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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.

Simon Dumont World Record Quarterpipe Highest Air

J Dogg — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

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Skiing prodigy and X Games star Simon Dumont accomplished the unthinkable today, establishing a new world record for highest air on a quarterpipe as he launched 35 feet into thin air at his home resort of Sunday River in Maine.

On the world's tallest quarterpipe (38-feet tall and 78-feet wide) custom-built by Snow Park Technologies, and with a representative from FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski ) appointed by Guinness Book of World Records on location to document the record-breaking moment, Dumont beat previous record holder Terje Haakonsen's 32 feet 6 inches during his last day of attempts.

Soaring a breathtaking 73 feet above the ground -- more than a seven-story building -- this hometown hero sent the intimate crowd of family and friends into a frenzy as they witnessed the record-breaking moment.

"I wasn't sure how this would all go down today with the wind and some healing injuries I've been nursing," says Dumont. "As I was dropping down the hill into the run-in it just hit me that this would be it -- the rest is history."

Making the attempt had been on Simon's mind for several years, but once snowboard legend Terje Haakonsen set the record in 2007 going 32 feet 6 inches high with a backside 360 at The Arctic Challenge in Oslo, Norway, Dumont knew he wanted to be the first to break it. So in 2008, Dumont turned to Red Bull and Sunday River to bring the project to life.

Although Snow Park Technologies has built countless quarterpipes over the years, this was the first developed specifically for both a single athlete and the Guinness Book. "Building a quarterpipe for just one athlete exactly the way he wants it is unique for us," says SPT's Corley Howard. "I'm super excited to be a part of this project ... after seeing Simon get huge airs in the halfpipe at the X Games, we were hoping he'd go for the record." After two days of framing the quarterpipe with a snowcat, and three days of precisely hand shaping the 38-foot wall from the top down, Howard along with fellow SPT builder Jeremy Carpenter had done all they could do. It was time for Simon to get to work.

The project began Tuesday morning when Dumont arrived on site directly off a flight from Sweden. Dumont began hitting the quarterpipe in the early afternoon when he reached heights as high as 28 feet, before drifting in the air and falling nearly 66 feet onto the snow below. Dumont's hard hitting landing caused him to bruise his heel and aggravate an existing knee injury. After seeing the doctor, Simon returned to the hill on Wednesday, but was plagued by his injuries and was forced to recuperate for the rest of the day. Thursday was disrupted by high winds forcing the entire staff to delay their flights in order to provide Simon with one more opportunity to attempt the World Record.

At 9 a.m. Friday morning Simon showed up with his game face on and was ready for his final attempts. After an hour of repeatedly hitting the quarterpipe, at 10:12 a.m. EDT Dumont hiked an additional 15 feet up the hill to gain more speed. Simon crouched into a tucked position going 55 mph down the in-run and not only launched 35 feet into the air, but spun a 900 in the process (a trick where the athlete spins 2.5 complete rotations in the air).

And what better place to carry out this history-making moment than Sunday River, New England's premier ski destination located in the Mahoosuc Mountains of western Maine, where it all began for Dumont. "Simon grew up here in the town of Bethel shredding the slopes at Sunday River so we were thrilled to help him bust the record," says Alex Kaufman, Communications Manager for Sunday River. Marketing Manager Nick Lambert continues, "Sunday River is best known for our snowmaking and for the large amount of ski terrain we have to offer, both of which helped make the resort the right location for this event." As far as this quarterpipe being the tallest freestyle feature ever built in the world, here at Sunday River, Kaufman comments, "We're all about putting the snow we make all year to good use in the spring. Simon going for a world record at Sunday River was pretty darn good use!"

So, with the mission accomplished for 21-year-old Simon Dumont, what's next on the horizon? "I plan to go film for the rest of the season, then take a good vacation this summer before refocusing on next year," says Dumont.

Road Trip - Revelstoke Mountain & Rogers Pass

J Dogg — Tue, 4 Mar 2008 01:09:57 -0500

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If money grew on trees, the Revelstoke roadtrip would have made us filthy rich. Pockets stuffed to the brim, shirt stuffed like a pregnant lady, and a trail of fifties and hundee's tracing our every step. If witches are truly made of wood like folklore has it, bet there's a hell of a lot of those chasing us too. And if the slang 'woody' came from anywhere...

OK I'll stop there.

What do these all have in common? Woods, or trees to be precise. Lots of them. 5000 steep feet of them, in every direction. Scattered with pillows, gulleys, chutes, and more. Found only at the brand spankin' new Revelstoke Mountain Resort.

Sure small resorts all over BC have'em. But Revelstoke isn't small, far from it. We're talking small mountain feel, small mountain crowds, and the biggest vert in North America once the gondola is finished.

So on our usual hunt for witches, cash, and woodies, we packed the Subaru and b-lined for Revelstoke. We hadn't checked the forecast but new we didn't have to. It's been an epic season to kick off the new resort's history, with 2 meters in the week leading up to our a trip, and a welcome 15 cm dusting with bluebird skies to start off our weekend.

Up we went up the looooong gondi, up their first highspeed chair, and over to 'North Bowl', just like we'd been instructed, and it didn't dissapoint. The zone is packed with chutes, gulleys, trees, small cliffs, and a few biggies worthy of Jamie Pierre visit. Plenty of pow to go around, even on what happened to be the busiest day the new resort had seen yet, by far. Twice as busy as they'd anticipated, even putting opening day to shame. Seems the cat's out of the bag, and the chairlifts planned for the next few years won't be going to waste.

Day 2 the bluebirds were even bluer, with an inversion that cleared the skis as far as we could see. And that's when the druling problem started. Snow stability wasn't great that week, but our minds did enough wandering to wet the bed time and time again. The ridges below Critical Summit leading down to next year's chairlift look out of control. The lift accessed touring to Montana Bowl and the other areas above the cat skiing operation are in easy grabbing distance and all worth the tour.

Speaking of touring... no Revelstoke road trip is complete without a 45minute drive up the road to the infamous Rogers Pass... aka the best easiest touring spot you'll ever find.

Not yet through with the taste of pillows and trees that Revelstoke Mountain Resort had wet our appetities with, we spent our sunny pow day in Rogers pass doing laps in the Puffy Daddy area of Hermit Ridge. 3000ft pillow lines, untracked from top to bottom, within 100ft of the parking lot... on the busiest ski weekend of the season. Better than heliskiing - but for free - does that count as finding money on trees? Not too shabby at all, and only 45 minutes away from our base in Revelstoke.

So with cash and woodys under our belt, I mean woods, where were the witches? ...they're coming. Migrating to Revelstoke, one by one, from popular ski resorts around Canada and the Pacific North West, keen skiers and riders are gathering here to be a part of something new. Legends of what Revelstoke has to offer have been spreading like wildfire.

You've got the early believers who moved before it opened, like Jay & Tasha, Whistler's GLC expats who shipped out 3 years ago to open 'The Great White North' restaurant and bar in the middle of nowhere out side of town, only to now be killing it as the place to be for dinner and drinks. Or Paul 'Bones' Skelton, heading up the whole resort and making the dream a reality. Or Pontiac World of Skiing poster boy and man of mystery Joe Lammers drifting from Whistler to head up patrol with a clean slate and a brand new mountain to challenge and tame. Or the young Rocky Mountain Freeride Club rippers doing laps around me all weekend.

Revelstoke Moutain Resort isn't the next big thing. It already is big, and always has been. A big mountain with big vert, just minutes away from some of the best cat skiing, heli skiing, sled skiing, and backcountry skiing in North America.

Save a few leaves from your money tree, walk among the witches, check out Revelstoke Mountain Revelstoke, and enjoy the, uh, woods.

Details & Links
Revelstoke Mountain Resort
Snow Report
Snowphone -250.837.7389
Selkirk Tangiers Heliskiing
Revelstoke Cat Skiing

Lake Louise Opens Saturday

J Dogg — Thu, 8 Nov 2007 22:16:45 -0500

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In a secretive effort to make us Whistlerites jealous and incredibly anxious for winter, our neighbours at Lake Louise are opening this weekend! Here's what they have to say...

Lake Louise Mountain Resort will kick off the 2007/08 ski season on Saturday November 10th when the resort opens for skiers and riders. As is traditionally the case, Lake Louise will be among the first ski resorts in North America to open. The Resort is also preparing to host the world for the Annual Winterstart World Cup races scheduled for November 24-25 (Men) December 1-2 (Ladies).

This season will start on Saturday, November 10th with the opening of the Glacier Express Quad Chair, scheduled to open at 9am, and tentatively, the Magic Carpet/Learning Area. Terrain access will be limited to the main Wiwaxy run from the top of the Glacier Chair, and beginner terrain at the base of the Resort. As of opening day, the Resort is scheduled to be operating 7 days a week for the balance of the ski season.

Says Matt Mosteller, Senior Director of Business Development for the Resort, “Our crews have been working extremely hard to get the mountain in shape for ski season. We’re looking forward to being among the first to kick off the ski season in Canada!”

Snow is in the forecast this week for the Lake Louise area, which will add to the 20+ centimetres that have already settled on the upper mountain. Snow fencing/farming efforts and ongoing snowmaking are providing a positive outlook for additional terrain openings in the near future. Skiers and riders are advised that early season conditions do exist, and to ski and ride with care.

The adult lift ticket price on Saturday will be $36+GST. All facilities, including the Lodge of the Ten Peaks Café, Powderkeg Lounge, Slopeside Café, Daycare, Ski School, Rentals and Retail Shop will be open.

For more information about Lake Louise Mountain Resort, please call 1-800-258-7669 (SNOW). For up to date information, please visit www.skilouise.com or call the RCR Snow Phone at 244-6665.

Now is the time to purchase your Canadian Rockies Louise Card. For $79.95, the Canadian Rockies Louise Card offers 3 free ski days, as well as daily discounts off lift ticket purchases up to $26. Visit www.3freedays.com for more details.

Lake Louise Mountain Resort is getting ready to host the world with the Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup, presented by Bombardier. The Men’s Events will take place on November 24 and 25, and the Women’s Races will take place December 1 and 2. Come out and cheer on the world!

Early Winter - Sage's First Turns

J Dogg — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:54:16 -0400

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Thanks to all the mutlimedia in the world these days, the anticipation of winter is even harder to take. 'Cause no matter what the weather is like where you're sitting right now, you know there's snow somewhere, and early season keeners are hitting it... Take Sage Cattabriga-Alosa for example...

Here's some helmet cam footage from his first day of the season, October 8, in Alta. And stay tuned, the Doglotion crew is going shredding this weekend, it's dumping in BC!

2007 World Tour Schedule

J Dogg — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 01:03:30 -0400

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For all you big mountain rippers who think you have a shot at taking the IFSA World Freeskiing Tour by storm, it's time to get your game face on. The 2007 tour has been posted, and the list of pre-qualified athletes is up. If you're on the list, enjoy. If not, get your ass to the first competition and show'em what you got. Here's the details from MSI.

2007 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series & Freeskiing World Tour Athlete Information

Winter is fast approaching and that means so is competition season. After a hugely successful tour in 2006, MSI has decided to grow the Subaru U.S. Freesking Series by adding a fifth event. With the new event and expanded programs, such as same-day video, photo, and story coverage, 2007 is set to be the best year yet.

Registration for all events in the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series will begin on: November 1, 2006.

To register, please log onto www.usfreeskiing.com. To guarantee entry, athletes interested in competing—including World Tour IFSA pre-qualified athletes (see list below)—must register prior to the event and pay in full to be considered officially registered. A partial payment/deposit, will NOT secure you a spot. As always, entries are limited and events sell out within days, so we urge you to register early to avoid disappointment.

On the first morning of each event all athletes must check in at registration and sign waivers, purchase lift tickets, and receive bibs and start order. As a reminder, IFSA (International Freeskiers Association) memberships ARE REQUIRED for all athletes competing in the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Tour and Freeskiing World Tour. Please go to www.freeskiers.org to sign up. We are working to add a link from usfreeskiing.com to register for membership.

Due to the popularity of the Snowbird and Kirkwood World Tour Qualifiers, the qualifier run has been extended to a two-day event, with each athlete still only getting one run to qualify. This will increase the amount of athletes who are given the chance to qualify for the World Tour event.

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2007 SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING AND FREESKIING WORLD TOUR SCHEDULE & ENTRY FEES

SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING SERIES (STOP #1)
Telluride Freeskiing Open
Telluride, Colorado
February 8-11
Entry Fee: $150
*Prices do not include lift tickets

FREESKIING WORLD TOUR (STOP #1)
Les Arcs Freeride
Les Arcs, France
Feb 5-9
Entry fee: www.ridetheplanets.com

FREESKIING WORLD TOUR (STOP #2)
Verbier Ride
Verbier, Switzerland
Feb. 22-25
Entry fee: www.verbierride.com

SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING SERIES (STOP #2)
Location and Date TBD
Entry fee: $150
*Prices do not include lift tickets

U.S. FREESKIING SERIES (STOP #3)
FREESKIING WORLD TOUR (STOP #3)
U.S. Freeskiing Nationals
Snowbird, Utah
March 6-11

*Snowbird entry fees:
World Tour Qualifier: $100
(Athletes who qualify will pay an additional $125 for the main event)
World Tour Main Event (pre-qualified athletes): $175
*Prices do not include lift tickets

SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING SERIES (STOP #4)
Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
March 15-18
Entry fee: $150
*Prices do not include lift tickets

SUBARU U.S. FREESKIING SERIES FINALS (STOP #5)
Freeskiing World Tour (Stop #4)
North American Freeskiing Championships
Kirkwood, California
March 26-April 1

*Kirkwood entry fees:
World Tour Qualifier: $100
(Athletes who qualify will pay an additional $125 for the main event)
World Tour Main Event (pre-qualified athletes): $175
*Prices do not include lift tickets

FREESKIING WORLD TOUR FINALS (STOP #5)
Tignes, France
April – Dates TBD
Entry Fee: www.freeskiingworldtour.com

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PRE-QUALIFIED ATHLETES

Based on: Top World Tour point holders, top US series, winners of individual US and NA events, top Euro and NZ standings. Wild Cards may be added at specific events, approved by IFSA official.

**$ Indicates athletes that need to pay 2006 IFSA dues in order to be considered "Pre-Qualified" for 2007.

Men

1 Guerlain Chicherit **$ FRA
2 Mathieu Richard **$ CAN
3 Adrien Coirier FRA
4 Olivier Meynet **$ FRA
5 Nick Greener USA
6 Craig Garbiel USA
7 Rick Greener USA
8 Cedric Pugin **$ FRA
9 Drew Stoecklein **$ USA
10 Julien Gaidet **$ FRA
11 Cliff Bennett USA
12 Justus Meyer USA
13 Justin Modroo CAN
14 Drew Tabke USA
15 Tom Dunbar **$ NZ
16 Jason Dobbs USA
17 Christian Boucher **$ CAN
18 Reine Barkered **$ FRA
19 Jon Mullens AUS
20 Drew Billington USA
21 Jack Nelson USA
22 Victor Galuchot **$ FRA
23 Craig DiPietro **$USA
24 Olinne Glenne USA
25 Wille Lindberg USA
26 Jamie Blair USA
27 Jonny Manwaring USA
28 Chris Paulding USA
29 Aurelien Ducroz **$ FRA
30 Tom Dockter USA
31 Ben Wheeler USA
32 Arron Estrada USA
33 Chris Tatsuno USA
34 Kevin O'Meara USA
35 Chad Sayers CAN
36 Kaj Zackrisson SWE
37 Fred Mooney USA
38 Jonas Delogne **$
39 Thibault Des Camiers **$ FRA
40 Neil Valiton **$ FRA
41 Herve Gouy **$ FRA
42 Mathieu Vigier **$ FRA
43 Tyson Bolduc USA
44 Griffin Post USA
45 Hamish Acland NZ
46 Geoff Small **$ NZ
47 Alastair Eason **$ NZ
48 Ilian Petrov **$ BG
49 Mike Hopkins **$ CAN
50 Joel Jacques CAN

Women

1 Laura Ogden **$ CAN
2 Jess McMillan USA
3 Marte Lise Karlsen NOR
4 Carrie Jo Chernoff USA
5 Lynn Kennen **$ USA
6 Alaina Huestis USA
7 Libby Bittner **$ USA
8 Marie Pieronne **$ FRA
9 Amelie Simond **$ FRA
10 Shelly Robertson **$ USA
11 Andria Huskinson USA
12 Amy Holland **$USA
13 Jen Ashton CAN
14 Katharina Mihaljevic **$
15 Kelly Holland USA
16 Anik Demmers **$ USA
17 Beanie Milne Horne **$ NZ
18 Kirsty Exner **$ CAN
19 Maria Opelz **$
20 Jo Guest **$ UK
21 Camille Imbert **$ FRA
22 Guilia Monego ITA
23 Suzanne Graham USA
24 Galena Gleason **$ USA
25 Tanya Christensen **$ USA
26 Janina Kuzma **$ NZ
27 Kate McDougall NZ
28 Jacobina Home **$ NZ
29 Karolina Ekman CAN
30 Dina Power **$ CAN

Special thanks to our sponsors:
Subaru, TNF, Nordica, Yakima, A-Line, Skull Candy, Tramdock.com, Sports Insurance, Powder Magazine, Emergen-C, Leatherman, Grabber, Ski Press Magazine, IFSA, Snowbird, Jackson, Telluride, Kirkwood

British Ski Film Fest

J Dogg — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 01:20:57 -0400

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This is a bit random for a Whistler based mag, but hey, you UK shredders need all the stoke you can get this time of year to convince you to quit whatever you're doing in the UK and head to the Alps or beyond. Here's some ski flicks to do just that...

ONE NIGHT OF BRITISH FREESKI FILM MAKING

Since 1999, when Snow Odyssey first hit the cinemas, British Freeski film making has grown massively each year. British freeski film making each year battles against low budget but each resultant film shows the undoubted talent of those both in front and behind the camera. In previous years with Snow's In The House and Coefficient Drag, the mid October cinema night has kick started the winter season and brought together a community of passionate freeskiers to celebrate the real start to the winter season.

This year the vibe is hitting even harder with the launch of not only Winter Requiem (the latest Warren Smith, Melody Sky and Guido Perrini film), but also Ski City (New production talent from Nic Watkins, Charlie Perkins and Nick Southwell) and Verbier Ride 06 - special edition (first ever British produced IFSA World Tour Freeskiing event). On the 16th October you will get to watch three 100% British produced movies that offer total contrast from art to action to record breaking Big Mountain line scores.

WINTER REQUIEM

Winter Requiem is the latest freeride movie from Warren Smith, Melody Sky and Guido Perrini. 'Packed with awe-inspiring imagery, Winter Requiem presents a creative montage of all that a winter season in the mountains holds in store. Through the eyes of the camera crew the film takes you on a visual and acoustic journey combining hard hitting hip hop beats and classical music symphonies. With extreme adrenaline action and the enduring beauty of ever changing weather patterns, the film comes together to form a Winter Requiem.

The film is sponsored by Ski Club of Great Britain, Snow + Rock, Televerbier, Dark Summer + Faction Skis.

Film partners are Natives.co.uk, Ifyouski.com, Chrome Productions, Salvador + Amanda + Prince Charles Cinema. www.winter-requiem.com 20 mins

SKI CITY

Ski City is the first release by British Freeski film maker Nic Watkins with the assistance of Charlie Perkins and Nick Southwell. Inspired by Frank Miller's graphic novels and hit Film Sin City, Ski City is a UK only Ski Film that shows just how far both British freeskiing and production have come on. The film is centred around a combination of jaw dropping feats from Britain's top Freeskiers and a unique and highly original editing style incorporating all the incredible effects of the hit film Sin City.

Ski City is sponsored by Ski Club of Great Britain.

For more info including the trailer visit www.runjumpfly.net 30 mins

VERBIER RIDE 06 (SPECIAL EDITION) - IFSA WORLD FREESKIING TOUR EVENT

Verbier Ride 06 turned out to be one of the best freeskiing competitions in history. It was the first year that the Verbier Ride achieved IFSA World Freeskiing Tour status and the event also saw Tom Dunbar throw down one of the highest ever line scores in freeskiing event history. The Verbier Ride has never been shown in the cinema so this will be a one off chance to see the best ever Verbier Ride on the big screen. www.verbierride.com 29 mins

IMPORTANT STUFF!

WHERE: Prince Charles Cinema, Leicester Square, London www.princecharlescinema.com

WHEN: Monday 16th October, 8.30pm - 10.30pm (arrive a 8pm to get tickets and grab a beer) HOW: Get to the cinema on a first come first serve basis between 7.30pm and 8pm. Don't worry if your late, we will squeeze you in. Tickets cost £5 and include seating at the Prince Charles Cinema + entry to the After-Party. There are limited numbers of tickets (500) and they will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Payments is cash on the door. To reserve and confirm your ticket requirements please email melodysky@snowsportsynergy.com with RIDE FREESPORT FILM NIGHT in the subject heading.

AFTER-PARTY: After party location is Salvador + Amanda just two minutes walk from the cinema. For information on this location go www.salvadorandamanda.com

Huge Crowd for NZ Free Ski Open

J Dogg — Fri, 1 Sep 2006 01:36:25 -0400

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NZ Free Ski Open wrap up.The NZ Free Ski Open concluded a few nights ago with a huge crowd turning up to watch skiers and snowboarders show off their skills at the BASE Down-town Rail Jam. Some 2500 people packed out the Bullock Bar car park to see the rail jam, where 30 riders slid down the BASE rail that was part of a 3m-high, 6m-long structure, performing their tricks, slides and rotations. One snowboarder, who had not officially entered the competition, was brave enough to take on the challenge by MCs to do a back-flip off the kicker, which he successfully achieved on his second attempt.

Kiwi Pip Simmonds, who last week won the Open’s K2 Superpipe event at Snow Park NZ, took first place in the women’s ski event last night after hitting the rail back-side on, switch out. Maia Stier (NZ) won the women’s snowboarding prize after hitting the rail switch to board slide, coming out 180 (half a rotation).

Patrick Goodnough (USA), won the men’s ski title with a 630-on (hitting the rail after one-and-three-quarter rotations). James Hamilton (NZ) took first place in the men’s snowboarding field with clean spins on to and off the rail.

Judges were impressed with the standard of tricks the riders were performing off the rail. “We finished the NZ Free Ski Open with a great night. Everyone rode to a super-high level, and we couldn’t have asked for a better rail set up,” head judge Jake McCleary said.

The NZ Free Ski Open is the southern hemisphere’s largest event of its kind. It began with the K2 Halfpipe on Tuesday August 15, followed by the Slopestyle on August 16, both held at Snow Park NZ. The Volkl Big Mountain finals were held at Treble Cone on Wednesday August 23.

Jossi Wells Wins NZ Slopestyle

J Dogg — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 02:53:22 -0400

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Wanaka teenager and rising ski star Jossi Wells proved he is up there with the world’s best after taking first place in the slopestyle event at the NZ Free Ski Open today at Snow Park NZ.

Canadian Kaya Turski, who is also a pro rollerblader, picked up the winning title for the women’s slopestyle event.

Wells (16), who is now New Zealand’s top freestyle skier, displayed an outstanding performance at today’s event, including a switch 720 double nose grab (rotating twice and holding onto the front tips of his skis before landing), a switch 630 (rotating one-and-three-quarter times) before landing successfully on the rail, as well as a switch 1080 (three rotations).

“Everything he did was so smooth and so easy. Jossi’s improved so much this year. Last year, he was good, but he didn’t quite have the tricks to take out the big guns. But now, he’s proved he’s one of the world’s best,” Open head judge Jake McCleary said.

Wells said his winning run was one of the best he’d ever had. “I’m aiming for the world scene, and this definitely a great competition with lots of international riders. Every little step counts.”

Turski (18), has been freestyle skiing for a year-and-a-half. Her winning run included a cork 540 mute grab (spinning one-and-a-half times off axis, grabbing the front of one ski with the opposite hand). She also successfully pulled off a switch 900 (rotating two-and-a-half times) and attempted a switch 1080 - a world-first in women’s free skiing, but unfortunately her ski came off on landing.

“The standard of competition was unbelievable – we were blown away with today’s event. Competitors were all throwing down as hard as they could,” McCleary said.

The slopestyle course, designed by Snow Park NZ slopes manager Frank Wells, began with a quarterpipe-style drop-in, down to a custom Snow Park NZ stair feature. Skiers then approached a gap-to-snow box, before moving to a 14m jump, followed by an 18m jump. They completed the course by hitting a flat-down rail and a jump-to-down box, which is the latest craze in free skiing slopestyle and makes for spectacular tricks, such as 900 and 1080 rotations.

The NZ Free Ski Open is the southern hemisphere’s largest event of its kind. With park and pipe events now completed, the next stage of the competition the Volkl Big Mountain prelims, which take place at Treble Cone on Friday August 18. The finals will be held at Treble Cone on the first following fine weather day.

Results:

Womens

Kaya Turski (CAN)
Tori Beattie (AUST)
Anna Segal (AUST)

Mens

Jossi Wells (NZ)
Russ Henshaw (AUST)
Alexis Godbout (CAN)

mattias

J Dogg — Tue, 8 Aug 2006 02:29:33 -0400

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Ian McIntosh Gaper

J Dogg — Fri, 4 Aug 2006 14:39:32 -0400

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Ian McIntosh portaging at Gaper Day 2006, Whistler, BC. Photo by Jordan Manley.

Stairs

J Dogg — Thu, 3 Aug 2006 01:38:51 -0400

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Andre Charland rockin' the Pan Pacific Stairs on Gaper Day.

Powder at Shames Mountain 2005

J Dogg — Wed, 2 Aug 2006 11:08:03 -0400

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Deeeep powder at Shames Mountain, BC. Good times.

Europe Stop #4 - Lost In Translation

J Dogg — Fri, 9 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0400

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The great thing about gravity is that no matter which way you point your skis; you'll always slide downhill. Without such fundamentals of nature, we'd still be skiing in erratic circles to nowhere, lost in the unrestrained alpine terrain that makes up Davos/Klosters Mountains, Switzerland.

It was the only resort on our European tour that we knew nothing about, and it became glaringly obvious as we slid aimlessly downhill into the foggy oblivion. Without a cult following of ski bums in town we had no friends to show us around, no overheard treasure-hunt stories of powder stashes, and with that, no expectations. We had come on a whim, but had a sneaking suspicion we wouldn't be disappointed.

Day 1 found us unfolding the resort map and playing eenee meenee minee moe to choose 1 of 5 mountains apparently hiding in the clouds above us. Jakobshorn was the closest, so up we went. While a big oaf led a whaling German sing-along for his literally 'captive' gondola audience, we peered out the window to scope invisible lines. Back on the snow, we did what we do best and pointed our skis downhill in hope. After a dizzying day of fog skiing and wondering, we were finally spat out on the valley floor, calling it quits for the day.

Day 2 saw much the same, or should we say didn't see. Eyeing up the map we noticed steep lines in the Parsenn resort area (Davos & Klosters), and the sound of its 'Weissfluhgipfel' peak had us sold. With a name like that we couldn't go wrong, or so we thought. Loading the Parsenbahn mountain railway, our alpine express ride landed us atop the mountain in what seemed like a misplaced metro station, with a matrix of lifts and hallways in every direction. When we surfaced on the snow, things didn't get any clearer.

Gravity once again had us sliding downhill, and we continued exploring the endless resort before being spat out once again in the valley floor, but not the same town. Try after try, we shredded long foggy laps of the resort, only to continue popping up in Wolfgang or Klosters, a full 30 minutes by train from where we'd started. It was like skiing in Whistler, and ending your run in Pemberton, but with an efficient and frequent train to whisk us back to where we started.

Luckily our visit ended nothing like how it started. We woke on Day 3 to bluebird skies and fluffy new snow, and immediately headed back to Weissfluhgipfel for redemption. The lack of local shredders that had plagued our last 2 days was a blessing in disguise, as we now had the off-piste almost exclusively to ourselves. Leapfrogging with one other group of strong skiers and their camera crew, we scored lap after powdery lap on the Weissfluhgipfel, linking it with the natural half pipe features alongside the Haupertali T-bar below.

Taking our sweet time on the empty faces, our only threats were the late spring sun and our train departure time that would surely be on time. Under bluebird skies we finally skied successfully back to Davos, jumped onto the first train we saw, and crossed our fingers that muffled Swiss-German announcement said something about Andermatt; our next stop on the tour...

DETAILS

Davos & Klosters Mountains are located in eastern Switzerland, close to the Austrian border, but like anything in Switzerland they are not far from Zurich. The huge resort area is made up of 5 mountains; Parsenn (Davos and Klosters), Jakpbshorn, Rinerhorn, Pischa, and Madrisa. The one group of locals

we did meet said we weren't even close to the best terrain stashes. Mind you, they were skiing right beside us. For more info visit www.davosklosters.ch

ACCOMMODATIONS

For something quick and easy, the Best Western Banhoff Terminus is right in front of the train station. Good rates, andthey've got a pimpin' sauna room for rainy afternoons.

The Hotel Strela is another good 3 star hotel up the hill, with tasty breakfast buffets, a lounge and free internet.

If you're reading this, odds are you're looking for budget accommodation. There's a variety of hostel options in town, the main choice is the Schweizer Jugendherberge Youthpalace. Search the web for other choices, it's a big town so there should be plenty of options.

Telluride's First Freeski Competition

J Dogg — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0500

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Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open, 2nd Stop of 2006 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series, Set for March 2-5, 2006

Mountain Sports International (MSI) is proud to announce the inaugural Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open, March 2-5, 2006, at the Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado. For the first time ever, over 100 of the world's top athletes will face Telluride?s challenging terrain to compete for a $7,500 prize purse and their shot at the overall Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series Title.

The Telluride Freeskiing Open is the second stop of the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series, the premier Big Mountain competition series in North America with a $45,000 overall prize purse. The series opener at Snowbird, UT, exceeded all expectations, with huge crowds, record-breaking cliff drops, and an incredible level of competition.

Coming off of the heels of this event, the inaugural Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open will be an event not to miss. Telluride will open terrain outside of the regular ski resort boundaries for the competition. The famed Palmyra Peak offers an incredible backdrop to competition as skiers explore untouched terrain below the Peak in the Review, Mountain Quail and Dihedral areas for the Finals and Super Finals.

Registration will be held on Thursday, March 2, followed by Round 1 on March 3. Roughly one-third of the 110 registered men and women will advance to the semi-finals and finals on March 4. Awards ceremonies and an after-party at Chair 8 conclude the weekend.

With over ten years of competition history around the globe, Big Mountain Freeskiing tests every aspect of a skier's ability. Given no predetermined course, athletes choose their own lines involving huge cliffs, steep slopes and tight chutes. Competitors are scored on degree of difficulty, control, technique, fluidity, and aggressiveness, with the combined total determining the event winner.

The four-stop 2006 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing series kicked off with the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird, UT, and continues on to the Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open presented by Subaru in Jackson Hole, WY, and the Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships in Kirkwood, CA.

Along with U.S. Freeskiing Series title sponsor Subaru of America and host mountain Telluride Ski Resort, strong support from tour partners Amstel Light, The North Face, Powder Magazine, Sportsinsurance.com, Nordica, and Smith Optics have allowed for a huge overall prize purse as well as expanded coverage of the competition. New for 2006, MSI is excited to present online, video-on-demand footage of all events, which will be uploaded daily to www.usfreeskiing.com.

For registration, schedules, news, photos, videos, and other important event information, visit the newly re-designed: www.usfreeskiing.com

BC Games at Red Mountain

J Dogg — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0500

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Beginning tomorrow, more than 1,400 of the province's top winter-sports athletes will converge on the greater Trail and Rossland area in southeastern British Columbia to compete in the 2006 BC Games scheduled for Thurs., Feb. 23, through Sun., Feb. 26.

Red Resort will host alpine events for the bi-annual competition, including the Slalom and Giant Slalom for 11- and 12-year-old boys and girls racing on Friday and Saturday on Red Mountain. Disabled skiers ages 13 to 30 will compete throughout the weekend on Red's alpine course. Opening ceremonies for the four-day competition are scheduled for Feb. 23 in Trail. "We're honored to share our challenging mountain terrain and warm local hospitality with all the participants and spectators coming to Rossland for this year's games," said Jim Greene, Red's vice president of operations. "Hopefully, we'll discover one of Canada's next alpine superstars from this weekend's competition at Red."

Representing eight zones across British Columbia, the 2006 BC Winter Games will feature more than 1,400 athletes, 351 coaches and 209 technical officials, not to mention the hundreds of volunteers who will help coordinate and manage all event activities. As the province's largest winter multi-sport event and showcase of athleticism, the BC Winter Games inspire young athletes to pursue their athletic dreams. Athletes compete in 23 sport events, including the classic winter sports of alpine and cross-country skiing, speed skating, hockey and figure skating. Note from Doglotion: Who knows, maybe with the right practice, Canadian Men's hockey players will be able to win Olympic medals again. Eh eh? Ouch.

All BC Winter Games events are free and open to the public. More information at www.redresort.com and www.bcgames.org.

Eliassen Repeats X-Games Gold

J Dogg — Thu, 2 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0500

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The weather slowed down the Winter X Games 10 Skiing SuperPipe Women's competition, but it wasn't enough to slow down Grete Eliassen. With snow beating down on Buttermilk Mountain at Aspen/Snowmass, 10 finalists participated in a thirty minute jam session to determine the winner of Skiing SuperPipe Women's. For the second year in a row, Eliasson (Lillehammer, Norway) edged out Sarah Burke (Squamish, B.C., Canada) to secure the top spot on the podium. It is her second Winter X Games medal in two appearances. Eilassen started her run big, with a 15 foot mute grab on her first hit and then threw in big tricks including an alley-oop 540.

"There was a lot of pressure because I won last year," Eliasson said. "I just had to keep my head and keep my level of competition up. I was really trying to go as big as I could." Burke, who beat the elements to land a corked 900 on the way to her second silver medal in two years at Winter X Games, felt the elements played a big role in the competition, but was still pleased with her result. "I didn't get the run I was looking for," Burke said. "It just came down to how slow it was because of the weather. But obviously I'm happy to be here at the X Games and in second place."

Marie Martinod-Routin (Aix Les Bains, France) improved on her fifth place showing at Winter X Games Nine to grab the bronze ahead of fourth place finisher Kristi Leskinen (Uniontown, Pa.). "The pipe was great," Martinod-Routin said. "It was the longest I've ever skied, which helped me get more speed even with the adverse weather. I have a bunch of new tricks that I still need to perfect, but I have a lot of good years ahead of me."

In the Mens competition, X-Games ringer Tanner Hall grabbed a gold medal for his collection, with Laurent Favre and Simon Dumont rounding out the podium.

SKIING SUPERPIPE WOMEN'S

1. Grete Eliassen 524 Lillehammer, Norway 10.00
2. Sarah Burke 525 Squamish, BC, Canada 9.00
3. Marie Martinod-Routin 527 Aix Les Bains, France 8.00
4. Kristi Leskinen 526 Uniontown, Pa. 7.00
5. Jess Cumming 532 Wilton, Conn. 6.00
6. Michelle Parker 542 Squaw Valley, Calif. 5.00
7. Ashley Saba 533 Waterville Valley, N.H. 4.00
8. Virginie Faivre 528 Montreux Beach, Switzerland 3.00
9. Jen Hudak 529 Park City, Utah 2.00
10. Gina Gmeiner 531 Steamboat Springs, Colo. 1.00

SKIING SUPERPIPE MEN'S

1. Tanner Hall 550 Park City, Utah 92.66
2. Laurent Favre 510 La Clusaz, France 91.00
3. Simon Dumont 552 Bethel, Maine 90.00
4. Loic Collomb-Patton 543 La Clusaz, France 84.66
5. Andreas Hatveit 541 Sudndalen, Norway 81.33
6. J.P. Solberg 542 Waterville Valley, N.H. 80.00
7. Peter Olenick 506 Carbondale, Colo. 79.33

Whistler Is Killing It

J Dogg — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0500

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PLANNNING TO OPEN MORE TERRAIN THAN ANY OTHER RESORT IN THE WORLD FOR US THANKSGIVING

With thousands of skiers and riders proclaiming "epic" snow conditions on Blackcomb Mountain, the anticipation level of Whistler Mountain's opening on November 24 is high. Whistler Blackcomb plans to open more than 3,500 acres of terrain on both mountains for US Thanksgiving. A quick review of ski resorts worldwide indicates that this would be the most terrain open anywhere, and would be the most Whistler Blackcomb has ever been able to open for the US Thanksgiving weekend in its 40-year history.

Bob Dufour, Whistler Blackcomb's vice president of operations and a 33 year employee, has been assessing the situation during the last few weeks. "Whistler Mountain is in great shape and we plan to offer the highest vertical and most terrain our guests have ever experienced this American Thanksgiving weekend," he says. "In my 33 years of working for the mountains, these are among the best early season conditions I've seen." Whistler Blackcomb will operate four base areas starting Thursday, November 24.

Whistler Creekside, Whistler Village accessing Whistler and Blackcomb, Blackcomb Upper Village Base, and Blackcomb's Base II will operate. The base areas will access close to 3,000 vertical feet (882 metres) of skiing and riding including high alpine areas such as Whistler Bowl, Glacier Bowl, Harmony Bowl, Burnt Stew Basin and Flute Bowl on Whistler, plus the Horstman Glacier accessed via the Glacier Express on Blackcomb.

Crews will be assessing the possibility of opening Blackcomb Glacier throughout the week. "Blackcomb has been open for two weeks now and we've had a phenomenal start," continues Dufour. "Our crews are working around the clock in order to open as much as we possibly can on Whistler for our US friends who'll join us for Thanksgiving, for our loyal guests close to home, and for our guests from around the world." Whistler Mountain will open with a halfpipe and a variety of rails in the Habitat Terrain Park. Blackcomb's Nintendo Terrain Park will also be open with rails. Stay tuned to www.whistlerblackcomb.com for further opening details.

The Whistler Blackcomb Ski and Snowboard School instructors will be on hand for anyone who wants to take a lesson and get some new tips before habits start to form this season. Supergroup lessons (maximum three people plus an instructor), Beginner Learn to Ski/Ride, Whistler Kids group lessons, plus youth Ride Tribe camps are all 50% off through December 18 as part of the Discover Whistler Days special deals.

Early season pricing is still in effect and great deals on lift and lodging packages are available at www.whistlerblackcomb.com. Family packages offering free skiing, accommodation and tubing for kids are available until December 12. Visit www.whistlerblackcomb.com for up-to-date snow reports and details about Whistler Blackcomb's special offers and upcoming events.

Europe Stop #3 - Engelberg, Switzerland

J Dogg — Tue, 31 May 2005 00:00:00 -0400

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What do proper catholic schoolgirls, 7-11, death, and Engelberg, Switzerland have in common? Well not much, but they all have something to do with heaven... if you include rhyming. Heaven has always sounded pretty awesome, so we at doglotion.com were keen to get a taste of it. Death didn't sound very fun, convenient stores are a dime a dozen, and there's already plenty of websites featuring catholic schoolgirls, uh, so we're told. So with Engelberg Titlis ski resort boasting the motto "It's Heaven", it was an obvious stop on our Europe Tour.

Directly translating to 'Angel Mountain', Engelberg started as a quiet monastery way back in 1120. Those monks sure know how to pick a good location, and had the valley to themselves for a good 700 years. Eventually the outside world caught on to their secret, and the tourist potential grew. Ski lifts were built there in the early 1900's, so the 'Mountain' part of Angel Mountain could finally be enjoyed. Rotating cable-car anyone?

Martin Jonassen trying his best to track out the resort in mid winter. Photo: Johan Hellman

Skip ahead a century, and Engelberg has just burst onto the freeskiing scene as a new big mountain mecca, and for good reason. With cliff walls of any size stretching in every direction, it's a meat-chucker's paradise. In addition to the steady crew of Swedes who migrate south to Engelberg each winter, the resort has become a new bombing range for film crews and pro-skiers from every corner of the globe. And for those who really like airtime, there's so many huge cliffs that Shane McConkey and friends can do ski base-jumping laps in the middle of the resort! Just one more reason to never follow tracks in Europe.

Kristijan Thorstensen probably smiling, if we could see his face. Photo: Johan Hellman

Daniel Furberg gettin' the goods before we arrive. Photo: Johan Hellman

Somebody in the monastery must have been very good this year, as local shredders were skiing deep fresh powder all season long. We on the other hand forgot to say our prayers, and rolled into town just after the wintery madness had ended. Meeting up with Swedish imports Christian Bjork and Daniel Furberg, we once again began a week of 'shoulda been here last week' tales that left us hungry for more. From lines like "last week you couldn't even see those park benches" to "Jamie Pierre jumped that big one, that huge one, and that even huger one", we knew it was a good year to have called Engelberg your home.

Skier: Sebastian Percival. Photo: Johan Hellman

But even in the wake of the big springtime melt, we still had some spring freshies in the forecast and some epic skiing ahead. It was still winter up at the 3000+ meter peak of Titlis, yielding 1200 meters of leg-burning fresh lines to mid mountain before the slush kicked in. And now that the resort wasn't littered with chest deep powder stashes, the Swedes finally took the chance to hike and explore Engelberg's more obscure terrain. Short traverses and knife edge walks led to some pretty sweet stashes, but the real gem was still to come: the Galtenberg couloir.

Jamie Bond above the Galtenberg, wondering why there's nothing between him and the village, 7000ft below.

Dropping in off the 10,623 ft summit of Titlis, the line bombs down a wide open powder field hanging above a massive cliff wall, before skirting the cliff and weaving into the Galtenberg couloir. From there you pinball your way down a few thousand more feet of ominous cliff walls before being spat out into a farmer's field, over 7000 feet below your start point. And if that ain't good enough, a walk to the nearest street found us sipping beers at a small restaurant before the next bus whipped us back to town, and 2-for-1 beers at the Yucatan Bar ensued once again.

Does it get any better than that? Well, apparently it was better all season long, but we weren't complaining. While the 4000 feet of unremitting pow runs on the 'Laub' would have been incredible this season, the 180ft cliff drops can wait untill we return next year. After all, death still doesn't sound very fun, no matter how many schoolgirls or Slurpees we might find in heaven.

Jamie Bond wishing he'd know about this cliff while he was above it.

This was 7000ft of blessed blower powder, shortly before us sinners arrived.

Mathieu Miller discvers the perks of spring skiing.

DETAILS

Engelberg Titlis ski resort is in central Switzerland, an easy train ride from Zurich, via Luzerne. If this season was anything like the years to come, you won't want to miss this spot.

For more info, visit their website at www.engelberg.ch. All the Swedes and anyone on a budget will stay at the Hotel Bellevue. It's located right across from the train station, and has cheap rates (for Switzerland) and includes breakfast.

For 2-for-1 apres, the Yucatan is on the main floor of the Hotel Bellevue, and the Eden Bar is the other hot spot across the street. Doglotion

Skiers: Jamie Bond, Andre Charland, Mathieu Miller, Les Manley

Photographers: Andre Charland, Johan Hellman. For more of Johan's photos, visit his site at www.johanhellman.com

Locals logged so much airtime this winter that Christian Bjork doesn't even care if there's a landing patch below the clouds. Photo: Johan Hellman

Europe Stop #2 - Blingin' in Lech

J Dogg — Mon, 23 May 2005 00:00:00 -0400

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With rumors of Aspen-esque cougars, rampant fur coats and Royal Family sightings, how could we miss a chance to visit this European utopia known to mortals as Lech am Arlberg. Originally one of the poorest villages in Austria, Lech was an isolated cattle and dairy farming town with very little connection to nearby valleys.

But in the early 1900's they built a mountain road into Lech, some wise guy finally looked up and saw how awesome the mountains were, and skiing started booming. It has since grown to an elite and well-known resort for those privileged enough to visit. There's even a saying that goes: "How do you become a millionaire in Lech? You go into a shop as a billionaire and come out a millionaire". But we knew it was the skiing that got it all started, so we threw on our invisible fur coats and went to check it out for a day.

Just around the corner from St Anton, we knew we'd be skiing the same spring schmooo we'd been shredding all week, but I had my eyes pealed for future potential. Sam 'Chief' O'Keeffe and Will 'Pissy Knickers' Hoddell were my tour guides once again, and once again they could throw a stick in any direction to point out lines we could be skiing only 2 weeks earlier; lines we will be skiing when I return.

It soon became obvious why the locals hadn't chosen dairy farming as their only pastime, no matter how much anyone likes goat cheese. Apparently skiers weren't the only ones looking up. After a full day of touring Lech's potential, we headed down to check out Lech's other less-expected asset; the terrain park. It's no Super Park 6, but finding a terrain park at any big mountain Euro resort ain't easy. And isn't the land of shopping and fur coats the last place you'd expect to find one? Think again, it's the perfect match.

What better a place to throw on your fur collared puffy jacket and gold chains, walking around like you own the place? They've been doing it for half a century before Tanner Hall or twin tips even existed. And it shows, as their well-shaped tabletops, spines, and kinked and curved rails make for a pretty killer spring session. After all, you know that lonely zipper on your jacket is begging for you to zip the fake fur collar back on, just this once.

Sam O'Keeffe corked 3.

Next Stop: Engelberg, Switzerland - Where Angels Roam

DETAILS

Lech Am Arlberg is 100km from Innsbruck , 200km from Zurich, and 250km from Munich. It's part of the same network of lifts as St Anton, St Christophe, Zurs, and the other nearby spots, all together forming a huge ski area that you shouldn't miss on your next Euro trip.

The area got pounded with snow in '05 while many other European resorts suffered, and it's consistently one of the snowiest valleys in the alps. Web: www.lech-zuers.at for more info.