Packed, Stacked and Jacked 2010-2011

The Packed, Stacked and Jacked 2010-2011 season kicked off last night in the Goggle Bowl at Seven Springs. The Seven Springs Terrain Park Crew created an amazing set up for the event – and with the Goggle rockin’ the competitors put on quite a show.

Sponsored by Ride Snowboards and Line Skis this first event in the PSJ Freestyle Ski and Snowboard Series was set in a rail jam format with Amateur Ski, Amateur Snowboard, Amateur Women’s Ski and Amateur Women’s Snowboard as well as Open divisions for both ski and snowboard. This division format came as a direct result of the successful inaugural 2009-2010 season and will continue throughout the series.

Packed, Jacked and Stacked, brainchild of Willi’s Ski Shop owner Greg Klein, kicked off in January of 2010 with a 5 event series that gained national recognition and sponsorships to some of the areas great talent. “Our goal”, says Klein, “is to spotlight Seven Springs and the athletes that are coming out of this area. We want it to be a fun series that celebrates the fun and camaraderie of competing.” With that goal in mind Events Manager, Katy Rullo, has designed a competitive series with events that focus on the key ski and snowboard freestyle skills allowing everyone to show off their particular talent.

For the 2010-2011 season the PSJ series has been cut to 4 events and the prize structure has been altered. The competitive field has been split into an Amateur division for both men and women, ski and snowboard and an Open division in which the sponsored athletes must compete. This allows for more of the up-coming athletes to gain more than just competitive experience and throws and added level of excitement into the event.

Using the power of social media the PSJ event series, has developed a life of its own. The Packed, Stacked and Jacked Facebook page is a place where event coordinators, athletes, spectators and sponsors talk, share pictures, pass critical event information or just chat about life, the mountain and the series itself.

The 2010-2011 PSJ season-opening, Ride Snowboards and Line Skis rail jam was an incredible show. It brought some old favorites and some new faces together on an artisitically designed set up by the award winning Seven Springs Terrain Park Crew. Rail jams are fun, spectator-friendly events because there is so much going on all the time…very little waiting around. Goggle Bowl is the prefect place for such an event because people can watch from the lift, from the trail-side, from the Foggy Goggle bar and from the bottom of the venue. With the lights on and the music jamin’ the tricks look impressive and this crew gave the crowd plenty to cheer about. Results were tough to determine but in the end the Open Division winners for snowboard were 1st Tristan Sadler 2nd Cooper Thomas and 3rd Zack Yourd. For Ski 1st Tyler Pence 2nd Justin Petricko and 3rd Eric Taylor. The first place ski and snowboard winners walked away with $300 in cash from the Jib Shop thanks to vitaminwater, and the 2nd and 3rd place finishers walked away with goggles, t-shirts, hats etc. from Smith and some of the other PSJ sponsors. All of the Open division competitors are fighting for points collected through all four events that to determine the grand prize winner that includes a trip to Camp of Champions and $1,000 in spending money. These points are collected during each event based on the FIS point system and will be posted on the Packed, Stacked and Jacked Facebook page after each event.

The Amateur division was a new addition for the 2010-2011 PSJ to help bring more of a grassroots approach to the competition. Everyone likes to compete just for the sake of experience. Younger competitors understand that it is as much for the experience as it is for the fun of being a competitor rather than a spectator…but it is nice to know you have a chance at winning something – and thanks to our sponsors there are some fantastic things to win. At the end of the night the some great talent found the podium. For the men's Ameture Snowboard division it was 1st Chris Poe, 2nd Spencer Strayer and 3rd Trevor Eichelberger. In the men's Amateur Ski division, 1st Jimmy Leslie, 2nd Max Goldstein and 3rd Kyle Scheth. Places for the women’s Amateur Snowboard division were… 1st Ashley Vander Meer, 2nd Brooke Finney and 3rd Haley Milac; and for the women’s Amateur Ski division it was 1st Elle Pappas 2nd Alessa Conner 3rd Andrea Dinderman. Amateur division athletes are competing for sponsorship opportunities and other prizes…so they too can be Packed, Stacked and Jacked!

All in all it was an amazing event. While fewer snowboarders showed up to throw down more women came to this event – many of them new to the competitive scene. The youngest athlete of the night was only 8 years old but already an experienced competitor as she participated in PSJ last year and is a member of the local WPRC ski team registered with USSA as both a Freestyle and an Alpine competitor.

Packed, Jacked and Stacked brings out all levels of competitors so it is an easy way for anyone interested in freestyle skiing and snowboarding to get in the game. There are three more great events the Salomon Ski and Forum Snowboard Big Air Challenge on January 29th, the Burton and Armada Halfpipe Competition on February 20th and the vitaminwater, Camp of Champions Finals on March 4th – whether it is as a spectator or a competitor….you really should be there!

See ya on the slopes!

Kjerstin

Warren Miller Brings His Wintervention to Pittsburgh

With snow in the forecast for Saturday there is no better way for the snow-obsesed to kick off the winter then with a little Wintervention!

Wintervention is the 61^st film for industry icon Warren Miller. His films have a cult-like following because his films celebrate seasons past and set the stage for the season to come. This edition tackles the tough issues of snow-diction. Narrated by Olympic celebrity Jonny Moseley it features 26 athletes as they travel from Argentina to Antarctica chasing epic moments in terrain parks, on lift-access slopes and exotic descents in the far corners of the globe.

Catch Wintervention in Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Library Music Hall November 6th, 2010 at 7:00 pm.

Get to Know Your Reps: Terri Apple

Terri Apple, a veteran rep for Nils Skiwear has been with the company for 28 years covering New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Terri took to the slopes early as an enthusiastic toddler and her growing passion lead her to race in college as well as a year well-spent ski bumming in Alta. Her life’s travels have taken her to the mountains from coast to coast and she has remained passionate about the outdoors in both her work and private life.

Her life in the ski industry started at age 16 when she began working in a ski shop. Her expertise and great work ethic took her to a buying position by age 21 which lead to her first sales rep position with Karhu-Titan shortly thereafter. Two years later, she partnered with Nils Skiwear where she is still an integral part of the sales team.

While Terri counts any day spent on the mountain in her amazing Nils togs she counts among her most memorable those blue bird days with fresh, dry powder in Sun Valley. She loves to be able to let the skis fly with big GS turns as a treat from the more confining east coast skiing.

Terri is one of those people you immediately like – and because of that she has made many friends throughout the industry. In fact her favorite thing about the ski industry is the people. From all of the buyers to the sales staff in the stores to most importantly, she says, the wonderful consumers that support their local ski shops and love the winter sports world like she does. She is full of funny stories about skiing over the years and the Willi’s crew but one of her favorite stories is a perfect example of the close friends she has made in the industry…as a young rep she claims she was “little intimidated” to travel to downtown Pittsburgh to a hockey specialty store, Willi’s owner and caretaker-to-all, Linda Klein, jumped in Terri’s van, went downtown with her and even took her dog for a walk while she called on the store!

Her home life is deeply affected by the ski industry not only because of her passion for the outdoors and her job with Nils but also because her charming husband of 31 years is also a veteran personality in the ski industry and together they are handing that passion down to their three children, one of which works in the industry as well.

While Terri can be found on both Facebook and Twitter she uses these primarily to communicate with her family. To follow what Terri is passionate about in her work life try following Nils Skiwear on Facebook.

Get to Know Your Reps: Pete Seminara

Reps have near-celebrity status here in Pittsburgh and no one embodies that more than Peter Seminara, better known as Pizza Peter. His personality is as big as the brands he carries and he brings that vitality to skiers and snowboarders where ever they can be found.

This season he helped us kick off the season at the Willi’s Pre Season Ski and Snowboard Sale in the South Hills at Greentree Sportsplex by bringing his amazing, pizza-oven-on-wheels and making pizza for all of the sale customers.

Peter is the Spyder company representative for the Mid Atlantic region and has been in the business, helping Willi’s Ski Shop customers for years. He got his start in the industry by working on the sales floor at Ski Market in Buffalo in 1984 and has been passionate about the business ever since; He truly enjoys working in sales for an industry and lifestyle that he believes in.

Pizza Peter has enjoyed the industry from all angles. Whether it is Heli Skiing with the Last Frontier Guides in the Skeena Mountain Range in Northern BC or trying to talk the Willi’s Buyers into carrying snowboards at a time when only Boyce Park allowed snowboards on the hill, Peter has jumped in with enthusiasm and passion. As a rep he is one of the most committed individuals and the industry is lucky to have him.

When he’s not reliving his childhood through the eyes of his kids you can catch this fun-loving family man behind his newly-acquired Mobil Brick Pizza Oven spreading Pizza Love at Spyder promotional events or find him on Facebook (Peter Seminara) and Twitter (@TweeeterPeeeter).

Get to Know Your Reps

As amazing as the ski and snowboard industry is it wouldn't work with out the hard work of the company representatives - the Reps.

Reps are more than just the sales people that shuffle orders for merchandise - they are an integral part of the industry, the key link between the shops and their customers and the vendors who manufacture the merchandise. Reps are critical because they are directly involved with the product as it is being sold and used so they hear from the consumer what works, what doesn't work as well as what consumers are truly looking for on the slopes. They work with the manufactures to help bring the best products to the market place while communicating with the shop owners and buyers to ensure that the right products and the right amount of product is available when it is needed. They are involved with the product from inception to fruition and work hard to balance the needs of all parties involved through the entire process.

It is hard for some people to believe how small the ski and snowboard industry really is and at times it seems cold (no pun intended :) and impersonal. It is my intention to help you get to know the industry reps that cover the Pittsburgh area to give you a bit of an insiders-look into the industry. I think it makes it more fun to have a personal connection to the products you use on the slopes and to put a name and face to the larger image of the companies that service the industry. Our Reps are some of the most interesting, hardest working people I know and great friends. I hope you enjoy Getting to Know Your Reps!

See ya on the slopes!

Kjerstin

Snow Deva

Jungle Creek Trail: Dryland Training at its Best

Winter is not the only time you will find us in the mountains. Summer months are an equally great time...we call it Dry land Training instead of skiing.

This past weekend found us in the Teanaway outside of Cle Elum in Washington. We were lucky enough to catch a break in the unseasonably cold weather and had a beautiful day on the Jungle Creek Trail.

As it was intended to be a short day we simply trekked up to the ridge line just past the Way Creek Trail junction and were rewarded with a through-the-pines view of the Stuarts, which are still snow-covered.

While the trail itself was not long it was varied in terrain. It was steep in places and made its way over the Jungle Creek several times, skirted past a bank side washout and scrabbled over scree patches so it provided plenty of opportunity for aerobic and proprioception training.

Not all training is physical - the wildflowers were in the early stages of their summer blooming cycle and provided an added dimension to the hike. Beautiful weather, wonderful views, dynamic trail and amazing wildflowers...this is dry land training at it's best!

Whether there is snow or not...See Ya on the Slopes!

Packed, Stacked and Jacked: Nordica, Monster, Gnu Wrap Up Event

Well it appears Mother Nature still has a few tricks up her sleeve. The Mid Atlantic region is expected to have a "major, slow moving storm front" coming through this weekend which may affect our final PSJ event. This wrap-up event of the 5 event series is sponsored by Nordica, Monster Energy Drink and Gnu Snowboards and promises to be a nail biter to the end. Point totals that the competitors have collected throughout the series remain close and the weather only throws more excitement into the mix.

"At this point it's hard to say what's going to happen", says event host, Greg Klein, owner of Willi's Ski Shop and their on-line freestyle shop The Jib Shop. "We can only hope that Mother Nature will cooperate and help us pull off tomorrow's event", but contingency plans for how to reschedule are already being batted around.

"It's important to have a back up plan", says event coordinator Katy Rullo, "but if we have to reschedule there isn't one solution that will make everyone happy."

In the end it is up to the expert Seven Springs Terrain Park staff to make the call. They are the best judges of whether the event can be run safely and fairly - we should know by the time registration starts at 9:00 AM in the lobby outside of Willi's Ski Shop up at Seven Springs.

Until then See ya on the slopes!

Kjerstin
Snow Deva

PA J IV Derby

I'm taking a short break from unloading my car - trying to recuperate from an intense weekend of ski racing.

This past weekend was the PA State J4-J5 Derby at Ski Round Top and I was the lucky parent to accompany my son to the event.

We spent all day Thursday making sure that all the loads of gear were packed into the car. Helmet, check; shin guards, check; padded gloves, check; straight poles, bent poles, check, check; speed suit, check; skis and boots, check; On and on...thank goodness I have a good list or I'm sure we would have left without some important, necessary-can't race-without-it thing. Some how we were able to find it all, collect it all and get it all in the car.

We left at 6:00 AM Friday morning to make it to the training session that started at noon. The drive there was horrible as Western PA was in the midst of receiving another Snowlapalooza-like storm and we made it to Ski Round Top just at the stroke of noon - I bought him his ticket and threw him out on the slopes with the coaches while I got him registered for the weekend.

I hiked the hill rather than ski for the few short hours they were on the hill and was able to watch as the visiting coaches from Green Mountain Valley School, a race-specific academy in Vermont, looked on. My son looked nervous practicing in front of coaches from his father's alma mater but the snow was good and he seemed to relax the more he skied.

That night at the hotel I felt like a Sherpa as we lugged all the gear into the room, tuned skis in the stair well, went to the racer meeting and did homework at the small desk in the room. It wasn't all work, the mom's talked while the team swam in the pool before dinner and the kids played and had a good time before it was time to call it a night.

In the morning all the gear we'd hauled into the hotel had to be hauled back to the car - off to the mountain where all of that same gear had to be hauled into the lodge...get tickets, get race bib, get out on the hill. Then there is the race itself. As 'support staff' I want to be available to my racer without hovering - Heaven knows I don't want to be like the dreaded stage moms!

After the post-race debriefing it was time to haul all the stuff back to the car, back to the hotel, into the room, tune the skis, ready the gear for the next day and take a bit of a break before the festivities of the evening began.

I was thrilled to have the chance to meet some of the other Pennsylvania racers and their families. It was exciting to have a former US Ski Team coach speak about ski racing and how a racer moves up in the race scene - he even made is seem like an attainable goal. Fun as it all was though, I was acutely aware of the need to get my racer back to the hotel for the next day of racing.

Checking out of the hotel the next morning was easy since I was already used to loading and unloading the car several times a day. We headed to the mountain and went through the now familiar routine again - then I waited along the side of the race course with my cowbell app ready on my iphone.

We worked our way through the well choreographed day then ate pizza with the other racers as we waited for the final results, trophies and the announcement of the PA team that would move on to regionals. We already knew that my son would not be part of the regional team but wanted to cheer the other kids on and see things through to the end - it allows for an easier transition back to the 'real' world. When all of the awards were given out, all of the cheering was done, we hauled all of our gear back to the car one final time and drove the 4 1/2 hours home...ready to face the 6th grade, work and other aspects of home life once again.

Ski racing is not an easy sport. It is intense and challenging on the physical, mental and emotional level for all parties involved. I have to admit - playing the role of Sherpa/Mom has been a lot more rewarding after all of the Go Mom commercials during the Olympics. I'm not saying my kid will ever be Olympic-bound but when I see those snowflake-covered eyelashes and the big smile at the bottom of the hill I know he appreciates all it has taken to get him to where he is and for me it is worth every ounce of effort.


I'll see the rest of you Sherpa/Mom's on the slopes!

Kjerstin Klein
Snow Deva

Spending a Weekend at Seven Springs With Top PSIA Ski Instructor, Michael Rogan

I am busy in the city wrapping up another week. I'm finding it hard to keep my mind on my ToDo list because I keep getting distracted by the piles of snow outside my window.

Snowlapalooza has been a blessing to those of us who ski or snowboard and I just can't wait to get up to Seven Springs this weekend. I'm excited to get on snow to work on the tips and techniques I received this past weekend from top PSIA ski instructor Michael Rogan.

I was in the lucky position to spend nearly the entire weekend with Rogan as Willi's hosted his Nordica sponsored trip here to Seven Springs. We were incredibly lucky, as I understand, because aparently Seven Springs was the only North American resort on Michael's schedule this season other than his home base, Heavenly Ski Resort - we really made the most of it.

It was Wintefest for Pittsburgh's local TV station WTAE, Seven Springs was buried in snow and it couldn't be a better time to showcase Rogan's on-snow talents.

Having arrived Thursday evening Rogan worked early on Friday with the Seven Springs Snowsport School. Iwan Fuchs, Seven Springs Snowsport School Director, was grateful he and his staff had the chance to work with Rogan - remember he is the Top Dog in their world :)

Seven Springs Snowsport school is already recognized as one of the greats in the East and adding on-snow training with Michael Rogan helps them to stand out just that much more. They felt the time spent with Michael was immensely helpful and they continued to learn from him as they shadowed the 'civilian' groups that worked with him on Friday afternoon and Saturday after he did a quick live spot on WTAE.

Rogan has a light air and good sense of humor. When asked if he prefered 'Mike' or 'Michael' he smiled as he answered, "If your asking, it's 'Michael', but not because I care - my mom does." At dinner Friday evening Michael talked about developing his passion for skiing in his early years at a local resort with his younger brother. In 1985 he turned that passion for skiing into a passion for teaching skiing. That passion was shining brightly when he worked with approximately 30 people, in 3 two-hour sessions. Each of the groups that went out with Rogan came back all smiles - many felt working with Michael gave them the critical breakthrough they'd been hoping for. Rogan is incredibly kind and personable with a gentle demenor that immediately puts people at ease. His great communication skills makes him incredibly easy to understand and he is able to explain concepts well enough for his students to truly understand complex concepts and then translate those ideas to on-snow performance. The ski instructors that shadowed the civilian workshops were a huge help and in turn they enjoyed listening to Michael work with the group and learned a great deal about how to integrate those skills into their teaching style by helping students utilize that knowledge on the hill.

This amazing event gained much attention in the Twitterverse and the entire mountain has been a-buzz with talk of how great working with Michael Rogan was. I can only hope we will be so lucky to have him back next year!

Until then I'll see ya on the slopes!

Kjerstin

Snow Deva

Packed, Stacked and Jacked: Double Header Evens the Field

This has been a winter for the record books - the snow just keeps coming and the conditions at Seven Springs have been amazing.

Seven Springs had a wild weekend - after most of the Pittsburgh area schools had the week off due to weather conditions Seven Springs kicked off Winter Fest, held the USSA J3 State Ski Racing Derby, hosted Michael Rogan, top PSIA ski instructor and a Packed, Stacked and Jacked Double header - all of this on top of the Presidents Day weekend which happened to coincide with Valentines Day.

There was so much going on that the mountain literally hummed with frenetic energy.

All of the events on the mountain show the enthusiasm of the ski crowd - none more than the back-to-back PSJ freestyle ski and snowboard events. The PSJ weekend started on a high note when Joe Green, our Oakley rep, showed up with basketball t's with bib numbers that the competitors got to keep. The weather caused a slight change of plans for the Oakley Big Hit comp on Saturday and it was shifted to a modified slope style event - everyone of the competitors loved the format so I expect we will see more of this type of set up in next years PSJ events. It was an exciting day and brought out some great new competitors we have not seen in previous PSJ events. The winners for the day were:

Lds Ski:
1st Julia Schwartz

2nd Elle Pappas

3rd Emily Cocco

Lds Snb:

1st Ashley Vander Meer

2nd Shelby Layman

3rd Shannon Branthoover

Men's Ski:

1st James Rullo

2nd Freddy Brideweser

3rd Tyler Pence

Men's Snb:

1st Chuck Lengle

2nd Cory Cissel

3rd Clint Cooper

Day two of the Double header was the make up day for the K2 Big Air comp that was postponed last weekend due to Snowlapalooza. The make up day turned out to be tough - the expert park crew was sent out to do a final evaluation to determine if conditions were safe enough to send competitors over a 70 foot jump. The night before a 30 footer was built in anticipation of the nasty conditions and it proved to be the saving grace of the comp. The light was flat and the snow was heavy but it paid off big for those competitors who hung in there and has proven to be the great leveler in the over-all point spread for the entire Packed, Jacked and Stacked series.

The winners for the K2 Big Air contest include:

Lds Snb:

1st Ashley Vander Meer

2nd Shannon Branthoover

3rd Shelby Layman

Snb Men:

1st Chuck Lengle

2nd Zack Yourd

3rd Chris Poe

Lds Ski:

1st Emily Cocco

Men Ski:

1st Justin Petriko

2nd James Rullo

3rd Jimmy Hill

Now, due to the shortened field competing on Sunday the point spread is far closer now than it was at the end of Saturday's Oakley event. As of now Chuck Lengle is still out front but not as many of his snowboard buddies came out to support him - more skier guys showed up, girl skiers bailed for the most part and girl snowboarders stayed fairly consistent - gaining the girl snowboarders some much needed points.

As of now the over-all standings are as follows:

Chuck Lengle - 90 Points

Justin Petriko - 84 Points

James Rullo - 80 Points

Zack Yourd - 76 Points

At this point in the game Justin and Zack are leading for the 16 and under points and Ashley Vander Meer is leading the ladies with 32 points with Shannon Branthoover close behind with 26!

This tight of a point spread means that Anything can happen at the final Nordica, Monster Energy Drink, Gnu Snowboards wrap-up event on March 13th so it should be very exciting for everyone.

Keep in mind there will be tons of prizes and sponsorships being handed out on that final day as well as the grand, Packed, Stacked and Jacked prize package going to the top skier or snowboard - this years Seven Springs King of the Hill!

See ya on the Slopes!

Kjerstin Klein

Snow Deva

Willi's Ski Shop Welcomes Mike Rogan to Seven Springs

Willi's Ski Shop is pleased to welcome Mike Rogan, one of the Country's top 100 ski instructors to conduct lessons at Seven Springs February 12th and 13th.

Willi's Ski and Board Shops announced today that some local skiers will be fortunate enough to learn from Mike Rogan, one of the country's top ski instructors. Mike Rogan is the Director of Instruction for Ski Magazine and is listed as one of the top 100 ski instructors by that publication. Mike is a member of PSIA National Alpine Team and Past Ski Director at Hotel Portillo, Chile.

Mike will begin his visit and tour of the area by spending Friday morning with the talented instructors from Seven Spring's Snowsports School. He plans on conducting small group lessons at Seven Springs Mountain Resort from 2:00 - 4:00 pm. on Friday, February 12th and Saturday, February 13th. Thanks to the folks at Willi's Ski Shop and Nordica, these lessons are being offered to to select Willi's customers. They are free but each session is limited to eight students.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer this level of instruction to our valued customers" said Greg Klein, Owner of Willi's and a former FIS ski racer himself. “This winter has been one for the record books in our area. Conditions are perfect, we have plenty of snow, and we can offer a level of instruction that is typically reserved for destination resorts out west, so this is something special." Klein hopes to continue to offer unique opportunities like this to his customers.

Packed, Stacked and Jacked: Double Header Weekend!

Packed, Stacked and Jacked ran into a little hiccup last weekend, 7 Springs was hit with Snowlapaloza as some are calling the Blizzard of 2010. The K2 Big Air event had to be canceled due to the 30+ inches of snow that closed the slopes until 10:00 AM Saturday. While it is clearly the storm of the decade there appears to be no end in sight as scattered snow showers are expected through next week. Schools all over the district have been canceled and since the Governor has declared it a state of emergency schools are not obligated to make up the lost days.

At this point we are planning to go ahead with the Oakley PSJ event as planned on Saturday. As it currently stands it will be a double header weekend as we have scheduled the postponed K2 Big Air event for Sunday. We are, however, aware that Mother Nature may have other plans so keep tuned into the Packed, Stacked and Jacked Facebook page for details, updates and discussions.

Competitors and spectators alike had a chance to provide input for how to reschedule the K2 event and as it turns out there is no easy way to make everyone happy. The fact of the matter is that The SPOT has a busy winter schedule which has left us with few options. The big thing is that we have prizes and we want to give them away – so we didn’t want to just cancel the K2 event all together – having back-to-back events will benefit some, hurt others and may be the great equalizer in the whole series. The fun part of that is that it will make the Wrap Up Event that much more intense and fun.

It is exciting to see that the PSJ is gaining momentum. It has been so successful that it is garnering national attention and this is good for everyone. It means that individual competitors are getting more of the spotlight, The Spot is getting the attention a #1 ranked park should get and the sponsors are getting more attention for the part they are playing…which means more prizes for everyone. For the remaining events this year we are getting sponsors begging to be involved and sending some great stuff our way. The more people that show up to compete and spectate, the better the competitors throw down the bigger and the better the event will be next year. So bring your friends to compete or just cheer you on – it will be a great weekend with tons of snow, prizes and fun!

Packed, Stacked and Jacked: K2 Big Air Event

The Packed, Stacked and Jacked event series is continuing with an amazing momentum. Last weekend’s Salomon Super Pipe Event was smokin’. The pipe walls were a bit icy but from the looks of the tricks they were popin' no one seemed to be holding back.

The results for the pipe event, Ski Men's: 1st Justin Petriko, 2nd James Rullo, 3rd Jimmy Leslie; Ladies: 1st Danielle Mulkern, 2nd Elle Pappas, 3rd Emily Cocco; Snowboard Men's: 1st Chuck Lengle, 2nd Dan Genditzki, 3rd Mike Anderson; Ladies: 1st Ashley Vander Meer, 2nd Shannon Branthoover, 3rd Sara Godish, brought about some interesting over-all point leaders – at this point in the series snowboarders have out-gunned skiers with more competitors and now take the top 3 slots.

Brother’s Chuck and Chris Lengle sit at the top of the leader board with 49 and 40 points respectively with Zack Yourd nipping at their heals with 39 points. Justin Petriko, with 38 points and Brandon Stark with 37 points are the two top skiers and snowboarder Ashley Vander Meer is the top female competitor with 12 points.

Seems to me that the girls have started to figure out that the more women that compete the more points they get. The Salomon event saw a precipitous drop in competitors but there was an increase in the percentage of female competitors – way to go ladies! Bring your friends, you get more points – they have a good time!

The good news is that the high level of talent we are seeing in the Packed, Stacked and Jacked series is catching national attention. Because of this companies are clamoring to get on board - Skull Candy, for instance, will be providing 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes for the 16 and Under’s in both the Oakley event (Feb. 13) and the wrap-up event (March 13) and prizes for the overall winners 16 and under ski and snowboard categories, as well as something special for the Grand Prize winner! Oakley is also adding a regional sponsorship to the mix so there are more and more reasons to come out and compete.

It is important to keep in mind that this is a cumulative point series so the more events you compete in the better chance you have to gain points – even if that event isn’t your best event. Just by showing up you have a chance to win points as there are points available all the way down to 25th place.

The next event is the K2 Big Air Contest this weekend, Saturday February 6th, 2010 12:00 PM at The Spot. Registration is from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM outside of Willi’s Ski Shop at Seven Springs. The cost is $10 and HELMETS ARE MANDATORY. We also require a waiver signed by someone over 18 years old – a parent preferably, but you only need one waiver for all of the Packed, Stacked and Jacked events. So, if you have competed in one of the #PSJ events already we already have your waiver on file and you don’t need to have another signed. You still need to come by and register though so we pull your papers and give you a bib number – no bib, you won’t be judged – if you’re not judged you can’t win or even get any points…so, register!

K2 has provided some amazing prizes for this weekend’s affair.

Men's Ski:

1st place wins a pair of K2 Silencer Twin Tips

2nd place wins a pair of 4 Speed Composite Poles

3rd place wins a Rant Helmet

Men's SNB:

1st place wins a Parkstar Board

2nd place wins a Helmet

3rd place wins a Hoodie

Ladies Ski:

1st place wins a pair of K2 Misconduct Twin Tips

2nd place wins a pair of K2 4 Karat Poles

3rd place wins a K2 Edge Helmet

Ladies SNB:

1st place wins a Luna Board

2nd place wins a Helmet

3rd wins a Hoodie

The good news is it looks like we will be getting some snow this weekend so the landings will be soft – Joel and the park crew are ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at us and will be doing their best to groom and maintain the jumps so they are in top condition. Whether it is to compete or to spectate – come out and join us at 12:00 PM at THE SPOT!

Packed, Stacked and Jacked Rally's On: The Salomon/DC Super Pipe Event

The kick off of the 2010 Packed, Stacked and Jacked Series was amazing. The small issue of a completely packed field of excellent competitors forced the event to be a bit delayed but no one appeared to mind. The weather was good, snow was cold and the rails were hot!

For the guys on two sticks, Eric Taylor took first and took home an amazing pair of Line Skis, Brandon came in second winning a pair of poles and Tyler Pence was third and left with a much coveted Line Hoody!

The snowboarders were lead by Cooper Thomas in first for a dynomite Ride Snowboard, Chuck Lengle took second for a pair of Ride boots and Zack Yourd was in third for a equally awsome Ride Hoody.

The girls looked strong and Elle Pappas came out on top for the skiers winning herself a great pair of Line skis, Emily Cocco took second for a pair of poles and Alyse Duskar was in third for a Line Hoody...I'm sure she was rockin' it at school on Monday.

The snowboard girls put on a good show and Ashley Vander Meer was the best of them taking home a Ride snowboard. Shelby Layman took second for a pair of Ride boots and Shannon Brauthoover came in third for a Ride Hoody.

The next #PSJ event is this Saturday, January 30th, 2010 at Seven Springs. It is the Salomon Super Pipe Event. Registration outside Willi's Ski Shop at Seven Springs will begin at 9:00 AM untill 11:00 AM and the comp starts at 12:00 PM. Cost for the event is $10, you may bring your bib # from the last event if its your lucky number but you still have to pay the $10 - if you don't, you won't be on the judges sheet and will not be judged...so you can't win :(

As a reminder HELMETS ARE MANDATORY....our insurance guy has a stroke every time he sees what you all do...helmets make it a bit easier for him to swallow!

The points for the Line and Ride Rail Jam event can be found on the Willi's website on the Events/Leader Board page. The cumulative points will not be posted until after the Salomon Super Pipe Event...we should have those up by Wednesday at the latest. For those of you who are wondering why the girls received fewer points than the guys it is becuase the guys had to compete against so many other people - there have been fewer girl competitors and the point structure is based on a 'full field' which consists of at least 20 competitors - so the key here girls is to get your friends to show up - competing is fun and who knows....you just might go home Packed, Stacked and Jacked!

Packed, Stacked and Jacked Kicks Off: The Line and Ride Rail Jam

This Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 kicks of the Packed, Stacked and Jacked Contest Series for freestyle ski and snowboarders. This amazing event series, conceived by Greg Klein and held at Seven Springs Mountain Resort starts with a rail jam format event sponsored by Line Skis and Ride Snowboards.

Thanks to Line representative Rene Knudsen and Ride rep Patrick Lawrence there are some awesome prizes to be given away this weekend. There are categories in both Ski and Snowboard for both Men and Women with great 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes for each division - first prize for men's ski is a Line Afterbang ski, men's snowboard 1st prize is a Ride Machete and the top women are going home with a Line Shadow ski and a Ride Compact snowboard.

This event alone is a killer event but it is just one in a series of five awesome events that include the Salomon Super Pipe Event, the K2 Big Air Event, the Oakley Super Hit Event and will end March 13th with the Nordica, Monster Energy Drink, Gnu Wrap-Up Event. The goal is simple - end the series with the most over-all points and you get Packed, Stacked and Jacked with a ton of prizes.

There are sponsorship opportunities and tons of great prizes so the level of competition will be high even if outside talent is not part of the equation - Seven Springs has produced some amazing athletes including Tom Wallisch and Kristi Leskinen and the kids here now are throwin' it down big time. Local hero, Brandon Stark, ended last season's March Radness with a double back and double front flip and rumor has it that he will be rockin' and rollin' again this year!

Should be fun! Remember it all starts in the Goggle Bowl at 5:30 January 23, 2010. Registration will be in front of the Willi's store from 3:00 - 5:00. Cost is $10 and HELMETS ARE MANDATORY FOR ALL EVENTS!

Waist Deep Powder

This has been one of the most entertaining ski and snowboard seasons we have had in years. I know that 'years' is a nebulous term and you have no idea what I mean by 'entertaining' so let me clarify - I haven't seen this much snow since the winter of '93-'94!

Now I realize we have had snowy winters. I realize we have had cold winters but it has been since I moved here from Colorado that I have seen one of those 'perfect storm' winters.

Pittsburgh sits in just the right place for the most bizarre weather patterns. I have seen it hit 70 degrees in January some years...and I have seen it hit 18 below...there was one year when a week in June had the same temperatures as a week in January. My very intelligent, meteorologist sister, Kimm Viebrock could explain better than me why this happens in the 'Burgh, I just know it is all about location, location, location. There are rare years, however, where fates conspire and we get just the right temperatures with just the right amount of moisture and whala! Waist Deep Powder!

The first winter I moved here I was sure I would miss the intensity of Colorado winters. I was blessed, however, with a Pittsburgh 'perfect storm' winter and was thrilled with how my new city looked covered in a blanket of snow from November until March. "I can live with this" I remember thinking....we haven't had a winter like that since. Don't get me wrong, we've had snow but we haven't had this constant, steady stream of light storms punctuated by a few heavy snow falls and the hope that it will continue this way until March. It's beautiful. This time, knowing that we may not see a winter like this for another 16 years I'm going to do my best to enjoy it!

See ya on the slopes!

Kjerstin

Keeping Warm Skiing and Snowboarding

We had a great holiday week at Seven Springs. It was amazing winter weather...most people wouldn't describe it as good winter weather...but amazing just the same. It was cold, snowy and blowy - the likes we haven't seen in years. Not over the holiday break anyway.

Somehow, since it has been so long since we have had a long period of such blustery weather, people seemed to have forgotten how to dress for it. I can't tell you how many frozen people came stumbling into the shop hoping to find some piece of magic to keep them warm. No offence but it isn't magic...just physics.

The human body is an amazing furnace and will produce more than enough heat to keep the average person comfortable - the trick is to save that heat and keep it close to your body. Heat is drawn away from your body by low temperatures (most people get that one), wind (we all recognize windchill) and moisture (not everyone gets that one so we'll talk about that later). The trick to keeping cozy is to stop those elements from robbing your body of the heat it has produced.

Layering is the biggest trick for combating low temperatures. The key is to layer effectively. I can not tell you how many of the people who came in from the slopes this week complaining of the cold had layered with cotton...their layers consisted of a cotton T-shirt, often a short sleeved t-shirt at that, and a bulky hoody under their jacket and honestly believed that they would be warm in sub-freezing temperatures.

Three fatal errors here. 1) Cotton has no thermal capacity - We wear cotton in the summer to dissipate heat. 2)Cotton holds moisture that will rob your body of heat and 3) Bulky garments cause constriction that reduce blood flow and pockets of air that are too big to warm effectively.

So if you are one of the hoody-clad, cotton-wearing masses you may be trying to defend yourself right now..."I was never cold before," "I always wear my sweatshirts to class and I'm fine"...I've heard it all before. This is physics, I'm sure you 'felt' cozy but that is different than being 'warm'.

The fact of the matter is that cotton simply does not have the fiber structure or material content to retain heat. It doesn't, there is no thermal quality to cotton - end of story. Cotton does, however, retain moisture, and a lot of it. Not only does cotton absorb moisture it is exposed to - it holds on to it. The bulkier the cotton garment is the more moisture it will hold - think of how long it takes for your hoody to dry in the dryer versus a thin pair of boxer shorts. If you are layering with cotton all of the sweat is absorbed by that cotton and held there near your body, robbing your body of precious heat. You will be at least 30% colder when you are wet - think of how cold you are when you get out of the shower-you dry off and you are warmer. In this shower example the temperature of the room didn't change, you didn't change what you were wearing...just wet, then dry, cold, then warm. If this example is lost on you try it next time you shower.

Some people have tried to argue with me that they don't really sweat, or that they only sweat when they are over heated...um, hate to break it to you, we all sweat and we sweat a lot. The average person sweats anywhere from .5 to 1.7 liters an hour depending on activity level. Skiing and snowboarding rank quite high on the activity charts so to help you with the visual try this exercise for yourself - take that cotton hoody you think is so warm, take one of those typical bottles of 'Natural Spring Water' you have sitting at your desk and dump it on your sweatshirt - then put it on and tell me how warm you are...cozy, right? The next problem is that it doesn't dry very fast - and each hour you have to dump another bottle of water on it. Not dry, not warm, not cozy.

Now the fact that most hoodies don't fit comfortably under your typical ski or snowboard jacket seems like it might be a giveaway for some people...none-the-less I see people do it all the time. Hoody hoods stick out and collect snow or even better, are crammed into the jacket making the wearer look like the Hunch Back of Notre Dame. Rolled up sleeves often stick out past the jacket cuffs and the hoody hem and extra fabric bunches all out under the bottom of the jacket...It is quiet the fashion statement-but beyond that it has created pockets of dead air that the body simply cannot warm up. The idea behind layering is to create small pockets of air that are easy for the body to warm up creating a buffer zone of warm air that protects you from the cold elements. Each of these layers holds heat long enough for you to produce more - it helps you keep ahead of the power curve. Sure heat is lost to the elements but it is done at such a rate that you can produce enough to replace what is lost so as to keep you warm. Large, open pockets of air can't do this.

In addition, those bulky garments will constrict in other areas often reducing blood flow causing certain areas of your body to be cold. One of the best examples of this is the big open sleeve of a hoody crammed into the sleeve of a ski or snowboard jacket. Typically the hoody will bunch up at the upper part of the sleeve, particularly on the inside of the arm, closest to the body. This just happens to be the place where the major artery to your lower arm happens to be and any pressure on that artery will reduce the blood flow to the hands enough to freeze those little fingers to the bone faster than you can say "Does this run take me back to the lodge?"

So now that I have let the cat out of the bag, yes, the ultimate warmth of your fingers, and your toes for that matter, is directly related to what you wear on your body. I'm not talking about just the artery deal - I'm talking about the whole layering-and-keeping-your-body-warm deal. Keep in mind that in a survival situation your body thinks of your fingers and toes as expendable. Your body doesn't realize that you have chosen to go out in sub-freezing temperatures and expose yourself to the adrenaline rush of skiing and snowboarding to have a little fun - it thinks this is serious business and unless your core body is warm it will not, I repeat, will not allow one ounce of extra warmth to head to the fingers or the toes. Blood flow will be restricted to the rest of the body and saved for the head and the core of the body until such time that it feels there is heat to be spared. So while good gloves are important, your body layers are even more so.

So please, no cotton layers, no jeans, no sweat pants, no hoodies, no gym socks-you'll freeze and then I'll feel bad because I'm the one who is supposed to make sure you are warm so you can have fun.

Keep warm so I can see ya on the slopes!

Kjerstin