Outdoors, action and adventure

For LED snowboarder, a truly electrifying experience (video)

Imagine how surreal it must be to go snowboarding at night and become the only source of light as you carve turns in fresh powder.

Pro snowboarder William Hughes is the "silver surfer" in the accompanying production by filmmaker Jacob Sutton, who intended to show "a lone character made of light surfing through darkness."

Sutton achieved his goal, in a production for Nowness, by fitting Hughes in a specially-designed L.E.D-enveloped suit for four nights of filming in the Tignes in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France.

Said Hughes of the bizarre experience: "Filming in the suit was the most surreal thing I’ve done in 20 years of snowboarding. Luckily there was plenty of vin rouge to keep me warm, and Jacob’s enthusiasm kept everyone going through the cold nights."

Shaun White is perfect in X Games superpipe triumph

If there are any threats to the dominance of snowboarder Shaun White, they did not materialize Sunday night in the Winter X Games' Snowboard Superpipe final at Aspen, Colo.

White, 25, won a fifth consecutive gold medal and registered a first-ever perfect score of 100 in the marquee event.

"It's unreal. I've been wanting that 100 forever," he told ESPN's Tina Dixon, during an interview after his historic run.

He posted the score on what amounted to a victory lap, having already clinched triumph with a 94.00 logged on his first of three runs Sunday night.

As the last rider, and with nobody having topped the 94.00, White dropped into the U-shaped pipe and unleashed a series of progressive tricks that his competitors simply cannot string together.

They included a huge backside air, a front-side double-cork 1080, a cab double-cork 1080, a front-side stalefish 540, a double McTwist 1260, and a front-side double-cork 1260.
(See video for visual explanation.)

Asked by Dixon how he expects to improve on a perfect score, White thought for a second and quipped, "There's always next year."

Injured skier Sarah Burke remains in critical condition; no prognosis yet

Canadian freeskier Sarah Burke on Friday remained hospitalized in critical condition and under intensive care, three days after suffering a head injury during a fall in the superpie at Park City Mountain Resort.

Friday's update, like past updates, revealed no detailed information, and doctors at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City have not offered any predictions regarding Burke's recovery.

"Sarah remains in critical condition in the Neuro Critical Care Unit," Safdar Ansari, a specialist in neurocritical care, said in a statement. "With traumatic brain injury, our care is focused on addressing the primary injury and preventing secondary brain damage, as well as managing other injuries sustained at the time of the accident; all of which requires close monitoring and intensive care.

"At this moment, Sarah needs more time before any prognosis can be determined."

A news conference regarding Burke's condition is scheduled for Monday.

Meanwhile, lots of people have been wondering about the safety of Eagle Superpipe at the Park City resort, because it's the same venue in which snowboarder Kevin Pearce was critically injured while training on Dec. 31, 2009.

Pearce, who had been training for his Olympics debut, suffered traumatic brain injuries and endured a long and comprehensive rehabilitation period. He had to re-learn how to walk. His snowboarding career is over but last month he rode a snowboard for the first time since his accident.

The Eagle Superpipe is not unique. But a lot of elite skiers and snowboarders train there, and they continue to push their sports to new and more dangerous limits, performing multiple spins and flips high above icy 22-foot walls.

Skiers and snowboarders risk striking their heads on the lips of the superpipe walls while attempting to land their tricks (Pearce), or on the rock-hard bottom of the U-shaped superpipe after an awkward fall (Burke).

As athletes soar higher and perform more difficult tricks, the risk increases.

To be sure, the progression of freeskiing and snowboarding and how it relates to superpipe safety will be the focus of some stories in advance of the Winter X Games at Aspen, Colo., at the end of the month.

If similar accidents occur in the next year or two, the same will be true in advance of the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia.

Burke, 29, a four-time X Games champion, was considered the Olympic gold medal favorite before her accident. Men's and women's freeskiing will make their Olympics debut at the Sochi Games.

Is Mammoth Mountain the world's most popular ski resort?

Skiers and snowboarders love an occasional escape to Mammoth Mountain in California's Eastern Sierra region. But it's the number of "likes" on the ski area's Facebook page that has it ranked as the most popular resort in North America.

That's the criteria used by Skireports.com to determine its rankings for the 2011 calendar year. When the website released its findings on Monday, Mammoth's Facebook page had 99,458 fans. As of 9 a.m. Wednesday morning it had 100,915, and holds the distinction of becoming first ski/snowboard resort in the world to surpass 100,000.

Rounding out the top five on the list are Heavenly in South Lake Tahoe (93,887 fans), Whistler-Blackcomb in British Columbia (87,477), Vail in Colorado (79,765), and Breckenridge in Colorado (66,060).

The lone resort from Southern California to make the top 10 is Mountain High in Wrightwood, with 39,742 fans.

—Image showing a snowboarder at Mammoth Mountain is courtesy of Pete Morning

Mammoth Mountain receives more than a foot of snow

It's a bit early to get excited about skiing and snowboarding in California, but with a major dumping underway in the Lake Tahoe area and at Mammoth Mountain in the Eastern Sierra, the excitement is understandable.

As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, about six inches of snow had fallen on Donner Summit in the Tahoe region. Mammoth, which has pegged Nov. 10 as opening day, received lots more and snow was still falling in both regions.

More than a foot had fallen at Mammoth's main lodge, and perhaps double that amount blanketed the upper slopes. Five inches had fallen down below, in the town of Mammoth Lakes.

Tweeted pro snowboarder Greg Bretz, who lives in Mammoth: "I get to set up some rails and snowboard today."

He's not alone. But as exciting as this wintry blast may be, a quick warmup is in the forecast throughout the Sierra Nevada.

The temperature in Mammoth Lakes is expected to reach 60 degrees on Sunday, and it's supposed to reach 65 degrees in the  Lake Tahoe area.

Still, this storm is being regarded as an indication that a repeat of last season and its record snow totals may be at hand, thanks to another La Niña winter. Only time will tell.

-- Photos show Mammoth Mountain's base and main lodge areas as snow was falling Wednesday morning. Courtesy of Mammoth Mountain

Killington Resort suffers major damage in Vermont flooding

Extensive flooding by Tropical Storm Irene has caused widespread damage in Vermont and not even the state's historic ski resort was spared.

Killington Resort, which opened in 1958, suffered a base lodge collapse and other damage, but announced on its Facebook page that it "plans to open on schedule for the 2011-12 winter season."

Power and phone service were down Monday but the resort shared this information on the same Facebook post:

"Crews are out assessing damages around the resort including structural deterioration to base lodges, lifts and roads as well as power outages.

"Following an initial overview of the storm's aftermath, the K-1 Lodge Superstar Pub's structural integrity was compromised by the volume of water running off of Roaring Brook, dislodging the building from its foundation. Killington Resort's lift towers and structures, lodging properties and golf course have sustained minimal damage.

"Summer operations of the K-1 Lodge, hiking and golf course will reopen after crews assess the damages. Mountain biking will tentatively resume after assessment of the trail network is complete. Pico Mountain summer operations are now closed for the season."

For Lindsey Jacobellis, summertime blues are reason to sing

 

Snowboarding superstar Lindsey Jacobellis has an Olympic silver medal in the rollicking sport of snowboard-cross, and has dominated the event at the Winter X Games. She has loads of talent while on her board, but what else can she do?

Sing. (Well, you be the judge.)

Above is her remix (or parody) of Disney's "Tangled," which she titled "Curled." It takes viewers through the curly-haired athlete's summer, in anticipation of winter snow. It's creative and amusing, and probably not something her fans would have expected, but she will not be appearing on "American Idol" anytime soon. As a much older song goes, "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

See more at YoBeat and Boardistan.

Shaun White chooses Northstar-at-Tahoe as home mountain

Snowboarding superstar Shaun White has chosen Northstar-at-Tahoe as his home mountain, and as part of the agreement he'll design an Olympics-caliber halfpipe.

White, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and perennial X Games star, signed a multiyear deal with Vail Resorts, which owns six ski areas in Colorado and California.

The company recently purchased Northstar, which is outside of Truckee, Calif., and near Lake Tahoe. Vail Resorts is planning to spend $30 million in capital improvements at Northstar.

As part of White's deal, Vail Resorts will donate $5 for every EPIC Pass it sells to Tennessee's St. Jude Children's Research Hospital,White's chosen charity. The company sold nearly 300,000 of the season passes last season.

Northstar was one of the resorts White visited frequently on family trips, as a kid.

"This feels like a homecoming because I have spent so much time riding at most of Vail Resorts' mountains," White said in a news release. "With Northstar as my home mountain, I now have the ideal place to train and continue to grow as an athlete and I am looking forward to all the possibilities this partnership brings."

-- Photo of Shawn White by Tomas Zuccareno/Shazamm/ESPN Images

Slopestyle snowboarding, skiing to debut at 2014 Olympics

For the world's top snowboarders, the announcement Monday that slopestyle competitions will be added to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, represented a welcome but long-overdue measure of acceptance.

For freeskiers, who three months ago learned that halfpipe skiing would debut at the same Olympics, the inclusion of slopestyle served to further underscore how popular their non-traditional, non-racing disciplines have become during the past few years.

Together, these edgier new-school athletes seem to be taking over the Winter Games.

"I'm thrilled that the IOC is embracing freeskiing in such a big way," said Simon Dumont, a dominant U.S. halfpipe specialist. "It's been incredible to watch the sport evolve so rapidly; it really shows how far we've come in such a short time."

The International Olympic Committee agreed during meetings in South Africa to approve men's and women's slopestyle as medal sports for snowboarding and skiing. Also added were men's and women's snowboard parallel special slalom.

The addition of slopestyle -- which entails negotiating a downhill course with jumps, rails and other terrain park features -- is a clear indication that the IOC is striving to ensure that the Olympics remain relevant among younger generations.

Said Bill Marolt, CEO of the United States Ski and Snowboard Assn.: "The IOC's decision to add slopestyle to the Olympics recognizes the millions of youth who are already participating in the sport in terrain parks around the world. It will have a very positive impact on the sport, including our U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing programs."

It also will make the Winter Olympics look more like the Winter X Games. The IOC reluctantly added snowboarding events -- halfpipe and giant slalom -- in 1998. The Winter Games now include skiing and snowboarding halfpipe; skiing and snowboarding slopestyle, skier-cross and boarder-cross. All six are longtime X Games mainstays.

Mammoth Mountain could keep lifts open well into summer

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area has received its most snow on record -- 605 inches so far; well past the previous high of 578 inches in 2005-06. But will this also become the longest season for the Eastern Sierra resort?

That will depend on the weather. The longest Mammoth has stayed open was in 1994-95, when it closed its lifts on August 13. That season, Mammoth received 540 inches of snow. The resort opened on Oct. 8 and closed for a brief period in July before it was decided to reopen for as long as conditions allowed.

Mammoth, long a favorite destination for Southern California skiers and snowboarders, currently boasts a base depth of up to 27 feet. A resort spokeswoman said lifts will remain open "as long as possible" and added that the earliest an announcement will be made regarding a possible closing date is mid-April. View conditions here: