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Friday, February 4, 2011

..... Yellowstone, Wyo. (Ski Press)-We drove out in the morning with the mountains going gold in the light, and the deer and the elk beside the road. They jumped the barbed wire fences so lightly, off into the grasslands and the endless views. And there was a little pasture filled with buffalo, and a herd of bighorn sheep working their way back into the hills. ?You wouldn?t go hungry,? I said. And Jeff said, ?And we?re still 20 minutes from Yellowstone.? It was the third leg of my ?Authentic Ski Tour? of Montana?s Yellowstone Country. After a day skiing the rustically exhilarating slopes of Red Lodge with Jeff Carroll, and an evening at the high-end honky tonk hot springs of Chico, we were heading to the crown jewel of America?s national park system: Yellowstone. Founded in 1872, the first national park in the world, just the mention of it filled my head with scenes of spouting geysers, iced over waterfalls and great herds of bison plowing pathways through the snow. ?I think I?m a Teddy Roosevelt Republican,? I suddenly confessed to Jeff (although it was President Ulysses S. Grant who first set the preservation stage by signing Yellowstone?s special status into law), suddenly getting all misty-eyed about our American wild lands, and the kind of politicians interested in preserving our country?s most spectacular and pristine native soil. ?But that?s something that probably doesn?t exist anymore.? ?Have you seen the Ken Burns documentary on the National Parks?? Jeff asked. ?It?s incredible.? We drove in to Yellowstone through Gardiner, Montana, and had only just paid the park ranger when I snapped a photo of a bull elk 10 yards from the car. Then we caught a snowcoach in to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, with our guide/driver going on about ?geyser geeks,? wolf packs, calderas, wildlife biologists and grizzly bears, and how her parents had first fallen in love working one summer at Yellowstone. She said, ?That?s why I?ve always kind of thought of this as home.? Only 30 minutes into the drive we began to see herd after herd of bison, trudging in single file to a new grassy field, and creating a little Prehistoric-style traffic jam across the road. We saw bubbling gray mud pots, bleached white tree trunks and new green growth from the forest renewing itself. And everywhere there was the atmospheric mist of the geysers and the hot springs billowing in the cold March air. ?That?s one of the reasons I like winter here the best,? our guide/driver said. ?Because it?s so quiet. And the geysers are so much more dramatic at this time of year.? That equal measure of beauty and breathing planet is stunning to see, with the corresponding splendor of creation and damnation everywhere, of unfettered natural law. It?s why on the way out, when we stopped to take photos of two coyotes tearing apart the carcass of an elk, in my notes I wrote, ?Only heaven could be this wild and gorgeous, and this raw and real.? ?Did she also tell you that the bears might also be waking up right now?? asked Doug Wales. The director of marketing for Bridger Bowl, it was Wales who had invited me to Montana, and who had been the most excited about getting out for a cross-country ski on the Yellowstone snow. It was Wales who set me up to use that old joke, ?I don?t have to outrun the bear. Just you two.? But that would have been hard to do. A talented cross-country skier, Wales made it look easy, kicking and gliding up the snow-covered road as Jeff and I fell further and further out of view. Then again out the long, peaceful streamside trail, to the Lone Star Geyser like a throne of magma in the woods, bathing in the sun and a raven?s caws. ?When does it erupt?? ?Every three hours.? ?Every three hours from when?? ?Exactly.? We decided to ski back to watch Old Faithful instead, betting the safe bet. Which paid off like it always does, blasting hot water straight up in an exclamation arc as painters painted, gawkers gawked and video cameras whirred. ?Look at the coyote,? someone said, and there it was, sniffing the seats and then off into the woods as if it had known the geyser?s regular eruption schedule as well. ?That was cool.? That was nature?s entertainment hour, pulling out all the stops in a single day of sky and scenery and sensation in a place where there is no internet and no TV in the rooms. We sat by the fire instead, letting the feeling grow. In the morning we would see those coyotes eating the carcass, more steam from geysers like Yankee Boy and Old Faithful again, and more elk in the river and a swan. And for dinner, we would all order the buffalo. Next: Big Sky. Links: Yellowstone National Park: http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_National_Park

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Mancuso Rocks Whiteface GS for 11th Career Title

.....Lake Placid, NY (Ski Press)-Three-time Olympic medalist Julia Mancuso captured the 11th U.S. title of her career with a victory in the women's giant slalom to close the 2010 Visa U.S. Alpine Championships at Whiteface Mountain Tuesday."I actually haven't skied giant slalom since the Olympics, so it was nice to get back on my GS skis," Mancuso said.Mancuso was also the giant slalom champion in '09, '05, and '03. With 11 titles, she now moves past U.S. great Andrea Mead Lawrence for the most titles of any American male or female, breaking a record that has stood for 55 years.The weekend brought some closure to a season�in�which�Mancuso had long worked hard ."Coming back from a back injury I always had the goal of getting ready for the Olympics. Even going into last season it hurt. I wanted to keep trying. Just being able to see the reward of the plan paying off was really amazing," Mancuso said.Second place for the day went to Laurenne Ross (Klamath Falls, OR) who produced the fastest second run. Ross was also third in the super G and second in the combined at Whiteface.Malin Hemmingson of Sweden was third followed by U.S. downhill champion Leanne Smith (Conway, NH).The top U.S. junior was Julia Ford (Plymouth, NH) out of U.S. Development Team, though the fastest junior was Erin Mielzynski of Canada. J-2 Foreste Peterson (Berkeley, CA) of the Squaw Valley Ski Team was the next fastest U.S. junior followed by Abby Ghent (Edwards, CO) of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail.The USSA Western Region took the 2010Tom Garner Regions Cup with 2,903 points, followed by the East with1,869 and Rocky/Central with 986.Tuesday also marked the final race for Kaylin Richardson (Edina, MN), a two-time Olympian and seven-year member of the U.S. Ski Team. She ran both runs of giant slalom in a puffy red one piece ski suit circa 1980, with her parents making the trip from Minnesota just to see their daughter's last event.Numerous athletes, including Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) now move directly to Cochran's Ski Area in Richmond, VT for the annual charity slalom hosted by two-time Olympian Jimmy Cochran tomorrow.OFFICIAL RESULTS2010 Visa U.S. Alpine ChampionshipsLake Placid, NY - March 22, 2010Women?s Giant Slalom1. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA, 2:07.522. Laurenne Ross, Klamath Falls, OR, 2:08.113. Malin Hemmingsson, Sweden, 2:08.254. Leanne Smith, Conway, NH, 2:08.985. Megan McJames, Park City, UT, 2:09.17

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Snowbird Delivers for Subaru Freeski Championships

..... Salt Lake City, Utah (Ski Press)-The 2010 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour came to a close today, on Snowbird?s North Baldy venue at the Subaru Freeskiing World Championships. The crowd surpassed Saturday?s semi-final by two fold; there were rows upon rows of dug out snow benches, the smell of burgers on travel grills and the random toots from horns and megaphones, all in support of the remaining athletes that have made it through the Tour gauntlet. The Super-Finals, were a collection of the top five women and 12 men from the Finals, and it was definitely a stomp to win situation on North Baldy, considering the level of skiers in the mix. For the men, an East coaster won, Lars Chickering-Ayers, of Mad River Glen, Vermont, skied a fast, aggressive line, getting huge air off of Flying Squirrel Cliff and then straight-lining it to a double-drop in the Amphitheater, earning him a combined score of 125.57. Following Chickering-Ayers in second was Drew Stoecklein, of Snowbird, Utah, with 121.37, in third was Oakley White-Allen, of Snowbird, Utah, with 119.5, in fourth, Nick ''little buddy'' Greener, of Snowbird, Utah, with 117.5, which also earned him the coveted Backcountry.com Sickbird Award. For the overall Tour standings, Arne Backstrom, of Squaw Valley, California, who took ninth today, hung onto to his season-long Tour Leader title, winning the coveted McConkey Cup. Of those that stomped hardest and landed, for the women, Angel Collinson, of Snowbird, Utah, was the definite leader, earning a combined score of 104.23. Collinson?s aggressive skiing and strategic double cliff drop in Amphitheater, not only earned her the top spot for today, but also was enough to push into the lead for overall Tour points, who also took third in Revelstoke, Canada and fourth in Crested Butte. Colorado. ?I went for it, because this isn?t about winning, it?s about skiing,? said Collinson of what she was thinking before dropping in. For her stellar skiing, Collinson was awarded the McConkey Cup, in honor of the man who not only pioneered big mountain skiing, but also started the International Freeskier Association. As we approach the one-year anniversary this week of the sports founding father's untimely death, it is only fitting that the overall championship award be dedicated to none other than Saucer Boy. "He is the overall, leader and inspiration of freeskiing," said Event Director Bryan Barlow, "It was Shane's vision to create a freeskiing competition, to bring the world's best skier to one place and demonstrate the progression."His legacy will continue to live on through the spirit of the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour and through the athletes that earn his Cup. We know he?d be proud of the progression all the athletes displayed today.? For a complete results, photos, videos, athlete profiles and more, please visit�www.freeskiingworldtour.com

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London walks: Islington's pub theatres

In the fifth of our series, Andrew Dickson walks us through London's vibrant fringe theatrelandFrancesca PanettaAndrew Dickson

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Thursday, February 3, 2011

Risky Business

© Jim EddsAs we all know (especially Nat Geo Wild fans!), wildlife cinematography can be absolutely breathtaking, allowing us entry into an exotic world few humans get to experience first hand. But how did these images come to be? Who made them and under what conditions? Well, behind every camera is a person, and behind every incredible story captured on film is a sometimes even more incredible story — the adventure of the cameraman.All new Nat Geo Wild series Cameramen Who Dare follows the footsteps of wildlife cameramen on shoot in the field. For these skilled professionals, dramatic and dangerous encounters with the wild are a part of their daily lives. With every dive, every safari, every single experience, they put their lives on the line to capture wildlife at its best. In wildlife filming, you only get one opportunity — there are no re-takes. You have to be in the right place at the right time, and often that requires putting yourself directly into the line of fire. From helicopter crashes and leopard attacks to animal charges and deadly bites, experience the blood, sweat, and adrenaline behind the lens and the dangers involved in getting wildlife’s award-winning shots. Cameramen Who Dare premieres Sunday at 8P et/pt with a 3-hour event! Only on Nat Geo Wild.Pictured above: Cameraman Mark Rackley holds his breath underwater while filming alligators in the Everglades. Mark went diving without any protective wear.Video Preview: "Filming in Shark Bait" — While following a sardine run, one underwater photographer finds himself smack dab in the middle of a shark feast.