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Gaper Day 2008 - Whistler

J Dogg — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:41:43 -0400

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Oh yes, it happened. If you were there, you'll never be the same. If you weren't there, you'll have no choice but to live life wondering how much more complete you might feel - having experienced Gaper Day - Whistler - 2008.

Dismal weather conditions couldn't hold back the hordes of Gapers this year. Skiers and boarders from near and far brought their rock boards and skinny skis out of the shed for one last epic day on the hill, celebrating the end of another epic season at Whistler Blackcomb.

Innocent bystanders near the Longhorn were treated with a rare spectacle as Gapers gathered left right and center. Survival suits, jeans, hot pink stretchies, bath robes, flourescents, suspenders, bomber jackets, one pieces, and more. And that was just the beginning.

Heading up the mountain it soon became apparent that Gaper Day had grown to new proportions.

There were Gapers everywhere - so much that the core group or 'gaper pelaton' couldn't keep together for 10 seconds. Total Gaper chaos. New faces all around, with new progressive gaper skiing to boot.

The quickly deteriorating ski conditions from May made for phenomenal Gaper Day exploration. Bush jumps, rock grinds, grass patches galore. And with so little group cohesion this year, it wasn't about showing off your Gaper skills to the rest of the group. It was about soul searching and releasing your own true Gaper potential, falling into a creek with nobody watching, hoping you'll get out. Straightlining a foggy patch of grass, not knowing what's at the other end.

As always, Doglotion claimed there would be a pile of gold and a humungous trophy to the silliest sillygoater of them all. While we once again forgot to build the trophy, we did see some notable performances that can't go unmentioned...

Barry Anderson getting friendly with the rocks and ponds in more ways than he expected, and pioneering new lines all by himself in the woods. 'Chek Petr' refusing to coward from rock lines. That random jibber guy with the white bomber jacket, blowing past everyone and straight-lining a huge pass of dirt and rocks, flipping the bird to onlookers as he went. Dude with puffy, bleeding cheek who got intimate with the in-run of the table top jump. Gaper flips and spins from Robbie Dagg and cohorts. Bigfoot rippin' by Dana Flahr & Chris Turpin. And so on...

And lets not forget the arguable Do Do Bird Award Winner... Brian Coles. Driving up solo from the Fraser Valley, he was on an all day Gaper Assault mission. Brian enjoys reading poetry and long walks on the beach, and his daily antics included the picnic bench rocker slide, Glacier Creek stair grinding (indoor and out), high speed grass lines, and last tracks of the season across 'zigzag lake', the ice-chunk filled mega puddle on the ski out.

Huge thanks to everybody for coming out and making it hands down the biggest Gaper Day yet. Now all we need to do is learn how to stick together, and things will get really ugly.

Stay tuned for the Gaper Day 2008 teaser vid coming soon, and more photos on Flickr as they come in.

Wicked Season. Done.

Gaper Day 2007 - The Ultimate Regression

J Dogg — Wed, 6 Jun 2007 23:20:57 -0400

Rating

Words cannot describe the display of sillyness, ferocity, passion, fashion innovation, and blasphemy that made up Gaper Day 2007 - a day for all gapers to be proud of. It was in the cards, the most epic winter season in memory could only be followed by an even more epic season ender bender. The slushy snow conditions were prime, the temps - a smoking 30 degrees celsius, and the stars were aligned. We think.

A 40-pack of Gapers slowly emerged from different corners of the village, gathering at ground zero at the Longhorn, much to the confusion of tourists and Mountain Bike Park riders alike. Out came one-pieces, jean shorts, spandex, hot-pants & fish-nets, bikinis, suit jackets, and to top it all off - Jonny "Nacho Libre" Law in full topless sparkling mexican wrestling attire. Some morning stair grinding by the Pan Pacific set the tone for the day, but it was only the beginning of what was to come.

With only a few chairlifts open, the horde of gapers (now some 6 dozen strong) were confined to the narrow reaches of Jersey Cream Chair, making for a Gaper concentration like never before. Rapid fire chain-gang off the table-tops, gang-bang attacks on Lift Line, the Bite, and Cafe Cliffs, and general good-quality gaper shredding.

With such an epic pack of shredders, no one Gaper was able to stand out amongst the do-do birds and 'officially' claim the Sillygoating World Champion title... but some honorable mentions are well deserved:

...Jonny Law for taking ski fashion to a whole new level, and breaking his ski while he was at it

...S.M.U.T. for given'er like only he can, and drawing blood for safe measure

...that high-school kid pointing it like no-one else

...Bob Kitchen for kartwheeling into the days' first bail segment

...Lotte for reminding us that all Snowlerbladers are fairies, literally

...Giggs for not taking no for an answer when it came to the great 'ski to the valley' debate, and the brave souls who followed him

...yours truly, not to toot my own horn, but think I claimed the bail of the day by a healthy margin, with the ditch to spread eagle on land to header somersault on dirt & rocks

...and lastly, the guy in the speedo, whoever he was. Did he even know it was Gaper Day?

Here's a few shots from official Gaper photographer Jordan Manley that can only hint at the nonsense of the day. Plus keep your eye out for Paul Cotton's video coming at'cha soon. Afterall, if words can't describe it, we can only hope Paul's-eye-view captured some of the glorious and monumental regressions in freeskiing that was Gaper Day 2007.

Jonny "Nacho Libre" Law in fine form.

Merlins stairs adding new terrain to Blackcomb.

Uh, yup.

Lift line assault. Bit overexposed, but hey, so were we.

Some people are taking their park skills to the backcountry, Brian is taking it indoors.

Andre sillygoating.

This one speaks for itself.

Mathieu and the girls, uh, all pretty in pink.

Chad & Andre capping off an epic day in style.

Taking Out the Euro Trash

J Dogg — Tue, 10 May 2005 00:00:00 -0400

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June 5, 2005 is a day to mark on your calendar. Hell, it's worth buying a calendar for. The umpteenth annual GAPER DAY will be going off once again on the last day of Whistler's ski season. It's only 2 weeks away, so we thought everyone might need a little inspiration. While in Europe in March/April, we went on a Gaper Patrol mission throughout Austria and Switzerland, here's just a select handful of photos from the birthplace and eternal homeland of flourescent one-piece suits. The rest are viewable on Flickr.