After getting skunked on snow conditions in 2009, the Freeride World Tour returns to Squaw this Friday, February 26th for a second attempt at competing on the elusive and infamous Tram Face. The contest kicks off with a street fair in the village on Friday and continues with the first day of competition scheduled for Saturday. Like all FWT events, the Tram Face comp has an eight day weather window (Feb 26 – March 5) so don't hold your breath waiting for the contest to start. Forty six shredders are slated to compete in Tram Face this year including 21 men skiers, 9 women skiers, 11 men snowboarders, and 5 women snowboarders. Sadly, not too many local rippers got the bid to compete, but Unofficial Squaw should be well represented with Blasters' Timy Dutton, JT Holmes, and Jeremy Jones ready to throw down on their home turf. Cody Townsend and Elyse Saugsted round out the locals on the start list. Keep checking back for unofficial updates on the contest status as we'll have our finger on the pulse no doubt…www.freerideworldtour.com
Unofficial Game of G.N.A.R – March 1 – March 14
(Kevin O'Meara would have gotten 700 G.N.A.R points for sending 'The Gate' in CII. Had he hucked it butt-nekid while simultaneously talking to his mom via cellphone – 12,700 points)
Yes Doctor! It's alive! We could not be happier to announce that the first ever Unofficial Game of G.N.A.R. is going down the first two weeks of March. The game of G.N.A.R. (Gaffney’s Numerical Assessment of Radness), as published in the book Squallywood by Dr. Robb Gaffney, is a game conceived of by Gaffney, Shane McConkey, as well as, several of their friends from the Tahoe Area. The goal in the game is to get as many points as possible by skiing radical lines, minimizing penalties, and gathering bonus points by performing humorous and embarrassing acts. Every difficult line and cliff at Squaw Valley, as well as all the embarrassing acts and penalties are assigned point values with a general rule: the more uncomfortable one feels when doing something, the more points they’re going to get.
Twenty competitors (male, female, skiers, snowboarders) will battle for the winner-takes-all prize of $25,000! That’s enough money to encourage some great skiing/riding as well as some really funny embarrassing acts. To top it off, it will all be caught on film by professional cinematographers and the helmet cameras of each competitor. The footage will be edited into a film that is likely going to be one of the funniest ski films of all time.
If you would like to compete in The Unofficial Game of G.N.A.R., send a resume and portfolio to unofficialgameofgnar@gmail.com by February 24th. The selection process will also include a formal interview….more details to come soon!!!
(Elijah Lee would have gotten 500 G.N.A.R points for this bomp drop off Broken Back in CII. Had he been skiing sticks longer than 215 cm he would have earned an extra 200 points.)
Snowfest Extreme Food Challenge – March 5
Ok, so this isn't a ski contest but it's a pretty burly event so I figured it was worth mentioning. If you got an iron stomach and enjoy the lingering taste of fermented bird eggs on your tongue, belly up to this extreme food eating comp at Mamasake on March 5th. Rules are pretty simple – eat the item as quickly as possible and don't throw up (instant DQ). Event starts at 4:30 p.m. and entry is free.
U.S. Freestyle Nationals – March 23 – March 28
Also back for its second year, the US Freestyle Nationals will bring the nation's best freestyle skiers to Squaw for a final showdown the last week of March. Competitions will be held in Moguls, Dual Moguls, Aerials, and Halfpipe with a slew of hungry locals slated to represent. The contest week will also be a homecoming celebration for our local Olympians so if we're lucky Miss Mancuso may model her new panty line (www.juliamancuso.com/shopping/kissmytiara) on center stage in the village…no word yet. For full event schedule: http://www.squaw.com/us-freestyle-nationals
