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Just four weeks until the TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival rolls in to take over Whistler for 10 days and 10 nights of adenaline packed sports, arts, and music events.

The Zune Concert Series line up is set and ready to rock the valley of Whistler with live music from Thornley, The Stills, Ozomatli, The Arkells, 54 40, DJ ZTrip, and Metric to name just a few. For more info on the Zune Concert Series visit: wssf.com

This year marks the return of the Orage Masters, World Skiing Invitational's Big Air and Superpipe, and the addition of the Park'n'Fly Skate Jam and Monster's Grenade Games.

Also returning this year and bigger than ever are the infamous arts events including the Olympus Pro Photographer Showdown, 72 Hour Filmmaker Showdown, Schick Fashion Exposed, State of the Art, Whistler Chef Challenge, and the new ThreePointOh Multimedia Challenge.

The festival doesn't stop there. When the sun sets the party is just getting started! The Kokanee Freeride Club Series, along with an onslaught of legendary parties, offers party-goers endless opportunities to rub elbows with the who's who of the industry. This year the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival really lives up to its modo: Party in April. Sleep in May.

TWSSF is also offering one lucky person the ultimate VIP status for this year's festival with the Face of the Festival Contest. To find out how to apply visit: wssf.com/faceofthefestival





Published On: 3/19/2009
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Get some in a Gondola and win a texas Mickey of Westbeach Rye, just send evidence of your mile high club membership at your favrourite hill and you could win a whole bottle of fun.

Send photos to competition(at)westbeach.com

http://westbeach.com/

Competition ends April 1st.





Published On: 2/12/2009
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Mountain Madness Mondays Blog

Check it out. Mountain Madness is going on strong. Check out all the info on our blog. This week is the Launch Energy Gum Party/Australia Day Gong Show. You know it's going to get messy. But That's the way we like it.
nuff said.



Published On: 1/26/2009
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Time and Place
Start Time:
Friday, November 14, 2008 at 9:00pm
End Time:
Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 5:00am
Location:
Shark Club
Street:
180 West Georgia st
City/Town:
Vancouver, BC

**DJ C-Biz and DJ K-Kutz ON THE TURNTABLES / ITS BRADEN DEANS BIRTHDAY**

Voleurz and Coors Light present a ski, snowboard, skateboard video premiere party in association with...

WHISTLER BLACKCOMB / colonies.com / SNOWBOARD.COM / SHARK CLUB

Featuring the athleticism of....
Josh Bibby
Justin Dorey
Braden Dean
Corey Klim
Riley Leboe
Shayne Zwickel
Josh Stack
Justin VDP
Joe Schuster
Warren Williams
Andrew Jackson
Matt Margetts
Jeff Boake
Cam Schuster
Jesmond Dubeau
Tristan Jeswiet
Jan Schuster
TJ Schiller
Robbie Beaton
& Friends of Voleurz

Produced & directed by
Darren Rayner & the Voleurz Family

Coors Light on special all night / Tons of free shi*t! / $10 cover


Published On: 11/7/2008
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Another Season of Mountain Madness Mondays is about to start. And to kick it off we are hosting a very special edition of Mountain Madness on Thursday Nov. 6th.
Alterna Films will be holding the Vancouver Premiere of "Knock Out", their tenth  snowboarding feature at the Royal in HD. Tickets are available at Second Wave board shop in North Vancouver. I suggest you drop what you are doing right now and run down to secure yourself a spot. The best thing about this premiere is you don't have to find a DD to get you to the after party. Just mosey up to the bar and order another round. DJ Loco will be throwing down your favorite party anthems till 2am. Tons of prizes, product tosses and more.

Thursday Nov 4th @ The Royal, 1029 Granville Street

Doors open at 8pm



Published On: 10/27/2008
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Snowboard.com News: KASTLE BATTLE
By: Snowboard.com


The Kastel Battle is a jib event bringing 40 invited snowboarders and skiers to the Planta of Sion, Switzerland, to fight for the title "knight of the kastle".

The whole venue will be decorated in a medieval ambience with fire-spitters, jesters, barbecue, drinks and dj stage. You will also be able to catch an eye on the newest products of different brands who will be on-site.

20 skiers, 20 snowboarders (10 local, 10 international) and 5 snowboard girls, contest format will be open session.

Schedule:

Friday, October 17

18h - 19h Opening Kastle
19h25 - 19h30 Photo Expo JP Rodriguez
19h30 - 20h Movie : Jamski (swiss premiere)
20h - 20h05 Photo Expo Chrissie Stegt
20h05 - 20h30 Live Dj
20h30 - 21h Movie : Whats Poppin
21h - 21h05 Photo Expo Thierry Sermier
21h05 - 21h30 Live Dj
21h30 - 22h Movie : Walizer Dream (european premiere)
22h - 22h10 Photo Expo Pat Vermeulen
22h10 - 22h30 Live Dj
22h30 - 23h Movie : Roots (european premiere)
23h - 24h Live Dj


Saturday, October 18

10h - 11h Trainings Ski (20 riders)
11h - 12h Trainings Snow (20 riders)
12h - 12h30 Trainings Women (5 riders)
13h - 14h Ski Pool 1 (10 riders)
14h - 15h Snow Pool 1 (10 riders)
15h - 16h Ski Pool 2 (10 riders)
16h - 17h Snow Pool 2 (10 riders)
17h - 17h30 Movie : Alliance (swiss premiere)
17h30 - 18h Finale Women (5 riders)
18h - 19h Semi-final ski (10 riders)
19h - 20h Semi-final snow (10 riders)
20h - 20h30 Final Ski (5 riders)
20h30 - 21h Final Snow (5 riders)
21h - 21h30 Movie : Yeah Love (french-swiss premiere)
21h30 - 23h30 Live Dj

After Party at Roxy Club, Conthey (Shuttle Service available)

WWW.KASTLE-BATTLE.COM



Published On: 10/16/2008
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This is gonna be one helluva show.....

PortersTahoe.com, Burton Snowboards, Corona, Transworld Snowboarding, Alpine Meadows, Ubisoft, Sobe and the Supersuckers are teaming up on the evening of Saturday, October 25th at The Underground club on 555 East 4th Street in downtown Reno, Nevada to present the Burton Team movie It’s Always Snowing Somewhere. A 7pm all-ages, free showing will be followed at 9pm by a $4.99 cover for a 21-and-over premier of the movie and after-party featuring the Supersuckers. Tickets for the second, 21+ screening are available online HERE or at any of Porters’ four North Lake Tahoe shop locations.

The movie It’s Always Snowing Somewhere follows the Burton Team traveling the northern hemisphere, from Austria to Alaska. It features action footage from Shaun White, Terje Haakonsen, Natasza Zurek, Gigi Rüf, JP Solberg, Heikki Sorsa, Nicolas Müller, Tadashi Fuse, Frederik Kalbermatten, Jeremy Jones, Jussi Oksanen, DCP, Mads Jonsson, Trevor Andrew, Keegan Valaika, Kevin Pearce, Danny Davis, Kazuhiro Kokubo, Mikkel Bang, Mikey Rencz and Peetu Piiroinen.

There are only ten other screenings of the movie across the country, and this will be the only showing anywhere in Northern California or Nevada this year. The first 100 people at the family-friendly, all-ages, free showing at 7pm sharp will receive a free lift ticket voucher to Alpine Meadows Resort and a free tour stop t-shirt. An autograph session will follow at 8pm with Burton Snowboards team riders Jussi Oksanen, Danny Davis, Kevin Pearce, Mason Aguirre, Heikki Sorsa, and Kelly Clark scheduled to appear. Doors open at 9pm for the 21+ movie and after party. Tickets are $4.99 in advance and this is expected to be a sold out show.

Local Tahoe bands Cohesion and Hunks of Metal will play before the second showing of the movie. Hunks of Metal feature early pioneers and legends of snowboarding such as Terry Kidwell, Shawn Farmer, and Bob Klein. When asked to play at the event Bob said, “Who has a chance to open for not only the Supersuckers, but a world class snowboard movie as well? We’re looking forward to rocking the Underground for the first time, hopefully not the last, unless we get too drunk and rowdy!” Immediately after the 11pm screening of It’s Always Snowing Somewhere the greatest live rock ‘n roll band in the world – Supersuckers – will take the stage for a rowdy and raucous set. More local bands are scheduled to finish the late night / early morning in the back lounge room while The Underground’s resident DJ will spin the rest of early morning in the main showroom.

For more information on this awesome night email me at chappy@porterstahoe.com or call us us toll free at 866.967.6783.


You won't want to miss this doozie.......


Published On: 10/15/2008
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http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=759347&op=1&aid=33024&auser=504444892&id=504444892&ref=mf

Click above for the poster...trust me it's nice.

It's finally f*ckin' over! 2 plus years have come and gone and now it is time to release what has become Paint the Town Red.
We are premiering in Toronto on October 16th at Republik Nite Club, showing in Toronto on October 18th at the Great Hall during the You Look Good kick off party, featuring the Toronto premier of Sandbox's new film, we are showing at the good ol' Thornton Arms in Oshawa on October 24,where the last three video premiers were just rediculous and lined up out the door all night, and we are finishing up the October events with a shaker in Barrie at Fitzy on October 25 with three live bands, cheap beer and cheap shots.

Paint the Town Red....balls deep for two years.......


Check shops as of October 20th for the Paint the Town Red DVD. The DVD will also be available online at:
www.platinumdist.com
www.sjsales.com
www.snowboard.com
www.trendybitch.net

www.stubfilms.com - the official film web site
www.kontaktfp.ca - check it.

http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=759347&op=1&aid=33024&auser=504444892&id=504444892&ref=mf


Published On: 9/29/2008
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swat up!!!!!

 

S.W.A.T  ROCKSTAR  WINTER BREAK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 3 DAYS OF SNOW......snowbird - brighton - park city

 

                                          IN UTAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3 NIGHTS OF FUN....

 

       80's  ROCKSTAR THEME PARTY ....

  

        PERFECT PUSH UP'S BUFF BROS & SNOW BUNNY CONTEST....with give aways!!!

 

        2nd ANNUAL WHITE PARTY..........

 

        THREE 6 MAFIA CONCERT .......@ CLUB SOUND

 

ROUND TRIP TRANSPORTATION AND HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS  

    **FREE ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINKS AND GIVEAWAYS!!!**

 

ALL THIS FOR JUST  $$459.00!!!! SIGN UP NOW AT  WWW.SWATSNOW.COM AND PUT "AARON STEIN" FOR YOUR REP!

 

FOR QUESTIONS CALL ME OR HIT UP YOUR REP ….

562 394 2074 OR  AARON@SWATUP.COM

 

 

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wtfa href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vc3dhdHVwLmNvbS90cmlwcy9oaWdoLXNjaG9vbC10cmlwcy9lbC1uaW5vLTA3LTA4Lmh0bWw=">wtfimg src="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c179/mkgostan/ElNinoSLC2008-2009FlierFinal2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" />wtf/a>



Published On: 9/22/2008
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Dan Stubbs Is 15 years old and currently splits his time between Grease-ville Ontario and Grease-ville B.C. This past winter Dan attended the Whistler Valley Snowboard Club in Whistler. Lets see’em motha f*ckers… Listen up kid. GNARCORE.com is giving the “Local Shred” a chance to get his 15 seconds of internet hang-time. Starting right the f*ck now, every month we are going to be posting a little something something, of the kids we think are killing it. So if your under 18 and you have a link to your footy (somewhere anywhere) send your dirt that you think is greasy enough to grease my slippery ass e-mail RT_WINSTON@HOTMAIL.COM We’ll check it out and think about greasin’ up a post with YOUR mother f*cking name on it! GREASE This month it’s our homeboy Dan Stubbs. Chyeah boy!!!!! You’ll be seeing more from this kid this year no doubt. Stay tuned and send it fool.

Published On: 9/18/2008
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Snigggty snap boom crack….ahh yEAAA….  THE MESSAGE is BACK!!!

Summer, Summer, Summmer tiiiiiiiiiime is finally winding down, there have been some kickass concerts going down in Tahoe all summer I saw Pato Banton, Andre Nickatina, Rebelution, The Pyrx Band, and many others,  4th of July was off the hook! For those of you who caught the fireworks, than you know that Tahoe and Big Bear offer some amazing fireworks shows, if you didn't make it to the lakes this year, you better plan on it next year!!!! And then we had Labor Day, Thanks to everyone who came out and partied last weekend! Both Hotels were SOLD OUT and it was an amazing time!!!  IF you can't wait to get away, check out these upcoming events that you don't want to miss!!!

In LAKE TAHOE,

Tuesday September 16th – Living Legends – (Eli, Sunspot Jones, Luckyiam, Scarub, Aesop, Bicasso +more TBA) along with The Bayliens and Rise of the Revolution.


Tues September 23rd - Eek-a-Mouse

Wed Sept. 24th - Sweatshop Union

Nov 28th - "Blizzard" Pray for Snow Party at Vex Night Club
PRAY 4 SNOW!!!

And X-mas with THE GROUCH!!!
Snowboarding in Tahoe and THE Grouch! X-Mas is going to off the
HOOK!!

All of the above shows are at Whiskey Dick's Saloon a few miles from THE BLOCK. Cept the "Blizzard" Party at VEX.

Coming up in BIG BEAR,

Weekends, September 13 - October 25th - 38th Annual Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest, located at The Convention Center at Big Bear Lake.

AND THEN, the 1st SNOWBOARD CONTEST OF THE SEASON is BACK!!!! September 20th – Hot Dawgs and Hand Rails returns to Big Bear! Pro Jib Contest with over $15,000 prize purse!  Vendor Village, weenie roast, raffles, FREE ADMISSION! 6,000+ people showed up last year, so Book your rooms at THE BLOCK early to insure you got a spot to crash!!



Big Bear is also getting ready to open a new skate park at the community center,  be amped on that!!

SO with the 1st contest coming our way that means winter is just around the corner, and THE BLOCK has been busy preparing for THE BLOCK BOOTCAMP 2008!!  This year's BLOCK Bootcamp will be held once again in Big Bear from Nov 10-22.  We have been receiving numerous applications from all over the world and will be selecting 100 recruits to participate in THE BLOCK Bootcamp of which only 20 will be hired! The Bootcamp is a HIGH STRESS Environment and will be intense, so start training now! If you have any injuries that prevent you from completing physical tasks (ie. push-ups, pull-ups, running and general calisthenics), please refrain from enrolling as we will not be making any exceptions for any physical and mental handicaps this year!  If you were not hired last year and can physically complete the course you are welcome to re-apply for Season 3.

However, This year we are going stern on snowboarders, you MUST BE ABLE TO SNOWBOARD! We don't want non-snowboarding actors trying to get the job, just because it's a TV Show. SO if you don't own your own snowboard and gear and cant ride down the mountain, don't even bother applying!!!!!!  Snowboarding will be part of The Bootcamp, so your skills will be put to the test!

If you have already applied, don't worry your application has been received and we are in the process of reviewing them, All accepted recruits will be notified atleast 30 days prior to Boot Camp Departure Via 1st Class Mail from Marc Frank Montoya and Liko Smith.

IF you think you have what it takes to work for the Dopest Hotel on the planet, Please send a resume (include work history, address and phone #), 2 pictures, your myspace link (if you got one) and a paragraph on why you would be good for THE BLOCK to bootcamp@theblockhotels.com

 This year is going to be the best year to date at THE BLOCK, Liko and G4TV have been throwing around all types of rumors for Season 3, will we be going to Japan, Whistler, LAAX or somewhere else equally as cool, we will just have to wait for this next upcoming season to find out!!! THE BLOCK Season 2, is downloadable on iTunes and X-Box Live so if you ain't seen it, go check out all the debauchery that goes down at our Hotel!! Everything from bootcamp to Aspen X-Games, Vivid Porn Stars and Spring BLOCK!!!

Also if you missed THE BLOCK, when it premiered on 4-20 you can catch it again when it re-plays again this winter or download it on i-Tunes, V.O.D., or X-Box Live.

Click to Watch NOW!

Click to Watch NOW!




Sundays at 8pm PT 11pm ET ONLY on G4



AIGHT thats all I got for ya this time, WE will be having more updates closer to bootcamp, so keep yo eyes and ears peeled!!



Dirty D Signing OFF



Check out these flicks from the Summer...





Published On: 9/1/2008
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Rider: Shayne Pospisil / Photo: Alex Roberts 


 

Stylewars 2008 presented by Oakley.
August 24-28, 2008
Falls Creek Resort, Australia.

 

A perfect day with sunny blue skies today at Stylewars meant the first day of competition at Australia’s most notorious snowboarding event went down like a bowl full of delicious poutine. The 45 invited riders from around the globe were annihilating the course with a level of snowboarding never before seen in Australia.

 

Ripping all day and finishing in number 1 and 2 spots respectively was the French Canadian connection (ie: Canadian Club) of Charles Reid and Matts Kulisek who were both sending and stomping their runs all day. Matts was unleashing huge frontside 7 to backside 7 combinations amoung some super smooth 900s. While Charles Reid was dropping insane frontside 1080’s and massive 90-foot corked frontside 360’s that had everyone scratching their heads.

 

Sitting in third is a very consistent New Zealand rider Jacob Koia who looks poised to strike for the lead. NZ team captain Will Jackways had one of the most interesting lines of the day with a perfect 90 foot backside 900 melon followed by a method from the step-over kicker landing on the side of the landing 80-feet away, stomping a method perfectly amoungst the rubble and grooming debris.

 

The course is a 3 jump line that consists of a 15 foot flat cliff step-down, a 90 foot high speed step-down kicker and a 75 foot step up/over kicker.

 

Stylewars 2008 – the freestyle marathon continues tomorrow with sunny days again forecast and riders amping to step it up the rankings for a shot at the Grand Master Title.

 

Tonight the parties start, a free/private concert for the riders with Australian Producer KATALYST and MC RUCL ready to bring home the first day.

 

For video footage of the days event check out

www.stylewars.com.au

 

 

Stylewars Presented by Oakley

Top 20 after day 1 of 3.

 

1.      Charles Reid (CAN)      BURTON          722

2.      Matts Kulisek (CAN)     APO                     667

3.      Jacob Koia (NZ)         OAKLEY          618

4.      Torstein Horgmo (NOR)   DC/OAKLEY               602

5.      Roland-Morley Brown (NZ) ELECTRIC/FORUM 595

6.      Wille Uotila (FIN)      ATOMIC          593

7.      Shayne Pospisil (USA)   BILLABONG               570

8.      Stef Zeestraten (NZ)    K2/OAKLEY               568

9.      Robbie Walker (AUS)     BILLABONG               550

10.     Will Jackways (NZ)      BURTON/VOLCOM   529

11.     Mitch Allan (AUS)       BURTON/OAKLEY   525

12.     Tore Holvik (NOR)       BATALEON                505

13.     Clint Allan (AUS)       BILLABONG               484

14.     Mario Kappeli (SUI)     FORUM                   474

15.     Ryan Tiene (AUS)        DC/OAKLEY               467

16.     Keiji Okamoto (JPN)     VOLKL/FLUX              462

17.     Jye Kearney (AUS)       BURTON/OAKLEY   395

18.     Nick Brown (NZ)         BURTON/RPM              368

19.     Masaharu Nakao (JPN)    NP ATHLETICS/REVOLT 313

20.     Cohen Davies (AUS)      ROME                    292

 

The 2008 Stylewars is presented by Oakley and is supported by Falls Creek Resort, SilverSki Lodge, Corona, Red Bull, Volvo and New Era.

Published On: 8/25/2008
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News and Stuff: CSF Golf Experience
By: CSF


Please Join Us!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at the Whistler Golf Club
Register Now
Deadline: Sept. 10th 2008

The Canadian Snowboard Federation invites you to join members of the Canadian National Snowboard Team at Whistler Golf Club for our inaugural Golf Tournament and Fundraiser.

All proceeds go directly to the National Team.  Funds will help cover the cost of training camps, competition expenses, coaching and equipment.

Canada was the top snowboard nation in the world last year with a record 24 medals.  Your support will help Canada's National Snowboard Team and Olympic hopefuls drive for Gold in 2009 and 2010!

Event Schedule:  Wednesday, October 1 2008
10:30am - 12pm   Player check-in & putting contest
1:00pm - 6pm Golf
5:30pm Aprés / Silent Auction
7:00pm - 10pm Dinner and Live Auction

Tournament Fees
$300 per player, $1,200 per foursome*
(*Choose to enter 4 players or 3 players plus a National Team Athlete for $1,200)

Price Includes: Green Fees, Golf Cart, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Beer and Wine, Prizing

Tournament Format: 18 hole Scramble

Published On: 8/14/2008
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15 Aug 2008
20:00
Regina, Saskatchewan
16 Aug 2008
21:00
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
19 Aug 2008
20:00
Calgary, Alberta
24 Aug 2008
20:00
Victoria, British Columbia
26 Aug 2008
20:00
Vancouver, British Columbia
27 Aug 2008
20:00
Whistler, British Columbia
29 Aug 2008
15:00
Kelowna, British Columbia
29 Aug 2008
20:00
Kelowna, British Columbia
30 Aug 2008
20:00
Golden, British Columbia
31 Aug 2008
20:00
Banff, Alberta
 
Learn more about Animal Nation at www.myspace.com/animalnation 


Published On: 8/13/2008
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’ve never been exposed to military life, and I’ve certainly never been in a combat zone - until last week.



I spent a good part of my summer vacation in Afghanistan. Danny Kass, Grete Elliassen, and I spent 10 days in the Middle East, visiting our troops on an "X Games themed meet and greet." Our mission was simple: boost moral. If you’ve ever hung out with Danny, Grete, or I you’d know not only did we accomplish our mission, we went above and beyond the call of duty. It was a small sacrifice compared to what the servicemen and women of the Armed Forces are doing for our great nation.

I went over to Afghanistan with an open mind, to see first hand what was going on and how the troops were doing. I came back humbled and with a true understanding of sacrifice. I mean, I know how trying “the road” can be, but giving yourself for 15 months of your life, away from family and friends, is one hell of a sacrifice and a test of a true patriot in my book.

Our Middle East tour started in Qatar, a small but very wealthy country on the Persian Gulf just off of Saudi Arabia.

Qatar is the hottest place I’ve ever been to - including the sauna at your local health club. The temperatures ranged from 120 degrees during the mid-day heat, and would drop to around 90 degrees at night. Needless to say, we spent the majority of our time in doors soaking up every ounce of air conditioning we could before bolting to an air-conditioned car, and off to the next air-conditioned building.

Other than the heat being almost unbearable, the troops were amazing. The base in Qatar isn’t only a fully-functioning military base, it’s also a rest and relaxation base for solders to get out of the combat zones in Iraq or Afghanistan for four days every six months. This was their R&R time. The feeling in Qatar was pretty light hearted. The solders were allowed three beers a day, which loosened them up enough for Danny to olli four of them laying down - including Col. Cotter on his skateboard.



From Qatar we boarded a C130 military plane flight into Afghanistan. Once we arrived in Afghani air space the plane blacked out completely into the night sky. A young soldier with a thick Kentucky accent leaned over and said, “We're going to drop in fast, they have a tendency to try and shoot these things down.” That’s when the realization that I was in a war zone fully hit me.

He was right, too, the C130 plane dropped like a rock out of the night sky from about 20-30 thousand feet up to the runway below. A “combat landing” is one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. My face was glued to the window praying I didn’t see a rocked fire out of one of the many clusters of lights seen below. Thankfully nothing “exciting” as another soldier put it happened.



Once we were “safely” in Afghanistan, Grete fell ill with salmonella poisoning. She was hospitalized and our tour was put into a holding pattern. Not only would Danny and I visit Grete in the Afghanistan Hospitals but we ventured around a met most of the Doctors, Nurses, Staff, and of course the injured and sick. Carmen our guide practically lived at the bedside of Grete, what a guide! My experiences of Hospitals are that they always have an eerie feeling to them, and this one was no exception. My heart sank as we toured room after room. Everyone had a different story to tell why they were there. A group of local Men were all smiles getting routine check ups, so they were able to get a job on base. Then there was an American Soldier awaiting hand surgery after his armored vehicle was rolled during a roadside attack. The most disturbing was by far the small children. One little girl lost her leg from an old Russian land mind, and in the very next room a little boy laid out dressed in bandages healing burns from an explosion. Experiences like these are reinsuring my thoughts and wishes to have peace on earth.



Danny and I carried on and entertained ourselves by exploring the rest of the base. While checking out the base we met a group of armored truck guys who called themselves “The Reapers”. These guys were cool as hell and had story after story to tell Danny and I about their life in the military and their tour in Afghanistan.
While hanging with The Reapers I felt safe - these guys were the bad asses on the front lines. They gave Danny and I a full tour of their armored vehicle, including sitting in the gunner’s chair. Spinning around in that chair armed with a 50 cal and a grenade launcher was quite a feeling.

Grete wasn’t getting any better after a couple of days so Danny and I left her and our tour guide Carmen behind as we ventured to a FOB (Forward Operating Base) named Solerno - better know as Rocket City.

While in Rocket City, the Air Calvary gave us a tour of the Heli pad holding Blackhawks, Apaches, and a smaller surveillance chopper. We took shooting lessons from a sniper and visited an artillery group of guys who are responsible for shooting back at the Taliban after Rocket City is attacked by, well, rockets. Danny and I were reminded that we were at a FOB nicknamed Rocket City at about 2 am by our guide McKnight. I was abruptly awoken my McKnight’s deep voice saying, “come on, get your sh*# on, get your sh*# on, we got to get to the hard building.” I looked over at Danny while he was throwing his bulletproof vest and helmet on and started to do the same.



We all grabbed our blanket and pillow and ran across the street to the hard building, aka a bunker. It was thought that we may be getting attacked by rockets that night so we all spent the night tossing and turning on the concrete floor wearing bullet proof vests and Kevlar helmets. Let me tell you that was one hell of a night. Let’s just say I wasn’t missing my flight out of Rocket City.



After our Rocket City adventures Danny, aka Afghan Dan, and I met back up with Grete and Carmen, did one last signing in Afghanistan and started our trip back home.



Although our trip was short and sweet, I think I got a pretty basic taste of military life in a war torn country. The highs of hanging out with the gung-ho soldiers and their weapons, to the lows of visiting a four year old girl who lost a leg from a land mine are just two extreme emotions I felt in just one week.

Again my hat goes off to the servicemen and women who sacrifice so much to protect this great country we all love.

www.porterstahoe.com


Published On: 7/23/2008
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Porters Lake Tahoe Boat PartyOne of the most beautiful things about Lake Tahoe is well….. the lake and there is no better way to enjoy it then with friends. On Saturday evening the Porters Crew headed out on a three hour tour of the lake on the Tahoe Gal, now you must be thinking a “three hour tour” hmmmm there must have been a few Gilligans and some Professors. Not on this three hour tour as it was the “Love Boat”. For those of you that grew up with the Love Boat know the era and the fashion for the kiddies that have no clue take a look at the pictures in this post and you will see our cruise worthy apparel. Lake Tahoe Boating
North Lake Tahoe Boating

We had a few captains, one that was actually navigating the Tahoe Gal, and another whom is our fearless leader, Chappy. We had ladies in lovely 70’s evening attire with furs coats, heels and gold clutches, we had gentlemen in sweaters and action slacks, I do have to say that Burton's Nor Cal rep Trevor Patterson had on a wonderful mustard yellow sweater, and needless to say there were a few Hawaiian shirts and boat shoes! Michelle Parker who is on the Porters team as well as the K2 skis team and Orage was there with some very stylish Vans boat shoes. The outfits of the evening went to Lars our web guy who showed up with two outfits and Aaron Gaines, our warehouse manager who showed up with three things! Notice how I didn’t say three outfits, take a gander at the pictures below and see if you can figure it out.

Tahoe Gal

The Tahoe Gal crew put on a great party for us, the food was great and bartender was doing it right. Chappy brought his computer so we could have some Love Boat era tunes and once the alcohol started to take effect the grooving dance moves started to pop up. At the end of our three hour tour most of us still had sea legs as we exited the boat but that didn’t stop us from heading to our after party at Lakeside Pizza in Tahoe City, formerly known as Pierce Street. Do not be fooled by the new name as it is also a night club and they are doing it right there. With free keg of CL smooth and beats to make you move there was no stopping the Love Boat crew. A few left early as they did most of their drinking on the boat, others stayed to get their dance on and others stayed even later. Rumor has that the club locked the doors and Chappy and a few ladies stayed and dance until three in the morning.

Lake Tahoe

I do have to say the Porters Crew knows how to party and I think I speak for all of us when I say thanks to Kelly and Chap!



Published On: 6/9/2008
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The other day as I was minding my own business I got a curious invitation. A colleague asked me if I'd be interested in joining his group for dinner at the Rideau Club that night. So I brushed the hair away from my eyes and gave my beard a scratch (I haven't had a haircut in 2008 or shaved since I was in Whistler) before I said "will they even let me in the door?" It took a while to be convinced, but in the end I decided to accept the invitation. After all it seemed like a reasonable reason to skip yoga class.

It's a good thing I have a tie and jacketThe Rideau Club pre-dates canadian confederation and was established twenty-two months before Ottawa was chosen as the seat of government. The clubs first president was Sir John A. Macdonald who, two years later, became Canada's first prime minister. Those are some pretty lofty credentials for a club so when I was asked, first of all, if I owned a jacket and tie (apparently they won't let you in the door without them) and if I'd be interested in going, I was naturally a bit skeptical that I would even gain entry. Besides, the last time I went to one of these formal parties, I wound up across the desk of the Director of CSIS in Windsor two days later (being interviewed for a job oddly). "This could be interesting" I thought and accepted. It seemed like an opportunity that doesn't present itself too often, and besides I like to slum it every once in a while.

The Rideau Club is obviously quite old. The building where it's located, however, is not. The original building burned down in 1979 so they made a replica of its interior on the top floor of the Sun Life building in downtown Ottawa. In order to get to the club, there's an elevator which services it exclusively (how very elitist). As I got in the elevator, I found it odd that there were only two buttons: one for the lobby and one for the fifteenth floor. Secretly I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a retinal scan machine or some such thing. Nontheless, it was a neat feeling to be in a private elevator to an exclusive club which boasts heads of state as members. I felt like I was going to a Stone Cutters meeting. Maybe I'd get to participate in decisions on world policy, affect the course of human history, and witness historical keggers, beer blasts, beer bashes and steinhoists, followed by the regimented AA meetings. This evening was certainly looking up.

Can you direct me to the coat room?Once I arrived I was disappointed to discover that no one referred to themselves as numbers that were sequentially assigned in the order in which they joined. Once again the Simpsons had let me down. The coat room, however, did not. That thing was the size of my living room and dining room combined plus within it was the men's room which was equipped with shoe polishers and other gizmos that were cool and useless.

The view from the various windows in the club was quite spectacular. It was a great vantage point to see Parliament Hill, the Ottawa River, random high-rise living rooms (it gave me a bit of a voyeuristic feeling) and off in the distance, the Gatineau hills where my home resort, Mont Cascades, can be found (oh I miss the winter already). In spite of the majestic view, however, there seemed to be something missing. I realised what it was when reached into my breast pocket to adjust my hanky which I made out of a Spanky's Whistler trail map. It was the mountains that were missing. Having just been in British Columbia not two weeks before, I had grown accustomed to seeing large mountainous objects in the horizon; clearly these are missing in Ontario. In the time I spent in B.C. and Alberta, I had stopped noticing the giant masses of rock, earth and snow all around me. I was de-sensitized to their majesty and this thought disappointed me. It made me realise two things:

  1. Never take what you have for granted. You'll miss it when its gone. This seems to be something that I have to be reminded of every once in a while and I'm now reminding all of you.
  2. You can take the snowboarder off the mountain, but you can't take the mountain out of the snowboarder. I thought using a trail map as a hanky was a nice touch. None of my companions seemed at all surprised when they realised what I had done. A dirtbag in fancy clothes is still a dirtbag.

So if you ever get a chance to go to the Rideau Club, I highly recommend it. It's steeped in history and is a good place to take stock of who you are and what you have. Speaking of what you have, all you dwellers of the mountains out there, raise your glasses to them, they are precious indeed.

Keep Shreddin' the GNAR!



Published On: 5/5/2008
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Tokyo Police Club



Go to the link below for a chance to win.


http://blacktopguerillas.com/contests/

Published On: 4/21/2008
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The only snowboard contest in a bar is back!

The Frank & Bean's Indoor Snowboard Jam.
16 riders going head to head in a battle to be The champion.
We also present a screening of the new surf film from Rip Curl "SOMEWHERE"
Don't miss out on this event.

Rider registration:
Entry fee: $20
There are 16 rider spots.
12 for males and 4 for females.
Spots are giving on a first come first serve basis.

The contest will start at 9:00pm sharp.

Doors open at 8pm
$10 cover

Lots of prizes and giveaways from our sponsors.
contact me for more info

Sponsored by:
Westbeach, IS Design, Rip Curl, Option Snowboards, Universal Records, Kokanee, Loaded Gun Productions, Terrain Park Boyz and The Royal.



Published On: 4/18/2008
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I find posting once every two years is best. One it takes me that long to be creative enough to entertain you monkies (I mean that lovingly) and two... I'm lazy.
 
Anyway, so the day starts off balls ass cold. What is balls ass cold you ask? Well, balls ass cold is somewhere below "Holy Jewish Christ it's cold!" and just slightly above "Dude, I can't feel my nuts!". Tim and Dan can fill you in more on how cold it was, since they decided to sleep in their car... on the mountain... at 5am... with the heat off. Yeah, them Maryland boys ain't all there.

So as I was saying, it was balls ass cold, and we decide to warm up with a nice easy run. Now this run, had this stuff called packed powder on it. I'm not sure what it really was because it was light and fluffy and responsive and easy to ride. Where I'm from, packed powder is the frozen painfull shi*t you get the day after all the man made snow froze. I have to say, I like Vermont's version a lot better. Anyway, we're on this run, and there's this little roller of a jump at the start. Now, everyone is hitting this thing and landing with ease. I says to myself "SELF! that looks fun and easy so I'm gonna try it!". Sadly, what my mind failed to take into account was that the ones who went over it where Dan, Tim, and a few others who have been riding a hell of a lot longer than me and therefore, can actually ride really well. So just because they make something look easy, it may not actually be so... easy. Apparently, I left this part of my brain back in VA. So I tuck and make a straight line for this thing hit the top and leap. It's at this point that I realize I have no earthly clue what in the blue flying catholic %$&* to do whilst airborne. This becomes even more obvious when I land with all the grace of a drowned bubonic rat. But this isn't Liberty, so the landing area wasn't made of rock. Unfazed, I get up and ride down.

From there we wait and get on the tram. The tram by the way is the slowest means known to man to get people up a mountain. Seriously. Anyway, we get to the top of this beast and I'm looking around at the kind of terrain I've never ever ridden before. I can't wait to ride down this bitch! So I strap and and get ready to roll. It's at this point that I realize one of the straps on my binding has snapped in half making my foot wobble around in my binding like a drunken irishman on st patty's day. Getting down is going to be a bit of a challenge. The only thing I can do at this point is ride down and pray for a repair at the base. So Carmen and I take off for the base.

I will point out that the ride down was pretty awesome. Especially for a mid atlantic rider. Lots of terrain, snow, and no ice. Again, NO ICE. Hah! Anyway, I'm almost all the way down I start to get cocky again. Yes I know, not exactly a bright move when im working with half a binding on my back foot. Like I said, I left that part of my brain at home. There are these nice rollers/hills/whatever the hell you call them, that were just screaming for me to get some speed and jump at the top. Soo, I jump em. And amazingly, I land the first one. Excited, I tuck and get ready for the next one. Up I go and again I land without bailing. At this point I'm flying down the hill and there's one more coming. I figure go for 3!! Haha, yeah bad idea. I tuck and throw everything I have into my legs to jump the last one sending me into a low orbit. I try to land but my balance is off and I come crashing down right on my head. That's when the lights go out. But only for a second or two. Thank god for brain buckets. But this has certainly put my ego in check for the rest of the trip... Kinda

Finally at the bottom, a little woozy, I go into the shop in the hopes that they sell flows. In the middle of burton country (yeah). They don't in fact, no one does... anywhere. I'm stuck buying the only large size bindings they have. a $70 pair of Burton Freestyles aka $70 of pure unholy suck. But whatever, I meet up with everyone and again head up the tram. We're headed for something called the ugly tree. I don't know which of the 80 billion trees was the ugly one but I'll get to that shortly. So we're riding to this thing and I'm trying to get used to the new bindings. I'm kind of getting the hang of it and let myself get some decent speed on the way to this glade run. That's when I catch an edge and come down on what is becoming my prefered landing cushion... my head. Honestly, I'm pretty sure there's some important SQL knowledge that i've forever lost up that hill somewhere. I can still tie my own shoes though so I'm good. However, I've managed to shatter my goggle lenses in this fall. Yeah I don't know how I managed that either. See below for pics

Now for the trees. Keep in mind that I've never even really been on a black before. Sure I rode a handfull of them at 7 springs for one day ut those are about as challenging as picking my nose. This is a run through trees n shi*t... TREES! But I'm with a bunch of people who know what they're doing so I'll be all right... Kinda. They head on through these trees and in a matter of 3.4 seconds, I've lost all of them. I can't see them, I can't hear them, they're just gone lol. Now these new bindings aren't responding very well to my "oh shi*t turn now!" commands. So I'm spending most of my time on my ass, and my back, etc etc. It takes a retarded amount of time to finally work my way out of the trees. Once I do, I find that I'm all kinds of alone. So I spend the rest of the day exploring this huge mountain. Next time, I'll bring a radio that works!

Friday was a different day. After some inventive binding "repair", I'm back on my flows. And I brought some spare lenses for my goggles so I'm back to working condition again. Time to make another run through some trees!

I've learned a few lessons about riding through trees with this group. 1) Never follow rob because he loves his superman impression. But unlike superman, he doesn't stay airborne. 2) Follow Zach (cifex), because he takes lines through trees that people can actually survive. 3) Never ever ever follow Tim through the trees, unless you brought your golf clubs, and a shovel, oh and a tent. More on that below At this point I'm doing a decent job keeping up with these folks. Again they've been doing this a hell of a lot longer than me and I sure as hell would never attempt these runs on my own. This is one of the things I liked best about this trip. Hitting terrain that i never thought I could do and pushing myself damn hard to keep up.

Anyway, I follow Zach as best I can through these trees. I gotta admit, riding through trees is a huge rush. I've never done anything like it before. It's better than snorting blow off a hooker's ass! After a few hundred falls, and crashes into trees, I pop out onto the trail where everyone is waiting. Somehow, I've managed to beat Tim out of the woods. Which is odd because it took me just under a decade to get out. Then I found out why.

Apparently, Tim decided he wanted to go golfing. f*ck this riding shiz, boy wanted to break out his clubs and hit the back nine! Soo, he headed for the golf course. Which is obviously well out of boundes. For some reason Tim thinks this is a really good idea anyway. Even though he didn't bring his gold clubs... and there's snow on the ground. It's the little details that count. By the time he figures this out, he's waist deep in powder in the middle of a ravine on the opposite side of Vermont. So while we wait for the gallant golfer to carry his lanky ass back to the rest of us, we decide to keep ourselves entertained.

Dan works on his backflip (not quite as funny as Andrea's backflip but with much less ankle twistage).

Waiting for Tim

Several others play jump the tree stump.. thingy.

All the while shouting for Tim so he could get a bead on where vermont was again. (I think he cried). Dan was a bit upset that he was the only one shouting but that was because we were all laughing too god damn hard and the filth flowing from his pie hole like a raunchy poet. If Danimal was a religion, I'd f*cking worship it. Apologies to all the random folk riding by that heard what was said. But it was epic funny!

I'd write more but I think this post if long enough already. Needless to say I had the time of my life. I broke bindings, a helmet, goggle lenses, my ass, bought 2 pairs of bindings, got a horrid chest cold (btw, you can get a great buzz off of 5 advil, 3 strong swigs of robotussin, a cup of thera flu, and 4 sudafed caplets.), bit out a chunk of my mouth, spit blood in front of some random skier (that was pretty funny) and was molested by more than one tree (It wasn't gay because I didn't push back) But at least I didn't slip getting out of the hottub and bust my ass like a certain porch flying canadian


Published On: 3/25/2008
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