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Level 1 Mammoth Park Shoot

LEVEL 1 MAMMOTH PARK SHOOT

November 18, 2009

I feel like there has been a dearth of quality ski vids hitting the Internet in the past few week…

by: czarzach.bnqt.com

Blogs
Salomon Freeski TV is Legit!

SALOMON FREESKI TV IS LEGIT!

November 17, 2009

Salomon Freeski TV is in its third season now, and it is clear they have taken a lot of wonderful st…

by: czarzach.bnqt.com

November 17, 2009 » Blogs

Salomon Freeski TV is Legit!
by: Czar Zach

Salomon Freeski TV is in its third season now, and it is clear they have taken a lot of wonderful steps from that first season... which, as far as websidoes go, really wasn't that great. But now I would have to posit that this is probably one of the top three or four ski video series on the net (the best rhymes with Dimbus Codependent). And this latest episode just goes to prove the point: Mark Abma, Dane Tudor and Mike Douglas ripping around Alaska and getting (very close to) movie-grade shots shown in high-resolution from start to finish. The music sucks in the second half, but that's nitpicking, isn't it? For more, check out: http://www.salomonfreeski.com Pretty epic stuff:

Courtesy of Newschoolers.com

November 15, 2009 » Blogs

The NY Times' Horrendous Breckenridge Marijuana Story
by: Czar Zach

Oh, the New York Times... You know when they are writing about drugs being decriminalized in ski towns you are in for a good read... or maybe not. Breckenridge voters recently decided that possession of small amounts of marijuana should no longer be a crime. No doubt there will be a horrible price to pay at The End of Days when the Good Lord comes back to discharge a terrible vengeance upon these treacherous heathens, but until then, let's have a look at some excerpts from the article, sit back, and wonder how this author ever got a job writing for America's top newspaper. We'll start with the opening sentence:

"High-altitude partying is a deeply carved tradition in ski country, where alcohol in the open and illicit drugs in the shadows have been intertwined for years."

Intertwined how? What is a deeply-carved tradition? Is it like a long tradition? I am not sure what this lead sentence means exactly, but if the author was trying to say that lots of people in ski towns take drugs and drink, I have two suggestions for him: a) just fucking say that lots of people drink and take drugs in ski towns instead of waddling around it, and b) how shocking! Is there not some war going on overseas that we could be reading about instead?

"For business owners ever vigilant about the town's image, safety-minded resort managers and footloose ski and snowboard vagabonds whose ranks have given towns like this a tinge of wildness since the first ski bum washed a dish or waited a table, marijuana is openly discussed as perhaps never before."


Holy shit, that is a lot of low-rent jibberish to cram into one sentence. I defy anyone to read that again and make a lick of sense out of it. It's weird that people just assume these guys must be good, cogent writers. These towns were first tinged with wildness when a footloose snowboard vagabond washed a dish, but now they are talking about marijuana as much (OR EVEN MORE) than ever before? I think my brain just melted.

About half of the messages were negative, Dr. Warner said, and included comments from people who said they had canceled reservations and would never come back.

Whenever I feel like my life has gotten a little dull I am happy to remind myself that there are people walking about this great nation who are so inept at life and fun as to make me look like David Lee Roth.


At Home for the Holidays, a year-round Christmas store, the manager, M. Musso, who asked that only her first initial be used, said her customers tended to be older and more conservative. The young and the rowdy, who crowd the bars when the lifts close, usually do not shop for Christmas baubles, she said.

If I was the editor, paying this writer's expense reports, and he came back with an interview like that (after spending god knows how much on a flight, and a hotel, and rental car, and meals), I'd have the bastard dropped down an elevator shaft.

November 10, 2009 » Blogs

King of Style Winners
by: Czar Zach

Congratulations to all those who entered the 2009 King of Style Video contest, you are all, in one sense of the word, winners. But in a much more accurate sense of the word, the four of you not named PC Fosse, Ian Cosco, Nick Martini, or LJ Strenio are not winners: you are losers. Those are the four who will fly to Scandinavia to be showered in glory and fine Swedish caviar and comely blonde women and snus so good it instantly fries the neurons in your prefrontal cortex. Behold, the glory of the four, who will take on the world's elite (as if these guys aren't) at Stockholm Stadium later this month... For more details, visit: www.peakperformance.com/kos

As a bonus, here is what seems to be a creepy robot Henri Windstedt (whose setting was apparently left on "opiates") announcing the winners:

November 09, 2009 » Blogs

Must-Watch McConkey Tribute
by: Czar Zach

I am just going to shut up for this one. Everyone needs to watch it:

November 04, 2009 » Blogs

London Freeze Video
by: Czar Zach

So the London Freeze event happened, and Russ Henshaw furthered his case to be mentioned in the very top tier of big air competitors by winning thewhole damn thing. Below is a video from some Swedish outfit called Fri Flyt TV. A couple notes: I don't know what crazy language they are speaking in some of this video, but we know all Scandanavian's speak English exceptionally well, so fit they could just cut out this foreign language crap, I would really appreciate it. Also, PC Fosse, whom I have never heard of, got absolutely hosed on his score. You'll see what I am talking about, he is the first jumper in the video:

RESULTS:

Russ Henshaw Teen Heartthrob Bobby Brown Andreas H tveit Benedict Mayr Jacob Wester Corey Vanular Roy Kittler Elias Amb hl

So the Big Air ramps in the middle of cities is okay and all, but hopefully we can put it all behind us and see some skiing on MOUNTAINS soon.

London Freeze 2009 from Fri Flyt TV on Vimeo.

October 20, 2009 » Blogs

Selected King of Style Edits
by: Czar Zach

The Peak Performance King of Style is back for 09, and as with everything in skiing these days, the qualifying videos are simply ridiculous. I am going to go ahead say Durtschi is going to get in (and if he doesn't I will flip out), but I think people should go out and vote for the best video with a name attached to it that you have never heard of. I mean, did Jon Olsson really need another 5,000$ put in his bank account last winter? I dare say he did not.

Everyone is doing sick shit out there, so let's spread the wealth around. Below is a sampling of the videos, although by no means do I endorse any of them. I picked the Allen Lam kid because he made a 2-minute rail edit (instead of the mandated one minute) for a big air competition, and I admire the "fuck the system" quality in that.

Also, I did not pick these edits because they have hiphop tracks. Every single ski edit made these days is set to hiphop. For more, check out http://www.peakperformance.com/kos

October 18, 2009 » Blogs

Travis Pastrana Will Attempt to Jump a Car 270 Feet.
by: Czar Zach

So the latest Red Bull No Limits New Years' program has been announced, and it will look like this: Travis Pastrana (pictured here, jumping over an airplane for some reason) will attempt to jump a rally car about 250 feet (they're not getting too specific about the distance yet) onto a floating barge in the middle of Long Beach Harbor. This is an absurd idea, from the sound of it, but certainly an eminently doable one. You just need to hire good physicists who can tell you how fast you need to be going when you hit the ramp, and then actually hit that speed when you hit the ramp. In theory, simple, but few have the testicular fortitude for such a thing.

Ken Block has the current record at 171 feet, the video of which can be seen below. There are grumblings out there that Pastrana is going to tack on 100 feet to this in his attempt, but as noted above, it seems the bets are being hedged on how far he'll actually go. Red Bull hasn't posted up many details yet, but be sure to check back to www.redbullnewyearnolimits.com for more details down the road.

Photo Credit: Red Bull/Jeremiah Klein

October 17, 2009 » Blogs

Freeskier's Shane McConkey Tribute
by: Czar Zach

If, for some strange reason, you don't have a subscription to Freeskier Magazine then you are likely missing out on the Shane McConkey tribute edition. If ever there was a time to go to your local bookseller or pharmacy to pick up a copy of the magazine off the newsstand, now would be a good month. But for the chronically lazy, the gentlemen at the Freeskier were nice enough to post up the Epics section featuring Flip McCrick's shots of Shane over the years. They are awesome photos, and the captions give you some wonderful little insights into the stories behind the shots. Check out the entire gallery here.

October 16, 2009 » Blogs

French Ski Flick Streaming Here- Alliance
by: Czar Zach

There are several things to be learned from watching the French ski flick, Alliance, which can be seen in its entirety below. 1) The Frenchies can rip. This film features names like Laurent Favre, Loic-Collomb-Patton, Virginie Faivre, Xavier Bertoni, etc., but even the guys I have never heard of throw down. I mean, the skiing is barely a notch below what you see in a Poor Boyz flick. 2) Don't judge a movie by its intro segment, because this one is awkwardly bad. I'm alone in a room right now, and I am slightly embarrassed. 3) Always turn on Zapik's HD BEFORE starting the movie, because if you're like me and click on it halfway through, the whole thing rewinds to the beginning. 4) Apparently Rossignol is still a ski company. Who knew? Forthwith, Alliance:


Alliance (Full Movie)


Alliance (Full Movie)

October 15, 2009 » Blogs

Say My Name- Grete Eliassen Movie Teaser
by: Czar Zach

The Grete Eliassen movie I had no idea was being made is finally here! Or at least the teaser is. From the limited info out there on the Internet, I gather this was a two-year project produced by Stan Evans. Grete rips on skis and is certainly quite a dish... whether that prepares me to watch a feature-length film of her is another thing all together... especially with this perfectly limpid teaser music.

Maybe that is a bit harsh, but the fact she snubbed me on an interview request some months back makes me feel okay about it. Sure, I made the request on Facebook and it probably came across in a rather stalker-ish style, but I never claimed to be a professional. I'm pretty much out of things to say here, I guess. For more, check out the always mildly entertaining GreteEliassen.com

SAY MY NAME TEASER from Stan Evans on Vimeo.

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