out a kicker and rode a train on it for a great afternoon of sunny spring play.  We all hucked ourselves wildly and wrecking was just as rewarding as sticking tricks.

Once home in Bellingham, I cleaned up and headed over to my friend Colleen's place for a sample of another stew concoction of hers.  She had made a delicious and hearty Beef, Barley, and Veggie stew and some very that was a perfect answer to my well earned appetite.  From there I headed back to the Wild Buffalo to catch yet another amazing line-up.

I arrived a little late and only caught a small portion of Cara Alboucq's set.  She has a great sound and rad presence.  A lot of fun.  Next on the stage was Miss VV Brown.  "Dangerously single" and just as dangerously beautiful.  VV brought the heat to Bellingham, gave us a special taste of her hip-hop skills with a Drake cover, and the dancing was on.  Her infusion of soul and energetic pop music had everyone moving their feet. (Blurred image thanks to iPhone.)

There was a short intermission and Little Dragon took over.  This Swedish quartet throws down some intriguing electronic with an energetic vocal flair.  VV Brown and Cara Alboucq were getting down in the crowd during the set and VV Brown joined Little Dragon on stage for the last jam.  I personally high fived everyone that played, Jenna and I snagged an autograph on a poster from the front window, and I rolled a spliff for Little Dragon.  Not a bad night to wrap up a pretty sweet weekend!

Dammit

Here I am, at the Apple store, in a MALL, on a Saturday.  Not just a Saturday, a beautiful Saturday.  Talk about some BS.  Right now I am waiting on getting my iPhone looked at.  I had to drive an hour and a half to get here. Why?  The Alderwood Mall is the closet Apple Store to Bellingham.  The other option would have been to drive over the boarder to the store in Vancouver, BC.  All I want to do is get an iPhone that will connect to the ATT service that I pay way too much money for.  I have had dropped calls and intermittent service for about a month now.  Lets see if this works out in my favor.

I just want to go SNOWBOARDING!

Yesterday was amazing at Baker.  People were charging the mountain super hard with amazingly light, soft NW snow.  Not exactly what any of us had expected to happen in April, but alas, we hit it with smiles.  Forrest Burki ollied over a chute on the Beast that was about a 70 foot gap/drop.  Nick Ennen was spinning his heart out.  Tarek Husevold and many other of the local shreds were taking on the avi danger with extreme care as the light snow from the Thursday night was releasing on the steeps.  Pay close attention to the WildCard Movies and Funner Snowboarding YouTube pages for sneak peeks at all of the action from the late Winter/ early Spring storms!

Update on the wait:  Been here for 30 minutes, with an appointment, and still not being helped.  Why?  Everyone and their mother is here for an iPad.  WTF?

Late Winter

The past two weeks have been pretty phenomenal at Mt. Baker.  We received a ton of snow.  I believe that this might have been one of the best storms of the season.  My entire Spring Break was riding, minus two rest days.  Last week was the first week of classes.  I went from Tuesday to Thursday, then rode the mountain on Friday with my friend Seth.  He came up for the weekend from Port Angeles.  We killed amazing powder with almost no one at the mountain.  Lines for days with free refills!  I rode some chutes that I have never been through, pillow drops, powder valleys, and secret "staches" that will remain on the down low.

Saturday was the Easter Egg Hunt at Baker.  There were almost one million people on the hill, not really egg-agerating.  The lift lines were insane and the powder that had fallen Friday and Friday night was gone within a few hours.  Pretty much an epic day two.  I tried to ride some of the same crazy lines that I had ridden on Friday, only to find the pillows had been smashed and the run-outs were chopped.  It's pretty amazing how people manage to ride across the landing areas and run-outs of super sweet chutes and pillows causing one hell of a bumpy ride for those of us that actually hit that shit and try to bomb it.  

Yesterday was Easter.  There was hardly anyone at the mountain.  The lift lines were non-existent and the powder lines were endless out on the Shucksan Arm and Hemispheres.  All of that good snow from the days prior was holding to the snowpack amazingly and there didn't appear to be much if any movement and sliding.  I took three laps out on the Arm and had probably the best straight vertical dropping fall line of my life on the last trip out, but no helmet footage to go with it.  I wussed out of hiking anymore after that due to lack of recuperation from riding and Big Sexxy's birthday party the night before at Plan B Saloon.  Austin Jenkes killed it and we all got smashed.  Jenna was asked to leave the establishment early after we were swing dancing and raising hell.  Sadly, I forfeited my afternoon pow-lines for a sissy nap in Seth's truck.  

The weekend was a success, alas I must hit the books and return to the life of a college student.  Hopefully we get some more snow this week up on the mountain for my return this coming weekend!  I'll try to get some photos and video up on the web to go with this post later on.

More Snowbearding

Deep pow turns, glistening tree-tops heavy with mountain fresh precip, whumping sounds galore?  

Yep, that's right it's Spring again in the PNW.  We got that March new snow over the past week and it has been a really great ride.  Time to take another day and head out on the Mountain.  The past few have been totally loaded with fun and exciting lines, drops, and of course everyone's favorite:  

POWDER SLAMS!

Get outside and enjoy the fresh air.  I'll be back inside soon enough to blog about the adventure!

A New Storm

Over the past two weeks I have been completely immersed in my studies.  I have been on WWU campus an average of 10 hours a day.  By average I mean most of the days I have spent more than that, but I am considering weekend days, too.  This busy schedule of learning, followed by more schooling has been a pretty big downer for me.  My only real saving grace has been that there really has not been a whole lot of snow hitting the Pacific Northwest.

As I wrap up my classes and get set for my finals schedule to commence next week I find that I am in a great need for a snow-day.  My last day of riding was February 27. (eek!)

The past few days have dumped approximately two feet of fresh on the local mountains.  This means that tomorrow, Saturday March 13, I am going to wake up mighty early and try to beat the masses of people who are just like me, snow depraved and itching, up to Mt. Baker.  My roommate rode today and informed me that it was super heavy and got a little bit sticky.  Tomorrow is going to be a good day for me to work on some much needed relaxation by way of powder slashes and hopefully some epic lines.

As for the hiking, the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center is calling for some High and Moderate Avalanche conditions in the area.  My buddy is thinking about heading up from Port Angeles to take some turns.  He and I have not ridden together in a couple of years and we have both progressed in the interim.  My backcountry access is pretty limited as I don't have snowshoes or a split-board.  On the fly snowpack analysis and careful route planning are going to be the key to a fun and exhilarating day on the mountain away from the masses.  If you plan on heading out of bounds know your limits and know the snow!!!

Good luck to the competitors at the Summit at Snowqualmie tomorrow competing for 35k worth of cash prizes at the Ride Shakedown!  I would be there if I didn't have to hit the books more tonight and again on Sunday.  If you can't make it to the Summit and aren't going to be hitting the slopes yourself you can catch all the action live from 2 - 930 PM (PST) on FuelTv!

What is the Holy Oly?

Elusive.  

This weekend I had the opportunity to head down to Seattle to kick it with a couple friends of mine and head out to The Summit at Snowqualmie.  I had heard of an event going down so I talked to my buddy Scotty about it last week and we got plans in motion to go.  Friday was a bit of a mess.  I had wanted to get on the road by about 4 or 5 to get down South and possibly hit up night riding at Steven's Pass.  I met with a couple other people from my Finance 341 class to knock out homework that was due Saturday and it took us six hours to complete the assignment.  Scotty had been waiting for me to get on the road at 3, but I didn't get over to his house to pick him up until 630.  Night skiing was out.

We hopped on the road and got ahold of a friend of mine that lives in Seattle.  We hadn't seen each other in a few months so I decided that we would stop by for a spaghetti meal.  Cletus works the Race Team and Special Events at Snowqualmie and I figured that would work out rad to have someone in the know to show me around the place.  We ate dinner and hung out, waxed a couple boards, drank some beers.  Next thing I knew we were all getting in a cab headed to a club downtown.  I don't know if you are like me, but I don't exactly look the part for a certain type of city club.  

We got to the club and I was surprised that they let me in the door.  The dress code was no hoodies, hats, long sleeve t-shirts, etc.  I had a hoodie, hat, crazy facial hair and was allowed entry, sans hat of course.  Things were pretty decent inside.  Dim lighting, pool tables, video projection screens, attractive ladies, but way too many popped collars for me.  Not only that, but the way that the bar gets away with no cover has to be the fact that they charge 8 bones for a drink.  Not even a double, and 5 bucks for a draft beer.  Totally weak.  We had some drinks and before I knew it I was being physically picked up by a bouncer and "escorted" out of the bar.  While I was being carried I asked the dude what was up, to which the reply was "Don't fight it, shut up, outside."  I guess that's the protocol when dealing with undesirable hippie looking dudes in your not-so-classy club.  Scotty and I hung out outside waiting for the others around the corner.  We walked around the front of the building only to see them getting in a cab and taking off.  Nice.  By the time 4 AM rolled around we were finally making our way back to the house and totally wasted.  Not exactly what I had in mind when I left Bellingham earlier that night. 

After getting in a couple hours of sleep Scotty woke me up and we all got ready to go to the mountains.  We stopped and got some crappy fast-food, gas, and got on the road.  After stopping back by the house to pick up my phone.  (Did I mention I was wasted still?)  We got to the mountain around 930 or 10.  The first spot we rode was Alpental.  I had never been there before and was really excited to ride a new place.  The terrain was awesome, but no new snow in quite some time.  The South facing slopes were warming up, but the conditions were still not ideal for snowboarding.  We rode the lifts two or three times searching for pow, but only got into some on the North side of the mountain.  The top part of the hill was totally had and super icy.  We took the rope line down on the outer part of the ski area boundary and decided that we should go across the highway and try to find the "Holy Oly."

We first got to the Summit Central and checked out what time the park learning sessions were being offered.  It was about 1230, so we had an hour and a half to kill before we would be allowed to access the park.  We took some laps and raced around the hill for a while.  Checked back at the hut and drank a couple of beers in the trees getting safe for our park safety briefing.  The good news is that once you have sat through the video and filled out the necessary paperwork you are good to go for the entire season.  I don't know if I will be making it back down this year, but it is still good to know.  My homey signed my name up on the roster list for me.  The outcome: a one of a kind pass for yours truly.  Lesson learned:  Nothing ever comes for free, not even putting your name on a list.  =)

After we sat through the class and got our learn on we hit up the hill again, this time through the park.  The upper part of the park was pretty chill.  Nice little hips and some jib obstacles to play on.  After the first set they have a couple small kickers set up into your choice of two hip spines to air over.  I am proclaiming myself as "King of the "Gay"-Straight Air".  I can steez out the test run like no other.  By the time I made it back to the lift I had lost all three of my buddies.  Instead of riding the lift again I wanted to try and find this "Holy Oly" thing that was supposed to be going on.  Summit East they said.  

I ate a bagel or three and hopped in the truck, almost forgetting my board in the snowbank.  Drove over to the Summit East.  Still no "Holy Oly."  I met up with Scotty and we kicked it there for a while.  I tried calling Justin and Cletus several times each but to no avail.  Apparently they left their phones in the truck.  After about half an hour I heard my name being shouted across the parking lot.  They walked the whole way over to the other parking lot instead of taking the shuttle.  I guess that didn't help what concussion Justin had received riding through the park.  I guess communication only works when you try.  I got a little bit of an earful, but didn't really care too much.  Shit, I got left at the bar in Seattle the night before.  Shit happens, right?

We were all hungry and had been hearing about the Cobra Dogs and Olympia at the "Holy Oly" all day and it wasn't happening for us.  We asked one of the shuttle drivers where the damn thing was going down.  They said we were almost there, just keep heading down to Hyak.  We climbed back in truck and kept moving onward.  By the time we made it to the hill the competition was over and the other people walking down the hill told us that it was over, the Cobra Dogs were gone and we missed the Awards ceremony.  Damn.  So much for the "Holy Oly." 

(photo Pat Kennedy)

Congratulations to Austin Hironaka for taking the half-pallet of Oly and the title of "Holiest of the Oly".  Austin shreds and has some rad style!

After finding out that we missed the show and festivities we headed back to the Summit Central.  We went into the bar, had a beer and a burger.  Scotty wanted to ride more and I was completely rocked from the lack of sleep so I took a nap while he rode and Justin and Cletus drank a couple more beers in the bar.  After a few runs Scotty came back to the truck to see if I wanted to get some turns in.  I was so beat and could only think about the fact that we still had a lot of traveling to be done before I could get into my big bed and sleep for real.  I passed on the night skiing.  We took the gear back to Alpental and got on the road.   

Made it back to Bellingham around 1030.  Pretty much one of the craziest, fullest 36 hours I have had in a long time.  I'm still hungry and want that Cobra Dog with an Olympia, dammit.  Next year, for sure!

Ps. Avoid the Copper Cart in Seattle.