Author Archives: Jill Adler

SkiFi Defies The Notion That You Need A Ski Area To Ski

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Time for a ski teaser. Real Skifi 15: “Riding on nothing in Stockholm” demonstrates that you don’t need to wait for the chairlifts to turn (or snow to fall for that matter) in order to enjoy a good ski outing.

The Finnish skiing collective Real Skifi has been dubbed as some of the sports true
innovators. In Episode 15, they visit a snow free Stockholm, Sweden. This forces them to
be more creative than ever.

The Backstory

Real Skifi hails from Jyväskylä, Finland and consist of riders Verneri Hannula, Ilkka Hannula,
Juho Kilkki, director Janne Korpela, and filmer Anton Geier. Their quirky films are part of the urban skiing movement where cities become a creative playground.
A hallmark for the Real Skifi films has always been the crew’s relentless hunger for stretching the boundaries of where it is possible to ski. This ambition faced an extreme challenge when the riders found themselves in Stockholm completely without snow.

See how they overcame it in the film below.

 

 

Grandma’s Matzoh Balls Recipe

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Matzoh Balls

Again, I couldn’t find this recipe anywhere so here it is for you Matzoh balls fans:

 

3 eggs

6 Tbs Cold Club Soda

3 Tbs oil

pinch of ground wt pepper

pinch of salt (to taste)

1 tsp ground ginger

2/3-3/4 c. matzoh meal

2 1/2 – 3 c. Quarts chicken stock

 

Beat eggs lightly with club soda, add oil. Stir until well mixed.

Add salt and pepper. Gradually beat in the matzoh meal, a tablespoon at a time. When thickens to consistency of mashed potatoes, chill for 5-7 hours. Boil stock. With wet hands, make balls, drop gently into a medium brisk boil. Cover pot loosely and boil for 25 minutes.

Removed balls and store in fridge or freezer until you’re ready for Passover. Or throw in a variety of ingredients for matzoh ball soup right then and there.

Tickets On Sale For First Chair Festival

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We’re talking winter in August. Whaaaat? Screw summer. There are those that live for the white stuff; trailers for Warren Miller and TGR, gear previews from Powder Magazine, pre-season ski workouts; and the ability to purchase tickets for the first-ever First Chair Festival where all of your bro-brah peers will gather.

On Sept. 17, Powder and Newschoolers.com will bring all of the celebration into one venue on one day with ski film premieres, live music performances from Too Short and BoomBox, a pro rail jam on real snow, a giant gear sale, live fashion show, pro athlete meet & greets, a giant pop-up retail experience, food vendors, and craft beer.

First Chair Festival is the first, and only, skiing event of its kind in North America and it’s happening in Utah- The Complex at 500 W 100 S to be exact. Get ready to spend all day watching ski porn like Level 1 Productions’ “Pleasure” and Good Company’s “Vice Versa,” and watch top urban skiers compete over a two-story rail set up.

A giant retail experience with early season sales on gear, product giveaways, pro athlete appearances and autograph signings will round out the festivities in addition to plenty of food and full-service bars from the area’s best local vendors (21+ to drink). Organizers have yet to announce what bands will be performing  or what sponsors are involved but with a month to go, there’s plenty of time to gather a decent line-up.

Gates open to the giant block party at 1 p.m. and the whole thing closes down around 10 p.m.

Tickets are $20 before Sept. 16, 2016 and $25 at the door. VIP passes are $45/55 respectively.

                               

 

How To Clean Your Hydration Bladder

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If you can’t remember the last time you cleared and cleaned that reservoir in your backpack, this post is for you. And me. In my corner sits three yucky bladders. All because the idea of trying to dig around the inside of them with the impossible task of getting them slimefree was just too much. Such a waste. When I stopped by the Camelbak booth at this year’s Outdoor Retailer Show, I just had to ask.

 

Camelbak’s Director of Product Development John Austen knows a thing or ten about keeping your bladder good to go for years.

 

 

To Reiterate:

 

1- Wash your reservoir every few months if you use it regularly. If you put anything other than water in it, then clean after each use.

2- Open, drain and wipe. If deep cleaning use dissolving tablets or a bleach or lemon juice/water mixture.

3- Hang dry with the tube. Get a clamp to open the reservoir up.

4- Roll it up, close it up and stick in your freezer.

Ta Dah!

 

 

 

 

Vail Makes Epic Move; Buys Whistler

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Courtesy Whistler Blackcomb Resort

photo courtesy Whistler Blackcomb Resort

Vail Resorts just got more “epic”. In its march for (ski) world domination, the ski industry giant today announced they are buying Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia. They will pay $513 million cash and $543 million in stock when the deal closes this fall. When it’s all said and done this will be one of the most expensive resort purchases of all time.
“Combining Whistler Blackcomb with Vail Resorts’ portfolio of outstanding resorts provides Whistler Blackcomb with increased financial strength, marketing exposure, guest relationships. It broadens the geographic diversity of our company with resorts across the United States, as well as in Australia and Canada,” said Dave Brownlie, Whistler Blackcomb’s chief executive officer.

The VR Portfolio

VR’s mountain collection is now up to 13- Colorado’s Vail and Beaver Creek, Breckenridge (second in skier visits to Vail), Keystone; California’s Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood, and Utah’s Park City/Canyons, the nation’s largest ski resort. VR also owns Perisher ski resort in Australia, Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin, Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan, operates the RockResorts hotel brand, and a number of golf icourses in the U.S. and Caribbean.

With this latest acquisition, VR is the largest ski resort operator in the world. The move could put a chink in the armor that is Liftopia’s popular Mountain Collective. The MC sprouted as an alternative to the astronomically rising costs of both lift tickets and season passes. It became a direct competitor of VR’s Epic Pass; offering skiers and boarders an affordable way to ski several resorts in a season. Whistler/Blackcomb was part of the MC roster. “We just learned about the sale an hour ago so we are waiting for communication as to what this means for our customers,” said an MC rep. It’s doubtful that Whistler will straddle both pass offerings.

Vail Is Psyched

“Whistler Blackcomb is one of the most iconic mountain resorts in the world with an incredible history, passionate employees and a strong community. With our combined experience and expertise, together we will build upon the guest experience at Whistler Blackcomb. We will preserve the unique brand and character of the resort as an iconic Canadian destination for guests around the world. We are delighted to add such a renowned resort to Vail Resorts and look forward to expanding our relationships in the Sea-to-Sky community, British Columbia and Canada,” said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts.

Mr. Brownlie added, “We will also continue our discussions with the Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations, on whose traditional lands we operate. The business partnership will benefit our communities, our province and our company for decades to come. Our board of directors has also been monitoring the unique challenges facing the broader ski industry due to the unpredictability of year-to-year regional weather patterns. Whistler Blackcomb, with its unprecedented acreage of high alpine terrain and Glacier bowls, is well positioned, but by no means immune to these challenges.”

Whistler, by joining VR and its geographically diverse group of ski areas, should be insulated from the “red”. If one area suffers from a bad snow year, the others will pick up the slack; an attractive proposition for stock holders and Epic Pass holders.

VR says they intend to maintain the majority of Whistler Blackcomb employees. They say this transaction won’t affect the day-to-day operations at the resort, however, that wasn’t the case with Park City and Canyons. VR called nearly all of the upper level management into one room and summarily dismissed them.

Whistler Season Passes

The 2016/17 season pass options remain unaffected by the news but look for big changes for next season. Whistler Blackcomb will become part of the Epic Season Pass and other season pass products for 2017-18.

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