Winter Park Turning White

Winter Park SnowShuweeeet! I’ve been bummed at the lack of white on the Winter Park cams lately… Finally, today, we noticed the snow… f’n shuweeeet! I’ve been bouncing around the office since I found out! I’m stoked.

Must.. calm down.. must… do … work …

ACK! Check it out: OVERALL SITUATION TODAY – A low pressure system starts dropping in from the northwest with significant snowfall commencing today, and continuing through tonight. Significant snowfall is expected everywhere (that we cover), with today being the big snow day, not Saturday as moisture decreases some then. Isolated thunderstorms with some hail are expected today also.

Woo hoo! Oh yeah… those wooden structures in the picture. I don’t know what those are, but I’ve been watching them… they seem to be reproducing because it started off as just a few and now there are many. Hmmm….

Anyway… I gotta work. 🙁

Heavenly Gets Early Snow

Heavenly Web Cam ShotWhile aggregating data for the new Snow Tripping website tonight, I ended up on Heavenly’s website. I was pleased to see in big bold letters, “Second Snow Storm in a Week!”

The news was posted about 5 days ago. You can check out the Heavenly Web cams for an up-to-date view. I must admit, I’m getting a little worried. I’m seeing all of these snow fall reports popping up and the Winter Park Web cams aren’t looking so white. I hope that changes between now and turkey day!

So, about that Snow Tripping site… I don’t think I’m going to have anything to post for a while. I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to reach my goals, but I’m enjoying the task of working on it.

New Movie – For Right or Wrong

For Right or Wrong - a Burton Snowboariding MovieLooks as though our dear friend Burton is getting into the movie biz with For Right or Wrong. Being a web guy, I gotta talk about the website first. It’s sexy, the preview is awesome… but someone smack the designers in the back of the head for the text. I don’t know what size monitors they’re working with, but I’ve got a 21″ Dell LCD with DVI and I can barely freak’n read it! Because it’s flash, you can’t increase the font size. You can’t even copy and paste it into something else!!! Come on guys, stop being so geh (and I mean that in the bad way, not the other way)….

The movie looks to be very entertaining. The site has a nice preview and a variety of downloadable media. There’s also an upcoming tour that isn’t scheduled. Strangely enough, no Dallas dates! (lol)… Anyway, because some second rate designer (actually, the visual design on the site is stunning, it’s the practicality that’s broken) I hand typed all of the description text in human readable form, just for you:

Produced by Mandalay Entertainment, “For Right or Wrong” takes an inside look at what it’s like to snowboard for a living and combines action and documentary-style footage about riders’ lives both on and off the hill. The movie carves out individual story lines that focus on the different facets of pro snowboarding, including the urban snowboarding scene, the competitive snowboard lifestyle and a riding trip to Russia with competitive snowboard lifestyle and riding trip to Russian with Jake Burton, his oldest son George and select Burton team riders.

“When we set out to create ‘For Right or Wrong’ our vision was to show the variety in snowboarders’ personalities, their riding styles and the terrain they ride – all from an insider’s viewpoint,” says Jake Burton, Founder and Chairman of Burton Snowboards. “It’s a perspective on our sport that has never been seen before.”

Shaun White, Keir Dillon, Kelly Clark, Jake Burton Carpenter, George Carpenter, David Carrier-Porcheron, Terje Haakonsen, Dave Downing, Mads Jonsson, Jeremy Jones and Nicholas Miller all star in the movie, which was filmed in Japan, New Zealand, Italy, Norway, Russia, California, Utah, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Vermont, Minnesota and Alaska.

So there it is, enjoy!

Of Course You’re Being Sold – What did you think would happen?

When Flickr sold to Yahoo, some users were concerned about the fate of their community. More recently, Google bought YouTube and now users are complaining:

Since it was the `people’ that made YouTube, why aren’t they being paid billions?

What did you think was going on? That some how people with lots of investment money just wanted to provide you with free bandwidth and tools to put your media online for fun?

Anyway, I got a huge laugh out of that quote… I said it before, so I’ll say it again… communities are big business.

NASA Confirms El Niño’s Return – Kinda Sorta

NASA Satellite DataSki Press World is reporting that NASA Confirms El Niño’s Return. Awesome! El Niño bringeth snow! Woo hoo!

However, a little bit of reading into the article isn’t AS exciting.  Conditions are not as strong as they were in 97/98 and the effect could taper off. Still, the potential for a great snow season is very strong. Everyone do your rain snow dances.

During the next several weeks and months, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA will continue to closely monitor conditions in the Pacific to determine how the evolution of this El Niño may impact weather patterns this winter.

Texas Snowboarding: Coolzone Winterplex

Coolzone Winterplex Sketch 2Remember when I said how great it would be if Texas had an artificial park? Well, it’s happening! The plans are to finish the park by 2008. Unfortunately, I don’t know if the park is just ‘proposed’ or if it’s funded and under way. I will have to try to find out.

The place is called Coolzone Winterplex. I’ve heard that it’s an indoor place. Given our summer heat, this may very well be a good idea. I must admit, I can’t imagine riding inside.

SnowflexI was also right about what material would be used. It is indeed Snowflex. Check out this CBS video announcement about the park. I was a little surprised to hear that there was nothing like this in the world. I know Europe has enjoyed Snowflex parks for a while. I wonder if our park is going to offer something new and different – other than the rather annoying notion that it’s a theme park. I’ll have to get beyond that real fast though, because I’m going to be able to snowboard in my own backyard!

Coolzone Winterplex Sketch 1

Here’s the press release from March:

(more…)

Shout Out: afterbang*

Afterbang WebsiteI wanted to give a shout out to Gavin Hope over at afterbang*. He had some kind things to say about my site, many thanks. And yes, I am still working on the new site. I’ve even tried enlisting some help recently. It’s been more than a year now and I keep getting distracted by other projects. With the season coming on, I’m getting stoked about getting to work on the site.

So, to return the favor, I wanted to say a few words about afterbang. First of all, I had no idea what an afterbang was. If you don’t know, I suggest you read and find out. Gavin is a far more frequent poster than I am, although I am picking up some speed these days. In addition to some interesting posts including such fun things as xrays of his broken shoulder, Gavin also gives us some yummy video links and reviews of stuff including DVDs, equipment, lessons, and accomidations. Good stuff. It’s also fun knowing that Gavin is enjoying this sport way over on the other side of the planet from me. That makes me smile.

SnowTripping – Where exactly have I been?

Heavy snowfall at PurgatoryWhile organizing the upcoming Thanksgiving trip, someone asked me how many times I’d been snowboarding. Offhand, I didn’t know. I couldn’t remember all the trips. After digging through blog posts, pictures, and calling friends… I finally got the list together… mostly.

Ski Trip 1
Jan, 98: Red River New Mexico for 3 days
I rode along
4 to 6 other people

Ski Trip 2
Jan, 99: Angelfire New Mexico for 3 days
I rode along
4 to 6 other people

Ski Trip 3
Mar, 00: Angelfire New Mexico for 3 days
I organized
7 people.

Snowboard Trip 1 !!! (with 1 day of skiing)
Mar, 01: Angelfire New Mexico for 3 days
I organized
5 people (+2 not staying with us)

Snowboard Trip 2
Mar, 02: Angelfire New Mexico for 3 days
I organized
5 people

Snowboard Trip 3
Mar, 03: Angelfire New Mexico for 3 days
I organized
9 people (worst trip ever! was still fun)

Snowboard Trip 4 (day trip)
Dec 03 or Jan 04: Tyrole Basin for 1 day
Not much to organize
2 people

Snowboard Trip 5
Jan, 04: Durango/Purgatory for 3 days
I organized – cheapist trip ever!
4 people

Snowboard Trip 6
Nov, 04: Winter Park for 3 days
I organized – a rather romantic trip
2 people

Snowboard Trip 7
Dec 04-Jan 05: Crested Butte for 3 days
I rode along
9 people

Snowboard Trip 8
Nov, 05: Crested Butte for 3 days
I helped organize, overlapped with bigger group
5 for 2 days, then 9(!) for 1 day

Snowboard Trip 9
Dec 05-Jan 06: Winter Park for 3 days
I organized (had a bit of help)
7 people

So, after some quick counting, it looks like I’ve been snowboarding 24 days of my life. That’s almost a month all total. It also seems I’ve gone skiing merely 10 days of my life. I still feel I was a more accomplished skiier than I am a snowboarder. At the time, it just felt like there wasn’t much room for exploration on skis. I suppose skiing has evolved since I started. I’ve heard that snowboarding and the resulting technology has shown up in modern ski design, enabling skiers to do tricks that weren’t really possible before. I know that I’ve definitely seen sicker tricks every year I go out to the resorts. I see people pulling tricks on skis I never would have dreamed of in the 90’s.

Anyway, that’s my log book. I’m thinking that SnowTripping.com should be a website where anyone can keep a log book of their snow trips… organized by date, including pictures and trip reports. I can’t wait to put all my own photos on the site. 😀

To Helmet or not to Helmet: Protecting My Head is the Question

Crested ButteSo someone was paid to study the effectiveness of a helmet and the Denver Post is proud to announce: “Study: Helmets cut risk of head injuries in skiing“… Who would have thought? I wonder if the study was sponsored by a helmet manufacturer?

Since I started riding, I’ve never – not once – worn a helmet.  The only time I’ve ever hit my head is on that bar that you bring down over your lap while you’re riding the lift. I’ve also avoided head gear while mountain biking – something I’ve taken a lot of criticism for (and probably rightfully so). Unlike snowboarding, I have tried wearing a helmet while biking. I’ve found it to be a horrible distraction. A friend of mine claims that wearing a helmet will increase your chances of having an accident. We’ve also discussed the notion that the sense of security from wearing a helmet will train you not to properly protect your head in the event of a fall.

All that said, I’m starting to take bigger air and I’ve finally seen the inside of a big pipe. One thing about the surface of the pipe – it’s not soft. I’m starting to wonder, is it time I get a helmet? Remember that crack in my board from a tree? I wouldn’t want that kind of crack in my skull. Still, I can’t imagine enjoying having a heavy piece of molded plastic attached to my head.

I looked around at some studies on snowboaridng injuries. I thought it interesting that this one said about 10% of injuries are to the head. That’s actually higher than I expected. If you read further, it sounds like those injuries are from falling backwards on hard pack conditions and not from hitting objects such as trees or pipes. I also read a bit on The ABC’s, but they didn’t give much more than ” Although there’s little doubt about the importance of wearing a Snowboard Helmet”… which was followed by a link to where they sell them.

If I know me, I probably won’t pick one up before the next trip. However, if I wreck my skull, I’ll be eating crow instead of turkey for thanksgiving.