Follow @PartyinOC on Twitter for a chance to have your tweet show up here.
 
OrangeCounty.com is sponsored by
MORE EVENTS
MOVIES
HOT TICKETS
ADD AN EVENT
OC Beach Blog ~ The latest news on all things along the 42 miles of beach in Orange County, Calif.

Archive for the 'snowboarding' Category

NEW: Snow season updates from local resorts

November 11th, 2009, 12:24 pm by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know we try to give quick updates during the winter season of what’s happening at the local snow resorts.

But if you want more info - such as live cams, twitter feeds from other boarders, or to keep updated on events and giveaways - check out a new Winter section we just put up on OrangeCounty.com.

Even though we’re still dying to get a dump up at the mountains, there’s still a ton of stuff to check out. Most local resorts have opened up a few lifts to give snowboarders a taste of the season - and we’re expecting a good one this year.

If you head up and get some snapshots, e-mail me a few of the shots at laylan@orangecounty.com  and I’ll throw up a slideshow!

snow_cam-copy

Posted in: Beach culture • Beach news • snowboarding | Post a Comment »

Sign ups start for Ultimate Boarder contest

November 6th, 2009, 1:49 pm by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

Were you born with a board on your feet?

If you can rip on any kind of board  - whether it be in the water, on the slopes, or up a ramp - then the Ultimate Boarder contest is made for you.  

champagne-1

Last year's winner, OC's Chad Shetler

In what is being called “the triathlon of a new generation,” the Ultimate Boarder contest tests out surfing, snowboarding, and skating skills.

Now in its third year, the skate/surf portion has been moved from Ventura to a closer San Diego, with the snowboard segment staying up at Lake Tahoe.

There’s a bit of time to brush up your skills, with the contest running March 13-21. The overall purse is $50,000, with $30,000 going to the winner. 

 
The contest has become so popular, that organizers have to limit the number of people allowed to enter - so a group of judges will determine whether you have what it takes to compete. There will be 50 people allowed to compete in the solo competitions, as well as about 50 more in the team segment (where each rider competes in his specialty sport).

“It used to be open registration, but this year we’ve really tried to streamline it to have quality verses quantity,” said  Tim Hoover, founder and CEO.
“I love it when we get unknown people – I never wanted to make it where it was a celebrity selection process,” Hoover said. “Most of these guys know each other. We find out pretty quickly if someone is legit or not.”

Famous skater Omar Hassan, on a snowboard

Famous skater Omar Hassan took second place in the competition

 There are plenty of potential winners here in Orange County - just look at last year’s winner Chad Shetler, of Dana Point. Shetler is team manager for the Lost skate team. Huntington Beach’s Omar Hassan got the bronze medal. Pro skater Tosh Townend also did really well, placing in the top 10.

Here’s more detail on the contest:

 

The snow leg in Lake Tahoe at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort, Saturday-Sunday, March 13-14; the surf competition at Seaside Reef in Cardiff-by-the-Sea (San Diego County), Tuesday-Friday, March 16-19; and skateboarding contest at Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar (San Diego County), Saturday-Sunday, March 20-21. 

A concert will be tied to the skate event on Saturday, March 20, and Ski Dazzle will produce a consumer trade show focused on surf-skate-snow tied to the Del Mar event.
 
“A growing increase in action sports popularity has been phenomenal at both the participant and fan levels,” said Tim Hoover, Founder & CEO of Ultimate Boarder.  “We are proud that Ultimate Boarder continues to grow year-over-year which has inspired our move to locations that opens up the event to a broader audience…”
 
After the inaugural Ultimate Boarder event in 2008, the event was named the “Best New Sports Event of the Year” by SportsTravel Magazine and heralded by media such as the New York Times.  To sign up, go to ultimateboarder.com.

(Photos courtesy of UB Entertainment)

Posted in: Beach culture • Beach news • Competitions • Events • Surfing • snowboarding • | 1 Comment »

Bear Mountain and Mountain High open today

October 30th, 2009, 11:39 am by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

Mountain High and Bear Mountain have opened its lifts for an early start to the snowboarding season.

A recent cold snap has allowed the resorts to blow snow to cover the dirt hills. The best conditions to make snow in are cold, dry, and low humidity - which we’ve seen in the past few days.

With temperatures on the rise for this weekend – expected to hit the 80s in some parts of Orange County – resort operators will determine whether they can make enough snow on a day-to-day basis.

“That’s just the nature of things,” said John McColly, marketing director at Mountain High. “As long as we can keep snow on the ground, we’ll be open.”

Yesterday at Mountain High. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

This year marks the 13th year that Mountain High is the first to open in Southern California, and it is the third in the nation to open, after two resorts in Colorado.

Usually, local ski resorts open in mid-November, and last year Mountain High opened unusually late, on Dec. 6.

See photos and read more about Mountain High opening for season pass holders on Thursday.

Here’s some basic info on the local resorts that opened:

Mountain High

Ticket prices: Early season tickets are $25 for children ages 7 to 12, $30 for night tickets (5 to 10 p.m.), $35 for a 4-hour ticket, and $40 for an 8-hour ticket. Season tickets offered at a discounted price of $299 until Oct. 31, or they run out. Regular price is $599.

Directions: Take the 91 freeway to Interstate 15 north. Exit Highway 138 West and make a left on Highway 2. Mountain High is three miles past the town of Wrightwood. Travel time from Orange County is about 75 minutes.

Information:mthigh.com

Bear Mountain

Ticket prices: Early season rates are $25 for adults, $20 for young adults and $10 for children.

Directions: 91 East to the 215 North, to Interstate 10 East, to the 210 West, to Highway 330 / Mtn. Resorts. Highway 330 goes through Running Springs and turns into Highway 18. Follow Highway 18 East and turn right across the Big Bear Lake dam. Stay on Big Bear Blvd.

Information: bearmountain.com

Posted in: snowboarding | Post a Comment »

Local ski slope opens this week

October 28th, 2009, 3:01 pm by Laylan Connelly, staff writer
Snow covers the slopes at Mountain High

Snow covers the slopes at Mountain High

Two lifts at Mountain High will open for the ski season this week, allowing snowboarders to play around on four trails covered in man-made snow.

The ski resort officially opens on Thursday — but you have to be a season ticket holder to hit the slopes. Friday will open up to the general public, at a discounted price for early season rates.

This opening marks the 13th year in a row that the resort has been the first to open in Southern California, according to a press release.  It also marks the resort’s earliest opening on machine-made snow.  
 

According to the Web site, the slopes will be open on a day-to-day basis, and they’ll make a decision on Sunday on whether they will be open through the next week, or on weekends only.
Season tickets are being offered at a discounted price of $299. For more information on snow reports, live cams and text alerts, go to mthigh.com. 
 
Early season tickets starting Friday will be at $25 for children ages 7 to 12, $30 for night tickets ( 5 to 10 p.m.), $35 for a 4-hour ticket, and $40 for an 8-hour ticket.  Prices are subject to change without notice.
 
Mammoth Mountain opened for a short period on Oct. 14, but closed shortly after, when the weather got too warm.

Posted in: snowboarding | 2 Comments »

Mammoth closes slopes after short opening

October 19th, 2009, 9:00 am by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

If you were planning on skipping out of work this week to head north for some fresh powder, sorry to tell you, but you’ll have to put your snowboards away.

After a very short opening, hot weather put Mammoth’s near-record opening to rest. After getting enough snow to open after a storm that rolled through, the lifts opened on Friday and stayed open for just a few days before an statement was sent out on Sunday that they’d decided to shut it down again.

mammoth-101409

Here’s more from the announcement:

“After three days of great skiing and riding here at Mammoth, we’ve made the tough decision to close.  Mother Nature forced our hand – after a big storm earlier this week and great skiing and riding on Friday, record breaking warm temperatures rolled in, wreaking havoc on our snow in the process.

But there’s a small storm on the horizon that may bring some snow and forecasted lower temperatures will hopefully allow us to start making some of the white stuff in the near future. We’re going to evaluate conditions daily …

For those of you who visited to celebrate our early opening: thank you! We’re glad you had a chance to work on your turns, jibs and jumps, long before you had to turn your attention to your Halloween costume.”

You can find out when they’ll open again by following twitter.com/MammothMountain or check out the Web site at MammothMountain.com

Posted in: Beach news • snowboarding | 5 Comments »

Free lift tickets at snow resort opening Friday

October 14th, 2009, 1:38 pm by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

Itching to get snow in your face?

If you can ditch work on Friday, Mammoth Mountain is offering free lift tickets on their opening day - which marks the second earliest opening day in the resort’s history.

The only other year that had an earlier opening was in 1994, on Oct. 8 of that year. 

mammoth-101409

So far, the there is two feet of snow at the Main Lodge (8,900ft) and four-to-six feet of snow at the summit (11,053ft).

The early opening can be attributed to a powerful storm that hit the Eastern Sierra.

Meanwhile, temps haven’t been cold enough to make snow at our local mountains.

Mountain High started making man-made snow, but stopped after the weather warmed up. It’s been too wet and rainy to continue making snow.

The same conditions hold true up at Big Bear, where they said they won’t be making snow anytime soon, especially with warmer weather expected this weekend.

“It’s going to depend on the weather completely,” said spokeswoman Bev Oster. “There’s a lot of talking about it, and we are ready to pull the trigger as early as the weather permits. It’s got to cool down more.”

Getting to Mammoth Mountain:

Take I-5 north to State Route 14 north to US 395 north to State Route 203 (300-375 miles).

For more ways to save cash, check out the Register’s Deals Blog.

Posted in: Events • snowboarding | 7 Comments »

Snow blankets slopes at Mountain High resort

October 6th, 2009, 4:04 pm by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

Didn’t we just have a heat wave?

It’s time to switch gears, put the bikinis and Speedos away and dust off those snowboards. The snow making machines at Mountain High started blowing the fluffy white stuff on Sunday, the earliest the resort has made snow in the history of its operations.

img_1015

The resort credits new advancements in snow making technology, with features like new automated fan guns and upgraded nozzles that allows snow to be made at higher temperatures. 

They were hoping to be able to open for one day this week for season pass holders, but the forecast is calling for a warm weekend, and they may have to resume blowing snow when it cools again next week. They are going to try again tonight to see if they can get a nice enough base.

The resort typically opens mid-November, and is usually the first resort to open in So Cal each year.

 It’s unclear when the resort will be open this year, but a spokesman said it will be before usual this season. 

“We’ll keep making snow whenever it gets cold,” said Marketing Director John McColly.  

McColly said they typically like to get a foot of snow down on the resort just to make sure the runs are secure before opening. The best conditions for snow making would be low temperatures - 32 degrees and below - along with low humidity.

Need a job? The resort is holding a job fair for 2009- 2010 on Nov. 6. and Nov. 7:

Nov. 6

-12pm to 5pm
-East Resort, Angeles Crest Base Lodge

Nov. 7

-10am to 4pm
-East Resort, Angeles Crest Base Lodge 
 

More info: www.mthigh.com/

Posted in: snowboarding | 2 Comments »

ADVERTISEMENT 
ADVERTISEMENT