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Life is full of unexpected turns. For Tim Dutton, 2009 was filled with unexpected turns of awesomeness. The Squaw Valley local had soured on competition in his youth, but a random hook-up at the Freeskiing World Tour (FWT) in Kirkwood landed him back on the competition scene. In his first big mountain comp, Timmy was the unexpected winner. From out of nowhere at Kirkwood, Timmy went to the World Freeskiing Championships at Alyeska and repeated his Kirkwood feat. Tim Dutton is on the rise. Hop on the bandwagon of this 19-year-old while there are still seats!

Hey Ski Channel, fix your embed code!

Tahoeloco.com

July 2, 2009

The Independence Day weekend in Tahoe should be warm but not hot and mostly free of thunderstorms. We can’t ask for much better than that.

The thunderstorms that have been building in the region all week should peak today, with widespread storms possible along the Sierra Crest and the most intense activity north of Interstate 80. By Friday a dry westerly breeze should push most of the T-storm activity to our east for the weekend, though we might still see some cumulus clouds forming over the higher elevations in the afternoon.

Temperatures will be seasonal, around 80 near the Lake, and the upper 60s to close to 70 at the higher elevations. By Sunday, however, we will begin to see the leading edge of a pattern change as a trough of low pressure setting up off the coast of California starts to move inland. As that system sweeps from west to east, it will bring significantly cooler temperatures, with highs by mid-week dropping to 10 to 15 degrees below normal. Any precip with that system, however, is expected to remain to the north of the Tahoe Basin.

El Nino Update

Ocean water temperatures continue to warm in the eastern Pacific, and the ocean status has already shifted from La Nina to neutral, leaning toward El Nino. This trend has intensified in recent weeks. The government’s ocean watchers will be out with a new monthly report next week and we will bring the results of that update to you on July 9.

July 1, 2009

Here are a few clips from Today at Las Lenas. It was just about the best day one could have in LL with out the mighty Marte open.

Music by Ween
Song: Gloria

SQUAW VALLEY, Calif. – (Business Wire) UnofficialSquaw.com announced the formation of “The Kick-Ass Blasters” today. The company is sponsoring a team of skiers and snowboarders, all Squaw Valley locals. The team name is an homage to “Hot Dog… The Movie!” a 1984 film set in and filmed at Squaw Valley ski resort.

The Kick-Ass Blasters will be competing on the World Freeride Tour, North American Freeskiing Tour, World Heli Challenge, as well as other events around the world. Team members will provide an insider perspective on the “Unofficial” lifestyle through blogs, photos, and video – exclusively at UnofficialSquaw.com.

UnofficialSquaw.com Founder and Chief Creative Officer Tim Konrad said, ”We’re stoked to be sponsoring this amazing group of skiers and riders. The team will be providing incredible, exclusive content on the site – such as helmet cam footage from competition, photo and video from Squaw’s legendary terrain, and behind-the-scenes looks at the world of competitive freeskiing.”

Team Riders are: Ralph Backstrom, Tyler Boutelle, Tim Dutton, Scott Hanichen, John Lange, Jackie Paaso, Matthias Sullivan, and Mike Vaughan. A Press Kit is available with team bios, photos, and information.

According to Matthias Sullivan, “We’ll be killing it on and off the mountain. There’s gonna be some kick-ass sick s*** that you won’t want to miss.”

UnofficialSquaw.com is based in Squaw Valley, CA.

About UnofficialSquaw.com

UnofficialSquaw.com was founded in 2006 to provide unbiased, “Unofficial” ski condition reports for Squaw Valley. Real-time, on-mountain reports are now available via Twitter several times a day.

The site has expanded to include additional information content such as gear reviews, weather, and Squaw Valley news and events; entertainment content such as photos, video, helmet cam footage, and original reporting; and social networking via a forum, polls, and contests.

For the 2009 – 2010 ski season, the company will expand beyond the site into an integrated brand focusing on the “Unofficial lifestyle” – including The Kick-Ass Blasters team, an “Unofficial” ski house under Squaw Valley’s Tram Rock, a weekly audio podcast, ski and lifestyle gear, and production of movies, video games, and reality television.

Today, MSP announced the first tour date for their highly anticipated 2009 ski flick “IN DEEP: The Skiing Experience,” along with the teaser for the film (shown above).  The film will debut on September 19th in Boulder, CO at the Boulder Theater.  From the looks of the teaser, this movie is going to be SICK!

“IN DEEP” features a wide range of skiers including Mark Abma, Sean Pettit, Eric Hjorleifson, Daron Rahlves, Henrik Windstedt, Chris Davenport, Bobby Brown, Colby West, TJ Schiller, Mike Douglas, Kaj Zackrisson, James Heim, Hugo Harrisson, Rory Bushfield, PK Hunder, Ingrid Backstrom, Jacob Wester, Russ Henshaw, Henrik Harlaut, Alexis Godbout, Michelle Parker, JT Holmes, Sammy Carlson and Chris Rubens.  And, of course, in the film there will be an EPIC tribute to long time Matchstick man Shane McConkey.

It is shot in high-definition on location at Squaw Valley, Keystone, British Columbia, Italy, Haines, Sweden, Crested Butte, and additional destinations worldwide.

MSP also announced that the film is now available for pre-order at www.skimovie.com with the first 1000 pre-orders getting $5.00 off the regular DVD price and also that every US order will come with a free one-year subscription to Powder Magazine.  The MSP Film Tour will visit over 200 locations across the globe this fall, featuring athlete appearances, poster signings, after parties, live entertainment, and more.  Actual tour dates and locations are yet to be released but be sure to check www.skimovie.com for all the latest news and information surrounding this years film.

Read MSP’s full press releas on “IN DEEP: The Skiing Experience” HERE

We, Tim Konrad and Mattias Sullivan, have arrived in Las Lenas, Argentina after a intense 16 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires. We were welcomed into the valley by a strong winter storm that left over a foot on new snow on the valley floor. This was followed by our first day of “summer” skiing and what a day it was. The ski gods blessed us with about a dozen outstanding runs of boot top deep snow on the lower mountain. Each of us took a few somersaults as we struggled to get our ski legs back under us as well as avoiding the shark tanks which seem to be all over place. There has been talk of a possible Marte opening tomorrow which has kept our minds and eyes on the upper mountain all day.

* We have put together a short video of our time in BsAs and a few shots from today but the powers that be in the Las Lenas Valley have shut down Vimeo so we are looking for another way to get it up on the site. Stay tuned!

This past weekend was 36th annual Western States Endurance Run starting at the base at Squaw Valley, over Emigrant Pass to Auburn. The 100 mile run is one of the oldest and most challenging races in the world. This year saw 399 runners with only 238 completing the race in the 30 hour time allotted.

The Run is conducted along the Western States Trail starting at Squaw Valley, California, and ending in Auburn, California, a total of 100 miles. The trail ascends from the Squaw Valley floor (elevation 6,200 feet) to Emigrant Pass (elevation 8,750 feet), a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first 4½ miles. From the pass, following the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850’s, runners travel west, climbing another 15,540 feet and descending 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn.

Most of the trail passes through remote and rugged territory, accessible only to hikers, horses and helicopters.

This years winner was Hal Koerner of Ashland, Ore., completing the run in just 16 hours, 24 minutes, 55 seconds for his second consecutive win.

Tsuyoshi Kaburagi of Japan finished second with a time of 16:52:06, and Jez Bragg of Great Britain placed third with a time of 16:54:26.

Anita Ortiz of Eagle, Colo., finished first among women and ninth place overall, with a time of 18:24:17 — more than an hour before second-place woman Krissy Moehl of Seattle (19:26:02).

More information on the race and the complete 2009 finishers list can be found at ws100.com.