Skiing Stoke from Lake Tahoe

Month: December 2011 (Page 2 of 2)

Getting Janky With It

Film Review: Boot Deep by JANKYFilms

Sitting on my couch, looking out the window at a snow-less Mt Rose, I just finished watching Boot Deep by JankyFILMS. The 34-minute ski flick, filmed mostly at Alta, brought me straight back to the 1997-98 season that I spent there, living in the “fort” of the Alta Peruvian lodge. The film is well made, with quality cinematography that captures the unique feeling of living and riding at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. There are shots of clouds rolling in up the valley, dry snow pouring out of the the sky, the excitement of an impending Interlodge, sunrise over Superior, good old day drinking and general carefree silliness on skis. Besides the soulful soundtrack (Thievery Corporations works impeccably for the pow sequence) and the beautiful shots, the lightheartedness is what really shines through. The skiers are good, but the footage keeps you on edge. Unlike most ski movies these days, where the lines are smooth and near-perfect, Boot Deep skiers are more likely to double eject or shoulder check. Here’s to JankyFILMS for keeping it real and bringing me back. My only critique: let’s see some more women. I know they’re hard to find at Alta — especially when they’d have to share a dank, smelly, closet-size dorm room with the likes of the cast and crew — but they’re out there.

Evolution of a Mountain Man

Matt Herriger’s theatrical debut, Winter’s Wind
Former Tahoe resident, cinematographer, and lifelong ski bum Matt Herriger has completed his first independent film called Winter’s Wind. After years of honing his skills shooting for TGR, Matty “Moo”, has added himself to the growing cadre of ski filmmakers who insist on multi year projects to achieve their cinematic goals (i.e. Deeper, Further, All. I. Can., Solitaire). The movie is about following your dreams as a skier and features real life ski icons Scot Schmidt, Micah Black and Gary Bingham among others. For more about Matt Herriger and his new project check out “The Razor’s Edge” in the 2012 Powder Photo Annual.

Theatrical trailer for Winter’s Wind

Forecast Question from a SBDC Reader

Paige wrote us to ask:

“Only get one good week a year skiing out west…have you heard anything about late Jan. predictions for 2012? Don’t really want to go to CO, as we were there last year, but they’ve got some snow, so we’re giving it some consideration, but would rather try Tahoe if there’s some improvement in the coming conditions.”

SBDC responds:

We usually turn to TahoeWeatherDiscussion.com with questions about the weather and the forecast. TWD author, BA, is predicting another La Nina pattern with slightly above average snowfall (105%) this winter. The snow hasn’t started falling yet, so there is a chance that we will be catching up and getting good snowfall later in the winter. Check out this post for some more info: https://tahoeweatherdiscussion.com/some-good-signs-for-the-second-half-of-december

Squaw base facilities look dope! Ski conditions don’t!

Not much doing in the way of quality skiing and I don’t care to relive my East Coast days filled with loose and frozen granular on one run. Squaw plans to open the Resort Chair this weekend but nothing significant is going to happen until we get about 2 to 3 feet of snow. That said, the new base improvements at Squaw Valley are starting to come online and they look great. Here’s a closer look around the base of Squaw.

Slick new season pass and ticket office.


The prehistoric benches have been removed from Bar Six and replaced with contemporary furniture. The space is now called The Pocket.


The bar remains the same at The Pocket.


Bar One was completely remodeled last season with new furniture, bar and flat panel televisions.


KT Sundeck rocking new deck furniture and firepits.


New tables in the KT Kitchen, formerly the burger and burrito spot between Plaza Bar and Bar One.


Plaza Bar still sporting barfy, 1980's (no disrespect to Hot Dog) furniture. Rumor has it the furniture may be replaced prior to Christmas. Let's hope Squaw buttons up the segment and gets this done.

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