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Skeptical yet excited I packed my bags. I had never visited the South, aside from the ousted stepchild of the southern states, Florida, yet going to the south I always anticipated packing a bathing suit or hunting gear. This time however, I was packing to go skiing in Wintergreen, VA.

Picked up at the airport and dropped off at the top of a mountain, I was a little confused. I asked the driver where the mountain was and he equably pointed down the hill. So, I checked in and proceeded to go take a look around and look down the mountain. The hotel and “base” facilities were at the top which is a mountain design I had never seen before. However, with dozens of snow guns operating the air was thick with a brisk eastern flair, and after having one of the best snow years in history I could almost guarantee that they had bigger snow banks then Snowbird and Alta combined. With an average yearly snowfall comparable with two major storms in Utah, this year in Virginia has seemingly been hit with blizzard after blizzard as I later learned the kids had missed three weeks of school already this winter. However with all this snow, the hotel was dead. Aside for some employees mulling about I did not see a person. It was 11:00pm and I was looking to have a beer, but I scrummed to the idea of sleep.

I met Sepp Kober, the organizer of the event the next morning and he briefed me on what to expect and what my duties were to be. I had been sent to the Southeast by HEAD Winter Sports to assist in the “Double-Cross” event. Come to find out Wintergreen and Freestyle Ski and Board shop host a skier/boarder- cross event throughout the season for which this was the final showdown. Now, given that skier and boarder-cross were in the Olympics this year I was not quite sure what to expect when he said skiercross. As I walked around the resort for a few minutes and saw the majority of the patrons were sporting rear-entry boots, I figured the day was about fun in the sun and not competition.

Wintergreen is a small community resort tucked on the edge of the George Washington National Forest about three hours from DC. The resort doubles as a golf community in the summer and a private/public ski resort in the winter. With apparently bus loads of people traveling to the resort, my first impression of an empty hotel the night before was shattered with commotion the next morning, as hundreds of people were tromping around in ski gear preparing for the day. It was so refreshing to see people out skiing because they wanted to go ski and not motivated to get the “sickest turn of the day.” The relaxed environment was a welcomed breath of fresh air compared to the hypersensitivity of a Snowbird tram line on a powder day. The community was out and the locals had come to see their friends and family compete in a little full contact competitive skiing.

My job was to assist Chris in the announcing and MC’ing the event. Throughout the day we held dance-offs, and I witnessed some never before seen dance moves in ski boots. All in all the event was a great experience, and I felt like a local as the crew of Freestyle Ski Shop and the locals of Wintergreen Resort welcomed me into their lives as one of their own. We drank expresso vodka like it was imperative to our survival (thanks Pete), and I experienced why people love skiing even in a place like Virginia. Friends, family, and the camaraderie created around a sport devoted entirely to the great power of gravity.

Thank you to Mike Poole and Victor Georg of HEAD Winter Sports, Sepp Kober and the the crew at Freestyle, all the great people of Wintergreen Resort (especially Dave Reinhard), and to the Wintergreen Freeride Ski Team for reminding me how much fun it is to go off jumps again.

After one event and one win, Lindsey Kildow Vonn is looking like she is on a mission to not only win but prove that she is the best female alpine ski racer to live. Her attitude has always been lackadaisical but focused and her life has been driven by skiing since the day I met her thirteen years ago. Growing up in Vail, there were a lot of athletes in and out of the race program who had traveled or moved with their family to the Vail Valley to pursue skiing. Lindsey was one such girl, but from the start she took it a little more serious then the others. He training was training and not time to ski with friends. Her time on the road was her life to which she still took the time to write post cards and call her friends back home. Her life was skiing, and for the first time in my life the true story of success is unfolding. Lindsey is clearly an inspiration to younger athletes, but her domination in a sport previously dominated by europeans is nothing short of spectacular. The USA has not seen a female skier of her caliber since the Picabo Street days and if it weren’t for Body Miller skiing would be completely off the map in the US. Although, lets not disrespect the efforts of fellow team mate Julia Mancuso who was standing on the podium in 2nd place today. The US is making a stand and it is clear as you walk through the grocery store, as it is hard not to see Lindsey or one of the US Ski Team members on the cover of something.
Lets hope she can not only set a record for the number of people watching an Olympic skiing race, but lets hope for four more medals.

After arriving back to SLC I hit the road for the 8 hour drive to Denver. Instead of packing a light suitcase to go to Vegas I was actually packed to ski while going to the International SKI show for the first time. The years of Vegas are over and the oxygen enriched environment is a thing of the past. The International Ski Show, called SIA, has officially moved to the Denver Convention center where the overall review was positive, although people were not openly admitting that they actually missed the allure, preponderance, and anonymity of Vegas. While people still found a way to party and enjoy themselves in the Mile High City, the only difference is that Denver has a last call.

The convention center in Denver is a beautiful building and the City of Denver rolled out the red carpet to try and accommodate the thousands of people who attend the show from around the world. While the situation in Denver turned out to be more of a process logistically then many expected, the addition of an on-snow demo portion of the show was a success. Winter park Resort did a tremendous job of making space, and accommodations for the industries ski, snowboard, goggle, helmet, etc. companies to demo and showcase their gear in an actual winter environment. The hope is that for the next few years while the show is contracted to be in Denver, buyers and industry folk alike will learn more about the on show portion of the snow show and the work will pay off.

We will all miss Vegas and all of its odiousness, but to have a snow show where it will directly affect the ski industry is more logical in my opinion.

Backcountry.com has done it again. A new webpage called DOG, or Department of Goods, is launching.
However, it is special because each purchase over $50 will receive an additional gift, and random shoppers will be given extra gifts that ranger from bikes, skis, kayaks, clothing, and more. The catch is that it is an invite only. If you know me, or someone that is hooked in the circle of trust get a code and check it out.

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For me Summer is a time to recuperate, work, and prepare for the upcoming season. While there is never really enough time to do everything you need, I found this summer to be a whole new experience with a lot less time. Last year after breaking my self off and spending nine weeks on the couch as a result, I had a lot of time to think and reflect. I thought about my opportunities and how I have experienced something special while traveling and interacting with special people all over the world. While it has all been amazing, I decided it was time to incorporating my experiences as a skier in the mountains into something else as well. After all the experiences I have had, the few that stick with me the most are those when a helicopter was involved. Now, to many, skiing out of a helicopter is what makes them giddy, but for me it was the helicopter. I knew I wanted to fly them when we landed at the top of a pristine face with nothing but untracked powder below, and I was more interested in staying in the helicopter to fly back down then I was about skiing. I never did stay in for the ride back down, because I knew the skiing was going to be good, but as we unloaded, I always took pictures of the aircraft coming and going. My infatuation was obvious, so this past summer I got back on the school train and started flight school in Slat Lake City, Utah.

Therefore, I apologize for the lapse in my communication and blog activity, but come to find out Flight School is very difficult and time consuming. I have spent the summer learning how to defy gravity and stay alive in the process, but as the snow starts to fall I am starting to grow an itch for winter yet again. However, as I spent time on the couch last winter after getting hurt, doing everything I could not to laugh, cough, or move in the wrong way so my ribs would not grind against each other inside my chest, I watched many of the newest ski movies for the previous season. While I watched kid after kid perform trick after trick that I could not fathom, I came to the conclusion that the new generation was taking over. It was clear they had learned everything my generation could teach them, and put a spin on it and made it “nasty.” I realized that the sport had changed and the new generation had taken skiing to a new level. While I sat on the couch observing greatness from the confines of my recovery, I came to the realization that my body was frail and not as resilient as it once was. When I was in high school I could spend the day at the park crashing and jumping, maybe more crashing then anything else, but I was able to get up and do it again the next day. Everyone always told me, “take care of my body because one day you are going to regret it.”
I was young and thought nothing could stop me. However, now, many years later and a few surgeries, many broken bones, a few concussions, and a major trauma to my pancreas, and another to my chest I feel older then I should. Despite the aches, pains, and anxiety of getting hurt again however, I am yet again excited about skiing as the snow starts to fall eager to do it all again this winter.

Skiing creates an allure that no other activity can recreate. Some of the coolest old men I know are skiers for life and despite knee replacements, back issues, and a myriad of health concerns, they still get excited for ski season each fall. Its hard to explain, but the people involved in the sport live for what they do. From the early season snow makers, to the lunch lady, to the ski patrol, and all the people working to create better products that make skiing more fun; there is a community created by the combination of snow and gravity. It is clear that I have caught the skiing bug, so when I am not up in a helicopter trying to defy gravity and learning how to fly, I will be out frolicking in the snow and learning my next move in the symbiotic dance with gravity we call skiing. The winter is long and there is a lot of adventures ahead.
Let it snow and I’ll be talking to you soon.
Muah!

If you have been stuck inside the past few days and have not noticed the temperature change, the early setting sun, and the long casting shadows then I have some news for you. The weather has changed and the snow is falling. The preverbal storm has come and there are people already skiing in Colorado. Others are panicking about the eminence of winter, or the idea of cold, but there is a place you can prepare for winter called backcountry.com. A web page ergonomically designed for you to easily and comfortably locate all the gear you need, and maybe some you don’t need but really want. Backcountry.com is a short step away from heaven for gear geeks and is also the place you need to remember when you walk out the door and think “gosh, I need some gloves,” or “I really need to get a new jacket this year.”

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Fall. Autumn. What ever you call it, it’s close. The air is thick, the winds are shifting, and there are gaggles of geese fleeing despairingly from the north. Well, here we go again with another winter and who knows what kind of adventures but as the days are still hot we must enjoy the last days of summer before its too late. The sad yet euphoric reality is that the days are getting shorter, and the snow will fall soon. As the the nights get cooler and you know fall is coming when you wake up in the morning slightly chilled and have to grab the blankets tight or spoon a little closer to get the last bit of warm sleep.

In my opinion this is the best time of year as I find a particular energy created by the anticipation for the inevitably unknow. My eagerness to enjoy the last days of heat motivates me to do things I have been putting off all summer, while the anticipation for winter creates an ora that carries me and motivates me to not only enjoy the last few weeks of warm weather but also to get my lazy ass back into shape before the snow falls too. This summer more then any I have changed my focus in life and taken on some new challenges that I thought would pull my focus away from the coming snow, but as trailers and ski magazines start popping up, my insides are yearning for gravity like a nymphomaniac recently released from the penitentiary. The anticipation for fall has winter enthusiasts eager and on edge for what is to come. However, before its too late, enjoy the brown, because it will be a white christmas after all.

No too much longer.
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