Team Spyder tore it up in Aspen the last few days on Ajax, Buttermilk and in the backcountry for a 2010 product shoot.  Skiing pow, corn snow, jumps to gaper runs it didn't stop there.   It was the most relaxed shoot especially while kicking back at The Sky Hotel for St Patty's Day with John Forte playing music while trying to keep up with all the Guiness.  This week in Aspen is the skiing world's Snow Fashion Show.  Plenty of media was around to catch some of our action on the hill and off.

Waiting for direction

Cat Day

Team Shot

 Holeshot not working out so well.

Holeshot!!!!

 Justin Roach, Trevor Tanhoff, Cliff Bennett and me on a run down the track.

 Come take part in the best free ski race on the planet this weekend at Sugar Bowl!  It started as a traditional GS race down the Silver Belt Gully 30+ years ago and now has morphed into a modern day chinese downhill. Over natural terrain down the gully with banks, rollers and two option lines this race is a blast.  6 man heats from the top of Lincoln Peak to the bottom of Steilhang is a wild run that's a natural roller coaster.  Fresh snow is on its way this weekend for ideal conditions with bluebird skies for Sunday's race.  This is a fun race to go head to head with you buddies so come on out and settle the score to see who's got that "banzai"!!!

Rough schedule:

SAT 7:30 - 9:00     Registration

      9:30 - 10:30   Inspection

      10:30            Racer Meeting

      11:00            Training

      1:00              Time Trials

 
SUN: 7:30 - 8:30     Registration

        9:00 - 9:45     Inspection

        9:45              Racer meeting

        10:00 - 10:45  Training

        11:00            HEATS

        3:00 - 5:00     Awards

 $5000 in prize purse money.  Payout very tentative below and could very well change based on entries.  If we don’t have a particular division, it’ll go into men’s ski.

Silver belt buckles for 1^st place men and 1^st place women’s SKI.

I love the fact that two days after a storm you can access this skiing just minutes off Lincoln chair.  Today was a good day with beautiful weather and incredible snow conditions. I got three runs within an hour due to my new favorite hiking must have "VERTS" and then helped a guy who was lost in the woods back to the resort.  He said I saved his life.  It wasn't that serious, but he was heading the wrong direction and would have been much worse off if Barta and I didn't come across him.  Tracks help say the rest.
Contour HD helmet cam...my view here

HENRIK WINDSTEDT (SWE) - SKIS WINNING LINE - NISSAN TRAM FACE 2010

The Free Ride World Tour hit Squaw on a stellar day this Monday.  With a few inches of fresh pow and blue skies, the athletes had conditions to throw down and they didn't disappoint. I lucked out with a call the night before to take part as a fore runner and no way I could turn that down.  Running a bit late I pulled in and parked a few mins before the 7 am athlete tram.  Booting up as quick as I could I heard a moded VW bug pull up behind me.  It was local pro skier JT Holmes hopping out with ski boots on.  Looking like he slept in his boots, he showed up as dialed as racers do with 2 pairs of skis on race day.  One for 6 inches of new snow and the other for more.  On top of that JT's boards were waxed and ready.  Riding the tram with the top skiers and boarders on the FWT and hot shot judge for the day Scott Gaffney was pretty cool.  Big guns Cody Townsend, JT Holmes, Tim Dutton, Cliff Bennett, Aurelien Ducroz, my straight line buddy from MSP's film "IN DEEP" Henrik Windstedt and more were all slowly waking up for the big day.  Catching up with Henrik he said he felt nervous.  We laughed and talked up some runs from Haines and our kids.  He's got a 5 month old boy Louie that was here in Squaw to watch dad light it up.  Comp day was kicking in, the energy was building.  I skied this area last year filming with JT and Jamie Burge for Warren Miller's "Dynasty" and was excited to see creative lines and big drops for the top prize of $8,000.  As a fore runner I wanted to do the right thing and stay off the comp lines, but close enough to test out conditions and give some beta to the athletes.  From the top my mellow run in fresh cream cheese pow all the way to the run out put a smile on my face.  Those conditions were perfect for skiing fast and stomping airs and that's just what went down. 

Huey got his first taste of Downhill back with Tommy Moe and Willi Wiltz in Kitzbuhel in the 90's.  Huey pushed me every day in the gym my last few years on the alpine team.  His voice isn't the only powerful thing about him.  He's an animal in the gym and loved to get after med ball routines and squats.  He eats more turkey breats than Michael Phelps, never gets cold and sweats more than 5 guys in a sauna.  He's a guy you want on your side to escort drunk Austrian fans out of your face or plow through a crowd and fall into his wake.  He's known as the "Big Bear" in Europe and his voice is now heard around the world.  Huey, you are the man!! Thanks for firing me up over the years and nice work getting the boys out of the gate and to the finish in a hury in Vancouver!
click here to see the big man's NBC Olympic profile!!!

For my Olympic Ski Cross qualifying, interview and heat race video click on pic

After a remarkable recovery in two weeks from a dislocated hip and three practice days on the Sugar Bowl ski cross course, I was ready to roll for the Olympic debut of ski cross in Vancouver.  The track at Cypress was awesome.  It had a tricky double step down feature right out of the start into a cut out step over wu tange #1. The timing had to be dialed with the pull out of the gate and then the pressure of your skis into a quick pole for acceleration.  Then you had to make sure you stood strong to build up energy on the face of the wu tange, at the right moment ollie the lip, soak up the deck, hinge forward to match the backside and get in a pole as you touch down.  Same exact approach into the 2nd wu tange.  If you pulled that off with good flow you had a chance to be in the lead or a close second into the first turn. If not you're at the back of the pack.  From there down it had lots of bank turns and a variety of jumps that posed a challenge to get back on the ground and keep the speed. My first heat I lined up with Mike Schmid, Ted Piccard and Eric Ilians.  I had a good start and almost pulled the holeshot, but Schmid just edge me out going into turn one.  I was in second down to the last straight away and then out jumped the dragons back triple and landed a little forward.  That was right into a double and it sent me long.  Killing speed I gave Piccard a chance to pull up on me in the last turn.  I went in tight and he was wide.  I had the lead into the 2nd to last jump out of turn 7 and then got tagged in the back of the calf by his skis on the take off.  That kicked my legs up from under me and sent me out of control into a crash right on my back knocking the wind out of me.  I bounced up as quick as possible and fought to the finish line.  I got to within 50 feet of the line and the Swede, Eric passed me for 2nd.  My day was over in the first round.  I laid it down in the finish trying to get air back in my lungs.  Damn...it was over before it started.  Schmid went on to Olympic Gold and I still have a good back ache.