When it’s done for women’s slopestyle comps, ya turkey!  Please see 2012 Nine Queens Comp footage as proof…

ESPN- In 2009, freeskier Kristi Leskinen started a women’s-only ski slopestyle competition called the Kristi Leskinen Homecoming Invitational at her hometown mountain of Seven Springs in Pennsylvania. Her motivation for hosting the event was a desire to see if a contest featuring smaller jumps built specifically for women, where women felt comfortable throwing their toughest tricks, would encourage progression or stymie the sport. Three years in, she had her answer: “I’ve seen some of the most progressive women’s skiing ever during that contest,” she says.

Kristi also sent out a survey top more than 100 pro slopestyle skiers and riders, male and female, to find the answer to an interesting question- what is your ideal competition jump size?  The majority of men reported that they’d prefer a jump around 70 feet, while the majority of women said their ideal jump would be 50 feet.  The findings of the survey make a good argument for separate slopestyle courses for men and women.  Why put women on jumps they don’t feel comfortable attempting difficult tricks on?  The idea of a slopestyle comp isn’t to see who can jump farther, it’s to see who can throw the best tricks.  All-female competitions like Nine Queens have proven that the most progressive women’s skiing comes when a course is designed around what the girls want to ski.  And as the video above shows, there is some damn good skiing that goes on at Nine Queens.

Of course, there are occasions where lowering the jump size does not help to progress women’s sports.  Though I love the announcer.  YEAH!

So the recent cold snap has gotten all the resorts firing up their snow guns once again.  Which is pretty wild if you think about it.  Exactly a week ago today I was skiing in 80 degree weather.  And now we have man made snow falling all over the place, and about 5 inches of the real stuff coming down tonight.  If you would have told me last week that the mountains would be making snow again, I would have told you that you were the biggest liar I’ve ever met.  If that hypothetical scenario had happened, I’d be apologizing to you right now for calling you a liar.

Meanwhile back out west they’re looking at 6 inches of snow in the Northern Rockies, California, and other parts.  Quite the turn around on the left side over the last few weeks.  Just snow on snow on snow.  Here’s to hoping we follow suite over here and see a snowy April.  I may have to mentally prepare for ski season to start back up again after I mentally prepared for it to be over.

I think it’s the best video on the internet.  Saw it over the weekend about 10 minutes before I watched the McConkey trailer.  The two of those back to back made me feel weird in an unspeakable region.  Not only is this video beyond dope, but FD Wear has some steezy clothing that you should certainly check out at their website here.

p.s.  There’s some debate amongst my friends and I as to wether they really did all this in one day.  You know, wake up, fly a plane, ski park, rally race, shoot guns (while rally racing), snowmobile, fly home, hit the club scene wicked hard, call it a day.  I vote they did, and I vote that it’s the greatest single day ever had.  If someone were to ask me what would make for a perfect day I’d vote for all the things these boys did, minus the flying though.  I hate flying.

“Sleeping while skiing”?  Riiight.  This kid is three years old and he’s already pulling the wool over his parents eyes.  By the time he’s a teenager, it’s going to be a breeze sneaking alcohol from mom and dad’s liquor cabinet.  Not their fault I guess, I mean what did they expect when they dropped little Bode off at ski school?  That maybe he’d come back having learned how to do a pizza, or with a fun story about riding the chairlift?  Nope.  Seems like the instructor schooled the kids on the ways of the ski bro.  He probably packed a bowl for them in the woods, skied a few runs through the park, shuttled them off to employee lodging for an hour or two of xbox and KFC, then hit the lodge for some PBR’s and cougar hunting before hurrying back to the slopes for pickup time.  Forget the snowplow, those are the REAL skills you need to learn if you want to be a full on ski bro.  No wonder Bode is falling asleep on his skis, he’s had quite a full day!

The trailer for the new documentary on Shane McConkey which is apply titled McConkey.   Trailer was just released this weekend and I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is going to be THE ski/snowboard movie of the year next year.  Hands down.  I dont’ think I’ve ever been this excited to see a ski movie in my life.  Shane McConkey may be the greatest human being to ever live, and this will probably prove it although it really doesn’t need to be proven any further.  And the fact that Matchstick and RedBull put this together just means that it’s going to be all the awesomer.

This post has nothing to do with global warming....or does it?

http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/js_animate.html?year=2012&month=3&day=20&type=nsm_depth&region=Northeast

Couldn’t figure out how to embed that but click the link and change the speed to 20 instead of 200.  That should blow your mind.

Hold up a minute.  i thought winter was over?  I thought the snow fall was done.  Oh, what’s that you say?  Just here on the east coast?  Sweet.  While I’m sweltering in 70 degree weather, kayaking on a lake that should still be frozen, and trying to figure out what I can wear skiing tomorrow since it’s going to be almost 80 at Sugarloaf, the west coast is getting dumped on.  Alta (above) just saw 38 inches in a 48 hour span.  Northern California just got feets on feets on feets, and even Arizona is getting decked right now with 20 inches in a day.  What. The. Fuck.  I still say that ski season isn’t over yet for us here on the right side, bound to be another storm or two.  But it’s tough to watch these videos online of the epicness that is the west.

Little dude here is MathiasSandstedt from YouTube just tossing some back scratcher tail grabs like you read about.  Just a classic go to can’t miss move.  Would have liked to seen him try his hand at a few more 3′s but whatever.  Good for this kid.

p.s.  I just walked from my car to my office.  About a 2oo foot walk and I worked up a sweat.  I hate the heat.

I read this on the Mt. Washington Observatory Facebook page yesterday:  ”We have the potential to break five (high temperature) records this week.”  I read this on Mad River Glen’s Facebook page yesterday:  ”Well folks the proverbial buck stops here as the less than stellar 2012 ski season comes to a sunny and mushy end after skiing today!”  And yesterday, I got a sunburn in Boston.  This my friends, is what is called a “disappointing ski season.”  It’s good to be optimistic but it’s bad to kid yourself, so let’s be serious for a second- the winter of 2011-2012 will be one to forget.  Everyone has their own explanation for this weather pattern we’ve been stuck in, but considering it’s been this bad for so long I can only imagine that the two individuals pictured above got together and shut things down.  That’s all I got.

Moving on- I didn’t think bump skiing season would be hitting it’s prime around St. Patrick’s Day but sure enough it is.  MRG tweaked it’s motto over the last week to “Ski It WHILE You Can” and that’s pretty much spot on.  The snow isn’t going to last forever and the sun is shining so my only advice is to get on it now.  The temps will be in the 60′s in the mountains over the next few days.  If skiing big, slushy, volkswagen-size moguls is your thing, then take a day off midweek and head up ta da hill.  That’s what I’ll be doing.  Cue the Crue…