Johnny Style

Beautiful Sib, looking good. Steep and scenic!

They have seeded moguls on at least two different runs, and a tough race course.

The car is packed and I am ready to leave from the city.

My neighbor is the ski patrol director at Snowmass. Their most common task during the day is taking intoxicated skiers down from the restaurants, or finding lost gear from those same drunks.

Seth is one of my ski heroes. His segments in the MSP films from the late 1990s early 2000s are still some of my favorites. He has a new film out which documents his last two seasons in Chamonix, and for the moment it is free on Hulu. Check it out: http://www.hulu.com/...-ordinary-skier

Confirmed - NO race at Sno on Saturday.

I only have my racing clothes with me today, dork alert in the bumps.

I'm not coming up to Blue now, not worth it.

I have all my gear packed up in my car so I could leave the city early today. Oh well. I don't know if Mark told you or not, but Sno might be having an ASRA race on Saturday. It is on their NASTAR course. There is nothing on Sno's website and the ASRA site doesn't have any info either, but I emailed ASRA in hopes of finding out some details. Since I can't race on Thursday or Sunday at Blue, Sno might be the only option.

Nice, it is always tough to break trail on CC sticks.

You would probably rather race tonight mbike-ski, but this is actually good news for me. Assuming they make it up, I get one more race.

Here you go Kyle, scroll down the linked post to see what Chadds Peak looked like in the past, and what she looks like today. I am very proud to be from Chadds Peak. I think I ski pretty well, and I came from a 150' hill. http://www.paskiandr...__fromsearch__1

Melissa, you should check it out. There are other women that participate. I know RaceChick participated in the past. Mrs.SnoBunSki does the Wed. morning clinic.

So sad. She was a wife, business woman, model, beauty, athlete, product representative, spokesperson, pioneer, competitor, winner, ripper, skier. We lost a good one today. There are way too many dead skiers lately.

mbike-ski, I know that I have told you this, but I'll say it again. You deserve some credit for getting me involved. If it weren't for you, I might still be sittting on the couch. You were the one on this forum trying to get people involed in racing. I just happened to see your post and repond.

This is really just an informative post, but if you feel compelled, please comment. The whole purpose of this post is to inform others about Blue Mountain racing and to inspire them to come out and participate. This is long, so continue at your own peril... Here is my background. I mention it only to give others with a similar story some hope. 1. I raced in High School back in the 1980s when ski racing was a completely different game than it is today. I mainly did NASTAR and local high school races at Chadd's Peak (150' vertical) outside of Philadelphia. In other words, I was just some hack like the rest of you. 2. I had no formal training or instruction, just a lone picture of Phil Mahre that Ski magazine would publish once a year to inspire me. My entire racing technique was based around a single still-frame photo. And people wonder why I still try to shoulder gates. 3. I stopped racing after high school. Heck, I stopped skiing for almost a decade. 4. I wanted to get involved again. What was someone like me to do? I was not brought up through the proper ski racing channels; I didn't know anybody that raced; I didn't even know where the races were held. Heck, I didn't have any friends that skied. I found Masters racing and ASRA, but these looked like they were for people that had raced in college or had been involved with a local youth racing program. I was intimidated and felt that these races were way above my ability level. I found myself wanting to get involved, but not knowing how. Enter Blue Mountain. In 2008 I started skiing on the weekend mornings at Blue Mountain. I saw all the Blue Mountain Racing (BMR) kids practicing on Razor's. I could tell that Blue was serious about developing talent for its racing program. I watched the kids and tried to emulate the turns they were making. Next I tried NASTAR. I hadn't been in a course in over twenty years. I think I may have won a Bronze medal. Then I found out that Blue was offereing an adult racing clinic on Tuesday nights. I signed up and participated for two years. Blue also offers a Monday night race league. Through this very website I was able to find others interested in racing and we formed a team. I went from a Bronze in NASTAR to a Platinum medal. Since then I have beaten pacesetters at Blue, Snowmass and Aspen Highlands. I qualified for the National Championships and went to Winter Park, CO to compete. I made new friends and I constantly challenge myself by racing. It definately adds excitement to my life. After a race I have been known to dream about knocking down gates when I sleep. I come around corners at work trying to pick the fastest line. I think I am hooked. The point of all this is to let others know about my story in hopes of inspiring them to participate in Blue's racing program. Take a clinic, come out for NASTAR, enter the Monday night race and compete against some of the best. If you want it, Blue has it. My final note is that Blue moved their race course to Razor's Edge this year. It is so awesome. You must challenge yourself against this course, it is that worth it. So come on out this year, you can find me up on the course on any given night. As Glen Plake said in the Warren Miller film, Cold Fusion, "You can't evolve...unless you are involved." These words were very true to me and Blue Mountain racing. I hope they find meaning for you too. Johnny 1984 (thirteen years old):

Argh, that bottom headwall really throws me. You get going so fast that the last offset gate turns into a real choker. It seperates the men from the boys. Right now I am still a boy. I watched Bobert540 ski last night. He was the only guy I saw that generated speed on each turn in the flats. I guess that's how you get a 27. Nice skiing.

I want a trip report. I hear they are getting snow.

Razorback start haus to timing shack. Headwall, flat, headwall. The public can ski Razors but are diverted at the end over to Falls. It's a great setup. A slalom will be 40-50 gates. GS will be 15-20 gates. Your mileage may vary. It's all new this year for everyone including the course setters.

I skied the course today for NASTAR and it is really fun. This year is going to be a blast.

Wow, consider yourself lucky PhillyCore. Today was your Friday the 13th instead.

So much for my Sunday NASTAR plans, although the website lists a NASTAR race for this Sunday, but not the next two Sundays. I'll have to inquire tomorrow.

Back on topic. Since NASTAR was cancelled on Thursday, I'm thinking about making a rare Sunday afternoon NASTAR appearance if anyone will be around, or not watching playoff football.

So is Mark on his own team now?