Friday, December 23, 2011

Holiday Powder!

So the Holiday Season is upon us. Merry Christmas everyone!

The past couple of weeks have been the epitome of early season training. Not a lot of snow on the ground and the backcountry has just been a little too dangerous to really do anything of great fun so we have been in conditioning mode for winter. Well it seems to have finally hit this week!

This year's Winter Solstice decided to make sure it would be noticed and remembered as a day that still holds clout when the Solstice graced us with a foot of new snow, the weather gurus estimated 3" - 5". Love it when they are wrong like this, bless their hearts, he he. Winter is full on now with bell to bell face shots accompanied with burning quads fueled by whoots and hollers. The sounds of "so sick" and "hell yeah" were echoed all day in between shit eating grins and experiences that make us remember that life is meant to be lived to it's fullest. Can't wait to experience this with my kids! :-)

Some how Brad Biolo and I managed to be one step ahead of the crowd this particular day and while everyone was waiting around for chairs to open we happened to be getting first tracks in all the zones we were hitting. Making a few laps, never crossing a track, and then head to a new lift just as they were opening it. Make a few more virgin laps and then on to the next lift, that was the progress of the entire day until around 3:30pm the quads, glutes and calves screamed for forgiveness. OK, time to rest and fuel up there is always tomorrow!

This past few weeks also saw new product being delivered from sponsors. Core Concepts shipment came in and I must say that this year's line is SICK! Diggin the new Entourage and the changes to the Stripes sweater are bomber. Again every piece is well made and stylie. Don't forget that you can get all of their products at 50% off when you go to www.corelayers.com and enter code "jturn50" upon check out. Use it up and tell your friends too!

Mystery Ranch Backpacks also has made sure that my travel and adventures would be well organized with new travel bags and accessories. Check them out at www.mysteryranch.com, guaranteed to be the BEST hand made backpacks and bags you have ever used!The Spandura line is killer and really stoked on my One Man Duffel!

All right enough for now...

P.S. There will be a Jamie Pierre Memorial Fundraiser for the wife of the late Jamie Pierre, Aimee, and their kids Clementine and Royal. Please contribute and help with some form generosity for this incredible woman and her kids!!!

Merry Christmas and Face Shots to All.

Turns


Saturday, December 3, 2011

Skiing Magazine Dec 2011

Here is another published photo from our Alaska trip this past winter. This was taken while on our recon mission of Manitoba Mountain on the Kenai peninsula. Great photo by Tom Winter and published in the Dec 2011 issue of Skiing magazine! Thanks for all the support and don't forget to get in motion with the Mountain Rider's Alliance, we are changing the face of ski areas!



Winter is underway...

So as the world continues to spin and as the the winter sets in we find our selves in the Holiday Season! For most that I know this is a fun, family filled time of the year and not only a time of reception but also a time of reflection and thankfulness, a conscious acknowledgment of the gifts and blessing that each one of of us have. This winter is starting off particularly tough for a few that I know and for the ski community with the loss of our friend Jamie Pierre and then his mother, Pam Pierre. I pray that the times get easier and sympathetic for the Pierre family and the blessings just pour into them. They are an incredible family that has endured a lot in a short amount of time. I am thankful for my family and for this life that I have been gifted with. Donations can be made at Wells Fargo Bank to "Jamie Pierre Memorial Fund" for the benefit of his wife Amee and his children Clementine and Royal. The snowpack here in the majority of the Northern Rockies is pretty rough starting as well with a large layer of faceted snow acting as the bonding zone between the snowpack and the ground. What that basically means is that we have a lot of great snow sitting on top of a layer of 6"-8" of Styrofoam packing peanuts. Please be careful out in the backcountry while traveling around. Think avalanche in all conditions and watch and listen for whooomps, cracks, faceted layers, and all other tell tale signs to a suspect slope. There is a lot of "season" to go so we can always ride tomorrow and live today! Go take an avalanche course and save your life as well as your friends! Thanksgiving was good and I hope it was well for all of you as well. Big Sky Resort opened for the season on Thanksgiving morning so I took the fam up to the snow, I skied the groomers for a while then played in the snow with the kids and the sleds for a bit. Turkey dinner was great that night and of course I ate too much! Again thankful for all the blessings and people in my life! Freezers are full of elk and all we need is some snow on these meager snow packs that we have, Christmas is right around the corner and we have a chance to show all how thankful we are for our lives! What are you doing for Christmas Season? New Year's Eve? Have any ski plans? If in this part of Montana then hit me up also I will be in California from Dec 26th - Dec 30th. Looking forward to seeing the family and also some maritime snow love! Don't forget Moonlight Basin is having some great Holidays Specials so don't miss out at www.moonlightbasin.com P.S. Order gifts for your loved ones and yourself from www.corelayers.com and enter code "jturns50" when checking out and get 50% off entire order! Happy Holidays! Ski ya later, Turns