R.I.P Warren Miller

When I think of ski films the first name that comes to my mind is Warren Miller. His film caught the beauty of the location, the ruggedness of the terrain and the final productions were master pieces. He was a pioneer in the extreme, adventure sport entertainment industry.

"Don't take life too seriously, because you can't come out of it alive" was a quote from Warren Miller who passed away at the age of 93 last week.


Below are some goofiest moments from his films..

The trailer for his 1985 film "Steep and Deep"..

My favorite quote from him was "If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do."

The film world lost a legend but his legacy lives on through his films.

My Top Five Athletes of the Past 10 years

An assignment I had for an article was to name the top five athletes of the past five years. You can read my article here. My explanations are in my article. Any list like this leaves off other athletes who could deserve to be on a list like mine. However, these are my choices but I enjoy the debates, the comments, suggestions after all an article like this should stir some up.

One thing I couldn't add to my article was highlights and videos. Hopefully, I can pick out some entertaining ones. So sit back and enjoy!

Lindsey Vonn

Usain Bolt

Lionel Messi

Peyton Manning

LeBron James

Check out my article. It appears I am writing some sports articles again. However, they are coming from a different angle so I hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned for a special post soon!

Ski Race Saturday for Jeff at Roundtop

There is a ski race for Jeff Beinhaur on Saturday, Jauary 5, 2013 at Ski Roundtopin Pennsylvania. It is close to York, Gettysburg, Harrisburg and a short drive from the Baltimore, Washington and even Philadelphia areas. Here is a link to the race info. Dual course, modified GS race, and the results do count for NASTAR if you are a NASTAR junkie. Price is $50 for two runs and includes apres ski food and awards. Registration  is from 11-2 with the race scheduled 12-4. 4-6 awards party, apres ski activities. Should be a good time for a great cause.

Video of racing at Roundtop...

Jeff is battling pancreatic cancer and the race benefits him, hius family, and his battle. Jeff has done so much for the sport of ski racing in the mid-Atlantic. Providing me, my team the BS Bombers, a place to race during the WSI years and the Club Challenge. He also ran the fun Friday night race league. He got me to go to Roundtop many times and I am so grateful for the friends I have met there. He has been in charge of Competition Services for 20 years. He has coached the Ski Roundtop Ski team for seven years. So he has helped younger generations discover the joy of ski racing.

Like I said it is a very good reason to hit the slopes. Don't worry if you are a novice the race is still alot of fun. I hope Jeff is able to win his race with cancer.

Ski Resorts: Mid Atlantic

Hard to believe winter and more importantly ski season is just around the corner as I enjoyed a wonderful Indian Summer day. But to switch gears a bit I thought I would share some articles I have written on ski resorts.

Liberty Mountain Resort

I think I will always call it by it's old name Ski Liberty or just plain Liberty. I wrote a review on this resort that is so close for people living near Washington, D.C. or Baltimore. It was published on Yahoo! Sports and you can read it here.

Below is a fun video with their mascot...

West Virginia

A couple of years ago I wrote a quick article on the four ski resorts in West Virginia. You can read that here. Wow it is hard to believe it has been five years since I wrote this review of Snowshoe which is probably the most popular ski resort in West Virginia. You can read that here.The scenery by the ski resorts in West Virginia are hard to beat, rangoing from the highlands of Snowshoe, the Northern Mountains of Canaan Valley and Timberline, to the Southern Mountains of Winterplace.

Below is a video on Snowshoe...

Wisp

A month after I wrote the Snoeshow review I wrote one about Maryland's only ski resort Wisp. The ski resort staff noticed my article and you can read it here. Below is a video with more info...

Beginners

Three winters back I wrote an article suggesting six resorts for beginner skiers in the Mid Atlantic area. Having skied all six and a bunch more in the area I think it is a pretty good list. You can read it here. Below is a video from Virginia's Bryce Resort...

I think this post along with my articles and the videos might get some people to start thinking snow! The leaves are already falling and soon the flakes will be falling....

Dog Days of Summer Blog Fest: Ultimate Vacation

I take staying home or around home for granted. Literally I could have someone's ultimate vacation by staying home and maybe some minimal car travelling. I could go hiking on the Appalachian Trail, I could fish the pond across the street, or I have a choice of two rivers. If I wanted to spend money I could canoe, kayak, raft or tube either river. The National Park is here. But I tend to have a need to go, go, go...

A vacation always sounds better before you go. Even if it is fun and a good time it could have always been better. I'm assuming time and money are available for the ultimate vacation since this is kind of fantasy. In reality those two things don't really line up.

If I am going with the family I suppose it would be Disney World. Do the multiple day thing and see all Disney has to offer. Though I am sure by the second day of standing in lines it wouldn't be an ultimate vacation.

OK make it better for the adults and throw a beach day or two in the vacation. Also throw in a day of deep sea fishing for me.

If it is just the wife and me. I would say a Caribbean Island some where. At this point I would settle for the Florida Keys. Maybe multiple islands but not really looking for the cruise thing. Jamaica, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, The Virgin Islands, some where neat. We never had the honeymoon trip so we are over due.

Just me. Not really a summer vacation though I could go to New Zealand or Chile. It would be a ski trip. Anywhere but the East Coast. I don't mind skiing the east but I want to try somewhere else. British Columbia, Lake Tahoe, probably top my list but I am not picky. Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, California, New Mexico, Oregon, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway..lots of options.
New scenery, it clears my mind, I would get in better shape all positive things.

Guess I just need to pick one...

A to Z: Yard sale

I have been skiing once in the last two years. Yes I miss it. So no this post isn't about Yard sales like you would find in your neighborhood. I thought I would show some yard sale crashes..something I don't miss. They still happen.

Some videos may contain foul language and bodily harm..

And another..

This looks fun..

One more letter to go and so far a post a day and no repeats from last year!

Back in the Skis

Most winters I would have been skiing quite a few times by now. I'd have a season pass, a night card, a discount program of some sort. This season I have none. This year is different. The weekends are the only time I get to spend with my wife and the whole family. So, if I was gone it wouldn't really help our relationship and wouldn't feel to right. During the week I have to take our daughter to daycare, so I don't really have the luxury of taking a night off during the week. So, a season pass or night card would not of made sense.

Honestly, I wasn't planning to ski at all this season. However, I got the call for a challenge at the Troegs Cup. So I got together what was left of the old Bombers, with a few additions. Putting the team back together..

Most of my ski buddies are in skiing shape. Not me. However, we have three really fast skiers in my age group. Even if I was in shape I wouldn't beat them. I hope my team wins. However, for me the pressure is off. Sure, I want to do well and earn my team some points. However, I can ski loose, have fun with it.

Well, I had a great evening covering the CASA concert which I blogged about earlier this week. I sent the pictures I want to use and I will write a review for it coming up. I think the cold kept some folks away. It was a great show with a lot of different music and a lot of talented musicians.

Skiing Again

The good news is I'm skiing again. I went skiing today. The snow was pretty good, tin in some spots. We have had a lot of rain the last few days which has washed away much of the natural snow. It was nice to get back on the slopes and race again. It was nice to catch up with some old friends I haven't seen since March and some I haven't seen since July. Friends make it a little bit more fun. I also got my first crash of the season out of the way. So, I am a little banged up but I will brush it off and be back on the slopes soon.

Can't ski yet..

It is the 29th of November and it got up to 70 degrees that isn't good for the prospects of an early ski season. Ski resorts around here and as far away as New York have pushed their opening days back. It looks like the end of this week, some ski areas should be able to make some snow. However, I don't see much being opened before the second week in December..at least in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Oh well, I have been pretty busy with writing, work, the other organizations I am involved in, and family so I guess I haven't missed to much time on the slopes. I really didn't get out on the slopes as much as I wanted to last season so I kind of want to make up for it this season.

Well I will keep everyone posted..