Posts Tagged ‘Stratton’

End of Season Wrap Up: On The Road with Ed Wray

Thursday, April 25th, 2013

By: Ed Wray
Eastern Sales & Marketing Manager
April 25, 2013

With the ski season winding down, I thought this might be a good point to look back at an amazing season.

I started this season with three goals; 1. Learn to Telemark.  Mission accomplished.  Now my brother Dave is sending me his old set up to get started.  Next year I’ll be joining a few others for morning skin-ups at Loon.  2. To learn to bi-ski. Mission accomplished.  Having my son Connor teach me was one of the most rewarding things ever.  3. To have more fun than ever. Mission accomplished. I skied/rode with more friends, families, reps, retailers, kids of all ages and smiled the whole time.

Who would have thought I would get four straight powders days over Christmas vacation?  Never happened before, but it was sweet to say the least. I was lucky enough to do an amazing splitboarding trip in Utah with Hutch and the crew from K2.  Going from sea level to 10,000 sucked but it was a great time.  Two days at Winter Park at the SIA demo; priceless.  After four very hectic and busy days in Denver, the opportunity to get out and test next year’s stuff is wonderful.  Winter Park and SIA did it right.  If you’ve never gone to the Winter Park SIA On-Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest, it’s a must.  You won’t regret it.

Then it’s back to Loon for February break with the family, guess what? More snow= more powder and even more fun.  In one day, I drove from Albany to Stratton and skied at the Stratton Demo. In the morning, I drove back to Rhode Island to avoid winter storm Nemo, then drove to New Hampshire. I was spent; but the next day was epic, actually the next three were epic.

Now it’s March and I had a really great day with Teddy and Leah Schiavoni from Summit Ski Shop; a postcard bluebird day and good snow.  The next week it was another Nor’easter.  This one I skied at Killington with Lee and Cathy Qualia from Aspen East Ski Shop.  Lee and I have been planning this trip for months and every time, something came up; this time we were not going to be denied.  We nailed it! Howling winds and deep powder on fat skis made for another great day.  I drove or rather “bobsledded” back to Loon that day.  Woke up to a perfect morning with fresh light snow… yeah it was Utah light!  It was the single best morning I’ve had at Loon in 30+ years there.

Now I’ve still got one more weekend and a quick trip to Vail before it ends.  However, Tuckerman’s is calling me this year…

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Burton Celebrates 30th US Open At Stratton

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

By
Thu, Mar 15 2012 1:45 am

Action in the halfpipe final: Photo Credit: Transworld Business

 

The 30th anniversary of the 2012 Burton US Open presented by MINI wrapped up last weekend at Stratton Mountain, with more than $100,000 in prizes and a pair of MINI Countryman vehicles awarded to the top competitors. Fresh snow and sunny skies brought out the crowds for the halfpipe competition on Saturday.The beauty of the Open is that it’s an event anyone can win at—and it always has been. While men’s halfpipe winner Shaun White was in and out, coming to the event for just over a 24-hour period and leaving after the awards ceremony in a private helicopter, there was also local rider 20-year-old Benji Farrow (from Okemo, Vermont) who grabbed third and was in the finals for the first time after competing at the Open for six years.

“To do it here in my home state, close to my home town when it turned 30 years old was a nice redemption,” he said, commenting that for the last two years he had been nipping at everyone’s heels.

Women’s halfpipe winner Elena Hight (USA), who knocked out longtime champion Kelly Clarke’s 16-competition winning streak, was in shock about her win, but attributed it to a new trick she’s been working on: the alley oop backside rodeo along with back-to-back 900s.

“It’s a legendary event and to win at the 30th is amazing—I’m beyond happy,” said Hight, who first came to the Open when she was 13.

The weeklong competition was much more than just Saturday’s halfpipe action. The Washed Up Cup kicked off weekend festivities on Friday night. Riders went old school wearing hard boots and maneuvering around gates hitting a kicker at the end. Early Burton competitors like Scott Palmer, Ian Price, and Andy Coghlan came out for the fun, along with many others including Tricia Byrnes and Ross Powers. Some riders used original gear from the era.

“That was about as close as you get to the early days,“ said Todd Kohlman, Burton’s archivist. “Everyone was hooting and hollering and just cheering people on—it was a cool feeling to be a part of that,” he continued, adding that in the initial days of racing downhill, the equipment was in such an early development state that it was a challenge just to make it down the hill.

Read more HERE

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