Author Archives: Jill Adler

Pets And “Presents” to Avoid This Xmas

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Everyone looks forward to the holiday season, even our furry family members. But what’s good for kids and Santa can kill our best friends. Here are some tips for a petsafe holiday:

COOKIES, CANDY, CHOCOLATE, HOLLY, MISTLETOE AND POINSETTIAS– These things taste great to everyone but in animals they can cause agitation, vomiting, diarrhea, high heart rate, tremors, seizures and even death.


HOLIDAY DECORATIONS – Not only will a pet make a mess if they get into these but eating tinsel, ribbon and similar decorations can cut up the digestive tract and cause intestinal obstruction. Ornaments should be kept off low-lying Christmas tree branches.

ALCOHOL– It’s not funny getting Fido drunk. Alcoholic drinks may cause vomiting, disorientation, diarrhea, lethargy, lack of coordination, difficulty breathing, tremors, coma and seizures.

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS– Sugarless gum and artificially sweetened treats may cause vomiting, lethargy, loss of coordination, seizures and liver failure.

MACADAMIA NUTS AND WALNUTS– These nuts can cause severe lethargy, increased body temperature, vomiting, tremors, joint stiffness and the inability to walk.

GRAPES, RAISINS, AVOCADOS, ONIONS, TOMATOES AND GARLIC–  These foods are deadly to dogs. They can cause lethargy, lack of appetite and vomiting.

FATTY TRIMMINGS AND BONES– Pets may experience vomiting and diarrhea. Fatty foods can also promote pancreatitis. Swallowed bones can cause stomach perforation and painful constipation.

ELECTRICAL CORDS– If chewed, live electrical cords can cause burns in or around a pet’s mouth, difficulty breathing, seizures and cardiac arrest.

LIGHTS AND CANDLES – This is more of a fire hazards that an internal concern. Keep them out of reach of pets (and kids for that matter).

FOR SUSPECTED POISONING, CONTACT THE ASPCA POISON CONTROL HOTLINE: (888) 426-4435.

Canada is Too Darn Cold

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I didn’t think it was physically possible to step out into -32 degree temps without crying from pain. The sky was a brilliant blue, clouded only by my breath as I clicked into my bindings. This weekend has been brutally cold. We live right now to watch the outside go by as we stay warm in the gym, with drinks like the Glacier Warmer and down duvets inside the Chateau Lake Louise.

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I skipped cross-country skiing yesterday because 1) I don’t like to xcountry; 2) I didn’t want to put that much torque on my newly healed foot and 3) it was just too damn cold. The Canadian Rockies-and me, personally- are seeing record lows. I thought anything below -10 was reserved for treks to Everest basecamp. I suppose that you hit a point where the cold all feels the same and it’s just the amount of time you survive in it that makes the difference between -10 and -32.

But I had to sack up and go outside. It wasn’t going to get any warmer during my stay and I really wanted to see the mountain.

IMG_0586Lake Louise was recently voted best resort in Canada and one of the top three resorts in the world. I had to make at least one run. Plus, the ladies World Cup downhill was scheduled for today. If they could get after it, so could I.

I donned a pair of thick fleece tights, soft shell ski pants underneath a wind and water proof shell pant. On top, I had a fleece sport bra, a thin base layer, a fleece sweater and a fleece pullover all underneath a down Helly Hansen jacket. I used toe and hand warmers, a thick neck gaiter, balaclava and even stuck a toe warmer inside the top of my helmet. I was as ready as I’d ever be. “This isn’t so bad,” I thought as I rode the lift. The gondola was still closed due to the cold.

IMG_0533Rob Story, Dan Markham and I slid onto the groomer. Dan said this was low snow for the time of year so we were stuck on the groomers. The terrain was hard, fast and crunchy under my rental skis. I wasn’t looking forward to flying down the hill with a bitter wind gripping my face but oh well. I could feel my cheeks and forehead go white. So far the fingers and toes went unaffected. At the bottom, the gondola was running so we took shelter inside. All it took was about 10 seconds on the next run to remind me that this was no average day out. I lost circulation in my right big toe and all feeling in my thumbs. Still we pressed on. One more gondola ride and it was straight into the VIP tent for a mocha and coffee-flavored Patron shot.

After lunch and a witnessing of Lindsey Vonn’s ‘comeback’ (her run put her in 5th place after a meager 40th yesterday) Rob and I motivated each other into a journey to the Top of the World. Two six-minute chairlift rides and hell did freeze over. I was done skiing in one run. I couldn’t feel my hands. I had to pull my fingers out of their pockets and bunch them around the hardwarmers with my poles dangling around my wrists for the entire way to the bottom. It was a race to warmth. I grabbed my boot bag and charged for the shuttle door. Back at the Chateau Lake Louise I had tunnel vision. My bathtub drew me in. It took over an hour for me to feel warm up again. And to know that I will never ever want to climb Everest.

Sundance Kids

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Proving you don’t have to be edgy to be a Sundance Film, a new slate of kids options will debut this January at the Sundance Film Festival. The Sundance Kids program is being launched in conjunction with the Utah Film Center’s Tumbleweeds Film Festival.

“This unique collaboration between the Utah Film Center and Sundance Institute is a great opportunity to elevate the profile of international and independent films for kids,” said UFC’s Patrick Hubley. “We launched our Tumbleweeds programming four years ago with the goal of fostering the next generation of filmmakers and film fans, and we hope this programming will inspire the creativity and imaginations of young film-goers not only in Utah but across the country.” UFC’s Tumbleweeds Film Fest features content for children and teens and is the only one of its kind in the intermountain west.

This January, kids 8 and older will have the chance to see the world premiere of “Ernest & Celestine,” a film about a mouse who forms an unlikely bond with a bear, and the U.S. premiere of “Zip & Zap and the Marble Gang,” a movie about twin brothers who uncover a hidden secret at school.

“The addition of Sundance Kids allows us to engage younger audiences around the power of independent film,” said Trevor Groth, the festival’s director of programming.

The 2014 Sundance festival runs Jan. 16-24 with films, documentaries and shorts in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and at the Sundance Resort. Visit sundance.org/festival for more information about screening dates, times and locations.

Powder Awards Winners and The Morning After Hit Snowbird

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They got kind of buried among the hype surrounding the Sundance Film Festival last year so this year Powder Magazine stepped out of the shadows with their own blowout tonight in Salt Lake City.

 

The 14th Annual Powder Awards at The Depot downtown celebrated the best in cinematography, photography, and athletic achievement in ski films at The Depot downtown.

 

Congrats to Sweetgrass Productions‘ Valhalla for Movie of the Year. Tim Durtschi won Best Male Performance in TGR’s Way of Life, and Elyse Saugstad took Best Female for her work in TGR’s Co-Lab. Sherpa Cinema’s Into The Mind won for best cinematography and McConkey
was named Best Documentary.

 

“This was one of the most challenging years to be a judge of the Powder Awards,” says POWDER Editor John Stifter. “Between Best Jib and Best Line alone, we had more deliberation with the panel than ever. It really speaks to the high level of skiing and cinematography in our sport.”

 

In addition to recognizing ski porn and pro athletes, the Powder Awards also showcased readers’ favorite skiers with the annual Powder Poll. Seth Morrison and Ingrid Backstrom rose above the rest. Click here for all of the results.

 

It makes sense to hold the event in Utah where the best of the best not only patron but park it. The Powder Awards attract a who’s who of the industry, including professional skiers, ski legends, ski film production crews, industry brands, media, and celebrities and they’ll be at Snowbird tomorrow for the Morning After sesh.

 

The day appropriately begins at the crack of noon Saturday, December 7, where you can rub elbows with your favorite athletes and filmmakers on the Tram Plaza or even stalk them on the hill. There’s a BBQ and DJ music planned until 2:30 and “the largest athlete signing in the world” at 3 p.m. Dress warmly. The forecast calls for a high of 10 degrees in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Banff, Brrs and the Canadian Rockies

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I wore my Athleta tights, Kuhl dress and ‘broken-foot ‘ for the occasion. There’s just something fancy and girly about the Fairmont Hotels but with this particular outfit I was both girly and mountainy- even with the boot. The boot was to get me through the long-ass walk from Delta’s check-in to the international B Gates. I’m walking (and skiing) but the foot still throbs and slows me down when I’m walking on it for too long. It also doesn’t hurt getting pushed through security in a wheelchair and being first on the plane.

The dress didn’t clash with the boot, btw. I was on my way to the Banff Springs Hotel tucked up in the Canadian Rockies and I wanted to dress for the occasion. After all, I was staying in a castle. Plus, the flight was a surprisingly short 2.5 hours from Salt Lake City to Calgary. I wouldn’t need sweats to be comfortable.

Delta’s direct on a Skywest Canadian Air Jet was nothing like my trip to San Diego last week. First, I arrived two hours before takeoff as per the international directions (actually it said three hours but come on, no one needs three hours on a Thursday?) rather than the 10 minutes to door close on the SD flight. My heart didn’t stop pounding for that trip till we landed. Second, the amazingly nice gate agent upgraded me to an economy comfort seat today meaning that my knees wouldn’t have to be glued to my chest. Only one hour more and I could have been skiing in Canada rather than eating Turkey with Mom and Dad, I considered.

Of course, my bag barely made it on- 49 pounds. The weather forecast in Banff is no warmer than in Utah. Minus 6 as a high! I packed for layers upon layers. Without a man’s “fur” or a thick ring of winter fat, I am woefully unprepared for this cold. In went the climate-control Helly Hansen outfit, the wool Krimson Klover tights, the mile-high stack of hand warmers, Kamik boots that I pretty much wear only to snowmobile, thick neck gaiters, etc. I still won’t be warm enough. You would think that I would leave the frigid temps of Park City, Utah, for a warm, sunny plot of sand somewhere. But it’s finally ski season. The waves can wait.

I called the rental shop in Lake Louise last night. They’re not letting their high performance demos out until they get more snow. That’s not a good sign. I had heard they were getting more snow than us? Maybe that’s B.C. (British Columbia) and not this region. Calgary is more middle-west Canada. B.C. is the west coast where the snow can turn to rain and slush in an instant; where the mountains are rockier and the temps are warmer.

But I was able to talk them out of a pair of Salomon Q105s. Looking forward to testing those. I told them I was a ski instructor on a media fam and I would not thrash them. I’d rather not haul around my gear (other than boots) even though Delta allows a ski bag and boot bag to count as your one checked bag. The problem with depending on a ski rental shop in another resort to provide you comparable gear is depending on them to provide you with comparable gear. I’m 5’6″ but ski above an intermediate. Rarely does a shop have a beefy ski in my size (170-175) or- if they do- they have one pair that’s already been rented. Since I’m the first to take these skis out this season, I was in luck. The Dynastar’s stay home in my garage.

We’re landing. More to come.

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