#TheMeeting7

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The Meeting, “the premier gathering of snowsports filmmakers, athletes, sponsors, media and fans”, went down in Aspen/Snowmass this past weekend for the seventh year.

TGR's OFTR screening


When I first went in 2005 with the Freeskier crew, The Meeting was only getting started, and, back then, for me it was basically just a reason to go party in Aspen for the weekend and watch ski and snowboard movies. Since its inception, The Meeting has grown in importance and this year Penn, Georger, Mavis, Laura, Lindsay and I were all there. Backbone’s new client, TGR, screened its new ski film One For The Road. Sigi from Kastle was also in town with Kastle athlete Griffin Post, who’s a breakthrough performer in OFTR.

Olympics panel


There’s no other event quite like The Meeting – screenings of most of the major ski and snowboard films, thought-provoking panel discussions on the Olympics, the environment, and social marketing, and a bunch of fun-loving people converging in Aspen during one of the most pleasant times of the year.



Thanks, Aspen/Snowmass, for creating an event that celebrates skiing and snowboarding, and facilitates discussion about how to make them even better.



Here’s a little edit of the weekend. Sit back, go full screen, turn on the HD, and press play.

#TheMeeting7 from Aspen/Snowmass on Vimeo.

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Vail? Pfft. The Travelocity Roaming Gnome knows what’s up.

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This past Saturday evening, while “Digital” Dave Amirault and I were sipping cocktails and putting out the vibe at the Sky, we had the pleasure of running into the coolest corporate identity around… the Travelocity Roaming Gnome! It was good to see the legendary dwarfish creature in Aspen after weeks of convincing him not to go to Vail.

Travelocity Roaming Gnome

Posted in: Colorado, Holy Sh*#!, Musings, Social Media

Aspen Highlands Opening Weekend

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I spent Saturday and Sunday skiing my new home mountain, Aspen Highlands. The mountain opened with 750 acres including parts of Highland Bowl and has received over 30″ in the last week (over 12″ in the last 48 hours).

On Saturday morning I ran into Meredith McKee (Aspen Skiing Co.), who was kind enough to let me tag along with her and her friends.

those are our tracks! (photo courtesy Aspen Skiing Co.)

those are our tracks! (photo courtesy Daniel Bayer/Aspen Skiing Co.)

this

this was our view at the top (12,392 ft.)

Although visibility was poor due to the storm, Sunday brought lighter and fluffier snow.

poc

thankfully I had my POC Iris goggles with photochromatic lenses to keep me on top of the variable light conditions

kastles

... and Kastle MX 108's to keep me on top of the snow!

Cale (Black Tie Ski Rentals) in the zone.

Cale Hutchins (Black Tie Ski Rentals) in the zone

Pat Sewell (photo courtesy Aspen Skiing Co.)

Pat Sewell slashes (photo courtesy Matt Power/Aspen Skiing Co.)

Posted in: Backbone Adventures, Gratuitous Client Plug, Skiing, Uncategorized

Punk rock, powder and positivity: introducing Laura Patten

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lp2

Former Snowmass patroller Laura Patten recently joined the team at Backbone Media. A Colorado native, Laura brings an in-depth understanding of media, Excel wizardry and a passion for all things outdoors to the office. I recently caught up with Laura and presented her with a list of random topics. Here’s what she had to say:

Inspirations: Cool people doing cool things. Living their life the way they want; working hard and playing harder.

Books: Lately I’ve been interested in personal finance and investing. I know it sounds geeky, but I figure if I get a start now, I will be ready for retirement when the time comes. I just finished Suze Orman’s Young, Fabulous and Broke and Investing for Dummies. Robert Kiyoskai’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad also opened my eyes to a whole new approach on life and money.

Movies: I’ll admit it- I loved the first Transformers movie!

TV: I don’t watch TV much, but anytime I happen to catch Curb Your Enthusiasm I’m stoked. Larry David is curmudgeony, but so hilarious.

Magazines: Bike Magazine, Freeskier and Personal Investing (in-line with my recent finance kick) are the only magazines I subscribe to. I used to read dirty stories from Cosmo (surprisingly un-PC) to all the male patrollers while waiting to go on clear. They loved it.

Websites: Facebook

Athletes: Penn and Greg riding tandem ellipticals.

Places to ski: Snowmass!!! Duh. I love skiing all the patrol stashes and hanging out with all my old co-workers.

Dream travel locations: I hear that Kauai has some sweet camping spots and can be done on the cheap. Dream vacation-wise, I would love to get a round-the-world ticket and travel for six months wherever.

Musical artists/groups: Still true to my high school roots- I like punk like Alkaline Trio and The Airborne Toxic Event.

Foods: Mexican! Lobster. Every time I visit a coast, I try to bring back some on the airplane.

Beverages: New Belgium

Pet peeves: Stuff doesn’t really bother me much- except for when I have to reinstall the printer every time I need to print.

Animals: I want an Australian Shepard, but can’t have a dog where I live. Also, I am not sure I am willing to make the required commitment.

Posted in: Backbone Adventures