Unofficial Squaw - Reporting Daily From Tram Rock

ATTENTION ALL SNOW HUMANS!

by Miles Clark
 

Avalanche Education:  the ISSW comes to Squaw Valley

October 17th - October 22nd, 2010.  Resort at Squaw Creek, Squaw Valley, California.

Website:  www.issw2010.com   Schedule:  http://issw2010.com/ISSW2010_Schedule.pdf 
 
 
TAHOE SNOW HUMANS!  In Tahoe, there is no longer any excuse to not get some avy education.  A plethora of classes and workshops are offered all over the Tahoe Basin every winter.  And now….

The INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM of SNOW SCIENCE (ISSW) is headed to Squaw Valley (Yeah, it’s pretty bad ass!)
"I think it is an honor to be hosting so many "Rockstars" of the avalanche world here in Lake Tahoe. Its an amazing opportunity for our local ski tribe to have access to these folks and to be able to attend this International conference right in our back yard!"   Lel Tone (Alaska Heli ski guide, Squaw Valley ski patroller, and Squaw Valley assistant avalanche forecaster)

This should be a  no-brainer for local skiers and riders.  At this conference we’ll get the chance to wrap our minds around the most cutting edge avalanche information available as told by the world‘s best.  This conference is held in a different part of the world every 2 years.  We are extremely lucky they have chosen Lake Tahoe this year and we need to take advantage it.  

This conference will be covering everything you can possible imagine pertaining to avalanches and how they affect us and our industry.  

Get online and register for this one people.  www.issw2010.com.  The dates are Oct. 18th - 22nd, 2010, but you can simply register for just the days you can make it, or just for the days that interest you most.     
 
From Squaw’s press release:

By Seth Lightcap

Like a wad of cash without a wallet, peel off a couple minutes and check out MONEY LINE$, a new video series highlighting wicked and stylish action sports exploits.

To pop the cork on this new series I took North Tahoe ripper Greg Clark out to a steep sea of Cali granite for some legit MTB freeriding. Clark slayed the zone sending butter smooth lines through the bullet-hard waves.

Watch out for future volumes of MONEY LINE$ dropping every few weeks throughout the Fall and Winter.

Here is the Farmers Almanac prediction for the 2011 Winter.

"For the coming year, the Farmers’ Almanac predicts that Old Man Winter will exhibit a “split personality.” The eastern third of the country, (New England down to Florida and as far west as the lower Ohio River and Mississippi River Valley), will experience colder-than-normal winter temperatures. Across New England, where relatively balmy temperatures prevailed during the winter of 2009–2010, the upcoming winter will be the equivalent of a cold slap in the face, as we forecast much colder-than-normal temperatures." farmersalmanac.com

By Seth Lightcap

Tis the season once again!....Y'all ready to welcome back winter at a few ski/shred movie premiere parties?

As usual, we've got showings of all the biggest and baddest flicks coming to the local area including the highly anticipated world premiere of Jeremy Jones' signature backcountry snowboarding film - DEEPER. Here's the 411:

TGR's DEEPER - WORLD PREMIERE

Friday, September 10th - Truckee River Amphitheatre - Truckee, CA

Tickets - $15 at door, Children under 8 free with paying adult, Entry includes 2-for-1 voucher to Alpine Meadows.

Expo - 6-8 pm. Show at 8 pm. After Party at 50-50 Brewery.

Additional DEEPER tour dates:

SF - Independent - September 13

Reno - JA Nugget - October 5

Sacramento - Tower Theatre - October 7

More info: http://www.tetongravity.com/deeper/

Hit the jump to see info and tour dates for Standard Films, Volcom, Absinthe Films, Matchstick and TGR!

South America Part 1

By, Jaclyn Paaso

I arrived in Santiago, Chile about two weeks ago for the first stop of the Freeskiing World Tour. I booked my ticket on a Thursday and flew out the next Monday. It was a last minute trip, but totally worth it.

Flying out from Reno and just happened to run into the majority of the MSI crew in Salt Lake City. It was a great surprise since I had no idea what I was going to do when I got to Santiago. My destination was El Colorado, Chile a 39km ride from the Santiago airport which goes up one of the scariest switch-backed roads I’ve ever traveled on! It was 8AM in Santiago when myself, the MSI crew and a few other athletes conjoined for our travel up to El Colorado, after 22 hours of traveling.

Andy Wirth’s Brave New World

By Robert Frohlich

Like many ski resort operators, each fall morning Andy Wirth emerges into the open air of the resort to stick his ski pole into what amounts of moisture, if any, lay about, prodding the ground like a baker sticking a toothpick into a cake to see if it’s ready.

Sierra Nevada weather, if only early fall, is always cause for concern, but ski-resort operators are eternal optimists. Andy Wirth, newly appointed president of Squaw Valley Ski Corp., is no different.

This is Kong-sized news for Squaw Valley’s Homeric history. It’s the first time the resort’s 61-year history that it has not been under the direct leadership of the Cushing family. Wirth, a well-regarded, 46-year-old ski industry executive from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, follows Nancy Cushing, who retires after 16 years as president and CEO of Squaw Valley Ski Corp. Her husband, founder Alex Cushing, died in 2006 at age 92.

Long-time Tahoe journalist Robert Frohlich recently sat down with Wirth to discuss Squaw’s shortcomings and the changes that might be on tap for Tahoe’s most famous of ski resorts.

FROHLICH: Squaw Valley has the most loyal season pass holders, customers and employees in the country. They are each asking the same question – Who is driving this buggy? Who is in charge?

WIRTH: (Laughing) It’s safe to say it’s me. I wouldn’t have taken this position without complete and 100% unanimous support of the Squaw Valley Board of Directors. Nancy Cushing remains as chairman of the Board, but I’m running the show. I want to add that Nancy has been very generous and professional in handing over the reins. I answer to the Board, which is our Executive Team. Squaw Valley’s success will be determined on the success of our team to maintain a professional, accountable, responsible and dedicated effort to Squaw Valley’s future.

FRO: But Squaw Valley has always been run by an oligarchy, an authoritative, all powerful, supreme administration that micro managed its departments and dictated all final decisions.

READ FULL POST

By Seth Lightcap

I don't know about you, but watching wingsuit BASE jumping videos like this ridiculous edit by Matt Gerdes make me sick...with envy!! How dare they fly so damn casually. Let alone skim face first down such insane terrain?! Doesn't that defy some ancient metaphysical law of nature: Humans do NOT fly.  But why question it. The real question is...why aren't I flying? I want to fly!

Who doesn't. Well, I'm sure a few of you want no business in jumping off cliffs for sport, but I know a lot of you are just like me - hooked on the freefall adrenaline and naturally curiously about serious airtime. I mean it feels good when you sail over a 40 foot jump, a 4000 foot flight has got to feel 100 times as good?

I wish I knew. I've yet to make it down to the Parachute Center in Lodi, CA for an intro tandem skydive. No doubt it will happen soon though, especially since getting a hold of The Great Book Of BASE, a new BASE jumping guidebook authored by the same guy who made the video above, Matt Gerdes.

Anyone with an interest in BASE jumping should check out 'The Great Book of BASE' as it is the most comprehensive and diverse collection of BASE information ever published. When I picked it up I couldn't put it down. The pictures and stories are stunning and the explanations of both the dangers and technicalities are very well presented. It may seem silly to learn an extreme sport from a book but this is a different story. Gerdes has put together an inspirational volume chalk full of stories that might make you want to start packing for Lodi right now or might make you want to never, ever consider jumping...and that's his point.

You can order the book online at www.base-book.com. To give you a taste of what's behind the cover read on for some exclusive thoughts from Gerdes about getting started and the difference between BASE jumping and skiing...

Photos by www.teamillvision.com

Stoked to get the truth out there, The Great Book of BASE author Matt Gerdes shared a few thoughts about getting started. Listen up:

If you aren’t sure whether or not BASE is for you, then it probably isn’t. When I saw it, I knew. The first time I was exposed to the sport was watching Frank Gambalie’s home video in Tahoe circa 1999, and also seeing my friend Dave Barlia’s snowboard BASE in Norway for TB7. As soon as I saw those images, I was 100% sure that I wanted to do it, and it was only a matter of time before I found the connections, time, and resources to make it happen.

 The process, once you embark upon it, starts very quickly. JT could take you BASE jumping at the Perrine Bridge tomorrow with zero experience, and then you can call yourself a BASE jumper. Some jumps are really so simple that just about anyone can do it. But reaching the higher levels requires a considerable amount of investment: months of skydiving, months of BASE training, all of which hopefully adds up to years if you’re keen to try wingsuit BASE.   

Progression pretty much always starts with skydiving. There is no other recommendable path. Skydive a lot – really a lot. More is better. Get comfortable with every aspect of the sport, and then call JT and get him to take you to the bridge. Or, find a First Jump Course: www.asylumbase.com and www.apexbase.com both offer excellent courses for people who have already fulfilled the required 150-200 skydives.

 I’ll part with this: BASE jumping is really f@#king easy compared to skiing. Since we all grew up skiing, it feels easy to us now, but if a 20-something were to start the sport then he / she would probably face nearly a decade of hard work to achieve the flow that now comes naturally to us. BASE is not that way. You don’t have to shift hemispheres to do it year-round, it’s less of a conditions sport, and there are more quality BASE objects than there are quality ski areas in the USA. You can reach a pretty high level in just a few years if you devote yourself to a solid and orderly progression. And when all goes well in BASE, it’s ridiculously easy. But when shit hits the fan, then all of a sudden it feels really hard and complicated. So you need to lay the foundation for ‘that situation’ because it comes for everyone, eventually.

- Matt Gerdes

For more wise words about getting into BASE - www.base-book.com

Now back to the DZ...another wicked edit from Gerdes...

Freeride World Tour Tram Face 2010 from UnofficialSquaw on Vimeo.

Here are some of the highlights from the Freeride World Tour stop in Squaw Valley USA.

World Freeride Tour Highlights from UnofficialSquaw on Vimeo.

Unofficial Video Guy Jeff Wright has been following around JT Holmes and Timy Dutton as they compete on the World Freeride Tour. Here is a look at some of the action he has captured from the first two events.

This is footage from the last two days of skiing at Squaw Valley.  The big storm allowed Squaw Valley locals to send it big and have fun getting face shots.  Hopefully it's not over yet!  Enjoy.

Fingers Crash Fest Jan 21st from UnofficialSquaw on Vimeo.

Hey check out this video of everyone crashing in the fingers. I think there were about 3 stuck lines. What do you guys think?

Trip Report Russia 2010 By JT Holmes
We, the Unofficial crew, are here in Sochi, Russia for the Freeride World Tour’s first stop. The same place that MSP produced that killer segment with Pep Fujas and Eric Pollard for the movie Hit List. The ski resort and village is called Krasnaya Polyana, and they will be hosting the 2014 Olympics, hence a tremendous amount of construction in the valley, a statistic was shared that every 7 seconds, a big truck drives by in this town. The overwhelming consensus is that the construction has thrown off the mini climate of the valley, raising temperatures angering the mountains. Muddy roads, workers burning the forest away, boulders being ground into gravel, dump trucks, back hoes, front end loaders, massive drills, storage containers, you name it. It is really quite ugly, but at the same time quite entertaining. Seems like utter chaos. Twice we have spotted guys running huge machines completely asleep with the engine still idling. The first 3 chairlifts carry us right through one of the many construction zones. We have to actually ride with our skis on our lap, because there is no snow for the load and unload stations. Of course we have to download at the end of the day. Another unique thing about the skiing experience here in Krasnaya Polyana in 2010 is the loudspeakers on the chairlift towers with a constant buzz to them, and a repeated message in Russian of course that states: “Freeriding off-piste is strictly forbidden. Skiers must not ski when drunk, and skiers under the age of 14 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.” I guess they have a lot of drunk 14 year olds going out and ripping lines!

The conditions over here at the moment are quite poor, but due to a good crew we still have fun. Highlights include some pow on top of bushes and leaves our first day, another day when avalanche conditions were %100., some buttery groomers that we had to poach (my first time poaching a groomer) and yesterday, we all seemed to go out there and jump off of whatever we could find. It was the type of snow you tend to find in May in Squaw. Heavy glop that runs really slowly and wet avalanches everywhere. The lower elevation groomers are turning brown, it really is just like late spring.

Now for some Photos

Check out our new means of marketing.  Blaster Tyler Boutelle installed the "UnofficialSquaw" flag the other day and snapped this photo.  Look out for it when cruising up the Funitel or Tram Car.

Revelstoke Comp Highlights video from UnofficialSquaw on Vimeo.

Take a look at our footage from Day 1 and Day 2 of the Canadian Freeskiing Championships up in Revelstoke, BC Canada from this past weekend.  It was a great weekend for us as we got to document Blaster Arne Backstrom win big and take home the Sick Bird Award.  All the competitors went large and skied very impressively.  Big thanks to Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Mountain Sports International and everyone else that made the comp fun and successful.