Author Archives: Jill Adler

Utah Ski Season is On…Kinda

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 (photo by Ryan Freitas)

brighton

Brighton Resort on opening day 2012.

 

Unwilling to concede an inch, literally, Brighton Resort, is opening TODAY- For Free. Anyone desperate to make a few resort turns before tomorrow’s official opening can ride Brighton from 2-4 p.m. on the Majestic Lift’s Shoulder Run. “We went through the effort of making all this snow so we figured we might as well go for it,” said Brighton Spokesman Jared Winkler.

On trail there’s about 15-20 inches of manmade. “Off the groomed is about five inches of dust,” added Winkler. In other words STAY ON THE GROOMED.  It’s not worth wrecking yourself this early in the season. Tomorrow, expect the Explorer lift to open adding two more trails to Brighton’s skiing. Lift tickets are $37.

Solitude Resort also moved up their originally scheduled Nov. 14 opening day. Get your tickets to ski tomorrow for $39. Three lifts and four groomed runs will be accessed from the Moonbeam base area. “We started testing our snowmaking system to see if it was working during the last cold spell and it just kept staying cold enough to get four good nights,” said Henry Hornberger, vice president of mountain operations at Solitude Mountain Resort, in the Salt Lake Tribune. “This latest storm cycle has allowed us to run snowmaking around the clock for the last few days.”

Another factor in the early openings could be the 60-degree temps Salt Lake City will see starting tomorrow and running into next week. The resorts made a bunch of snow and I’m sure they would hate to see it all go to waste.

 

The rest of the gang is still waiting for bigger snows and bigger snow depths. Here’s what we have so far and all that can change the moment a whopping storm hits us:

Snowbird Ski Resort
Anticipated Opening Is November 20th.

Alta Ski Resort
Anticipated Opening Is November 22nd.
Brian Head Resort
Anticipated Opening Is November 22nd.
The Canyons Ski Resort
Anticipated Opening Is November 23rd.
Park City Ski Resort
Anticipated Opening Is November 23rd.
Powder Mountain Resort
Anticipated Opening Is November 29th.

Snowbasin Ski Resort
Anticipated Opening Is November 29th.
Deer Valley Ski Resort
Anticipated Opening Is December 7th.
Sundance Resort
Anticipated Opening Is December 13th.

Beaver Mountain Resort
Anticipated Opening Is December 13th.
Wolf Mountain Ski Resort
Anticipated Opening Is December 13th.
Eagle Point Resort
Anticipated Opening Is December 13th.

Doggy Treat Dangers. READ NOW!

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The news is on fire over hundreds of dogs dying from jerky treats made in China. Cats are also affected. The illness doesn’t discriminate among size, breed or age so toss the junk if you have it. More than 600 dogs have died and over 3,500 so far are sick. Supposedly, jerky treats from chicken, duck and sweet potato are doing the evil but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can’t pinpoint a specific brand or the causative agent.

Signs your pet has been infected may include vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, lethargy, or weakness. About 30 percent show signs of kidney failure or urinary problems.

For more information – please read:

Officials from the FDA need pet owners and veterinarians to report back on any issues with a pet to help figure out what and why this is happening. Testing for contaminants has led to zero results.

Report a problem in your dog here.
For details on this newest recall – go to New Dog Food and Treat Recalls.
Here is a list of other recent recalls:

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/health-alerts-pet-product-and-food-recalls-by-fda/page1.aspx

This is just a reminder for you to check the list frequently. You can also sign up here for email alerts of recalls.

Check Your Cupboards!

As soon as I heard about this recall I grabbed the bag of Zuke’s Mini Naturals I use to train Takoda. First, a big seal in the upper right corner says “Made in the USA”. Good. But because the FDA doesn’t require a company to list where each ingredient comes from I looked further down:

Chicken was the number one ingredient!

I consulted the Zuke’s website and found under the FAQ section:

All of our products are guaranteed made in the USA and all of the meat, fruit, and veggies are sourced from the USA as well (with the exception of the Rabbit and the Venison, which come from New Zealand).

Hallelujah!

zukes

My dog has learned tricks form basic obedience to ‘cover your eyes’ with the Mini Naturals. They have less than 4 calories per piece with wholefood antioxidants like cherries, rosemary and tumeric in them. Plus, Zuke’s donates a portion of every sale to the Dog and Cancer Fund. $2.99 on Amazon right now!

Another brand I use to treat my dog is Spring Naturals. He loves the Grain Free Treats made with turkey, salmon, chickpeas, spinach, blueberries, cranberries, flaxseed, apricots, dandelion greens, apples and molasses. “Every recipe is made with only select, market-quality ingredients from sources in the United States. So with the help of some very smart animal nutritionists who shared our passion for pets, Spring Naturals was born. Welcome to a fresh new era in pet nutrition.”

Sounds great to me…and him!

spring-naturals-turkey-salmon-treats

Ski Porn Review: Warren Miller’s Ticket To Ride

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Halfway through the first part of Warren Miller’s new ski flick, Ticket to Ride, my seven year-old daughter Sage leaned over and whispered, “Momma, will you let me miss a couple of days of school this winter so I can ski with you?” I smiled proudly, my heart tickled. I said, “Of course I will.”

Warren Miller comes through again. I didn’t really expect it from Sage…yet. In fact, just before we went into the screening at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah, she asked if she could play around in the lobby if she was bored.

Bringing on the stoke of the season, Warren Miller traditionally inspires people of all ages to dream of those epic days where they come down with the powder flu to miss work and school; where they buy that ticket to ride.

But was it Sage’s age that made the difference or did the vibe of this new installment change from past years? Sage has been to a WM screening ever season since she was born. And she has fidgeted, whined, complained, and slept through each film until now. I gotta say, Ticket to Ride reminded me more of that light-hearted, playful epitome of skiing that WM used to be before his son took over the biz. There was well-placed humor (thank God they dropped that stupid Yeti idea from last season) and even added a sequence that was a throwback to the old Miller flicks with classic crash footages and old Warren narrating. Sage was laughing with glee. She loved the ninjas and the soothsayer on the mountain too. These were a bit out there for me but when ski porn runs two hours (inc. intermission) you need silly stuff for the kiddos. You also need more scenes with kids in them, WM. Just saying.

Anyway, back to the movie itself. It was more fun than it has been since Jonny Mosely first came on board to narrate (2008). He’s still narrating but the writing and the delivery are better.

We got to see the athletes as people and characters while they visited places like the Alaskan Tordrillos, Switzerland’s Jungfrau, Iceland’s Troll Peninsula, Kazakhstan, Norway, and Montana. Intense segments like Chris Davenport skiing the West face of the Eiger and JT Holmes speed flying off massive cliffs drew you out of that “ho-hum it’s another jibfest” mentality.

There were no scenes from Utah’s backcountry and the stuff from Aspen and Mammoth went by as a rapid afterthought. The only true lower 48 showing came from Montana. My biggest criticism of these 21st-century WM films is the failure to label athletes and places. I get that this type of filmmaking is pay-to-play and if the payment comes from the state rather than the resort they won’t call out any particular areas but that does the audience a disservice. I want to know WHERE those skiers are- even if it’s the backside of Big Sky, out of bounds. I also want to know who is who. The athletes are always introduced in some random clip before they start skiing and once the skiing starts they all look alike. I waste the entire segment trying to figure out if that’s Sierra Quitiquit or Julia Mancuso by the clothes they’re wearing.

If you don’t really care, then you’re in luck. There’s an adequate mix of big mountain skiing, park and rail riding, humor and tree shots in Ticket to Ride to get the heart engaged and psyched for missing a day or two of school this winter.


2013 Ski Porn Ushers In Winter

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Growing up, Warren Miller stole the show as the harbinger of the ski season. Today, take a number. Have Go Pro and buds, and make a ski movie. More than 30 ski films will debut this winter. Here’s a look at just a handful of ski porn to watch for.

The Flicks-

Premiering this week in Salt Lake City, with appropriate sponsor fanfare, comes the 64th installment from Warren Miller Productions. Ticket to Ride takes athletes like Tyler Ceccanti, Keely Kelleher, Elyse Saugstad, Kaylin Richardson, Sierra Quitiquit, Jess McMillan, Andy Mahre, Pep Fujas, Tommy Moe and Rob Kingwill to the far reaches of snow at Big Sky, Mont., Greenland, Kazakhstan, Iceland and the Eiger.

 

Sorry, Utahns, there won’t be any epic pow sections sponsored by Ski Utah or Visit Salt Lake this year. Nor will there be those awesome free lift tickets to Canyons Resort Utahns have become accustomed to. Seems like the association with Vail Resorts has far-reaching effects. The good news is that Snowbird continues to sponsor the eight-night engagement with 2-for-1 lift tickets for all attendees and REI members get a free vintage Warren Miller download. The tour begins with an athlete press conference this Friday Oct. 11 and pre-film circus of vendor booths like Chaos Headwear tossing out and selling WME custom hats and poster signings outside of Salt Lake’s Abravanel Hall beginning at 6 p.m. An official after party at The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, follows the premiere.

Get your Ticket to Ride World Premiere tickets at REIs in Utah, ArtTix and Abravanel Hall box office. The movie replays on Saturday then moves to Orem and Ogden Oct. 15-17, and Park City Oct. 18-19.

MSP

Matchstick Productions took a severe detour from the usual faceshot frames to craft a ski documentary worthy of the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC. McConkey premiered October 5 in Shane McConkey’s home town of Squaw Valley, Calif., the ride continues in theaters nationwide through November and will be available for download on iTunes and Google Play starting October 8. “This story of an extreme BASE skier named Shane McConkey is serious, eye-opening stuff, the kind that allows you to forgive the Red Bull-commercial overtones. Those watching this movie have come away simply being moved by the guts and the athleticism, not to mention McConkey’s wrenching personal story,” wrote Los Angeles Times critic Steven Zeitchik. 

MSP will be back with the usual jibber dude antics next year with Days of My Youth.

TGR

Teton Gravity Research claims their latest- Way Of Life– is not only about the search for snow but how their athletes view the world. Do we really care? Ultimately, it’s about watching Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Sammy Carlson, Dash Longe, Todd Ligare, Angel Collison, Ian McIntosh, Dylan Hood, John Spriggs and others dart around Jackson Hole, Alaska, Austria, British Columbia and Mammoth Mountain, Calif.

 

Sherpas Cinema

Into the Mind hails from the filmmaker of the multi-award winning, All.I.Can. Canadian Dave Mossop is one of the few who’s both passionate about skiing and education. The film school graduate (University of Victoria) gets creative with an “Inception“-like exploration of dreams and death. It may sound over-the-head for most ski film addicts but don’t sell yourself short. There’s always room for thought amid the scenes of the sport athletes live and die by. “You can have the greatest single moment you can ever possibly have on Earth, or you could die. The film is really a meditation on the moment of choice you have before you potentially kill yourself in the mountains,” says Mossop.

 

Shades of Winter

Girl power is alive and well with the all-women ski flick Shades of Winter. Austrian skier Sandra Lahnsteiner’s third film follow freeriders like Rachael Burks, Caja Schoepf, Matilda Rapaport, Lorraine Huber, Keri Herman and Grete Eliassen as they throw down from Japan to Haines, Alaska.

 

Powderwhore

Utah’s homegrown ski moviemakers unveil their ninth backcountry opus with Elevation. Proving there’s skiing beyond the Wasatch, Andrew McClean, the Provo brothers, brothers Andy and Jason Dorais et al head for the Tordrillo Mountains, Alaska, the Cascades, and the Tetons. The flick is full of earn-your-turns propaganda but there’s no denying the energy and joy in their journey.

 

4FRNT Media

By 14, CR Johnson was winning local ski competitions in Tahoe and quickly making a name for himself. He entered the freeskiing world, friending the likes of Tanner Hall and other skiing icons. But in 2007, his career came to a screeching halt when, during a film shoot at Brighton Resort, he fell and was struck in the head by Kye Peterson. They were filming a sequence in which skiers rapid-fired off a jump. CR was wearing a helmet but was still knocked unconscious. He recovered and found the support of 4FRNT on his struggle back to the slopes. In honor of the final production year of the CRJ Signature Series skis comes CRJ: The Chronicle Of A Freeskiing Icon.

“CR Johnson was an inspiration to anyone who ever stepped into a pair of skis,” said 4FRNT film manager Austin Ramaley. 

Watch the whole film here-

 

Poor Boyz

Poor Boyz founder Johnny Decesare, along with Joe Schuster, Julien Regnier, Karl Fostvedt, and Sean Pettit go Tracing Skylines from the Alps’ Haute Route to Detroit. It’s really all about jibbing anywhere you can find it but there’s a whole generation of teenagers that will cheer for this sort of thing.

 

The rest of the pack:

Field Productions Supervention

Chaoz Prod. Head Straight

PVS Company Time

Sweetgrass Prod. Valhalla

The Radbots Brother Nature

Junkies on a Budget Sartori

Vital Films Insight

Stept Mutiny

Vproductions Alpha

Life Steez Media Earthshine

4BI9 All Damn Day

Level 1 Partly Cloudy

Legs of Steel The Lost

Headbud Daily Bread

Wordup Media Concrete Jungle

Unicorn Picnic Prod. Pretty Faces

 

Beware of Bambi

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Fall is here and, oh, how cool is it to spot wildlife alongside the road near your favorite mountain playground? Moose, deer, fox, even bears. You pull over to shoot a shot with your iPhone. But what if you don’t see Bambi before he jumps in front of your car to commit deer suicide?

According to stats from the Insurance Information Institute, there are 750,000 deer/car dances annually that result in at least 120 deaths a year (not sure if that’s human or four-footed). Even if your body gets out unscathed, the average cost to repair the fender bender is $2800.

Don’t get caught off guard. Here are some important tips to help you save a life.

  1. Don’t ignore those deer crossing signs. They’re there for good reason. Deer return to those spots year after year. These are usually places with woodlands, streams and golf courses.
  2. Be alert at dawn and dusk. Vision is already impaired. Don’t mess it up even more by eating, dialing or doing your makeup. More than 60 percent of all deer collisions happen between 6 a.m.-9 a.m. and 6 p.m.-10 p.m.
  3. High beams on. You’re more likely to spot animals in your periphery.
  4. Regularly eye the road from one side to the other.
  5. Slow down on rural roads. More animal-car collisions statistically occur on two-lane highways.
  6. There’s usually more than one. The Animal Protection Institute reported that 70 percent of accidents happen with the second animal.
  7. Honk your horn. Slamming the brakes may spook a deer right into the path of another car. When you honk it’s like telling them to get out of the road.
  8. Don’t brake if a hit is inevitable. There’s a better chance of you driving over the deer than if you slam on your brakes, the front end dives and the animal goes crashing into your windshield. Even better, brake then let your foot off right before impact. That way the nose of your car will actually lift up even more before impact.
  9. Try not to swerve. You see it in the movies all the time. The deer is left standing and you’re in ditch, wrapped around a tree. Better him than you.
  10. Be extra careful from October to December. Not only are more deer moving about but breeding season is Oct.-Jan. Males are oblivious to anything but mating. Also, hunters can scare them out of the woods and into traffic.
  11. Don’t rely on deer whistles and reflectors. There’s no statistical proof they work. That said, I had a set of Bell Deer Warning whistles on the front of my Hyundai Santa Fe and never hit a deer. For $7, they couldn’t hurt.

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