July 4th Skiing at Kirkwood!
Lift access for skiing/riding will be available this Fourth of July Weekend! Skiers/riders will access the snow of Thunder Saddle, the Wall, and Sentinel Bowl by hiking along ridges (over dirt) before descent. Hiking shoes are recommended. Be ready for expert terrain (obstacles will exist; no beginner or intermediate runs available). The ridge hike from the top of Chair 6 to the Wall is about 35 minutes. At snow’s end, click out and walk 10 minutes back to the base of Chair 6. Sentinel Bowl is a 15 minute walk from the top of “6″ with a 10 minute walk at the bottom. Round trip runs: 35 to 60 minutes.

Have a little faith…

Although not deeply religious, I would consider myself a deep believer in the power of faith… my father would tell me growing up that I could do anything as long as I put my mind to it, and to a large degree, I have to say… he was right. I will admit, it is easier said than done at times; especially when it comes to things like walking on water, but when you have the focus, persistence and truly believe that you can do something… your chances for success increase exponentially and that’s a fact.

It is no secret that pro athletes have used the tactic of envisioning the task before them to prepare themselves mentally. A perfect example was the past Winter Olympics… I am sure almost everyone remembers Lindsey Vonn winning the Women’s Gold Medal in downhill skiing. What I remember more than anything is seeing Lindsey standing at the top of the hill before her run… somewhat bobbing and weaving. She had memorized the course and was going through the turns in her head. Combining this with muscle memory enables the body to react faster and more accurately when under stress.

The power of this exercise is unmistakable. I am not sure what is going on as far as your neurons firing and such, but there is definitely some connection that takes place between the metaphysical to the physiological capabilities of a human being. It is proof in my mind that training, both mind and body is much more powerful than just pumping iron so to speak.

This is nothing new really. You may have also seen master illusionists like Houdini and David Blaine push the limits a of what the human body can withstand by submerging themselves without air for hours or encasing themselves in ice for days. Both illusionists say they were able to do these feats by going to a trance, controlling their breathing and training. Many discount this as trickery, but pro athletes like freediver and World Record holder Carlos Coste of Venezuela make you think twice. Athletes like Carlos, who in 2003 dove 102 meters (312 feet) underwater without assistance or an oxygen tank are also pushing the limits of what was previously considered impossible by training their mind and bodies.

Other Examples?

A. FMX poster child and Nitro Circus ring leader Travis Pastrana wowed crowds at X Games 15 last summer with his rodeo 720 attempt on a 250lb motorcycle.

B. Big Mountain Skiers like Titus Engelborg, Leo Brayman, and Jamie Pierre are doing front flips off cliffs in excess of 200ft, without a parachute!

C. And now Sebastian Vanderwerf, Miguel Delfortrie, Ulf Gartner and their buddies are… walking on water?

Although the Hi-Tec liquid mountaineering video has finally been claimed as a viral marketing hoax created by Amsterdam creative agency CCCP, the believability of it can not be denied… the accomplishment is not a physical win, it is a creative win. The video topped the YouTube charts as one of the most viewed videos in less than two weeks.

I guess my point is this… when you feel challenged in life, just remind yourself of these conquering moments in each of these individuals personal history and think about how many people told them it couldn’t be done.

Remember… mind over matter, anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it. Use the force!

The corn seems to be setting up nicely in the late afternoon the past few days. I think it is actually better now after the rain we received over the past week. Skins were sliding too much so I ended up boot packing up the steeper sections but man, there is nothing like skiing on a warm sunny afternoon with the view of Lake Tahoe in the background.

Reuters reports that Sundar Pichai, Google’s vice-president for product management, did not say which month, only specifying the “the North American autumn or fall period.”

Google will not be the first company to offer an operating system to rival Microsoft and Apple. In fact, there’s a long history of defunct or ignored operating systems for Google to pick through.

Many of these operating systems were plenty innovative in their time. Where they each ran into trouble was either struggling to sell to anybody other than a few early adopters, or failing to evolve as their businesses changed.

The good news for Google is that it’s had quite a bit of success getting consumers to adopt its first attempt at an operating system – the Android OS for mobile devices. It’s actually outselling the iPhone in the US.

via businessinsider.com

Squaw Valley and the entire Freeskiing community suffers a devastating loss as news of 29 year old Pro Freeskier Arne Backstrom’s death begins to spread. Early reports state that Arne passed away yesterday after a big mountain skiing accident in the Pisco Peak region of Peru, South America.

Although the Backstrom name has been ingrained in steep and deep lovers minds for many years now thanks to his sister Ingrid; Arne was a relatively unknown name in the ski industry until the past year. With only 1 year on the USFS circuit, Arne seemed to effortlessly dominate the Freeskiing World Tour this past season clinching the overall #1 spot on the tour by edging out veteran Griffin Post by 1 point. He stepped up event after event capturing several wins on the tour this year including Revelstoke, the coveted Sickbird award and the first ever McConkey Cup.

It is always tragic when such a great talent passes away at such a young age and I personally can only take comfort in the thought that his passion and presence will live on in the hearts and minds of those who have shared it. Thoughts and prayers go out to the Backstrom family.

Traditionally, Lake Tahoe and the Eastern Sierras offer some of the best spring skiing in the world with warm days and enough corn to make Orville Redenbacher take notice. This season is no different. In fact even with the rain that the Sierras is receiving presently, several of the resorts – technically closed, still are serving up runs with plenty of coverage from the top of the peak to the valley floor.

If you haven’t started earning your turns, maybe now is the time to start. All you need is a little gear and a fierce attitude for getting out and enjoying life!

Here is the setup I use….

Alpine Trekkers
I have tried nearly every Alpine Touring binding on the market and still keep coming back to the Alpine Trekker. A simple one size fits all device that has not changed in design in over 20 years, it is a bulletproof solution that is stable on steeper grades and minimizes lateral torsion. You can pick up a pair for $100 bucks.

G3 Skins
Skins allow you to go uphill on your skis without sliding backwards. The technology although revised with synthetic fibers and cements is actually centuries old. Your neanderthal cousins probably fashioned them out of woolly mammoth fur and tendons. The G3 skins are more flexible than the Black Diamond counterparts and I like them cause I can fold them down and stuff them in my jacket pocket instead of carrying a pack on short hikes.

Adjustable Flintlock Poles by Black Diamond
The advantage of these poles is the fact that they are quickly and easily adjustable and light even though they utilize about twice as much metal as a traditional ski pole. The grips are also made of a soft rubber material which is great for hiking… They also come with a cool self arrest whipit attachment for scaling the gnar!

Garmont Alpine Touring Boots
Although my AT boots are several years old they are bomber and I can not imagine hiking in anything else. The benifit of AT boots is a lower cut, lighter shell with lock out walking feature that enables the boot to flex far easier than a traditional ski boot. I have replaced nearly every screw on them, the Viabram soles, and burned through two sets of liners, but they still keep on rocking!

The last thing you will need is a bomber pair of rock skis… something you don’t mind banging up a little. I use an old pair of Volkl Gotamas which I love to ski on. They are super durable, wide enough to get into the pow and not too heavy to lug up the hill.

It’s always important to consider safety first, so be sure to carry a beacon, probe and shovel and try and always use the buddy system or let folks know when your headed out into backcountry. Avalanche training is also a good idea. Numerous courses are publicly available for beginners and advanced adventurers alike.

So now you know what you need, be sure and check out my Map of Lake Tahoe and Eastern Sierra Backcountry Destinations. See ya out there!

Sustaining that average, you can estimate less than 5 years before the weighing majority will be using a smartphone… probably less than 4 given the way technology and bandwidth is progressing.

If you look at Motorola last quarter, who dominates the share of mobile subscribers,

* 63.5% sent text messages – 148,590,000 subscribers, a 1.5% increase
* 28.6% used a browser – 66,924,000 subscribers, a 1.5% increase
* 21.7% played games – 50,778,000 subscribers, a 0.4% increase
* 19.8% used downloaded apps  – 46,495,800 subscribers, a 1.5% increase
* 17.1% used social networking site or blog – 40,014,000 subscribers, a 3.3% increase
* 12.8% Listened to music on mobile phone – 29,952,000 subscribers, a 1.2% increase

With a 3.3% change from previous quarter (the highest amongst the above mobile niches); Social Networking and Blogs are the fastest growing.

Among smartphones, Android saw a double in their market share becoming the fastest growing mobile operating system among users.

Android is now available from all four major wireless providers in the United States, while the iPhone is still available exclusively from AT&T. The initial Android device available from AT&T–the Motorola Backflip–is a weak device compared to the Droid or the Nexus One, but the door is open and AT&T  is guaranteed to continue to expand its Android portfolio over time.

So what does all this tell us as mobile developers?

1. There is a huge non-smartphone market to take advantage of, if you can bring your product or service to life quickly.

2. If you are a mobile application developer developing a non-smartphone product or service, you best be investing in cross platform capability quickly.

3. If you are presently involved in developing a mobile product or service, you should be embracing social networking, viral marketing, and open source frameworks to maximize your market penetration.

Google made some waves yesterday when it announced the new Google TV platform, backed by major players like Sony, Logitech, Intel, Dish Network, and Best Buy. Built on Android and featuring the Chrome browser with a full version of Flash Player 10.1, Google TV is supposed to bring “the web to your TV and your TV to the web,” in Google’s words. It’s a lofty goal that many have failed to accomplish, but Google certainly has the money and muscle to pull it off. But hold up: what is Google TV, exactly, and why do all these companies think it’s going to revolutionize the way we watch TV? Let’s take a quick walk through the platform and see what’s what.

The basic facts

Google TV isn’t a single product — it’s a platform that will eventually run on many products, from TVs to Blu-ray players to set-top boxes. The platform is based on Android, but instead of the Android browser it runs Google’s Chrome browser as well as a full version of Flash Player 10.1. That means Google TV devices can browse to almost any site on the web and play video — Hulu included, provided it doesn’t get blocked. It also means that Google TV devices can run almost all Android apps that don’t require phone hardware. You’ll still need to keep your existing cable or satellite box, however — most Google TV devices won’t actually have any facility for tuning TV at launch, instead relying on your existing gear plugged in over HDMI to do the job. There’s a lot of potential for clunkiness with that kind of setup, so we’ll have to see how it works in person.

All Google TV devices will have remotes with some form of QWERTY keyboard, and you’ll be able to use Android phones as remotes as well. Using an Android phone opens up some extremely intriguing possibilities, like searching for content using Google Voice Search and navigating by gesture, but it’s not clear how deep the integration between Android on Google TV and Android on phones will be at launch.

Partners

Google’s not going into the living room alone — the company’s launching Google TV with an impressive array of partners, each of whom has a different spin on the platform. Here’s the list:

• Sony plans to build BRAVIA Internet TVs and Blu-ray players that run the platform, all expected to launch this fall.
• Logitech is building a Google TV “companion box” that can control your entire A/V rack using Harmony technology, using and Android phone or an iPhone as the remote.
• Dish Network was actually the beta test partner, but we don’t specifically know what its plans are — there’s no hardware right now, and Google demoed the platform using a custom IP protocol to control a Dish receiver. We’re guessing that means there’s no custom hardware coming, but look for Google TV-ready Dish boxes sometime in the fall as well.
• Adobe’s obviously building Flash 10.1 for the platform.
• Intel’s making the Atom CE4100 chip that’s used in all these devices — it’s actually kind of a burner. More on it later on.
• Best Buy has partnered to sell Google TV devices in its stores, so there’s going to be a big retail push.

Now, these are just the launch partners — we’d expect to see Google go after the cable companies in a big way soon, and we’d expect to see even more development around the platform as we get closer to late 2011 when the whole thing is scheduled to be open-sourced.

Launch dates

Google TV devices will be coming this year: Sony says it’ll have Internet TVs and Blu-ray players in the fall, and Dish Network has made similar statements about supporting the platform around then, although with less specificity about hardware. We’re not entirely sure when Logitech will be releasing its companion box, as the unit we saw was obviously not final, but we’d still expect it to launch around the holidays. Obviously this whole thing hinges on Adobe getting the final version of Flash 10.1 for Android out the door on time in June, so we’ll have to keep an eye on that as well — if that slips, there’s a chance this whole thing could fall behind. But with Best Buy lined up to make a holiday retail push, there’s plenty of pressure for everyone involved to get their ducks in a row and get shipping.

Software and interface

Although Google TV has a regular tiles-based homescreen that allows you to drop directly into apps and content, the most important interface element is exactly what you’d expect from Google: a search box. Just like TiVo’s Swivel Search, search results from a variety of content sources are displayed as soon as you start typing — entering “30 Rock” will bring up not only the next few episodes of the show on TV but also past episodes available to stream from Hulu, NBC, Netflix and other providers, as well as related content from YouTube and similar sites. These unified listings are a big part of how Google’s trying to harmonize web content with TV content — the idea is to divorce the content from the source, so it doesn’t matter to the end user where it’s coming from.

Of course, this is the exact same idea TiVo’s pushing with its Premiere service, but the difference is that Google TV has a full browser with Flash — you can theoretically navigate to virtually any video site and simply play video with no fuss. How that works in practice remains to be seen — using the full web on a TV has never been a particularly marketable idea, and Google knows it — it’s encouraging developers to create TV-friendly versions of their sites, and it’s leading the way by launching a living-room-friendly version of YouTube called YouTube Lean Back that’s more catered to the 10-foot experience.

As we’ve said, the Google TV platform is based on Android 2.1, and it runs the Chrome browser with Flash 10.1. Google says OTA updates to later version of Android will come over time, and the platform also has some custom APIs and a new SDK for TV-based apps that will launch early next year, along with a new version of Android Market for the TV. The app demos we saw during the keynote were more impressive for their potential than their execution; for example, the NBA TV app had a cool feature that could automatically record upcoming games using your DVR while watching a streamed game that seems extremely promising, but the app itself looks more or less like a bad website, and the video stream quality appeared to be SD. Again, it’s early on, so we’ll have to see how developers make use of the platform — it could be really interesting if Google TV apps advance as fast as they have on the phone side, and really boring if they stall out as painfully as every other TV-based platform has thus far.

Hardware

Google’s laid out a series of baseline hardware specifications for the Google TV platform, which every piece of gear will share. The heart of the system is the Intel Atom CE4100, which launched at IDF last year. It’s an Atom-based SoC with some additional silicon for decoding dual 1080p video stream, MPEG-4 support, and 3D graphics capabilities. That’s joined by some custom DSPs, and things like WiFi, HDMI, and Bluetooth are all required.

Although Sony’s said it will launch a line of BRAVIA TVs and Blu-ray players later this year, the only piece of Google TV hardware we’ve gotten to play with is the Logitech companion box, which adds in Harmony universal remote capabilities. That’s not to say you’ll need an expensive Harmony remote to control it, but rather that it turns your existing wireless peripherals (and quite impressively, your Android or iPhone OS device of choice) into a remote for your entire media center, relaying commands to devices over IR, RF and even IP via the onboard ethernet port. Logitech will also sell a dedicated peripheral for the Google TV companion box at launch, which they told us will combine a keyboard, touchpad and remote control and communicate with the companion box over RF.

Logitech’s Google TV Companion Box hands-on

Situated directly between your receiver and TV, Logitech’s tiny box allows complete passthrough of HDMI audio and video from your source, allowing simultaneous web surfing and video playback, and will optionally connect to an HD webcam for Logitech Vid 720p video chat. While it’s hard to say how it compares till we see the competition, Logitech’s solution sports Intel’s 1.2GHz CE4100 processor, 4GB of memory and 802.11n WiFi, and outputs Dolby 5.1 surround sound over both HDMI and optical S/PDIF outputs. Though the device only accepts HDMI input for video, it doesn’t require source content to have HDCP protection, so you could theoretically use an adapter to connect older video sources as long as your display itself is HDCP-compliant.

Logitech wouldn’t say the first word about pricing, though they confirmed that the unit and combo keyboard/touchpad/remote would be optionally bundled at launch; when asked about the companion box’s value, they hinted that it includes all the functionality of the $400 Logitech Harmony 900 media remote — hopefully, it won’t arrive too far north of that figure.

Limitations

The potential pitfalls for Google TV are many, and while some of them will be familiar from mobile Android devices, the far more mature TV market will prove even more difficult to crack than the young, often upgrading mobile scene. When we heard the words “IR blasters” mentioned on stage at Google I/O our hearts sank. While they will work for one way compatibility with existing set-top boxes and other hardware, they can be unreliable and have no capacity to send information back to the control device. That means a Google TV that doesn’t know when your DVR is full, what’s on it, if it actually scheduled a recording of Ghost Whisperer like you asked or have direct access to its listings and VOD. Currently cable, IPTV and satellite providers hold all the content cards and convincing them the Google TV is here to help, not harm their business is a task that most would say ranks somewhere between impossible and unlikely.

Another potential issue (which we alluded to above) is that the browser is given its own user agent; as Google’s Vic Gundotra told us in a post-keynote briefing, if content providers wish to block Google TV from viewing its videos, it has the technological capability to do so. Of course the big name is Hulu, but any other content provider could also be on the list. Will content providers be willing to design apps that work (well) on the Google TV? Like many other questions, until the hardware is out there it’s impossible to tell.

But one of the most disturbing problems we see coming is a holdover from Android phones — upgrades. Just think about how long it’s taken many phones that are still on contract to subscribers to get the latest software patch, and then take a moment to wonder if Sony will have any interest in updating your 2010 Sony Internet TV to Google TV 3.0 Parfait in 2012 instead of just selling you a new flat screen instead.

Future potential

What the future may hold for Google TV could be as wide and fruitful as the success of its web search on a device everyone uses everyday already, or as barren as the fields tilled by Google Viewer and Orkut. But where its biggest challenges exist — access to content currently held by TV broadcasters and the studios — could also be its biggest opportunity. Finding better ways to work with the TV programming people already expect to use by partnering with the cable and satellite providers will be a major story over the life of Google TV. Experiments with interactivity through widgets and EBIF apps as well as the FCC’s increasing impatience with the state of tru2way show there’s a chance at bridging these gaps, but it may be a crack that opens slowly or not at all. It’s succeeded in turning mobile carriers into Android fans, can it do the same with Comcast, Time Warner and DirecTV?

Another lesson learned from the mobile space is that even can’t, or at least shouldn’t, go it alone. The Nexus One sales experiment has faded, and it’s clear that the work done, mostly by HTC, to improve the interaction with Android and the devices it runs on have served to promote the platform. If we compare what we saw this week to the G1 on T-Mobile, imagine a few years down the road when they find the home theater equivalent of HTC and Sense, and deliver an EVO 4G-level device with power that truly excites users and software that compels them to line up to get it. Other alternatives to the current approach will mean expanding the number of hardware partners beyond Sony — Samsung is wavering, but we’ll need more — and devices beyond just displays and standalone boxes. Right now the lowly A/V receiver seems like a perfect target for increasing functionality and connectivity with all equipment — if the price and the features are right.

Wrap-up

Google is first to admit the TV / internet convergence isn’t a new concept — in an incredibly amusing slip of the tongue during yesterday’s post-keynote briefing, Gundotra himself called it WebTV, one of the earliest attempts that ultimately fizzled. What we saw this week was a lot of potential, and when we say that, we also mean we’re left with numerous unanswered questions. More importantly, in a world where most of the targeted audience already has plenty of streamers and set-top boxes (not to mention smartphones and laptops that can let us couch surf without giving up any “big screen’ real estate), we’re not seeing a lot of justification. That said, Google is a strong and trusted brand, and that can go a long way in consumer mindshare — just look at Apple TV. With the Fall release window really not that far off, the gang in Mountain View are gonna need to make a much more compelling case, unless of course, it’s also just a hobby.

via engadget

Marijuana ‘Smoke Shacks’ Found In Ski Areas

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. — Rangers in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests said they continue to find marijuana “smoke shacks” on forest land within the boundaries of the Crested Butte Ski Area.

Any shacks that are found are torn down and the builders or users are prosecuted, a forest service spokesman said Friday.

Last December, two Western State College students were issued citations and fined $850 for damaging natural resources and building illegal structures. They were also barred from Crested Butte, as a result, according to a news release.
Quantcast

“The Forest Service is releasing this information to encourage responsible and legal use of the national forest by recreationists,” Gunnison District Ranger John Murphy said. “We want folks to enjoy their public lands; however, we also want to let those who do not comply, know that arrests and prosecutions do (and) will occur.”

U.S. Forest Service Patrol Captain Dan Nielsen said in February that the rangers found additional smoke shacks.

“It is illegal to construct or maintain any structure on forest service land without special use authorization,” he said at the time.

Neilson said that maintaining could be defined as tightening string or wires holding the structure together, or clearing a path to access a structure in the national forest.

Nielsen said inspecting the ski area for illegal structures is a routine procedure.

“We’ve worked with the other resorts and found similar structures,” he said.

There have been other infractions on forest lands as well, the forest service said in Friday’s news release.

In March, two snowmobilers were observed entering and operating their snowmobiles in the West Elk Wilderness (a posted boundary) and Forest Service law enforcement officers were able to contact the riders as they exited the Wilderness. Both riders were issued citations for a minimum fine of $500 each with a maximum of up to $5000 fine.

Authorities said that in April, four people were found operating a motor vehicle in a restricted area and were in possession of controlled, illegal substance, open container of alcohol and drug paraphernalia. They were cited for multiple infractions including possession of an open container alcohol, illegal possession and operating motorized vehicle in a closed area. One individual had an outstanding warrant for his arrest and was turned over to police.

“Please be aware, that not everyone you encounter on the Forest may be law abiding,” Murphy stated. “Recreationists who encounter unlawful activity are encouraged to leave the scene safely and alert the appropriate authorities with any information they may have.”

via thedenverchannel

2010 Results:
Unlimited: Dan Hurley
Women’s Ski: Katherine Lange
Women’s Snowboard: Iris Lazzareschi
Most Creative: Derek Brown
Men’s Snowboard: Spencer Cordovan
Overall Winner and Skinny Ski Winner: Kyle Crezee

via: unofficialsquaw