Eagle’s Nest renamed “McConkey’s”

In honor of fallen legend Shane McConkey, Squaw Valley has renamed the Eagles Nest, an infamous run on atop KT-22, “McConkey’s.” The dedication ceremony took place on Saturday October 3, 2009 during which about 100 friends made the hike to the top of KT.

The group then assembled on the narrow peak where Sherry and Scott Gaffney poured a box of Shane’s ashes into the wind. The crowd cheered. On top of the line a memorial eagle was built by Hansi Standteiner. The eagle pays homage to McConkey’s love of flight and his love of skiing rowdy lines.

“McConkey’s” has long been considered one of the classic lines at Squaw.  It’s one of the gnarliest lines you can ski in bounds in the country and it is now named after one of the greatest pioneers the sport has ever known.

Thank you, Shane.

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Now that the summer is here I’m getting back to work on the site. I got a lot of great feedback last year and have decided to make things more interactive around here. I’ve made some changes in the last couple days that will hopefully begin to make SkiLogs.com a more fun place to hang around.

Based on popular demand it is now possible to choose whether your ski days are PUBLIC or PRIVATE. In other words, you can now share days from your ski journal. If you catch a sick pow day and want to share every detail with your friends (including your pictures, stories and stats) you can now make that day public and even share it on Facebook!

Another thing this will allow you to do is to look for other people’s public ski days on the Community Stats Page and read about them. If you’re going to Snowbird tomorrow and are curious what’s it’s been like lately, you can now look for recent public days at the ‘Bird and read all about them.

I hope everybody enjoys these new changes… but remember you’ll always be able to keep your entire journal completely private.

Thanks for your interest in the site…. take it easy,

Ed
ed@skilogs.com

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The venues have been chosen for the 2009 Freeride World Tour event at Squaw Valley USA. The first day of the event will be held in Silverado on Friday, February 27th starting at 9:30 AM. Day 2 will take place on the Tram Face sometime between Saturday the 28th and Thursday March 5th.

Day 1 - Silverado:

Day 2 - Tram Face:

All the pieces are in place for this to be an epic event. Silverado has the potential to be a world-class venue for competitive freeskiing with its vast array of monster cliffs, tight chutes, and technical billy goat lines. Not only is Silvy a perfect stage for these athletes to showcase their skills, but it’s also a great venue for the spectators. The knolls above the cat track beneath the mighty China Wall will prove to be a spectacular viewing zone that will play host to hundreds of GNAR-crazed fans.

A storm is expected this weekend that could lay up to 3 feet of fresh snow on the mountains of Tahoe… If that happens and the event proceeds onto the legendary Tram Face, get ready for Squaw Valley to GO OFF!!!

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Squaw Valley’s Tram Face has been chosen as the only stop in North America for the 2009 Freeride World Tour, which will also include events in Russia (Sochi), France (Tignes), and Switzerland (Verbier).

Look for Squaw to go off like never before as world class skiers and snowboarders descend upon the awe inspiring Tram Face during the week of February 27th - March 5th.

Squaw Valley’s Tram Face is legendary. Its presence in the valley is powerful: it towers above the village below and is visible as soon as you get on the access road.

Its terrain is steep, tight, and in your face. Although the chutes and cliffs that cover this 1,000 foot wall can be inspected at close range from the Cable Car, they remain permanently closed to the public.

Up until now, descents of Tram Face have existed merely as legend: tales of clandestine glory and defeat passed by word of mouth and evidenced by ghostly tracks that are left at night and gone in days.

Thanks to the 2009 Freeride World Tour Squaw Valley’s Tram Face will finally be skied with the light of day and the eyes of the world shining on it. I can’t wait…

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Get ready for a big weekend at Squaw Valley USA, home of American spring skiing. The sun is gonna be out, KT is gonna be serving up perfect California corn, and the 18th annual Cushing Crossing is scheduled for this Sunday, April 27th 2008.

If you’ve never seen the Cushing Crossing, do yourself a favor and get to Squaw this Sunday. The basic idea is this: take a bunch of Squaw Valley rad dog/lunatics, surround them by about a thousand boisterous, sun-dazed onlookers, and let them go careening down the hill in whatever costume/vehicle they see most fit to challenge the icy waters of Lake Cushing!

The conditions seem just right for this year’s event to be a huge party: the snow is gonna be great and the crowd is gonna be irie from a great day’s skiing, bluebird skies and California sun. Expect to see alot of lawn chairs, dogs, cervezas, and spectacular crashes! It’s also rumored to be the last day of KT for 2008, which is a whole other party all together…

One final tip for those planning to enter (and perhaps a graphic memory for those who attended the 2007 classic): if you wear a thong, don’t crash til you reach the pond!

more info

Ed Hubbard
April 2008

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US Freeskiing Nationals - Snowbird, UT

Congratulations to Jackie Paaso and Kevin O’Meara of Squaw Valley for their first and second place finishes in this year’s Subaru US Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird, Utah.

Not only did Ms. Paaso represent by winning first place for the women, but her smooth, monster double-stager earned her the coveted Tobias Lee Memorial Sickbird Award, which is arguably the highest honor bestowed upon freeskiiers. O’Meara was a recipient of the Sickbird Award in 2007 at his home mountain, Squaw Valley.

Both Jackie and Kevin were also impressive at this year’s Suburu Freeskiing Event at Squaw Valley, where they made the locals proud by absolutely killing it both days and finishing 4th and 5th respectively.

The Suburu Freeskiing tour is one of the most exciting events in all of sports. Each year some of the world’s most talented freeriders throw caution to the wind as they travel the country showcasing their strength and skills in the cliffs and chutes of America’s finest ski resorts. Check out the US Freeskiing website to find out when the USFS is gonna visit your home mountain!

The complete results from this year’s Snowbird event are listed below:

Subaru US Freeskiing Nationals - Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort - 3.22.08
FINAL RESULTS - North Baldy

Mens Name Bib Country Home Resort Total Run 1&2 Run 3 Final Results

1 Dylan Crossman 94 USA Alta 80.53 42.75 123.28
2 Kevin O’Meara 90 USA Squaw Valley 80 39.5 119.5
3 Brett Crabtree 11 CAN Blackcomb 75.75 39.38 115.13
4 Brady Smedrud 48 USA Snowbird 73.25 40.75 114
5 Brayden Brassey 68 USA Park City 75.38 37.5 112.88
6 Jake Cohn 52 USA Telluride/Whistler 75.75 37 112.75
7 Daimon Bushi 45 USA Snowbird 75.63 36.63 112.25
8 Lars Chickering-Ayers 62 USA Mad River Glen 72.38 37.63 110
9 Mike Vaughan 44 USA Alpine Meadows 70.25 36.75 107
10 Pierre-Yves Leblanc 60 CAN Whistler 69 37.88 106.88
11 Rob Greener 91 USA Alta/Bird 69.13 36.75 105.88
12 Joel Jacques 9 CAN Whistler/Blackcomb 70.25 35.5 105.75
13 Julien Lopez 13 FRA La Plagne 68.63 35.13 103.75
14 Max Arsenault 73 USA Blackcomb 75.25 20.88 96.13
15 Cliff Bennett 63 USA Snowbird 72.63 21.63 94.25
16 Aaron Hunt 84 USA Snowbasin 68.88 20.5 89.38
17 Jack Nelson 10 USA Alta 68.81 15 83.81
18 Nick Greener 51 USA Bogus Basin 71.38 0 71.38

Women Name Bib Country Home Resort Total Run 1 & 2 Run 3 Final Results

1 Jaclyn Paaso 25 USA Squaw Valley 65.69 38.75 104.44
2 Crystal Wright 55 USA Jackson Hole 67 36.13 103.13
3 Jess McMillan 16 USA Jackson Hole 68.19 34.5 102.69
4 Emily Teague 89 USA Telluride/Aspen 68.75 33.75 102.5
5 Jen Ashton 35 CAN Whistler/Blackcomb 67.38 35 102.38
6 Alaina Huestis 50 USA Snowbird 69.5 32.25 101.75
7 Crystal-Rose Lee 31 CAN Whistler/Blackcomb 66.25 34.13 100.38
8 Colby Adams 82 USA Breckenridge 65.38 30.5 95.88

Ed Hubbard
March 24, 2008

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The Billy Dutton Uphill is Squaw Valley’s original “run what ya brung” uphill race; an uphill answer to the famous “Chinese Downhill” of the 70’s. The course climbs 2,000 vertical feet over 3.2 miles from the bottom of the Lake Tahoe-area ski resort’s Funitel to High Camp. In remembrance of local legend, Billy Dutton, the 19th Annual Billy Dutton Uphill takes place on Sunday, March 30.

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More than 1,000 eggs filled with prizes, including candy, stuffed animals and gifts from shops and restaurants in Squaw Valley, will be hidden all over the mountain and valley.

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For the second time in three months the Friends of Squaw Creek — a quasi-formal environmental group — has received thousands of dollars in grant money to fund studies to assess how to make Squaw Creek a healthier body of water.

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Squaw Valley USA is enjoying an undeniably epic season (pre-March snowfall total is 394 inches) and it’s far from over. Spring skiing at Squaw means bluebird powder days, freshly groomed corn, the Mainline Super Park and the Swimming Lagoon & Spa at High Camp, el 8200’. With Squaw’s Spring Pass, you can enjoy the best spring skiing in Tahoe all spring for just
$179 and then apply that money towards a full season’s pass for 2008/2009.

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