5 REVIEW Tuesday, November 20,2007 ^ isort openings is a few runs n making as sratures have Monday night, After the string of winter storms at the end of October, most resorts had a good base, and many skiers more in film and boarders anticipated an early tude opening season. Keith Hambrecht, a junior in main said. "The terial science and engineering, said tared to back be hiked Alta in knee-deep powder riding on a in October. "It got my hopes up, only to let me opening date down," Hambrecht said. "I'm still op'basin, Wolf timistic though." ead have set Most* of the snow that fell in Ocay. Deer Val- tober has melted, and all anyone can and the rest do now is wait for cooler temperailaying it by tures and a good storm. :onditions. A string of storms is expected have a 20- to start moving in this week and a open, said chance of snow is in the forecast for 100I director most of the week. Whether it is a prayer to the snow n be natural gods, a snow dance or a superstitious and should night of sleep in your gear, the snow ts, grass and will come, eventually. Only Old Man said. Brigh- Winter knows when, ley set up 27 ' j.dunn@ naking snow chronicle.utah.edu for 2008 \o\e getup, but if they could: Skier > Helmet—Smith Optics, Variant($150) - ^ :, ' — • • — ——— •• •—•—•—— • Living the dream in Utah Jessica Dunn STAFF WRITER At the end of last season, Grete Eliassen traded in her skis and strapped on a snowboard for a day. Two of her pro snowboarder friends stepped into skis. They started at the top of the Little Cloud chair at Snowbird, and while one of her friends was spinning 360s, Eliassen was just proud of making it all the way down the mountain. "I make it a habit to go once a year, but I'm not very good," said Eliassen, a professional skier and U student. "I feel like a total beginner again." For Eliassen, Utah is the place to be. It has the airport, school and skiing close by. "(Utah) is the most convenient place to live if you're a skier and go to school," Eliassen said. Born in Minnesota, she started skiing at age three. By age 10 Eliassen was racing. After moving to Norway, Eliassen gained a spot on the Norwegian Ski Team where she stayed for three years. The team invested a lot in Eliassen. When she decided to quit and switch to slopestyle in 2003, the team supported her decision. That same season she got a sponsorship from Oakley and competed in her first slopestyle and halfpipe competition as a pro. Since then, Eliassen has traveled the world, attracted more sponsors and racked up plenty of pro wins. She won the U.S. Open Slopestyle in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and the U.S. Open Halfpipe in 2007. Eliassen also won gold in the 2005 and 2006 Winter X Games and silver in 2007 for the superpipe. Even with all her success in skiing, Eliassen is still a full-time U student majoring in business management. Eliassen said her major helps with travel budgets and is the perfect undergraduate degree for sports law, which she wants to do in the future. She came to Utah after high school because she PHOTO COURTESY GRETE ELIASSEN Grete Eliassen, like many students, chose to attend the U because of its convenience access to the airport, ski resorts and the greatest snow on Earth. wanted to get an education and be close to the resorts. She balances school and skiing by taking classes during the Summer and Fall Semesters and leaving spring open so she can ski. Eliassen said she tries to make it a habit not to travel during school, although sometimes her sponsors require it. But come spring, she's gone and living out of a ski bag for the next few months. "As soon as school gets out on Dec. 14, I'll be on the road until May," Eliassen said. She'll be everywhere from Colorado to China, Japan to Europe—anywhere the white stuff falls. Between flying back and forth to contests and her numerous filming and publicity gigs, Eliassen hardly gets to ride at her favorite Utah resorts. Eliassen said she loves the terrain, the tram and the powder at Snowbird Ski Resort and the park and pipe at Park City Mountain Resort. Eliassen has learned to balance life on the road, even with sponsors pulling her in every direction. She stays close to her family and friends through Myspace and Facebook. Eliassen also listens to a lot of music and watches movies while traveling, and she tries to stop PHOTO COURTESY GRETE ELIASSEN Grete Etiassen said winning her first X Games gold medal changed her life. It was at that moment she realized her efforts had paid off. by home" even if it's just for a few hours "to do some laundry and sleep in my own bed." "It's fun, but it's hard too," Eliassen said. "You have to relax and not take it too hard when you're traveling, doing what you love." Skiing and snowboarding are all about doing what you love. Eliassen is a ski bum like the rest of the skiers and boarders whoflockto the U for the snowy mountains—she's just living the ultimate dream by getting paid to do it. j.dunn@ chronicle.utah.edu "'•''•.•-.'• Should Alta be open to all snow-lovers? Goggles—Smith Optics, ; ^ a Prodigy's Turbo Fan ($180)v J ^ l Coat—Patagonia, Primo ($350) loves^Scott, Back Nine ($60) " Pants—Mountain Hardwear, Freeridei|240) .Alpine Skis—Rossignol? Scratch Scream In'($400) Telemark Ski—Volkl, Gotama ($700) ;—Dalbello, Krypton Pro •D. ($750) Skiem shouldn Y have to share their resort A t first glance, Alta Ski Area seems like a pretty friendly place. Its website lack-soled shoes are not als and footwear. That's not to claims "Alta Ski Area welcomes allowed on a basketball say guys don't love their girlyou," but Alta is segregating the court. Diving is not al- friends or I don't love my zooworld of winter sports, similar lowed in some pools. Riding bie best friend. It's just nice to the segregation by skin color a bicycle is. some southto enjoy a not allowed ern states little time on the freeemployedunbetween skiway. And _ til the 1960s. , ers. snowboard- ERIC The website JESSICA Not having is not al- W I L L I A M S ing to weave later states D t J N N lowed at Alta through that "Alta is a Ski Area. As a maze of skiers' mounPhil Collins _ _ boarders tain. Snow- ^ _ ^ _ so eloquentsitting down boarding is ly put it, "That's just the way to strap their boards back on not allowed." Doesn't sound so it is." at the top of the lift is kind of welcoming anymore. It seems we all want what we nice, too. Snowboarding is one of the can't have. And no matter how I don't believe skiers would fastest growing sports with many prideful Utah snowboard- complain if Brighton Resort, about 6.6 million riders worlders deny it, they want Alta. The Canyons or wide, according Just as thrill-seeking rebels Brian Head ReS t o industry statissneak onto basketball courts in sort turned into tics. Out of total hiking boots and roughhousing snowboard-only lift-ticket sales teenagers dive into six-foot- resorts overnight. from around the deep pools when the life guard Brighton basical0 • country last seaisn't looking, snowboarders ly is snowboarder son, 28 percent poach Alta's famous powder territory anyway. were snowboardstashes and cliff shots any time ers, and out of those sales, more Neither the skiers nor emthe ski patrollers turn their ployees of Alta hate snowthan 50 percent were boarders heads. between the ages of 15 and 24. boarders—many of them probI, a lifelong skier, have no ably wouldn't mind allowing However, despite its populariproblem with snowboarders. boarders on the resort. ty, snowboarding is still outlawed Many of my friends are knuckle Mind you, I make no such on some of Utah's mountains. draggers. Heck, after a two- claim when it comes to Deer Alta is one of only four ski areas week high-pressure cycle when Valley Resort. The managein the United States that remains the snow has been skied out, I ment of Alta is merely catering closed to snowboarders. even strap one on myself. And I to a niche market of skiers who The friction between skiers love seeing my boarder buddies don't necessarily miss snowand snowboarders dates back awkwardly struggling down the boarders. to the beginning of snowboardmountain on skis, poles flailing. Is this market slowly dying? ing. Snowboarders were seen In my mind we all can, and do, Maybe. If it one day does, rest as troublemakers and bad boys, get along. assured the market will speak and many of the early snowFor the most part, the beef and Alta will listen. boards were difficult to control between skiers and boarders is Snowboarders were barined For now I think snowboardas dead as 2Pac. Still, there are ers should respect Alta's rules from ski resorts because of their those who refuse to listen to and the skiers who ski there. image and dangerous riding. logic and keep skier vs. boarder Not even snowboarders can In 1985, only 7 percent of U.S. hate alive. To those people- cross a bridge they themselves resorts allowed snowboarders. skiers and boarders alike—I have burned. However, as the equipment and say, "Get over it." So boarders, peel the "free skill levels improved, the resorts It is undeniable that skiers Alta" sticker from your Civic saw snowboarding as a growing 1 and boarders can harmoniously or WRX. Just smile and wave sport and an opportunity to incoexist on shared mountains. from Snowbird and hope for crease profits, so they eventuMost modern winter rider mov- one day. ally opened their lifts to boardies now embrace both sports, ers. Most ski areas had separate I can talk till I'm blue in the and snowboarding has become face or type till my carpal tunslopes for boarders by 1990, an Olympic event. and today about 97 percent of nel flares up, but the few overly resorts in North America and But seriously, who doesn't sensitive, covetous boarders Europe allow snowboarders. love the occasional boys' or will never stop hating Alta and girls' night out? Who doesn't its skiers. Alta is one of the few that love running into a fellow Ute "That's just the way it is, some doesn't. in Provo? things will never change." Alta uses its exclusiveness as It feels good to be with those e.williams@ a marketing scheme to attract who share your interests, idechronicle.utah.edu an older generation of die-hard B V CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/fflt Daily UtahOinnkk Down with segregation skiers who still see boarders as a danger and a threat to their dwindling lives. These are the people who wish for the days when the slopes were snowboarder-free. Are these the same people who still prefer outhouses and candles to indoor plumbing and electricity as well? S o m e young skiers have learned and followed the ways of segregation and hatred from their parents or grandparents, but a majority of the new generation of skiers realizes what snowboarding has done for skiing and takes advantage of a new side of their sport. Skis are designed better now because they model snowboards' shapes and technology, such as twin-tipped skis for tricks -or fat skis for powder. Skiers are also riding rails and halfpipes, spinning in the air and doing backward switch tricks thanks to snowboarding. Snowboarders shared their risk-taking and desire for challenges with skiers and, in turn, helped keep skiing popular. The young, open-minded skiers are also more accepting of different types of people. The majority of them have friends that ski and board. They ride with them either way and the two groups feed off of each other to continue to evolve and progress both sports. In this day and age, it really shouldn't matter whether someone rides on one or two boards, or faces forward, sideways or backwards. Resorts should accept people for who they are and what they choose to ride on— they shouldn't exclude people who are different than you are. Alta refusing to sell a black man a lift ticket is the same as refusing to sell it to a snowboarder. It is outright discrimination. Snow is there for all to ride and no limits or restrictions should be in place against those who simply want to enjoy it. Alta should give up elitist, closed-minded thinking. Segregation is wrong. j.dunn@chronicle.utah.edu