Day Three: If It's Free It's For Me

On Friday I decided to demo a Lib Tech board. I was pretty bummed they didn't have the GNU B-Street because it may very well be my next major snowboarding investment. Instead they hooked me up with the Roxy Ollie Pop which is a pretty similar board. The magnatraction was great on the icy runs and the banana technology made it super buttery. After taking a few laps I was very reluctant to turn it back in but free demos only last so long.


While riding up the lift with my friend Kerry his buddy mentioned that he'd won a free ticket to the One Republic concert that he didn't plan on using. I told him I'd take it off his hands if he really didn't want it and the next thing I knew I was going to the show.

I remember when One Republic came out with Stop and Stare on the radio. Everyone talked about how they were only famous because Timbaland produced their one big song. Well it's no wonder they are still around because they are incredible. I've seen a ton of bands live and few compare to their stage presence. They exude such passion for their music that you can't help but smile and rock to the beat, even if you don't know they lyrics to a single song off their new album.

This is the only decent photo I got before the security guard warned me not to use flash.

And here's a short video clip I took during Stop and Stare

Day Two: The Village

On Thursday I woke up pretty early to a phone call from Julie, one of my supervisors. She was calling to inform me that The Village wouldn't be set up until noon at the earliest which meant I could sleep in. What exactly was The Village? It was the place where sponsors set up booths and handed out free stuff also referred to as schwag. This meant free Tostino's pizza rolls, hats, bandannas, shirts and even concert tickets if you were lucky. CMC's booth was located at the center of it all so when we had extra people manning the booth I walked around and checked it out.

Matador had a mechanical bull. If you stayed on for 20 seconds you got a free bandanna and if you stayed on for 30 you got socks. Having never tried it before I gave it a shot. This video is compliments of Becky.

The Toyota Yettie and myself A shot of The Village

After getting off work I decided to meander around town and see what was going on for the evening. As it turned out Forum was premiering their video Forum Forever at a club called Cecilia's. While I was sitting there watching the premier the kid sitting next to me directed my attention to the door. Low and behold Louie Vito had just walked in. I didn't think he'd be in town because he wasn't competing in the Dew Tour, but sure enough there he was. Louie Vito is one of the few pro snowboarders my mom knows by name because she is a Dancing with the Stars fanatic. Feeling like a little kid asking Santa for presents I timidly approached him and asked for a photo. We didn't talk long because there were people rushing him the back of the club but he came off as a very down to earth, friendly guy.The premier was fun although I'd already seen the movie. It was hard to keep my attention focused on it when there were so many other things going on. It got pretty late and I decided to head out for the night. While walking back to my car my friend and I came across this awesome snow sculpture which was apparently part of Breck's carnival.

Day One: Little Lost Puppy

On Wednesday I woke up around 8am, packed my car and began the hour and a half drive from Steamboat to Breckenridge. I was completely unsure of what to expect because this was my first time attending a professional ski/snowboard competition, but I knew there was only one way to find out. So I strapped on my seat belt and prayed that my two wheel drive car would make it to Breck without breaking down.

When I was about a half hour away from Breckenridge my fellow blogger Ali texted me about getting her credentials. It was reassuring to know she'd be there if i needed help with directions or anything else.

Once I arrived in Breck I got my credentials and made my way up to peak 8. I felt like a little lost puppy as I roamed around the mountain, slowly gaining more confidence as time passed. I eventually met up with Becky, another blogger and we made our way to the competition gates. All we had to do was flash our media pass and we were in. It was like having a backstage pass to a concert because we could go anywhere and meet with the athletes if we wanted. By 2:30 I was tired from the long drive and decided to call it a day.

I took this picture on my first ride up the lift... behind some Dew Tour competitors.

Here are some athletes waiting to compete

Winter Dew Tour 09: Breckenridge

After spending four days in Breckenridge I am back in Steamboat and ready to report on the first stop of the 2009/10 Winter Dew Tour. I have to admit it’s a little strange to be home. For the past several days my bed has been in a very kind woman’s extra bedroom, or on a friend's couch depending on the night. Please bear with me as I try to sort through the past few days which have been a complete blur. Somewhere between working the CMC booth, taking countless photos and finding the best after parties in town I completely lost track of time. I'm trying to piece the days together in chronological order based on photos and videos as well as a few notes I jotted down. As I sort through the 400+ pictures on my camera I'll do all I can to give you a behind the scenes look at the unforgettable first stop of the 09/10 Winter Dew Tour!

What do you want to know?

This coming Wednesday I will have the opportunity to interview a few Dew Tour athletes. Seeing as the interviews will end up on here I thought it would be fun if you (yes YOU) suggested questions. If there's anything you've been dying to ask a professional athlete let me know! Just leave a comment or e-mail me at bthoman@mail.coloradomtn.edu and I'll be sure to pose the question throughout the interviews!

Free At Last!

Yesterday I finished my final essay of the semester so I am officially free of school for a month. Although I enjoyed all of my classes I am happy to be on break. However, it seems as though the chaos never stops and this winter break will be very busy.... which is a good thing. What's the point in living if you're not living each moment up to your full potential? Over the next month I have the following things planned....

Dew Tour- The college has offered me a unique opportunity to work at the Winter Dew Tour in Breckenridge. To put it lightly I am beyond stoked. Wednesday we'll be able to interview athletes and for the rest of the competition we'll be manning the CMC booth and enjoying the games. It'll be a great experience and I couldn't be more excited about it!

Hot Springs- This semster has been pretty stressful and I found the best way to relieve that stress is through my favorite high school sport, swimming. Unfortunately there's only one lap pool in town and a membership there is rather expensive. Luckily they offer a unique volunteer program where you can trade work hours for a free membership. I talked to the man in charge last night and it looks like I'm in! Free membership here I come!

Carribean Cruise- So far I've been pretty out of the loop on this one. My family decided we'd go on a cruise in January instead of trying to fly everyone to Colorado or me home for Christmas. Although it'll be a bit delayed and there won't be any snow for Santa's sleigh, it looks like Christmas will be in somewhere in the Carribean this year. Originally we were going to go to Alaska but that fell through. I couldn't even tell you what time my flight leaves or which islands we'll be visiting which makes it a bit more of an adventure.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff- You may or may not have realized it but I'm a complete book nerd. If this wasn't proven true through the countless books I burned through over the summer you can take last night into account. I took a few of my textbooks to the bookstore and somehow managed to make more then I spent at the beginning of the semester which was awesome. But my new found wealth didn't last long. After finishing my essay I took a trip to Off The Beaten Path which is a great bookstore off of 9th street. They didn't have the book I wanted in stock and since it's a two week back order I simply had to pick something up. The gentleman taking care of me suggested Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff by Christopher Moore. I just started it but so far it's really funny, and a great way to finish up a semester that included countless religious based conversations.

Those are just a few of my adventures planned for winter break. Hope everyone enjoys their time off!

Update

I apologize for the lack of blogs lately, but finals have been keeping me very, very busy. This week has been all about finding ethical solutions to the Terri Schavio case, figuring out the motives behind the Taliban, understanding the stages of grief and exploring the outer most planets of our solar system. This week it feels like I'm out to solve the world's problems. Next week I'll be just another ski bum livin' la vida loca in Steamboat. Gota love college. Every time I look at the calendar a bit of panic strikes as I realize Christmas is creeping up on me at an incredibly fast pace. I have yet to buy any presents... or decorations for that matter. Suddenly the Dew Tour is next week and my cruise that seemed so far away will be here in the blink of an eye. This is just an update to let everyone know I'm alive! I promise to bring something more exciting to the table once finals are over. Until then, good luck everyone!