Howdy!

I’m Rob Thomas, the new reporter on the block here at UnofficialSquaw. I am now “Officially Unofficial”. Maybe I should trademark that. Someone could use it on a website years from now. I’d get all pissy and file a Cease and Desist order. Then things would just get all weird. Oh, Who am I kidding? That would never happen here in America. Freedom of speech, yada yada and all that right?!

One of my favorites at 3:38

To some this may be a trophy and to others a thorn. But, after all is said and done…I’m internet famous now and I want to share it with others. “23 Backflips” is a collection of clips that friends sent me over the years. The files just sit on my computer getting dusty. I needed to do something with them. They’re all different sizes and qualities. So, I threw them together and added a new clip of my own. Stir in a kickin’ soundtrack. Come on, you know you love it! Plus, this mishmash of clips may make a few friends happy to be internet famous also.

Practicing one of my signature moves!

Fun Facts:

• Lives in Truckee, CA (moved from Mammoth)

• Skier (out of control and lazy type)

• New Home Turf (Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows)

• Class Clown (I love laughing until my face hurts)

• Favorite Author is T.S. Geisel

*Many more fun facts available. Collect and win!                   

...and I've met local celebrities!

I’ve met some good folks during my time here so far and know there’s at least four or five more to meet. I’ve even met some people all the way from San Francisco. I may know you already and I say, “Hi friends!”. For those I haven’t met yet, I say, “Hi, I’m Rob. Nice to meet you (your name here).

-RT…

I included a bonus video too, oh yeah!

*No animals were harmed during the publishing of this post.

Nick Russell is 10 years old.  Along with his brother and their friends, they make up “The Boyz” of Squaw Valley.  These guys ski about 70 days per year, have Squallywood memorized, and know more about Squaw’s lines than anyone I’ve met.

What do they want?  They want to be the best skiers on the mountain.  Their aim is simple:  ski as hard as possible for every single hour of every single day that they are on the hill.

They have already begun to take large bites out of the Squaw’s big lines.  On friday, when the the Palisades were going off, Nick felt good about “The Tube.”

The Tube is in Squallywood the book, is worth many a G.N.A.R. point, and had an air in the middle of it that it usually doesn’t have (possibly making it worth more G.N.A.R. points?)

Nick’s big brother, Parker, is also a dangerous young man.  He made the video below during the Biggest Storm Cycle of the Year at Squaw St. Patrick’s Day Weekend.

First off all, it should be common knowledge that poaching the Chimney is uncool.  If you poach the Chimney, as someone did today, it can upset patrol and cause them … Read More

Squaw got about 2” of new snow during the day yesterday.  Some of that snow came after the resort closed.  I know, 2” doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the … Read More

The Chimney was perfect yesterday.  The freakiness of the experience inspired a soliloquy and a severe tonguing.  Yep, that’s Lake Tahoe, California in the background.  This place was shining yesterday.

When you watch this video you are looking and listening for 4 things.

1.  The Tonguing

2.  Lyrics:  “You, climb out the Chimney“

3.  How Nastily Travis tongues and skis the Chimney (I guess being a World Cup Skier helps your freeskiing?)

4.  Lyrics:  “Then our skin grows thicker, from livin’ out in the snow”

Center Line tracks down the Chimney

LINES SKIED:

- Center Line (not in the video)

- Easy Street

- Chimney Sweep

It’s snowing hard in Squaw right now.  The Chimney will be ON again tomorrow.  We’ll have all the raunchy details right here for ya tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks again to Squaw Valley Professional Ski Patrol.  

You guys truly are World Class.

You comin’ up this weekend or what?  ThIS Squaw Valley place is incredible.  You didn’t forget that, did you?

Yesterday was good. Very good. I heard “top 3 day” used afterward. Everything was open. It was bluebird cali sun, the kind that gives you goggle tans. It was crazy winds that I thought were going to blow me off the mountain, and everything in between at times. Everything was good, there were almost no lines anywhere except Headwall.

We got to explore Silvy in a new way, with powder for the first time. I saw some crazy tracks yesterday and a lot of of tracks of people who had no idea where they were. Look in the foreground at this untouched face of POW in Silvy, with no lift lines.

Untouched Silvy Pow

The Chimney went for the first time all year. Andy Hays took Center Line Hugeeee over the crown and stomped it. Chimney Sweep and Easy Street also went.

All in all 2 great days in a row with more for this weekend. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens on Saturday with winds predicted up to 70mph. Atleast Sunday will be good. Thanks to Josh Anderson for helping with out with some POV also!

Weather forecast below, check those winds on Sunday!

This Afternoon: Partly sunny, with a high near 53. Breezy, with a southwest wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Tonight: A 30 percent chance of rain after 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 39. Very windy, with a southwest wind 25 to 30 mph increasing to between 40 and 45 mph. Winds could gust as high as 65 mph.

Saturday: Rain before 11am, then snow. High near 40. Very windy, with a southwest wind between 40 and 50 mph, with gusts as high as 70 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.

Saturday Night: Snow showers. Low around 17. Windy, with a west wind 30 to 35 mph decreasing to between 15 and 20 mph. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Sunday: A 20 percent chance of snow showers, mainly before 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 37. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18.

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 48.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25.

Tuesday: Partly sunny and breezy, with a high near 53.

Tuesday Night: A slight chance of rain showers. Snow level 6600 feet. Mostly cloudy and breezy, with a low around 28.

Wednesday: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy and breezy, with a high near 47.

Wednesday Night: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy and breezy, with a low around 24.

The Line of the Week
 Squaw Valley USA Hanging Snowfield Who says Squaw Valley gets skied off fast on powder days? You just gotta relax and choose your lines carefully. … Read More

This video is of someone going ENORMOUS on Center Line in the Chimney in 2008.

There is a chance that Squaw Valley’s legendary Chimney might open today.

Squaw’s Palisades yesterday

There appears to be a few lines that could go in the Chimney right now.  Chimney Sweep, Center Line, Easy Street, & The Loft all appear to be doable…from a distance.

How they will look from up close while standing on top, is another story.

The main problem today is that the Palisades are currently socked in with low clouds.  It’s only 7:30am right now, so those clouds could burn off…or build.  We’ll see and letcha know.

Unofficial Squaw’s webcam at 7:53am

It could be a very very rowdy day at Squaw Valley USA.

Follow us on twitter and we’ll keep you posted:  UnofficialSquaw Twitter Feed

THE FORECAST:

Today: Scattered snow showers before 11am. Snow level rising to 7500 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Southwest wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 24. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 49. Southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34. Southwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 45. Breezy, with a southwest wind between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy and breezy, with a low around 28.

Jackson Hole, WY -  Corbet’s was closed yesterday and today for the private [TGR] shoot. It was closed yesterday durring the storm so it was primed for today (although it only … Read More

The last couple of days at Squaw have been pretty sweet! Still not the bottomless hero snow that we all seem to expect on the regular, but on the whole the conditions are good and the mountain is firing. Got out with good buddies Cash Poulsen and Piquet Willard for one hell of a bluebird ski day! That’s Cash and Piquet sending the rock in Main Chute.

Granite Peak opened today

Granite Chief Peak opened up today and the snow up there was plenty of fun, a little wind effected in spots but soft and cold all over. Granite Chief bowl is sorta tricky with some of the rocks and undulations of the low tide but all around it was a huge playground today. The sun was out and people were skiing/riding like a bunch of snow starved juveniles. 

Palisades have been open

The Palisades have been open. Not a whole lot of takers, but there are some impressive tracks up there and we managed to get a few fun lines out of it today. 

Rock Garden was good once you got in there

Other great spots on the mountain right now include Rock Garden, Red Dog Ridge, Hog’s Back, and the entire Horse Trails area. It’s not blower, but it’s pretty rad by this season’s standards. The low snow actually has a lot of features available that get burried fast most seasons. Get out there! It’s a blast right now.