Rocky P.

Dear Sarah,

It's been one month to the day. I'm sure you are all settled in up there. I can't imagine it would be too hard. I unfortunately can't say the same here. Loosing you has reminded me that everyone I have in my life is borrowed. I try to appreciate every second I can with the ones I love... because I know someday I'm going to have to give them back. I hope you have been sending Dania some extra comfort at night, she's in a heck of a lot of pain. I wish I could comfort her more, but all she wants is you. From what I know Rory is doing alright. Him and Trennon took an airplane aerobatics lesson together. Still crazy as usual. I pray for him every night. The moving articles of you continue to flood the web. It has been very obvious how many people are so deeply saddened by your death. I think you will be satisfied to know that in every competition every girl has been skiing for you, so you're still winning them all (as usual). I laugh when I think about that... You were a winner, and even your death won't stop you from that! It comforts me to know that you have skied all over the globe since you left... Your spirit is in the hearts of us all. From skiers riding pow in Europe, to park and pipe here in Breck, to tree lines in Japan... You've done it all in the past month.

I traced your signature and me and Dania had them made as small diecuts for goggles, cellphones, etc for all your close friends. I put one on my rear view mirror. This is going to be a tough road for us all... But now every time I look back, there you are to keep me looking forward.

We love you Sarah J. Burke. Now and forever.

Due to all the avalanche danger this year I know all the mountain dogs are working extra hard. I recently came across Rocky P's twitter account and was overwhelmed with cuteness. Rocky P is an Avy dog at Vail resort... And quite popular as well!! His twitter led me to his very own Epic Mix page and tons of Epic Mix photos with fans! Rocky P has logged 168,000ft this season, quite impressive if I do say so myself! (Check out his page here for loads of cuteness.)

(Not sure the story behind this photo, but that is most definitely a deer leg. LOL!)

Rocky P is just one of many avy dogs at resorts all over the globe. These guys aren't only man's best friend... They're heroes, just like the rest of ski patrol. So next time you see an avy dog (who isn't busy) at Vail Resorts, Copper, or anywhere, make sure to thank him with a big pet and smooch on the nose! It makes my day every time I see one on the mountain or chair lift... They just love their job! The happiest dogs are mountain dogs!

50 Years In Photos

The Denver Post made a really neat photo tribute of the last 50 years to celebrate Breckenridge Resort's 50th Birthday. You can go through all 59 photos (here). Below are a few of my favorites.

Sept. 24, 1961. Claude Martin, former Wichita builder now serving as vice president and resident general manager of the Summit County Development Corp., inspects one of five new ski trails being built at Breckenridge, Colo. as part of a project to turn the old mining town into a major resort.

Oct. 14, 1962. The new 6,200-foot double chair lift at Breckenridge ski area starts above timbeline on Peak 8, where ski investment is $2,250,000.

October 14, 1962. Mount Baldy is framed by turn equipment atop Peak 8 in the new Breckenridge ski area. A new double chair lift and a new T-bar have been added at the ski area.

1960's Breckenridge Ski Area.

Nov 27, 1977. Skiers at Breckenridge Ski Area crowd into lift lines in a scene typical of the long Thanksgiving weekend at Colo. ski resorts. Those near Denver reported several thousand skiers and lift waits of up to a half hour were common over the weekend.

Carol Rich, a Breckenridge lift attendant soon to be featured in Playboy Magazine, gives everyone a lift at the Colorado area, including these tots with a special request.

Dec 12, 1971. The Summit County Courthouse and other old relics of bygone gold mining days form the foreground for more than 200 acres of new trails (at left) at Breckenridge ski area. The trail network of the older area is at right beneath peaks of Tenmile Range.

Feb 17, 1976. High winds kick up the snow to create a blustery winter scene at Breckenridge ski area Monday, the last day of the three-day Washington's birthday weekend, traditionally one of the state's biggest ski weekends. This view is of Peak 9 looking toward Peak 10.

Breckenridge's first snowboarding world championship in 1986.

An Eventful Month

Dear Sarah,

It's been two weeks since you've been gone. I told myself this would get easier; I was wrong. I find myself thinking "I just can't believe" all the time, I just can't seem to understand why. I can no longer look at photos of you without any emotion, and I can no longer read the articles or watch the videos in motion. I think I'm trying to push away the reality we all have to face. I read through your tweets last night, almost all of them. It was comforting to read things you wrote, I laughed so hard at some of them I remember from months ago:

"Oh girls we are about to get serious! Not only does this floaty have iPod dock & speakers it also has a motor and a cooler! Look out lake!"
"My phone was just commandeered by a 6 yr old for an hour. Well that's what I get for having Wheres Waldo on it."
"Hey @bushywayne, really great to see you last night between the hours of 2:30am-5:30am. Shall we do it again next month?"

X Games had the most beautiful ceremony for you. Rory, the family, everyone was there. I don't know why I'm telling you that though, because I know you were there too. Lil Wayne even recorded his respect to you and condolences to your friends and family. That blew my mind... Well, kind of. It's not completely surprising Sarah, you were so amazing. Life just seems really messed up sometimes without you here. Just knowing you're not doing your thing, always smiling from ear to ear. I'm trying hard to be strong... I just really, really, really don't want you to be gone. I have so much more to say, but I'll leave it at that... Until next time.

We love you Sarah, and we miss you so much.

Forever,

Ali

 January was a busy month for the state of Colorado. XGames in Aspen and SIA in Denver were in the same week. SIA is the largest Snow Sports Trade Show all year where companies show off some of their next-year products to potential buyers and other sports industry members. The first two days are indoors followed by a 3rd on-snow demo day. One of these years I'm going to make it down for SIA.
*All images from SIA are courteous of www.newschoolers.com.

This past week was also the annual Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge that I look forward to every year. Unfortunately my favorite one broke due to the warm weather so I didn't even get a picture of it, but here are most of the other ones.

Avalanche Danger - Extreme

The excitement of all the new snow in the Western half of the U.S. has caused a lot of people to flock to the mountains for their first pow turns of the season. However, it is without understatement that I say that the current snow pack with the addition of the new snow is extremely dangerous. In the last week there have been three deaths in Colorado due to avalanches, and many more people injured.

One avalanche death included one of two brothers who were snowmobiling through Buff Pass in Steamboat. Another death included a 13-year-old boy who triggered an in-bounds avalanche at Vail after ducking a rope. It happened the day I rode there with Dania, in the same area we were riding, when we were riding. It's pretty scary to think about. The trail is called Prima Cornice, which is a double-black diamond run that was closed because of the avalanche danger. Wanting to get some fresh pow lines, him and his friend decided to duck the rope, something Vail strongly discourages. It's really sad such a young life was taken, but it's a harsh reminder that even when you're in bounds, it's still a mountain.

I was pretty upset with the comments regarding Vail's lack of safety on their facebook page. The ski patrol at Vail and every other mountain out here do as much as they can to warn people of the dangers and keep them safe. This is a mountain, not a playground. The run was closed for a reason. You have to take responsibility for yourself and your kids to know the conditions and know where you should and shouldn't ride. If you don't feel comfortable with that, you shouldn't be up there. Being a local, I'm sure he knew the risks... But he was just a boy who wanted to have some fun. Horrible accidents happen, and I blame no one for that avalanche... especially Vail ski patrol.

Prima Cornice can be seen in the center of the map.

Here is a short educational video you should watch that shows just how dangerous the snow pack is right now. This video was taken in Utah, but the snow pack is quite the same. Go ahead and fast forward to :55 to see the main point of the video. It will send shivers down your spine. Stay out of the backcountry folks, it's not worth it!

Sarah Sent Snow!

The evening of Sarah's death I had a friend of a friend print out some die-cuts I designed to put on my helmet. Me and my boyfriend had planned on going to Vail all week since he has never been, and I knew the best thing I could do to honor her was to go and enjoy it the way she would have. So the next day we went to Vail, just as we had planned.

It wasn't supposed to snow much that day... but it did, and it absolutely dumped. It snowed for hours; the biggest flakes I have seen in months, that fell from the sky like the clouds had accumulated the entire sea. It was beautiful. I haven't felt that much joy and happiness skiing in a long time, and I know it's because she was there. I couldn't stop laughing as the snow shot up into my face, turning my black face mask into a bumpy white beard. I even hucked some cliffs I wouldn't have dreamed of... I guess she left a piece of herself in everyone of us when she left. She probably figured since I had enough goofiness she'd leave me some of her courage.

Two days ago one of Sarah's best friends and teammates, and one of my dear friends, Dania Assaly flew in. She had been home recovering from a knee injury and decided  to fly in early to be with the Canadian team and us girls. We had a day to kill before all the girls got back from Dew Tour in Killington, VT and headed to XGames in Aspen, so we decided to go to Vail yesterday. We enjoyed a foot of fresh powder with more that fell all day, and had so many smiles reminiscing. Sarah started a website a couple months ago called Scarah.com with videos of her scaring her friends. She loved to scare her friends... "Okay, ask them exactly when they're going to be here!" She'd say, and proceed to stand behind the door giggling like a little kid, for as long as it took to get in a scare.

Sarah was so much more than just a friend, though. She was a daughter, an aunt, a sister, a wife. The love her and her husband shared is something I can only dream of someday having. They absolutely adored each other. She was the pioneer for woman's freeskiing - The first woman to compete. She is the reason female's are in X-Games, the Dew Tour, and is one of the main reasons men and women's freeskiing is in the Olympics. That was her dream after all, to win an Olympic gold, and she never stopped fighting for that chance. She was the backbone, the voice, and the leader of woman's freeskiing. She believed in the girls when they didn't believe in themselves... she had a heart of gold. Above all else, Sarah's talent on skis unarguably succeeded any other woman's in the world. She pushed us all to better ourselves, for ourselves... Something I know we will continue to do, but something I know will be difficult without her support.

I always believe everything happens for a reason, at least I did until Sarah died. I know it's all the emotions that come with grieving, but I can't help but feel a little angry. I feel like someone somewhere really messed up. She shouldn't have died, not yet. She did so much, and at the same time left so many things unfinished. Sarah was meant to go to the Olympics, and she was meant to win.

The girls had to compete at the Dew Tour in Killington the day after she died. They did a tribute to her before the competition by all riding down the pipe together, they called it the "Sarah Train".  I can't imagine how hard it must have been to have to drop into the pipe without her being there, but they all did a great job.

We miss you Sarah. We miss you a lot.

RIP Sarah Burke

September 3, 1982 – January 19, 2012

My hero, my inspiration, my friend. Words cannot describe my grief. I am so blessed to have been graced with your presence during your short time here. Your passion, drive, and dedication is the sole purpose for where female freeskiing is today. You will forever be the icon, the goddess, and the guardian angel of our industry. Your legacy will live on. My thoughts are with you, my prayers are with Rory and the rest of the family. Every run, I'm taking it for you...

Until we meet again.

Ullr - Pleased by Ullr Fest?

I made another entry dedicated to someone special below this one. Don't forget to check it out!

This past weekend was Ullr Fest in Breckenridge, which is the wackiest festival here all year. Ullr is "the God of snow", so of course we have to throw him a festival to please him. Usually I'm not stoked on Ullr Fest because of all the crazy people dressed as Vikings running around. This year I wanted to go down and watch the opening Ullr parade because we need all the support for snow we can get, but of course my car battery decided to die.... Anyway, the festival is filled with bonfires, crazy floats, "Ullympians" flinging frying pans for prizes and much more.

*Photos courteous of Nathan Bilow at Westworld.com, view the rest of the photos here.

 

I think we may have please him because on Monday we got hit with a pretty good unexpected snowstorm. Breck and Keystone only faired with 5" because of the wind, but Vail got up to 10" in spots. I decided to ditch everyone (as the saying goes, 'There's no friend's on a powder day!') and made the drive to Vail yesterday... so glad I did!!! Apparently it was as windy as a hurricane in Breck all day, but it was a sunny, beautiful, calm day over in Vail with hardly any lift lines! I'm really learning the mountain well now... It's by far my favorite mountain period. Here are some pictures from my day.

 I dedicate my shred day to you Sarah!!!

On another note, school has started again for the semester! I'm taking Accounting II, Consumer Behavior (300 class), Avalanche Safety II (extremely excited for), and I still have to sign up for another... (Yikes and Oops!)