130mph “Roof Skiing”

This has got to be one of those odd records that’s been attempted by just a few people and only a few times (ok, maybe even just this guy… once), but apparently he has “roof-skied” at 130 mph… wow.  No thanks!

Enjoy! -D

Sugarbush, VT- Element, Class, and Broken Legs

Right, so first things first. Yes, it was somewhat of a reunion, as this was the first trip with CFO since the day which we don’t speak of last spring, and no, thankfully there were no injuries. The “Broken Leg” as mentioned in the title is a drink special that played a big role in Saturday’s apres scene. More on that in a bit.

Friday night I drove up to meet CFO and in Hanover en route to Sugarbush and the Mad River Inn. Despite my late arrival to Hanover, we waited on dinner and rolled up to the Mad River Valley. After some very impressive driving we left the dirt back roads for pavement, a few beers, and dinner at  The Hyde Away Inn. Hyde Away was a total treat! Its local vibe coupled with uneven floors and outstanding french onion soup, made it a perfect transition from the weekly grind into the classic Vermont experience known as Sugarbush. Aside from the attractive bar staff, there were a few things that stood out to me about The Hyde Away. Naturally the first things was the local vibe and old-school VT tavern feel. Although there isn’t a level floorboard in the place, the charm easily outweighs the feeling of being sea sick, and if there was any question as to how the Hyde Away is heated, just check out the half-chord stacked next to the pool table. The last thing I’ll say about The Hyde Away is that I loved how for the first time in recent memory, the kid with the patagonia turtleneck (huge mistake) got more “what the eff?” looks than the one with boots and a flannel…Hyde Away is my kind of place!

The Mad River Inn was the perfect spot for us to spend the night, overlooking a corn field, seconds off rte 100, it was cheap, cozy, and the owner was friendly. Although we passed on breakfast, the Inn  compliments its 4 reasonably priced rooms ($144 a night for us) with an outstanding hot breakfast, which is included in the low price. Needless to say we actually made it out of there before 8am (when breakfast begins,) which is why we passed on breakfast.

Sugarbush played nine innings the next day despite some shaky cover and bitter cold. -7 at the top with not a breath of wind, may actually been the coldest few hours I’ve ever skied, without windchill. As the sun came out and we migrated to Castle Rock the cold became less of a factor as thankfully the lift line was in the sun. We bombed around Paradise Woods (pictures included) for a few hours, warmed up with some outstanding chilly and American water at lunch, went back out for a few more turns, and called it a day around 230. Please keep in mind that due to the extreme cold Apres literally started at 1030 am. So we came in at 230 to a bar tab that looked like something out of “the Bizz’s” playbook, which is where the “Broken Leg’s” came in. Sort of a hot toddy but with apple cider, and loaded with whip cream, the broken legs or limbs or arms or basically fill in the blank, after three hours flowed like water. With Widespread rocking in the background the Castle Rock Pub had just he element I needed. Aside from the one idiot in the bar flaunting his Yankee’s “got rings” t-shirt, everybody was friendly and psyched on a well deserved Apres bevo with a few hundred of their closest friends.

Sugarbush, The Hyde Away, and The Mad River Inn, made for an excellent weekend trip. The Mad River Valley is only 3.5 hours from Boston and you can definitely do the trip on the cheap as rooms range from $89-200 a night. Lift tickets are a bit steep around $80, but look for opportunities to buy tickets at student discounts or from random sketchy dudes in the parking (just make sure they scan). Even if you have to pay full price, just hand over the money and enjoy the ride, its well worth it.

C.E.brO

Tahoe – The Royal Gorge

I think what I enjoy about Tahoe is that a weekend can go in a number of different directions.  Skiing and gambling in the casinos at Heavenly, dropping cliffs and hot-tubbing at Squaw, or a quick day of nordic at the Royal Gorge.  That’s right, the Royal Gorge… a little know place to many of us, it happens to be THE LARGEST nordic center in all of North America; and it is fantastic.  Basically, you get off the highway about 15 miles west of Truckee (prior to passing any of the alpine resorts) and head in to a network of cross-country skiing trails that are beautifully groomed daily, and packed with Norwegians and other European types.  The terrain includes over 9,000 acres of skiing, almost 100 trails (~20 of which are advanced), and ranges in elevation from 5,800′ to 7,400′ — now just think about that for a minute.  In one day of x-country you can actually climb 1,600′ in vertical, entirely on nordic tracks!!!  Good luck. (www.royalgorge.com)

The terrain is so extensive that they have half a dozen warming lodges, serving hot tea, sprinkled throughout the territory.  In addition, one of the trails actually meets up with Sugarbowl, enabling the energetic telemarker to change their pace with a brief skate down the corduroy.  Two lodges, including the Rainbow Lodge and the Ice Lakes Lodge, allow guests to stay, eat, and access the terrain very easily.  They are fantastic, offering a quiet and rustic feel, without the crowds of big resorts and without all the new construction (both were built long ago… Rainbow originally built in the 1800’s!).

We spent Sunday crossing the cross-country paths in 35 degree weather and without a cloud in the sky – it was one of the most enjoyable days of skiing I have had in a long time.  Our only mistake was spending Saturday at Northstar… after paying $30 to park the car, walking across half a mile of cement, paying $79 for a ticket, and $39 for a terrible pair of rental skis, we got in line for the Gondola.  Northstar is the ONLY place I have ever been that offers “two classes of citizen” in lift passes.  For $79 you can buy a standard day-pass and for $99 you can buy a “fast pass” which allows you to cut the lift-lines.  This infuriated me… especially since you feel completely robbed at gunpoint to start with, and then you realized that it’s likely the most crowded mountain you have skied since that powder day at Killington in ‘97 when half the terrain was shut down.  After about 5 runs and 4 hours of waiting around we retired tot he Ritz for apres and dinner.  Next time we will ski Alpine, Sugarbowl, or simply NOT ski at all…

-D

TRUTH IN MOTION: THE U.S. SKI TEAM’S ROAD TO VANCOUVER

Recently airing on NBC was a documentary by Academy Award nominee Brett Morgen on the some of the US Olympic Team members’ road to the Vancouver Games. The film catches up with athletes in Chile, and on the glaciers of Switzerland and Austria. It provides some great interviews with World Cup superstar Ted Ligety and gives a glimpse into what motivates these guys to do what they do.

If you missed it, Truth in Motion is available for download free from iTunes.

Here are the US Alpine Olympic Team members and their past Olympic experience:

MEN

Will Brandenburg, Spokane, Wash., 23, 1/1/87
Jimmy Cochran, Keene, NH., 28, 5/29/81 (2006)
Erik Fisher, Middleton, Idaho, 24, 3/21/1985
Tommy Ford, Bend, Ore., 20, 3/20/89
Tim Jitloff, Reno, Nev., 25, 1/11/1985Nolan Kasper, Warren, Vt., 20, 3/27/89
Ted Ligety, Park City, Utah, 25, 8/31/84 (2006)
Bode Miller, Franconia, NH., 32, 10/12/77 (1998, 2002, 2006)
Steven Nyman, Sundance, Utah, 28, 2/12/82 (2006)
Marco Sullivan, Squaw Valley, Calif., 29, 4/27/80 (2002, 2006)
Andrew Weibrecht, Lake Placid, NY., 24, 2/10/86
Jake Zamansky, Aspen, Colo., 28, 6/26/81

  

 

WOMEN

Stacey Cook, Mammoth Mountain, Calif., 25, 7/3/84 (2006)
Hailey Duke, Boise, Idaho, 24, 9/17/85
Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, Calif., 25, 3/9/84 (2002, 2006)
Chelsea Marshall, Pittsfield, Vt., 27, 11/15/82
Megan McJames, Park City, Utah, 22, 9/24/87
Alice McKennis, Glenwood Springs, Colo., 20, 8/19/89
Kaylin Richardson, Edina, Minn., 25, 9/28/1984
Sarah Schleper, Vail, Colo., 30, 2/19/79 (1998, 2002, 2006)
Leanne Smith, Conway, NH., 22, 5/28/87
Lindsey Vonn, Vail, Colo. 25, 10/18/84 (2002, 2006)

Look for big performances on the slopes from both Vonn and Miller. Vonn has been read hot this season and has just recently locked up the SG overall title, very uncommon this early in the season. Miller has been rumored to be taking it easy in the past few DH events so that he has an optimal start number at the Olympics. Personally I think he is highly motivated to improve on his lackluster performance at Torino.

G.

“Consultant to the Snow Bunny community” strikes again!

This guy’s an absolute savage what can we say. He is so in touch with the snow bunny community that the material practically comes to him. With a recent spotting at the Snow Bunny hot spot know as Aspen, his commitment to the job is unmatched. Snow Bunny of the Week

Fashion

The C.F.O. Just Fell in Love…

The 36th Annual Cowboy Downhill takes over Steamboat!

Combining two of our favorite things, Steamboat Springs and Cowboys, this event is second-to-none on the yearly calendar of ski town events. Check out the full story and video at Apres Weighs In.

“I Partied at an Olympic Level”

By now I’m sure everyone has heard of Bode’s win in the combined at Wengen, Switzerland.  I am a huge fan of his (as is most of the staff here at Apres, for obvious reasons) and I am thrilled that he has gotten back to his winning ways.  And by winning ways I mean crushing competitors in the downhill and following it up with a mistake free slalom.  I’m not referring to his extra-curricular winning ways, which I don’t think ever left.  In any case, I did want to call attention to the following quote from one of our affiliates on the ground in Wengen:

“Miller kept the same boot and skied with a first-time setup in the slalom run – sans warm-up or training.”

What a savage!  I love the no warm-up call.  After all, you are only a professional athlete, its not like you get paid to do this or anything…

-C.F.O.

Teton Gravity Research

Pretty spectacular trailer from Teton Gravity Research.  High definition filming coupled with more and more outrageous steeps, stunts, peaks, and really sweet gear… ski movies just keep getting better and better.

-D

SugarLoaf – As Good as it Gets in the East

I spent MLK weekend up at SugarLoaf, a mountain known for cold and blustry weather, a rustic feel, and solid east-coast snow.  All-in-all it was fantastic and now sits a-top my list for best east-coast destinations.  Driving north from Boston with three friends, Spencer, Kerry, and David, the trip took a solid 5 1/2 hours, including a 45 minute stop in Portland for a local pint and a very large cheeseburger. It was delicious.  Arriving late on Friday night we were pleasantly surprised to see strong snow coverage illuminated by moonlight, even through the woods, on most of the mountain.  They have had decent snow so far this season.

Let’s back up… for those of you who don’t know much about The Loaf, it is located in the Carrabassett Valley in Maine’s western mountains, about 2.5 to 3 hours from Portland (yes, it’s a poke). It happens to be on Maine’s second highest peak, reaching 4,237 ft, and is the ONLY lift-serviced above-treeline skiing in the east! There is just short of 3,000 vertical feet and almost 1,500 acres of skiable terrain. The resort has developed nicely over the years with modern snowmaking, a range of terrain for the whole family, and decent lift capacity. A small gondola existed for many years but was dissasembled a number of years ago due to safety and regular issues with HIGH winds at the top.

We buckled in to our skis at quarter to 11 (ish) the next day and skied all over the mountain, including a handful of fantastic bump runs over on the King Pine lift, which proved to be the best place to ski (great steep runs and no lines at the lift). The next few days were not sunny blue-bird days of skiing, but the coverage was good, the wind behaved itself, it wasn’t too cold (hovered around 20 deg F), and the APRES was fantastic!

“The Bag” is the local pouring establishment based right in the center at the bottom of the mountain. They even make a nice little IPA called “In the Bag” which has great body, flavor, and almost no after taste. The scene is more of a local / weekend-warrior crowd, some even bringing little kids in to run around and say hi to everyone. Many of the patrons appeared to know each other and were generally very friendly. $2.50 draft beers during apres was also pretty nice (of course it took us 2 days to learn that… we were overpaying for pitchers). Not exactly a place for body shots and Jager machines, but still a terrific establishment!

-D

Fashion

CFO Braves Injury and Fashion Tragedy to Ride Again: Read About it Here

Apres YouTube Debut…

Check out some decent turns captured in the back country of Solitude March 2007.

Picture of the week

This picture was too good to only feature as our “picture of the week.” Apres camera guy Damian strikes again with this beauty from Loon. Thanks Damian for passing this along, we’ll see you in NH this weekend, keep the material comin!

S.B.O.T.W

New bunny.

Après Weighs In on Injection – No not Steroids

Probably one of the few articles talking about injection that doesn’t deal with Mark McGuire and his obvious steroid abuse; this article talks about water injection for Alpine World Cup events – specifically for the Olympics… (Apres Weighs in)

Cheap Skiing in the East

Most everyone on the East coast wrestles with the price of skiing in their heads.  Taking big D’s previous post about annual snowfall into consideration, you pay just about the same amount to ski at Sunday River as you do to ski at most all of the resorts in Colorado, but you get a fraction of the snowfall and certainly a fraction of the vertical.  So if there is an opportunity to get up to the mountains and ski at a fraction of the retail price (and save some loot for the apres scene and rounds of Goombay Smashes), we’re all for it.

A co-worker of mine sent over this website that organizes day ski trips on the weekends.  Check it out HERE.   Every weekend ski trips leave from the Boston area and head up to some of the best ski mountains in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.  It cannot be argued that $59 for a lift ticket at Loon and a ride there and back is a bad deal.  Not possible.  So jump online, book a bus ticket and a lift ticket, and get up to the mountains this winter – suddenly skiing has become affordable.

-Teeter

Average Snow Fall

I am currently at 38,300 feet on a Virgin America flight from Boston to San Francisco, and taking advantage of the new WiFi service sponsored by Google.  It’s fantastic.  We just passed over what I believe to be northern Utah/southern Idaho, without a could in the sky.  Naturally, my face is glued to the window witnessing a spectacular site of endless snow-topped mountains.  The terrain appears to be browner/greener than I would have expected for this time of year, but I guess the west hasn’t had the big dumps yet that it needs to completely cover the mountains and valleys.

With Google at my fingertips I thought it would be interesting to compare the average snowfall of the western resorts to a few back east.  It’s interesting that Colorado resorts (Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen, etc) average around 350 inches of snowfall per year, where Utah resorts are considerably north of that.  Alta, reaching 500 inches per year, on average!!  Surprisingly, Jay Peak averages 355 inches per year, topping Aspen and practically matching Vail!  In comparison, us east coast skiers are much more used to the likes of Sunday River, averaging 155 inches per year… sorry Sunday River, snow guns don’t count.

The only resort to top Alta is a lesser known place called Mt. Baker, in Washington.  The mountain is actually an inactive volcano, known as the ”Undisputed King of Accumulation” — reaching 644 inches / year on average… and averaging 4.5 inches per day in December and January .  Wow!  Let’s hope the slow start to this season picks up quickly en route to new records this season!

-D

Who’s your daffy?

S.B.O.T.W. Yeah, she’s serious.

The Spy Who Loved Me

I was reviewing my James Bond collection last week when I remembered this amazing ski scene from The Spy Who Loved Me… it has such a fantastic ending as well.  We see these stunts all the time in modern day Warren Miller films, but in 1977 this footage was tough to get!  The ending to this scene was also an early breakthrough in stunt-filming.  I also just love watching an old pair of Rossi straight 215’s scream down the mountain.  Enjoy!

-D

Top 10 Apres Spots in New England

Take a look at the top 10 apres scenes in New England as determined by Boston.com. Reader J-Harv, an Apres legend in his own right, was kind enough to bring our attention to this article. Although we have not discussed these rankings enough as a staff to officially take a stance, I think its fair to say they got most of it right. As always we want to hear what you think, so please let us know if Boston.com got this one right.