Yeah Nicky!!! Nicky takes one of the coveted Level 1 Productions' Superunknown Honorable Mention spots.  The kid's got skills. Check out the edit that won him the spot:

Superunknown VII Honorable Mention Nicholas Keefer from Level 1 on Vimeo.

Congrats to Matt Mulligan who just won an honorable mention spot in Level 1 Productions' super unknown competition. Check out the edit that won him the spot:

Matt Mulligan Superunknown 2010 from Matt Mulligan on Vimeo.

I just got a few pics from the SLC Samurai from the Ski Mountaineering World CHampionships in Andorra.  It is insane how fast these guys can run up mountains.  Anyways, congrats Jared for representing the U.S.!

Check out Matt Mulligan's crew in this kiler webisode:

Bluehouse big-mountain skier Taylor Lyman skied two impressive runs last weekend on Telluride's Mt. Quail in CO.  Shredding the gnarly venue on the Maestros, Taylor took a solid and impressive 8th place at the World Freeskiing Tour stop #3.  Congrats Taylor!!

Hey Folks,

This is a tale of dedication that I have no choice but to share with you. The day was Friday January 22^nd, a little over two weeks ago, without a doubt one of the best snows so far this season. I had woken up early so I could get to Little Cottonwood Canyon before the heavy traffic started.

To my surprise, when I walked out of my apartment in Sugarhouse there was hardly a dusting of snow on the ground and practically clear skies. Without second guessing myself, I loaded up the Suby with my ski gear, grabbed my coffee mug and headed for the canyon. As I neared the mouth of what is said to be the most avalanche prone canyon in North America, I noticed that not only had the sky darkened but, the lake effect coming off the Great Salt Lake was in full effect. Not deterred from this common sight of jaw-breaker sized fluffy snowflakes I waved as I passed the canyon sheriff who was patrolling the entrance to lil’ cottonwood; and making everybody in two-wheel drive cars (or those lacking chains) turn around.

For those of you who are familiar with the canyon, you know what I mean when I say the road was BAD. For those of you who don’t, the road was scary at best. But being the “local” I am this did not discourage me. As I drove the road got worse, Rock Gardens bad, Stick Rock worse, Seven Sisters scary, and finally about three-quarters up the canyon traffic came to a stop. It was on this faithful turn that a Sears truck had gone off the road and gotten stuck. About five hundred feet from the truck, I sat there in a line of cars at a dead stop. When traffic started to move again, my tires were slipping despite the supernatural snow driving capabilities of a Subaru, I regret to say my tires were bald and I made the executive decision to make a quick U-turn and avoid being that guy holding up traffic.

With tears in my eyes I started down the canyon. Let it be said that the road about ten to fifteen times worse going down than it was coming up. At five miles an hour I contemplated my fate. Go all the way down the canyon I had just fought to get up? Try to find a parking spot at the filled park-n-rides? Or find a suitable spot off the road where I could ditch my car for the day, and still get to shred some fatty pow? Of course I chose the latter of the three. I kept at my safe pace down the treacherous road and chose the Tanners flat pull off, there were already two cars parked there, in my eyes this was a safe bet. So, I pulled off the road threw on my Scarpas’ as fast as physics allowed and hauled ass out to the road to put out a thumb. The first car stopped and gave me the sign to jump in. I ran around to the back popped in open the tailgate and to my surprise there was no snow gear AT ALL. That just meant there was more room for my stuff I tossed in my Maestros and jumped in the back seat.

As soon as I got in there were three foreign faces staring back at me, two Mexicans and a Nicaraguan. One spoke English, one spoke broken English and the one fella’ didn’t even speak a lick of English. I can only remember Nina I couldn’t pronounce the other two boys names. Turns out they were also headed to The Bird to pick up a brother who didn’t have four-wheel drive and had been stuck for almost a day. After a long and only mildly awkward conversation; I arrived at my destination and skied 7 hours of pure bliss.

When it came to quitting time a friend of mine opted to let me catch a ride down to my car. To my surprise after a sort of anxious ride down the canyon we drove right past where my car was parked. It wasn’t there! My first thought was theft, some lowly chump had come by and kifed my car. I wasn’t that far off. The Salt Lake Police Department actually had my car towed on the grounds that it was a hazard and parked to close to the road on a “snow removal day”. Folks, I’ll have you know I was parked safely inside the parking area along with two other cars.

Low and behold, I have my car back, THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY DOLLARS LATER!!! Moral of the story: A fat pow day in the Wasatch is worth any cost…Period.

Max W.

Congrats BH on making the cover of Outdoor Elevation...

Hey Folks,

I’m a tele skier and I live locally in Salt Lake City. Primarily I have been riding at snowbird this year, for the past 13 years I have been at Alta. In my opinion there is no point skiing anywhere else. Alta's vibe alone is better than the terrain selection at the bird. Although, I am not writing this to talk about resorts, I am talking about skis. I am blown away by The Maestro, it does not matter what the conditions are everything from steep and deep to “death slide style icy bumps” the maestros stand out as the best ski I have ever used. My confounded state is understandable at least, because the maestro is the first early rise tip ski I have ever ridden. The boys at Bluehouse have created a ski that is stable at high speeds, responsive and light. The best way to put it is that if you are skiing on snow, you should be on the maestro.

Being that I tele, I have different issues with skis that someone who rides alpine. For instance, torsional stability, most skis companies that focus on alpine skis overlook this property. Nevertheless, the maestro capable, I have been dropping cliffs straight lining and arching turns the way ya' should. Another main issue is weight I want to have a ski that is light enough to throw around fast in a tight situation but is also strong enough to withstand a beating. The weight of The Maestro is great and as far as holding up so far so good. Since I have been skiing on Bluehouse skis as you may have guessed (because of the graphics), I get into many conversations with people about my skis. One of the main concerns people whom are “in the know” is the top sheet. Hear it hear! the top sheets are solid. That is what think about The Maestro and I am sticking to it.

Check back soon for a review of how the shoots do on the next pow day.

Til' next time,

Max W.

TestLinks: Medical Spa MD

December 2nd,and we finally get some snow here, which means I'm on the hill in 12 days. Can't wait, just retired my old, beat-up MR 171s, and got a shiny new pair of the exact same. I'm gonna miss the old ones, with all the chips, scratches, and core shots that accompanied them. Lots of hard skiing on those babies. My new ones are getting my old bindings, and the old ones got an old set of Salomon 727 bindings that I found in my basement, with the brakes cut off with an angle grinder. I snapped my poles last season, and I can't afford new ones (go skiing or buy poles, huge decision), so it looks like I'm rocking no poles, or a set of 1980s poles (the same age as my solly binders), which are almost as tall as I am. Hit some urban last night, found a pretty sick rail to hit, considering where I live is flat. This one I could actually build a ramp, not like my summer urban using hockey rink snow, soccer goalposts, and a very fast truck winch. Thats all for now, more updates to follow.