Pete Thomas Outdoors

Snowboarder says he was pushed off chairlift by skier; 'I honestly thought I was dead'

Police are investigating a report by a snowboarder that he was shoved out of a chairlift by a skier Sunday at Aspen Highlands in Colorado.

Seth Beckton, the snowboarder, fell face-first 20 to 25 feet, but was fortunate to have landed in soft powder and was not injured. “I honestly thought I was dead,” he told the Aspen Times.

“Because I didn’t know where we were [or how high]. It’s not cool to think anyone would do that.” Beckton, 28, did not report the morning incident until the end of the day, at the urging of friends.

This will make it more difficult for police and ski patrollers to identify and locate the skier. But Aspen Highlands Resort and the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that they’re reviewing video and have launched investigations.

“It’s not the kind of behavior we want on our mountain,” Jeff Hanle, spokesman for Aspen Skiing Co., told the Aspen Times.

The skier, a white man in his 20s or 30s, was wearing a helmet and goggles while talking to Beckton on the Loge Peak lift. It was near the top of the lift that the skier reacted to what Beckton thought was an innocuous comment, shoving the snowboarder before he had time to react.

The lift operator stopped the lift, but not until after the skier was able to exit the and ski away. There was a third person on the lift, who thought this was an argument between friends.

Said Beckton: “I was really shooken up. I was like, ‘Was that a joke? Did that really happen?”

–Generic image shows skiers and snowboarders at Aspen Highlands. Courtesy of James Hutchison/Aspen Highlands

Shaun White withdraws from snowboard slopestyle at Sochi Olympics; does he deserve the criticism?

News item: Shaun White will miss the Olympics debut of snowboard slopestyle at the Sochi Games in Russia. White, 27, withdrew from the event Wednesday, a day after falling and jamming his wrist on a practice run. Many have criticized the course as being too dangerous and White implied on his Facebook page that he doesn’t want to risk his chance of winning a third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the halfpipe competition. (No American man has won the same event at three consecutive Winter Olympics.)

Reaction: This is an unpopular decision, but it’s Shaun White’s decision and one he obviously thought out carefully. It’s unfortunate because it diminishes the event, especially after so much hype, leaving it without snowboarding’s biggest star, and seemingly providing Canada’s Mark McMorris with a much easier path to victory.

White on Wedesday morning was being bashed on social media by other snowboarders and fans. Example (since deleted from Twitter), from snowboarder Sebastien Toutant: "Mr. White... It's easy to find excuses to pull out of a contest when you think you can't win..."

Is the criticism warranted? Probably to an extent. When an athlete commits to something of this magnitude, he or she should stay committed. Other snowboarders would have loved to have been in White's boots.

However, this course has fallen under criticism and White, who arrived in Sochi with plenty of dings, clearly is not comfortable trying to negotiate its daunting layout. If an athlete is not confident on a fast course with monstrous kickers, that’s a recipe for disaster. (See a POV run-through on the course, posted below.)

However, if White is pulling out just because he thinks he can't make the podium, he ought to be criticized for being selfish at the very least.

Veteran X Games commentator Sal Masekela tweeted, “Not surprised that Shaun White has dropped from Slopestyle. In my opinion, a successful 3rd gold medal in pipe cements his legacy.”

It will cement his legacy, but pulling out without a perfectly good reason–and only he knows the real reason–gives Shaun White critics more reason to dislike him.

To be sure, in hindsight, it would have been better for everyone if White had just skipped slopestyle in the first place.

–Top image shows part of a slopestyle course that has been criticized by some snowboarders as being too dangerous. Credit: FIS Freestyle Skiing. Video is a POV showing a run-through on the slopestyle course

Video shows Torstein Horgmo's crash on controversial Olympic slopestyle course at Sochi, Russia

Torstein Horgmo will sit out the Sochi Winter Games with a broken collarbone as snowboard slopestyle makes its Olympics debut later this week. But his training crash on Monday figures to get significant air time between now and the end of the men’s final on Saturday.

Video footage of the crash, on the rail section of a challenging and controversial course at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, surfaced Tuesday on YouTube.

It was captured via cellphone camera and viewers can not only see but hear the slam as the Norwegian star missed his landing on a rail feature and fell hard on his shoulder and side.

Many have been critical of the course, while others have said it’s not as dangerous as some are saying.

On Tuesday, after some alterations, Shaun White fell after going errant after a steep jump. The two-time Olympic half pipe gold medalist jammed his wrist but is otherwise OK.

After that, Finnish snowboarder Marika Enne fell hard and suffered a concussion.

To be sure, the injuries and the headlines they have generated have set the sage for what promises to be very exciting finals.

The women's final is scheduled for Friday.

–Pete Thomas

Sibling snowboarders set new Gold standard; both qualify for Winter Olympics

When the Gold family clears space in the trophy room before next month's Winter Olympics, they had better clear two spaces—just in case.

That's because Taylor and Arielle Gold, brother and sister, are Russia-bound for the Sochi Games as members of the U.S. Olympic snowboard team.

Both Colorado athletes qualified during a marathon series of Sprint Grand Prix events over the weekend at Mammoth Mountain in California.

The Golds are not the first siblings to qualify for the Olympics, and will not be the only relatives participating at Sochi.

But this probably is the first time two Golds from the same family will be going for gold on the world's grandest sporting stage.

On Sunday, before learning she had made the team, 17-year-old Arielle declared, via Twitter, that it was an important day for two reasons: "Big day today … Broncos vs Patriots. Oh, and they're announcing the U.S. Olympic team. #BroncosNation"

The NFL's Denver Broncos then dispatched the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, and the Golds began making travel plans.

Arielle will join fellow first-time Olympian Kaitlyn Farrington, as well as veteran gold medalists Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter, on the women's halfpipe team.

Taylor, 20, qualified Friday with a third-place finish in the third qualifier at Mammoth. Afterward he tweeted, "I am officially qualified for the Olympics. Beyond stoked! Thanks everyone who has helped me along the way."

He'll join Shaun White, Greg Bretz, and Danny Davis on the men's halfpipe team. It'll be the first participation in the Olympics for the Gold siblings.

Neither will be favored to win a gold medal in events that figure to be dominated by athletes from the U.S. Clark is the favorite among the women, and White is favored to win his third consecutive Olympic gold medal.

However, anything is possible.

Arielle, who is known for taking chances and nailing big tricks, enjoyed a breakout year in 2012, when she won silver medals in the halfpipe and slopestyle disciplines at the World Junior Olympic Games in Austria.

Last year she won a bronze at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado, not far from the family home in Steamboat Springs. She also posted first-place finishes at the European Open and FIS World Championships.

Taylor, who posted a victory at the 2013 U.S. Revolution Tour and qualified for the Olympic team with consistent elite-level performances, seems to be coming into his own this winter. To be sure, the world will get to know both Golds a lot better in the coming weeks.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Snow

–Photos: Top image showing Taylor Gold is by Sarah Brunson/U.S. Snowboarding. Arielle Gold and Taylor Gold mug shots are via Facebook

June Mountain sets Dec. 14 as opening day, will allow children to ski and snowboard free of charge through 2013-14 season

June Mountain, which was not open for skiing and snowboarding last winter, will resume operations Dec. 14 and allow children 12 and younger to use the slopes free of charge throughout the 2013-14 season.

The remote Eastern Sierra resort was closed for 2012-13 because of financial problems endured by Mammoth Mountain, the parent company, located in Mammoth Lakes 20 miles to the south.

June had been losing money each season and the new focus will be on improving the experience for beginners and those with intermediate-level abilities.

Part of that will be offering first-time beginner packages at a substantial discount.

"Personally, and I think I can speak for the June Lake community, in saying that we’re really excited to see those lifts turn again,” Carl Williams, June Mountain’s general manager, said in a news release issued Wednesday.

"Visitors are going to notice a couple changes, but we’re really focusing on what has always made June a special place and that's the family experience. We have terrain for all abilities and some really great parks, but June’s charm is its accessibility. This a great place to learn, and to really be comfortable and have fun while you’re doing it."

June Mountain, which is located just off U.S. 395, is considerably smaller and less high-tech than Mammoth. It's attractive, in part, because it does not lure the type of crowds that can make parking and accessibility difficult.

June, which boasts about 500 acres and some expert-level terrain, plans to enhance its snow-making capability and to upgrade Chair 1, which delivers skiers and snowboarders to other lifts that lead to the upper slopes.

It's not yet clear when these improvements will be made.

June Mountain to re-open for skiing, boarding next winter

In news sure to please skiers and snowboarders, June Mountain in the Eastern Sierra will re-open for the 2013-14 winter season.

The resort, which is owned by Mammoth Mountain 30 miles to the south, was closed this past winter for financial reasons. It was losing money and Mammoth was hurting financially because of slow business caused by poor snowfall and a struggling economy.

But what a difference a year makes.

Last June, Mammoth CEO Rusty Gregory stated in a news release: "June has operated at an annual deficit each year since its purchase in 1986. It is time to invest some of this subsidy into the analysis and planning required to position the resort for a sustainable future, then secure the approvals and financing required to create it."

On Tuesday Carl Williams, general manager at June, stated: "We couldn’t be more pleased to announce that June Mountain will be back in operation for the 2013-14 season.

"Next winter we look forward to bringing skiers and snowboarders a great on-mountain experience while also planning for June’s future, including the possibility of a new lift and enhanced snowmaking."

There were few details offered and and the long-term strategic plan for June Mountain has yet to be finalized. It probably will be announced in early summer.

But for skiers and boarders the only important news is that this remote hidden gem of a resort will again open its slopes. The opening is slated for mid-December.

Mammoth currently has eight lifts operating and will remain open at least through Memorial Day weekend.

--Images are courtesy of June Mountain

Snowboarder, 13, is youngest to throw down a triple cork

For most aspiring young athletes, swatting a grand slam or catching a game-winning touchdown pass would be regarded as major accomplishments.

But for snowboarder Marcus Kleveland, landing a triple cork is both a major achievement and an historic feat.

(Note: This is a reprint from a Pete Thomas story on GrindTv.com.)

The 13-year-old from Norway recently became the youngest athlete, by far, to stomp a trick that's in the arsenal of only a handful of top-flight riders. (Video, posted below, was released Thursday.)

 

Torstein Horgmo, 25, a fellow Norwegian and one of Kleveland's heroes, unveiled a more difficult variation of the triple cork to win the big-air competition at the Winter X Games in January.

(It was a switch-backside triple cork 1440, the first in a competition, and it earned Horgmo a perfect score of 50. Video is posted below.) Mark McMorris, the X Games runner-up, landed a Cab 1440 triple cork (another variation) for a score of 48.

Kleveland didn't win any medals for his remarkable effort on a jump in Vierli, Norway. But he opened more eyes among his older peers and served notice that the younger generation will have to be reckoned with at future competitions.

Said superpipe star Louie Vito: "I remember seeing [a video] edit of Marcus a couple of years ago and I had to ask my Norwegian friends who this kid was… I'm stoked to see him progressing at such a fast rate but having fun doing it at the same time. I hope to see this kid around for years to come."

Kleveland has been snowboarding since he was 3, and he began landing double corks routinely at 11. More recently he began to practice the triple on a trampoline, without any pressure from his parents or his sponsors.

"This is something I do for myself because I think it's fun," he said. "Nobody is pushing me to do this." For the sake of perspective, here's Horgmo's winning X Games run:

 

Skier, 17, videotaped falling 45 feet from chairlift

 

A 17-year-old skier who might have been trying to throw a snowball from a chairlift at a New Mexico resort was videotaped falling about 45 feet.

The teen, who dangled for several seconds before plummeting to the snow, was airlifted to a local hospital after the Feb. 2 mishap at Ski Santa Fe, but he's said to be OK.

"Basically, the kid is home and he is fine," Cody Sheppard, the ski patrol director at Ski Santa Fe, told the Santa Fe New Mexican. "It was kind of a dramatic deal. I guess he was attempting to throw a snowball to the chair in front of him, where some friends were, and when he threw the snowball, the momentum just carried him out of the chair. He did hang on for awhile, but then he had to drop."

Footage of the incident was uploaded to YouTube this week by a user named TriipyHD, and has since garnered more than 500,000 views.

Sheppard did not identify the teen. TriipyHD stated in the video description that injuries included "a concussion, skull fracture, collapsed lung and a lacerated liver."

Sheppard, however, said none of the injuries required surgery.

"They kept him for observation for a couple of days, and then he was released," the patrol director said. "I'd probably shatter. There is something about being young and flexible, I guess, and just lucky the way you land."

--Find Pete Thomas Outdoors on Facebook

--Hat tip to Jason Blevins of the Denver Post

Big Bear Lake ski resorts remain open despite manhunt for Christopher Dorner

With a massive manhunt underway for Christopher Dorner in and around Big Bear Lake, creating a frightening and eerie situation for residents of the San Bernardino County mountain community, the area's two largest ski areas, strangely, remain open.

Apparently it has been determined that Dorner, an ex-LAPD officer suspected to have killed three people and still seemingly intent on killing others, poses no threat to ski operations or skiers and snowboarders visiting the slopes.

Bear Mountain stated Friday on its website: "With the approval of the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit will be open with full operations today."

The same statement appears on the Snow Summit website.

Snow Summit's Friday night session, however, has been canceled because of what has been described by the sister resorts as "a dynamic situation."

Meanwhile, police have been going door-to-door and searching abandoned cabins for Dorner, 33, who is on a mission to kill former LAPD colleagues and their family members as revenge for his firing in 2008.

The manhunt focused on Big Bear on Thursday after Dorner's burned-out vehicle was found in the mountain community, two hours from Los Angeles.

Nearly a foot of new snow had fallen in the region as of 12:30 p.m. Friday.

Shaun White's slopestyle message is a triple cork 1440

With the Winter X Games a week away and occurring during the one-year countdown to the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia, the spotlight shines most brightly upon Shaun White.

Why?

Because this year's X Games in Aspen will serve as a proving grounds for aspiring Olympians, a place to issue statements. Also because White, whose two Olympic gold medals are in the halfpipe discipline, is placing added emphasis on slopestyle, which will debut as an Olympic sport in Sochi.

But mostly because White, who has not performed well in slopestyle during the previous two X Games, this week delivered a powerful statement in the form of a triple cork 1440 (that's three filps and four spins) performed in the terrain park at Breckenridge, Colo.

Only a few athletes can land this absurdly difficult trick on the slope course. White, apparently, has joined the crowd. Here are two videos posted Wednesday, showing White's practice sessions.  Understandably, next week in Aspen, the X Games slopestyle competition will replace the halfpipe competition as the marquee snowboarding event. (Hat tips to GrindTv.com and the Denver Post).