Andy Wirth announces The Game of “Y.A.R."
Andy Wirth was recently at a San Francisco event where he was discussing specifics on the changes and upgrades on tap for Squaw Valley.
When a member of the audience asked Andy what Squaw was doing to improve people in addition to the infrastructure upgrades Andy took a shot at Squaw locals:
“CEO Andy Wirth launched into a spiel about his concern at what I call the “yar” crowd — those agro-skiers and boarders who dominate the KT-22 liftline on sick powder days, who ski “bell-to-bell” (all day), and who dish on “bluebird skies” and “pow-pow” in equal measure to how they push to the front of any line.” – Sarah Duxbury, San Francisco Business Journal
Andy contemplating the “Y.A.R.” crowd at Squaw with the creator of G.N.AR. looking over him.
The Concerning “YAR” Crowd at Squaw:
Apparently, we are the “Yar” crowd. We ski “bell-to-bell.” We’re pretty stoked on “bluebird skies” and “pow-pow”. We can admittedly get aggressive in line.
Do we feel bad about any of these attributes? Nope. Not even a little bit. We love “pow-pow” with “bluebird skies” when we ski “bell-to-bell” and yeah, we might get a bit excited in line. So, sue us.
And besides…
The “Y.A.R.” crowd
WHATTAYA GONNA DO ABOUT IT!? HUH!?
“Wirth said he had advised the lift staff not to tolerate aggressive and rude behavior from skiers, and he charged the event audience to do the same.” - Sarah Duxbury, San Francisco Business Journal
Oh, so, being stoked will get you in trouble now at Squaw?
Okay, that’s it. Unofficial is about to release…
THE GAME OF “Y.A.R.” (Yocal’s Antithesis of Radness)
In this game points will be awarded for such things as:
- Passing people in the KT line
- Giving tourists bad directions
- Skiing/riding fast through crowded areas
- Ranting aggressively with obscene hand gesticulation to tourists in foreign (or made up) languages
- Dressing in full Pirate garb and using the word “YAR” with as many tourists as possible
- Publicly education tourist on how to properly carry skis
The amount of “Y.A.R.” going down in this line is nauseating
Yes, the game of “Y.A.R.” has been born. What are your suggestions for THE GAME OF “Y.A.R.”?
Full details and point system that includes your suggestions coming soon…
when you see Mr. Wirth spray him with snow!! This is so ridiculous, a CEO actually encouraging tourists to harass locals now! What is he thinking? Maybe we should put up some boxing matches at the base of KT where they tore those beautiful trees down and let visitors and locals fight it out!! Let me get this straight, we all pay to ski there but now if you are a local you are considered a Y.A.R.? LAME
The best part is, when you read the article, the journalist clarifies (after andy’s response) that she was referring to the employees, not the patrons
yet Andy stuck his foot in his mouth and blasted the locals. I guess that is why they say to think about what you are going to say before you say it. This just shows what was truely on his mind and if you tell other visitors not to put up with it either and someone gets hurt, he’ll have a whole lot more troubles to deal with. I’ve made that mistake.
YARrrrr!
Gotta enjoy that it’s a sarcastic response. Territory is marked by line urination… and not by actual violence.
Yeah, lift line Urination!
I’m for all of this, except the passing people (presumably you mean cutting in line) part. Cutting in line is going to invite a deserved backlash. Same for riding really fast through crowded slow zones.
Seriously, it’s one thing to be fun, funny, irreverent and goofy. It is another to endanger others and to instigate fights (cutting in line will instigate fights – you know it).
I agree, aside from encouraging the cutting/passing in crowded areas this is a great idea. No need to give them any more fuel. All the other ideas, pirates pissing in lift lines etc. is a great idea
I also agree about the line cutting and reckless skiing through crowds… Not sure how this fits into “irreverent and fun appreciation of skiing” as it’s just plain rude and selfish.
As for Wirth’s comments. I’m sure he was catering to a specific group of people so he chose his words wisely (or unwisely, whatever your opinion might be on this matter). I don’t actually think that he truly minds some of the funnier stuff that goes down, i.e. costumes, call-outs, and even the few random acts of nakedness. I think what he’s really concerned about is having Squaw live up to it’s already bad reputation of bro-brahs bullying people, i.e. pushing through lift lines, blasting through mountain run for another KT run, etc, because they’re not locals, pros, or what have you. And some of this behavior is being thinly veiled as “GNAR”. So… GNAR becomes guilty by association.
Agree. Get aggressive in your line cutting and prepare for me to get aggro back. It’s only fair right? I’m “stoked” so it’s ok right?
Come on, unofficial..here you go againl…you know how easily impressionable skiiers who read this are.
Don’t condone this shit. F’ing obnoxious.
That’s all great about Andy directing his comments to a specific group, but this is the internet age…nothing stays secret for long.
Great response JB.
Oh, and when I read that article I assumed she was misspelling or mispronouncing/misremembering GNAR.
I’m not a fan of Y.A.R. After 20 people aced me out in the KT22 line a few years back I made up my mind that not one more little powder junkie was getting by and I was prepared to fight if necessary. This is no fun! I jammed my ski pole in front of the guys skis and said no more. He quickly started crying. Bullies usually don’t have the stones to back up their actions. This behavior is so unecessary. I think Andy is on the right track. Why should u have to fight your way to the chair. Why should some punk that thinks he’s so special get to push his way to the front?
Spot in!
Wirth Call Out: “I can’t believe you run squaw!!… It’s so much better than YOU!”
thats how it should be done!
I mean….I don’t even know where to go with this one. Really sad that that pic of Shane is in this kook’s office.
I’m with you on that one…
p.s. I wonder what Shane would think and do about this..? I think he would want to do what he always did. JUST HAVE FUN! Why get in damn fights? Im sure Shane would never get in a fight over something stupid like this but instead find something fun to do/play in line! More of us should think like the legend himself! WWSD (What Would Shane Do)
Being an asshole to people you think aren’t as ‘cool’ as you think you are is, sorry, not cool. How old are we?? Grow up!
I think you’re improperly associating the words and thoughts written by the article writer (apparently a Bay Area season pass holder) — the “yar” crowd and description — with Andy Wirth. That being said, she/he has somewhat of a point. Not the part about about people skiing bell-to-bell or loving powder being a problem, but there is no reason for anyone to treat the KT line (or any lift line) like rush hour in the Bay. And, that’s precisely what it is…rush hour traffic with people failing to merge properly, road rage, fender benders, and all. I hate it but that’s the way things are, unfortunately. No hot chocolate or first-year J-1 lifty is gonna change it.
Do i see Hot Dog the movie #2 in the works… yes.. yes i think i do
You rule
I completely DISAGREE!! Making Hot Dog the movie 2 is like re-doing the Karatie Kid. U really think they could come up with gold like that again?? NO WAY!!!!! I pretty much consider G.N.A.R. The Move to be “Hot Dog 2″.
You people… stay out of our way. You may ski on zat side OR on zat side, but stay out of zee miiddle!
Hey, Andy, you can kiss my ass. Not on zis side and not on zat side, but right in zee miiddle!
Rudolf Garmisch, best comment!
Based on 10 years of skiing Squaw, last season was an anomaly as far as KT line cutting. There was so much effing snow that the lines were all painfully downhill (because the level of the lift and the pass gate is far less adjustable than the sheer amount of snowfall required). This caused many YARs (as well as older tourist and bay area folks) to slide sideways, run into each other, knock each other over, argue over who was cutting the line and who wasn’t, etc.
Last season, each multi-person line was effectively a singles line, with people sliding forward and quadding up when it was convenient or necessary, and according to their desire for powder, unwillingness to stand in line, and ability to be smooth and athletic in their line-snaking endeavors.
I will definitely admit to snaking some people. I did it to keep up with the rest of the line when there would be idiot gapers in front of me, trying to figure out how to not fall in the Xtreme downhill line. And, that’s how that shit goes sometimes.
The first mediating solution is to run olympic lady every single fucking powder day of the year. And run C2 chair on storm days, and cutoff access at the slut. That’s totally doable, and I have yet to hear a legitimate reason why it isn’t happening. After that, we can start talking about how to manage the KT line. Longer rope lines, all single/double lines instead of wide lanes that can accommodate 8 people across. There are ways to fix this, and last year Squaw didn’t do anything about the line issues….. and now they’re pinning poor line and snow management on the sort of people who have made Squaw the special place that it is.
Full Disclosure: I am 30-year old, Truckee ex-pat, now San Francisco based, long weekend warrior and flexible schedule yuppie. I bring (and inspire others to bring) shitloads of money-hemorrhaging, non-KT skiing gapers in from the city, who take two runs on the funi and then spend the rest of the day at the bar helping fund locals’ paychecks (without consuming any of our precious pow)
and I still get way fucking radder than you. Everybody just needs to KwitcherBitchin
I agree with Dudebro that there are solutions, including consistently opening more lifts that can draw skiers away from the base of KT and keep getting them uphill on higher lifts (C2 and Oly Lady) and thus also keeping Mountain Run less congested and dangerous. I was so frustrated last year by the lack of line maintenance, and I’m not referring to the “fill the chairs” mentality as you get to the loading zone which I think works just fine when everyone just gets on the freakin’ chair for cyring out loud (yes, heckling usually keeps gapers from splitting the chair at the last minute just because they want to ride with their girlfriends, haha). I’m talking about navigating the maze (singles line today, no singles line the next day…six across into one, or two into one…aargh! Like in the grocery store I always pick the longest line with the most gapers taking their sweet-a**, confused time!!!) and the ticket scanning gate being so close to the lift (which creates so much anxiety too). Just a little more organization and communication would go a long way!
I would also like to mention that in the many years I’ve skied at Squaw, being of very short stature and often mistaken for a child, it has more often than not been the out-of-towners that have pushed, elbowed, and “bro-brah’d” me in line, NOT actual locals. Yes, dudes in general can be aggro and I’m a chick, I get that. But to have some gaper in his perfectly matching outfit do it and then complain because his top sheet is getting scratched?! Give me a break!
I realize that more and more people are coming to Squaw and it’s a whole other story as to how that can be fixed (I have some ideas for that too) but we could start with something as simple as line maintenance to keep the natives (AND tourists) from getting so restless. Everyone’s amped up…let’s get up the hill and out of line already!
I like the DudeBroGuyFool’s suggestions. Major factors in Squaw Valley’s Y.A.R. situations are overcrowding and lack of infrastructure to accommodate the crowd. Longer lane ropes with skinny lanes and more crowd dispersion (read: more patrol for earlier openings, and actually using the chairs that could reduce KT YARing).
I like the rules of the game but when someone offers to let me take the spot ahead of them in line I think that person is rad as hell! So maybe a switch from personal opinion of radness to public opinion is worthy of a few points.
The ridiculous lines in KT are a direct result of a poorly operated mountain. If they allocated more money and resources to ski patrol and staff, and actually opened the mountain correctly, it would create a better atmosphere all the way around. Long lines = oversold, underpriced passes and poor management. Bottom line = Squaw management is a joke, focused solely on the bottom line.
Agree. Besides the obvious fact that more lifts need to run on storm days, kt lift line is managed like shit. Its like the euro style “cueing.” Of course there is going to be drama when there are no lifties directing traffic. Also, 9 times out of 10 the guy “trying” to cut me in line is some fagbag wearing bay area gaper, not a local. Just sayin.
i have been playing this game for years… never kept score those because i am always the winner!
I vaguely see the humor, but NO locals think the pushing, cutting in line, and bad attitude is OK. EVERYONE talked about it last winter, and is still talking about it. I think Andy is right on this one.
That said, for all the people pushing for running OL and C2 on storm days, and getting Silvy and GC open faster, this would help. The fact that it doesn’t happen is on Andy and company.
I love you guys. Little does Andy Wirthless realize, he has enhanced the YAR crowd “problems” by selling a billion passes while spending Squaw’s improvement money on everything but lift improvements, or other methods to diffuse these “problems.” Can we also add beaming gapers with snowballs, creating and posting obscene stickers all over Squaw and yelling “suck my balls Andy” mid-huck to your already fantastic list of YAR?
The Asshole factor in KT line is worse than any resort I’ve been to…. EVER! No wonder I find myself in the backcountry more and more… but on those 16″ pow days, cut in front of me in line and there will be consequences…. if squaw isn’t going to deal with the problem then the people will… enjoy your broken nose in that fresh pow YAR guy. Squaw is the best mountain with the worst pass holders… seem to be a bunch of type-A, bay area dicks and who think it’s ok to crowd your shit an hour before the lifts even start rolling.
This is why Kirkwood is far better than Squaw on any given day!! Oh and let go of the whole “local” bullshit…. anyone who thinks they are better than others solely based on where they live, are childish lil’ tweakers who need to grow up and learn a lil’ something about what community means. The “local’s only” mentality is making our sport like surfing… full of greed, anger and violence.
you’ve clearly never skied in Europe. ’nuff said.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I can dick wave and say I’ve skied yurp. But this ain’t yurp ya douchers.
If you are saying Europe is worse then Squaw, I don’t know what the hell everyone is complaining about. I have skied in Europe dozens of times (never been to Squaw) and the lift lines here in Europe really aren’t that bad. Yes a bit pushy at times, but nothing to complain about over and over again…
I was not complaining.
I was merely suggesting that a complainer quit complaining.
Please note my initial post, which ended with the suggestion that everyone just KwitcherBitchin’
+10 – Eurotrash kill at YAR. They’re born that way. The best part is when you yell at them they pretend not to understand English until you double eject their bindings from behind.
Heh, yeah, but when they all get up to the top they straight line their favorite groomer and you are left with all the horribly scary untouched pow. However that’s not the case here in squaw, where every single person in the KT like is competing for that one last square foot of untracked bit atop a middle knuckle. Hence the circumstances are quite different here, so if you cut the line don’t be surprised if you go up in a chair, but your ski/pole decides to stick around at the bottom waiting for you to do the full circle.
Haha So it’s “the locals only mentality that is making our sport full of greed, anger and violence,” as opposed to your non-local mentality that is completely laid back? You just said you would break someone’s nose for stepping in front of you in the lift line, among two full paragraphs of SUPER laid back non-local genius. <—sarcasm
If you don't like the way things are, don't ride Squaw. I'm aggressive in line but even if someone cuts me off, I'm still just happy to be riding a sick pow day and I brush it off. Try that mentality, and maybe you won't describe yourself in your next post.
Try not cutting dipshit, then we woouldnt be having this conversation and I won’t have to put my head up my ass to get your “mentality”.
I enjoy riding powder as it is. Try the mentality of not upsetting those around you, earth muffin.
Could not agree more.
It’s NOT the locals who are pushy and obnoxious in KT line on a Saturday morning when the line is an hour long.
Its the people from the bay who spend 9 hours sitting in traffic to get up here and then another 3 in the morning to get to the KT line to only get 5 runs before having to drive back to the bay, which will take them another 9 hours.
I love mashing threw big crowds down village run, and cutting in the KT line. It gets me amp’d up in the morning, gets my blood pumping, and the village run gapper obsitical course is the perfect way to end the day.
SUCK IT tourist
SUCK IT andy
Yarr live long
Gnar til I die
Here it comes folks…To a mountain near you, corporate skiing at its finest. Disenfranchise the locals who actually love the place for the credit card carrying huffing and puffing texan-bay-from-out-of-town/state/country gaper.
First: Purchase said mountain with promises of only making the mountain ‘better’ for everyone.
A)Fire all existing supervisors, staff, managers, directors etc.
B)Make said former employees interview for the jobs they already had.
C)Hire almost all managers and directors from another already corporate ski area in the area; preferable if said ski area is owned by Colorado based corporation. Effect: Disenfranchise and humble local staff, remind them who is now in charge, institute new company culture independent of existing and long lasting vibe.
Two: They will tell you how much radder the mountain will be with all this corporate money.
Three: Initial efforts will be made to spruce the place up. More signs/trail signs etc. Fresh paint and cushy seats added to gaper lifts. Increased hiring of mountain hosts and general ass wipers.
Four: Ass kissing of the locals by the front man for the share holders so long as they don’t piss off said share holders. See official game of Gnar results…
Five: Lift upgrades and added amenities. After the influx of clients have had their day laid out by mountain hosts/ass kissers (AK’s) they can now stand at the top of each recommended run, just below the roll in, and debate which way they should go (Down is always a goods start). After several laps of this three things happen: complaints to ski patrol of ‘out of control skiers/boarders in the rock garden, complaints about improperly rated trails, exhaustion and a date with the new amenities (spa, bar, foot massage, reach around etc.)
Six: Buy competing resort and monopolize the awesome skiing in the area. Repeat first five steps with the addition of even more outside managerial talent due to the fact there are now departments of over three hundred employees. An MBA is now required to apply for the job eliminating many of the local managers from consideration, which pushes them into supervisor roles.
Seven: Where we appear to be now. Front man for shareholders sees the locals cannot be massaged or cowed so he sides with gapers/texans/colorado tourons etc and encourages them to taddle on said locals for getting so much gnarlier than they are comfortable with.
Eight: Raise pass prices to decrease number of locals who can out rite buy a pass. Since their is a monopoly on the rad skiing the locals will now have to grovel for some sort of menial BS job so they can get their rad on. Now they are subject to all rules of shareholders and said front man.
Nine: Resort now markets the shit out of how awesome of a family destination the place is now that the locals have been cowed and brought into line. Increased vacation home purchases by people from all over the country instead of just the bay. Fewer locals who actually work for a living can now buy a house so they either become forever renters or they move some place else.
Ten: The already disappearing seasonal shredder ethos goes the way of all the fun shit we used to do before assholes with too much money decided they wanted to make money off of radness.
I hope I am Chicken Little in this process but I really kind of doubt it.
You must be good at Stump. You hit that nail square on the head.
Well done! You forgot Step 10: Sell it for a massive profit. This is KSL’s modus operandi.
you’re a dork. move on or move out.
I already did that once in the town I was born in, Bear Valley on Hwy 4. I may be a dork with a degree I never use but I bet I can shred so much harder than you and still have something intelligent to say on the lift in between safety meetings.
Thank you! Haven’t seen a better BS business plan to piss off more people laid out as you have done. Also, if people want improperly rated trails, they should go to Northstar…save the good ones for us.
i for one can not wait for 8 to happen! remember all of three years ago when passes were $1500 and kt storm days felt like you were at a private country club. probably not. PLEASE raise the pass prices NOW! if your a dedicated squaw rider you’ll find a way to get your hands on one. unfortunately this is not going to happen. the #1 goal of the cheap pass is village, village, village. retail, real estate, restaurants this is where Killing. Squaw. Locals. is making the $. so although raising pass price would be the best thing that could happen to place, dont hold your breath.
You missed the “Executive Pass” – costs 50% – 100% more, gives holders ski school / patrol line cut privileges.
Ha, no joke man. Looks at the Mammoth Black Pass. $10k and you can cut in line on pow days.
50% on $400. where do i sign up?
Bad-ass dudes give wrong directions to tourists and dudes wonder why there are consequences. Do I care if the rad dudes lose their job, their home and their marriage: nope: I’ll buy a place for 4 months of the year. Reap as ye sow.
To all you Yarrhoos out there (and you know who you are): If you want to be a rude AHole and ski over my board to cut in front of me in line, fine. Go ahead. But when I call you on it and get in your face about it, why do you start crying and whining like a little bitch and why do you tell ME that I’M the one being the AHole? Oh, right, because you’re a little punk bitch. I dealt with your crap for the first seven or eight years I lived here but as of five or six years ago I stopped being tolerant of AHole behavior in line. If you cut in front of me you WILL hear about it. So how about this? Stop being a rude AHole and I will stop calling you out on it.
And boo to you Unofficial for condoning this kind of behavior. I’m all for irreverence and levity, but significant parts of this post promote neither….
No one starts shit cause no one cares bromanguydude. You and the rest of these jerrys will just never get it. It’s not about malicious acts. And your right unofficial is super gay, especially miles Clark (start learning how to ski and stop thinking your the shit) ps.. No one likes you.
This whole thing seems pretty petty and high school like if you ask me. Trust me, I’m an aging punk rocker who loves sticking his thumb in the eye of authority and such. But do it the right way. Skiing fast through crowded areas, doesn’t prove any point except “i’m a selfish trustafarian bro-brah who’s used to getting everything I want in life and should be able to whatever I want ,fuck everyone else.”
Honestly, witth the merger and expected crack downs on life as we know it at Squaw, Unofficial now has a chance to not just be a provider of stoke, but to be a voice for series opposition to negative policies by management. Don’t degrade and give away that power you may have with selfish reactions.
That being said, what you need is the biggest game of GNAR in history. Put out the call to your friends who live at other resorts and open your couches, and get them to commit to the cause of a year long GNAR attack on Squaw.. One that has so many people that it’s impossible for patrol to stop, and goes on day after day after day all season long, creating a whack-a-mole scenario where every time they bust someone rippin BN, 3 more people rip by naked that they can’t catch. Turn the mountain into an absolute out of control party for the whole year and drive home the point that skiing is supposed to be fun.
Too big too fail!!
This. Seriously…this.
What he said!
Yar right on… A season of GNAR!
I am game. I have many of friends here in Winter Park who want to check out Squaw and I want to come back. We all play GNAR in our form out here and have our lines almost done being assigned. Lets get a huge game and I’ll be the WP crew on board. We are behind you guys 100%, just as long as you all remember that even locals were tourists at one time.
YARRRRRRR HARRRR HARRRRRRR!!!!
Amazing how so many people can get so worked up over what a freakin’ Bay Area reporter said, NOT Andy.
It’s like a game of freakin’ “telephone” from grade school, when one person whispers to another person a sentence, one time, and one time only, then that person has to repeat it to the next one in line, and so on, and so on….
If the shoe fits, learn to READ….
I’ll see you at the Chammy…
Agree with you LTG. Thankfully, a few (very few) have brains. This type of behavior will not fly for a minute. In response to What Would Shane Do, I met him and rode the chair with him ( Red Dog & Squaw Creek) on a powder day while many of his bro-brahs were on KT. He said he didn’t want to deal with the mania and knew many great lines on those two chairs. He explained how he thought of the Volant Spatula from a Stinger water ski. I got the impression he would not pull this kind of B.S. at all.
Agree, with LTG!!!
Get your facts straight.
All condescending and pointed remarks were made by the reporter, NOT Andy or anyone at Squaw Valley…The reporter basically must have gotten shoved around in KT line one too many times and saw an opportunity to write about how she really feels…
Send an email to the reporter directly at: [email protected]
Aaron,
Thanks for the tour last year on my stay. Never got the chance to properly say thanks man.
Cheers
Jordan
What’s up Jordan! No worries on the tour, you nailed some great days last year. Let’s hope we get plenty more of those epic days…Pray for snow and I hope to see on KT..
Cheers,
Aaron
I think she must have gotten shoved around and yellow snowed by The A-Train….
That article says that Squaw has ALREADY sold 30% more passes from last year. And they havent even reached peak selling period yet.
Im scared or pow days when Alpine is closed and Lower Mountain resembles a friggin gulag
You don’t have to get me drunk to get me naked. With that said let the games begin.
pppsssssstttttt…hey you guys who are taking this seriously……….it’s all a joke….ya know……ha ha? get it?
There is a difference between cutting in line, which is NOT acceptable (oh, your friend is up there? thats great, i have a hundred friends up there), and doing things that ARE acceptable in KT line – skiing over other people’s skis (oh noes, my topsheets!!1!), filling chairs, etc.
So basically the Squaw response to crowded storm days is to bitch about the locals? Lame. Why not do something to fix the problem?
/ And being a dick and cutting in line is not cool, I don’t care how bad-ass you think you are.
According to KT-22 Bylaw #812.3 Bravo…to be eligible for line cutting a rider must have earned 50,000 G.N.A.R. points. Simply put, no 50K means get in the back of the queue.
I was at that presentation and those were not Andy’s words. That writer was way off mark, who knows what she was attempting to accomplish. End of story.
Andy is alright and will be bringing some much needed improvements to Squaw, including the inherently bad attitude of many, (esp new punks who finally can afford a squaw pass) employees, locals and guests.
For the rest of you dic-licks who push line on KT or threaten violence, get a clue, KT gets raked in about half an hour, so what’s your deal? You really want to have that vibe when you’re doing one of the most fun things on the planet? Soooo Lame. Shut up and Ski ya puny wanna-be-ganstas.
We live in Squaw and it’s not cool to cut infront of my 6 and 11 year old and skiing fast by them (using them as gates) is a great way to get your ass kicked.
Squaw’s lift lines will never be organized and line cutters or people being aggressive in line are only tolerated by people that are too much of a puss to say something. It’s self policed.
I’ll personally stick with the game of G.N.A.R, and last time I checked Shane and Gaffney made cutting in K.T. line negative points… Play Y.A.R. and you’ll get in trouble and fights all day, everyday. Also, being around you will not be as fun. On the other hand, if you play G.N.A.R. you will have fun all day, make friends, and be very enjoyable to be around. Can’t beat that!
p.s. I am sure Shane would not participate in Y.A.R.. He would probably frown upon it greatly.. Just have fun people
don’t you lose GNAR points for cutting the KT line?
The gapers pay a lot of our bills. I think it’s all out of context. We need the bay area folks and it can’t hurt to have better line control. I think that’s what Andy was really saying. I don’t really think that much is going to change for locals (we’ll see this season, I could be wrong). Why beat him up about what reporters said. I think he’s just doing his job to help this place become the international all season resort it needs to be.
Here is my take of the typical hostile confrontation in the KT line. It’s kind funny to see how this formula holds true for about 80-90% of these situations.
Ingredients:
1) Local Bro-brah/Squallywood-Radedude (Not a bad person, especially when you take him off the mountain)
2) Gaper/Touron/BayAreaWeekendWarrior (Also not a bad person)
3) Powder (its limited quantity causes frenzied behavior)
4) TESTOSTERONE (raised levels due to surrounding frenzy atmosphere)
Preperation:
1) Combine ingredients in KT lift line.
2) Gaper must break unwritten rule of lift line (completely unaware)
3) Bro-Brah must call gaper out for this heinous violation of unwritten code (probably justified, at least in his mind) .
Final instructions:
1) Add mixture to ice in a blender.
2) Press Frappe.
3) Enjoy exchange of dick showing, colorful word play, and even fists flying.
Notice in these situations that neither person is inherently wrong (usually). Just too much testosterone, an unwillingness to back down on either side, and the resulting escalation. Next time you see a KT confrontation, see if this formula applies, then laugh your ass off. At least you’ll get some humor out of a stupid situation.
funny, i’ve seen more chicks, local and bay area, way more aggro than bro-brahs in recent years. CATFiGHT!!!!!
I love it – YAR on Wayne! The Squallywood mentality is what makes Squaw such an amazing place. Get rid of the tude, fill up the lines with boring rule-abiding gapers, get the mtn staff heckling the core skiers and you’ll end up with Northstar…..sorry Northstar. The skiers and riders make Squaw an amazing place with amazing energy and that makes Squaw stand out against the competition. What good are the Palisades with nobody to shred them naked while on the phone with their Mothers? Andy is a smart man but forgot to build local culture into the algorithm for his financial forecasts. So many other good points too, there would be no cutting necessary if the lines weren’t so dam long and historically poorly managed. Also, not paying attention is grounds for a good line cut no matter who you are, local or tourist. You snooze you lose. Check out Crested Butte for a good dosing of Butte-a-tude if you think this only happens at Squaw. Finally, there are many lifts where you won’t get the tude so if you hate it, stand up for yourself, call people out or ski another lift but don’t ruin a good thing with more rules, order and complaining.
Holy Balls, I think you LOSE Major points for apologizing to Northstar….
http://unofficialalpine.com/?p=1108
Hey guys,
Super funny idea for a game. BUT….as a mother of a mini-local who weighs less than 50 lbs,PLEASE don’t do the “skiing fast through crowds” pointage….that is super dangerous and not smart. As for what would Shane do? He probably wouldn’t charge recklessly through a crowd either, as his daughter might be in that crowd trying to rip her own turns. As a writer, I know how words can get twisted around. I wasnt there, but it is possible that what Mr. Wirth said was misquoted.
This just in:
I heard that you can get a 100,000,000 Y.A.R. and/or G.N.A.R. points if you are an east coast implant and you go home (Vermont, MASS, New York, New Hampshire, etc) and stay there the whole season. Pretty good deal if you ask me. This way you won’t have to deal with all the yuppies and new KSL bullshit and all the Squaw locals won’t have to deal with you anymore
This is just the way squaw is with the lines. Everyone needs to get over it. If they don’t like it go ski somewhere else. I seem to remember personally walking over fifty sets of skis to get to the front of the Silverado line when they used to load it from the other side. So maybe how afro people get in line is actually less than it used to be. People who can navigate a double black diamond lift line like they do the middle knuckle do deserve to get more laps in. Its just the way it is.
I dont see many “afro” people at squaw, especially around Silverado.
everthing except riding fast through crowds. get to where you’re going, no problem; but putting it in a game will get some little kid hurt as the game escalates. no bueno.
I have met and interacted with Andy Wirth a handful of times and I must say the guy is actual pretty cool. Some reasons I say this:
1.) He read GNAR immediately when he got to Squaw
2.)His wife and him went around the village on Christmas and gave homemade cookies to all village employees. Not sure Nancy would have done that…
3.) I sat next to him at a film premier. He left early and gave me his 15 or so raffle tickets for free.
4.) I have seen him a few times at lifts shoveling off that little red bar thing that your suppose to stand at.
5.) His teenage son worked at the top of the funitel last year. He also has/had a part time job with a local Tahoe business. I even saw him walking to squaw one day on the side of Squaw Valley road.
6.) Andy seems to be really open to suggestions from locals
7.) He seems to come off like his shit stinks just like everyone else.
*Lastly, I don’t cut in line, I pay attention and fill in open real estate that is not yet claimed. You’d be amazed where a ski can respectively fit. I also understand that the KT line is quicker on the outside.
It’s great to see that there is at least one other local here w/their head on straight! I was at the Chammy on Xmass and was handed a cookie from Andy and his wife. Never have I received a cookie from Nancy. I was also a benefactor of being give a couple extra days on my pass.
Thank you Andy and keep up the good work.
Andy is doing a great job. I’ve talked with him at various parties about the crowding at KT and he is well aware of the issues. He wants to preserve the unique local flare but without the rudeness. I heard many tourist voice complaints last year and I conveyed their statements to Andy. If the tourists don’t come back the mountain and local business people get hurt. Get a clue yo brohs. Second thought get an education and perhaps a job. Stop living off that trust fund and picking at the big bad KSL. Get over yourselves and your punkish attitudes.
There’s a way to get to the front of the KT line with tact, and then there’s a way to get there with major Y.A.R. points, you douche! I will keep my tact, my rep, my friends, my pass, and my freshies. I know, I know, Zero points. Whatev, I’m taking my ball.
The thing is the KT line is no different than every day at the Accelerator Chair at Boreal or the Vista Chair at Bustar. Any chair that leaves it up to the public to be polite is going to get chaotic. Can you really be expected to stand and wait behind someone else that is being wishy washy at a merge point?
Alpine does not suffer from the issue due to almost nazi-like controls at times. it works most of the time. Thanks Kate for making that happen. That said, I have been known to ski past a line control person when they are not doing a good job….
There is a difference between being aggressive in a lift line an being a dick. If you’re moving slow or are too distracted with your blackberry and are not moving forward while others continuously pass in front of you, then I will try to pass you. But, if you snake your way to front by stomping on skis and by just being an asshole then that ain’t alright.
I honestly believe that the locals are far more chill than the weekend warriors.
1/not all bay area people are gapers
2/local economy needs bay area money. keep up with the hater attitude and you’ll feel it in your wallet when we stop coming
3/arrogant bro brahs cut line in kt all the fuckin time, call em out and youre accused of being uptight or not sharing the stoke. total buzzkill.
4/everyone has a right to pow if you got up early enough. I don’t care how rad you are, who you know or what fingers or chimneys you can huck.
5/Shane would be rolling in his grave if he saw how bro brahs dishonor his legacy by acting like dicks on the mountain.
Hey Gaper,
Shane was one of the biggest line snakers of all time. It was one of his many talents.
See you on KT,
Bro Brah #420
Ill make sure to put another quarter in your tip jar at Subway when Im heading off to KT on a Wednesday.
I was around a lot, in all those lines and funi cars, and never saw Shane, or any of the real pros at squaw (Ingrid, J.T., etc), cut a line or be rude or mean in any way. you’re a pathetic, disrespectful wannabe, a small but irritating piece of the collective, moronic shame.
HA! Laughable!!!!
Shane was one of the worst line cutters at Squaw. It’s only if you get caught that you loss points.
Put me down for another that says Shane was an amazing line cutter.
We don’t need your money, and don’t want you around. Stay at the bay.
1/not all bay area people are gapers
2/local economy needs bay area money. keep up with the hater attitude and you’ll feel it in your wallet when we stop coming
3/arrogant bro brahs cut line in kt all the fuckin time, call em out and youre accused of being uptight or not sharing the stoke. total buzzkill.
4/everyone has a right to pow if you got up early enough. I don’t care how rad you are, who you know or what fingers or chimneys you can huck.
5/Shane would be rolling in his grave if he saw how bro brahs dishonor his legacy by acting like dicks on the mountain.
We all snake lines occasionally. Fact. Sometimes we get caught, and mutter an apology, but mostly, we’re stoked to get back at it. If you’re not moving in line, sorry dude–watch your skis.
The best snaking is unnoticed snaking. Snaking takes skill. It takes secrecy. It takes tact. And it takes an idiot grin and a good denial if you get caught. Maybe it just helps to be a girl in a line of bros.
I agree with alot that has been said. Unofficial needs to step up and be the voice of the true skiiers. not the voice of rage and payback and mayhem, but the voice of reasonable solutions and a well organized plan of how to improve this madness. Of course we need a little GNAR thrown in with the mix but harming others and making the entire GAME a big “fuck you” to Wirth is not exactly what Shane would want. YOU have the OBLIGATION to speak for all of us here and I dont think this middle school fude is helping ANYTHING.
SQUAW management = big coorperation, expand expand expand! invite all the shmo’s to come and spend money because LOOK AT OUR IMPROVEMENTS!!!!! we’re a homogenous ski town now that looks exactly like every other western resort.
What sets us apart? RADNESS! not dickish aggressive attitude. Thats why Wirth is trying to shut us down because he is too focused on making this place have a “clean” image. BUT thats partially our fault.
Like stated earlier we need better line/lift management and having fun on the mountain NOT putting others in danger. Unofficial, its your job to outline this to squaw not keep pissing them off so they dont listen because that is starting to happen and they are starting to believe your a 5 year-old whiney BITCH.
Im not for either side here, I just think you need to look at both sides, what both are trying to accomplish and what both lack in there one-sided vision. Gnar still has a place at squaw but not in the way its going and not if Wirth keeps his thumb in his ass.
making squaw all corporate is lame. People like it because of the individual personality and access to everything you could want to ski. There is plenty of other tourist areas. If squaw wants to keep a world class rep it should keep to the old ways that attract world class skiers.
whoa! talk enough and both sides of a lie get equal time. I don’t believe the BS here. first, line cutting, big talk here, but in the line nobody steps up and objects to gross line cutting, I do and it’s bad vibes. Everyone does, and the line is more honest. sorry, locals are far and away the worst, and i don’t mean moving quickly in line, I mean dragging your skis up to the front at 8:30, jumping from the single line to the main line near the front, sliding up the outside, that kinda’ shit. and sorry to say, pretty local girls are among the worst. If you don’t like it, speak up, really, and it will gradually stop. And no, gnar dudes are not what makes Squaw great. What narcissistic bullshit. The mountain makes Squaw great. Most of you gnar assholes know more accepting absurd risk and absorbing pain than skiing.
Lastly in this rant: spend all the money on more and better lifts. no brainer.
These comments are great. When the “reporter” wrote “what I call the ‘yar’ crowd” she appears to be referring to what she calls the “yar” crowd and not what Andy Wirth actually said. Note the lack of quotes around what the “reporter” is writing. It sounds like Andy Wirth was just discussing the need for better line control/line behavior, something these comments on confirm in spades, and the “reporter” inserted her own commentary. Anyone who thinks the pushiness in line/sense of entitlement is what sets Squaw apart (in a good way) is crazy.
Season didn’t start yet, so let’s all bitch about what gets us angry to fuel more bitching and anger once the season does start so we can be as miserable as possible until there is a powder day where we can have fun except when we are trying to cut the long lines at KT, then all hell breaks loose and the whole tahoe area will implode…
Really, just dont. We’re all there to have a good time.
Stories like this cater to very few of your readers and seem more like some sort of personal grudge or inferiority complex by the author.
Snowball lift line cutters, spray anyone laying down in the middle of the mountain run, yell “go back to the bay!” as frequently as possible +100 for smoking a bowl with andy wirth
As LTG said,
“Amazing how so many people can get so worked up over what a freakin’ Bay Area reporter said, NOT Andy.”
I repeat: the stuff about “YAR” was from the reporter in her article, not from Andy Wirth. Read it yourself. Here’s a link
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2011/11/squaw-alpine-merger-to-close.html
but here’s the actual quote from her article:
“At a San Francisco event to unveil resort upgrades, a guest asked what Squaw Valley was doing to improve the people as much as it is improving the facilities. CEO Andy Wirth tackled that question by addressing his concerns about guest behavior. Wirth said he had advised the lift staff not to tolerate aggressive and rude behavior from skiers, and he charged the event audience to do the same. As a Squaw season pass holder, I know the behavior he means. It’s common among what I call the “yar” crowd — those agro-skiers and boarders who dominate the KT-22 liftline on sick powder days, who ski “bell-to-bell” (all day), and who dish on “bluebird skies” and “pow-pow” in equal measure to how they push to the front of any line.”
Wirth ALSO did not single out locals. The reporter from San Francisco Business Times is the one you all need to be talking to and about on this issue, not Wirth or KSL.
Jeremy, I agree with you that readers should read more responsibly, identify potential journalistic flaws, and interpret accordingly.
However, it seems you didn’t notice that the version of the article you quoted is different from the version of the article quoted in the blog post above by “ADMIN”. The article’s webpage now publishes: “Date: Thursday, November 10, 2011, 2:24pm PST – Last Modified: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 11:58am PST”. The quoted passages published by “ADMIN” on this webpage here are written differently from the passages you quoted. Clearly, the discussion here so far has been about the FIRST version of the article, while your point is about the NEW EDITED version of the article. The original version of the article is no longer being published, so Jeremy, it does little good for you to tell readers to “Read it yourself. Here’s a link”.
The first article was inexcusably flawed, but at least the author/publisher cared enough to fix it 5 days later. To anyone who wants to read the new version, it’s currently at the link provided above by Jeremy.
Who the hell is Admin? Why does this guy or gal always put up stories bitching about KSL, crying about bears, and banging the “climate change” drum. Have a set of balls and put your name on the damn story. Better yet, follow me around and see how rad I get. Now THAT is something people will get stoked on.