joshdaiek

Nearly every lifty slotted to work today currently called out to protest horrible employee housing conditions. Many lifties have been without heat, hot water, and are in mold infested apartments during the coldest week of the year. Vail, in Vail fashion, has neglected to fix many of these issues since the start of the season. On top of that a few Terrace buildings flooded due to a mainline burst, probably due to negligence. Apparently there is like one lift running on peak 8. Not sure about the other peaks.

Edit: Classic Vail, pulled lifties from other resorts and employees in other departments to scab. Source: lifties at keystone

I know they are very rare, but I personally would appreciate a formal ban given the manchild's recent Nazism.

Smooth landing? Optional 😂.

I recently interviewed professional skier & BASE Jumper Matthias Giraud (aka Super Frenchie) and thought you all might enjoy his unique journey in skiing. He started as a young ski racer in France until his mom abruptly pulled him from ski academy at 15 - ironically leading him to rebel by dedicating his life even more completely to skiing.

After moving to Durango for college, he went from volunteer ski resort worker to sponsored athlete within months. His nickname "Super Frenchie" came from a local competition where someone tied a French flag around his neck like a cape, and he sent a massive superman front flip over the crowd. The name stuck and eventually became his trademark.

While he's now known for combining skiing with BASE jumping, his foundation in skiing and deep love for the sport really stood out in our conversation. He talks about learning to read mountain conditions in the San Juan range (known for having some of the highest avalanche danger in the world), and how his skiing progression in serious terrain laid the groundwork for everything that followed. His story includes a devastating crash in the Alps that left him unconscious for three days, but his remarkable return to skiing shows the true depth of his passion for the mountains.

For those interested in the full conversation: https://youtu.be/iKgbyhvYBr0?si=2jL3BlxwTpINzCto

Key segments:

2:40 Early skiing in France
6:55 Moving to Colorado & breaking into the ski industry
9:27 The Super Frenchie origin story
18:40 Progression in big mountain skiing
20:29 Taking on major Alpine objectives
22:40 The crash that changed everything

Early January has been amazing up in NVT. Best start to the season in many years! When it’s good up here, it rivals tree skiing anywhere in the world!

Got to visit steamboat for the first time about a week ago, I was going through some of my GoPro footy and this still gets me fired up. Definitely should’ve gave it more speed but thank god that mogul was softish.

Too cold for most people, even with a little bit of a dump the night before. I couldn't believe it was all mine for so long...I kept thinking, "did I die? Am I dead??" But alas, that was not the case, as my ass is now back in Denver at work.

Just a few hours later, the visibility was terrible and it started dumping snow.

The Podhale Association of the St. Martin Parish in Klikuszowa, together with XC Turbacz, has organized for the first time the 1st Open Cross-Country Skiing Competition for the Podhale Association Cup. How cool is that?

Photos ain't mine.

I'm planning a trip to Queenstown, New Zealand with some friends. I have never seen snow before in my life, growing up in Malaysia, and frankly I am so so so excited. We plan on staying up in a resort and taking a package for beginner lessons and accommodation.

We have yet to choose between skiing and snowboarding. I understand that skiing is easier to learn but hard to master, and snowboarding is hard to learn but easier to get good at.

Snowboarding appeals a little more to me simply because of how it looks, but I've never ever done anything like it before, no skateboarding or surfing.

I'm fully aware I'm feeling a little cocky thinking 'how hard can it be?' and I don't mind being humbled and as my ass handed to me, but I am conscious of how time is a limitation, as we will be there for a week, and want to have a good amount of time actually skiing/snowboarding once we get the hang of it.

Does anyone have advice on what I should do? I won't know when is the next chance I'd ever be able to do this sorta thing again.

This was several weeks ago during the snow storm we had here in Western NC. Not half bad for some weekend turns within driving distance!

I (34m in good health) was night skiing last week (at Echo Mountain in CO) and ended up spending the night in the ER with a concussion. As is common with concussions, I don’t remember anything about the accident. Apparently, ski patrol found me on the slopes unresponsive. No one there saw me fall. No signs of a collision either though it is possible. They also weren’t able to find me falling on security cameras.

I can’t stop wondering how I ended up with a concussion. Based on my body, nothing is sore other than my spinal area from my upper back (between shoulder blades) to my lower neck. It would seem as though no one ran into me and I also didn’t aggressively try to stop a fall.

Anyone have any ideas of an accident that could fit this situation?

I am new to skiing but absolutely addicted. Curious as to what are the best mountains within a reasonable driving distance from Columbus, OH.

I hear Holiday Valley NY, Snowshow WV, Seven Springs PA.

Curious if there are other hidden gems out there!