The Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP), the voice of freesking, has calculated its final world rankings for men’s and women’s halfpipe, slopestyle, big air and overall winners for the 2008-09 season. The AFP ranking system was developed to track men’s and women’s competition results of more than 18 events held on four continents in slopestyle, halfpipe and big air in order to name true global world champions. The AFP has developed an event ranking system that creates balance between the different formats and levels of events held throughout the world, separating them into four categories, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Events are ranked based on course construction, prize money, media exposure and level of athlete participation and receive maximum point value...
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Holy smokes… is this guy for real? Watching this Speed Riding footage taken from MSP’s latest film, CLAIM, is just mind-boggling.  I’ve seen snow-kiting and I’ve seen base jumping, but combining the two is absolutely amazing. The thought of simply being able to drop into these unreachable lines and swoop out to the next landing zone just seems crazy to me. With obviously solid skills, Antoine Montant, lays down some turns on steep, sketchy terrain, triggers an avie and swoops to safety. Pretty cool when he jibs the ridgeline, but then not so cool when he tumbles head-over-teakettle on a 50-degree slope entangled in his parachute. Yikes! Up until that point, you get caught thinking, “Wow, that looks completely safe”....
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The Utah Avalanche Center (UAC), providing critical avalanche and mountain weather information since 1980, announces that its 2008-9 “locals-only” lift ticket program raised funds to help meet 2009 budget shortfalls. Thanks to partners Ski Utah, Backcountry.com and eleven Utah ski resorts, the “locals only” lift ticket program offered discounted rates and sold out for the season. Responding to a “call-to-action” from the Friends of Utah Avalanche Center (FUAC) earlier this season, Backcountry.com created an online “storefront” for direct ticket purchase only accessible through UAC’s homepage. In addition, Backcountry.com provided funds, facilities and staff necessary to process and mail out all lift ticket orders. The discounted ski pass program provides locals with a single day adult lift ticket to specified...
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Doing their part to stimulate the economy (and keep their lifties busy), Solitude Mountain Resort is offering $39 adult lift passes during the last 12 days of operation. Starting April 1 and going through their April 12 closing date, you can roll back the clock and party like it’s 1999. With a solid 8-foot base and plenty more April snowstorms on tap, it could be one of the best deals around.  Granted, Solitude isn’t Snowbird or Alta, but this is an excellent deal.  With solid tree skiing in Evergreen and open bowls in Honeycomb Canyon, Solitude has a lot to offer....
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It’s truly difficult to come up with words to describe the feeling I had when I learned of Shane McConkey’s passing yesterday in a Ski-BASE jumping accident in the Italian Dolomites. Though in my mind, this accident may have been inevitable, it’s always sad to see the life of  such a vibrant personality cut short.  I don’t even know where to start, but I’ll share my fondest memory of Shane with you. It was at the 2000 Canadian Freeskiing Competition at Whistler-Blackcomb. Everyone in the ski scene had descended upon Blackcomb for...
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Goggles… check! Gloves… check! Boots… check! Helmet… check? Any hesitation there?  If there is, it’s time to stop fooling around and get yourself a lid for the slopes. Especially given the recent death of Natasha Richardson (who wasn’t wearing a helmet), how many reminders do we all need before picking up a helmet? Ski helmets have been around for a long time now and with all the colors, styles and fits, there’s absolutely no excuse not to wear one. Lets talk about Swedish helmet and protective gear maker, POC Sports. Sweden is well-known for their fanaticism towards safety–think Volvo cars with all the airbags, ABS, etc.–and POC is no exception. Their helmets and protective wear are well-engineered with the...
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It started with a simple instant message… check out this video. A little distraction never hurt.  He didn’t introduce it, just said, “Take the 5 minutes to watch this.”  Simple as that.  A quick click and I was mesmerized… dumbfounded… no, completely blown away at the quality of the cinematography  and skiing. As many of you are aware, FeedTheHabit.com has done their fair share of ski and bike film premieres over the years. We were the exclusive promoter of TGR’s ski films for nearly 10 years and have worked with The Collective for all three of their film premieres in the Salt Lake City area.  So, that said… I’ve seen a lot of ski and bike films and thi...
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I just read this article posted on the Ski Area Management Web site. Holy smokes… I knew that US lift ticket prices were borderline outrageous, but 19 of the top 20 most expensive lift tickets are in the United States! Lets all reminisce on the $10-$15 lift tickets of our youth just a little… those were the days. Well, they were the days of old, rickety double lifts, poor grooming and mediocre services, but it was still skiing and isn’t that the point? I realize (as the article points out) that most resorts do offer discounts above and beyond the listed price, but it’s that very listed price that turns so many people off in a hurry because not everyone...
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The Shooter Chutes in the amazing North Cascades in Washingon State set the stage for Episode 2 of TGR Almost Live. This behind-the-scenes look at the filming of this year’s TGR film, “Re: Session” shows Sage Cattabriga-Alosa and Seth Morrison as they drop into these super-narrow and super-knarly chutes in the North Cascades. TGR’s Todd Jones films from a distant ridgeline while both Sage and Seth are dropped off by the North Cascades Heli Ski crew. They then proceed to drop into the Shooter Chutes with V.I.O. POV helmet cameras. The sphincter-tightening view from the skier’s perspective is awesome.  The only bummer is that they cut off just before Sage drops into the shoulder-width side chute… guess we’ve...
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Midweight base layers are all about versatility. Not too thick and not too thin… just the right thickness to take you from the skintrack to the groomers without overheating or freezing you. With all the variety of materials available these days, the choice isn’t quite as clear as it once was when Yosemite Sam wore his drop-seat waffle thermals. Merino wool has become the latest trend in sustainable, high-quality base layers. What was once the norm, lost favor to synthetics, but is now back with a vengeance as the industry has embraced their sustainability and the innate thermal properties of these natural fibers. Last year, I used and loved the Gordini Lavawool base layers and this year I’ve been using...
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