Are you or anyone you know going to work at a ski resort next winter? Do you want to make some extra money and rep a cool company? Now is your chance to get good deals on the fattest 08-09 skis and gear for your friends, friends little brothers… who ever!
Today is the official announcement of the season-end Bluehouse Photo Contest. We invite you to share your most captivating photos of your Bluehouse skis in action. The contest will run through May 20 and the winners will receive a pair of new prototypes we tested during the season in creating our ‘08 - ‘09 ski line. We know the season has been epic for us, so we can’t wait to see how it has treated you.
Visit the Photo Contest page to view and vote on the current submissions or login and begin uploading your own shots.
Thanks for sharing!
We were finally able to kick some video out from the rail jam event. Thanks again to all the athletes, supporters, and sponsors. The event was a success.
Skiing in Bosnia this winter has been a bittersweet experience. Bitter because my hometown of SLC, UT was getting dumped on while I was away. Aside from powder-envy, my experience here has been nothing but stoke.
In 1984, Sarajevo was home to the winter Olympic Games. On the eve of the opening of the games, the mountains were bare. There was no way the downhill events were going to take place on the dirt trail outlined for the various events. Without snowmaking capabilities, the Muslims, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians all prayed a united prayer — they prayed for snow. Somehow, someway the snowgods heard their pleas and it went on to snow so that no event was canceled. Many have dubbed this the Sarajevo Miracle.
Skiing in Sarajevo has not changed much since those Olympics. The price of skiing is about the same and the mascot of the 1984 games can still be seen all over the town. Many of the ski facilities that were built specifically for the Olympics remain today with few if any repairs or updates, despite being having been subjected to a major war. In fact the Olympic venues of Igman and Bjelasnica were major battle areas that were heavily mined during the war. There are an estimated 900,000 mines that still splatter the Bosnian landscape. Many just on the edge of ski boundaries. This make for some very interesting backcountry touring, that requires a very experienced guide who can make sure you don’t get blown up. My guide and friend Dejan is just such a person to have around. In the last three weeks in Bosnia 6 people including mine experts have been killed by mines. The other Olympic mountain Jahorina was a Serb stronghold during the war. Several military facilities there were subjected to NATO bombings at the end of the war. The skeletal remains of these buildings provide a haunting reminder of the country’s recent past.
Like most of the chair lifts and hotels around the ski areas, the ski culture here is something reminiscent of the 1980s. Rad multicolored one pieces, skinny skies, and icey bumps are a favorite of many of the locals. This makes a perfect scene for anyone in search of fresh tracks. I’ve been 4 days late from a storm and have skied fresh tracks all day. For most here, powder is a chore, not a delight - the mindset seems crazy, but being at the receiving end of infinte pow, I’m not complaining.
Here are a few pics:
Serb military installment bombed out by NATO bombing campaign.
Cyrillic sign next to a pizzeria that does not serve pizza but which covered its walls with nudie pictures of Balkan women. Surprising in so many ways.
The most recent addition to Jahorina: a few boxes and rails. . . I’ve yet to see anyone hit any of them.
One of my favorite things about skiing here, is seeing capitalism at its best in this former socialist nation. At each of the lifts several vendors sell an assortment of items from soft drinks, energy drinks, candy bars, beer, shots of rakija, and plum brandy to gloves and goggles. One vendor even posts a sign that his plum brandy will not give you a head ache.
My buddy and guide Dejan. He has become a huge fan of Bluehouse. Notice the traditional Serbian pose.
This Saturday, Bluehouse and the Utah Freeskier Society will host the Urban Classic Slopestyle Competition at Brighton Ski Resort. This is a chance to enjoy a session with your friends, score some swag, and maybe even walk away with some serious prizes.
Pre-registration for the event is $15 and can be completed by emailing dan@bluehouseskis.com. Day-of registration is $20.
I’m no expert on global warming but there sure has been some crazy weather lately. While Utah has been pounded by one of the snowiest years ever, I just returned from a trip in the High Pyrenees in France where things could not have been different. My friends live in a small ski town not far from the resort la Mongie. From their description, the valley in which they live is perpetually covered in snow during the winter. However during my visit, trees were already in spring bloom and only the highest peaks were capped in snow. The mountains just looked so sad, with the dirt showing through the shallow ice covered bumps. I have to say though I was very impressed with the masses competing for turns. I mean why would you not fight for 16 inches of fresh dirt over jagged rocks. Epic.
Picture of la Mongie ski resort in France. Sad.
These snowshoers were determined to get their money’s worth out of the snowshoe rental. It was close to 50 degrees that day. At the ski resort Pont D’Espagne.
This is a view of the ski map for Pont D’Espagne. Clearly no snow.
I’m glad to be back in Sarajevo where has snowed 8 inches in the valley today. Now all I have to do is avoid land mines while skiing in the Bosnian backcountry.
The results are in. Saturday’s railjam went off and was a killer time for all involved.Khai Krepeala walked away with first prize at the event scoring a new pair of BH skis and a gift certificate to tramdock.com. Following Khai’s sick performance were Erik Hughes, John Ware, and Bryan Rossiter taking second through fourth. The Grom award went to 13 year old CJ Bode, and Brian Allen scored the best costume in his sharp threads.
We have to kick a shout out to all our generous sponsors for giving so much: Brighton Ski Resort, Tramdock.com, SpoonMe, and Cafe Sabor.
Thanks everyone for participating. We hope to see you and your friends back at Brighton Sat. March 8th for the Bluehouse Slopestyle competition.
blueSeeing as I am a magnificent writer I will effectively summarize the last couple weeks in a very brief, 2 paragraph “blog.” So we headed out on Sunday morning (Jan 27th) from Salt Lake to make our way out to Copper Mountain for the US Freeskiing Open. A caravan of 3 cars carrying our crew of 9 finally rolled out at about 11 AM right as a big storm moved in. After 3-4 hours in a McDonalds, 3-4 hours in a gas station/convenience store, and about 9 hours of slow driving we got in at 2 in the morning. Luckily we didn’t leave Utah an hour earlier with our good buddy Evan Moore and arrive 9 hours earlier. bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehou Highlights of the trip included: bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse I bought a new balaclava for $16 bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse blueh That balaclava accounted for about 20% of my expenses for the trip bluehouse bluehouse blue I landed one of my runs during qualifiers bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse blueh There was plenty of fun to be had and friends to be made bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse blue I slept in the same bed as Tom Wallisch and LJ Strenio. bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse Some lowlights of the trip: bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse blu I now own a balaclava bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse blueh On the run I landed I accidently blew it on the rail section so i still didn’t qualify bluehouse blue My friend and fellow team mate John Kutcher ended up falling on his two runs and not making it through qualifiers either bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse blu I slept in the same bed as Tom Wallisch and LJ Strenio. bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse blueNow we’re back in Park City with some sunny weather finally. Unfortunately, on the first run of the first sunny day I came in 2nd in the “Who can separate their shoulder first” game me and John have been playing this season. He beat me by almost a two months by separating his on December 14th, myself finishing well below par on February 8th. I’ve got my doctor’s appointment in about 2 hours so hopefully everything will be ready to rip ASAP.bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse blue And I hate blogs with just words so here’s some pretty pictures. Including my hero, Chris Turpin, ripping the S Rail at High North; the ski design I’m turning in a month late… and my brother and Ibluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse bluehouse blueh
If any of this doesn’t make sense, I’m on some pretty decent pain killers for this shoulder so that would be the reason for that. Love, Ryan
A sneak peek at some of the new line for next year.
Featuring Bluehouse’s own Dan Nebeker going big.
