Forrest Gladding

New Year Stroll

2010-01-01T16:54:00.003-07:00

Melanie

20 inches in 48 hrs

2009-12-31T17:05:00.006-07:00

Max, my 13yr old son gets deep.

Jonas Harris, age 11 rides better than you!

Andy Earl

Tony Madrid

Looks like some ice climbers needed to get rescued.

Storm Riding

2009-12-31T16:04:00.004-07:00

DUMPING!

Sam gives his mom the thumbs up. I don't think he realizes how lucky he is to have a mom that shreds with him.

Another good day at the Bird!

Quick Tour

2009-12-28T18:15:00.001-07:00

Pouchy

Holiday Chill

2009-12-26T20:32:00.002-07:00

2009-12-26T19:49:00.003-07:00

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T13:18:00.003-07:00

2009-12-19T20:17:00.001-07:00

40 inches in 48 hours!

2009-12-13T17:22:00.005-07:00

Max my 13 yr old slashes in the blizzard!

Micah wheelies in the pow.

Sam my 10 yr old gets a taste of the pow!

This was the plaza deck this morning. By the time I left the tables were completely buried!

I think it was physically impossible to snow any harder than it did today!

That is going to take a while to dig out.

20 inches in the past 12 hours, 32 in the past 24 hours and 40 inches in the past 48 hours! It took me a half hour just to dig my car out. Gotta love Utah on days like today. Avi danger is off the hook right now. Hopefully this storm will flush things and the snowpack can get a fresh start.

Sorry the pictures are not better today, its hard to shoot with a raging blizzard going on!

2009-12-12T17:23:00.002-07:00

3 slide offs on the way home. Its really starting to come down!

2009-12-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

-12 degrees on the peak, cold snap continues.

2009-12-06T15:54:00.001-07:00

2009-11-28T19:48:00.002-07:00

5 days on snow so far. Inversion is setting in with vengeance, looks like it's going to stick around for another week. We need snow.

First Tram 09/10 Season

2009-11-26T19:23:00.002-07:00

Snowiest Month Ever!

2009-11-24T14:10:00.007-07:00

While Utah is getting off to a slow start, Whistler is starting off with a bang.

From Whistler's website:
The Record's Broken! It's officially the snowiest month ever. 209 inches!

I guess the Olympics will at least have snow.

From Mt. Baker's website:
Mt. Baker has recieved over 190 inches in the last 21 days-that is an incredible amount of snow. especially this early in the winter!

Base at Pan Dome: 100 inches.

Sunday Stroll

2009-11-22T15:27:00.003-07:00

Took the splitboards out for a stroll. Not much snow right now in the Wasatch. Nothing compared to last year. I have seen both better and worse starts to the season. It's hard looking at all the snow at Mt. Baker and wishing it was here.

The warm spell this week really melted all the south facing exposures. Long term forecast isn't looking to promising either.

Mount Superior

2009-11-22T15:39:00.011-07:00

(Click on photos to enlarge)

South Face of Mount Superior

Across from Snowbird and Alta in Little Cottonwood Canyon is Mount Superior (elev. 11,040 ft). You have the option of riding the north face into Big Cottonwood Canyon or you can shred the south face and get 3,000ft of bliss right to the road. Very few peaks in North America are as accessible as this one for snowboarding. In most places a peak like this would require hours or days just to access the base. Depending on snow conditions the summit only takes 3-6 hours.

Looking west with the north face of Mt. Superior showing. The fastest I have ever gone on a snowboard is straight lining the north summit chute in perfect powder conditions!

Looking up the south face from the highway. So many lines to choose from!

Ian Reilly and Jason Dodson take a gander down the south face from the summit.

Looking down the south face. I would do runs down this face to prepare me for the first time I went to Alaska. Very few peaks in the lower 48 can give you such a big open run that can simulate what you encounter in Alaska.

Ian shreds the south face.

Jason and Carlos hiking the ridge. Bring your regular board and leave the splitboard at home since most of the hike requires scrambling and bootpacking.

Carlos Lopez on the ridge at sunrise. It was brutally cold this morning, -15 degrees.

Jason Dodson on the summit.

Cardiac Ridge sunrise from the Superior ridgeline.

Shawn Boyle is a little gripped on his first trip to the summit!

Jason Dodson on his way to Suicide Chute.

Jason Dodson hiking up Suicide Chute on Mt. Superior. Jason also can claim Pinball Alley on Mt. Superior, one of the sketchiest lines to be had on the south face.

Micah Storer on the summit.

Micah Storer puts a line down "Edge of the World" on Monte Cristo, the adjacent peak to Mt. Superior. We had done Mt. Superior the day before and conditions looked perfect for a run down "Edge of the World". Upon summiting the next morning we were upset to discover that wind had played havoc with the line. Micah and Jason still wanted to ride it since we hiked all the way up there. Don't fall conditions!

Simpler Times

2009-11-15T17:25:00.002-07:00

Max methods, age 13

It's funny how there was a time in my life when I got psyched to jump off a 2 foot jump backed up by a cooler. Now it's my kids turn.

It's a Start

2009-11-14T14:45:00.003-07:00

Not a cure for the addiction, just a dose of methadone to hold me over.

It was good to get the kids out and get them a refresher on how things feel.

I actually love riding with the family. Some of my best days have been with them.

The road got nasty on the way down. The storm is really starting to pound. I wouldn't be surprised to wake up to a foot of new.

This dude ran off the road right behind me. People forget how to drive in the snow.

Pacific Northwest is going off!

2009-11-12T08:07:00.005-07:00

Living in Utah I usually don't get too jealous of other areas snow conditions. Last year there was no where else I would have rather been but right here at home in the Cottonwoods. But I have to admit I am damn jealous of the PNW right now. Utah is pretty dry at the moment. Solitude and Brighton are open but only with a manmade strip of snow. This is not helping my powder addiction one bit. I am starting to go through some serious withdrawals. It's that time of year where its been the longest period of time without having ridden powder. I need to start to get on the summer South American snowboarding trips to help the problem. I think Baker is opening up with more snow than Crested Butte got the entire season I lived there.

Ripped from the Mt. Baker ski report:
IT'S OPENING DAY! Mt. Baker has received a huge amount of snow in the past week to make one of the deepest bases we've ever had this time of year. And the forecast looks great through Saturday, with freezing levels expected to drop to around 1500 ft and the possibly a foot of new snow to fall on Friday. It could be one of the best opening days in years.

We will be in full operation out of both base areas today and Friday from 9:00-3:30 with all charilifts running, but wills till have midweek rates in effect ($39.50 adult ticket, includes tax). Due to the huge amount of snow we've received in the last few days, there will most likely be a delayed opening on Pan Dome this morning to allow significant avalanche control work to be done.

DEEP SNOW WARNING:
Mt. Baker has received over 80 inches of snow in 7 days, so we are issuing a deep snow and tree well alert. RIDE WITH A PARTNER and be aware that the snow is very soft and very deep off the groomed runs. For more information on deep snow and tree well safety, to to www.treewelldeepsnowsafety.com

If anyone is shredding the PNW, drop a comment on how good it is. Road trip anyone?

2002 Winter Olympics

2009-11-08T19:38:00.010-07:00

With the hype for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics starting to come to a buzz I thought it would be a good time to revisit the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics.

Whistler is such a party town, its going to be one wild Olympics. Wish I could kinda go. I can't believe its already been 8 years. This year's pipe contest is going to be crazy, especially with the double corks and new training methods such as private halfpipes and foam pits.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Boosting!

Snowboard Stadium

More boosting!

I have never seen such a perfect pipe.

Olympic Halfpipe finals. It was pretty incredible. Me, Ian and KB bought some tickets that morning from a scalper and had a blast!! We even made GO USA! and Free Alta posters to wave from the stands. The place was so loud. I lost my voice for a few days afterwards.

The USA swept the medals with Ross Powers (gold), Danny Kass (silver) and J.J. Thomas (bronze). Ross Powers probably did one of the highest airs in the pipe up to that point in history during his medal run. Danny Kass was and still is so smooth. During the warm ups he would be doing straight frontside airs and giving the crowd the horns to show his love for the home crowd. Danny is still one of my favorite riders of all time. Very few ooze style like Kass does. Kass also went on to win a silver medal at the 2006 Olympic Games. I was stoked on JJ Thomas and his performance. I still have a place in my heart for Colorado riders.

The Japanese kids were going so huge and flipping so high that they would only get 6 hits out of their entire run down the pipe. The rest of the guys would get 12 hits a run! Heikki Sorsa was killing it too, but a fall on the last hit of his medal run put him out of contention. Heikki was a crowd favorite behind the Americans for sporting a huge mohawk for the event and absolutely killing it. I am not sure what the Americans knew what to think of Giacomo Kratter's ponytail.

Closing Ceremonies

Utah Cyclocross, Weber Fairgrounds

2009-11-07T17:56:00.001-07:00

Melanie lined up again for her weekly sufferfest.

Waiting

2009-11-07T16:56:00.001-07:00

Still waiting, dreaming of days like this.

Shane Kelso, Snowbird.

Cigs

2009-11-07T16:24:00.001-07:00

1994 World Mtn Bike Championships

2007-10-17T19:01:00.002-06:00

I honestly believe that 1994 was the peak of the sport of mtn biking, at least for me. The summer of 94 was one I would never forget. I was living in Vail and working at a small bike shop called Cascade sports. That summer in Vail so many of the World's best was spending time in Colorado prepping for the World Championships and trying to acclimatize to the altitude. The lowest part of the race course was 8100 feet above sea level. The local Wed night race series would sometimes see 25+ pros, half of them international. It was crazy. For a kid coming from the east coast, it was baptism by fire and I loved it. I remember some local Tuesday night races exceeding 500 racers! I wonder if a National event has that many racers today?

The start. You can see Daniele Pontoni getting the hole shot ahead of Tinker and Henrik. The Vail course was a clover leaf pattern, or 3 mini laps that made up one giant lap. Before you headed out to do each clover leaf you would have to ride through Vail Village, one of the best courses ever! Thomas Frischknecht was heavily favored going into this race, but the night before he collided with someone on the local bike path outside his hotel and broke his collarbone.

Pontoni really hammered it for one lap. Pontoni had an incredible cyclocross background and would go on to win the Cyclocross Worlds in 97. However the altitude and the distance would eventually see him fade hard.

Tinker and Henrik were the only ones that were consistently up front. Tim Gould from the UK bridged up to them for a while, but he either flatted or faded.

Tinker and Henrik starting to gap Gould. Gould was one of my favorite riders at the time. Gould was an incredible climber and excelled on technical courses. I think he has won the Mt Snow World Cup. One of the best racers of his time.

The chase was on! No one was climbing as well as Tinker and Henrik that day. They were really in a league of their own. The American you see here is Paul Willerton.

Ned Overend and Andre Brenes(Costa Rica). Brenes use to ride for Ritchey and really had some good results in the early 90's. They had a respectable race but it wasn't the fastest I have seen these guys race. Some days you have it, some days you don't. Earlier that year Ned won 2 world Cups overseas and was the last American to do so.

The Brazilian team spent most of the summer in Vail. We did many rides and races with these guys that summer. They would hang out at the shop often. They were a lot of fun. However on this day they suffered pretty bad. I forget their names, but not the faces. I believe this is his brother shouting encouragement. I think the the dropout rate was pretty low. Did I mention the crowds were insane, especially on the climbs. It was like a Tour de France climb with all the flags and cowbells. It was seriously insane!
The Mexican team also spent the summer in Vail prepping for Worlds. This is my friend Bo. Some races he could really hammer and some races I have never seen someone suffer so badly. We would ride and race together many times that summer.

This is Mark Nelson, originally from Australia but really a Vail local. He was one of the faster Vail pros back in the day. He still had Australian citizenship and scored a spot on the World's team. He hammered me into the ground at many Colorado races. He always had a smile on his face even when he was deep in the pain cave.

Paul Willerton had an incredible year in 94. He would finish 6th on the day. Second American after Tinker. He lived over the pass and would race every local race. Nothing like getting your teeth kicked in every week by this guy. Back then all the roadies were coming over to the mtn bike scene cause there was more money in it then. How things have changed. I think all the great mtn bikers of this generation eventually made their way back to the road. How I wished they stayed in the sport.

Local Vail hero Chris Doyle. I really liked Chris and he was always encouraging to the younger racers. He even gifted me the win once on the local Wed Night worlds road ride. He also scored a 6th place one year at the Mammoth World Cup. Back in the day Tony Rominger use to come to Vail to get some altitude training in and prep for the grand tours. Chris was the only cyclist that Rominger would ride with since he could keep up on with him on the mtn passes. Everytime Rominger came to town he would have Chris show him the best rides. His parents owned a diner across from where I lived and I would eat breakfast there often. I believe his sister is married to Todd Wells. Mike Janelle use to live with the Doyle family, now you know how Janelle got so fast.

Tinker and Henrik going up the last climb of the race. They would summit together, but Henrik would drop Tinker on the descent and win World Championships for a 3rd straight time. The saddest part was that he dropped Tinker without suspension. All he had was a soft ride stem.

Tinker finishing second and slapping high fives to the fans. The fans were crazy for Tinker that day. There was no way the fans wanted a Euro to win on American soil. I saw Tinker tear up after the race, he tried so hard for the fans and came up short and it got to him. He still is one of my favorite racers of all time!

Miguel Martinez winning the Junior World Title. He would eventually win the World Mens title, a bronze and gold medal in the olympics too. The dude is tiny, maybe 5 ft tall and acts like a Frenchman. When was the last time you saw that many people watching a Junior race? Seriously the crowds at Worlds that year was insane. Not only the climbs were packed with spectators, but it was a wall of noise too on the singletrack descents. Miguel went out partying in town that night with his medal. I guess when you have a gold medal around your neck you can get into the clubs and bars at 18 yrs old.

Julie Furtado started well but I believe she would fade to 4th. However in her heyday she was untouchable. She had already won a world title in Cross Country in 1990 but she would go on to win the World title in 92 in the downhill. Her and Tomac back in the day were complete mtn bike riders, something you don't see anymore.

Susan Demattei would come on strong and scored a silver medal. She married Dave Wiens. Thats one fast couple.

Alison Sydor led the race start to finish.

Alison can't believe she pulled it off. Julie Furtado was heavily favored going into the race.

One more footnote on the race. Some Africans came to Worlds that year. They couldn't afford to bring their bikes so they raced on loaner bikes from local shops. I even lent one of the guys a pair of my cycling shoes to race on. It seriously was a wonderful time for mtn bike racing.

Also the UK team spent the month before Worlds in Vail. I remember my best friend Knucklz who was and aspiring downhiller taking Steve Peat out on the local downhill trails. Knucklz would come back bruised but with a smile across his face telling me how he just worked the dude on some technical sections. Knucklz had world class talent but BS in the sport would see him quit. Also me and Mike Gibbs went to this race in Silver Creek CO. The entire British junior team was there. I remember going by them in the race and the coach telling them they had to finish the damn race, even if it took them 5 hours. I guess they were not use to the altitude and had yet to finish a race.