The Unsponsored Skier's 2012 Year-end Awards

Here are my awards for the best of 2012:

Best Line: With several quality films shoot on some epic locations this year it is really hard to pick any one    line that stood out as the best but here it is...

• Honorable Mention: Eric Hjorleifson in MSP's Superheroes of Stoke and his absolute slaying of the Tordillo Range in Alaska, not sure   I have ever seen a better segment
• Winner: Cody Barnhill in 4FRNT's DANG in Pitztal, Austria. As is his pillow lines were not enough he then goes and sticks a remote line with one of the hairiest access routes I have seen.

Best Powder Segment:

• Superheroes of Stoke Chatter Creek Lodge- Dumped for 10 days straight! Mark Abma and James Heim slashing pillows all day with never ending faceshots. If this segment does not convince you to book your next trip to Chatter Creek then I don't know what will! 

Best Film: 

• Teton Gravity's Dream Factory- It's tough because there are some films I havent seen yet, but I was very skeptical at first when I saw that the majority of the filming would be done in Alaska and not changing it up much. However, TGR did an amazing job showing the evolution of big mountain skiing in Alaska and showing some awesome Alaskan spine runs down mountains like Dr. Seuss. Also the Jackson Hole Corbet's Session with Griffin Post, Matt Philippi, John Spriggs and Daniel Tisi was pretty epic. 

Top 5 Female Skiers:

• 5. Mikaela Shiffrin- It's hard to compare FIS skiers to freeskiers, but Mikaela has to be the biggest story coming out of the World Cup circuit this year. At only 17 she is skiing like a true veteran and after slalom victory last week in Are and an 8th place in today's giant slalom at Semmering she finds herself in the top 10 overall in points. 
• 4. Kaya Turski- XGames slopstyle gold medal in both Aspen and Tignes, Grand Prix win, Dew Tour gold medal. Simply put, she is the best female in the park. 
• 3. Angel Collinson- Angel went big this year scoring her first film segment with TGR skiing along with Seth Morrison, Dana Flahr and Sage Cattabriga-Alosa up in Alaska. Give her another year and she will likely be at the top of this list.
• 2. Ingrid Backstrom- Another year and another impressive performance by Ingrid. She stumps it every time the camera is on her. Her segment in Superheroes of Stoke with Michelle Parker may have been the best segment of the movie because they we're both sending it big. 
• 1. Michelle Parker- Parker totally crushed it this year in her segments in Superheroes of Stoke portrayed just how versatile of a skier she is whether she is in the back country or the park, she is proving to be the best female in the sport. 

Top 10 Male Skiers:

• 10. Cody Barnhill
• 9. James Heim
• 8. Todd Ligare
• 7. Mark Abma
• 6. Seth Morrison
• 5. Tom Wallisch- Pennsylvania represent! Wallisch has been so good these past few years, just destroying the slopestyle scene, winning 2012 XGames slopestyle gold, winning both the Breck and Killington stops of the Dew Tour last season and finishing 2nd at Snowbasin. I am very excited to see his upcoming film.
• 4. Richard Permin- I don't think there is any other skier that has shot to the forefront of skiing in the past two years as much as Permin has. Whether he's crushing an Alaskan face or skiing some epic pillow lines in Japan he is always bringing some high energy. 
• 3. Eric Hjorliefson- Hoji goes big, real BIG! Watching his segment in this years MSP film he put on a clinic for cliff hucking, it was awesome to see. His endless pillow line in 4FRNT's Dang was another real treat for the audience.  
• 2. Sean Pettit- (See Richard Permin) Pettit is so much like Richard, except that may he may send it a little bigger. Honestly, no one makes it look as easy as Pettit does with his ability to incorporate tricks and skiing switch while skiing some very hairy lines. It seems as if MSP plans on having Pettit and Permin do segments together all the time now, which the audience has to love. Their Japan segments this year long with Riley Leboe can get anyone dreaming of deep powder lines. 
• 1. Sage Cattabriga-Alosa - Sage is Sage. There really isn't much that needs to be said about Sage, year in year out he is sticking steeper, gnarlier, and flat out more bad ass lines than any one else out there. 

- Quite honestly Permin, Hoji, Pettit and Sage are interchangeable, almost everyday I change my list. You could rearrange them in whatever order you'd like and I probably wouldn't argue. These four guys are the face of freeskiing right now.

Happy New Year everyone keep on shredding!

Weekend Weather Recap and Looking Ahead

This turned out to be quite an active weekend all across the United States. Some of which was expected but much of which came as a surprise. The Lake Tahoe region simply got hammered with snow this weekend. Many places picking up in upwards of 5 feet of snow or more. FIVE FEET! At one point Kirkwood registered a 24hr snowfall total of 42 inches! That is insane. Even the Colorado Rockies picked up a foot of snow. Jackson Hole has picked up 19 inches since Sunday.

Moving east is where much of the unexpected snow came from. Early last week the long range models suggested that there could be a major storm or two barreling down on the New England ski resorts; however, the cold front that was in place gave way to more mild temperatures causing mixed precipitations events early on in the week. It seemed as if that was going to be the case and maybe by the end of the weekend the resorts would luck out with a few inches of white stuff, or at the very least, not lose what little man-made snow they had been able to produce. Turns out they got an early Christmas gift. Resorts like +Sugarloaf received upwards of 3 feet by midweek and other resorts across New England able to receive minor accumulations here and there. The real gifts for much of Vermont came over the weekend. I was lucky enough to hedge my bets and head north to Vermont for the weekend. +Sugarbush Resort picked up over 2ft of snow and allowed for some get natural snow terrain to open. Also made a stop at +Killington which picked up 17inches of fresh dry snow from Friday to Sunday.

The Snow that much of New England received over the weekend greatly helped many of the resorts that had struggled early on this season due to the unusually dry season we have had so far coupled with minor thaws here and there.

Looking ahead it seems like New England of going to get another storm Wednesday into Thursday, which will bring over a foot of snow to much of the area. The Tahoe area is in the midst of another storm that could add another 20inches to their season totals. Jackson and Wolf Creek could pick up another 10+ inches between now and Thursday, as well as another 6 inches for Aspen.

Looks like it is going to be yet another great week of shredding all across this country! Stay tuned!

First Day of the Season Edit

Here is a quick edit from my first day back on the mountain this year this past weekend at +Sugarbush Resort . Could not have asked for better conditions, the snow was dumping all day. First day back means working out the kinks but let me know what you think. 

My Unofficial and Completely Biased East Coast Top 10

Here is my list of the ten best ski resorts on the east coast, let the debate begin.

10. Elk Mountain, PA: Look I am from PA so I had to show some love towards my state. While terrain is not challenging and the lifts are slow, it still possesses a little bit of that old school Vermont skiing feel. But the reason Elk cracked this list is simple: Tunkhannock. When this run is bumped out top to bottom and it's a blue bird day in March, the only other bump runs that will rival it are at Killington.

9. Cannon, NH: Never skied here, but it cracks the list for two reasons. One: the Mittersill area looks like some pretty awesome terrain. Two: almost every skier I have ever met from New England swears that Cannon is the best on the east so it must be good. However, I can not place it any higher on the list until I ski it, which I plan on this season. 

8. Stowe, VT: Just your classic big mountain New England slope. Some great runs including Goat and Starr. 

7. Killington, VT: While many dislike Killington because of its crowds, it is hard to dispute that it does have some gnarly terrain. Plain and simple: Bear Mountain (Devils Fiddle and Outer Limits), then there is the classic spring bumps run of Superstar. There are also some really solid powder stashes you can find in the woods after the mornings pow has be skied off. Oh yeah, and the Access Road. The Killington Access road is like skiing meets Las Vegas, always a party going on. Check out the Wobbly Barn.

6. Mad River Glen, VT: True skiing! All natural terrain with all natural snow, and a single chair, what is not to like about that! Oh and there are no snowboarders aloud! A lot of my friends may hate me for that last comment.

5. Gore Mountain, NY: I think Gore may be the most underrated mountain in the East. Besides the fact that this is where I learned to ski, when the mountain is completely open it offers some of the best terrain. Great gladed skiing and not too mention the Straight Brook area with runs like Lies, Rumor, and Hawkeye. It's a must check out for anyone who enjoys good terrain variation and no crowds.

4. Sugarloaf, ME: Over 2800' vertical and more than 1100 acres, the largest resort East of the Rockies. Lots of glades and the snowfields make this mountain a must ski for anyone on the east coast.

3. Whiteface, NY: Despite its nickname, "ice face", this mountain really is something special with over 3400' vertical; steeped in history from hosting the 1932 and 1980 Olympics. But it's just just the history that speaks for this mountain it is the terrain, from the natural snowfields in the Slides to the Cloudsplitter and 10th Mountain Division glades this mountain has it all. 

2. Jay Peak, VT: Maybe its the Jay Cloud that year in year out dumps more snow on this mountain than any other eastern resort, or maybe it is the tram. This mountain is a true skier and riders mountain, so much terrain to choose from, a ski/board where you want policy allows you to find your own secret powder stashes. 

1. Sugarbush, VT: Sugarbush is pure east coast skiing. The Castlerock chair delivers you to some of the best terrain on the East coast with Liftline and Rumble. Over on Mount Ellen there are even more great runs with FIS and the big bump run Exterminator. Try some Cat skiing in the Slide Brook Area between North Lynx Peak and Mount Ellen. 

The Mad River Valley really is the best skiing in the East!

So let the debate begin, would love to hear your top 10s.

Welcome to the Unsponsored Skier

The goal of this blog is to bring you all the latest news in skiing. I will update this daily with trip and mountain reviews, weather forecasts, U.S. Ski team to DewTour event recaps, the best edits I deem worthy for sharing, and of course my own totally biased rankings of various things that are skiing. Thanks for stopping by!