Alpine Meadows: A First Installment

At the end of February 2009 Jake Sakson and Luke Lubchenko journeyed to Alpine Meadows California to compete in the Telemark Freeskiing Championships. Below is the first installment of their journey:

A diet of breakfast burritos, gummy worms and Mate, 500 miles of Nevada public education via billboards finally arrived us in Alpine Meadows California. Although I must admit the journey was enjoyable in itself: Hours and hours of music, from Bill Monroe to Immortal Technique sure makes the time fly by. We missed all of the state signs on the way here but we knew we were in Nevada when in trying to find the bathrooms in a gas station we found ourselves overwhelmed by slot machines. The Prius killed it by the way, it sure feels good when it only costs $13.00 to fill up the tank. We stayed at Josh Madson's house, he left as soon as we got there, (I don't think we had built up a smell by then...) but his roommates cooked us dinner. Driving on one straight road all day was fun, but when the road started heading up and turning it sure felt good. I can't say I have been subject to greater hospitality then we experienced upon our arrival. Cookies and crab cakes for dinner and very fluffy beds...

Mate seshing

A little billboard wisdom

Nothing like a little gambling on a bathroom stop!

413 more miles on the same road

Check out the massive wind generators in the background

We skied Alpine Meadows today, and it was a cool resort for sure. Visibility was low and winds high so most of the lifts were not open. Although runs were short we had a good chance to get a feel for the mashed potato type snow typical of the Sierra's. We found a few small airs to hit and practiced some of our landings. I definitely crashed a lot today (Luke can say the same for sure...)but all in all it was a good day. The comp was not as big as we expected, only 40 competitors total but the venue looks really fun and seems bound to be a good time. Luke decided to make the move up and compete men's tomorrow. Because of fresh snow there will be visual inspection only tomorrow which is going to lead to some interesting strategy in order to lay down a solid line as well as ski safely without knowledge of the snow condition. The plan is two runs tommorrow and then Superfinals on Sunday weather permitting. We are currently comfortably situated in a house with about a third of the field. The butterflies can't help but build....The Evan Phelps Telly Hostel

Socked in on day one

Kickoff Meeting

Eating lunch and probably getting a little JT wisdom

A New Chapter Unfolds...

Undaunted by the cancellation of the Sprint Classic in Steamboat Springs, we charted new territory and had an epic day last Saturday that began with breakfast at the Red Rock Diner, then a Big Mountain Training Camp and mock competition, followed by a pizza dinner at Kayo's and topped off with and epic night of dancing to the Infamous String Dusters. The only way to try to capture the day is to break it down...

Breakfast:
The Red Rock Diner, which is owned by Bob Olenick, was an appropriate place to start the day because of the rich CRMS and skiing legacy. We relaxed and loaded up on carbs for the day...

Steep Skiing Camp:
We headed to Snowmass to simulate a day in the life of competing in a Big Mountain Event. We headed up to the Wall and began with an inspection run. We followed competition protocal so that new folks could get a feel for what it is like to pick out competition lines. We followed this with a competition, where Kayo, Liza, and Joan Sundeen judged Overall, Control, and Continuity. In classic form I somehow screwed up charging the video cameras, so we have no footage to show for the entire day.
The experience proved to be eye opening and productive for new and experienced skiers alike, as it demonstrated and reinforced the challenges of finding and sticking to a line, and getting down extreme terrain in control.

Dinner:
The mock competition was followed up by a leasurely lunch at A Taste Of Philly and then a pizza dinner at Kayo's.

HRSB and The Infamous String Dusters!
The whole team closed down the day by going to The Infamous String Dusters Concert in Glenwood Springs. The Telemark Team staked out some territory in the back of the room by taking over "The Corall", a fenced in elevated seating area.
After the Hell Roaring String Band opened up (and made sure to dedicate Don't Stop Believing to the Telemark Team), the team cleared out the chairs and got ready to get down to the String Dusters.
The String Dusters absolutely tore the house down and the CRMS Telemark Team was with them every step of the way, bumping and grinding in the back of the room. The String Dusters were amped to have such good energy in the room, which was a sold out crowd, and they gave several shout outs to "The Crew in the Corall".
Toward the end of the show the team formed a dance train down the isle and up to the front of the stage, and drove the energy up in the room another notch. The String Dusters responded in kind and put together an unbelievable end of the set and encore. By the end of the night we were all dripping sweat and exstatic. Truly a new chapter had been written in the annals of the CRMS Telemark Team, one that reconfirmed the energy and passion of CRMS students.

Williams!

Noah Johns Stretches it out.

Williams Peak has become our venue for trying out on snow what we have been working on at the pool. For people who are new to air, this is the perfect venue for learning 360's. We build a 3-4 kicker on the road, and make it about 20 feet wide so that people can keep landing in fresh powder.
For more experienced skiers a big ramp up in the meadow allows plenty of room to stretch it out and work on new material.
This year deep snow and bluebird conditions added up to a perfect day.

Gracyn Overstreet after reentry.

Grady Lenkin looking for the landing

Jared Carlson getting the spin on

Thorn Warner, demonstrating how to lead with you head.

Sooooooooooo Extreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemmmmmeeeeee!

Peyton Heitzman pulling the trigger

A Noah/Hayden double back flip to close out the day.