February 2008 Archives

Hey you little monsters. Here's a chance to rock your world at the Monster Night Jam at Bear Mountain Ski Resort on Friday night.

Come out for the Pro-Am night rail jam. Registration will be held on-site.

Show off your monster air in a fun event that offers cash and prizes for the top competitors.

The results are in. The $25,000 Cholula Triple Air Show and Monster Boarder Babes was reportedly one of the best contests of the year at Mountain High Ski Resort in Wrightwood.  

Resort officials said this will be remembered as the year where amateurs threw down and took the top spots.
Here's a list of the winners:

Open Womens:
Mary Sallah                 
Nicki Slechta               
Laurie Currier             
Bethany Lamrecht      
Jamie Madrid                
Nirvana Ortanez            


Open Mens:
Sam Hulbert             
Brandon Reis                
Mac Spedale                
Nick Sibayan
Greg Bokenkamp         
Matts Kuli
Zach Stone                  
Forest Schmidt              
Alex Dawoud                 
Kyle Lopiccolo            
Ian Thorley                
Jared Dawoud              
Randy Marino                
Cody Rosenthel              
Austin Granger              
Joe Eddy

Best Trick:  

Sam Hulbert     Switch Back 900   

Yes, you heard me right. The regulars stomped the goofy-footed snowboards in the first Regular vs Goofy Snowboard Contest at Bear Mountain Resort over the weekend. 

We always said there was something wrong with someone who boards with the wrong foot forward! But really both teams threw in some awesome combinations. Congratulations to everyone!

List of winners

Regular Top 5
Juuso Laivista
Keegan Valaika
Stian Solberg
Erich Drummer
Robbie Walker

Goofy Top 5
Louie Vito
Forrest Bailey
Clayton Shomaker
Tyler Flanagan
Jonas Michilot

MVP
Jusso Lavista

You have to check out the Video Wars at Mountain High

They are amazing. I wasn't sure what kind of quality the contest might draw, but since we live near Hollywood I guess I should have expected something great.

Think of them as our own Academy Awards for snowboarders.  

I loved the best video by Mike Benson below. It made me laugh out loud in the office, which always draws attention. I thought the astronaut sequence in the beginning was a blast.

Best editing went to Gregory Scott. Some of his fast forwards gave me vertigo, and I thought some of the cuts were too jumpy for my tastes, but it is still a great job.

I thought the falls in the best riding video by Mark Biggins were hilarious. Their is some serious riding in this video so the guys are obviously really good. But they also included their falls, which makes the video all the more realistic.

Congratulations to all the winners. Great job, see you someday at the Oscars!  

The Wide Open #5 hits Bear Mountain today for a weeklong snowboarding extravaganza! This year’s event features the first Goofy Vs. Regular pro snowboard contest.

It will also include the unveiling of pro boarder JP Walker’s jib in “The Park,” photo and film shoots, giveaways, and after-parties. With 3 to 4 inches of new overnight snow on a 3-4 foot base, the Big Bear resorts are offering some of its best conditions in years.

The Wide Open featuring daily activities and contests. Pro snowboarders will include Antti Autti, Chad Otterstrom, JP Walker, Scotty Arnold, Zak Hale, Clayton Shoemaker, Simon Chamberlain, Louis Vito, Leanne Pelosi, Chris Bradshaw. Many will compete in Goofy vs. Regular Snow Competition for $50,000.

“There’s just no better time for Bear Mountain to be hosting a huge event like the Wide Open. On top of our 3 – 4 foot base of fresh powder, the Park gets an entire makeover so guests can enjoy a world-class terrain park offering new setups, new terrain features, a variety of junkyard jibs, built-up jumps, Southern California’s only Superpipe and so much more,” said Assistant Marketing Director Kim Hermon.

THE PARK WIDE OPEN #5 EVENTS SCHEDULE

Feb. 21 – KROQ Storms the mountain
Feb. 22 – Industry Day & Office Boyzz
Office Boyzz Competition/Rail Jam in the Scene
Feb. 23 – Goofy vs. Regular Snowboarding Competition
Presented by ThirtyTwo and Lost Energy Drink, the contest will bring the best professional snowboarders aligned by stance, Goofy and Regular, together to battle. Ghostface Killah, an original member of Wu-Tang Clan, will be performing at the base of Bear Mountain on the sun deck at the end of the contest.
Feb. 23 -- J.P. Walker unveils his Bear Mountain signature jib.
Feb. 24 thru 28
Photo and film shoots
Feb. 24 –Monster Night Jam
Pro- Am night rail jam in the scene with cash and prizes for top competitors.
March 1 -- Active – Burton Bro Down.
Am Slopestyle competition on Central Park.

I think I'm going to cry. Just give me a minute!

Alright, we all know how ROMANTIC a ski trip can be. Nothing like sharing a beautiful day of skiing with a beautiful woman. Makes for a perfect day.

So we knew it was bound to happen that someone would take advantage of all the new snow in the local mountains to propose to their girlfriend this Valentine's Day. 

Just ask a Long Beach couple. Last week, 31-year-old Regi Russell Solon proposed to his girlfriend of four years, Lisa Palmer, 28, at Snow Summit.

Regi and Lisa are originally from the East Coast, but met in Long Beach. Shortly after they met, Lisa planned a trip to Snow Summit. It was the first time either one of them had skied in California.

“It was on that trip to Snow Summit Lisa planned that I fell in love with her,” said Regi. “So when it came to the proposal, I knew the perfect place to ask her was at Snow Summit.”

With this romantic backdrop, still strapped to his skis, Regi got down on one knee and proposed to Lisa. She said yes.

If I tried that I'd probably fall over and down the hill. Still it's a lovely story this Valentine's Day.

Dear Savvy Skier,

I went skiing at Snow Summit (in Big Bear Lake) this weekend, and I noticed a lot of snowboarders parked on the slope in the path of other skiiers and boarders. These snowboarders sat in groups, rows and large patches throughout the slopes. They didn't seem to have just fallen; in fact, they looked like there were enjoying the view, socializing with friends, catching their breath or just drinking in the crisp mountain air. Navigating through all these people made the slope more difficult than it actually should be. Isn't it dangerous to sit in the middle of the path? Why do these snowboarders do it? And why doesn't the ski patrol put a stop to it?

- Concerned Skiier.

Dear Concerned Skier,

Yes, it seems groups of skiers think it's alright to make our trails into slalom runs. The only difference is instead of hitting a pole when you miss a turn, you're running over a person!

While experienced skiers can usually negotiate these obstacle courses with some difficulty, beginning snowboarders don't always have the control needed to avoid these social gatherings in the middle of the slope.

They then have to choose between crashing, shooting off the edge of the trail or hitting the idiot chatting in the middle of the run. That's why we're all taught to stop on the sides of the slopes. It's a commom courtesy that obviously isn't as common as it used to be.

Of course, the same people will walk down the middle of the street instead of using the sidewalk. So yes, it is dangerous to stop in the middle of the slope for both skiers as well as the people sitting down.

I don't know what the ski patrols position is on this, though we would all like to hear. What do the rest of you think about this growing problem?

A So Cal classic returns Sunday, pitting the best surfers against H2O boarders of the snowy type.

The awesome event combines a day of surfing at Huntington Beach Pier, dude, with a day on the mountain. This slopestyle competition will determine the overall Pro, Amateur and Industry board riders.

The event has seeds for 12 invited pro surfers and 12 invited pro snowboarders.  Two dozen amateurs and 12 industry shakers will also battle it out in their own divisions.

Past athletes have included Terje Haakonsen, Dave Downing, Jamie Lynn, CJ Hobgood, Christian Fletcher, Shane Beschen, Keith Malloy, and Gabe Taylor, along with 3-time overall champion, Troy Eckert.

Just try to remember to use the right board for the right H2O!

Got a call from the Ski Patrol over the weekend. They wanted to ask skiers and snowboarders to PLEASE not ski out of bounds.

With all the heavy snow we've been experiencing, it's dangerous to ski off trail because of the avalanche danger. The ski patroller said they had 10 skiers reported out of bounds the day they were searching for the avalanche victims.

The situation is also dangerous for the ski patrol, who have to go out and search for any missing skiers. We'll be talking to the avalanche experts later this week.

So stay safe and stay in bounds.