Check out this video of an big mountain comp @ Snowbird.
If you are a non skier or didn't know these kind of comps existed pass it along to someone so we can raise awareness to the sport. Big mountain comps have been around for ever but still don't pay a lot of prize money. These guys put their lives on the line because they love skiing not for the $..

LIFE AND THE ECONOMY

So is anyone else getting excited about winter?? I am an avid skier living in one of the best places in the country....Park City Utah. I have always been drawn to the ski town atmosphere, I guess it is just in my blood. Earlier in my life, late teens through my twenties, It was much easier to be a ski bum. Now I find it to be a constant struggle to keep the balance between Skiing and family. I think I am on the cusp of admitting that I am getting older, and doing everything to avoid that decision... I want to know why it seams that once you turn 30 it seams that we are slowly phased out of mainstream America... We all still have plenty of life left, and now most of us are wiser now so why not enjoy life while we still have our health? It seams as though teenagers and twentysomethings control alot of our decisions as consumers. Did you ever surf the tv channels and wonder if the only people watching tv are teenage girls? Its' time to take a stand and start promoting family and responsibility in our lives... Our culture is slowly self destructing all around us and no one can figure out how to stop or reverse it. Truth is that there is no easy fix, it is going to have to start with the children of this country. The reason our economy was better years ago is partly because our generation was more responsible and harder working. Kids today are getting smarter but not always directing it in the best way. Media and general influences on today's youth are geared at two things, random sex and partying. I think that people over thirty are begining to sleepwalk through life and not speak out.. The way we speak out is through our wallets, buy things you like and not just toys or Hannah Montana stuff. We can still spoil our kids but we need stuff too. Think about how much consumers spend on goods in a year and how much of the popular items are made in other countries. Take Christmas for example,,the popular gifts are always the same...Electronics, toys, video games etc..Where do you think all that stuff comes from??Granted we need stores here in the US to sell that stuff, which in turn makes $ and creates jobs but now that internet shopping is so popular retail stores are dying out. Why buy something down the street when you can buy it online for cheaper with no sales tax??which is another hit to the state economy, how much revenue do you think that the individual states are losing due to strictly people buying stuff online so they don't have to pay a rediculous sales tax..especially on big ticket items. I know it's hard but as the digital world gets more vast, we as consumers have to buy american, buy stuff for ourselves and take our families out of the house and do activities besides sit on the computer all day.. Granted I am @ mine right now but I am about to go fly a kite with my son so peace........

Ski Season underway in Colorado

So the ski season in the great USA has officially been underway for more than a week now.
Wednesday October the 15th saw 2 Colorado ski areas open, Arapahoe Basin and Loveland.
These two resorts boast some of the highest lift serviced skiing in the country.I wish that Utah resorts were up to par in snow making so that we could get on the snow earlier but water isn't as plentiful here.
Most of the resorts are not scheduled to open until Thanksgiving, that's 2 weeks later than last year.

MEDIA AND SKIING

The subject that I would like to address today is the way that skiers are portrayed in the media..A lot of people I talk to, whether it's relatives or gapers that don't know much about the sport, don't even know that big mountain competitions exist. The only thing that people are aware of nowadays is the x-games sports. I am glad to see that people are finally able to make a lot of money being a skier or snowboarder, but why do jibbers make so much $ compared to big mountain skiers? Remember when the world extreme championships were televised in the beginning? I think that skiing was in a stagnant stage back then and that's why it didn't take off. Now that skiing has drawn in a younger crowd and is cool again I think if the powers that be were to televise a few big mountain comps the sponsors would take note and more prize money would begin to filter in. Don't get me wrong it's cool to see some of the things kids are doing in the park and pipe but I think a lot of us can agree....that's not skiing. although some of those guys are decent freeriders most of them are glorified snowbladers, so why give them all the fortune and fame when their sport is a baby in the womb of big mountain skiing..

mountain biker jumping ski jump

new matchstick movie

this trailer is sick!!!

send me comments

Send me comments regarding and questions(especially about ski gear or mountain bikes) or blog topics. Also I have been a private ski instructor so any questions on improving your technique in skiing or mountain biking.. I will add new blogs everyday so tell your friends and enemies to check it out!!!

CAN WE ALL GET ALONG???

I have been in the ski scene since the 80's and seen a lot of changes in those years. One thing that baffles me is that there is still a separation between skiers and snowboarders. Why is it that we still have trouble getting along? Skiers have to face the fact that snowboarding rejuvenated our sport in the 80's and 90's. The advent of parks and pipes sparked a influx of new ideas and technology, not to mention a new attitude. Most of the tension originates from the young crowd, the weekend warriors and the park rats. From what I have seen the hardcore free riders all get along no matter what they are riding. I think that much like people should not be judged by the color of their skin, we also shouldn't judge fellow snow goers by what they have on their feet.

Deer Valley

So for the second time in as many years SKI magazine has named Deer Valley the best resort. Its cool that a Utah mountain gets recognized but I wish they were not so uptight up there. SKI magazine tends to cater to the upper tax bracket of part time skiers. The terrain is not vast enough or diverse enough to come close to the level of other mountains across the country,,,but whatever we use Deer Valley to heard in all the people that tell ski patrol you were going too fast..

My first blog!

So here I go with my very first Blog ever! Well I have always enjoyed writing and If there are two things in life that I am good @ it is skiing and biking.. Ha Ha. But seriously My first blog will be a description of a comment in my "about me". When I was in my twenties I lived in a small camper in the parking lot @ Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort in Colorado. I lived there for 3-4 seasons, the exact timeframe was blurred a bit buy irresponsibility and booze. This was approximately in the mid 90's and one of the best times of my life. I only worked 3 months during the summer and skied the rest of the year. Of course this was before global warming when the ski season in colorado began in early October and ended in in July.
My faithful dog Peote was arguably the coolest dog in the history of Summit County CO. My nickname was Scooter and along with the other members of the _:__ Jedis,who consisted of skiers and snowboarders, helped to pave the way for modern day ski/snowboard culture as we know it today. I realize this is a bold statement but if any of you or people you know were in Summit County during the mid to late 90's then the _:__ Jedis will come up.
I began this blog for the simple fact that I have always been a good storyteller, and believe me I have alot of stories to tell. My hope is that whoever reads my posts and is either amused, informed or mildly insulted will contribute to my cause.I.E. Donate even a dollar to my blog, I am 35 years old and I have no direction in life. My only direction is gravity that takes me downhill. My wife and son mean the world to me and I intend to show them that even a s#!t bag like me can make a little $ from writing my opinions about the two sports I love and Respect. Skiing and riding my bike up and down mountains!!! I can also hold my own snowboarding.