2011 TGP Big Mtn Telemark Comp: Targhee
This last weekend I competed in the first stop of the, Tough Guy Productions: Big Mountain Telemark Series, at Grand Targhee resort. It has been a long time since multiple big mountain telemark events were linked together in a point-series, and I was stoked to compete and earn some points towards the series! Great snow conditions, nearly untouched venues, and the energized attitude of the other athletes added to my excitement. In the qualifier I sent a double-stager off the cornus and skied down and aired off two more features. The run left me in 5th place headed into day two.
The second day’s venue was a lot gnarlier. Having a visual inspection only, and after we were told that there were pockets of variable and facetted snow, I decided to ski a more conservative line. My smart skiing allowed me to stomp all my landings and stay on my feet, and kept me in 5th place going into the Super Finals! For my super final run I refined my first line choice and skied it harder and faster. My plan to ski more conservative in the super finals dropped me down a spot and I ended up tied for 6/7th place.
I feel that the past few days served to showcase the best telemark skiing that I have ever seen in a competition!!! Congratulations to my good friends: Paul Kimbrough-1st, Will Cardamone-2nd, and Jake Sakson-3rd for taking the top three spots! You guys killed it out there!!!
I also want to thank all my sponsors and especially Beyond Costal Sun Care and Chums for being some of the TGP Series Sponsors!
First Snow of the Season Revs up my Pre-season Stoke
With the skiing dreams really showing up in the last few months I have been so anxious to ski that I was thinking about driving all the way to the Breanu Sand Dunes to go sand skiing. When I awoke this morning to find snow pouring out of the clouds, I could hardly contain my excitement. I ran around the house waking up everyone, making sure that I wasn’t dreaming. After running outside and throwing some snowballs for Bailey, my dog, I went onto the Sun Valley website to check out the real time status of the snow on the mountain cams and the snow depth indicator read 9in! Update: it now reads 12inches one hour later
I hope that this fresh blanket is a tell tale sign of a big winter to come. I have a bet with some friends going on about how many inches we’re going to get here in Sun Valley. How many inches do you think we are going to get here in Sun Valley? Leave a comment on this post, and if you’re the closest at the end of the year you will win the prize!
This is also the first snow the New Gondola has experienced
