Big Weekend for Mt Hood

You thought April spelled the end of snowboarding? What am I thinking, my reader(s) know better than that. This weekend all three major Mt. Hood properties have big-time goings on.

Let's start with Meadows because that's where I'm usually riding. They're hosting the Ski to Defeat ALS event on Saturday the 13th. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, so yes, it's a cause worth championing. Last year they raised over $160,000. Let's get out there and double it. Apres entertainment will be provided by electro-acoustic troubadour Tony Smiley. Oh and kids lessons are 2-for-1 now 'til April 28, so bring the tykes and show them the reason you're all excited about winter. And if that doesn't get 'em, the hot cocoa will.

Not an Olympic-qualifying event... yet.

Timberline is where the real jam is. Saturday is the first ever Yobeat Powder 8 contest. Get judged on which team makes the best '8'. Simple, right? Better get signed up now, there's only room for 15 teams. Who am I kidding, if it's not full already, I'll join myself and call my team 'The Dummest Man in tah World and His Only True Friend' and get one of those 'I'm with Stupid' shirts for my friend. You should still watch, though. It should be a real hoot. Sunday is Airblaster's Board Games. That one's all about Terry's Maximum Airtime Rhythm Section. They've had years to perfect the section, so you better be ready for an on-point set of humps that will put Fergie to shame. Check it out.

Next year, I'm starting Bored Games. Events include sarcasm, mediocrity and innuendo. 

Even Ski Bowl is getting in on the action this weekend. Friday through Sunday, they're hosting the US Airbag Demo Tour. You know the drill, cheese wedge to Paul Bunyan's lunch bag. Huck your junk. Tickets start at $10 for three jumps. If you prepay for 25 jumps ($45) you get a free die-cut sticker. If that's not the worst freebie you've heard about today, leave a comment below. They make up for it on Sunday, though. Sunday you get to ride free. Seriously. There is a suggested donation of four non-perishable food items. Note to crunchy prospective attendees: kale, while healthy as all mana and probably something everyone should eat more of, is perishable. They will not accept it. They will take Twinkies before they take your kale. Do us all a favor and eat the kale yourself and go get a couple cans of chili. Also bad form: 10-cent canned corn, there is no nutrition in that. Just follow Rule #1*.

Ski Bowl: It's April and their hill doesn't look like a soccer field. Party!

If that's not enough to get you on the mountain this weekend, well just imagine they're giving away beer, too. I'm sure one of them is. Probably Yobeat.

*Rule #1 is "Don't be a dick."

5th Annual Dirksen Derby Dec. 17-19

Here's what you need to know-

This is not a tightly regimented event, so details are still in flux.

The GOLDEN rule: All proceeds from everything go to Tyler Eklund, a friend and rad kid who was paralyzed while snowboarding. Paralyzed. Think about that when you reach for your wallet.



Dirksen Derby Kickoff Party: Friday, December 16th. Doors @ 7pm, Band at 8. Location: the Poet House in downtown Bend. All ages. Music, Drinks for 21+, Raffle, and “Broken Board” art auction.  All proceeds go to Tyler.

Racing: The whole weekend! Depending on weather, snow fall and poor planning, the schedule of the event will remain flexible. All participants are expected to be on-hill both Saturday and Sunday ready to either race the course, cheer on their fellow competitors, bash some windlips or stuff their faces with Parilla clam chowder. If everything goes perfectly as planned, Friday the course will be open for timed practice, Saturday we will hold both the Mens qualifier and the Splitboard race, and then Sunday will be everything else (the top Mens qualifiers from Saturday, Derby Elites, Womens, Older and Wiser, Groms and Sit-ski). But remember, the actual schedule can change quickly!

Registration: $25 per racer, per event. All proceeds go to Tyler. Racers can register online at MtBachelor.com or at Mt. Bachelor`s West Village lodge on Friday afternoon, Saturday morning (8:00-10:00) or Sunday morning (8:00-10:00). There will NOT be a limit to the amount of competitors allowed in the event. Discounted lift tickets will be available at registration.

Sponsors: Our exclusive list of sponsors include: Salomon snowboards, Patagonia, Dakine, GoPro, Mt. Bachelor, Hydro Flask, Oregon Adaptive Sports, Boneyard Beer, Smith Optics, Drink Water, Spark R&D, Rebound Physical Therapy, Parilla, Gummi Love, Skjersaa's, SideEffect, Aspect, Exit Real World, Mt. Hood 26, DeckTech, BAF, Mountain House, and Skull Candy.

Salomon Team Vacation Hits Hood

Catch them TODAY, like NOW, at Timberline. Also, tomorrow 12/2 - that's right, we're in December now - they'll have a demo at T-line. Saturday and Sunday, they're moving on to Meadows. When I say 'they' I don't mean some bunch of jabronis, 'they' includes Jed Anderson, Bode Merrill, Louif, Grenier, Dirksen and more. Go check out Salomon and get your slalom on.

Don't Forget the Bone Zone

Timberline. Tomorrow. One of my favorite things ever. BOARD DEMOS! From next year, even. Bank to the Future and shit. Oh yeah and a race. And it might snow. Shaping up to be a good weekend.

shrednwmagazine.com for more info (or click the pic)

Avalanche Awareness Events

Next week is a big one for avalanche awareness here in the Mt. Hood region. It all starts Sunday the 20th with an avy dog fundraiser out in White Salmon. Then, on Monday, Meadows is selling special lift tickets to raise money for the Friends of the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center. Finally, on Wednesday the 23rd, Portland Mountain Rescue is hosting two lectures and a movie on avalanche safety at the Bagdad Theater in Portland.

So much more than cute little puppies.

I've always been more of a cat person, but if it can find me under a couple feet of snow, I'm willing to give any animal a chance. Come meet the Mt. Hood Meadows avy dogs at Everybody's Brewing in White Salmon, WA (right across the Columbia from Hood River). Also on tap for the night is an account of Meadows pro patroller Dave Watson's descent of K2. Yup, the second highest mountain in the world. Respect. Doors at 6:00, bring money for beers and raffle tickets. Stomp your feet to Billy Sheeley after. Details.

If you've ever been outside in the mountains in the northwest, you should know who the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center (NWAC) is. If you don't, let me put it to you simple: they deliver the most accurate and comprehensive weather and avalanche forecasts from Mt. Hood up to Mt. Baker. Problem is they are woefully underfunded. Mt. Hood Meadows is doing a little to try and help. Monday nights, Meadows usually closes at 4:00. This Monday, Presidents Day, they're offering a $10 ticket good from 3-9pm. A night pass is usually $29. All proceeds go to Friends of NWAC. If you don't want to stay up late on a work/school night, drop a couple dollars in the hat over at NWAC's site. Talk about an overworked and under-appreciated lot.

Portland Mountain Rescue, the guys who save you when you're doing the things you probably shouldn't be, are throwing a bit of a bash on Wednesday the 23rd. They'll be giving two lectures, "Avalanche Awareness and Backcountry Safety" and "The Mountain Locator Unit, Personal Locator Beacons, and the Spot," as well as screening the movie, "A Dozen More Turns." Having seen that film, I can attest to its power. Anyone interested in backcountry riding would do well to check out this night of edu-tainment. Come on, it's only $5. Movie and a drink for the price of a movie. 

If by next Thursday you're not ready to buy a pack, beacon, probe and shovel, then maybe you never will. Or maybe you got scared serious. Or maybe you just didn't check out all the avy-tainment afforded to you in such a small area and period of time. The amount of information and entertainment you can get for $25 in the following week is straight up staggering.

Going Deeper: Two Years Worth the Wait

Two years of hiking. Two years of scoping. Two years of mountaintop bivvy-ing. Two years without helicopters; the occasional plane or boat, but mostly just ice axe, crampon, rope and boot. Now, Jeremy Jones (yeah, the big mountain one) and Teton Gravity Research bring Deeper to the screen and it was worth every one of the 730 days.

I never did see that backstage college

Deeper is as apt a name as this movie could have. The crew goes deeper into the Sierras, deeper into Alaska, deeper into Chamonix and, hell, just sacking up to Antarctica is pretty deep. A deep cast of characters changed on every mission, Jones being the only constant. Tom Burt, Xavier De Le Rue, Josh Dirksen, Forrest Shearer (who made the trip for the Portland screening), Travis Rice, Lucas Debari, Ryland Bell, Jonaven Moore and Johnan Olofsson put boot to snow for different sections of the show.

A little taste of the opening from the front row

The film's format is more documentary and less shred porn, which suits the subject matter perfectly. Aside from one Travis Rice-constructed booter and De Le Rue's name which translates to 'of the street' the crew eschews anything packed down or metal for steeps that require rock-solid mettle. Each trip is given plenty of exposition before the heavy lines get ripped. And don't forget, every line they ride, they must first climb. Jeremy starts the action with his first ever trip to Alaska before he brings it all to the present. The evolution is clear. As a viewer, my reaction went from, "Holy shit!" to "Where the hell is he even going!?" on some of the steepest, most exposed lines I've ever seen. A heavy dose of helmet cam gets the point across. Professional riders, closed course, etc.

Now it's time for me to nitpick. One of the cameras was grainy to the point of distraction. Toward the end of the movie, I pointed it out to a friend, who concurred. My guess is that they used a few different media (helmet cam, 16mm, HD video) and they just didn't match well. That would be the only thing I would change. The shot selection was on point. The riding was next level. The lifestyle shots, information and soundtrack brought everything together. Bottom line, when's it out on DVD?

Overall, this picture is the one that will propel Jeremy Jones from Big Mountain Rider of the Year to Rider of the Year. After seeing everything that goes into his exploits, people better recognize. Also after years of dominating the former category he finally has company in the latter, Xavier De Le Rue, who took down the award last year. Ryland Bell isn't far behind either. When you look a little deeper, you'll find Josh Dirksen and the rest, alternating beautiful turns and deep trenches on the steepest of pitches. Boot-accessed big-mountain riding. Who knew?