Author Archives: Jill Adler

Another Crappy Utah Ski Season? La Nina to Strike Again

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canyons resort during La nina

Seriously? Climate forecasters are calling for a third shitty ski season in a row for Utah. El Nino, will you please put Baby in the corner?! If you live in the Beehive state and live for winters, you might want to rethink your plans for the 22/23 season.

Not only is this bad news for skiers but next summer’s water babies too. Utah’s most popular watering holes like Flaming Gorge, Lake Powell, and the Great Salt Lake reached all-time lows this summer and, without a decent snowpack for 2023, the paddler’s future looks pretty bleak.

Why Does La Nina Torment Utah?

It’s no surprise that global warming and climate change have taken its toll on the world’s ski resorts and things don’t seem to be getting any better. Weather forecasters are going out on a limb already and predicting that the bitch is back. Usually La Nina’s occur every 3 to 5 years and not normally on successive years. However, La Niña conditions will bring around another warm, dry winter to the western part of the U.S. for the third time in a row! Remember last ski season (if you can even call it that)? The latest NOAA outlook says there’s more than an 80 percent chance of that happening again from November to January.

What is El Nino

According to Climate.gov, El Niño and La Niña are the warm and cool phases of a recurring climate pattern across the tropical Pacific. With El Nino, you get a warming of the ocean surface in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that brings increased rain to that area. Winds that normally blow from east to west along the equator (“easterly winds”) weaken or start blowing “westerly”.

In California in the 80s, we lived for El Nino. Even now, an El Nino forecast would make a Sierra skier swoon. In fact, five of the top eight El Ninos since 1966 produced at least 170 percent of normal snowfall.

Where The Snow Will Be in 2022/23

If La Nina shows her ugly face, all is not lost for Utahns as long as you have an Ikon pass. The Pacific Northwest will be cooler and wetter along with Southern and interior Alaska. Perhaps start saving up for that epic Alaska heli excursion in April?

All Is Not Lost

There is yet another pattern besides El Nino and La Nina and that’s called Neutral. During a Neutral phase, conditions in the ocean and the atmosphere are near average and all bets are off. So far, Neutral looks to be our best hope.

Climate.gov states that there have been 24 La Niña winters in our historical record. Of those, only one (2016–17) changed to neutral in December–February. And guess what, Folks? Brighton reported nearly 700 inches of snow that season!

Four other La Ninas transitioned to neutral in January–March and one (2000–01) by February–April. Forecasters and computer models right now are fairly confident of a La Nina until at least February 2023 but several models do hint that La Niña will transition to neutral in January–March. If that happens it will only be the fifth time in 73 years. Maybe it won’t be too late to save Utah’s winter.

Epic Snow

In Person Sundance Is Back!

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Sundance Film Festival Marquee

The Sundance Institute today announced their initial plans for an in person Sundance for 2023, taking place from January 19-29, 2023.

First and foremost is their priority of bringing the film community back together with actual butts in seats to watch and experience next year’s culture-shaping stories. Therefore, the Sundance Film Festival begins in person, in Utah in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, on January 19 and runs through the 29th. The first weekend will be in-person only but then beginning the following Tuesday, January 24, the Festival expands to online with select films.

The digital side will offer an on-demand, curated selection of feature films from the 2023 Festival, including all competition titles (U.S. Dramatic, U.S. Documentary, World Cinema Dramatic, World Cinema Documentary, and NEXT), as well as other sections of the feature film program, alongside episodic work and short films.

Audiences globally can experience a regenerated edition of New Frontier that tunes to today’s times, emphasizing independent artistic practice and environmental engagement at the crossroads of film, art, and new media technology. New Frontier will feature a cutting-edge lineup of multimedia works and keynote discussions on a bespoke spatialized digital platform beginning January 24 when the online portion of the Festival kicks off.

“We are excited to bring the Sundance community together for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, a celebration of independent filmmaking. After two years of being apart, our priority is reuniting in person, while still sharing bold new films with audiences across the country through online access,” said Joana Vicente, CEO of the Sundance Institute.

“The health and safety of the Sundance Institute staff, artists, volunteers, and audiences remain of the utmost importance to the Institute. We are continuing to work with our COVID-19 safety team and are following all CDC guidelines.” All staff and volunteers working the Festival will be required to mask and test weekly. Attendees will be encouraged to wear masks in all Sundance Film Festival spaces to keep themselves and other Festival community members safe.

Program Submissions are currently open. They close on the following dates: Feature film submissions close September 5 (official) and September 26 (late), 2022. Short film submissions close September 5 (late), 2022. New Frontier submissions close September 9 (late), 2022. Episodic content submissions closed August 26 (official) but late submissions have until September 12, 2022. Details on applications, including frequently asked questions, are available here.

Information on ticket packages and venues will be announced in late September. Stay up to date at festival.sundance.org, and visit lodging.sundance.org to help plan your stay at the Festival.

Protect Your Flight Rights

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Delta Airplane in the air

Most of us who travel bunches know that if an airline messes with your flight, you don’t have to bend over and take it. At its most basic, federal law makes an airline that cancels or significantly changes your flight give you a full cash refund. It’s your basic flight rights as a passenger who trusts these airlines with your money, time and safety. But so many of you don’t have the patience and will to fight these big guns….until now. The US Department of Transportation (DOT) is “proposing to codify its longstanding interpretation that it is an unfair business practice for a U.S. air carrier, a foreign air carrier, or a ticket agent to refuse to provide requested refunds to consumers when a carrier has cancelled or made a significant change to a scheduled flight to, from, or within the United States, and consumers found the alternative transportation offered by the carrier or the ticket agent to be unacceptable.”

Ticket Type Is Irrelevant

Whether it’s basic economy or first class, refundable or non; if you’re flying from the US to Europe or an American carrier or foreign jet; it’s the airline’s fault or an act of god; you personally bought your ticket or used Expedia; if the airline sends you fine print that you are only entitled to a voucher on their airline, the Department of Transportation will put its boot right up their arse. If your airline cancels or significantly alters your flight and you want to walk away, you’re entitled to your cash back.

It’s in the language

So how does an airline get away with keeping your money? Well, basically they get to decide what’s “significant”. According to Scott’s Cheap Flights, United Airlines quietly changed their policy to claim that any delay less than 25 hours was not significant. I don’t know about you but forcing me to sit tight for over a day when I have plans on the side other, might miss a connection to Bangkok or my bus group to Jordan, or a myriad of other complications, is definitely significant.

Or what if you booked a flight and a last-minute pandemic made you feel less than secure to travel. Cough cough. Usually, you’d only get a voucher for a future flight that expired before you had a chance to use it or before the air was clear.
Flight Times Are Changing
What airlines have been up to lately- cancelling, rerouting, no notice, saying whoops sorry, you’re SOL, is unacceptable. Time to speak up.
You have 90 days to let the DOT know you’re not cool with what’s been going on lately and that you want change. Here is the proposal – Regulations.gov
A public comment period has just opened up to get feedback on these latest airline regulations and when the 90-day public comment period ends, what the DOT decides won’t just be a rule; it’ll most likely be law.
Wondering What Your Flight Rights Should Be?
Here are some the things to note:
1) Cash refunds when your flight is delayed by 3 hours (domestic) or 6 hours (international) no matter what your ticket type.
2) Meal vouchers for delays over 3 hours. Hotel vouchers when delays cause overnight stays.
3) Define “significant”. Three or more hours on a domestic flight or 6+ hours on an international flight.
4) Non-expiring vouchers. Whether it’s a pandemic, bump, cancellation or the pilots are drunk. You get a voucher that doesn’t expire. And if an airline goes belly up making the vouchers obsolete, you get a cash refund.
5) If you’re on a plane and it’s delayed takeoff for more than an hour, you get to get off and have them book you on the next available flight to your destination. No more holding passengers hostage. If it’s not until the next day that you can travel, they pay for food and hotel. If it’s on another airline, they use your money to pay for that new ticket and they cover any difference.
6) Fill in the blank. It’s your turn to speak up. Don’t waste it. Let’s make the skies friendly again.

The Mountains by Denis Barbas

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People are always asking me “Why are you always in the mountains? Don’t you get tired of it?” Hope this videos answers that question and explains why extreme adventurers do what they do and what the mountains mean to them.

Music from – https://bit.ly/3yhoLw6 Cinematic Luts – https://denisbarbas.gumroad.com/l/ZTBlX DJI Mavic 3 Cinematic Luts – https://bit.ly/3AQTov0 Vintage Film Overlays – https://bit.ly/34Sag93 Mobile Cinematic Luts – https://denisbarbas.gumroad.com/l/XewYR

Utah’s Big Gear Show Concludes

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big gear show overlook

And that’s a wrap for the second annual (?) Big Gear Show. The outside off shoot that sprung up at Deer Valley last year after the Outdoor Retailer Show in Denver drove major outdoors brands to flee the Colorado Convention Center is starting to find its footing. Even more brands than last year turned out to appreciate the ability to connect with outdoor shop buyers and media.

big gear show booths

Brands like Mountain Hardwear and Black Diamond joined more than 200 gear manufacturers in the lower parking lot of Deer Valley to showcase their 2023 lines to prospective and current retailers. It was an opportunity not only to see what will be in stores like REI and Sportsmans Warehouse but to feel them as well. You could demo trail running shoes from Adidas by jogging the singletrack above the Lodges, take eBikes to Main Street or float a kayak in the Deer Valley pond. Paddle brands like Aquaglide and Solstice settled along the edge of the water just like in days past when the Utah Outdoor Retailer Show hosted their “demo day” at Pineview Reservoir.

deer valley pond

Attendees to this year’s BGS noted the relaxed atmosphere, the bigger selection of gear brands over the inaugural year and the congruency of hosting an outdoors experience outdoors instead of in a convention center. It certainly wasn’t busier than the ghost-like aisles of the OR convention but organizers are taking feedback and making changes to move in that direction. Parking, however, could be an issue in the future if that happens. This year, the lots of DV filled up by 10 a.m. and people took to the sides of public streets.

Several Utah-connected brands made a showing for the two-day event including Camp Chef, Petzl, Magnum Bikes, Uncharted Supply Company, Hydrapak, Goal Zero, Liberty Mountain, Scott Sports, POC, Klymit, Peak Refuel, Black Diamond Equipment, Chums. Missing from the roster though were Altra, Lowa Boots, Coalatree, Kuhl, Cotopaxi, Gregory Mountain Products, Lizard Skins, Lone Peak Packs, Cypher Climbing, and Salomon.

utah beer at the big gear show

Like the OR Show demo day (which is coming back to Utah this January!), the Big Gear Show gives attendees that hands-on session with the brands. We took a sunrise trail run with Uncharted Supply Co’s Christian Schauf and Utah Olympic Nordic gold medalist Billy Demong off Guardsman’s Pass to test Uncharted’s Park Pack hip back and hiked to DV’s Royal Street Cafe with wearing Mountain Hardwear’s butter-soft Crater Lake Tank and Scarpa’s Ribelle Run trail runners.

scarpa trail running shoes

No one’s pontificating on the future of the BGS now that the OR is returning but those who attended seemed to enjoy the slower pace, the less-hurried meets with buyer and the mountain breezes wiggling their tents. I do have to say that for an outdoor event I was sadly sunburned after expecting at least a dozen sunscreen brands to attend and not a one could be found. Really, Guys, how can you play outside without sunscreen? Perhaps next year.

Ski Play Live TV at the Big Gear Show

Let’s meet some of the brands who attended-

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