Kirkwood Parts I & II

So far, all I can think about from last weekend is the tragic outcome of Sunday's competition. Big mountain skiing and snowboarding is obviously full of risk, but you rarely see it take someone's life during a competition. On Sunday, Ryan Hawks, a 25-year-old competitor from Vermont, attempted a backflip off of a 40 foot cliff, but wasn't able to pull his body around fully for a solid landing. Though I wasn't up there myself to witness this, many people I spoke to described it as what equated to a belly flop off a huge drop-off. Ryan gave the crowd a thumbs up before being carried away in a helicopter, but sadly he passed away Tuesday morning due to the injuries he sustained on the mountain. You can read more about the accident here.

The entire community has been shaken by this tragic accident. It will be interesting to feel out the mood up at Kirkwood this weekend as we gather there again for the big mountain snowboarding competition. My heart is definitely heavy this week as I think about all the incredible athletes I've met throughout the season and how much passion they have for their sport. I have to give credit to the event producers at Mountain Sports International who always make safety a top priority for their competitions. I guess some things are just beyond your control.

Aside from this tragic accident, the rest of the weekend was pretty good for me. Sierra Nevada was sponsoring Squaw Valley Prom (picture a huge party for big kids who like the mountains), so I was able to enjoy that with a few friends after making sure our brewery business was all taken care of. We spent the night in Truckee and woke up to a bluebird day in Squaw. This time, I grabbed some skis and finally got to test out my new boots! It felt good to be back on skis where I didn't have to think so much about what I was doing. The snowboarding is on hold again til next weekend...

Meanwhile, just one more weekend in Kirkwood, then off to the Freeskiing Championships in Utah, and then my winter season is essentially wrapped up. I should have a few weekends in a row at my house in San Francisco, so I'm looking forward to a little down time before the wave of warm-weather events is upon us. I have to admit, I'm ready for the thaw after months of ice and snow!