Five of us will be renting a condo in Park City, a few blocks off Main Street for the week of February 15 through February 21.

I did finish an 8-mile run last night, but it takes a lot of conditioning and training to prep for 3,300 vertical feet, all day long, for a week (I did four days back-to-back at Tremblant last February and lost 8 pounds). We’ll have 5 full days on the slopes, and if we play our cards right, will be able to enjoy Twilight session at PCMR on Monday night. Fact is, none of us are Ninjas, and we’re all on the wrong side of 25, so I’m thinking that 3 or 4 days is the most we’ll take on the snow.

I’d like to spend most of my time at The Canyons, but I do plan on taking a shuttle to Sundance at least for one day out of the week, and if it’s possible to find some of that chest-deep powder at Alta, I’ll suffer the hour-long bus ride for that, too.

Airfare is hella-expensive right now, and I’m hoping it comes down a little bit, but the deal we got on the condo more than makes up for it. Now if only I could find a way to avoid paying $85 for lift pass at PCMR. To top it all off, I’m in desperate need of new snowboard boots…

During the months of July and August, I am most separated from snow, and consequently, snowboarding. To make matters much worse, I recently got some sick closeout prices on a new Burton jacket and a brand new (and plaid!) pair of Burton cargo pants. I also have a just-broken-in pair of Burton Cartel bindings – it took me a few days to really dial them in to my liking. And, after the last snowmelt in March, I also got a new pair of goggles and a sweet looking pair of Dakine gloves, they are black leather with gold accents so like very Michael-Jackson-esque. At least they remind me of MJ.

Needless to say I’m dying to get back to the slopes, but I know there are a few 100-degree days between now and then.

Last year, I made my first descent on the local garbage-dump of a ski “resort” the day before Thanksgiving. If I can get out before Christmas this year, I’ll be thrilled.

In the interim, I’ll continue to be bored out of my fucking skull.

Greater-than-average rainfall across most of the midwest left plenty of fertile spawning grounds for nature’s vampires. Those found along the banks of the Tahquamenon river seemed nearly immune toinsect repellents, determined to find the single square centimeter which had not been slathered in deet.

Fortunately, it was also unseasonably cool in Michigan — topping out at around 70 degrees — so long sleeves and long pants helped protect us from the blood-sucking pests. I will definitely invest in a mosquito-net hat before I return (perhaps in as little as two weeks).

The hike from Lower to Upper Falls begins on a wide boardwalk, built to prevent the soil from eroding under the feet of hundreds of daily visitors, many of whom never venture more than 1/4 mile into the woods, which is nice because that’s where the boardwalk ends. The hike is listed as “medium-difficult” for an average hiker, at a distance of 4 miles. The difficulty was par, and I would not recommend it for families, or anyone who thinks that they can take a 4-mile stroll in the woods wearing flip-flops or tennis shoes, nor for the old or infirm. You should be in good shape, carrying some water and bug repellent (you’ll need to reload every so often) and ideally wearing some sort of hiking boot/shoe.

The trail is almost certainly longer than it’s official 4-mile description (some of the locals say it’s closer to 5 miles), and when you add the half-mile or so at either end from trail-head to parking lot, it’s easily a 5.5+ mile trek. Fortunately, there is a shuttle service that runs in the summer which will drive you ($9/person) from Lower to Upper or vice-versa, so that you don’t have to make the round-trip hike.

We also visited Oswald’s Bear Ranch, where they raise orphaned black bear cubs in an 80-acre nature preserve. Here, I was attacked by a cub named Mary! I wasn’t sure what to expect from Oswald’s but I was pleasantly surprised — I’d definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the area (about a 20-minute drive from Upper Falls parking lot) who’s looking for something a little out-of-the-ordinary, and it’s a must-see if you’re traveling with children.

1. Win: Mont-Tremblant, QC
2. Place: Killington, VT
3. Show: Snowshoe Mountain, WV

This year’s rage-fest will be held at Mont-Tremblant, province of Quebec, Canada, from February 18 to February 22, 2009.

Snowshoe was the shortest drive of the three finalists, but the prices were IMO far too expensive for “Mid-Atlantic” skiing and boarding. Who even knew there was such a thing as “Mid-Atlantic” ski areas? We would’ve had to cram 5 rather large dudes in a single bedroom or possibly even a studio condominium for four nights, just to get a price comparable to the last minute deals offered at Killington or Tremblant, both of which areas are far nicer resorts.

In fairness, Killington had some excellent deals available as well, including an 8-bunk, dormitory-style cottage available for Thursday-Sunday for abuot $850. There were also some very cheap motor lodges/motels. Unfortunately, anything even approaching “slopeside” lodging in Vermont is prohibitively expensive, and since we like to enjoy the occasional “case-of-beer-in-a-hot-tub-for-3-hours-apres-ski”, motor lodges were out of the question. We also like fireplaces, so although it didn’t have a hot-tub, the cabin would’ve been a blast.

We had even considered doing a circuit-tour in Northern Michigan: stringing together both Boyne resorts (Mountain and Highlands), Nub’s Nob, and Crystal Mountain would’ve made for a nice 4- or 5-day ski trip. But we’d have had to stay at a Holiday Inn somewhere and commute 45 minutes each morning to (and back each evening from) the slopes.

In the end, Tremblant’s “Last Minute Deals” edged out Killington and Snowshoe. We were able to score a two bedroom condominium with fireplace, that should comfortably sleep 6 (there are only five of us) for the low low price of $189 CDN per night. The awesome looking forecast (snow Wednesday thru Sunday), coupled with the fact that Tremblant offered us the best and the cheapest lodging opportunities, it was a no brainer. Also a factor in the decision: I’ve been to both Mont Tremblant and Killington (I think both resorts in 1997) and although Killington was awesome, Tremblant had a more “vacationy” feel to it, with the little pedestrian village, plus all the francophones, etc.

Until we tried to logisticize: five of us will be filling a Ford F-150 pickup truck with all our gear in the bed, and all of us in the extended cab, for the 10+ hour trek.

Oh well, you’ve gotta cut corners somewhere.

Gear is expensive, and it doesn’t seem like there’s any end in sight. Some Burton snowboards — just the stick — cost $800 (or more!). That’s fonking absurd, but then again, I suppose that most people buying $800 boards couldn’t tell the difference between a fall line and their own ass-crack.

Unless you are Shaun White, there is no snowboard that is worth $800. Anywhere. Ever. You can get excellent boards for under $500, and you can get pretty good boards for $400. And if you’re a total noob, you can get a good board for $300 or less. You could reasonably spend less than $800 for an entire setup: a $350 board leaves you $450 to spend on boots and bindings. You can get very respectable bindings for under $200. Spend the balance on your boots: if you splurge anywhere, it should be on your feetses.

So, imagine my surprise when I found out about Blank Snowboard. Most brand names in the industry are not OEMs, they buy boards from a handful of factories who slap different artwork on the same layers of wood, laminate, carbon fiber and metal. You can buy a blank snowboard for $200, and reading the product specs, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between these and other, far more expensive boards.

I rode the same 161cm K2 Hardcore from 1995 until 2005, when I gifted it to my friend Jay who moved out to Tahoe. To my knowledge, he is still using it. In 2005, I bought my Neversummer, and it has a lot of life left. It’s a tad too stiff to spend all day in the park, but it slays steeps and powder. Someday, I’d like to get a park-specific board. It’s nice to know that I can get a pretty solid board for two Benjos.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time looking at new gear this winter… The wife decided she wanted to try snowboarding, so I snagged an old rental board off eBay for $60 (free shipping). It’s a few years old, 145 cm Burton Cruzer. Not the greatest graphics for a chic, but I couldn’t resist that price. Hell, it probably cost $30 just to ship it. For valentine’s day, she got a new pair of Burton Casa boots, and some Salomon bindings, which I picked up at Sierra Trading Post using a “first time shopper” coupon for an additional 20% off. Boots & bindings for $108, shipping included.

I also needed to replace a 5 year old pair of Drake Supersports, which have long outlived their useful lives. The buckles routinely come loose when stomping anything bigger than a 15-foot gap. After several hours of browsing comparison sites like Nextag, and Backcountry.com which is my ‘old reliable’, and perusing eBay Sellers for the rare diamond-in-rough, I ended up going through Altrec.com to get a $270 pair of Burton Cartels for only $125 + shipping. (also using a first-time coupon for 20% off) They look sick, so I’ll be looking forward to testing them in Quebec next weekend.

What can I say? I like bargain shopping.

Sorry it’s taken so long, but I’m lazy and/or busy. Also, the computer that has all my AVI files is suffering from an “unmountable boot volume” (non-geek speek: not fucking working). This is unfortunate, because I never finished “Almost Kicked off the Airplane”, “Powder Day” and what might be the tour-de-force, “After Hours” which includes a ritual shaming, the night prior to “Mostly Dead.”

I’m in the process of recovering the files, although I might have to start entirely from scratch. Since there’s no snow now in Michigan, maybe I’ll have time to work on them.

In any event, I’d like to make some sacrifices to the gods of winter. It snowed all week in Michigan, then on Christmas day it goes up to like 50 degrees. Then it goes down to 11 degrees. Saturday, is supposed to rain all day at 45 degrees. Then, it is supposed to snow all next week.

Unless it is followed immediately by snow, one single day of rain followed by a freeze is enough to wreck the slopes for a week or more. For a 14-day span, it is supposed to snow almost every day except the days I was supposed to head up north to shred. Fucking bogus.

I’m sure “The Man” is behind this somehow…

Headed up with some friends & wives to Otsego after X-mas, hope to have more footage next week.

FYI: This footage hasn’t been edited, no transitions, no soundtrack, no subtitles or whatever. It’s just splices of the few seconds of film I got so far that I didn’t erase. I’ll revise & repost over the weekend.

We had our first frost the other morning, which made me think about snow, which made me think about snowboarding. I’m going to do a snowboarding “league” night, of my own invention, with some friends who are local to Detroit. We’ll be riding give-or-take (and weather-permitting) every Tuesday or Wednesday evening after work.

This year, I’m going to hit a 540. It can’t be that hard.

This year’s gnargasm is in the preliminary planning stages. We are considering mid-february, and any location within a full day’s drive from Detroit. The short list includes any number of Vermont resorts, Tremblant (QC, Canada), and Mount Bohemia in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. That one is touch-and-go, since it’s rated expert only. I can hang, but not everyone can. There are two other “mountains” in the vicinity of Bohemia, one on Michigan Tech’s campus in Houghton, and The Porkies which offers some pretty respectable (by all appearances) cat-skiing/cat-boarding in intermediate backcountry.