Category Archives: Outdoor News

Sports Guide RIP?

Got the news this afternoon. No more Sports Guide. At least not this year. The publisher said something about a wait and see position “Due to the down turn in the economy that has severely affected advertising sales…We are in the process of evaluating our options for 2009 and will announce our plans as soon as possible.” We’ve tabled the first issue of the winter! šŸ™ They say maybe next year…. we could go exclusively online, come back monthly, bi monthly, bi annually. We don’t know and I don’t want to really say much about this as, well, you never know.
Unfortunately, the writing has been on the wall for some time and Dan (owner of Mills Publishing) wants to stop the bleeding. Despite having a worthy publication that met the needs of a sporty community like Utah, there was no love coming from the advertising department or advertisers and so it stopped making financial sense for now.
I wondered out loud if they would put the mag up for sale (so that maybe someone could turn it around and rescue a state treasure; this pub has been around for 25 years!) and was told no. They “wanted the option of reviving it themselves.” Hmmm. It won’t do them any good though. I once asked a NY magazine consultant to look at some issues and provide feedback and constructive criticism. He said the content was spot-on for our audience but it was obvious the designer(s) had no idea what they were doing and should be fired. Of course, I couldn’t repeat this! šŸ˜‰
Unless someone there spends some serious cash for a consultant, a new designer with magazine experience and without a chip on their shoulder, a website guru and a dedicated sales rep, simply a new editor won’t save them. There will ultimately be no difference and, hence, no moneymaker.
Maybe there’s someone out there with foresight, disposable income and a brilliant business plan that could make Dan Miller an offer he couldn’t refuse?? Ben Warner? John Bresee? Where are you guys?! A Utah pub dedicated to year-round adventure sports, that highlights how-tos, gear, health and community recreation news is definitely marketable. It could easily expand to include the intermountain west and not just Utah. It could thrive like gangbusters on the web and with the right tweaking become instantly viral- expecially if you add video blogs and such. Uh Oh, looks like someone saw the promise. I hear Outdoor Utah Recreation Guide is set to launch their own outdoor rec magazine. A quarterly magazine that’s everything Sports Guide was (and probably more)! http://www.outdoorutah.com/index.php?/Newsflash/New-Outdoor-Magazine-to-be-Launched-in-Utah.html
Sports Guide will continue to have a web presence but we’ll see how far that goes. I wish I knew more about marketing on the web or I’d find the solutions myself. Unfortunately, I have ideas and great editorial skills – if I do say so myself šŸ˜‰ – but need someone else to figure out the sales end. And now I’m without a title. Jill Adler, Sports Guide Editor, no more.
It wasn’t that much work (40 hrs/mo) or that much $$ so I can’t say that I’m going to feel the loss financially. But I’ve been writing for SG for 10 years and editing for nearly five. I’ll miss it. I loved the audience, the work and what it stood for. It displayed a way of life; my way of life and those of my friends and fellow skiers, climbers, hikers, bikers and plain voyeurs. Not enough people turned its pages in enough time to keep it alive. What am I going to do now? Same old. I’m an Associate Editor for OnTheSnow.com and still the freelance writer I’ve always been- Salt Lake Magazine, Sunset Magazine, Flipside Newspaper, Utah Health, etc. On the bright side, I’m back at work on my Utah Dog Hikes book due out by Outdoor Retailer 2009; just had an audition for an IHC commercial with my current commercial running on air as we speak. I’ve got a piece due tomorrow for MSN.com (not nearly as controversial as the Wife’s Bill of Rights piece though!) and six ski states still to cover for Mountain News; many more restaurant reviews and updates for Gayot.com. When ski season starts, I’ll do more ski modeling and broadcasting. Always keeping busy. However, ideally, I’d like to add a regular proofreading gig to the pot to replace those 40 hours each month and keep me garage saling next summer. If anyone knows of a newspaper, magazine, website or manufacturer that could use me to massage their copy, PLEASE, send them to my website. In the meantime, I’m going to take a hot bath in my brand new jetted tub, make a cup o’ hot cocoa and watch today’s recording of “As The World Turns.”

Sports Guide Magazine, Rest In Peace, 10/08/2008.

P.S. This would have been the cover of our next issue. šŸ™ Sorry, Ritchie (Cheski Photography). We tried!

Snowbird Winds Down

I made it to Snowbird before it was too late. The last “regular” Sunday of the season brings out all of the local riff-raff (The Bird will be open weekends through Memorial Day). Like the final day at Alta where the crowd gathers on top of High Rustler, core riders arrived at the top of Hidden Peak to party and celebrate what has come to be one of the biggest powder seasons of the decade. Beer, barbecues, buddies. As a fitting close, the sunny skies crowded in and squeezed out a shower of heavy, wet snow for my run. With the Peruvian side now off limits, I made my way through the thick waves of resort slush, alternately zipping and stopping as the softer sections grabbed my ski bases then released them. As I wound down Regulator, every turn echoed the epic runs of the season – at Snowbasin. Alta, Solitude, Tahoe, Park City, The Canyons, Jackson. This was going to be a very long summer.

Snowbird Announces Earliest Opening Ever

More than six feet of snow hit mid-mountain allowing Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort to open two weeks ahead of schedule. Mark the date: Friday, Nov. 5.

“In more than 30 years in Little Cottonwood Canyon, I can’t remember an October with this much snow,” said Snowbird President Bob Bonar. “I wish we could open earlier but we’re getting employees trained and the mountain ready as fast as possible.”

Snowbird will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 5-7, with the Tram, Gadzoom and Wilbere chairlifts. To facilitate employee training and mountain set-up, Snowbird will be closed Nov. 8-11 then re-open for the duration of the season on Friday, Nov. 12.

The early-season ticket price will be $45/day. The Tram and lifts will operate under standard winter hours.

“The forecast is looking like we’ll receive several more feet of snow this week,” said Snowbird Snow Safety Director Peter Schory. “We hope to have the Cirque ready for skiing and riding on opening day.”

A Nov. 5 opening date will be the earliest in Snowbird’s 33-year history and would stretch Utah’s longest ski resort season to almost seven months.

To see the latest conditions at Snowbird, go to www.snowbird.com.

Brighton’s Earliest Opening in 21 YEARS!!

Brighton Resort opens this Friday, Oct. 29, at 9 am with an unusually large portion of terrain available and the earliest opening date since 1983. With 54 inches of snow mid-mountain and 31 inches at the base, Brighton’s Opening Day will be phenomenal.

Terrain for all levels of skiers and riders will be available on the NEW Majestic Quad, Crest Express, Snake Creek and Explorer chairs. The $35 lift ticket is added incentive. This reduced rate will continue until more terrain becomes available. Even at $41, the regular day ticket price, Brighton Resort continues to be a bargain. Kids 10 and under ski or ride FREE.

This season, Brighton introduces our new Majestic Quad which replaces the antiquing 1955 double chair. This change means quicker, more comfortable access to the heart of the resort.

I’m making turns on Friday! See you there.

Ski Season’s Here Soon; Are You Ready?

The call came three weeks before September 8. I was going to Las Lenas, Argentina, for (their) spring skiing. The Extremely Canadian World Tour had space. Wahoo! I thought. Then, Oh no, I’m not ready to ski. It’s still summer and I’ve been a sloth. I’m supposed to have another month before I worry about whipping this bod into ski shape. My quads were half their winter strength; ok, my arms were relatively strong from rock climbing and could handle the poling, but no way was I going to survive seven consecutive days of 4,000 vertical-foot runs. My head cramped with panic.

Las Lenas is big mountain skiing. The vertical drop of the lift-served in-bounds area is a hefty 4,035 feet, with gradients ranking from 12 to 53 percent. At this time of year we were guaranteed heavy spring mush, corn, and perhaps powder depending on the storm cycle. The EC guides have been skiing since June and were ready to push us past our limits of last year without pandering to our jelly bellies. As my leader Steve barked like a drill sergeant, ā€œPain is just weakness leaving your body.ā€

But I had three weeks. I hit Quantum Fitness’ Body Bar and Core Conditioning classes five days a week, focusing on lower body conditioning, abs and back work (for the anticipated backcountry hiking with ski-strapped packs). Slowly, I gained strength and agility. I was making my way back to the slopes. The one thing I didn’t want was to try to ski myself into shape and waste the whole trip huffing and hurt. ā€œThe body will, in the end, need the specific skiing environment that gives it the final ski shape,ā€ said Per Lundstam, U.S. Ski Team strength and conditioning manager. ā€œBut this will occur better if you have a good conditioning training base behind you.ā€

Lundstam develops the training program for the USSA athletes but says everyone should look to the season at least 12 weeks out. The first six weeks of workout effect the inside of the body, the second six weeks will display itself in your newly honed physique. I didn’t have 12 weeks and neither do you but you go with what you got. If the season officially kicks off Thanksgiving weekend, we have less than eight weeks for ski conditioning.

On limited time, Lundstam helps athletes like Steve Nyman get back quickly in their boots even after serious injury. ā€œYou should have a solid month of training before you ski at the recreational level,ā€ said Nyman. ā€œYou can ski yourself into shape but it is risking injury which isn’t worth it. I never missed a winter until last but my injury was due to crashing at 60 mph in a downhill (race).ā€

Lundstam admits there are some muscles that can only be addressed while skiing and those little guys do get skied into shape but, for the most part, the better your (pre) shape, the better your time on the hill. If you don’t train, then all your muscles will be sore long before day’s end.

Las Lenas’ base is at around 7,000+ feet, with a climb to often 13,000 feet. The steeper altitudes demanded that I be aerobically sound, something not truly developed by rock climbing. But you don’t need to go indoors to a gym for the aerobic part like I did. Bike, hike, run, motocross, dance, inline skate. or swim to get your heart rate up for half an hour, three to four times a week. That should do it. Track sprints, mountain sprints (straight up a hill), and field games garner agility and tone fast twitch fibers to tackle those steep, aggressive descents and bump runs. Core exercises like crunches and yoga poses develop balance and power. Flexibility can also help prevent knee injuries such as tears to the anterior cruciate or medial collateral ligaments, the most common mishap on the slopes.

One great toner involves sitting in a crunch (prone) position on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor, holding a weighted ball in outstretched hands. Reach the ball to the outside of your left knee, then right knee, to work the oblique (side torso) muscles. Repeat 10 times on each side. For stretching junkies, check out a Yoga class.

Speaking of awkward positions, because your body takes on a steady squat with frequent twisting of feet and knees when you ride, building leg strength for long runs in all conditions is key. That means focusing on leg presses, lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, squats, and leg adduction and abduction. Ten to 15 reps, three or four times per week. Make sure you stretch your hamstrings and quads before and after activity. Finally, pop in a ski video and read about ski technique before you hit the hill. Picture how you want to ski and mimic those movements in your exercises. You’ll be surprised how much it can help your pre-season game.

As I trudged the 90-minute hike up the ridge to the Collar, or Necklace as local Las Lenians call it, I realized I was out in front without breaking a sweat. The summer spare tires from too many backyard barbeques and not enough snow took their toll on the guys. I waited in the 40 mph peak winds for them to catch up. The 3,000 vertical foot, untracked bowl beckoned. However, just because my heart was good to go did not mean my feet were. The sticky, wet cement could suck the skis off my boots and I couldn’t buy a turn that first day of my World Tour. I was a miserable failure, but I still felt strong despite the disconnection between head and feet. That would take mileage to cure. (To answer the age-old debate of whether skiing in September is part of last season or the start of this one, it’s this one. You can tell by the amount of flailing you do as compared to April.)

By my final day, I skied every run without hesitation, hiked to the ominous Cerro Martin (45 min.) with two EC defectors, skipped lunch, and skied two more runs before ending a brilliant Las Lenas experience. But, oh what a tease. After a week of Extremely Canadian skiing, I can’t wait for November. On the bright side, now that I’ve started my training, it’ll only get more intense in the days leading up to the opening bell. Don’t wait until two weeks before your first set of turns on that thin fall base layer at Solitude to get into ski shape. You’ll make yourself an instant target for snowsnakes and other elements of evil that conspire to Charlie Brown you. Be a hero from the moment you feel the glide beneath you.

To ski Las Lenas, you’ll have to wait for next summer. Contact Extremely Canadian for World Tour dates and Prices. 604.938.9656 / 800.938.9656, http://www.extremelycanadian.com

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