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By Jack Affleck/Vail Resorts
Headline RSS FeedTalons Challenge set for this Saturday
January 22, 2008 — Like Pavlov's dog, who famously drooled at the sound of a bell, my legs cramp at the mention of the Talons Challenge.
Thirteen runs, one day, 23,722 vertical feet and a whole lot of black diamonds are on the docket for this Saturday, Jan. 26, at the Beav'. More than 1,000 people are expected to swarm to Beaver Creek to take on the Challenge - but only a handful of those will successfully complete the grueling task of skiing each and every run. Registration is free and each person who completes the Challenge will receive a free Talons hat, lanyard, bratwurst, beer, and a chance to win a trip to Beaver Creek's sister resort, Lech-Zurs, in Austria.
Most of the Challenge takes place on the bumps, yet some of the runs, including the World Cup Birds of Prey Downhill course, will be groomed.
That's good news to me: perhaps this will be the year that I actually complete the course. I'm hampered by my ready-made excuse: I telemark, and therefore need to be in x-tra good shape to complete the Challenge, but this may be my year. Wtih patience and a little time, maybe I can make it happen.
The snow ought to still be fairly good - cold weather and small amounts of sun have kept things from the hard-baked freezing/melting cycle - so I'll have that going for me.
Remember, if you go, that participants must present a valid lift ticket or pass.
Registration will take place from 8:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan.
26 at the Talons tent at the base of the Centennial lift in Beaver Creek Village and also on the mountain at Red Tail Camp.
And don't forget, from Jan. 6-Feb. 15, guests can buy four nights of lodging and four days of skiing and get a fifth night and ski day free starting at $533 per person based on availability and quad occupancy in a two-bedroom condominium.
For more information on The Talons Challenge, call the Beaver Creek Ski and Snowboard School at (800) 475-4543 or (970) 845-5300. For more information on Beaver Creek snow conditions and lodging reservations, call (800) 404-3535 or visit www.beavercreek.com.
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Superhero convention at Beaver Creek
January 20, 2008 —
Every once in a while, superheroes need to get together, talk about their work, figure out who’s saving who, and how.
In 2008, the annual Superhero Congress and Convention came to Beaver Creek, where everyone from Spiderman to Wolverine analyzed the past year in superhero action, and took a look at the year ahead. From superhero economics (a lecture from Captain America), to the ins-and-outs of suit maintenance (presided over by Superman), superheroes made the most of their time at this year’s convention.
In between grueling, 8-hour sessions on the ethics of mutant life in a human world, the superheroes took some time to get out on the mountain and ski + snowboard.
The identities of these icons was revealed shortly after lunch – and imagine how surprised I was to find that Captain America was British! Who knew! Phil Window, James Reid, Anthony Holland, Dave Wright, and Justin Hampton were the men behind the masks, and every one of them was a Brit!
OK, the truth is I happened to run into these guys while I was skiing Grouse Mountain at Beaver Creek. I was cruising along and there, all of a sudden, was spiderman. He was quickly joined by his cronies and I snapped this shot quickly before heading out for another run.
The gang was also supporting a website called www.elktours.co.uk, where they’ve collected a few more photos of their good times up on the mountain.
The snow is surprisingly good up on the mountain still - largely due to cold weather. Without sun to melt the snow, there is very little crust. Goshawk was in terrific shape, as was most of Rose Bowl. Only the main traffic areas were crusty, but those are easy to avoid.
So - good luck to the superhero gang as they weave their way through the complicated world of superherodom. May all your rescues go smoothly, and may your superhero suits never chafe.
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See Seth Morrison in a new movie? Count me in
January 19, 2008 —
Chances are, if you see a guy pulling a double back-flip off a 90 foot cliff, that guy’s going to be Seth Morrison.
Seth Morrison, I’m proud to say, grew up in Vail (although he gained national fame while living in Crested Butte). He was once just the “really, really good” skier in our gang of Vail townies, the one we’d all crowd around to watch huck “the nose” on North Rim Run, yet now he’s hailed as one of the greatest big mountain skiers of all time.
Exactly why he’s so good, and where-in-the-world he (and others) gather the intestinal fortitude to ski the big mountains, is a main theme in the movie, “Steep,” which is making one more tour through Colorado this winter. The trailer alone is enough to send powerful chills down your spine.
The term “ski porn” has been used to describe almost every ski flick of the last five years (excepting, perhaps, the more “feature film-ish” Warren Miller films). Sticking with the RealVail theme, I’m not a big fan of overused buzzwords. On the one hand, “Steep” seems to have plenty of clips to satiate skier’s superficial desires, but it goes deeper than that.
From Glen Plake to Morrison, Ingrid Backstrom to Anselme Baud, “Steep” takes a look into the short, but jaw-dropping, history of big mountain skiing. From the pioneers who first tackled 55 degree slopes on 210 K2s, to the incredible stunts of Morrison, Steep takes an inside look at the men and women who have weathered tremendous danger, huge avalanches, and terrible tragedy to ski the world’s most intimidating mountains.
The movie comes to Aspen’s Isis Theater Feb. 1, Boulder’s Century 16 theater Feb. 1, and Tinseltown USA 20 in Colorado Springs Feb. 1.
View the trailer by clicking the “play” button below.
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Keb Mo is a-comin' to town
January 17, 2008 —
I used to go on these long drives down from the mountains, through the canyon by the river, leaving my family and heading off toward school. On my way I’d roll the windows down and turn the music up as loud as my underpowered stereo would allow, and every time that music would be Keb Mo.
And now he’s coming to the Vilar Center in Beaver Creek for two nights, Jan. 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m., and I just can’t wait for those nights to come.
Mo started out as a jazz man, a master of the complexities of key changes, rhythm changes, all the many intricacies of the jazz form. When he put together a simpler, soulful, blues album, his popularity soared. It seemed a natural fit.
To me there is something in his voice, a tone of sympathy and humility, which makes him the ideal blues man. And unlike other blues players, Mo isn’t content to mimic the old blues patterns. Instead, he integrates his jazz background into the blues. Somehow, he plays a form which is true to the old spirit of the old players, those like Muddy Waters and T-Bone Walker, yet which also expands the typical 1-4-5 patterns into much more complex mosaics, much more interesting creations. Despite the "music theory" behind his arrangements, however, he does the difficult thing: he simply sounds good.
For tickets and more information, visit vilarpac.org.
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