Archive for the 'Events' Category

Scott Markewitz Photo Workshop

Published on January 29, 2010 in Announcements and Events. 2 Comments Tags: .

I recently attended a seminar at the Winter OR Show entitled “Print is Dead” which had a panel of outdoor writers and e-commerce people, including Steve Casimiro.  Steve has been one of my favorite skiing writers since his days at Powder, and the upshot of the seminar was that print isn’t really dying so much as becoming one of many other means of publishing.  People kept referring to Steve’s website, The Adventure Life, so I checked it out and discovered (among other things) that Scott Markewitz was giving a photo workshop at Snowbird.

I’ve known Scott since I moved back to Utah about 18 years ago, and knew of him before that through his photography.  As far as I know, Scott was the guy who invented the genre of skiing photography where you see a tight frame of a skier completely engulfed in a sea of raging powder, with perfectly lit up details and the person is calming looking through his/her goggles directly into the camera.  Photos like these are the embodiment of speed, action, details, nature and humanity all rolled into one, which is probably why Scott has had several hundred magazine cover shots.  And skiing is just one of many things that he shoots.  There’s a photo on his website of girls throwing snowballs at each other, that makes it look like such fun that I want to give it a try.

My personal photography style is best described as “Point & Chute” where I carry a small Point & Shoot camera set to full auto with the burst mode on, pull it out when things look interesting, fire off a bunch of shots and hope for the best.  This usually yields about a 1 in 1,000 ratio of good to crap, and from working with professional photographers, there’s no doubt that carefully setting up the shot is 90% of the game.  In that regard, I’m very psyched that Scott is teaching a clinic and willing to share some of his techniques.

The clinic is Feb 4-7 at Snowbird and for $1,250 includes food, lodging, ski tickets and the workshop, although there is also a locals deal available if you just want the workshop.  Contact Scott at scott@scottmarkewitz.com or book through Snowbird at 1.800.453.3000.  It should be fun.

Slideshow in Alaska & California

Published on September 22, 2009 in Events. 9 Comments

If you happen live in Anchorage or Tahoe, I have two dates set for a slideshow presentation on skiing the Alaska Family Trio – Papa Denali, Mama Sultana and Mt. Hunter, the wild child.  The Anchorage show is on Oct 22nd (geez… I should really start putting this show together!) and the Tahoe show is on December 17 as part of the Alpenglow series.

AK_Family_poster_web

Both venues are great fun and proceeds go to worthy causes.

I hope to see you there!
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Tour Du Suds – Park City

Published on September 21, 2009 in Events. 5 Comments Tags: .

The annual Tour Du Suds (TDS) bike race in Park City is the highlight of my summer unicycle season as it gives me a chance to ride with a few hundred other people who are equally silly looking.  The TDS is a fundraiser for the Mountain Trails Foundation and although some people take it seriously, most are just there to have fun and dress up accordingly.

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Tour Du Suds studs gettin' down before they head up.

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MildSnow.com Challenge

Published on September 1, 2009 in Events. 19 Comments Tags: .

As long time readers of STRAIGHTCHUTER.COM may know, there is another backcountry skiing website out there named MildSnow.com.  It’s an alright site with some cute articles about painting your fingernails, blowing soap bubbles and how to ram your 1100cc snowmobile deep into the Colorado wilderness to get a better shot at endangered species with a .357 magnum Avenger assault rifle.

What many readers don’t know is that there a history between StraightChuter.com and MildSnow.com that dates all the way back to January 2009 when MildSnow.com paid a visit to the harsh, unforgiving, remote, wild, desolate environs of Park City, Utah.  Fearing the burly Utah climate, MildSnow.com (MS) arrived ready to rumble in their Chevy F37500 Dualie Monster Truck with MaxTrax rubber all around, a six-pack gun rack and fully tanked up with premium AvGas. Unfortunately, they got stuck backing out of our driveway.

This is not all that uncommon.  While seemingly benign, the moderately steep, crumbling, slightly off-camber driveway has trapped countless friends, in-laws and even the infamous Two Buddha.  The penalty for going over the edge is a 45 degree slope which often avalanches during the winter.  You better be sure you can back out in steep, icy conditions, or else.

Apparently, MildSnow.com was not up for the challenge.

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Heliskiing Everest and Friends of Flagstaff

Published on March 31, 2009 in Events. 9 Comments

Access to backcountry skiing seems to have been an issue for at least as long as the sport has been around, but for me, the entire discussion changed on May 14, 2005 when a helicopter landed on top of Mt. Everest.  Now the discussion is no longer if you could take a machine to anywhere on earth, but if you should.  Is heliskiing Everest elitist, or does it mean that it is now available for anyone, not just the elitist who feel that you have to walk up there?

If you have never seen this, it is some amazing footage.

As far as I know, heliskiing on Everest is not currently being considered, but on a local Wasatch note, a chairlift up Flagstaff Mountain is and it would have a huge impact on the backcountry skiing here.  The Friends of Flagstaff have organized a meeting at the Salt Lake City REI tonight (Tuesday at 6:30 – free), and I’m giving a short presentation as part of an informative panel discussion with many of the people involved.  If you have a chance, please come by.

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BackCountry Magazine Ski Test

Published on March 30, 2009 in Events. 7 Comments
Although I suspect my invitation to the annual Backcountry Magazine ski test extravaganza was a clerical error, I took them up on it anyway as it was a good excuse to drink Adam “Howie” Howard’s beer and ski at Powder Mountain.  I’ve been involved with many ski tests over the years, but lately have been developing an inferiority complex about them as I tend to like skis that everyone else hates.  It’s kind of like being picked last for High School basketball, which I also eventually got over.
Craig Dostie element as he engages in his Life Calling of doinking with telebindings to work. This pair just needed a little extra loving from the #10 Channel Lock pliers.

Craig Dostie in his element as he heeds his Life Calling of doinking with telebindings. This pair just needed a little extra loving from the #10 Channel Lock pliers.

Pow Mow is a totally rocking little area. If it was 10-degrees steeper overall it would be unbeatable.

Pow Mow is a totally rocking little area. If it was 10-degrees steeper overall it would be unbeatable.

This year was no different. We missed the first two days, which were epic powder snorkle fests and, predictably, the phatties ruled the roost.  As we were unloading a portion of the 200+ pairs of skis that were available, I was first amazed at how big, phat and heavy they all were, then dismayed to hear that these were actually the skinny schwagg that needed to be tested and the true fatties were under lock & key as they were all anyone wanted to ski on, but had been already thoroughly tested.  (After taskmaster Drew Pogge left on the third day, the fatties leaked back out.)

The 2009-10 version of skinny little wimpy skis. The big bouys were under lock & key.

The 2009-10 version of skinny little wimpy skis. The big bouys were under lock & key.

Of all the ski tests I’ve been to, this one was by far and away the most fun as they allowed plenty of time for it (4-5 days), invited a cross-section of 40 plus people and held it at a resort which was very testing friendly with easy access and good terrain.  The knee-deep dump of Utah pow didn’t hurt either.

Jon Howard (left) and Adam Howard (right), who are unrelated, but partners (in a business sense) in Backcountry Magazine, which is based in Vermont.

Jon Howard (left) and Adam Howard (right), who are unrelated, but partners (in a business sense) in Backcountry Magazine, which is based in Vermont.

Craig Dostie holding up a bit of history - an early copy of "Le Chronical du Couloir" which later turned into Couloir Magazine, which was eventually bought by Backcountry Magazine, who was hosting dinner and the ski test. Craig has copies of all except the first three issues of the Chronicle, and when I asked him if he thought there might be some hidden away somewhere in the world, he said "I doubt it. I mean, I was the publisher and I didn't bother to keep any!" He produced a great magazine which inspired many people (including myself) and left an amazing legacy.

Craig Dostie holding up a bit of history - an early copy of "Le Chronicle du Couloir" which was the forerunner to Couloir Magazine. Craig has all except the first three issues, and when I pondered whether anyone, anywhere might have them, he said "I doubt it. I was the publisher and even I didn't bother to keep them!" Craig put out an excellent magazine which inspired many people (including myself) and left an amazing legacy.

I made a point of skiing the phattest fatties I could get my boots into as well as reverse camber, elongated noses, pin tails, no sidecut, ultra long (195cm), boutique skis and mainstay manufacturers.  I stayed away from skis and brands I was familiar with as I ski those all the time. I thought I was doing pretty well to get 4-6 pairs in per day until I met Jamie, who was on her seventh pair by lunch-time and had racked up over 31 pairs in the last few days.  I don’t know what she ultimately liked best, but was impressed with her and many other people’s diligence.  Between this sort of enthusiasm and the volume of people, the published results should be very comprehensive.

Jamie pausing for 23 seconds to eat lunch before hopping on another pair of skis. Between the two of us, we tested over 50 pairs of skis. I did seven, and, uhmmm, she did the rest.

Jamie pausing for 23 seconds to eat lunch before hopping on another pair of skis. Between the two of us, we tested over 50 pairs of skis. I did seven, and, uhmmm, she did the rest.

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Superfly Open – Kiting Festival

Published on March 17, 2009 in Events. 0 Comments Tags: .

The second annual Super Fly Open kiting festival was held this last weekend at Powder Mountain, Utah.  Affectionately known as Pow Mow, the Eden based ski resort has an exposed ridgeline perched right at its summit which makes for perfect kiting conditions.  There aren’t many obstacles to collide with and the wind can be moderated by going higher (stronger) or lower on the hillside.

The last leg of the fast & furious snowboard kiter-cross event.

The festival is a loose affair with a variety of freeriding, kiter-cross, cross-country, big air and rail riding competitions, as well as parties, a Best Girls talent search and  evening presentations.

Floating effortlessly over the Odgen valley.

As a self-taught kiter, I like going to festivals like this as I always learn a lot.  While I have no problem catching air, my landing sucess ratio is about 10%, so I tend to keep my skis on the snow as much as possible.  Over the weekend I heard this referred to as “mowing the lawn” (going back and forth over and over) which seems humourously appropriate.

Jacob Buzianis, the man behind (literally in this photo) Best Kites in Utah. After setting up the demo kites, helping people get started and giving tips, he goes out and places in the top three of any of the events he enters, which is the sure sign of being a Super Ambassador for the sport. Nice job Jacob.

As one of the main sponsors, Best Kites had a quiver of demo kits available.  The technology on these beasties is impressive and in the right hands there is no limit to where riders can go – upwind, downwind or extended flights.

Since riders discovered the kiting potential at Pow Mow a few years ago, the resort has fully embraced the idea by dedicating a chunk of their property exclusively to kiting and offering lessons and rentals through the Best Snowkite Center.  Maybe they can teach me how to actually land standing up instead of on my head…

Closing in on the first mark of the men's kiter-cross snowboard division.

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2009 PowderKeg

Published on March 16, 2009 in Events. 13 Comments Tags: .

Last Saturday, for the first time in seven years, I was on the other side of the starting line of the Wasatch PowderKeg as a racer instead of an organizer. I love this event and thought it was a goner when Black Diamond and Patagonia pulled their backing out of it this season, but fortunately Chad & Emily Brackelsberg along with Mark & G Christopherson stepped in, stepped up and not only kept the tradition alive, but improved it.  It was a fun event and I’m glad to see that it is now in the sustainable grassroots mode so it stands a good chance of continuing on in the future.

Photos courtesy of Jay Beyer – http://jaybeyer.com

The start, and my moment of glory near the front of the pack. It didn't last long.

As an organizer, the race reminded me of a high-stakes version of the dominoes tip-over game where you set everything up, hope for the best, then when the starting gun goes off, there is not much to do aside from stand back and pray that everything/everybody falls in place accordingly.  The years when the avalanche danger was considerable to high were nerve wracking, and the year that we ran it through the moguls which unfortunately iced-over during the night and almost took out the entire pack were especially memorable.  The ideal is to create a race which is fair, safe and challenging, of which any two variables are easy to achieve, but hitting all three is incredibly difficult.

Casually sniffing around the edges of the Pain Cave, before deciding not to go in.

I’ve always thought that American racers can compete with the best of the Europeans once they/we learned all the tricks of the trade, got the right gear and started to train for racing, and that prediction is starting to come true.  It use to be that if you had the right gear (Dynafit bindings, racing skis and F1 boots), you were guaranteed a podium finish.  Now the majority of the serious racers all have it.  Six years ago, if you were behind on a climb but knew the tricks to a 40 second de-skinning transition, you could regain lost ground.  Now you will be losing time if you can’t transition in 30 seconds or less.  Training in the past entailed a good touring base plus abstaining from excessive beer drinking the night before the race, whereas now people actually train and the results are obvious and impressive.  People are getting consistently faster, which is great to see.

For my part, I ate shit, which was kind of a relief.  I saw Steve Cook, aka Silver Steve at the finish line who is the top medalist in US history for disabled Nordic Skiing, who asked me “Did you visit the Pain Cave?”  The Pain Cave is where you have to go if you really want to win, but when you are looking at the difference between 9th, 10th or 11th place, just looking at the entrance to the cave is fine.  I had a fun time trading places with Chris Covenington from Alta and Eric from Jackson Hole, and didn’t suffer any lung damage as a result, so my race was a success.

Chris Covenington (behind me) kept passing me on the downhills, so I tried to take his eye out with a skin tip loop. It didn't work.

As a confession, on the eve of the race I was debating not doing it as I wasn’t prepared, we had visitors and I had other pressing commitments.  Plus, I knew I was going to get my ass waxed.  But, I’m glad I did as the energy of the event itself is excellent and just being part of it is really what it is all about – thanks Chad, Emily, Mark & G!  Details on the race and info for next year can be found at www.wasatchpowderkeg.com

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Worst Fall I’ve Ever Taken

Published on November 19, 2008 in Events. 5 Comments Tags: .

In the name of exercise and fresh air, we skinned up the groomer at Alta this morning and once at the top of the Collins Chair, I looked over toward Mt. Baldy, which brought back memories of the worst fall I’ve ever taken.

At the time, I was still kind of into resort skiing and was up at Alta on a nice day with my wife (now ex-wife) when the Patrol opened the gates to Baldy Chutes.  It was late in the season and I was amp’d to get up there, so I punched out the booter approach and waited at the top of what I think is called “Perla’s” on the trailmap.  While waiting for the wifey, a bunch of skiers passed me and headed over to Baldy Chute, so I decided that this untracked line would be good enough and waited for my wife.  And waited.  And waited.

By the time she showed up (all of about five minutes later, but I never said I was a patient person), I was ready to go.  The line had a micro cornice on it and I had tossed a snowball down on the landing to see if it was soft, which it appeared to be.  Once Chris-The-Ex showed up, I slid off the cornice, expecting to land on a little soft ridge of snow.

Instead of a soft ridge, it was firm and I immediately fell backwards.  At this point I was still pissed off about waiting, so I didn’t panic too much, but suddenly, I realized I was airborne and accelerating really, really fast.

I was trying to spot my landing, but hit on my side, which kicked me up in the air even higher, and not only that, now I was cartwheeling.  I still wasn’t panicked by the time I hit again, but this time it was like the turbocharger had kicked in – now I was waaaaay off the ground cartwheeling completely out of control.

Oppph... this brings back some bad memories. Perla's Ridge at Alta.
Oppph… this brings back some bad memories. Perla’s Ridge at Alta.

I saw the landing coming, but again landed on my side/head, and now picked up even more speed and altitude.  At some point, rocks, trees and sky all blended together and I realized I was either going to break my back or die.

The next time I hit…  I landed upright with both my skis on at a complete stop!  It was 100% pure luck. I had covered about 500′ of vertical distance hitting only four times and only lost my sunglasses.

Since it was a warm sunny day in the spring, there were a group of people hanging around at the top of the then Germania chair, who gave me a round of applause.  A minute or so later, a lone ski patroller came out the traverse (I had stopped about five feet above it) and asked if I was alright.  I said I was, to which he said “You are really lucky, you know that?” 

It was for sure, pure luck that I wasn’t hurt and more than anything in my skiing life before, changed the way I ski.  Nowadays I’m much more conservative, don’t huck cliffs, try to get falls under control immediately, and of course, never, ever wait for my ex-wife.
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Black Diamond PowderKeg R.I.P.

Published on November 11, 2008 in Events and Racing. 5 Comments

It was great while it lasted, but after six years, two World Cup events and many exciting moments, the Black Diamond PowderKeg has become history and will not be held this year. Sigh.

I was involved with the PowderKeg as the Course Setter & Technical Director and one of my favorite aspects of the race was working with Butch Adams (Race Director) and Colleen Nipkow (Queen of Everything). It was a great event and brought people in from all over the U.S. and different parts of the world.

Not only were the Euro racers ungodly fast, they were also a blast to hang around with afterwards.

The course went through various iterations with each year being slightly different than the last. The original course started at Alta, crossed through the backcountry into Solitude, then climbed back out and finished at Brighton. In subsequent years it started and finished at Alta, as much for logistical simplicity as anything else.

For me, the event was always a nail-biter as our policy was that we definitely hold a race and not cancel it, which is easier said than done when the avalanche danger was shooting all over the board with either too much snow, too much warming, or glaze ice conditions. Racers always rallied with the last second changes and aside from a few cuts and bruises, we never had a serious injury. (wheesh!)

Dylan Freed helping set up the PKeg on a typical prerace day.

Setting the course and holding the race took a small army of volunteers, or which we had a core group of about 60. I may be biased, but having attended World Cup events in Europe and many races in the U.S., the PowderKeg was very well run, thanks to Jen Logan (Volunteer Coordinator), Colleen Nipkow and all of the people who helped out. Thanks again everyone!

I would usually start marking the course a few days in advance, and of course, that is when it would start snowing, so I would end up recruiting help to redo it over and over right up to the last second. The race started right at sunrise to help clear people out of Alta before it opened, and my favorite moment of the event was standing at the top of a distant checkpoint with a group of volunteers and hearing over the radio that the race had begun. At this point it was like watching a domino maze topple in front of you as there wasn’t much you could do to change the outcome once it started. The year that the start went through a field of ice moguls and almost wiped out half the field was memorable, but everyone survived and made it to the finish.

A huge thanks goes out to Black Diamond for hosting it for so many years and for Patagonia’s continued support! There were some mighty fine memories.

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