Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Hello Loyal readers,

I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. I'll be away on vacation until the second week in January so I won't be putting up many new post between now and when I return.

But when I do get back to reality, I'll be sure to get you the latest news from up in Whistler and around the snowboarding world.


Take care and all the best this holiday season,
The Speedy Descend

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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Whistler Blackcomb Update (Dec 20 & 21, 2008)

Hello all,

Sorry for the lack of postings or updates but I have been really busy at work and have no time to posted up any new blogs.

This passed weekend I decided to get away from my busy schedule and head of to Whistler to get some snowboarding in before I go on holidays. Now in past weeks the conditional have been less than desirable but I really want to snowboard so I just went for it.

On Saturday I went up to Whistler mountain for the day because the Whistler side has better snow coverage than Blackcomb, Blackcomb was way too icy. It was still pretty cold as the temperatures were about -20 degrees Celsius but very little winds so that was good. I tried to good off and find some better terrain but the lack of snow coverage in those area made me stay close to Emerald and Red chairs. Staying within these areas sucked because there was too many people and the snow was so packed down that it was ice….I couldn’t get my edge in which started to really frustrate me. So I did a hand full or runs and decided to call it a day….that is the beauty of a seasons pass.


When I got back to the cabin I check the snow forecast because if it was going to be shit again I was going to pack my bags and head back to Vancouver. But the forecast surprised me when it said that about 15cm was going to fall in the alpine overnight. Yes, finally a somewhat powder day.


So on Sunday I woke up really early and headed to the lifts to make it there for 8:00am. When I got up on Whistler mountain there was powder to surf though…this is what I have been waiting for the last couple of weeks. Now areas close to Emerald and Red chair were good enough but I could have ventured out a bit more but was too lazy to. I surfed all the pow until it was all tracked out then headed to Blackcomb mountain via Peak 2 Peak. I was told that not that many people were on Blackcomb and there still some untracked run left. But I when on Blackcomb and the conditions were still not the best. It’s weird because Blackcomb usually gets better snow coverage in more areas than Whistler. By 2:00pm I was done and decided to call it a day since I’ve been up from about 6:30am.


Overall this weekend was saved by the Saturday night snowfall and the fact no one was up on the mountain on Sunday, so I was happy with it. But looking ahead…it’s going to start dumping in Whistler have a look…..just in time for Christmas and for me not to be there since I’m head to Toronto to visit my family.


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Monday, December 15, 2008

Kelly Slater Wins the 2008 Pipeline Masters


On Friday Dec 12th Kelly Slater won his 6th Pipeline Masters in Hawaii defeating follow American Chris Ward. Pipeline was the last stop on the ASP Tour and is the most prestigious event in surfing. Slater paddled out in eight to 10 foot waves at Pipeline four times today, beating Chris Ward (USA) 14.00 to 7.23 in the in the first man-on-man final* held at the venue in eight years. Slater’s heat totals in the three heats prior to the final were 19.00, 18.63 and 19.40 – all out of a possible 20 points.

This years Pipeline Masters victory was doubly sweet given Parkinson made headlines earlier in the week by earning the first-ever perfect 20 out of 20 heat total at Pipeline – only the second perfect heat total in ASP history under the two wave format. Also Parko won the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which is the highest score for competitions at Haleiwa, Sunset Beach and the Pipeline Masters.

So now this the ASP Surfing tour all wrapped for 2008, this is how the final top ten standings look.

1) Kelly Slater (USA)
2) Bede Durbidge (AUS)
3) Taj Burrow (AUS)
4) Joel Parkinson (AUS)
5) C.J. Hobgood (USA)
6) Adrian Buchan (AUS)
7) Adriano de Souza (BRA)
8) Mick Fanning (AUS)
9) Bobby Martinez (USA)
10) Jeremy Flores (FRA)

At the age of 36, Kelly Slater’s 50-6 record is the most dominant in pro surfing history, which validates what we already knew, that he’s also surfing better than ever. But what does it all mean? Is Kelly Slater going to come back in 2009 to compete for his 10th ASP World Championship? I guess we will see on February 28 at the Quiksliver Pro, Gold Coast Australia, tour stop. I can’t wait for another year of the exciting ASP Tour.


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Friday, December 12, 2008

Whistler Peak 2 Peak Opens Today

Hello all,

Just wanted to remind you that Whistler's Peak 2 Peak opens today. If you don't know the Peak 2 Peak is a cable car or gondola that runs from Whistler to Blackcomb mountain. More specifically from the Roundhouse lodge on whistler to the Rendezvous lodge on Blackcomb, right over Fitzsimmons Creek.


I be riding it this weekend so I will take many pictures and videos to show you all the Peak 2 Peak experience.

Take care and look for my Peak 2 Peak post next week.

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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Whistler Blackcomb Update (Weekend of Dec 6, 2008)

I headed up to Whistler on this weekend, as per my usual winter weekend routine. I knew going into it that it did snow much or at all the week before, so the condition where going to be less than desirable. Got up there Friday night, via the Greyhound and headed straight for the cabin, as I was really tired from working long hours all week. My plan was to wake up early and hit the mountain to ride all day, but Saturday morning came around and I needed more sleep. So I got up to the hill at 11:30am.


On Saturday I boarded on Blackcomb…still no new snow. The conditions actually were worse than the weekend before….kind of icy. Also Blackcomb only had a couple of lifts open, Jersey Cream, Solar Coaster and Catskinner, so everyone was all in a confidante area. If you know Blackcomb the run are tight even on the best of days, that what Blackcomb so good. But on Saturday with the number of people and narrow runs I basically took a hand full of runs and called it a day…good thing I have a seasons pass.

Sunday, I headed to Whistler and this time I managed to get up earlier that the day before. The extra motivation came from the 10cm of snow that fell overnight. So in the morning the condition where ok, a layer of powder over hard packed….nothing to ride home about. As the day when on the conditions got worse and the fresh powder was all packed out.


Since all the run were pack out I decided to go off and make my own line….what a mistake that was. Knowing that there were rocks, or land mines I like to call them, under the powder, I tried to get some powder riding done. After taking my so called powder line I look at the base of my board and it was full of rock shots. One word of advice just stay on the runs until it dumps unless you are will to hike the higher alpine just like some people I saw. But all in all Sunday was a better day because the Whistler they had open area more wide open therefore accommodating more riders.


It is suppose to snow a bit over the rest of this week so hopefully the weekend will be better. Also Peak 2 Peak is opening on Friday so if I can get on it this weekend I’ll show you all in my next post.

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Monday, December 8, 2008

Movie Review – Ready (Absinthe Films)

To follow up last years snowboarding flick Absinthe Films released the 2009 film, Ready. Ready features the usually Absinthe riders like Nico Muller, JP Solberg, Romain DeMarchi, Gigi Ruf, and Wolle Nyvelt to name a few. One rider you see that is not on the list is Travis Rice. Travis created his own film for 2009 called That’s It That’s All.


Much of the film takes place in Europe, British Columbia Canada (Whistler and BC interior mountains) and of course what made Absinthe famous, in Alaska. As you can expect from Absinthe is that most of the riding is centered around big mountain snowboarding and taking technical freestyle tricks to the backcountry.


I was really excited to see this movie because last year two of my favourite riders were not featured in last years Absinthe flick, JP Solberg and Romain DeMarchi, due to injuries.


So without further adieu here is my review on Ready.



1) Soundtrack


Well I have to start of by saying that Absinthe Film was always experimental with their soundtrack, but they always seem to put it together well. This years soundtrack, in my opinion was not very good at all. It lacked any type of energy and climatic moments. It was really mellow from start to finish, almost putting me to sleep. Even the closing scene with Nico and Gigi was so mellow…I mean come on finish strong. I thing that really pissed me off about the soundtrack was JP Solberg’s and Romain DeMarchi’s part, the music did not compliment the riding and I was so looking forward to getting amped by their parts.


Absinthe, for next please step in the soundtrack department to inject more energy….the soundtrack sucked for this years flick Ready.


2) Cinematography


The cinematography in Ready was high quality as per the usually Absinthe flicks….not most cutting edge but good. Colours came out well and camera positioning for each scene was on point. Alot of the Alaska scene I special enjoyed watching because you can see what these riders are up against up there in that unforgiving terrain.


3) Scenes / Rider Segment


Putting the shitty soundtrack aside, the riding in this flick is awesome. I mean how could it not be with heavy hitters like Nico, JP, Gigi, Romain, Wolle and Jeremy Jones. My favourite scene had to have been JP Solberg’s segment. He had been injured for awhile now and partaking in filming for a bit but this years put was off the hook….he definitely killed it….right on JP. The guy is so smooth when launching off backcountry booters…he spins are so tight. I also really like watching the closing scene, baring the music, from Nico and Gigi as they put on a good show together. It gave me the sense of riding with my buddy just having fun.


4) Extras / Bonus Scenes


The bonus scenes didn’t have must but there did put in the Flipside to Optimistic, which is the making of last years movie. The Flipside to Optimistic is pretty cool to watch because it gives us an insight to a day in the life of a professional snowboarder….it not all gilts and glam.


5) Overall


To sum it up I really didn’t enjoy the soundtrack as I thought it was lacking energy and to bland. To me a soundtrack is what makes the flick that much better, not get me wrong the riding was awesome but because of the shitty music I think this years Absinthe movie is just average.

I give it a 6.5 to 7 out of 10 and would consider it just a one time rental type of movie. Meaning if you see it once it’s good enough, as I don’t think it’s worth the buy. It’s too bad because I really love Absinthe films but this one lacks the energy they once had.


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Friday, December 5, 2008

Weather Prediction for Winter 2008 / 2009

Hello loyal readers, you know from previous posts that I have been really concerned about the 08-09 winter and the amount of snowfall we might and might not be getting. Well I just came across so information that doesn’t paint a very good picture for this years winter season in the coastal mountains of Canada, which includes Whistler.

I search the net franticly in find information that would give me an idea of what to expect this winter. A good reference that I have used for the last couple of years is the Farmer’s Almanac, which is pretty accurate from year to year.


Below are a couple links that predict the next couple of months:


http://www.almanac.com/weather/


http://wx-man.com/blog/?cat=200


http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/a/2008-09-weather-outlook-for-canada



As you can see from the information above the temperature for the pacific Canada will be seasonal but the big kicker is that there will be less precipitation….meaning possibility less snow.


Well thinking positively I hope we these predictions do not come to fruition and we here in Whistler have a season full of powder days.


Take care and happy trails on the slopes.

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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Opening Weekend at Whistler Blackcomb

I have officially started my snowboarding season for 08/09 this past weekend, Nov 28th and 29th, in Whistler. Whistler mountain actually opened on Nov 26th with Blackcomb mountain opening one day later, on Nov 27th. Now since I’m now working full-time in Vancouver I can really only get up to Whistler on the weekends…I hate being a weekend warrior.



I was a bit worried with regards to the conditions as I have been checking the snow report for the last two months and never really saw any significant snowfall…even up to opening day. As a matter a fact the freezing level and overall air temperature was well above seasonal….now you can see why I was so concerned.

On Saturday I hit the slopes pretty late, at about 10am, to avoid the huge lineup for the Whistler gondola that was expected. Since it was the US Thanksgiving and opening Whistler mountain on Saturday was packed with people….it’s a good thing that I did wait until later in the morning. Also the snow conditions were what I thought they would be shit. The alpine temperature was about + 4 degrees celsius and there were times were it drizzled rain because the freezing level was above the peak of the mountain....I felt sorry for people who paid $83 plus to ride in those shitty conditions. Sunday we decided to hit up Blackcomb. The conditions actually got even worse over night because it didn’t snow and the alpine temperature was almost 8 degrees celsius…..spring like conditions. The good thing is that it wasn’t too busy but even with that said we only took a couple of run and packed it in for the day. Overall opening weekend was disappointing with regards to snow conditions as I was hoping for a lot better. I just hope we don’t see another 04/05 season in Whistler as I really want to do more powder riding this year and get into the backcountry.



Well all you Whistler riders prey to the snow gods for a huge dump of snow to come really soon because it is much needed for Whistler and Blackcomb mountain.



I’ll keep you post on the conditions this coming weekend.


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Monday, December 1, 2008

Movie Review – Down With People (Mack Dawg Productions)

The second film for 2009 from Mack Dawg Productions is Down With People. This follow-up film to With People stars Louis Fountain, Josh Mills, Pat McCarthy, Shaun McKay, Jordan Mendenhall, Stephen Duke, Jon Kooley, Austin Smith, Bryan Fox, Simon Chamberlain, Zac Marben, Filippo Fratter, Ryan Thompson and Joe Sexton. Some of the locals that the flick is shot in are Park City, Aspen, Brighton, Northstar and Crested Butte to name a few.


The Down With People crew is a bit younger than the Double Decade crew, so it’s kind of like Down With People is the minor league version of Double Decade. But don’t get twisted the riders in Down With People are some of the best in the world at rail and park riding in particular. The film shows the riders strengths off well because it’s pretty rail and park heavy with little snippets from the backcountry.


1) Soundtrack


I really enjoyed the soundtrack to Down With People because it complimented the rider’s scene well and provide some variety from segment to segment. Some of the artists that were featured in the film where Judas Priest, Boy Dylan, Run DMC and Jimi Hendrix to name a few. The music kept my attention throughout the film and added to the enjoyment of watching Down With People. My Favourite segment with respect to music had to have been Zac Marben’s with Jimi Hendrix’s Crosstown Traffic, the beginning to that scene was awesome and it just flowed right.


2) Cinematography


Cinematography in Down with People is similar to other Mack Dawg films as in it is pretty high quality. I mean nothing like the gold standard, which is now That’s It That’s All, but well done. There are some unique camera angles during the street riding segments and the editing is done really well as Mack Dawg does. For some reason the way Down With People was filmed reminded me of Mack Dawg’s film from a couple of year ago called Shakedown….not really sure why?


3) Rider Segment / Scene


As I mention I really enjoyed watching this film as all the riders parts were solid. I was hard to choose a rider that really out did the other but guys like Bryan Fox, Jon Kooley, Joe Sexon and Simon Chamberlain had amazing parts. But if I had to choose I would say the intro from Austin Smith and last scene from Zac Marben were the best. I really liked Zac’s intro to the scene with that cool segment of him riding through a residential neighborhood with Hendrix pumping in the background.

Since the film is rail and street heavy each rider is really pushing to put out the most tech jib tricks and that is so evident in riders like Marben, Kooley, Sexon and Chamberlain’s part. If you’re a park / street rider, watch those guys because their riding and tricks are off the hook.

Also another really cool and funny part is the end of the film just before the credits were guys like JP Walker, Jeremy Jones and Todd Richards are dissing the crew from Down People. I guess Mack Dawg just wanted to create a little rivalry because the two Mack Dawg crew. Check it out because their disses are pretty funny.


4) Extras / Bonus


The Bonus scenes in this film are so amazing. It’s like having two movies in one because the bonus is each riders extra scenes that didn’t make final cut put together….that makes it like a second movie. If you’re thinking that the scenes in the bonus section won’t be that good because it’s the out takes from the main film, you’re wrong because the bonus material is just as good as the movie itself. Actually I enjoyed some of the bonus segments more than the final movies ones. Riders like Austin Smith, Jon Kooley, Zac Marben and Simon Chamberlain’s had awesome bonus features.


5) Overall


Overall I really enjoyed Down With People as the film had a ton of bangers, amazing riders and good music, all the right elements that make a good snowboarding flick. If you’re into park and street riding I would suggest picking this one up because of the high level of riding and with the added scenes in the bonus scene it makes $35 seem well spent….a cool, fun flick with some of my favourite riders.


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