As I Write These Words…
As I write these words, my five-year-old son is sitting in his kindergarten class, making Christmas tree ornaments and enjoying a last-day-of-class party before his long Christmas vacation begins. And the thought that sends me into uncontrollable fits of sobbing, over and over, is that he is coming home today.
My son will come home today from school, and check to see if there are any new presents for him under our tree, and tell me about what he did in class today. And I will try my best not to cry in front of him, and when I do cry, I will try to find words to explain what cannot be explained.
To the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook shootings, and to all affected by this utterly senseless act, you are in my thoughts and prayers. To everyone else, as you hug your children tonight, I beg you to reconsider the terrible, unconscionable, unforgivable stupidity of gun culture in this country. We have to change this.
Sandy Hook students enjoy the rehearsal for our 4th grade winter concert – a talented group led by Maryrose Kristopik! twitter.com/DHochsprung/st…
— Dawn Hochsprung (@DHochsprung) December 12, 2012
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Andrew McLean Visits SoCal
Don’t miss your chance to meet legendary ski mountaineer and Chuting Gallery author Andrew McLean, who will be speaking at Caltec in Pasadena next Thursday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. I have to say, there are a lot of parallels between Andrew and me: we both started as ski racers, moved on to become steep skiing fanatics, and currently run two of the sport’s most popular and passionate websites (more…)
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Mammoth Lakes Declares Bankruptcy
Only days after Mammoth Mountain gave the axe to June Mountain, plunging the town of June Lake into crisis, Mammoth’s hometown of Mammoth Lakes has now declared bankruptcy, following a botched development agreement and a failed court appeal that leaves the tiny community unable to pay a massive $43 million dollar breach-of-contract judgment (more…)
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Sony Crashes GoPro/Contour Party
Well, we knew it was coming; the only question was when. Sony has announced a helmet cam to be available fall 2012. The design appears to hybridize both GoPro and Contour concepts: the camera chassis is upright, ala Contour, and comes with a (presumably) waterproof housing. Note that it has a Zeiss lens, and image stabilization. So, how is Sony’s new helmet cam likely to compare to a GoPro or Contour (more…)
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No June?
It’s just kind of hard to believe: Mammoth Mountain has abruptly announced they’re closing June Mountain indefinitely for feasibility studies. Reading between the lines, this basically looks like a kiss of death. As a ski area, June has much to offer, including powder glades, rolling intermediate terrain, stunning scenery, and incredible sidecountry access. But it’s also got the double whammy of being in the middle of nowhere and on the wrong side of the L.A. to Mammoth drive.
June has been owned by Mammoth since 1986. Mammoth says it can no longer ‘subsidize’ June Mountain, which is an odd way of looking at your own property. Regardless, the parent resort is obviously having troubles of its own, and apparently doesn’t view June as either an essential extension or complement to its operations. My heart goes out to June employees and town residents who’ve just got the news. Times are tough enough as is along the 395 corridor. This is a terrible blow.
more at ESPN.com
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Steve Romeo: Live to Ski
What comfort is there for the rest of us when someone this smart, this experienced, this funny and vibrant, is taken by an avalanche? The bodies of Tetonat.com ski mountaineer Steve Romeo and friend Chris Onufer were recovered today on Ranger Peak in Grand Teton National Park. Steve’s site was a huge source of information and inspiration for backcountry skiers across the planet, myself included. Truly, this is devastating news.
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SIA Preview: Rocker for the Ladies
As rocker technology continues to evolve, we find it moving well beyond powder-only skis. In fact, rocker (in one form or another) is appearing throughout ski makers’ 2012-2013 lineups. While rocker certainly brings advantages to nearly all categories of skiers, I believe rocker may prove to be of great benefit to one group in particular: women (more…)
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Split Avy Claims Two Skiers
Sobering and heartbreaking news: Powder Magazine is reporting the deaths of two Sierra skiers, Kip Garre and Allison Kreutzen, whose bodies were found in a pile of avalanche debris yesterday morning near Split Mountain. According to rescuers, it appears the pair were climbing Split’s east couloir with the intention of skiing it when a large avalanche began about 2/3 of the way up the couloir, sweeping them down. My deepest condolences to Kip and Allison’s friends and family.
via Earn Your Turns
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Gear Review Disclosure
The FTC has enacted new regulations which impact websites and bloggers who publish gear reviews. In particular, the FTC now requires disclosure of any relationship between advertisers and publishers which might not be obvious to visitors (more…)
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Back to Normal — Sort Of
Well, I’ve reskinned most of the interior pages of sierradescents back to the good old boring gray. I imagine the pink look raised some eyebrows for first-time visitors who were just looking for a gear review or two, but the occasion seemed to call for more than just business as usual (more…)
