Snow Alert -Jackson Hole, Snowbird,White Pass,Beaver Creek, Aspen ...
         
Avalanche Warnings - Teton Area Jackson Ranger District, POB 1689, Jackson WY 83001 Issued: Fri April 03, 2009 6:17 AM
Moderate: Areas of unstable snow exist. Human triggered avalanches are possible. Larger triggers may be necessary as the snowpack becomes more stable. Use caution.

                  

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Shane McConkey The legendary freeskier, base jumper and innovator Shane McConkey was killed in a base jumping accident in the Italian Dolomites

Shane McConkey (December 30, 1969 - March 26, 2009). Born in Vancouver, British Columbia,[1] McConkey was a professional skier based out of Squaw Valley, California. He won numerous awards and competitions. McConkey started as a competitive freestyle skier, but moved on to be featured in a long line of extreme skiing movies. McConkey was known for combining BASE jumping with skiing, as seen in such feats as skiing into a BASE jump off the Eiger. McConkey went to Burke Mountain Academy. He was also known for his contributions to ski design, notably being the father of reverse side cut and reverse camber skis (aka: skis with rocker), first with the Volant Spatula and, more recently, the K2 Pontoon ski design.
On March 26, 2009, McConkey was killed while skiing in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. He and his skiing partner JT Holmes were skiing off of a cliff while wearing parachutes; after doing a double back flip, McConkey was unable to deploy his parachute because his ski failed to eject, and he crashed to the ground. His parachute did not malfunction, it was never deployed. He died on the scene






Shane did a double backflip and then had some difficulty," said Gaffney. He uses these old-school Tyrolia bindings, which release upwards, and they have straps attached that he pulls on to release the skis. So he pulls the bindings, the skis release, and then he flies away in the wingsuit.
"He got one ski off, but then was fighting to get the other one off. In the whole process, he went upside down and had one ski above him, which caused him to spiral. And then he got into a high-speed spin. He was still fighting to get out all the way down. J.T. watched the footage again because he wanted to know what happened. It was hard to see, so this is speculation, but it looked like he was going for his pilot chute. Maybe he couldn't get to it—he'd complained before that the wingsuit was tight. But we don't know for sure."

The fact is that Shane has died, but it’s just so difficult to understand. He was so good and gifted that we really didn’t believe this could happen, even though the risks were sometimes high. Shane McConkey, who appeared in several ski films such as Steep, was one of the brightest stars in the industry. He was a role model to many of us. I really admired Shane’s positive mindset, smile, kindness and courage to live his life exactly the way he wanted. He lived large, every minute. Shane McConkey was truly an inspirational person whose lifestyle so many people followed
Alpine Deal
Tahoe's Unfiltered Alpine Homewood Pass
Valid 7 Days a week, No blackout period, at both Alpine Meadows & Homewood Mountain Resort.
Adult (19-61) $649
Teen (13-18) $199
Child (12 & Under) $149
Child (4 & Under) FREE
Senior (62-69) $369


Unlimited Spring Ticket If you've purchased a Spring Ticket, take $99 off the Unfiltered Adult or Filtered pass & $49 off the Midweek + Sunday Pass! Discount must be done in person or download and mail in season pass form
Short on Cash? Pay $100 Now; Pay the Rest Later Drop $100 by May 31st for your season pass, and pay the balance in full by September 30. Offer only available online. Credit cards will automatically be charged for balance due. www.skialpine.com

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Fernie
Fernie Alpine Resort received 175cm of snow this March. In the last week alone the resort received 50cm and with warm temperatures forecast, spring skiing will be AMAZING!


Fernie Alpine Resort is part of the Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) Family.
www.skircr.com

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Mad River Glen
The end is near !
They made the call and our ski season will indeed have one last hurrah on Saturday. We will re-open the mountain on Saturday, April 4th from noon until 4 PM. The skiing on the upper part of the mountain should be pretty darn good while the lower reaches of the mountain are very, very thin. There may be some walking involved to get down to the bottom so be aware.
Saturday will be the last opportunity to get some spring turns in (via lift) at our beloved Stark Mountain. It will also be the last opportunity to rescue your mugs out of General Stark's Pub before the summer. We implore you to take them home with you at the end of the year. Please come on Saturday to have a final beverage with us, bid your goodbye to Gen. Stark's Pub, and take your vessels home. If you can't make it up to the mountain this weekend stop by during the off-season contact the office staff and we'll make sure to pull it out of storage for you. Thanks for your patronage
The Mad River Glen General Store enjoyed a fabulous inaugural season. Thanks to Betsy Jondro and her staff for doing such a great job.
To celebrate their success the General Store is in the midst of and End-of-Season Blowout Sale. The store will be open from 11 AM to 5 PM on Saturday only so come on in to take advantage of the unbelievable deals
www.madriverglen.com

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White Pass - Wa

LIFT-SERVED TERRAIN will operate daily through 4/12. We will then move to weekend operation (Saturday & Sunday only) through 4/26. There is a chance we will operate the first weekend in May - watch the website for details.
www.skiwhitepass.com

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Big Sky - Montana
Powder Day!
Surface Conditions: Powder
Today's Word: I hope your legs aren't too tired just yet because it looks like Big Sky is going to keep having great snow for the rest of the season! It snowed like crazy all day yesterday, so yet again we're facing another amazing powder day, with over 2 feet since Tuesday just on the lower mountain.
Call the Snowsports School today at 406-995-5743 to book your slot for the Zip Line tomorrow!
Deal of the Day: Free Shea butter upgrade in the Solace Spa with the purchase of a 50 minute or longer treatment.
www.bigskyresort.com

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Crystal Mountain -Wa
8" IN THE PAST 24 HOURS
& 15" IN THE PAST 48 HRS!
The insane spring snowfall is continuing into April- 19" so far this month! Over 12 feet of snow fell in March- that's more snowfall than any March in the past 15 years. It is deep!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Silver King Junior Freeskiing Championships April 1-5
Dummy Downhill April 11
Easter Sunrise Service & Brunch

www.skicrystal.com

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Bump Bash

The Spirit of the Bump Bash is rooted in the Freestyle movement of the seventies of the past century. In the late sixties and early seventies “Hot Dogging” developed in the USA. 1986 – over 20 years ago - the first “Triftji Bump Bash” took place on , one of the worlds most spectacular bump runs located in the heart of the Swiss mountains at over 3,200 meters (12,000 ft). Triftji is at the top of one of Zermatt’s (home of the world famous Matterhorn) three main skiing mountains, named Gornergrat. Since its humble ski-bum beginnings, the Bump Bash has evolved into the world’s largest open bump competition, where Show, Spirit and Fun are the most important ingredients.
Bump Bash Extremes
Bump Bash Vertical
The 24th Bump Bash Classic


www.bumpbash.com

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Freeride World Ranking 2009
The Freeride World Tour 2009 came to an end with an amazing fourth stage and grand finale: the Nissan Xtreme – Verbier. The Frenchmen, Xavier de Le Rue in snowboard and Aurelien Ducroz in ski, are the Freeride World Champions 2009 while taking incredible victories on the mythical Bec des Rosses. For the women, the Norwegian skier, Ane Enderud, dominated the event thus took her first ever Freeride World Champion title as did the american snowboarder, Susan Mol, who was third today in the competition won by Geraldine Fasnacht.
Freeride World Ranking 2009 .
Men Ski Women Ski Men Snowboard Women Snowboard
1- Aurelien Ducroz FRA
2- Reine Barkered SWE
3-Sverre Liliequist SWE 1-Ane Enderud NOR
2-Marja Persson SWE
3-Jess McMillan USA 1-Xavier de Le Rue FRA
2- Alex Coudray SUI
3- Max Zipser AUT 1- Susan Mol USA
2- Aline Bock GER
3- Geraldine Fasnacht SUI

The Frenchmen Xavier de Le Rue (snowboard) and Aurelien Ducroz (ski), winners of the Nissan Xtreme - Verbier and Freeride World Champions 2009 Xavier de Le Rue and Aurélien Ducroz, leading before the stage in Verbier, brought honor to their Golden Bibs with historic runs. On the windblown Bec des Rosses face with 55° areas which was even tougher than usual, they both opted for really tough lines. Though he had already won the Freeride World Champion title before heading down the slope, Xavier de Le Rue won the competition hands down, this being his second victory of the season after winning the Nissan Freeride de Tignes. This is his second consecutive title. After his podiums at the Nissan Russian Adventure (2nd) and the Nissan Tram Face (3rd), Aurelien Ducroz was victorious in Verbier. Like his winning run in 2006, he revealed his mastery and ease on such steep slopes. Very emotional at the awards ceremony, Aurelien has now claimed his spot as the discipline leader.

Results for the Nissan Xtreme de Verbier 2009

Men Ski Women Ski Men Snowboard Women Snowboard
1- Aurelien Ducroz FRA
2- Reine Barkered SWE
3-Raphy Gillioz SUI 1-Ane Enderud NOR
2- Marja Persson SWE
3-Jess McMillan USA 1-Xavier de Le Rue FRA
2-Mitch Toelderer AUT
3-Matt Annetts SUI 1-Geraldine Fasnacht SUI
2-Bibi Pekarek AUT
3- Susan Mol USA

The Swiss were also successful on the Bec des Rosses with Geraldine Fasnacht’s victory in snowboard, third place for Raphy Gillioz in ski and Alex Coudray taking 2nd in the Freeride World Ranking in snowboard. After her first victory just a few days ago, Geraldine Fasnacht continued her amazing come-back winning the Nissan Xtreme – Verbier. Starting from the right side of the face which was reserved for the women, her fluidity impressed everyone. She won ahead of Bibi Pekarek (AUT) and the new Freeride World Champion, Susan Mol (USA). Susan participated in the Freeride World Tour after having won a qualifier event; she then won the Nissan Tram Face in Squaw Valley USA. Confirming her talent on the European slopes, she took the title ahead of Aline Bock (GER), the other revelation of this season winning in Sochi. Raphy Gillioz (SUI), mountain guide in Verbier and chief ski patrol for the Mont Fort area, mesmerized the huge crowd gathered at the Col de Gentianes to admire the 14th edition of this legendary competition. By choosing the central line of which he alone knew the secrets, he climbed to the third step of the podium. Also, thanks to his great season taking 3rd in Sochi and Tignes, the snowboarder Alex Coudray took second of the Freeride World Ranking 2009.

The Scandinavian skiers, Ane Enderud (NOR), Freeride World Champion 2009, Reine Barkered (SWE) and Sverre Liliequist (SWE), both on the podium of the Freeride World Tour 2009 Encouraged by her entire family that came all the way from Norway, Ane Enderud chose a creative line with impressive jumps. Thanks to her victory in Verbier, she took her first Freeride World Champion title just ahead of Marja Persson (SWE) and Jess McMillan (USA), who were all three on the podium of the Nissan Xtreme – Verbier. For the men, Reine Barkered (SWE), was the revelation of this season winning in Squaw Valley. He concluded the competition with a run packed with lots of quick jumps. Thanks to his 2nd place in Verbier, he thus took second of the Freeride World Ranking 2009 just ahead of his compatriot Sverre Liliequist, winner in Sochi.

Photo credits :NISSAN XTREME - VERBIER 09 / D. DAHER

The Freeride World Tour 2009, a success The Freeride World Tour (FWT) 2009 brought together the world’s best skiers and snowboarders to compete around the globe: Sochi, Russia, Squaw Valley, USA, Tignes, France and Verbier, Switzerland. Thanks to the 10 Freeride World Qualifiers, certain young talented riders were qualified to participate in this season’s major events. With points earned in both the Freeride World Tour events as well as the Freeride World Qualifier events, the Freeride World Ranking 2009 was established: only the top three event points earned were counted to determine the Freeride World Champions 2009 as well as the list of those qualified for the Freeride World Tour 2010. The athletes have been actively involved in developing the Freeride World Tour and the future of this sport




www.freerideworldtour.com




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2009 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour
Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series Championships & Freeskiing World Championships
April 9, 2008 - April 13, 2008
Location: Alyeska Resort, AK

http://freeskiingworldtour.com/

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Burton series
Thu Apr 30 2009
Zero-G
Chamonix, France


For other action events check out
//www.mtsports.com/

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Solden -Austria
New state-of-the-art 8-person chair lift with wind protection shields will be in operation - replacing the old Giggijoch triple chair lift.

The hourly capacity of the new mountain lift amounts to 3,700 persons
www.soelden.com/

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