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Prospect Snowboards isn't in every snowboarder's daily vocabulary and we don't have a problem with that. Being a non-corporate anti establishment board company, I guess you can say our marketing isn't awesome. Well... our commitment to making amazing snowboards is awesome. While we aren't interested in corporate subculture that comes with being a mainstream snowboard manufacturer it doesn't mean the industry isn't recognizing what makes Prospect rad.

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It's that time again...

That's right. Time for Vancouver's favorite Monday night party to return. This year promises to be one of our best yet. First off we had to say good-bye to the Royal, which shut it's doors in May. Lots of good times were had and we're sad to see it go. On the flip-side we're stoked to have found our new home at the METropole located at 320 Abbott St. They've gone out of their way to make us feel at home by installing a dozen HD TVs and a brand new HD projector and screen. On top that they have a full feature arcade with pool table and foosball.

We were so excited to get this season rolling that we've taken over Mondays already. The Pre-season is going on with no cover charge and $5 doubles so you can get in shape for the winter party season. The freshest beats are calling you to the dancefloor with resident elDJloco on the 1s and 2s.

Stay tuned right here for the latest party info or check us out at our blog:
http://mountainmadnessmondays.blogspot.com
or on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=6360267406


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For video of the Romain Interview, visit http://SlytechProtection.com/blog Romain de Marchi says: Stop letting the economic crisis paralyze you; don’t listen to the talking heads on TV news; don’t slow down. Your life and the lives of those around you depend on your passion and stoke. YOU’VE NEVER HEARD ROMAIN DE MARCHI SAY ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE MAUI, HAWAII – For a moment there I thought I was pondering the intricacies of the Universe, God, and life with Deepak Chopra – the esoteric Indian doctor, author, philosopher – not Romain de Marchi – ball-to-the-walls, huck-myself-down-any-freakin’-thing – snowboard legend. Prejudiced with images of his suicidal rippings in epic Absinthe films, tabloid sensationalism knocking him as a party freak, and his tattoo covered body, I went into this, our first longer meeting, thinking it would turn out to be another “shoot the shi*t interview” with another fortunate, yet undeserving rider. I got adjusted, hard. Romain on Travelling RDM: When I travel I like discovering different philosophies and new cultures. I try to learn more and more the world. TV I don’t think is a good example to learn the world. To me it’s better to be on the terrain and figure out by yourself. That’s what I’m looking for when I go travel: meet new cultures and new people basically. SWB: How does riding factor into your travels? Can you describe that stoke that you feel? RDM: Well, I always… when I’m travelling, it’s not really the places you go to, but the experience you share with people. I like the fact that when I go to different resorts, I meet different people and they give me their stoke-ness of wanting to share with me their culture, their mountain and their way of seeing their mountain. That’s what I appreciate a lot when I get to see different places. So, that’s what really stokes me out. Romain on Fatherhood SWB: I saw your daughter Annella there. Tell me about her! RDM: Well, she’s almost 2 years old and she’s growing up by the minute. She’s a fan of Dora as you can see on the T-Shirt and she loves her mama a lot. No, it’s fascinating, I mean, it’s ahhhh, it makes you more mature, makes you go forward in life, to be able to see your kids, the way they interpret life, to see their innocence and their soul. I think it gives you a lot of inspiration! They really inspire me. SWB: so how did you start to feel in riding after you became a parent? Were there differences in your behavior after you became a parent? RDM: Yeah, a lot of people said: now that you have a kid your ride should be different, you should be more cautious. Actually for me it went the other way around. I’m more crazy now than before. It really pushed me to go out there and do what I love. Now more than ever, I do it for more and more reason. First it was just for me when I was younger, but now it’s also for my daughter and my kids because I want them to feel my passion and translate that to them, so now I go out there and try to get as stoked as I can, so when I get home they can see how happy I am to do what I love to do and they can feel that. So for me it went the other way around. SWB: interesting! So she made you live life even more to its fullest? RDM: Even more. Romain on the World Economic Recession RDM: I’m not gonna say it doesn’t affect me. It affects everybody, but, I think that many people live in fear and they’re like “ohhh no, I can’t do this, I can’t do that.” People have been brainwashed with that and they’ve stopped living. I bet if each individual in the world like they did before the crisis, everything would be good, because money would still be spent, people would still be happy and do happy things and the world would still go around. Now everybody is watching TV saying “ohhh no, I can’t do this, because the TV said it’s fear, it’s economic, and it’s the world war, the terrorism and what not…” I think that’s pretty sad that people have been brainwashed like that and have stopped living just because some dude said it on TV. Of course, the economy isn’t as good now, but I think we are as much responsible for it as the people who are leading our country. I think we should keep living and everything is going to be fine. SWB: ohh man, that’s a great insight. People paralyze themselves by listening to these so-called experts on TV and… RDM: yeah, it’s been like that for centuries, you know like, create fear so that we can control people. I try to have my own opinion. I know times are hard, but it’s hard for everybody, but you keep living and if you can’t pay the mortgage one day and what not, then well, sell the house and do something else. The world is not going to end just like that. We have many options in life, so it’s not worth worrying about a mortgage or things like that. Romain on Back Protection and Why Everyone Should Wear One RDM: For sure it gives you extra confidence. If I hit a rock at least I have the Slytech 2nd Skin to protect my spine. But I also try not to rely on it too much, because then you forget how your muscles work in your body; they are the first armor, right? The Slytech 2nd Skin is more prevention. It’s not because I have a back protector that I’m going to launch a bigger thing. Whether I ride the resort or I jump, I always wear it in case something happens. It’s a precaution. It’s not like, “ohhh yeah, I’m just going riding the resorts, so I’m not going to put it on.” No, I put it on anyway. Whether big jump or not, you know, now that I’m getting older, I got a family, so I kinda need to have that extra protection for me. But I’m not forgetting as well that my body is my first armor. For my state of mind it’s more uhhh… like in a car, you can have one airbag or you can have 5 airbags. Same thing with second skin: I’d rather have more airbags than just 1. SWB: There are all kind of back protectors out there. What was it about Slytech 2nd Skin to make you choose to use it? RDM: It’s easy to put on. It’s really comfortable to wear it. The good thing is, the foam they use, it’s really molding your back, so you really don’t feel it. I’ve tried other ones and they’re really uncomfortable. They’ve been using that for dirt biking at first. I feel pretty confident: dirt bikers get more beat up than snowboarders. When they fall, they hit the hard ground! Snow is soft. It makes you feel even better that it’s tested by dirt bike people. SWB: How were you introduced to the Slytech people? RDM: What went down is… basically, I got hooked up with Shred and they said, “hey, you want to try the Slytech 2ndSkin?” and I’m like “YEAH SURE!” They sent me some and I went riding and I didn’t feel it. I went riding all day and I didn’t feel it at all, “OK, wow! This is a freakin great product!” You have it on and it’s extra precaution for you and it doesn’t even bother you; it doesn’t even make you uncomfortable when you ride so I was like “yeah right on! This is a great product, so let’s do something with it!” SWB: Would you recommend a back protector for non-professional athletes? RDM: Yeah, I would recommend all the protection they can get. Most of the time, beginners just sit on a hump on the slope and if a skier or snowboarder just comes up from behind and BOOM, it could paralyze them. But if you have a back protector, it might save you from that. Helmet, back protectors are key. As I left that interview, I never thought that I – as a philosophy guy living in Hawaii with all the inspiration I need around me – would have walked away with so much newfound inspiration to go for whatever I could possibly conceive of. I want to publicly thank Romain de Marchi for sharing the inspiring stoke he collects through his experiences as a shredder, a father, a world traveler and as a free spirit (the snowboarding world’s own mini Deepak). Thanks also for believing in and endorsing the Slytech Back Protector. It took many years to develop and test, and now that it’s available to the general public we hope it will be as universally loved. About Slytech Protection The team and riders at Slytech Protection feel that life is best lived with maximum passion, confidence, comfort and protection (comfortable protection). We’re based around a rider's love for shredding and being free, to keep pushing the limits and to give yourself the chance to get up and ride again. Being sidelined with a bad spinal injury is the last thing we want, and so comfortable back protection is the first thing we grab. Go to http://slytechprotection.com and signup for more inspiring rider tales from Romain and the rest of the shredders.   Slytech Protection distributors at www.slytechproteciton.com/contacts Headquarters: CERSAL srl Viale Ancona, 26 30172 Venezia Mestre Tel.+390412517211 Fax +390412517200 www.slytechprotection.com ###

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When asked, if you had a job title, what would it be? he  had to stop and think it through for a moment. If I were to put a title on  myself as a job, I'd say pro snowboarder, life-time traveler.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of interviewing legendary  shredder Romain de Marchi from his new home in far-off western Canada near  Vancouver. With kids in tow, tumbling around in and out of the Skype video frame,  Romain talked candidly about life as a father, how that's affected his  snowboarding and risk taking, as well as other controversial subject matter like  the Natasha Richardson tragic death and his bitter divorce with his old sponsor, Burton.

We also spoke about his new dedication to smaller  up-and-coming brands like his new sponsors Shred and Slytech Action Sports Protection with whom he recently signed (yes, having 2 little  tykes running around now, he straps on back protection wherever he goes to ride). And then of course, we covered that hot new  startup brand YES Snowboards you will want to hear about what he has to say about his new partners and why bigger is not always necessarily better.

His answers are not quite what you would expect from the rather  notorious party animal we have read about in the past. His contemplative nature  and deep insights paint a picture that is more Obi Wan Kenobi than a young reckless Anakin Skywalker.

I'm looking forward to share the insider look into  Romain, the pro snowboarder and life-time traveller's life and will let you know when and where it can be found in its entirety!

Later,
Stephan

Stephan  is a  writer for Slytech Action Sports Protection(http://SlytechProtection.com) and Shred Optics (http://ShredOptics.com). Besides an interest in winter sports, he spends most of his time in Maui, Hawaii where many athletes, including Romain, regularly come through to scratch their tropical itch. Follow his tweets on all things Shred and Slytech at http://twitter.com/ShredOptics and http://twitter.com/SlytechProtect respectively.

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   Day 15/30: As I’m trying to decide which adventure to write about, I’m getting far too distracted by the thought of fresh snow in the alpine. Could yesterday really have been the first day of spring?! Not on the mountains, not in the trees and not in my mind.

   The other day I uploaded with two good buddies; Stu and Derek. Stu had his Vholdr cam so we were on a tree mission! It’s no secret the coverage hasn’t been good enough to venture too deeply into the woods this season. That was until last weekend when a huge storm hit Whistler Blackcomb dumping 158cms in total. So that was our cue to head out and rip some pow!

   Stu’s been around these parts for ages, so I was expecting him to teach us a thing or two, but it just so happens we showed him some sweet spots he had never hit before. We started in Crystal by dropping off our bags at the snow fort, from there we headed to a super fun & short section of trees referred to as “the picnic table.” It’s literally a picnic table sitting on top of a knoll in the trees. It has an awesome view of the valley but that’s not why you go there. Below the table is a sweet pillow line, but watch your speed as it ends in tight trees and comes out onto a cat track.

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What a week! It all started Monday morning... I opened my eyes to see something that caught me off guard; fluffy snow covering the trees outside my window! Snowphone Steve assured me there was at least 25cms of pow in the alpine, so after a flurry of phone calls to friends, I headed up the hill.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE powder days, but it's always such a scramble! We had a tough time sticking together in a group of 5 with 3 snowboarders and 2 skiers. We all met up doing a couple of Jersey Cream laps, getting fresh lines and face shots on Cougar Milk. Pretty much all of the alpine was still closed for Avi-control, so we chose to line up at Crystal Chair. We waited and waited... Some trouble maker in the line started throwing snowballs and that was it, a full on snowball war ensued! Our group decided to bail and go riding and it opened after we left! ALWAYS stick with the lift line you choose, that was my lesson of the day.

Over the next couple days the skies opened up and puked a whopping 84cms! My next day to ride was Thursday, so I headed up for a cruise and I couldn't believe it, blue bird! New snow & sunny skies = perfection. The week isn’t even over yet, the Showcase Showdown returns on Saturday (tomorrow) with a different style; the Backyard Slopestyle. Inspired by the mini-parks in locals' backyards all over Whistler, the Showdown will blow the scene up with a snowboard slopestyle at the base of Whistler Mountain. I cannot wait to check it out! Get more info at showcaseshowdown.ca

Keep on shredding!

-Alex



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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

The North Face Masters of Snowboarding 2009 Tour Dates Announced by The North Face and Mountain Sports International

The North Face Masters of Snowboarding is the largest big mountain snowboarding tour in the country, with a prize purse of $45,000 and two new world-class venues

 

Registration is now open on www.thenorthfacemasters.com

 

Salt Lake City, Utah, December 17, 2008 – Now in its sophomore year, The North Face Masters of Snowboarding (TNF Masters) has become the largest cohesive competitive big mountain snowboarding tour in the country. A three-stop tour, TNF Masters is designed to cater to the motivation, talent and skill of world-class big mountain snowboarders. The 2009 tour visits Snowbird, Utah, Crested Butte, Colorado, and culminates at the ultimate big mountain competition venue of Kirkwood, California.

 

“The North Face Masters tour is going to be off the chain this year,” said TNF Masters Alyeska, Alaska, 2008 champion Rob Kingwill. “I am excited to be a part of the movement toward giving big mountain snowboarding competition the recognition it deserves. All three 2009 venues are world-class, and I can't wait to see what happens.”

 

TNF Masters features a $45,000 cash prize purse and serves as a qualifier event to the Freeride World Tour. Winners from the Snowbird and Crested Butte TNF Masters events will have the opportunity to compete in the Nissan Tram Face at Squaw Valley, California.

 

"Freeriding, the use of natural terrain, fall line, and innovation from riding style is the essence of big mountain snowboarding,” said TNF Masters Head Judge Tom Burt. “The TNF Masters series is designed around this and that is the reason why I agreed to become the head judge. The terrain will be delivered by Snowbird, Crested Butte, and Kirkwood. All have different flavors of terrain so each will bring its own challenges for the riders, and every rider will bring their own style and innovation to each venue. When the two mesh the best freerider will emerge.“

 

TNF Masters gathers big mountain snowboarding tribes from all around the world. All male and female snowboarding competitors above age 18 are welcomed to participate. Registration is now open on www.thenorthfacemasters.com.

 

The North Face Masters of Snowboarding 2009 Series Schedule

Stop #1 – Snowbird, Utah.                  January 29-February 1, 2009

Stop #2 –Crested Butte, Colorado. February 12-15, 2009

Stop #3 –Kirkwood, California         March 5-8, 2009

 

Fans of big mountain snowboarding can catch same-day coverage of the Semi-Final and Final rounds of each TNF Masters event on www.thenorthfacemasters.com where there are complete videos, photos, athlete profiles, detailed event schedules, registration information and more.

 

For more information please visit www.thenorthfacemasters.com.

 

Special Thanks To:

The North Face

Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort

Crested Butte Mountain Resort

Kirkwood Mountain Resort

Primaloft

Snowboard Magazine

Mountain Sports International

 

REGISTRATION INFORMATION AND ATHLETE INQUIRIES CONTACT

Sara Pinsoneault

Athlete Communications

Mountain Sports International

801.349.4650

sarap@mtsports.com

 

MEDIA INQUIRES AND FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

Cara Williams

PR, Communications & Media Manager

Mountain Sports International

801.349.4608

cara@mtsports.com

 

Pamela Bennett

Communications Manager

The North Face

510.618.3654

pamela_bennett@vfc.com

 

About MSI

Mountain Sports International (MSI) is a private company, founded in 1997, to develop and produce action/adventure sports events and programming in North America. MSI owns and produces the U.S. Freeskiing Series, the U.S. Skiercross Series, and the Freeskiing World Tour, in addition to several other properties and concepts.

 

MSI provides event management services for Burton, Salomon, and Red Bull and has provided infrastructure and expertise for the NBC Gravity Games and ESPN Action Sports Projects, including the Tony Hawk Gigantic Skatepark Tour. MSI specializes in matching clients with events for brand penetration into target demographics, developing product identification and loyalty. MSI matches brand and culture, company and credibility to create sought-after events that help to define the action sports culture.

 

About The North Face

The North Face, a division of VF Outdoor, Inc., was founded in 1968. Headquartered in San Leandro, California, the company offers the most technically advanced products in the market to accomplished climbers, mountaineers, snowsport athletes, endurance athletes, and explorers. The company’s products are sold in specialty mountaineering, backpacking, running, and snowsport retailers, premium-sporting goods retailers and major outdoor specialty retail chains.

 

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After an hectic pre season I was ready and excited to leave to Austria with my friend Vanessa Andrieux. We go there every year to find good snow condition, I was all packed, board and bags in my trunk and as i was driving back from Barcelona it started dumping everywhere, and by the time i was in Switzerland my home mountains were covered by a good 60cm of fresh snow ! This is when we both decided to join the Demonium base camp in les diablerets (definitely the best place to stay, hang, mini shred and skate up there) and shoot a couple things home before heading to the austrian mountains. We waisted the first day looking for features to shoot along the road and at 12pm, after 3 hours driving around for nothing, we decided to go up on the mountain and shred. luckily the place wasn’t totally tracked yet, I found a couple good friends at the first chair lift, they took me to the good spot and I got chest deep for my first run of the winter !! I can’t remember a better start of the season ever ! sik ! The next day we built a kicker with Eman, Damien, Nico and Tonton not too far from the road in a safe area as avalanche danger was quite high at that time. It was fun to be shaping a kicker already. The snow was deep in the landing, the sun was shining we had a good thermos with hot tea and good meet, cheese, bread and chocolate. Family style ! After that we joined Nicolas Droz in Chatel to get a couple shots, each day we were pushing the austrian destination a bit later and we finally never made it there. That’s when my friend Annie Boulanger called, there was no snow in whistler and she jumped in the plane to come shred with me.. I was so stoked to have her here because I m always the one going to canada or US and for once I got to show my place to a good friend ! as soon as she got off the plane we called Jonas Emery who could eventually give us heads up on the conditions where he was staying.. and we ended up staying at his place for a good 4 days.. We got sik tree runs in still really good snow on our first day and it dumped overnight !! We went to Verbier the next day, same thing, good tree pow runs under the cabin, and the great thing is that no one was on the slopes before christmas ! We joined Emilien Badoux the next day for the same luck with sunshine this time! After that we headed to my home resort with my both of my parents my cousin, my boyfriend and 2 other good friends with whom we shredded all weekend.. It really felt like christmas ! This last couple of weeks were such a blast, I got to practice some Quebecquien expressions, I got to shred for the fun of it which happens very rarely, i got to stay at my grand parents cabin and the conditions were fantastic ! That was definitely my best christmas present this year.. and i wish you just as much fun and good shred !  

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Amped & ready for our 3rd season of operations, Backcountry Snowcats, is giving you a chance to win a piece of the action. Located on the Hurley Pass north of Pemberton and south of the snowmobiling hub of Bralorne, Backcountry Snowcats has more epic ski & snowboard terrain than we know what to do with, and is always scheming new ways to get you to the goods. Hence the creation of their unique new Private Big Mountain Experience package - guiding small groups of 3-4 riders, with safety training and mountaineering techniques in the mix. Using Snow Cat access, sleds & ski touring to cover more ground, you're looking at an epic weekend of money lines. It’s an experience unlike anything you’ll find at other cat boarding or heli operations, and Backcountry Snowcats is looking forward to hosting the first takers this season.

To launch the new package and wet your appetite for winter, our 'Find The Money Line' Contest could be your ticket to $1000 in Backcountry Snowcats credit this winter. First explore the 15,000 acres of powdery bowls, chutes and glades with the new interactive maps, then Enter to Win.
Not a bad deal eh?

Someone is going to score $1000 towards a trip at Backcountry Snowcats, and you can chose to apply it to the package that suites you best. It’s enough to cover a 2-Day weekend trip, with 2 nights at the Backcountry Snowcats Lodge, snowmobile or Snow Cat rides to and from Pemberton, 2 days cat skiing/riding, and hearty catered meals during your stay. Or bring some friends and put the prize bounty towards a Private Big Mountain Experience or Custom Trip.

Check out our new site, enter the contest, and with any luck you’ll be shredding at Backcountry Snowcats this winter.



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Please Join Us!

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

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I woke up the other morning to the realisation that it's already the month of June. Which means that winter is less than six months away. One reason I suspect the time seems to have gone by so quickly is that, by most standards, the weather this spring has been rather sub-par with cooler than usual temperatures and lots of rain (let's save that precipitation for the winter folks). In the spirit of making the best of it, the Snowboard.Com east coast crew decided to end the month of May with a bang (from a boom stick) by taking in a musical.

The city of Toronto has a rather vibrant theatre scene. Which is not something you would expect snowboarders to notice but we can be highbrow once in a while too. Of particular interest, the Diesel Playhouse was putting on an adaptation of a classic cult zombie movie Evil Dead throughout the spring. When I tell people about it, they usually give me a strange "it's a musical about zombies?" look. I'm quick to point out that It can't possibly be any worse than the opera adaptation of An Inconvenient Truth (an opera about a PowerPoint presentation? Really?) Besides, how often can you say you've been to a musical and left covered in fake blood (I assume it's fake). It's like Shakespeare meets Gwar, how can this possibly suck?

The Ottawa contingent of the crew stayed at the Holiday Inn on King street, only two blocks away from the playhouse. Upon arriving, we shared the elevator with some nice ladies who were in town to see the Dirty Dancing musical at the Princess, and they asked us if we were there for the same reason. Based on my general appearance, I found this question somewhat odd. The look on their face was priceless once we told them we were going to see Evil Dead, and it led me to the conclusion that we probably wouldn't to be going down with them (in the elevator you perverts).

The East Coast Crew waiting to get Evil

After scattering to track down food and beer for later, it was time to meet up with the rest of the crew. Since we were all coming from different directions, and not everyone had actually met in person prior to this meet, the logistics of meeting up were a slight bit difficult. In fact, one of my road trip companions, Chris, called my cell to tell me he was going to meet one of the other members of the crew, also named Chris, whom he had never met previously. I said "you don't know what he looks like, how are you going to spot him on a downtown Toronto street?" His response: "He's a snowboarder." That's when it occurred to me that we snowboarders do live at a different pace than most people (skiers too). Especially in a metropolitan area such as Toronto where people seem to be in much more of a hurry and much more concerned about their image than in most places. I actually had faith, due in no small part to Chris' response, that my shred pals would have no problems finding each other. I was not mistaken, I caught up with the rest of the group in front of the hotel and we made our way to the playhouse.

The musical itself was extremely entertaining. Since it's based on the Evil Dead series of movies (Evil Dead , Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness), we were expecting a certain amount of camp, and this stage show was certainly full of it. It was done in the perfect self-effacing way which rendered it amusing rather than annoying. The actors even joked about how Spider-Man 3 was a horrible movie (Sam Raimi directed the Evil Dead movie). The highlight of the musical was the final battle at where Ash slayed all the zombies (sorry for the spoiler). I have never seen so much fake blood used in my life. It was squirting out of the walls all over the crowd. Fun times.

After the show, stoked on being evil, the crew got up to some pre-drinking at the hotel in preparation for painting the town red (with blood?). After getting nicely warmed up, we were off to find establishments to consume refreshments. Yet somehow this feat could not be managed without a tree being transplanted into the hallway to our hotel. Apparently alcohol turns people into landscapers.

After walking around for a while and ducking into a number of pubs for refreshments, along with some other random shenanigans, it was time to call it a night since the bars were closing. On the way back to the hotel, I received a text message from Chris saying that apparently someone was shot behind the princess theatre. They were cleaning up the scene as he was walking to meet his ride to Whitby. All this time, I was expecting that our musical would prove more violent than Dirty Dancing, which our lovely friends from the elevator were attending. Clearly I was mistaken on that count.

Puppet Jesus sitting at the top of the Big Apple in Colborne.

The following morning, we decided to locate a Golden Griddle we had seen the night before to have breakfast before we left. After fueling up on the all you can eat buffet and omelet bar, it was time to hit the road. On the way home, we decided to stop at the Big Apple in Colborne to buy some pies. This is where our trip took on a whole new dimension of cool when picked up an itinerant puppet with long hair, a beard, and some crazy ideas. That puppet turned out to be Jesus (or at least a very striking likeness thereof). The irony in all this is that we found him at a Big Apple which, if memory serves, is the forbidden fruit of the Genesis. Jesus was quick to participate in our road games of "hot or not" and was surprisingly good at it. Although I suppose I shouldn't be surprised since he is the son of god. In any case, Jesus is dope and he's certainly a good road trip companion, a fan of metal and a darn good dancer. When we first picked him up, he was rather subdued. Nathan even thought he was dead but we knew not to worry, "he'll be full of life in three days." It certainly didn't take three days, especially after a can of Saskatoon Beaver Buzz.

The Beaver Buzz turned out to be a bit of a mistake. Although tasty, it must contain some kind of super diaretic because it made me have to pull off the highway to pee. I was going to wait for the gas station restrooms until Jesus pointed out that the world is my gas station rest room. He's so wise. We finally made it home satisfied with our road trip shenanigans and happy for having found Jesus.

In sticking with my usual modus operandi of never walking away from an experience without learning something, here's what I learned this past weekend:

• Snowboarders are recognisable everywhere. They seem to have a different gate about them.
• Apparently the Dirty Dancing musical, counter to conventional wisdom, was much more violent that the Evil Dead musical... go figure.
• Jesus Saves... road trips. Although ours didn't need saving by any stretch. He sure made it more interesting. Keep your eye open for him, you never know where you might find Jesus.

Phew! Those are important life lessons indeed. Now I'm looking forward to my next live theatre excursion. Rumour has it that Monty Python's Spamalot is coming to Toronto in the fall, maybe I'll check that out. I'll be staying away from the Dirty Dancing musical though, that's much do violent for my sensibilities. In the meantime, I'm rejoicing in the fact that there's less than six months until winter and you can bet that I'm counting down the days.

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