Powderhorn Mountain, Colorado

With high hopes for another amazing road trip--with places like Telluride and Silverton up ahead--we all seemed to have the same idea in mind when we rocked up to Powderhorn Mountain: "Who's idea was this?"

With only fifteen cars in the parking lot at 10:30am, we wondered if this could be Colorado's best kept secret or a total flop. The map previewed three two-seater chairlifts and an overwhelming number of blue groomers. We hesitated to begin the day with low expectations--sometimes it's these little podunk local places that turn out to be one hell of a time...

It was far from the familiar family resort scene of Vail and Beaver Creek. There were no on-mountain dining facilities, no sharpshooters, no "back bowls." Rather, it was a place that was to be admired for it's quaint, authentic, "get down to business and just ski" kind of place; The kind of place where, as Kylie put it, we'd just have to make our own fun.








Near the ticket counter, a simple black and white computer print out announced that the Travel Channel was here and may use our images. Amazing news to my ears, but why were they here? Obviously not for the terrain park. Perhaps for the hilarious chairlift loading shows. ;) We'd heard Powderhorn was a surprisingly wonderful hidden gem, known for it's boulder fields and also fun tree runs. Maybe the Travel Channel was here to document the place before it booms...

This was obviously not a place many advanced riders head to at first go, so, there was actually a lot of good pow left several days after the last storm. And, once we found the boulder fields, we were golden. Four feet piled ontop of one particular boulder became the perfect feature to begin sessioning. We built a kicker and then ollied, gapped and tapped the mushroom, landing in two feet of soft pow.





The day ended at a respectable hour. We apres-ed over beers, modeling for B roll footage for the Travel Channel cam. Perhaps you'll see us on YouTube.

Tim Cochrane Talks Avalanche Danger on Fresh Tracks

Tim Cochrane, Director of Vail Mountain Rescue Team, sat down with Plum's Juliana Broste to discuss the ten year snow-pack cycle, avalanche danger and incidents we've already seen this season. Tim also provided tips you can use to protect yourself and others in the backcountry.



Copy and paste this link to see full interview:
http://vail.plumtv.com/videos/tim_cochrane_talks_avalanche_danger_fresh_tracks

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Little preparation went into the Jackson Hole trip. And that's why it was so special.


(Posing in front of the Grand Tetons)

When Chris mentioned he was driving out alone to meet the Road Trip America crew (the lucky few who skipped out on three weeks of work to ride Whistler and many other resorts on the way), I suspected a few of us might be welcome to tag along…

In a matter of days, I was packed and ready to go—not 100% sure if my boss was serious when he agreed to give me the days off after discussing the matter over drinks at Ski Bar. With fingers crossed, I was ready for my another glorious snowboard trip.

Four of us, Chris, Gergz, Cole and myself, charged ten hours in the dark to meet six others (Bex, Gav, Mansy, Stan, Nat, Josh & Stacey) soundly sleeping in a sweet ass condo in Teton Village.

We were in Jackson Hole. The name alone promised a legendary mountain experience, although, I had yet to discover why.

Four thousand, one hundred, thirty nine vertical feet of stunning terrain, including awesome steeps, glades, moguls, gnarly rocks drops and ridiculously scary cliffs blanketed under 9 inches of fresh pow (20 including the day before). It was time to shred.

After two or three runs tearing up fresh lines of pow pow not far from the in chairlifts, we began to wonder why so much great snow was left untouched. We soon realized that most Jackson Hole locals and visitors would rather hike out to a few great untouched spots than taste sweet pow accessible on the trail map. Riding up the chairlift, we watched ants hiking in a row up to find bigger, better terrain.

CORBETS COULOIR

After a couple warm up laps, we found ourselves situated at the top of the famous Corbets Couloir.


It’s a drop some say as large as 120 feet, supposedly perfect if you’re the first one down on a powder day. Unfortunately today, the snow was less ideal. Watching Gergz drop off a creatively difficult / psychotic side, falling the distance six or seven times his size, I reasoned I was smarter than that, lacking some much needed testosterone.


A handful of other friends followed, taking the slightly more traveled path, plunging ten feet before landing in a violent side slip, then having a few of the best turns after that.

I, on the other hand, followed a smaller crew around the side and enjoyed making some good turns in safer grounds.

The adrenaline kicked in, and our crew was charged.

CASPER BOWL
Hiking to the top of Casper Bowl was a gigantic workout for a woman with short legs.



But well worth it once we reached the top.



CODY BOWL




TIMBER RIDGE MILE

We stepped out of bounds and into heaven when we left the Jackson Hole boundary from the rendezvous bowl. Powderlicious! Apart from the 300 foot cliffs, it was all our playground.


Jackson Hole is a backcountry rider’s paradise.

We enjoyed making smooth knee deep turns through the glades and even found a super fun kicker to hike and throw down a few tricks.

This area is considered part of the Bridger Teton National Forest. We were stoked when we realized we could ride it all the way home to our very doorstep (which was coincidentally named Timber Ridge. Thus, the Timber Ridge Mile was born.

J HOLE NIGHTLIFE
It was a treat to casually chat over apres nachos and beers at the Mangy Moose and feel like I was truly on vacation. I think we explored a total of seven bars in Jackson Hole--though I was a little disappointed I did not go shopping...

You know it was a good night when you unknowingly leave the bar with pockets full of peanuts.



BYE JACKSON HOLE
Somehow, I survived the ten hour return trip with the boys, putting up with all things "man"--the jerky, the farts, and the porn.

In short, Jackson Hole was steep, deep, and awesome.


I think we were all a bit wiped out after that.

Snowcat Snowboarding in Keystone

Skip the lift lines and freezing cold chairlift rides.

Today was a day for true luxury, riding up the hill in a heated snowcat for a change, on one of Colorado's coldest days.


Five of my fellow friends in blue coats and I left our jackets in our lockers and enjoyed being the "guest" for a change. We were accompanied by our three favorite men at the apres hour, Jodi, Andrew and Jason, whom are bartenders at Mezzaluna.


Kylie, Jayne, Davie, Chris, and I were determined to prove "ski school" could more than handle a day in the backcountry. We came prepared with sack lunches, dressed to battle the negative twenty degree windchill factor and armed with beacons, ready to show our guides what true EXPERTS can do.




We squeezed in thirteen runs in down Keystone's Independence Bowl.

We hooted and hollered often as we made smooth powder turns down the wide open bowl. We attempted to "spoon" out our turns and farm the pow pow to conserve the snow, but some stashes were just too good to leave untouched. We even jumped the so called 6-8 foot rock jump--more like 12-20 feet--watching the bravest attempt spins, grabs, and unintended cartwheels. Then, we picked our own lines through the glades, searching for freshies and avoiding that damned yellow brick road.

Thanks for a great day!

19" over the past 48 hours...

and I'm home sick. :(

HAPPY NEW YEAR

New Year's Eve Torch Light Parade




and post-party @ Bagali's