Grand Prix, Dew Tour & Rev Tour

I apologize for the lack of posts this month! Finals with school, work, and skiing have kept me beyond busy. Two weeks ago Copper Mountain held the annual Grand Prix ski and snowboard halfpipe competition. The Visa U.S. Freesking Grand Prix is an Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) "Platinum Level" event and opens the International Ski Federation's (FIS) FIS Freestyle World Cup every season. The World Cup is especially important for skiers this year because it now qualifies you to get on the U.S. Olympic Freeski team. I was actually wanting to compete in the Grand Prix this year, but work, school, and then a couple weeks of Bronchitis kept me off the hill. Fortunately I was able to be there the day of the woman's qualifiers and finals and men's finals. There's something about watching and riding halfpipe that makes me so happy... it's just so FUN!

Breckenridge local and CMC student Duncan Adams in the Men's Final!

Last week was Dew Tour at Breckenridge, which unfortunately wasn't at all like past Dew Tours. The lack of snow and open terrain made the crowds at Breckenridge very congested. The design of the course made it very difficult for spectators to get to viewing spots and the little festival tent area they put up every year was just short of a disaster. On top of that, they took out female freeski again this year, and they were really strict about giving out credentials, so a lot of the female athletes couldn't even get guest athlete passes. I guess you can't win 'em all, I just hope this isn't a trend!
Here's an awesome GoPro video from Dew.

On a brighter note, last Tuesday at Breckenridge Ski Resort was an extremely exciting day for the Ski/Ride community as Kevin Pearce spent his first day back on a snowboard after nearly two years. Kevin was a halfpipe rider and Olympic medal hopeful when he received a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) two years ago at Park City, Utah while training. At the time, Kevin was said to be the one who would take the gold from Shaun White. Since then, he has spent his time relearning how to eat, talk, walk, and dealt with seizures, eye surgeries, and balance problems. I saw him quite a bit lapping the park chair. He was like a little kid at Disney World. It was so awesome to see.

The quote "I Ride For Kevin" seen all over the world turned into "Ride With Kevin."

Shortly before his accident in 2009 and first day back on his board in 2011.

There are countless videos about that day, but this is a really good one.




Finally, this week is the USSA Revolution Tour aka Rev Tour at Copper Mountain, which is an amateur version of the Dew Tour. The talent is still insane with a bit younger participant crowd. Copper has done an awesome job with all the competitions and rail jams so far this season, especially with the lack of snow.

You Know You're A Coloradan When...

I've read a few of these "You know you're from Colorado if" things on Facebook, so I decided to make my own version.

You know you're a true Coloradan if...

1. It snows 12 inches and you don't expect anything to be cancelled. 
2. You know who Ullr is.
3. You have to get a new windshield once a year and have snow tires year-round.
   
4. You would rather be freezing outside all day than sitting inside, and think it's morally wrong to not enjoy a beautiful day.
5. You think people that don't participate in outdoor activities are weird.
6. You think it's hilarious that people in other states waste their time cutting their lawn, blowing leaves, and plowing 3 inches of snow off their driveway.
7. You have no accent at all, but can hear other people's and make fun of them.
8. Your sense of direction is based off what ski resort you're driving towards. 
9. Going to the gym, yoga, etc are to get better at your regular activities, not be your regular activities.
10. You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard, and getting stranded because I-70 closed is put into your weekend schedule by default.
11. When someone says "it's going to be a fun year," you know they actually mean the span of time between the first resort opening and the last resort closing.
12. Halloween is during the winter, not fall.
13. There are three seasons: The Season, Not-The-Season, and Mud Season.
14. You know that also means: Jobs, Some Jobs, and No Jobs.
15. You think Urgent Care is for people who hurt themselves and feel weird about going when you're sick.
    
16. 75% of your friends live in a different house every season.
17. The most important thing when choosing a new house is how close it is to the mountain, how many people you can hold, and how cheap the security deposit is knowing you're going to lose it.
18. If you're originally from another state, you're ashamed to admit it.
19. A goggle tan is a status symbol.
20. You don't put the bar down and you spend the entire chairlift ride silently hating whoever did.
21. You know what the Continental Divide is. 
22. You have at least two friends who have or have attempted their own hat-knitting or sweatshirt-making company.
23. You prefer to work Thur-Sun and have off Tue/Wed.
24. You ask other locals their home resort before you ask them what town.
25. You've gone off-roading in a vehicle that was never intended for such activities. 
26. You go out and live in the wild without internet or cell phone service for fun.
27. You always know the elevation of where you are and anything below 8,000ft is low elevation.
28. You know what dog belongs to what local store and find it shocking or confusing when you see "no dogs allowed" signs.
29. If you live in a resort town you're lucky to have two year-round neighbors.
30. You'll stomp and destroy an invasive flower plant, even if it's in front of tourists in a public place or in another persons yard.
31. You actually know that South Park is a real place, you've been there, and you catch all the Colorado-references on the show.
32. You know that Aspen looks nothing like the scenery on the movie "Dumb and Dumber" and it was actually filmed in Summit County.
33. You would rather get pulled over by a cop on the road than by the Forest Service patrol on the trails.
34. You base someone's driving ability by what state is on their license plate. 
35. Ski and snowboard instructors are not professional skiers and snowboarders.
36. You wonder what the heck people in the South and Midwest do for fun. 
37. If a website doesn't tell you how its packages are delivered you can forget about getting it. 
38. You know what a "Trust Fund Baby" is, and you know its natural habitat is Aspen, Crested Butte, and Telluride. 
39. You avoid the white ribbons of death and rocky backcountry during pre-season.
40. The yellow parking lines in parking lots are completely irrelevant. 
41. You hate ski racks at night because they make every car look like a cop car.
42. You believe that "Gaper" and "Tourist" are actually ethnicity's, and that they generally come from Texas and Overseas. 
43. You think jackets are for skiing and sweatshirts are for daily winter activities.
44. You drive with your brights on before it's even dark during migration season, but you feel like you don't even need headlights in the winter when the moon is out.
45. You know that there's no point in scraping your car off after a snow storm when you can open and close your door for the same result.
46. You base your entire years plans on whether it's going to be a La Nina or El Nino season.
47. "Humid" is over 25% and you think the only other state this dry is Arizona.
48. Even if you had important plans, you're slightly depressed when you wake up and realize there's not enough new snow to alter your daily routine.
49. You know that the ones who complain about "tourists and gapers" all season are always non-native, new, seasonal ski bums from the Midwest.  
50. You laugh at people who are "fishing" in any water source visible from a road.