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Category: News (Page 25 of 30)

Tram Face Contest…Will It Happen?

February 24, 2010 / / 1 Comment

This weekend (February 27 and 28) the World Freeride Tour is making a second attempt at putting the best skiers in the world on the legendary Tram Face at Squaw Valley.  The permanently closed terrain on Tram Face ranges from steep on the lookers right to downright hairball on the lookers left.  Many lines get poached illegally during ripe conditions.  Opening this terrain to a legal ski contest is a revolutionary move by Squaw Valley.

Unfortunately the low elevation and east facing exposure means conditions do not stay in good shape for long on the Face. Typically one day of sun can destroy conditions.  Avalanche debris fields can also create problems on the runouts. The current weather pattern calls for wet snow through Saturday and sunny on Sunday making it the most likely day for the contest.  Locals are chomping at the bit to see this thing go.  The terrain on Tram Face sits in full view of the valley floor including the village and parking lot with views improving as you get closer to OVI or gain elevation on the west side of Poulsen Peak.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed…this could be a special event.

Squaw Valley's Tram Face

Squaw Valley's Tram Face

Saddle Peak Goes Big

February 21, 2010 / / 2 Comments

On February 16 a massive avalanche occured on Saddle Peak, just outside the southern boundary of Bridger Bowl, Montana. This peak gets skied frequently as Bridger provides legal backcountry access via the new Schlasman’s chairlift.  The fracture line was approximately 1,000 feet long and the slide ran for about 2,000 vertical feet.  Miraculously no one was caught despite several people on and around the peak  at the time of the incident.  The avalanche wiped out dozens of tracks from the day before. This avalanche is the quintissential example that skier traffic does NOT equal a safe snowpack. A snowpit video from December 17 displays extremely hard windslab on top of 3 inches of hoar that was ultimately going to release under the right trigger…in this case a large cornice set off by a skier. The slab shell was strong enough to protect the junk layer from volumes of skier traffic without any stabilization from skier compaction. This slide should win an award as the biggest wakeup call in the lower 48 this year. This truly could have had a devastating outcome. Here is a video of the slide:

Below is a short film of a road trip to Bridger Bowl in January. The movie includes footage of terrain below Saddle Peak. Many lines below Saddle are subject to substantial secondary exposure with limited exit chutes. Although snow conditions were fairly lean during our visit, we skied many classic lines off the ridge and even found quality pow in places thanks to our guide Sam Cox. We will definitely return for more as Bridger offers some of the most dynamic and challenging terrain in the US.

World Heli Challenge Returns to New Zealand This Summer

May 25, 2009 / / 0 Comments

The World Heli Challenge freeride and freeski event debuts August 21st to September 5th 2009 in Wanaka, New Zealand.

The World Heli Challenge consists of 3 days of helicopter-accessed competition, staged over a two-week period to allow for perfect weather conditions. Athletes vie for top honors in Extreme, Free Ride and Downhill events and the coveted overall World Heli Challenge Champion. The event is returning to the scene after many years off.

“The World Heli Challenge offers the athletes the best conditions of which to ultimately test their all round ability as a snow athlete. The unrivaled camaraderie among athletes, the two weeks of continuous adrenaline activities that the Wanaka region is renowned for and the incredible helicopter skills of Harvey Hutton and the Back Country Helicopter pilots make this event quite simply one of a kind,” explains event organizer Tony Harrington.

The are 50 spots available for athletes, divided into 18 male snowboarders, 18 male skiers, 7 female boarders and 7 female skiers.

Some of the named athletes to take part in the World Heli Challenge include:
Matthew Annetts, Jackson Hole: Overall title winner of the 2009 North Face Masters
Janina Kuzma: Ski winner of the Engadine Snow in St Moritz
Maria Kuzma: 3rd in the Engadine and 5th in the World Tour Finals in Verbier, Switzerland
Ralph Backstrom: 4th place overall North Face Masters World Tour
Rachel Sheidow: 2x Dicks Ditch J.H. winner and former 3rd Alyeska Extremes, Alaska
Chris Davenport: 2xWorld Champion and inaugural World Heli Challenge Champion

“The World Heli Challenge is my favorite competition on earth. No other ski or snowboard event combines freestyle, extreme and psycho downhill skills like the Heli Challenge,” says Davenport.

Kiwi sensation Jossie Wells had his first taste of international acclaim when he was a forerunner of this event at just 9 years old. This time he’s back as an athlete along with his protégé brother Byron – two of the hottest ski kids in the world making big waves. Confirmed athletes also include Australia’s Chris Booth, Andrea Berchtold, Charlie Timmins and Boen Ferguson and the list is growing daily.

For more info and photos contact Tony Harrington, info@worldhelichallenge.com.

Lua’s Lane Skied March 7, 2009

March 10, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Here’s video of the Lua’s Lane line, skied last Saturday morning. This is the first time that anyone has dropped in from the very top of the line rather than entering from Mole Chute. Skier two drops in from the top of Lua’s Lane at approximately eight seconds. Skier one was already on the face below, having entered Lua’s Lane from the top of Mole Chute (the chute to skier’s left).

Tram Face Comp Possible for Wed or Thurs

March 3, 2009 / / 0 Comments

The rain finally turned over to snow and NOAA is calling for more than two feet by Wednesday. The Tram Face comp promoters are saying that the most likely window to unleash the comptetiors on Tram Face is Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. If conditions aren’t good enough by Thursday morning, the contest results will be based on the scores from the Silverado runs last Friday.

Tram Face is the ultimate Squaw venue; it epitomizes Squaw’s steep, rowdy terrain and its position just above the parking lot is the perfect arena for competitors to give 1000%  for the crowds and the cameras.  It’s fitting that this long-awaited contest is hinging on Squaw’s fickle weather patterns, where two-days of rain have scoured the area and two days of snow is poised to dump feet and create ideal conditions.

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