Filed under: Snowboarding, Video | Tags: aspen, Backcountry, competition, highlands, north face masters of snowboarding, powder, snowbird, travis rice, utah, x-games
DAY 1
Leaving Boulder early Wednesday morning
Aspen Highlands – Highlands Bowl, they had gotten about 2″ of snow in the previous 7 days, not exactly the best conditions but still a nice 40-44deg hill.
Top of the bowl
The first run I hiked all the way before I realized there was a free cat ride that would cut about 400 vert ft off of the hike
DAY 2
Woke up on a floor in an apartment nearby Buttermilk (thanks Dyani!) and drove into the town of Aspen to find coffee. I got to the parking lot of Buttermilk by 7:45 and walked around for an hour looking at the X-Games set up crew hard at work.
After some laps on the sick groomers at Buttermilk I took the bus over Snowmass, preparing myself for the craziness.
WOH! what a crowded thursday!
After some runs, and a great $6.95 burger/beer combo from Zane’s at the base, I took the bus back to my car in Buttermilk and drove into town to find the library, New York Pizza, and Aspen Brewing. I never found New York Pizza (the owner and head cook of Cosmo’s Pizza in Boulder, where I spent time working, both used to work at New York Pizza in Aspen before moving to Boulder and opening Cosmo’s. I heard their pizza is very similar). I was able to find Aspen Brewing, I got the IPA, good beer and cool place, but don’t bother going to the place alone expecting coversation with anyone that is a regular there. I got a very “we hate out of towners even if you know beer and ride everyday” vibe. Anyway, from there I left to the crazy land of 3.2% (by weight) beer. I got into Midvale, UT at 11pm where I was splitting a room with Mike .
DAY 3
The real riding begins..
We woke up at 5:30 to beat the 6:30am canyon road closure. Snowbird is located in Little Cottonwood Canyon, so when they get snow they have to close the road for avalanche bombing. They also do INTER-LODGE, during inter-lodge you are confined in a building. It is actually illegal to go outside. Very weird, it’s a totally different world.
Carl Guicham from France dropping into a hairy line
Jesse Delgado, a snowbird local and dishwasher in Alta, was kind enough to show us around the mountain a bit. Visibility was shit!
Here is Carl again, same area of the mountain, different line. Below him is Mike.
In line for our 1pm inspection run. They said Silver Fox (the comp venue) was going to be closed all day except from 1pm-3pm they would let us take 1 inspection run. None of the above was true, they kept it open all day. I was able to get 4 laps in on the venue, but they didn’t really help much. You couldn’t see anything and by the time we actually got around to competing (on monday) the terrain had changed drasically.
Mike hitting a drop-
3:30 athlete meeting, with free beer!
Drove back down to Midvale, ate some pizza and drank some 3.2 beer. After the first day I was ready to move to Utah.
DAY 4
Saturday we got up at 4:50 to beat the 6:15 road closure. the first day of the competition, over a foot of new snow with much more on the way, were we gonna get a run in or were they gonna call a weather day?
No comp, free ride day, crack the beers, After two runs no line was less than an hour long, I guess there are people in SLC that like powder more than Jesus.
After a solid day of riding we got the word that the road would be closed from midnight until 8:30am sunday morning. A group of 5 of us got together to split a room in the Cliff Lodge ($300 a night!!!). As we were driving back up the canyon after getting Subway and grabbing some stuff back in Sandy/Midvale they moved the closure up to 9pm, we got up there at about 8:30 barely beating it.
It was still dumping and new snow was piled everywhere, we went outside to go bomb drop off some ledges and cliffs we’d spotted earlier and help get Scott and Seb’s van unstuck, we got turned around quickly and sent back inside. No play time
DAY 5
Country club day.
The canyon road up was closed til about 11am and the road from Alta to Snowbird was only open from 9:30am-10am. Another weather day. The plan, lap the shit out of the tram before people start showing up again. No time for pictures. After another amazing day of riding we went back to some of the features we spotted the day before.
Scott Heale (NZ) dropping big
Another jaunt, what we thought was out of bounds national forest land, turns out it was closed ski area.
Law enforcement caught on. sorry patrol, we didn’t know it was in bounds
DAY 6
Monday, forecast said partly cloudy. Everyone was hoping we’d get to actually take a run in the competition. We were able to, the women went first, starting at around 10am. It was a one run final, all or nothing. I was able to get on first tram and got one lap top to bottom in right at 9, then I grabbed my bag and took the Peruvian chair to go drop it off at the bottom of the venue.
I went back down the the base to catch a tram up to the top and get ready for my run. I was going 25th (out of 78).
After my run
Announcers table
Travis Rice
Burgers and beers
Womens top 3 finishers – 1st Shannan Yates (Snowbird), 2nd Kaitlin Elliott (Snowbird), 3rd Cindi Roller (Brighton)
Mens top 3 finishers – 1st Mark Carter (Jackson Hole), 2nd Ryland Bell (Tahoe), 3rd Ralph Backstrom (Tahoe)
Such a great week. I ended up finishing 61st, which I was stoked about. I can’t wait for next year. Great times, great people.
VIDEO
Filed under: Snowboarding
Good trip ahead. Aspen tomorrow and thurs, then competing at Snowbird sat/sun
“Snowbird has received 18 inches of snow in the last 48 hours and more snow is on the way!
Due to the recent and forecasted snow accumulation, we will not make an official decision on competition venues until Friday morning.
Attached are photos of the venue options.
Day One, the first two photos- West Baldy or Silver Fox.
Day Two, the last photo, North Baldy.
Again, we will provide more detailed venue information Friday morning at registration.”
Headed up to Jones Pass yesterday and got a great run in.
Here’s a short video I put together, I forgot the mount for my helmet cam so I tried holding the lens. I thought I had locked the recorder unit, but I guess I didn’t, so don’t expect much -
Loveland opened yesterday, Oct. 7th, earliest opening day in the last 40 years. Woooooo!
It was actually pretty good, more snow than last year’s opening day. 2 park features (they had 3 at the start of the day though I guess?) Last year
Brought my helmet cam with me to Betasso Preserve this morning. It’s a great 2.7mi fun, fast loop just outside of Boulder, easy to do multiple laps with a car break in between. No bikes on wed or sat.
Here’s an entertaining old school (from ‘95) freeride video.
Check out Taun Taun – great Denver metal band.
Update 9/21/09: Bunch of other snowboard trailers here.
31 ski and snowboard films to be released in 2009
Top 5 trailers:
TKB Films
Skipopow
This is it, this trailer will have you waxing your boards, searching for cheap lift tickets, putting your ski rack back on your car, and praying for snow. Almost all helmet cam footage – equal parts snowboard, ski, and speedflying. Second teaser here.
Teton Gravity Research
Swift. Silent, Deep. – The Story of the Jackson Hole Airforce
“A documentry of skiing’s rebel spirit” – Available now to purchase on DVD here
Sweetgrass Productions
Signatures
Every film can use more Japan powder segments, why doesn’t someone just make a film entirely shot in Hokkaido? Oh wait!
9/19 Aspen, CO WORLD PREMIERE Wheeler Opera House 7pm $10 Live deep-country blues from John-Alex Mason to follow
9/22 Carbonedale, CO The Crystal Theater 7pm $8
9/23 Vail, CO Vail Mountain School 7pm $9
9/24 Dillon, CO Dillon Dam Brewery 8pm $7
9/26 Breckenridge, CO TBA
9/29 Leadville, CO Provin Grounds Coffee Shop 7pm $7
9/30 Crested Butte, CO The Majestic Theater 7pm $9
10/1 Salida, CO Benson’s Tavern 7:30pm $9
10/3 Colorado Springs, CO Colorado College Armstrong Hall 8pm $6 for students / $10Â Â Â Â Live music and bbq to follow on the CC quad
10/6 Fort Collins, CO TBA
10/7 Boulder, CO The Dark Horse 7:30pm $910/8 Denver, CO The Denver Civic Center 7pm $9 After party at the Icelantic Gallery to follow
10/10 Telluride, CO The Nugget Theatre 8:30pm $9
10/13 Durango, CO The Abbey Theatre 7pm and 9pm $8
10/14 Golden, CO Bent Gate Community Night 8pm
12/4 Silverton, CO The Steam and Steel Café 7:30pm $6
Matchstick Productions
In Deep
9/19 Boulder (Boulder Theater)
9/24 Denver (Gothic)
9/25 Crested Butte (Center for the Arts)
9/26 Aspen (Wheeler Opera House)
10/1 Durango (Abbey)
10/2 Vail (Vilar Center)
10/3 Keystone (Pavilion @ River Run)
10/24 Steamboat Springs (Grand Ball Room)
11/4 Breckenridge (Three 20th St.)
Absinthe Films
Neverland
Also check out the Dan Brisse road gap webisode.
9/24 Ft Collins (Lincoln Center)
9/25 Vail/BC (Vilar Center)
9/26 Denver (Starz Theater)
The rest:
Meathead Productions
Wild Stallions
Greg Stump Productions
Legend of Aahhh’s: A True Story
The history of ski film, looks like old clips with new interviews from Dick Barrymore, Mike Hattrup, Jeremy Nobis, Klaus Obermeyer, Ben Smith, Glen Plake, Scot Schmidt, and of course, Greg Stump.
Field Productions
Eyes Wide Open
Poor Boys Productions
Everyday is a Saturday
HUGE booter about 40sec in, big list of names, creative urban skiing and bc lines.
10/3 Breckenridge (Three20South.com)
10/6 Boulder (Boulder Theatre)
10/7 Denver (Gothic)
Standard Films
Black Winter
\m/____\m/
9/18 Keystone
9/18 Crested Butte
10/22 Breckenridge
10/24 Steamboat Springs
Storm Show
Magic Moments
Speedflying!
Teton Gravity Research
Re Session
Lotta talk at the beginning, followed by lot’s of handplants, some bc booters, and a ski-base segment. No snowboarding clips in the trailer.
10/2 Steamboat Springs (Shearton Ballroom)
10/9 Breckenridge (Three 20 South)
10/14 Ft Collins (Aggie Theatre)
10/15 Denver (Gothic)
10/15 Boulder (Boulder Theater)
11/5 Telluride (Sheridan Opera House)
11/7 Loveland (Rialto Theater)
11/13 Aspen (Wheeler Opera House)
11/13 Golden (CSM – Coolbaugh Hall rm 209)
11/14 Golden (CSM – Coolbaugh Hall rm 209)
11/19 Dillon (Dillon Dam Brewery)
12/3 Glenwood Springs (Hotel Colorado)
TBA Durango (Abbey Theatre)
Level 1
Refresh
9/11 Denver Premiere (Bluebird)
9/23 Boulder (Boulder Theater)
9/24-27 Aspen
9/25 Keystone
DOS Media
Too Real For TV
Snowboarding and skiing
Voleurz
Outdoor Graduation
Later this fall the film will be available to download for free at voleurz.com, bunch of other clips here.
Rage Films
Pretty Good
NSFproductions
Brand New Day
Eon Productions
The Edge of Never
“In 1996 extreme-skiing legend Trevor Petersen was killed in Chamonix, France. Nine years later, skiing icon Glen Plake decides it’s time for Trevor’s 15-year-old son, Kye, to ski the route that killed his father and join the tribe of big-mountain skiers.”
Powderwhore
Flakes
11/2 Denver (Oriental Theater) FRIENDS OF BERTHOUD PASS FUNDRAISER adv. tickets here
Assassin Entertainment
Gravity Assist
What the hell is this? A bunch of shots of Denver and some so-so skiing..
Ride the Planets Productions
Can’t Stop
Looks like it will have X-Games footage of Tanner and Simon battling it out on the superpipe.
Warren Miller
Dynasty
I’m looking forward to the sitski and China segments.
Nimbus Independent
Contrast
Art school dropout tours europe/russia with buddies, and maybe some skis (?), and makes short film set to the Pixies. Not much skiing at all in this 5min trailer, but will probably be a good film none-the-less with names like Pep Fujas, Andy Mahre, Chris Benchetler, Blake Nyman and Eric Pollard.
SVP Productions
Mad in France
Looks reaaal good
10/1/2009 Breckenridge, CO @ 320 South Main 21+
10/2/2009 Steamboat, CO @ Olympian Hall / Howelsen Hill ALL AGES $8
10/3/2009 Carbondale, CO @ Colorado Rocky Mtn School Barn All Ages
10/5/2009 Boulder, CO @ The Dark Horse Bar 21+ $8
11/18/2009 – Crested Butte, CO @ The Majestic $8
11/19/2009 – Grand Junction, CO @ The Radio Room
New Intelligent Group
Metropolis
4bi9 Media
So Far So Hood
ESK Media
The Affiliates
Chaoz Productions
Shoot Me
Cool triple front @ 1:50. Full movie will be free to download later this fall.
Stept Productions
How We Livin
Skiing and snowboarding, mostly jibbing. Really nice line @ 1:18
Broken Radio Films
Aestiviation: Part II
“A european ski movie”
<strong>Teton Gravity Research
Swift. Silent, Deep. – The Story of the Jackson Hole Airforce</strong>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><a href=”http://www.tetongravity.com/videos/S-W-I-F-T-S-I-L-E-N-T-D-E-E-P-Trailer-Original-723926.htm”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Swift. Silent. Deep” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632874357_GKWPA-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”251″ /></a>
“A documentry of skiing’s rebel spirit”
<p style=”text-align:left;”></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong>Sweetgrass Productions
Signatures</strong>
<pstyle=”text-align:center;”><strong></strong></p>
<p style=”text-align:center;”></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong>Matchstick Productions
In Deep</strong>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><a href=”http://www.skimovie.com”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”In Deep” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870030_3vtPx-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”241″ /></a></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”>Supposedly the film will feature an “epic Shane McConkey tribute”.</p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><em>9/19 Boulder (Boulder Theater)
9/24 Denver (Gothic)
9/25 Crested Butte (Center for the Arts)
9/26 Aspen (Wheeler Opera House)
10/1 Durango (Abbey)
10/2 Vail (Vilar Center)
10/3 Keystone (Pavilion @ River Run)
10/24 Steamboat Springs (Grand Ball Room)
11/4 Breckenridge (Three 20th St.)</em>
<p style=”text-align:center;”></p>
<strong>Absinthe Films
Neverland</strong>
<strong><a href=”http://vimeo.com/5610018″><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Neverland” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632869997_27ogE-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”219″ /></a></strong>Also check out the Dan Brisse road gap <a href=”http://vimeo.com/6089064″>webisode</a>.
<em>9/24 Ft Collins (Lincoln Center)
9/25 Vail/BC (Vilar Center)
9/26 Denver (Starz Theater)</em>
<strong>Meathead Productions
Wild Stallions</strong>
<a href=”http://www.meatheadfilms.com/galleries/video/564869912/361848621/”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Wild Stallions” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870032_fJo2k-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”239″ /></a>
The rest:
<strong>Greg Stump Productions
Legend of Aahhh’s: A True Story</strong>
<p style=”text-align:center;”><strong><a href=”http://www.legendofaahhhs.com/videoDownloads/Legend_Of_Aahhhs_Trailer.mp4″><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Legend of Aahhhs” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870003_HSrrQ-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”212″ /></a></strong></p>
The history of ski film, looks like old clips with new interviews from Dick Barrymore, Mike Hattrup, Jeremy Nobis, Klaus Obermeyer, Ben Smith, Glen Plake, Scot Schmidt, and of course, Greg Stump.
<strong>Field Productions
Eyes Wide Open</strong>
<a href=”http://www.skipass.com/videos/eyes-wide-open-field-product.html”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Eyes Wide Open” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632869998_W7FV5-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”227″ /></a>
Poor Boys Productions
Everyday is a Saturday
<ahref=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB_405KvJnc”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Everyday is a Saturday” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870059_RDozA-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”241″ /></a>
HUGE booter about 40sec in, big list of names, creative urban skiing and bc lines.
<strong>Standard Films
Black Winter</strong>
<strong><a href=”http://standardfilmsblackwintermovie.com/images/stories/video/smalltrailer.html”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Black Winter” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870080_QPWXr-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”282″ /></a></strong>\m/____\m/
<em>9/18 Keystone
9/18 Crested Butte
10/22 Breckenridge
10/24 Steamboat Springs</em>
<strong>Storm Show
Magic Moments</strong>
<strong><a href=”http://www.stormshow.com”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Magic Moment” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870083_5a5Ai-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”282″ /></a></strong>Speedflying!
<strong>Teton Gravity Research
Re Session</strong>
<strong><a href=”http://www.tetongravity.com/videos/Re-Session-Trailer-722717.htm”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Re Session” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870113_2xx7k-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”249″ /></a></strong>Lotta talk at the beginning, followed by lot’s of handplants, some bc booters, and a ski-base segment. No snowboarding clips in the trailer.
<em>10/2 Steamboat Springs (Shearton Ballroom)
10/9 Breckenridge (Three 20 South)
10/14 Ft Collins (Aggie Theatre)
10/15 Denver (Gothic)
10/15 Boulder (Boulder Theater)
11/5 Telluride (Sheridan Opera House)
11/7 Loveland (Rialto Theater)
11/13 Aspen (Wheeler Opera House)
11/13 Golden (CSM – Coolbaugh Hall rm 209)
11/14 Golden (CSM – Coolbaugh Hall rm 209)
11/19 Dillon (Dillon Dam Brewery)
12/3 Glenwood Springs (Hotel Colorado)
TBA Durango (Abbey Theatre)</em>
<em>
</em>
<strong>First Tracks Productions
Droppin’</strong>
/></a></strong><em>9/11 Denver Premiere (Bluebird)
9/26 Lake Tahoe (Montbleu Resort)
<strong>DOS Media
Too Real For TV</strong>
<p style=”text-align:center;”> </p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”>Snowboarding and skiing</p>
<strong>Voleurz
Outdoor Graduation</strong>
<strong><a href=”http://vimeo.com/5228120″><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Outdoor Graduation” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870142_nYYhM-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”224″ /></a></strong>Later this fall the film will be available to download for free at voleurz.com, bunch of other clips <a href=”http://www.voleurz.com/media.php”>here</a>.
<strong>Rage Films
Pretty Good</strong>
<pstyle=”text-align:center;”><strong></strong></p>
<p style=”text-align:center;”></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong>NSFproductions
Brand New Day</strong>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong><a href=”http://newschoolers.com/web/content/viewvideo/id/278518/”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Brand New Day” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870056_hUy5a-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”241″ /></a></strong></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong>Eon Productions
The Edge of Never</strong>
<pstyle=”text-align:center;”><strong></strong></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”>”In 1996 extreme-skiing legend Trevor Petersen was killed in Chamonix, France. Nine years later, skiing icon Glen Plake decides it’s time for Trevor’s 15-year-old son, Kye, to ski the route that killed his father and join the tribe of big-mountain skiers.”</p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong>Powderwhore
Flakes</strong>
<pstyle=”text-align:center;”><strong></strong></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><span>11/2 Denver (Oriental Theater) <a href=”http://www.berthoudpass.org/”>FRIENDS OF BERTHOUD PASS</a> FUNDRAISER adv. tickets <a href=”http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/80094″>here</a>
</span>
<p style=”text-align:center;”></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong>Assassin Entertainment
Gravity Assist</strong>
<pstyle=”text-align:center;”><strong></strong></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”>What the hell is this? A bunch of shots of Denver and some so-so skiing..</p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong>Ride the Planets Productions
Can’t Stop</strong>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong><a href=”http://www.ridetheplanets.com”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Cant Stop” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870072_c4g3H-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”225″ /></a></strong>Looks like it will have X-Games footage of Tanner and Simon battling it out on the superpipe.</p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong>Warren Miller
Dynasty</strong>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong><a href=”http://www.skinet.com/warrenmiller/”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Dynasty” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870151_e683L-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”248″ /></a></strong>I’m looking forward to the sitski and China segments.</p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong>Nimbus Independent
Contrast</strong>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong><a href=”http://www.nimbusindependent.com/videos/detail/CONTRAST/78105109020090713101724000000.html”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Contrast” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870049_QsbJN-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”226″ /></a></strong></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”>Art school dropout tours europe/russia with buddies, and maybe some skis (?), and makes short film set to the Pixies. Not much skiing at all in this 5min trailer, but will probably be a good film none-the-less with names like Pep Fujas, Andy Mahre, Chris Benchetler, Blake Nyman and Eric Pollard.</p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong>SVP Productions
Mad in France</strong>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><strong><a href=”http://www.zapiks.fr/mad-in-france-svp.html”><img class=”aligncenter” title=”Mad In France” src=”http://heyitsdaver.smugmug.com/photos/632870101_Hgt6T-S.jpg” alt=”" width=”400″ height=”224″ /></a></strong>Looks reaaal good</p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”><a href=”http://freeheellife.com/”><strong>The Freeheel Life</strong></a></p>
<pstyle=”text-align:center;”><strong></strong></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”>10/1/2009 Breckenridge, CO @ 320 South Main 21+
10/2/2009 Steamboat, CO @ Olympian Hall / Howelsen Hill ALL AGES $8
10/3/2009 Carbondale, CO @ Colorado Rocky Mtn School Barn All Ages
10/5/2009 Boulder, CO @ The Dark Horse Bar 21+ $8
11/18/2009 – Crested Butte, CO @ The Majestic $8
11/19/2009 – Grand Junction, CO @ The Radio Room
<p style=”text-align:left;”></p>
<p style=”text-align:left;”></p>
First Tracks Productions
Droppin’
No screen capture yet, all snowboarding. Great related article from NYTimes about a Burton-sponsored 8 year old girl throwing 5’s (shown dropping into a chute at the end of the trailer).
9/26 Lake Tahoe (Montbleu Resort)
Filed under: Mountain Biking, Snowboarding, Video | Tags: glenwood canyon, moab, st marys glacier
I headed west from the Teton Pass parking lot outside of Jackson into Idaho. I stopped by at Grand Teton Brewing just down from the pass, unfortunatly their fridge bonked earlier in the day and I wasn’t able to taste any beers.
Jackson Hole, WY
Tram at Jackson Hole, WY
Teton Pass parking
Teton Pass parking lot down below
Grand Teton Brewing Co.
I headed north through West Yellowstone towards Bozeman and slept in my car at a national forest trailhead outside of Big Sky, Montana.
Somewhere in that car I've been sleeping
The next morning I woke up and drove into Bozeman to find internet. Some other TGR posters (Sam, Allen, and Ben) were arriving in town that night, the plan was to car camp then wake up the next morning and ski Bridger Bowl. I had nothing to do all day, so I checked out some breweries (surprise surprise). Montana has some of the most interesting alcohol laws I’ve encountered. Brewery tasting rooms must close by 8pm, and you are limited to 48 ounces of beer per day. Also, up until 2005, you were allowed to have open containers in your vehicle (i.e. could legally drink and drive). (I actually didn’t know this open container law ban went into effect until just now, so the majority of the time I was driving in Montana over the four days I was thereI had a beer cracked) After visiting Madison River Brewing in Belgrade and Bozeman Brewing in Bozeman I met up with another TGR poster. Thanks for the beers Marc! Eventually the other Pathfinder of unemployed ski bums showed up in town and we camped at a trailhead just outside of Bozeman.
The first night we had no problems camping here, second night we got woken up by sheriffs at 2am
Hiking the ridge at Bridger Bowl
Imagine this terrain on a powder day
Sam, Ben, and Allen picking out their line from the ridge
Break for lunch
Back out there
Ben showing there's no better time for a beer then when you're cliffed out
2009.01.14: Posting from Montana State’s library in Bozeman. I found a nice trailhead to camp at last night just outside of Big Sky. I was able to get 11 hours of sleep and could hear the Gallatin River. Today I’m going to check out some breweries around Bozeman and Belgrade then meet up some some other TGR posters tonight. Big Sky backcountry tomorrow.
Here’s what I’ve been listening to -
Jane’s Addiction – Ritual de lo Habitual (1990)
Best Track: “Stop!”
Best listened to when you’re looking for something to turn up uncomfortably loud
Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street (1972)
Best Track: “Sweet Virginia” (“Thank you, for your wine, California”)
Best listened to when you want to lean your seat back and kick your left foot up on the gauge cluster
The Magnetic Fields – Charm of the Highway Strip (1994)
After Stephin Merritt’s romantic Holiday, and before his 3-disc lo-fi pop 69 Love Songs, he realeased this country-influenced album. Almost every track mentions traveling or trains.
Best Track: “Born on a Train”
Best listened to when driving I-80 through Wyoming
Bad Brains – I & I Survived (2002)
Best Track: “Ghetto”
D.C. hardcore gone dub.
Best listened to when driving through the mountains of Western Wyoming after 9 hours behind the wheel, beer cracked, nobody on the road, an hour away from your destination
Thelonious Monk – Genius of Modern Music, Vol 1 (1947)
I’m not even going to pretend to know anything about jazz.
Best listened to at 6 in the morning heading into town after camping in the mountains alone the night before, ready to see people again
Leftöver Crack – Mediocre Generica (2001)
Take their name with a grain of salt, because that’s how they take life.
Best Track: Nazi White Trash (no disrespect to the state of Wyoming)
Best listened to when getting passed by hundreds of Ford F-150 farm trucks on a two-lane Wyoming highway slowing gaining elevation up to the mountains
Spacemen 3 – Recurring (1991)
Before Jason Pierce formed Spiritualied he co-fronted Spacemen 3 with Pete Kember. Recurring takes a step away from Spacemen 3’s earlier shoegaze/noise releases and begins to show the haunting side Spiritualized took on (listen how similar Spacemen 3’s “Billy Whiz/Blue 1″ is to Spiritualized’s “Cop Shoot Cop”).
Best Track: “When Tomorrow Hits”
Best listened to when driving through Yellowstone National Park at dusk and can’t see 100 feet in front of you due to blowing snow
Why? – Alopecia (2008)
Hip hop lyricist fused with almost Postal Service-style indie music – “Today after lunch I got sick and blew chunks /
all over my new shoes / in the lot behind Whole Foods / this is a new kind of blues” – “..or are you giving me a dirty look in the rear view / clicking the button on your U-Haul pen / don’t pretend you didn’t see me / coming round the bend / on my fixie with the chopped horns turned in / trailing behind your biodiesel benz.” Oakland based Why? is on Anticon, a label most commonly associated with underground hip hop artists such as Doseone and Odd Nosdam. “Wolf [Why?] often approaches his words from a hip-hop standpoint, concentrating on internal rhyme and enjambment, but his intonation and delivery are pure indie rock. As is the band, who layer keyboards, guitars, and electric and organic percussion into something simultaneously melodic and distant, tuneful and difficult, songs that you want to sing along to but then have trouble enunciating the hook to “The Hollows,” the first single (“This goes out to all my underdone, other-tongued lung-long frontmen/And all us Earth-growths; some planted, some pulled”). But that, in fact, is what makes Alopecia successful: it displays both crypticness and honesty, intellectualism and vulgarity in equal measure, challenging and placating its audience in the same drawn-out, undefined, nasally breath.” – allmusic.com
Morning before leaving for Jackson
Stoked for my first Wyoming turns
I woke up yesterday morning at 6:30 to find 2-3″ of new snow on my car. The drive out to Jackson was fairly uneventful, I seriously think I saw at least 20 cars that have spun off the road and were stuck in ditches though. I found a place to park my car and fall asleep around 9pm about 20 miles outside of Jackson. I woke up this morning and went to check out Jackson Hole Mountain Resort but decided not to pay the $87 lift ticket price due to so-so spring conditions. Instead, I drove up to Teton pass, geared up, and started asking random people if I could join their group. Thanks Nate and Frank for letting me tag along! We hiked 1,800′ of vert and the run down was well worth it! Right now I’m posting from Snake River Brewing in Jackson. Tonight I’m heading to Driggs or Victor, Idaho to check out the towns. I’ll get back up on Teton Pass tomorrow (with a working helmet-cam this time!), then head on to Bozeman if the forecast is still looking dry.
