Click Here to check the Main lodge web cams….

I know I say this a lot, but if i didnt need the money, I would be out snowboarding RIGHT NOW!!

Kelly (Unbound Terrain Parks Manager Chris Zajec’s Girlfriend) simply put it, in a very new yorkian accent: “its gorgeous”

Get your self here, before the weekend when the parking is down past the earthquake fault. Hurry Hurry!!!!!!!!!!

xoxoxo
-heather

Miss Traci Hartless Stopped by to take a quick pic. She’s always looking stylish, even in snowboarding gear, some people have forgotten that you can still look good with out Over doing it. I saw some horrible outfits today. People in wanna be skittle suits…. hmmmm, not my style. Tone it down!!

You Live in Mammoth

Forget flat-landers… ……here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about Mammoth-ites….

If your one-and-only Car Wash is closed from September through June, you live
in Mammoth .

If you wear shorts and a snow jacket at the same time, you live in Mammoth.

If you’ve had a conversation with someone who rolled down their window
at the stop light to ask you for directions to “the Lodge”, you live in Mammoth .

If “Vacation” means going anywhere south of Crowley for the weekend, you live in Mammoth.

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Mammoth ..

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in Mammoth.

If you can drive 50 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging
blizzard without flinching, you live in Mammoth ..

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave
both unlocked, you live in Mammoth.

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them,
you live in Mammoth.

If you design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you
live in Mammoth .

If the speed limit on Main Street is 25 mph — you’re going 40 and
everybody is passing you, you live in Mammoth ..

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled
with snow, you live in Mammoth .

If you wait in line at the Post Office with a “yellow slip” for a Verizon
phone book, you live in Mammoth.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and
road construction, you live in Mammoth .

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in
Mammoth .

If you find 10 degrees “a little chilly”, you live in Mammoth .

If you actually understand these jokes, and forward them to all your
Mammoth friends &others, you live in Mammoth.

At least the sun is out. Not too much going on in Main Park today, so we made a snowman while we sunbaked.

Backflip??? Holy moly! He probably flew 110 total. CRRRRAAAAZZZZZYYYYY!

Crummier weather, more people, and NO SUN! I don’t know… I think I’ll stay in for now. It has just begun to snow, supposedly according to Mr. Sheckter, we are expecting 12-18 inches tonight, and also another 12-18 inches tomorrow morning. WOWZAS!!!

I took a small adventure to south park with Mr. Zajec (snowmo Chauffer) Not only was it a painful experience, being pelted in the face with snow on the back of the snowmobile, but it was kinda cold, and the pictures didnt show up so well, but none the less, theres some new features going on over there. Here’s a very small peek. More pitcures to come when its not such flat light.

perfect weather, good times, halfpipes competitions, yada yada yada. Can’t wait for this weather to come back.

Now that Chris Benchetler finally has a second to relax at home for a while, I thought I would ask him a couple questions about himself.

Sponsors?
Atomic, Sessions, Dragon, DaKine, Clif Bar, Adio Footwear, Cti2, Joystick, Mammoth lakes, P3.

When did you start skiing?
When I was very young.. Maybe around 3 yrs. old.

What inspires you?
Life

How much does Louis love me over you? Just kidding, you don’t have to answer that, I already know.
Who’s lap is he sitting right now? Yeah that’s what I thought.

What are your goals to accomplish in skiing?
Raise the bar in back country skiing with jump size, tricks, and individuality..

What projects are you working on this year with filming, and such?
Eric Pollard, Pep Fujas, Myself, and Andy Mahre have all joined forces this season to create and build a new model for filmmaking and what it means for audiences, athletes, and sponsors by using online distribution. We will be releasing 5 full-length 28-minute webisodes every 2 months for computer and iPod viewing, available for download off of the producer’s page at www.rip.tv/nimbusindependent. Each webisode will be premiering on the 15th of February, April, August, and October. With a final cut of “Hunting Yeti – The Film” in early September on DVD, or on tour in a city near you.
-Also, I will have a full Japan segment skiing with JP Auclair (best trip ever) in Poorboyz Productions new film “Reasons”

Favorite place you have ever been, and why?
Woah.. good question, because I’m actually moving to Japan since I love it so much… Never stops snowing, the culture, toilets, people, and food are unlike any other.. And I am just in love with that place. It’s awesome.

Who are your favorite people to ride with?
Jp Auclair, Christian Sirianni, Eric Pollard, Pep Fujas, Andy Mahre, Anthony Boronowski, basically the whole Nimbus crew and all my other friends.. It’s hard to have a bad time skiing.

Favorite Joke?
Tough one.. cant think of one right now

If you were stranded on an island all by your lonesome, and you could have one thing and one thing only, what would it be?
My girlfriend….. and I really wish she would bring me a surf board.

How’s learning Japanese going? How many words do you know?
A good amount actually.. I’m learning it with any free time I have, which hasn’t been much, but it’s going well.

How many hours a day do you spend on your computer.
come onnnn.. Not that many.. But probably too much.

I know you’ll love this one… what’s a random fact about yourself?
I love to eat.. A lot.

Favorite foods?
Sushi, Sushi, and more sushi, with a side of every other food. I am a human garbage disposal

Are you really scared of scary movies?
Yes big time… I can barely watch the previews.

Chris has to be one of my favorite people on the planet. He is always fun to hang out with, and luckily we get to hang out all the time, pretty much everyday. He is far too in love with my dog, Lou, so I always have a dog watcher He’s an awesome friend, his girlfriend is pretty amazing as well!

Feature Maintenance

Over here at the unbound we are very particular about how our parks look. Every day and every night there is an emphasis on how things are done, so that every morning when you get up to the mountain, rain or shine, our parks look as perfect as possible. I chatted with unbound terrain parks manager Chris Zajec about his thoughts…

hh-Why is feature Maintenance so important?
cz-All features seem to ride better if they look good; also we maintain the trajectory of every takeoff so that it rides correctly

hh-Which is more important, the cat end or the day crew end for feature maintenance?
cz-Both are equally as important, day crew cleans up what the cats can’t get. Cat crew gives the day crew a fresh canvas to work with daily

hh-What’s one thing in particular that’s super crucial to feature maintenance?
cz-Having the right guys controlling the shovel

Before Chris was the Terrain Park Manager, he worked on the Park Cat side of things in our department. He is a very hard worker, and very experienced in the Terrain Park world. I also talked with Oren Tanzer, the Director of the Unbound, and asked him the same questions, this is what he had to say.

hh-Why is feature Maintenance so important?
ot- Feature maintenance is so important because features are constantly changing as the snow conditions change. It gives the guys a chance to thoroughly inspect all features to make sure that there are no uneven surfaces and that the feature is in good shape for the public’s use.

hh-Which is more important, the cat end or the day crew end for feature maintenance?
ot-The cat crew is only as good as the day crew and the day crew is only as good as the cat crew. The are both equally important. A cat can get the feature 90% complete but it takes that last 10% of hand shaping to bring it up to our standards.

hh-What’s one thing in particular that’s super crucial to feature maintenance?
ot- The most important thing is that the take off has no ruts or bumps and is a perfect even surface and that the landings are clear of any debris or uneven surfaces.

Oren has about 13 years experience in Park Building, so he knows what he is talking about when it comes to this stuff!

Oren Chris and I on our way up to go check out Main Park. I accidently cut Chris out of the picture.