tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45985569215245274552024-03-13T14:36:05.723-07:00Randa Shahin | Pro Snowboarder | Smith, Ride, Evo, Spacecraft, Pow, Cilla, MonavieCompetitive athlete based out of the Mt. Hood area. Also an advocate for Monavie and the new all-natural energy drink Emv. Sponsors include: Smith, Ride, Evo, Spacecraft, Pow, Cilla, and www.shredbetties.com. First at the Campus Rail Jam tour in CSU, GSU, OSU, and downtown Portland. Competed in the Legendary Banked Slalom at Baker.RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-78428975725128569272011-03-18T11:21:00.000-07:002011-04-11T11:38:12.426-07:00NW Shred Magazine<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkaDp6f3dm4oTTvaz8wklMtBsOYP2ucE7C2HIAsqgZhb44cAHJ88AGpaXzXsTclX6phsulQgQdvyEF6XM0mxbQgixqeSNT8gpAXk1t6XCkJek8lR0mIBUh6m0F714J5fq5fSaX7OQogA/s1600/Picture+2.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrkaDp6f3dm4oTTvaz8wklMtBsOYP2ucE7C2HIAsqgZhb44cAHJ88AGpaXzXsTclX6phsulQgQdvyEF6XM0mxbQgixqeSNT8gpAXk1t6XCkJek8lR0mIBUh6m0F714J5fq5fSaX7OQogA/s400/Picture+2.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585488673367876562" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSxD-XOO3VxAsD9ORsDMfQb0B-ef43hgIa_wMDrnQpgqmrsTpwFkCfNs0wzBe93ADnYCAr_-cMx9IMB6Q6MLL2pC61ntqxvzsjVIcoYEGMkBdTMNNGV7dGgMKdCAsJ44kmY1Nk4ibi4s/s1600/Picture+1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSxD-XOO3VxAsD9ORsDMfQb0B-ef43hgIa_wMDrnQpgqmrsTpwFkCfNs0wzBe93ADnYCAr_-cMx9IMB6Q6MLL2pC61ntqxvzsjVIcoYEGMkBdTMNNGV7dGgMKdCAsJ44kmY1Nk4ibi4s/s400/Picture+1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585488668077918674" /></a><br />I have to start by saying, "Thank you" to Tim Windell. First, he is employing me in the best job I can possibly ask for using my degree. I have been teaching math and science at the Academy he just started up. Second, He published a photo of me and had some really nice things to say in the article that accompanied the photo. The magazine is available to view online at <a href="http://www.shrednwmagazine.com/view-printed-magazine/issue-2/">www.shrednwmagazine.com</a> Pages 94-97.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-85267648424076676982011-03-18T11:12:00.000-07:002011-03-18T11:14:00.341-07:00Arkade Magazine<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfwruAwMjkyy-kSUE5oYQ1qb3cHULOTHMgQhsKIcVtPi6eytecOzxGaw6Dwj1FMMHQ5YLfsO912vlSR1HUQNPLoteO8BdBV8xamfqt1K9DZE5zkmSdpyBEUgQD2ktYbdCk-ksS-FkQDY/s1600/Arkadead.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfwruAwMjkyy-kSUE5oYQ1qb3cHULOTHMgQhsKIcVtPi6eytecOzxGaw6Dwj1FMMHQ5YLfsO912vlSR1HUQNPLoteO8BdBV8xamfqt1K9DZE5zkmSdpyBEUgQD2ktYbdCk-ksS-FkQDY/s400/Arkadead.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585484833718420034" /></a><br />Thanks to Shredbettie.com I had a photo published for an ad in a magazine. Arkade is based out of the Salt Lake area. <div><br /></div><div>Thank you Diana, Kelly, and Shredbetties.com</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-37968842382115495432011-03-18T10:54:00.000-07:002011-03-18T11:11:55.645-07:00Billabong Flaunt It<div style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;text-indent: 0.5in; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-size:12.0pt;">This blog is written by my student Nicole McNulty and it goes a little something like this...</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;text-indent: 0.5in; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; ">"First thing Friday morning, March 4</span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; ">th</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; ">, the ladies of Windells Academy, including Haley Hougen, Michelle Lu, Erin Marano, Gina Petrice, Randa Shahin, Lisa Dougherty and myself, packed up and started our trek to Mount Seymour, BC. We spent seven hours in the Academy van filled to the brim with boards, bags and pop tarts to compete in the Billabong Flaunt it. The Billabong Flaunt it is an all girls slopestyle and rail jam which makes several stops around Canada and finally wraps up at finals at Sierra-Tahoe on April 9</span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; ">th</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; ">. This event is especially sick because all of the girls who really kill it come together in one spot to flaunt the best tricks they have. The Flaunt it is an awesome showcase of the progression of girls’ snowboarding and encourages girls of every level to compete.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-size:12.0pt;"><span></span>The morning of the event was a little bit of a hassle, trying to get the car packed, get everyone fed and drive up from downtown Vancouver but we registered just in time. After rallying up the pass to get to Mount Seymour, we headed up for rider’s meeting and to inspect the course. To our surprise, the mountain was completely socked in to the point where you could barely see ten feet in front of you. As a result of the less then desirable conditions, the operators of the event decided to switch up the schedule, placing the rail jam in the morning rather than the afternoon and doing the slopestyle once the fog burned off.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-size:12.0pt;"><span></span>The competitors were given a thirty-minute practice and then the forty-five minute jam session went off. Twenty to twenty-five girls showed up for the contest and everyone was throwing down. Two features were in the rail jam, a flat down box and a down rail. To say the least, girls were getting loose. Switch front blunts same-way 270s out and gnarly switch ups were being thrown left and right. Our very own math teacher, Randa Shahin, threw a front blunt and a tail slide 270 out. Gnarbuckets. Randa, Gina and myself were the only girls competing from our crew and we all had a blast but I couldn’t wait for the fog to clear out and the slopestyle to start.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-size:12.0pt;"><span></span>After a complimentary lunch from Mount Seymour and the awesome sponsors, we all started up the hill again for the slopestyle. The fog was finally gone and the competition was about to get real. The course was two jumps, both with a big and small side, and then the two rail features from the rail jam. Just like the rail jam, the slopestyle was an hour and a half jam session where you could take as many runs as you wanted. Right off the bat girls were throwing some standout tricks including switch back 5s, some big back threes and a few attempt at 7s. I ended up getting five solid runs in during the jam and I was beyond stoked. All of my tricks felt really solid. Randa landed her first cab 5 during the competition and Gina conquered her fear and stomped some sick straight airs! All in all, the ladies killed it. The competition atmosphere was rad because all of the girls were supporting each other while still competing. It was so sick to see a bunch of girls in one place throwing down.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-size:12.0pt;"><span></span>Once the competition ended, we all gathered for the awards and the raffle. The raffle was first and I won a rad purse from Billabong and Gina won a pretty sick backpack. The first award handed out was the Hard Knock award for the girl who took the hardest slams of the day and it was awarded to a local rider from Mount Seymour. The second award was the Best Style award, which luckily I won! The judges said I had the sickest style all day and I had some stand out tricks including a super tweaked back 3 japan and a “sexy” method. The awards were then given out for the rail jam and then finally slopestyle. Randa took 5<sup>th</sup>and I took 4<sup>th</sup>! We were so stoked on our performances and the swag we received for out placing. I got a pink mannequin head with some awesome Sony headphones on it for Best Style that is slightly creepy but still sick. Overall, this competition was so rad and I can’t wait for finals in Tahoe in April! It’s going to be an even sicker event that really demonstrates the progression of girls’ snowboarding. Congratulations to all of the girls who placed and all the other competitors! Everyone killed it. Also, thank you to Billabong, Mount Seymour, Dakine, Transworld Snowboarding, Snowboard Canada, VAS Entertainment and Von Zipper for putting on this event, I can’t wait for finals and to Windells Academy and Blindside Colorado for your support!"</span></p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYrymuEE6cIm2OR_FHKqGOvtd84FvHoIozYNRlwDWGFnYvfgJLdL4E3wPRq8r15GGIIYTdt7Bl6bp83C3Ky_7w7fc6QESNqykElb3Mdl01MToScY4TE6KXPntDjL7ImMP_CJ2lMet6Eg/s1600/200182_197309883627015_168067306551273_628957_3903493_n.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYrymuEE6cIm2OR_FHKqGOvtd84FvHoIozYNRlwDWGFnYvfgJLdL4E3wPRq8r15GGIIYTdt7Bl6bp83C3Ky_7w7fc6QESNqykElb3Mdl01MToScY4TE6KXPntDjL7ImMP_CJ2lMet6Eg/s400/200182_197309883627015_168067306551273_628957_3903493_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585480663463961026" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHmrAQIyWiXIAKZsVPihvTsTWKH9nCHM2ZanKWeRGghSzoDncSZ5eoJm4lyXlcdZBQ-jcmjRwQFAFVrVqn4Z-puECAQM_BZ6sYYpQBX3roX6nIcL8HA1D1rUR0TU6KNkor25wi-Ca840/s1600/199962_197313816959955_168067306551273_629062_3136448_n.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHmrAQIyWiXIAKZsVPihvTsTWKH9nCHM2ZanKWeRGghSzoDncSZ5eoJm4lyXlcdZBQ-jcmjRwQFAFVrVqn4Z-puECAQM_BZ6sYYpQBX3roX6nIcL8HA1D1rUR0TU6KNkor25wi-Ca840/s400/199962_197313816959955_168067306551273_629062_3136448_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585480658510905042" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg30ljaL_pWqqhiHh3ajUUMlSHgK-7PVkxw8D8IZIMiHkvsIMpJ-tX5X0M6RI3w5rtsGjOqjNZod_6Yn4CfxFDSQwroohjqM7-b-88MxCtZYh_qcv7ajyAy1oj_ClZ2egW1wgGROFuyzd4/s1600/197068_197310773626926_168067306551273_628976_4634341_n.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg30ljaL_pWqqhiHh3ajUUMlSHgK-7PVkxw8D8IZIMiHkvsIMpJ-tX5X0M6RI3w5rtsGjOqjNZod_6Yn4CfxFDSQwroohjqM7-b-88MxCtZYh_qcv7ajyAy1oj_ClZ2egW1wgGROFuyzd4/s400/197068_197310773626926_168067306551273_628976_4634341_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585480654143564914" /></a><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;text-indent: 0.5in; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">The trip was more than just snowboarding though. The first night when we got into Vancouver we were only three blocks away from the major clubbing strip in the city. Unfortunately, the girls were a little too young to go clubbing, but the street performers kept things really interesting. We did end up going to a crepe shop for some drinks and dessert crepes.....mmm good. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;text-indent: 0.5in; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">Competition day was an awesome day beside the boarder problems we experienced that consumed the rest of the evening. Luckly, we still made it back into the United States and ended up staying on the coast. The next morning we did a little bit of hot tubbing and we got to explore the shore a little bit during high tide. After our water adventure we went to Mt. Baker. It was the end of the day and the runs were well tracked, but it was still nice for the girls to see what Mt Baker has to offer. We made a friend along the way names Reily that was nice enough to guide us a bit at the end of the day. Overall, the trip was great. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;text-indent: 0.5in; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:6;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzualwUmBaUitzOzNrp7C9tYjRT88qLFTEr5LYABqLDqRNbdeE2ELHytprIaoUpgp8VtYQW0TSi6hPfsphMpktSEo1yAzqkcnSYCiO73Wc_AMw3EKuGWSou4acUgeH97zDo5RufnizB8/s400/Picture+4.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585480667477793522" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 298px; " /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSsv9Zr7uKn6ZNDyB5QwC5xE_1zQ8Nhrte4VBwO7cgAN9VXdz_Tgbfn_fAt6gvC65XMz4ejI6DPfdymmNOJ8Jkcgx-s8Hf3GWNIgrjPtmavwgg90QYS_FYWCMbCth5IEEB3-ewRRiQDvg/s400/191862_10150110519101378_94626051377_6914914_6036095_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585480647395512194" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></div> <!--EndFragment-->RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-29025113420500029122010-10-01T20:37:00.000-07:002011-03-18T10:53:56.443-07:00Chile Sept 2010<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; ">This year brought upon a very special opportunity for me. A few years ago I worked at Timberline lodge on Mt Hood. During the winter, Timberline had a few Chileans working through an exchange program. Through the years, I have stayed in touch with a few of them and the opportunity to go visit couldn't be passed. I bought my plane ticket with no hotel reservations, no car reservations, and no plans. All I knew was that a friend was going to pick me up from the airport and what the rest of the trip brought...I wasn't sure.</span></div><div><div><div><div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 22px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">I left Portland, Oregon on the morning of Monday the 20th. My flight went from San Francisco to Miami to a final destination at Santiago International Airport on the morning of Tuesday the 22nd. Customs was a pain and I quickly found out my bag with all of my cloths was lost. However, my snowboard bag made it with all my gear....the important stuff. Thankfully the airport delivered my lost bag the next day.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 22px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">The trip started with an interesting drive around Santiago. Tomas, my friend that picked me up from the airport is a native to Chile but he lives in a costal town called Vina del Mar so he didn't really know his way around Santiago. He didn't come with a map either. Our mission was to find the hotel that my friend Angeli was staying at. Angeli is a pro skier and she had already been in South America doing some filming and we had the opportunity to link up. Thankfully after a bit of searching we found Angeli. Although, I appreciated the drive so that I could see the different neighborhoods of santiago.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 22px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">Once we found Angeli we went to dinner and had some empanadas. It reminded me a lot of a calzone with meat and onions. It was really delicious and a traditional food for Chile. After dinner we ventured to another part of the city to link up with another friend I worked with at Timberline named Jose. He owns his own pet store, where I grabbed my new puppy, Lola, a sweater. All four of us went to the very center of Santiago where there is a castle that was a part of the Spanish history of the city. The castle was really beautiful and the view of the city from the top was awesome with the sun setting behind it. Afterwards we went to another restaurant and had another traditional dish called chiorme. It was basically french fries with onions and meat piled on top. Similar to chili cheese fries, but with a Chilean twist. Since Angeli's hotel was located in a hip part of town it was convenient to just go down stairs and grab a few drinks. We ended up chatting it up with some scientists that are doing research in the Patagonia. Two were from England and one was from America. Our conversations carried late into the night.</p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:18px;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YCa-qPuAXogjICr5Zrip5fsGSlCCxOwYnLtZpj9-FKxGGrolJwHJgFDoo-O8fZJ2ybffYg9Ix7pp3Tw_d-wHabYTS1N3rBT9IO-Rckgh31Yo7Bghf2vrTmXC4r3WPE8IrGP_B0VOh-g/s1600/IMG_5076.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YCa-qPuAXogjICr5Zrip5fsGSlCCxOwYnLtZpj9-FKxGGrolJwHJgFDoo-O8fZJ2ybffYg9Ix7pp3Tw_d-wHabYTS1N3rBT9IO-Rckgh31Yo7Bghf2vrTmXC4r3WPE8IrGP_B0VOh-g/s400/IMG_5076.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523291779855077954" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEmL7uS9H4BYsaefS_j4o79eKrrOl_ETg0YtdIw8-d__mi43VW3CGdhh-ar7ZaWLoXy3G4M1LiW4LJyWfbLK5lj_IcBnK6tk4xCH_wToJLdNQZ3ql5KNqsqWPuLj9bWbn-lYxSSkGfiI/s1600/IMG_5058.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEmL7uS9H4BYsaefS_j4o79eKrrOl_ETg0YtdIw8-d__mi43VW3CGdhh-ar7ZaWLoXy3G4M1LiW4LJyWfbLK5lj_IcBnK6tk4xCH_wToJLdNQZ3ql5KNqsqWPuLj9bWbn-lYxSSkGfiI/s400/IMG_5058.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523291777819075522" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp77j5LyKmPg5q-pKg4JEELLbqAIZPan1Xz1kffcpLFoItz9Q57erJ7m__ZPI1iflZQ92Eb0hDQrfx4QyY80O4_QXPBSDcf3uLpzQY41eYFtxZdv7bXsYuiDiYSlUN9MrFn69vmegjcH4/s1600/IMG_5032.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp77j5LyKmPg5q-pKg4JEELLbqAIZPan1Xz1kffcpLFoItz9Q57erJ7m__ZPI1iflZQ92Eb0hDQrfx4QyY80O4_QXPBSDcf3uLpzQY41eYFtxZdv7bXsYuiDiYSlUN9MrFn69vmegjcH4/s400/IMG_5032.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523291770904722242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggG4EEWSxi9l7tqBbYfqXUb_WrIq2H9NCFrErYL4Tyx94rcfHoqPfyIQPTRXpz2sflRwWaZZeb324CErcmx37WSMYiCcORODyZ5qvjYfjENsBTt3nuONK7h9yqJhu-9IpsIujehw-knL8/s1600/IMG_5028.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggG4EEWSxi9l7tqBbYfqXUb_WrIq2H9NCFrErYL4Tyx94rcfHoqPfyIQPTRXpz2sflRwWaZZeb324CErcmx37WSMYiCcORODyZ5qvjYfjENsBTt3nuONK7h9yqJhu-9IpsIujehw-knL8/s400/IMG_5028.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523291766418250690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">The next day Angeli and I went shopping and strolled around town. We picked up a few authentic souvenirs and found a skate park along the way. We hung out until Angeli had to leave to return home, then I moved forward to continue the trip alone. After she left Tomas came back to grab me and we ended up checking out this park near the hotel that had a zoo and a tram that took you to the top of the hill where the most amazing view of Santiago were. I had no idea the city was so large until I got to the top. It was really important that we got out of the park before dark so we quickly made our way down the mountain and headed to a friend of Tomas's. To the north of where we where was the nicer residential areas of Santiago. It was there that Charme had a house and was kind enough to host Tomas and I for the evening. Charme is a snowboarder and lives with other people that are involved in skateboarding and surfing. It was really awesome to get to hang out with people that I would normally hang out with if I lived in the U.S. We all have the same appreciations and common interests.</p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjseqKQEF67CYB94XeSgWzo0n9CTKQ2haTWH3KWhwkdSOrB0molVDAeKJaiqDuFSTTDB5ZGYkuOZ3EUQ2yTSwjdZBV4hKWviLiHRoiMQzhbZ-5i-veXGRqCNaMZ51BCOlTslKdJfxZm1DM/s400/IMG_5148.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523293103454414034" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:18px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">Thursday morning Cherme, Tomas, and I headed up to the mountains. The Andes mountains are breath taking. I only regret that there wasn't more snow, but this has been a bad season for this part of Chile and it is also the beginning of Spring for them. In this part of the Andes there are three resorts, Valle Nevado, El Colorado, and La Parva. Valle Nevado is the most popular and occupied primarily by tourists. Instead, we went to El Colorado because Cherme worked there and already had a pass. They also have the better park at the moment. Once we got there I talked to the marketing manager and she was nice enough to give me a ticket for the day. Wahoo, free ticket was a huge bonus. The conditions weren't epic by any means but I still had a blast and couldn't contain my excitement that I was snowboarding in Chile. After snowboarding we made our way to a hostel called Avalanche Hostel. The owner of the hostel was a friend of Charme's and gave us a discount.</p><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_4wTiDd0FvHoh6eumP6AeolzEd2KNEBgDqAWpFpVB-DvFfdUtPU0MUha5M8GBgOVsI8m2UZnSdwWz-gyB2l8rpqV7PJQZhQG3d5lgQfsMpJ7LIfivGxykZLxiX0qWuRw5xOAAAhhKpA/s400/IMG_5164.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523295196717475794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMghS7Axyyz9a44RW-FqxqONwMS_PgzSYj4qsgQvueGmMCOJOn7GsF_44ic4HOyakgWy-q1I4q9cnyOUzilE3FG8Om2vPjAsqzr0PSSqmIH7igXhR6sf4LeQ8Xl587KXtAeOkJ8Ot5Sjw/s400/IMG_5173.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523295200665281442" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6oa0heV9Cp_pYJ6uiH9-aJqlfxHtVr-TT37TPKoXZjyHeCfr_Iid-PqvQG7VfndfRi4zNtqOPxZC2pxHfUTLaWd5ufbOo6S4fZ1ki-LaF0NOCqjwWFmhYm46NlyeafOdMf8IrUh9dJw/s1600/IMG_5190.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6oa0heV9Cp_pYJ6uiH9-aJqlfxHtVr-TT37TPKoXZjyHeCfr_Iid-PqvQG7VfndfRi4zNtqOPxZC2pxHfUTLaWd5ufbOo6S4fZ1ki-LaF0NOCqjwWFmhYm46NlyeafOdMf8IrUh9dJw/s400/IMG_5190.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523295201544499794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></div><div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">Friday, we went to a resort called La Parva. The resort didn't have a park because the season was so bad, but we decided to go up anyway because we had the ability to get media passes. I'm really glad they hooked up the tickets because the conditions were so socked in that you could barely see more than 3-4 feet in front of you. We took two runs to just check out what I could, but that wasn't much since the visibility was so bad. Although,the day before I did get to see the terrain that La Parva has to offer and it is amazing. Huge cliffs, lots of contour, and plenty of steeps. On a good day, this resort is definitely a must go to destination!!! After shredding we made our way back to the hostel where we were merry and played Texas Hold'em most of the night.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 22px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">There is another ski town in Chile that is about a 6 hour drive south of Santiago called Pucon. They have had a much better season this year and everyone keeps telling me that I have to go. Since my Spanish is so bad I fear traveling alone, but my new friend Jorge is going to come with me. Jorge is a Spaniard that worked on the park at La Parva this season. He also has not been to Pucon so he is willing to travel with me to have the experience and have a traveling buddy. I'm stoked to travel with someone who speaks good English and is native to the Spanish language. We researched the bus fares and decided to travel next week.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">Saturday was a slow day, but I ended up running into Chantelle Heroux a pro skier friend from the United States. The irony of running into her in such a far far place just shows how small the world can be. In the afternoon Tomas and I started to make our way to his hometown called Vina del Mar, meaning vineyards of the sea. We arrived at night so I didn't really get to see too much. There as a little empanada place that Tomas took us to since we were starving. We had one baked and one fried and it was amazingly delicious and super cheap. Since Tomas is heading back to Australia soon, he had a lot of catching up to do with friends. Saturday was a late night for us. We went to a bar-b-que at one of his friend's house who was also leaving soon to go study in Barcelona, Spain. I was super tired and wasn't sure if I'd be able to last. I asked Tomas to drop me back off at his parents house before he went to the next place that night, but a few Pisco Colas later I was ready to keep going. Pisco is a type of alcohol that is made from white grapes. Pisco is distilled differently than wine so it is not the same, but it tastes great. I prefer Pisco Sour (with sweet and sour mix, usually made from fresh limes) rather than Piscola (with Coka-cola), since that stuff is harsh for your body. After the bar-b-que we went to a place called Exotica. It is normally a night club, but since it is the off-season in this beach town the place was super slow and closed for a private birthday party. However, this was also the place where Tomas was meeting up with friends. One person who really stood out to me that evening was a girl named Conna. She was a good friend of Tomas and she spoke really good English since she had lived in Australia and New Zealand. Soon she will be working in Canada. I am grateful for her company because it ended up being a late night and we had many good conversations. Tomas's parents have a really nice house with a view of the sea and they were nice enough to give me the guest bedroom. I was stoked to be able to sleep somewhere warm and comfortable. The hostel in the mountains was freezing to the point where I was sleeping in my jacket and could see my breath. This was a nice change.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">Sunday was my first full day at the coast. The day started with a visit to Valpraiso, a town next to Vina that was just a bit older. It was amazing though. There are tons of houses on the hills that are all different colors with tons of awesome graffiti and amazing views of the sea. This town definitely had a particular charm to it. Many hills compose the town with elevators that take people down and up the hills. For lunch we grabbed some food at a small resturaunt where Tomas's friends Manuel and Paula joined us. Manuel is a successful business owner. He is a distributor and imports fruits from around the world. I am grateful for his company because he treated us to something I could have never imagined. He invited us to go to a spa that he is familiar with. This spa was very unique to any spa I have ever been to. There are individual rooms with hot tubs that can be filled with mineral water and windows that open to a view of the sea. The water is hot spring water that carries the minerals and salts of the sea so when soaking it is a detox, helps with arthritic pains, and other bodily beneficial effects.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 22px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">The timing was amazing though because the sun was just setting when I got to sit in this amazing tub and stare out the window. I almost cried because I thought to myself, "how lucky am I right now." After the hot tub session we all went upstairs for some healthy snacks. Hot green tea, a bowl of fruit, and freshly cut aloe awaited us. Freshly cut aloe was a new experience for me. We ate the aloe because it is supposed to help with your digestive system and we rubbed some on our skin. You have to eat it whole though, chewing is not pleasant. Afterwards Manuel treated us to the most memorable dinner. Since Vina is on the sea obviously sea food is plentiful and good. The restaurant we went to was amazing. We had a sea food casserole, Matchas which is a pink clam that was in a parmesan cream sauce and was "orgasmic" as Manuel described it, and we had Loco which was also my first time trying but delicious. The evening was amazing and I am so grateful to Manuel for making it possible.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></p></div></span></span></div></div></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHdHPbogQwyT5gb6JQBuaZ94-AXUdQlePTQpDri4um4ApwkHM7ltSVzH5czOf0E3MC8SvyWTSoB-FIuXQZKYNKu-ekqMmIrRyb7uxJmY_2zBD5MGWw-S31w3eIVWkXn2XSVfRat5b0tU/s1600/IMG_5260.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHdHPbogQwyT5gb6JQBuaZ94-AXUdQlePTQpDri4um4ApwkHM7ltSVzH5czOf0E3MC8SvyWTSoB-FIuXQZKYNKu-ekqMmIrRyb7uxJmY_2zBD5MGWw-S31w3eIVWkXn2XSVfRat5b0tU/s400/IMG_5260.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529104627794822018" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNs6drqTTk30Lhp3JM-3de9zjk6aBsIgQA47ZXNf2ttqsNdqAW34No1G5iK-6CEDlDaydbSBKgF2ikIyMvm2VTl-KO9dK8akGzLL-Hf_wrTCNErfR5EcGPgWN4yhqJ4Hf3GUXtSUwnZMg/s1600/IMG_5259.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNs6drqTTk30Lhp3JM-3de9zjk6aBsIgQA47ZXNf2ttqsNdqAW34No1G5iK-6CEDlDaydbSBKgF2ikIyMvm2VTl-KO9dK8akGzLL-Hf_wrTCNErfR5EcGPgWN4yhqJ4Hf3GUXtSUwnZMg/s400/IMG_5259.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529104617738298850" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0Sz06-w3KM_4jNATTAijH7IIvVa8jOMwuMjEQPK7aKNdzaFCU7dMXfcHFxQz7CyeKnoquGlx4tvHDGJZPRRAqJeDzT4X_NfsfH9cnbfKzZw_AcN8ue3mhYTayJFq8w74ARybxPMm9Is/s1600/IMG_5258.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0Sz06-w3KM_4jNATTAijH7IIvVa8jOMwuMjEQPK7aKNdzaFCU7dMXfcHFxQz7CyeKnoquGlx4tvHDGJZPRRAqJeDzT4X_NfsfH9cnbfKzZw_AcN8ue3mhYTayJFq8w74ARybxPMm9Is/s400/IMG_5258.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529104607358611138" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBixMu35_NHnFZKXzkb3TNZGC_hIwuX37zK_LhQBF1wBjyaOpjsZgNx_-GSEBA5u7g6mgn7v04UAadnrprakY4H-BYyGtMNgOVuje4Asf3NO3cG9vGdyHXIvSwL-FMVT39ma53DPmOts/s1600/IMG_5257.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBixMu35_NHnFZKXzkb3TNZGC_hIwuX37zK_LhQBF1wBjyaOpjsZgNx_-GSEBA5u7g6mgn7v04UAadnrprakY4H-BYyGtMNgOVuje4Asf3NO3cG9vGdyHXIvSwL-FMVT39ma53DPmOts/s400/IMG_5257.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529104583637442962" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHJlCgsdt3qecDBG0GzPh-JS0pMWPj5Kwg-QYjdw0fguejVy10Is_e2HLDXCETrNIPiehdT5f1CxuLhf5YRapzgTv3wD1SKYQgl-GfXswSBct2cjdAwf6CdWTq8PA9_x2zoZyK-lgXvM/s1600/IMG_5256.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHJlCgsdt3qecDBG0GzPh-JS0pMWPj5Kwg-QYjdw0fguejVy10Is_e2HLDXCETrNIPiehdT5f1CxuLhf5YRapzgTv3wD1SKYQgl-GfXswSBct2cjdAwf6CdWTq8PA9_x2zoZyK-lgXvM/s400/IMG_5256.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529104562163004946" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukDwkEJzcfxjtv4Z8HTgOwFh8jkI5GTpWcF7yotFJE3kfOHWb1VAdVZdCJ7oLAxePJ3gXN56I3WAjZgAKwaeIb5_FflGYAY8F7PWePAyukh9zkUx1Vnir0Ydy_c795HEEYAKDq8D0qpE/s1600/IMG_5255.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukDwkEJzcfxjtv4Z8HTgOwFh8jkI5GTpWcF7yotFJE3kfOHWb1VAdVZdCJ7oLAxePJ3gXN56I3WAjZgAKwaeIb5_FflGYAY8F7PWePAyukh9zkUx1Vnir0Ydy_c795HEEYAKDq8D0qpE/s400/IMG_5255.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529103441730190050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiT9v2U8KKyzWXcfIBg7HsyFt25rLdCdAttJ1gPVUjHCvrlCemG-7xL-JFb6cbzVIYi8p-bxxN-D1Vq_V4l1Obb0hJEx7h2mdX1bqSiqLjkmFAjiWMH1jmIHeOgDsESTcdDRVsyccJt-g/s1600/IMG_5254.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiT9v2U8KKyzWXcfIBg7HsyFt25rLdCdAttJ1gPVUjHCvrlCemG-7xL-JFb6cbzVIYi8p-bxxN-D1Vq_V4l1Obb0hJEx7h2mdX1bqSiqLjkmFAjiWMH1jmIHeOgDsESTcdDRVsyccJt-g/s400/IMG_5254.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529103427126185090" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge0yEjARqOI8ZtRr3prMZPA4pF09SNTZ-yQi0hd2brgZRT03wmXeC9h3rMwxaUkhG_eM9rYDqBEbgY3WXyJe8qcfMmdO20IxFX6kO2dh9VW6Qx40ge2ENI9mRzJePIvv8VG-X2TESZRMM/s1600/IMG_5251.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge0yEjARqOI8ZtRr3prMZPA4pF09SNTZ-yQi0hd2brgZRT03wmXeC9h3rMwxaUkhG_eM9rYDqBEbgY3WXyJe8qcfMmdO20IxFX6kO2dh9VW6Qx40ge2ENI9mRzJePIvv8VG-X2TESZRMM/s400/IMG_5251.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529103419514571794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7R628cxsfUTzmU4sQ-ics5t88ywhPMfKDklfxwXjL8MU2utQrntzFnhPhLx9HPYk6KOvl4v2tbSS8ZLn4nMNLuoWoWw-8WzEjvRR0G0ZXMD25B0pussVCkp33duomonQkg_X3st9Xz4g/s1600/IMG_5246.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7R628cxsfUTzmU4sQ-ics5t88ywhPMfKDklfxwXjL8MU2utQrntzFnhPhLx9HPYk6KOvl4v2tbSS8ZLn4nMNLuoWoWw-8WzEjvRR0G0ZXMD25B0pussVCkp33duomonQkg_X3st9Xz4g/s400/IMG_5246.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529103391553592034" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoywLeKvtxY3QIELcw8mDDtgAR7thr92eqc4Eqy6QNdPI_JS3NJVZZyHaMZooygWKECpO57jKvjoHCJnNFSmBAFKr6iJJazOU08HWosSzyFY7xSJqnKgbU3RCqUiJw-ihI29RkljPI6g/s1600/IMG_5236.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoywLeKvtxY3QIELcw8mDDtgAR7thr92eqc4Eqy6QNdPI_JS3NJVZZyHaMZooygWKECpO57jKvjoHCJnNFSmBAFKr6iJJazOU08HWosSzyFY7xSJqnKgbU3RCqUiJw-ihI29RkljPI6g/s400/IMG_5236.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529103366993001778" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline; "><br /></span></span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiymC9gnTzA0EQYrLP0oc8UxTJWTwHjw09REQwEifUUYSiFXmrS6BQ-9YdVb-LZfqLO_J5RA3qX_4JQaSiPgWhXTtX40F6cuhbGwaU4vAsT_OTsJwlBpIS-U9fmsnJXFxfvV9VZdJPGElA/s400/IMG_5287.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529108512137133858" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcRlSC3Re5EZovmsVIlc0dF66tW6I31-fjWm3BnDh6_HEoUw0XTVjpaSWsX1Ed26UKr7hHcOmQm_KvTUvaY5f56K2O8m0CQ5SIYko-g_hWrJKHEaqHEDrrkqG9esptE47DP3yy6GlUTc/s1600/IMG_5295.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcRlSC3Re5EZovmsVIlc0dF66tW6I31-fjWm3BnDh6_HEoUw0XTVjpaSWsX1Ed26UKr7hHcOmQm_KvTUvaY5f56K2O8m0CQ5SIYko-g_hWrJKHEaqHEDrrkqG9esptE47DP3yy6GlUTc/s400/IMG_5295.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529108522522228226" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">Monday was my last day in Vina before I left for Pucon. I hit up the markets a bit to buy some souvenirs and we got to spend a while on the beach just enjoying the views, smells, and sounds of the waves. The water is a pretty shade of blue and the waves were nice barrels where the sea lions and the surfers were getting their fill of fun. Before I knew it the day was over and I had to catch an overnight bus to Pucon. It left Vina at 8 pm and was due to arrive in Pucon at 8 am. The bus was large with two stories and I paid the extra money to be on the bottom floor where there were seats that laid back to be full beds. I figured the extra ten bucks was worth a good night rest since I had a full day of snowboarding the next day.</p></div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxqJIeMWrojVMmPG2Tyz2fVpo5mmdFCBNqtgf17aDkWLnC1od6cTFPtdHV8UpWmdp7EUvEEFpSbYb6nNncMoas2-bFmSrZybtykzvbG32vSwQORjpYVV1HN07FzanLE8LBckX6WXUMyY/s1600/IMG_5330.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxqJIeMWrojVMmPG2Tyz2fVpo5mmdFCBNqtgf17aDkWLnC1od6cTFPtdHV8UpWmdp7EUvEEFpSbYb6nNncMoas2-bFmSrZybtykzvbG32vSwQORjpYVV1HN07FzanLE8LBckX6WXUMyY/s400/IMG_5330.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529119370407728034" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp66E2kzAMt7oSKVAzMyKSnTu-uiJoBX1xzbyL-c5Ub12ouK37SjvYbSsDGjdcbvykKxd0T6LH0xxHbZjxKfqK4mfhEeNvl6FE640q3sSufagWU07dYoUixrAk3lwFhK7mtq_L6WK6nuU/s1600/IMG_5329.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp66E2kzAMt7oSKVAzMyKSnTu-uiJoBX1xzbyL-c5Ub12ouK37SjvYbSsDGjdcbvykKxd0T6LH0xxHbZjxKfqK4mfhEeNvl6FE640q3sSufagWU07dYoUixrAk3lwFhK7mtq_L6WK6nuU/s400/IMG_5329.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529119357129759202" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnOh5Hhgww87sR5IKNDvm0xTsFkIazCKgWhOj-4hO_5jgZel2ker9QRL7ZhmVxEnMYsWXJ0PseNMlSshBq7yfX2FJmuQDIKIZjzl649C2MK5TiVeabBg7dKT0jCxn8RNrWuaUHHTsukpc/s1600/IMG_5323.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnOh5Hhgww87sR5IKNDvm0xTsFkIazCKgWhOj-4hO_5jgZel2ker9QRL7ZhmVxEnMYsWXJ0PseNMlSshBq7yfX2FJmuQDIKIZjzl649C2MK5TiVeabBg7dKT0jCxn8RNrWuaUHHTsukpc/s400/IMG_5323.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529119338205745602" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica">Unfortunately, I didn't get to ride the next day. The bus pulled in a little late and most of the shuttle busses to the mountain had already left for the day. I didn't mind though since the weather was rainy. I figured the visibility on the mountain wasn't so great. Jorge came with me on this trip so we left the bus station with our equipment and started walking to our hostel. We stayed at a hostel called "The Tree House Hostel." Our beds cost us 8,000 pesos a night which is about $16 U.S. dollars. Two things kicked ass about this hotel. First, the tree house, obviously. It has a really great view of the volcano and the surrounding area. Second, the wood stove in the common area. It was very efficient and probably was the warmest it had been in a while. The room that our beds were in was attached to the common area. No heat in the rooms forced us to keep the door to our room open so we could let the heat in from the wood stove, but completely worth the good warm nights rest. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica">The next day Jorge wanted to save money by hitch hiking. It probably wasn't the best idea, but it was worth the experience. After walking about 20 min to the bottom of the road that leads to the ski resort, we ended up running into a bunch of people that were already trying to hitch hike also. Two hours later, no one was getting picked up. Every car that drove by was full of people. My frustration was quickly growing to the point where I was willing to pay for a ride. Eventually a taxi came by and we flagged it down to see how much it would cost to take us to the resort. The driver said he would take us for 12,000 pesos. We grabbed two other people who were waiting for a while and headed up to the resort at 3,000 pesos each. Once we got there I wanted to talk to the marketing office about a pass, but there was no marketing office. The base lodge facilities are so outdated that they didn't even have any kind of dinning area or manageable facilities for people. We went to the ticket counter and the women there said the marketing office was back in the town of Pucon. She called the area manager that told us we had to talk to the marketing office because the pass situation was out of his hand. The lady at the ticket counter called the marketing office, but I guess no one works there until noon? Anyway we stood in front of the ticket booth for about an hour before we got a hold of anyone. Once we did get a hold of someone in the marketing office, they said I needed to e-mail them about passes. I was already there though and didn't understand why I couldn't talk to someone so I decided to head down the mountain back to the town of Pucon to talk to someone in person. Jorge and I hitched a ride back into town to the Casino where the office was. There was a guard at the front door that wouldn't let us pass to go to the marketing office. Again we stood there for about a half hour while the guard made some calls to get a hold of someone in the office. The head person from the marketing office, Claoudia, said she was in a meeting and to come back later. That is exactly what we did, we came back later. Again we stood and waited at the door while the guard made some calls. Eventually one lady came down from the office just to tell us we had to go to the Grand Hotel to talk to Claudia there. Great, what a circle we are being sent on. So we walked to the Grand Hotel and talked to one of the men at the door there. He told us to wait. Waiting was the theme of the day. He came back down just to tell us that Claudia decided not provide us with passes. I was so frustrated. I wasted my whole day getting the total run around from these people. I also don't understand why Whistler and all the other ski resorts in Chile could provide me with a media pass and Pucon couldn't? I mean Whistler is one of the largest ski resorts in the world and they were more accommodating then this little tiny whole in the wall resort that could probably use some good publicity, but obviously not. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica">The next day was beautiful. Jorge and I took the shuttle this time to make sure we could get to the resort at a reasonable time. It is spring in Chile right now and non-peak prices should have been in effect, but they weren't. The resort was charging full prices in anticipation of the independence day holiday that hadn't started yet. Also, they only had two of their 7 or 8 chairs running so that made for a totally boring day considering the resort is super flat where the chairs were running. We took the same run about 8 times and I didn't want to do it again. I was upset that I paid for such a lame day on the mountain. I do not recommend Pucon ski resort but I do recommend going to the town of Pucon for everything else that is offered in the area. There are many hot springs, rafting, national forests with amazing hiking and views to see, and much much more. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIdooe00EnEZYuMrWEDyRn8Jm3MlHpl9aRjNfHeQdMGLOUi-TnjO12bY0sbyc5SqqV83JtdDR0JWfBLayJo3fopMj_bDuvjskf_PaA41fEdpRi8ofJpOYC-zoIVkwuHPDCX8FE5Wpo5jo/s400/IMG_5341.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585477363933471474" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><div><div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibTqz_kNLeyuA4m5FVesEsu8OJ1gmUktYCsmurIEwnNCXZfLFnmZ5A6IrOlIk-fbTqVhOGSr4LY23BeXCq3dtQKeIz_m6BpQ21L8bgLxIPLzqsKHptlqzX_s0rziJPNb0olEn2-fMGSE/s1600/IMG_5510.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibTqz_kNLeyuA4m5FVesEsu8OJ1gmUktYCsmurIEwnNCXZfLFnmZ5A6IrOlIk-fbTqVhOGSr4LY23BeXCq3dtQKeIz_m6BpQ21L8bgLxIPLzqsKHptlqzX_s0rziJPNb0olEn2-fMGSE/s400/IMG_5510.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585477378972977810" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOS6U9Tb7XgO7naYtbB0ZVAjeIkSTVD37oiGIgO1CTZpcEvNNTvxVTBJCLtTA0Uz-NqsHpUGygvEgjLebFnHbW-Gt3a29oxoEtrVZ_CAVCx9GbgnzeUG0UsusLHMruxctjL4vM87PMd9c/s1600/IMG_5463.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOS6U9Tb7XgO7naYtbB0ZVAjeIkSTVD37oiGIgO1CTZpcEvNNTvxVTBJCLtTA0Uz-NqsHpUGygvEgjLebFnHbW-Gt3a29oxoEtrVZ_CAVCx9GbgnzeUG0UsusLHMruxctjL4vM87PMd9c/s400/IMG_5463.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585477375254393938" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHOwMfNO3bhNaYn3QbXGvPvGbV6wyZ7ZvuKVPfg7Lub_JXxAbbU_ev5Cfok-TvdAImkWoWq6s1ZFOi_5Y67kzj7SlkCBQRnov2B_U8cd5qX8lcC6tkUe16ZkUFhbP51iu4OihF3nal7I/s1600/IMG_5448.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHOwMfNO3bhNaYn3QbXGvPvGbV6wyZ7ZvuKVPfg7Lub_JXxAbbU_ev5Cfok-TvdAImkWoWq6s1ZFOi_5Y67kzj7SlkCBQRnov2B_U8cd5qX8lcC6tkUe16ZkUFhbP51iu4OihF3nal7I/s400/IMG_5448.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585477373375090866" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YyPyw39hpn-E6zoUMlBks7QUQrBeGMlOpiswxlW0ySQrpW-XHXnOsrSjQBQA5w6vc8fcrzY8_78Yxbd4kCvkqUPngdNXlLh3fU8JwARj9bFpXfiog-3zAFUHfZ7UZ0vxxnfAkTPYznA/s1600/IMG_5389.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YyPyw39hpn-E6zoUMlBks7QUQrBeGMlOpiswxlW0ySQrpW-XHXnOsrSjQBQA5w6vc8fcrzY8_78Yxbd4kCvkqUPngdNXlLh3fU8JwARj9bFpXfiog-3zAFUHfZ7UZ0vxxnfAkTPYznA/s400/IMG_5389.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585477370029233010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:18px;"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica">That night I hopped the bus for an overnight travel back to Vina for the bicentennial holiday. Chile spends three days celebrating their independence day and this one was extra special since it was the 200th birthday of Chile. When I got to Vina, Tomas picked me up from the bus station and told me we were going to go to another beach town called Argorrobo. My friend Patty was going to be there for the holiday. Patty, was another Chilean that I had worked with at Timberline and she also lived in Santiago. Therefore, the plan was to get me to Argorrobo so I could go back to Santiago with Patty since my flight to the States was leaving on Monday after the holiday. Tomas's friend Rudolfo was nice enough to take us to Argorrobo and we stayed with their friend, Philipe, aka "Gargola," or gargoyle in English. Philipe's family has this large house that is subdivided into separate apartments where each aunt and uncle and grandparents had their own apartment. Their family was very welcoming and the accommodations were very comfortable. We got to Argorrobo just in time for the bar-b-que. After eating and drinking Piscola, we went to what is called the Ramada. There are Ramada's everywhere and they are basically these temporary huts that are put up with wood and leaf roofs where everyone dances and is merry. What I didn't realize was how hard the Chileans can party. I had to be mindful of my alcohol consumption considering I am in a foreign country and it could be dangerous for me to loose my consciousness. When the sun was starting to rise was when the Ramada closes and it was at that point we made our way back to the house for some sleep. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica">At about noon we went to the beach to sleep some more until about 5 pm and then we went back to the house to do it all over again. Bar-b-que all night then go to the Ramada until the sun comes up. Like I said, Chileans party hard. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; min-height: 22.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOI-f1wBMtKVJzekR5x42p-S7QVdbCCJf_1uV8OBIbFXsGdAylblbGb0xKasXc3Qm9krr7hjd3hKqbOygPm0YhQiC2ZRyoIqQ8p0NhxoYjvrPce6hERFG_vLloHh1Upd_F12XLL0HqKw/s1600/IMG_5659.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOI-f1wBMtKVJzekR5x42p-S7QVdbCCJf_1uV8OBIbFXsGdAylblbGb0xKasXc3Qm9krr7hjd3hKqbOygPm0YhQiC2ZRyoIqQ8p0NhxoYjvrPce6hERFG_vLloHh1Upd_F12XLL0HqKw/s400/IMG_5659.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585478189413328978" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlrVgGylUUKmyaS_CvOhg6Cny8U1rHC4H78yWmP2nYOR4Xem3aYXm1kdW8p7QKJoc0EVxEq-AA-SZFd5ouS46wX0nxa8dLT-3FUOiPfydqHs2Uh0hgimFL_iYZprRwUdgBtTPqwqGF3I/s1600/IMG_5575.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlrVgGylUUKmyaS_CvOhg6Cny8U1rHC4H78yWmP2nYOR4Xem3aYXm1kdW8p7QKJoc0EVxEq-AA-SZFd5ouS46wX0nxa8dLT-3FUOiPfydqHs2Uh0hgimFL_iYZprRwUdgBtTPqwqGF3I/s400/IMG_5575.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585478184054957122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJCYZQfvtwNNRJZgGgu-0ICUgk4XHkYsWOSUMJ_SgGhG68D8xTHm4wTd3WhbAcPIJNMuV7C5YK5vJWn4yBQ-EF04uZWXMlttsDv5ZBDNhDy_xouoknt1gySagK_8nrUCn3sd2c4UhBtw/s1600/IMG_5560.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJCYZQfvtwNNRJZgGgu-0ICUgk4XHkYsWOSUMJ_SgGhG68D8xTHm4wTd3WhbAcPIJNMuV7C5YK5vJWn4yBQ-EF04uZWXMlttsDv5ZBDNhDy_xouoknt1gySagK_8nrUCn3sd2c4UhBtw/s400/IMG_5560.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585478180980432162" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></p><div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">Sunday Tomas and Rudolfo headed back to Vina and I stayed to figure out how I was going to get to Santiago the next day to catch my flight. Patty's father had a heart attack and she had to rush to Santiago so my plan to leave with her didn't work out. Philipe was nice enough to offer to take me to Santiago the next day since he lived there and it all worked out in the long run. Sunday was a bit more mellow. We went to the beach to catch a siesta, "nap," and then afterwards we went another cliffside beach to fly some kites. Flying kites is popular in Chile this time of year because the wind is very consistent. Another bar-b-que followed, but not the Ramada, thankfully. I was very tired. We ended up staying at the house and playing a game that was dice involved, however it is way to complicated to try to explain. I think we went to bed around 1am, and then there was an earthquake around 2am. I am a heavy sleeper so I slept through the quake. </p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 22px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; ">Unfortunately, my trip was coming to an end. I had to make my way back to the airport to catch my plane back to the United States, but I was looking forward to going home as well. The trip has been an amazing experience, mostly in part to my friends that made sure I had the true Chilean experience from the food to the culture. </p></div></span></span></span><p></p></div></div></div>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-29682576802339862852010-08-13T07:55:00.001-07:002010-08-13T07:59:30.536-07:00Ride Women's Board Testing Session<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ryS7IUVnPVKh4wdizUiICDj0tER0W-soXeXiw9gczjPVw13foH6uzo0OwvLmy18eEuVhBjhKW3XMfw3rpcHAFf_bCc6HcuAPMtO8R584PsnVS6SjeRTDy6qkIrvNP6JRp44LVWEUFcU/s1600/38979_10150226781530696_772940695_13769862_1589773_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ryS7IUVnPVKh4wdizUiICDj0tER0W-soXeXiw9gczjPVw13foH6uzo0OwvLmy18eEuVhBjhKW3XMfw3rpcHAFf_bCc6HcuAPMtO8R584PsnVS6SjeRTDy6qkIrvNP6JRp44LVWEUFcU/s400/38979_10150226781530696_772940695_13769862_1589773_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504908694719718994" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6kbQFZhqtTJO_S6uunyXyqKHJAkWy6KsRnfwgiIFGrMdF8Xfw07GMDIyS97vvjizJsyJ32kdjdoHUW9B270FuZzDfL0gy3udFmz7E7ULOc_3gECEtoz2S20hFHV1Fbt1b70iu-MwTBdQ/s1600/38492_10150226781945696_772940695_13769889_5273820_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6kbQFZhqtTJO_S6uunyXyqKHJAkWy6KsRnfwgiIFGrMdF8Xfw07GMDIyS97vvjizJsyJ32kdjdoHUW9B270FuZzDfL0gy3udFmz7E7ULOc_3gECEtoz2S20hFHV1Fbt1b70iu-MwTBdQ/s400/38492_10150226781945696_772940695_13769889_5273820_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504908685758742914" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgxrJc04wmFzWZglkliAhrpB55l1h9nZ0SGWX8RKwhN0gqyCNd0MEHDqU5JTIvPHgUDxoUUGYjxD0fk4ldy9kgw9axxQiyri8JdppNl1kCErNKEvCuqOs0SFnlvtszKIQTEf-aMRKOfM/s1600/38361_10150226784040696_772940695_13770001_4260038_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgxrJc04wmFzWZglkliAhrpB55l1h9nZ0SGWX8RKwhN0gqyCNd0MEHDqU5JTIvPHgUDxoUUGYjxD0fk4ldy9kgw9axxQiyri8JdppNl1kCErNKEvCuqOs0SFnlvtszKIQTEf-aMRKOfM/s400/38361_10150226784040696_772940695_13770001_4260038_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504908681429192690" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcWNlcrktWkUyx72yEzaPXguNoHHfib5DALgUa7U6KsstW1cE5prkGylxqwG7HamtFm9ednpfKGpK9shKEq1_7vCVYfUicFHcAFxNIIfQzgAKA-Ai4j_jfl1yP6axpflwrdNMCk7VVB0/s1600/38101_10150226781655696_772940695_13769869_352709_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcWNlcrktWkUyx72yEzaPXguNoHHfib5DALgUa7U6KsstW1cE5prkGylxqwG7HamtFm9ednpfKGpK9shKEq1_7vCVYfUicFHcAFxNIIfQzgAKA-Ai4j_jfl1yP6axpflwrdNMCk7VVB0/s400/38101_10150226781655696_772940695_13769869_352709_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504908678666914482" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1qAtlWnUNu-QGXbePLQObcepHxkJugf6ztKWiyIhvG7pWQt9vQVubpnfBbEXwo5kNy0QsNoKnuLHVTlLNjGO9u_2sgy5T-yBzKaQFK_yHOWxCjPmVdbIzTgXUK0FUpO3J4HgYxMkL00/s1600/37984_10150226782890696_772940695_13769946_5920936_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1qAtlWnUNu-QGXbePLQObcepHxkJugf6ztKWiyIhvG7pWQt9vQVubpnfBbEXwo5kNy0QsNoKnuLHVTlLNjGO9u_2sgy5T-yBzKaQFK_yHOWxCjPmVdbIzTgXUK0FUpO3J4HgYxMkL00/s400/37984_10150226782890696_772940695_13769946_5920936_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504908668321282706" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Ride snowboards has recently launched a movement to really step up the level of the products available for women. In the spring they held a session with a handful of women who are strongly involved in the snowboard industry. Athletes, buyers of key snowboard shops around the country, and women who are pushing the movement were all attendees. We spend three days discussing women's products from snowboards, boots, bindings, and outerwear. Discussions included what the consumer wants and what athletes think are important features in their products. One of the key elements we had asked the engineers of our products was to develop technology specific to women and not to just carry over the same technology in both genders' equipment. Recently, a few of us realized that the engineers are actually listening to what we requested. Ride is going the extra mile to make sure their products are as specific to women as they can be. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">On July 28th and 29th, Ride snowboards conducted a women's specific product testing session. They asked a few of our team riders to be there as well as Molly Hawkins and Emily Kaelin. Molly handles the marketing for Evo gear an online shop based out of Seattle. Molly is very passionate about the development of women in the actions sports, so it was great having her there. Emily is an important part of the design team for Ride. It was really nice to see her shredding and hanging out with the ladies outside of the office. The team members that were there included pros: Hana Beaman, Megan Ginter, and ,newly joined, Silvia Mittermuller. The other members of the team included myself, Jessika Jenson and Rainey Pogue, both Ride's young up-and-coming shredders. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Our board engineers, Doug and Paul, were there to mediate the testing session. This testing session was a blind test. They provided us with 8 boards to test. The boards are 2011\2012 prototypes that had already released 2010 graphics on them. All of the boards looked exactly the same. Four of the boards were park specific and four of the boards were all mountain specific. Even though all of the boards looked exactly the same, they all rode completely different, thus giving us the chance to make unbiased comments about the boards. The engineers are really passionate about using the right combinations of technology to develop the best boards for women. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The engineers asked us ahead of time to not share our opinions with each other until the testing was all complete and they wanted us to take the exact same run every time so the results could be as accurate as possible. We took full runs from the top of Palmer to the bottom of the Mile. This gave us a chance to take lots of turns and test the riding ability of the boards on the way down to the public park where we could jump and jib to test the park abilities of the boards. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Each run we stopped at the picnic tables at the top of the Mile chair where we would take the time to fill out some questionnaires and swap out our bindings onto the next testing board. The questionnaires were really specific about what they wanted us to determine about the boards and in each category we were asked to rank from 1 to 5. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">In the end one all mountain board was voted 8 for 8, a clear winner. The board is amazing and I recommend that everyone give it a chance in the future. There wasn't as clear of a park board winner, but I think that is because we all have very different expectations of our park boards. Some like a softer board to jib, some like a stiffer board to have stability on large kickers. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Overall the testing experience was an amazing experience. Spending more time with the team was great to get to know each other more. All of the girls on the team have amazing personalities and are all very kind and interesting. It is an honor to be a part of a project that has so much potential and really cares about women. Being able to have such a significant influence in the development of women's products is not very common. Overall, snowboarding is a Male dominated sport and Ride snowboards is really focused on supporting and developing the Women's side of snowboarding. Thank you to Paul and Doug for putting so much love into our boards. Also, big thanks to Casey Raymer, Ride global marketing manager, for really supporting the movement to develop our women's industry. </p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-59125320655024019632010-06-03T13:35:00.000-07:002010-06-03T13:40:13.788-07:00Campus Rail Jam Tour - 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNs8qlcbdZK4-fNz5Wlpmczu91b4KD5Gds8ZbxQo1qXwRdIc6b6Z4ngEzv9GwGu9ebbDq5_Cx3vnBvFMSU7mblY0Hfod-utC8YnEqyFALfQyXiqFlwZxKd-qDTjnH5Wk_VJRuplejDIhM/s1600/20100528-_MG_9980.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNs8qlcbdZK4-fNz5Wlpmczu91b4KD5Gds8ZbxQo1qXwRdIc6b6Z4ngEzv9GwGu9ebbDq5_Cx3vnBvFMSU7mblY0Hfod-utC8YnEqyFALfQyXiqFlwZxKd-qDTjnH5Wk_VJRuplejDIhM/s400/20100528-_MG_9980.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478649314004384690" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pdQYYaHpfPGlgNMwWyaPQ1Zp32C1By_aVn7sYnhBOTj7YxpdkS6wo9rUx2uY0xR5V_IqR3g00d2uvzIhhBoL_4ZSR3v_KWm5dVkJOIUQRrH9PArCnobhRLEtDNKf7GQWOcCx5LF13xw/s1600/20100528-_MG_9959.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pdQYYaHpfPGlgNMwWyaPQ1Zp32C1By_aVn7sYnhBOTj7YxpdkS6wo9rUx2uY0xR5V_IqR3g00d2uvzIhhBoL_4ZSR3v_KWm5dVkJOIUQRrH9PArCnobhRLEtDNKf7GQWOcCx5LF13xw/s400/20100528-_MG_9959.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478649308841532386" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MJEywFKJ7KKw8wS4x_VFpjjZZiwnkjQD_BQE7_7Qh5XL04UGVn2MhumN57bGsvofOiD-NGJm4vN76nf9QqIIpPuYMch5DYsRa2b1uuVb9qOetmI91wKUlmCf1RyKTHT0lndPEhtHBP0/s1600/20100528-_MG_0063.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MJEywFKJ7KKw8wS4x_VFpjjZZiwnkjQD_BQE7_7Qh5XL04UGVn2MhumN57bGsvofOiD-NGJm4vN76nf9QqIIpPuYMch5DYsRa2b1uuVb9qOetmI91wKUlmCf1RyKTHT0lndPEhtHBP0/s400/20100528-_MG_0063.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478649299622489874" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qROZpqEM51nAfboPtpnFPb8JIqsc9Rkz8bsSOLXit5L-IdOI-WSFylSv2vW9pU_BH938M91_AE2Txu0SymZf3Ac8tUH4li6QjldOixtOZH0av1ldf6bz9Pa5sxdYFBCejwhc5Ix3dlU/s1600/20100521_osu_crjt-1545.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qROZpqEM51nAfboPtpnFPb8JIqsc9Rkz8bsSOLXit5L-IdOI-WSFylSv2vW9pU_BH938M91_AE2Txu0SymZf3Ac8tUH4li6QjldOixtOZH0av1ldf6bz9Pa5sxdYFBCejwhc5Ix3dlU/s400/20100521_osu_crjt-1545.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478649293365473906" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The Campus Rail Jam Tour was a blast this year. The set up included a down flat down rail, a gap to down box, and a rainbow to down box. The first stop I did was in Spokane at Gonzaga University. The girl turn out wasn't very large, but that stop usually doesn't have the largest turn out in general. It had been a while since I had some good practice on rails and I was feeling really rusty. At the end of the competition I was stuck on trying to land a tail 270 out of the rainbow down box. Unfortunately, I couldn't land the trick and the judges were bored watching me try so I ended up leaving with second place. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">One stop was added to the tour last minute and unofficially in Bend, Oregon. Considering the event wasn't really broadcasted with advance notice, there was a really good turn out. There was at least more than 10 girls there ready to throw down. Plenty of familiar faces were there including Krysta Pelchner and Ashley Thornton. The battle was fun and in the end I left with first place. Since the stop wasn't official, I didn't get one of those cool totem pole trophies...Boo. Those totem poles look pretty cool and are way better than the Jackalope heads I got for trophies last year....oh well. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The last stop that I went to was in Corvalis at Oregon State University. This stop was the last one before the finals in Portland. Mt. Hood usually draws a large crowd for the summer and with the last stop being so close to the summer there is a really good crew of people that show up. This stop had girls from all over the place, like Colorado, Utah, Tahoe. I really had to work hard to take second place. I was throwing switch tricks with different variations of switch ups and front boards. Emily Blewitt took first deservingly. She also was throwing down switch tricks and a sweet 180 swivel through the kink of the down-flat-down. She was keeping me well on my toes and motivating me to the fullest. I loved it!!! Being able to compete with girls that rip is a thrill and makes snowboarding more fun. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The finals in Portland was held Friday May 28th and it was such a wet day. The rain just did not stop poring, but for how much rain fell, there was still a great crowd of spectators. This was the best of the best. There were ladies from all over in Portland ready to take a stab at the title and cash up for grabs. California, Utah, Colorado, and your very own Oregon were being represented. It didn't take very long for me to take a nasty spill. My second hit on the down-flat-down rail I came off a little early and left the scaffolding heading fast first into the concrete. Instinctually, I placed my hands in front of my face to protect myself, but there was nothing I could do about the scorpion that was coming next. Regardless, I got up with so much adrenalin to finish what I started. Krysta Pelchner ended up taking the win for the day. I saw her land a really clean 270 onto the gap to down box and Ashley Thornton was super clean with a variety of tricks on all of the features. To see the top three spots being held by Oregonians was awesome. It just shows that that the Northwest can produce talent and there'll be more to come. Having all of the ladies in Portland was a really great time.</p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-33300315717277405412010-05-27T16:29:00.000-07:002010-05-27T16:44:44.316-07:00Spring has finally arrived!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEickCMFuQTeApM1RXtOHP8slXJCM98pbhaqaHXkDSOwg7adsCDW8lXLBGbbBJO_HrFdBCIwIlSy_voksQN5RbmTsxlwEnJHt9B3xKSkH6hyphenhyphen-qFIwhuXZm8c2X_wgX7i5Xy-RRpYd1zm6GQ/s1600/20100508_timberline-9662.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEickCMFuQTeApM1RXtOHP8slXJCM98pbhaqaHXkDSOwg7adsCDW8lXLBGbbBJO_HrFdBCIwIlSy_voksQN5RbmTsxlwEnJHt9B3xKSkH6hyphenhyphen-qFIwhuXZm8c2X_wgX7i5Xy-RRpYd1zm6GQ/s400/20100508_timberline-9662.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476098018441340338" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IOyNEmEo1wPr_JPpSuKB5dIKoEq0loCwvWU4Zar1YqDSaW1az78WkPBZDYQ42b6ere7XkrtBTXS_LXgjDO6kqWFjrSy92M4MXFoUBFlJBIlk2HxHFfqyeeAfPa4ZVc-1-UDeRsWDmqU/s1600/20100508_timberline-9715.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IOyNEmEo1wPr_JPpSuKB5dIKoEq0loCwvWU4Zar1YqDSaW1az78WkPBZDYQ42b6ere7XkrtBTXS_LXgjDO6kqWFjrSy92M4MXFoUBFlJBIlk2HxHFfqyeeAfPa4ZVc-1-UDeRsWDmqU/s400/20100508_timberline-9715.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476098015205949042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMhEXbxGOvD5WQVneYWevu91GrFaNzPYoulwTTllJZXNopfkYC5VlhfkbVg0SEs4MSCGqstV2v6dnvu_YP0kOMsW-GfWYPCX5zkOz8bJ8fB7UbAkRIyE3hJe3DERRitAkDL_XxWicsLq0/s1600/20100508_timberline-9745.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMhEXbxGOvD5WQVneYWevu91GrFaNzPYoulwTTllJZXNopfkYC5VlhfkbVg0SEs4MSCGqstV2v6dnvu_YP0kOMsW-GfWYPCX5zkOz8bJ8fB7UbAkRIyE3hJe3DERRitAkDL_XxWicsLq0/s400/20100508_timberline-9745.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476098002977225538" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The spring season at Mt Hood is usually the best time to practice jumping. Visibility is finally available, the sun comes out, and Timberline puts up a killer park that has a good line of jumps that lead right into a full run of jib features. This year spring has been as unpredictable as this winter. One week we have 50 degree weather with beautiful blue skies and the next it is a socked-in rain marathon. However, for that 9 day stretch of solid weather, all the locals were out building, snowboarding, and taking photos. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Ever since I broke my neck from over shooting a jump, I've had a hard time overcoming my fears. The sun brought on some good feelings within and with the help of some friends I was able to flush away those fears. My friend Jimmy Weisgerber helped motivate me to hit the largest jumps that Timberline had. I was really grateful for the motivation because it helped lift some of the barriers that I was placing on myself. Thanks to Karim Hadid (www.karimhadid.smugmug.com) I was able to get a few good shots on Paintbrush's jumps. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Madison Blackely recently arrived to the Mt. Hood area and was staying at my house. Having her around was a great way to get pumped about jumping. Madison is coming back from a gnarly injury to her arm that resulted in surgery. Her motivation to regain strength and get back into the game is outstanding. Her energy is hard not to feed off, thus making shredding 'oh so much better'. She's making a killer comeback and will be kicking ass soon enough. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Megan Ginter has also been making an appearance in these parts. Of course, we all know that Megan is the Queen of jumps so having her around is always a motivating treat. I can't think of anyone else that can through back 7's on giant kickers, so her advice goes a long way. We both participated in a photo shoot for POW gloves. We were getting sled rides to hit the features which is spoiling. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">One day really stood out as one of the best days of the spring. Good friends Matt Kratzer and Ryan Faulk a.k.a "Rick" took the time and energy to build this awesome feature over a river gap. The snow was still melting out so the walls to the river were well over 10 feet and the gap over the river was no less than 20 feet from lip to landing. Even though the gap is not that large, the experience was overwhelming. My first time over made me tingle so much I had to sit down for a few minutes and let myself calm down. The consequences of coming up short could have been fatal to myself and the photographer below, who trudged through the river to get "the shot." All I could see myself doing was coming up short, smacking against the opposing wall, and falling backwards into the rocky, shallow river. This all while slicing the photographer's head off since he was standing at the bottom of the opposing wall. Drew Smalley (www.DSimagery.com) is a really talented photographer and it wasn't until he showed up that I decided I had to man-up and hit the feature. Thankfully I did because Drew took some amazing photos. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">I guess this is a shout out to all of my friends for always being so supportive and for pushing me in snowboarding. This spring has been a blast so far and I look forward to the summer shred at Windell's snowboard camp. </p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-85100215142704595202010-03-31T19:01:00.000-07:002010-03-31T19:28:05.088-07:00Lake Tahoe March 2010<div><br /></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Megan Ginter and I, Randa Shahin have been talking about taking a road trip together for a long time. Fortunately the cards all played out well and we were able to jump in the car together and start making our way down to Lake Tahoe, Ca. We chose to take the scenic route, through the cascades of Oregon, past Bend and Klamath Falls. The view on the way down was beautiful. We took advantage of a few places to stop and take a break while taking in the breath taking views. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>With one days drive we made our way to Incline Village on the north shore of the lake to stay with good friend and Ride teammate, Laurie Currier. Even though she was super busy and her dog had to go through a scary surgery during our stay, she was most hospitable. Both Megan and I were bummed she couldn't shred with us, but we were understanding of her circumstances. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Thanks to Mike Basich, Megan and I had two day complimentary tickets to North Star. The first day there was a good amount of new snow. We explored the resort a little bit and took advantage of the pow considering the northwest has been lacking that fluffy white stuff most of the season. Once most of the snow was tracked out, we went through the Stash. If you are not familiar with the Stash, it is basically a log jib park that goes in and out of the trees down a run. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We spend a lot of time hiking that day to get some shots with the Go Pro. Unfortunately, since we are just getting used to the Go Pro we accidentally deleted all of the shots we got that day. That turned out to be a good thing though, because the next day we ended up getting shots that were way better than the day before. There was also this nice photographer that was willing to take pictures for a second. Luckily, he got a really good photo of Megan on the cabin jib. After spending two days hiking and filming at North Star we decided to top of the end of the riding day with a beer break on the shores of the beautiful blue Lake Tahoe. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The next day we met up with Mike Basich to take a few runs. Again, thanks to Mike we had the pleasure of riding Sugar Bowl on the house. From the top of Sugar Bowl we dropped the back side of the resort and went to <span style="text-decoration: underline">ASR.</span>The pow was amazing and the experience was unforgettable. We explored the backside a little bit, eventually taking a run all the way down to Donner Lake. At one point we had to walk through a train tunnel that was really long. Due to the length there was one point were there was no light at all and you had to feel the side of the all to take slow steps through. Cell phones couldn't even make a dent in the vast emptiness of light to shed even a slight glow of assistance. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Originally, we went to Tahoe to have a chance to compete in the Billabong Flaunt-it competition series. Although, while down in Tahoe we learned that registration was full. Therefore we started making our way back to Washington to get a little local shredding in before the Ride Shakedown that was taking place at Summit at Snoqualmie the following weekend. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvdAbXpouKozaVEaPmLAWDqR0btfHUN6lan7oYGTAlo9tV1K7a6QyDm7tEF5TPVrQEHE52N-gDPHOd4uYfxRtVIH8v4VkUFd0KYCQEFd3XUXWyqkVTiWIZyDhMPkWzt4nvDZWo32Cr58/s1600/P3041495.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvdAbXpouKozaVEaPmLAWDqR0btfHUN6lan7oYGTAlo9tV1K7a6QyDm7tEF5TPVrQEHE52N-gDPHOd4uYfxRtVIH8v4VkUFd0KYCQEFd3XUXWyqkVTiWIZyDhMPkWzt4nvDZWo32Cr58/s400/P3041495.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454984526876007138" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcu2FT3hNPCAGMEippNu7bZ5vUj5-ETkIP8WQlDxPud15QSyx2dPzBBYMwjziKLE6AeO4LyzKED9nQtaTrPdesNTxom2tu4ovT0pGuPYqvMlgHAyhF2A6mUhzvSSiW1XoxEm3ZVTsexc/s1600/P3071499.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcu2FT3hNPCAGMEippNu7bZ5vUj5-ETkIP8WQlDxPud15QSyx2dPzBBYMwjziKLE6AeO4LyzKED9nQtaTrPdesNTxom2tu4ovT0pGuPYqvMlgHAyhF2A6mUhzvSSiW1XoxEm3ZVTsexc/s400/P3071499.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454984316753756034" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIF0NNPaQ1R08-65QMJq8defPVI8BGwCzjOzsmZqzBqk8PxYaAreNdFC1TI9tOu4j4Wq-y0XHi_ETsr6ecubFGlbYOxB5-GIw6c-jemO3gmcqXYKf-_-Ea-kg0es_m1soy_qU2k8uwuY/s1600/P3021488.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIF0NNPaQ1R08-65QMJq8defPVI8BGwCzjOzsmZqzBqk8PxYaAreNdFC1TI9tOu4j4Wq-y0XHi_ETsr6ecubFGlbYOxB5-GIw6c-jemO3gmcqXYKf-_-Ea-kg0es_m1soy_qU2k8uwuY/s400/P3021488.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454984308266849762" /></a><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwOJQSEnP-oYB55WdveVBRzq2Otf4U1uwDGFvF0jIyXVWXMiCVHDkdFd38TGdZVIG_5d4HFCq-Mw-RUFCINpA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-27863703995519382262010-02-17T00:44:00.000-08:002010-02-17T00:46:07.291-08:00PB&J at Snoqualmie - 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbmc3wv8XeXgyiz0f2b7FfqZsqZYcDOLW-El8D6jN4E8JYLq1wf2s46PXKfwoM5dBSJGzosdeE4kYOmvEP41q4jdOikjh32EmQhpaA-Z4CcWB6tSvUVOzaSyk_he22N1xYcyBVEvksbM/s1600-h/2010saspbrj27big.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbmc3wv8XeXgyiz0f2b7FfqZsqZYcDOLW-El8D6jN4E8JYLq1wf2s46PXKfwoM5dBSJGzosdeE4kYOmvEP41q4jdOikjh32EmQhpaA-Z4CcWB6tSvUVOzaSyk_he22N1xYcyBVEvksbM/s400/2010saspbrj27big.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439130925280041714" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Volcom's peanut butter and jelly rail jam was being held at Summit at Snoqualmie in Washington on the 13th. With anticipation of the competition, I decided to head to Washington a bit early to so some repping for Cilla and gather my 2011 products from sponsors...Ride, Pow, and Spacecraft. The first day I was there I had the chance to ride Steven's Pass. Stevens is probably my favorite resort in Washington. Great terrain and a well maintained park make this resort a really well rounded place to shred. The second day of my trip was one of the best highlights of the trip. Zumiez had taken the time meet with myself, Priscilla Levac, and Alexis Waite to check out the 2011 Cilla line. Kate Craig, buyer for Zumiez, and some of the marketing team members hosted us for dinner that evening. Two bottles of Saki later and some delicious sushi we were well into an enjoyable evening. The third day of the trip brought about more snowboarding at Stevens Pass followed by a day of rest prior to the PB&J. The competition was held on Saturday evening under the lights. There were three features, two of which were dance floor oriented. So naturally there was a lot of dancing going on. There was a good female turn out. About 12 - 15 girls were there to take a stab at the top five spots that advance to the finals. Raelynd Tarnove and Megan Middleton were two familiar faces. Both girls are local northwest shredders that kill it. With so many contestants in each category the night was long, but in the end I took second place with a tail 270 out on one feature and a switch 180 to frontboard 270 out on another. All three of us made the top five so it looks like we will be road tripping together to the finals in Mammoth Lakes, California in April. </p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-85006856885775290732010-02-17T00:36:00.001-08:002010-02-17T00:44:36.579-08:00SIA /X-games 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1UXsHpS4VViPXqRKwwLA4jehsnXkAXTyu17fyhyphenhyphenx9C0r-ug7yem6IC52P5PZNxXVYTOn27KHbBrB1fx_TjskYnrGKAUbUgE2SWoOMtO_EaEcbZfaxHe7q2DnZP8KSHWpDuyeTuQeoMmo/s1600-h/IMG_0196.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1UXsHpS4VViPXqRKwwLA4jehsnXkAXTyu17fyhyphenhyphenx9C0r-ug7yem6IC52P5PZNxXVYTOn27KHbBrB1fx_TjskYnrGKAUbUgE2SWoOMtO_EaEcbZfaxHe7q2DnZP8KSHWpDuyeTuQeoMmo/s400/IMG_0196.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439130379656834466" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPv-dfgYm2mNNLI6BvRuCyMg9ganPlQHdLlOEt6cB_aEO8VEh68B07pnDC5HQ_XKo5fBhbUXsgqhoGcDW8Tk8vBnK6UTrLjINpbPnF5ipm4EjptHpMlsFBo3fn0_wdChofEHHv6oTtFtQ/s1600-h/19256_279380797425_507817425_3533024_6580089_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPv-dfgYm2mNNLI6BvRuCyMg9ganPlQHdLlOEt6cB_aEO8VEh68B07pnDC5HQ_XKo5fBhbUXsgqhoGcDW8Tk8vBnK6UTrLjINpbPnF5ipm4EjptHpMlsFBo3fn0_wdChofEHHv6oTtFtQ/s400/19256_279380797425_507817425_3533024_6580089_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439129667471251042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-xDuNZmirdQaLQpQ28JeA2q-hGQ_UjFDnEdFlTLw7A3t3SKdFsuHeDMI7b22KVUXMTspsq6G76vqCaICQeKJ5hMMWCNqYdKcIanVBf4kOD676raQaQCKUuXUs7Ug1-xNGTnC4aIwIJ8/s1600-h/IMG_0726.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-xDuNZmirdQaLQpQ28JeA2q-hGQ_UjFDnEdFlTLw7A3t3SKdFsuHeDMI7b22KVUXMTspsq6G76vqCaICQeKJ5hMMWCNqYdKcIanVBf4kOD676raQaQCKUuXUs7Ug1-xNGTnC4aIwIJ8/s400/IMG_0726.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439129653432445090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOExHrH6k3dBY1ZzGQSVnyPUjjfHRGvqeCh4f57dNeF2ibqxAxdsw3j9EanmxrkhrWNi-egWXsS9ffIbkAgdOOVxawX9oL3Kzgvl45jb9QIx1C5stUzWW0kLBJhb1NPogji_aVHop9y0/s1600-h/IMG_0688.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOExHrH6k3dBY1ZzGQSVnyPUjjfHRGvqeCh4f57dNeF2ibqxAxdsw3j9EanmxrkhrWNi-egWXsS9ffIbkAgdOOVxawX9oL3Kzgvl45jb9QIx1C5stUzWW0kLBJhb1NPogji_aVHop9y0/s400/IMG_0688.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439129635761887890" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsbmHrdfdo88SXJ1EMnQjd-hiEQgrL5Kd4MdF_xxcHpAZ2GsVBZW91Ut75Titp9nDKlwBcfgPTljY7vLSYmm3gyncs4-qF3EISvJG8mOACaFpSzmvGyCV4s_FVTF-IaFHAenmwYGGfdw/s1600-h/IMG_0214.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsbmHrdfdo88SXJ1EMnQjd-hiEQgrL5Kd4MdF_xxcHpAZ2GsVBZW91Ut75Titp9nDKlwBcfgPTljY7vLSYmm3gyncs4-qF3EISvJG8mOACaFpSzmvGyCV4s_FVTF-IaFHAenmwYGGfdw/s400/IMG_0214.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439129624231548066" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSw2Rk_tjkm2F59hpzwQVY8k0P9IlK1VK8ObaB9dqIeEYrDzCgzlpu6taFURlDZPaNrIW5KR2qrvifioLdgl5IqGDv2DAZspfsmZLFFNvkMPQneAMYsD-W3Pnwf1ozl9ODSb6gMbikkHc/s1600-h/IMG_0203.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSw2Rk_tjkm2F59hpzwQVY8k0P9IlK1VK8ObaB9dqIeEYrDzCgzlpu6taFURlDZPaNrIW5KR2qrvifioLdgl5IqGDv2DAZspfsmZLFFNvkMPQneAMYsD-W3Pnwf1ozl9ODSb6gMbikkHc/s400/IMG_0203.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439129617886389282" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Sia 2010 was a much different experience in Denver this year than in past years in Las Vegas. All of the booths were about half the size, except Burton. Burton's booth had the intentions of bringing Las Vegas to Denver. There booth included real gambling, except with chips only...no real money. The Nidecker booth also drew an extensive crowd by brining in Pamela Anderson. However, I was there to take on the role of being the Northwest Cilla rep. Getting to know Pricilla Levac and Alexis Waite was one of the highlights of the trip. Both women are amazing and down to earth. Molly from Evo gear was there to add a wonderful familiar face and to support Cilla. All of my sponsors were there. Pow, Spacecraft, Cilla, Ride, and Smith had booths. Catching up with everyone was great. Shredbetties.com was also there doing coverage on next years products. Thankfully, they were nice enough to get me involved in the coverage. Connections were made and I was meeting new people with potential leads for other sponsorships. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Reed Silberman of Ink Monstr was nice enough to host myself and my Partner in Crime (PIC), Ellie Huffman. Granted the couches were already taken by Moss and Katiah so Ellie and I slept on the stage. Stage you ask? Yes the stage. The Ink Monstr warehouse was the location of the Deltron party friday night that was hosted by my sponsors, POW and Spacecraft. The warehouse had two levels. Thankfully since I was staying at the house, we were permitted to go to the second floor where the view of the show was awesome. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The night prior, Burton hosted an extensively large party. However, the Bonfire party sounded more fun because there was a skate ramp available there for shredding. Of course when I rolled in there, all the boys were having fun skating and I didn't see a single girl. We can't let all the boys have the fun, right? I had to jump in there for some turns and I am glad that I did. Mark Frank Montoya was there shredding with us for most of the night until he went to the DJ booth and starting laying down some killer beats that kick started my dancing shoes. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Saturday I ventured my way to Aspen to get a chance to see my good friend Megan Ginter in the X-games. Luke of South America Snow Sessions was kind enough to give me a ride after being arranged by Scotty Conerly, TM for Dakine Gloves. Unfortunately I didn't get to see Megan compete. Saturday was the qualifying round and she missed finals by less than two points. They take the top six and she got seventh place. Although, Megan is a solid rider with a killer competition record this season, so I am confident that she will kill it in the x-games next year. She was kind enough to let me stay with her in Snowmass where many of our other friends were staying as well. The house was amazing and the company was fantastic. Megan's mom and dad, Stephanie and Cal are always a good time. Having the opportunity to be there with all of my friends, Megan, and her family was really nice. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Monday Megan and I ventured towards Denver to catch our flights. I was heading back to Oregon while Megan was heading to Vermont for the third stop of the Dew Tour where she took 4th place. Overall the weekend was a huge success with hopefully more success to come out of it soon. </p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-35501256172229865942009-12-01T21:58:00.001-08:002009-12-01T22:17:56.518-08:00Come BackIt has been a while since I've posted anything. I've been slaving away as a student teacher to complete my Master's degree so I haven't had much excitement in my life recently. However, I have been working hard to collect all of my shots from last season. I wanted to be able show how well I came back from a broken neck. I hope you enjoy the short edit. <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzi9I4qhrt4dXOu0VrsbYj9il8EOuOjIbrZgo9wLmsIdpJRToTxPSdW51kL_b19I5-7JXvJXhVJdC89EHI9ig' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-86274232834302074302009-09-16T15:43:00.001-07:002009-09-16T15:54:11.658-07:00California and Super Girl 3<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKzPttaJvyQTLhocoac9k1OrxvB2vEIankmaKqjVL7f_JnZDbpaJd0LRXP39bSJB8tQYIpZV-1kUvB8j65hfegvrRhOn3QMzaNuVxsYz_rHn4437woU97xm4dPBNn-jlsFDXVlHmmxks/s1600-h/IMG_4591.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKzPttaJvyQTLhocoac9k1OrxvB2vEIankmaKqjVL7f_JnZDbpaJd0LRXP39bSJB8tQYIpZV-1kUvB8j65hfegvrRhOn3QMzaNuVxsYz_rHn4437woU97xm4dPBNn-jlsFDXVlHmmxks/s400/IMG_4591.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382202258149165666" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5WTXTblYMkE4CA5RoDSCtBJpNZkRYjdiUR6V0J6CDGvDq8Mk0BufEOPJ4Sxc0h3TpXovYEWxnbw6foeKVMnHq31OhQuOvytYGqmyOyftD7hR2R-IzSRPCycWIZwsyibTU7ORaTVCQ_0/s1600-h/IMG_4571.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5WTXTblYMkE4CA5RoDSCtBJpNZkRYjdiUR6V0J6CDGvDq8Mk0BufEOPJ4Sxc0h3TpXovYEWxnbw6foeKVMnHq31OhQuOvytYGqmyOyftD7hR2R-IzSRPCycWIZwsyibTU7ORaTVCQ_0/s400/IMG_4571.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382201892712087266" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dH2X-w7xyFkKJvlF5BZnDwelhYOYFD2lWJVp6cd8yNAwZe-gVnUM0rnO5I6GRR7gPiX5lrFnuukjrUeq_HxDFVwFGijkGRXkBZSoxNGUi61dSnutNhiZ9j2D-xs_EcA2anwHDVF_jNE/s1600-h/IMG_4528.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dH2X-w7xyFkKJvlF5BZnDwelhYOYFD2lWJVp6cd8yNAwZe-gVnUM0rnO5I6GRR7gPiX5lrFnuukjrUeq_HxDFVwFGijkGRXkBZSoxNGUi61dSnutNhiZ9j2D-xs_EcA2anwHDVF_jNE/s400/IMG_4528.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382201872453165026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwSjv_rI0WqlmY8_L5OslfzSDmlIocqOnrxetSwH2as6p5y7SK-9cT_Jt5AqyY1cfqs_h-fkmZozqs9EtnGI2bNQFzAEjoCdTWD-55NmdTnuu-ZrmEe4JuQo_BoauTPLCFielI0uRDdHo/s1600-h/IMG_4517.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwSjv_rI0WqlmY8_L5OslfzSDmlIocqOnrxetSwH2as6p5y7SK-9cT_Jt5AqyY1cfqs_h-fkmZozqs9EtnGI2bNQFzAEjoCdTWD-55NmdTnuu-ZrmEe4JuQo_BoauTPLCFielI0uRDdHo/s400/IMG_4517.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382201868296089042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT87is5EX_GWhpk6aMqMa08xrTSTLo1-o0dbSv-voyHSxSuyKeqGAhJQ8M3kvna8cElD3Rl3fk9q_2i7eC2M4rZqnW5PGcO2x22M26TVkKIR3rJbWQa4P26YEePEjd33jQrR67ZzCNnIg/s1600-h/IMG_4514.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT87is5EX_GWhpk6aMqMa08xrTSTLo1-o0dbSv-voyHSxSuyKeqGAhJQ8M3kvna8cElD3Rl3fk9q_2i7eC2M4rZqnW5PGcO2x22M26TVkKIR3rJbWQa4P26YEePEjd33jQrR67ZzCNnIg/s400/IMG_4514.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382201858797598338" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWr17o5DqgfEmpGygYPdKyOvMUoHguM1mQJ3zZvAfif4Iyvai_kP7UY_GZMCi4ZYe7FtK-aL1zzYDQI9Fh8RTSxd61zFmxK5t1aDOBF_jh_PPsCTnESo94kewAUUctoHOn8PPLHA6iX0U/s1600-h/IMG_4497.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWr17o5DqgfEmpGygYPdKyOvMUoHguM1mQJ3zZvAfif4Iyvai_kP7UY_GZMCi4ZYe7FtK-aL1zzYDQI9Fh8RTSxd61zFmxK5t1aDOBF_jh_PPsCTnESo94kewAUUctoHOn8PPLHA6iX0U/s400/IMG_4497.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382201845731160130" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiDgy_SJSKgZBb7lYS3t7cOOcT5vpvPN4RjlKhKKikz5a2OFsLl1XqsG8Dnkb4FIKBJetmt5sYT-pJXG4zKte2RMrdXBCCacYLE2R0oo6fZQ0nYzh1PplmDuRyy0OB5LBDdE01Hc9zsA/s1600-h/IMG_4443.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiDgy_SJSKgZBb7lYS3t7cOOcT5vpvPN4RjlKhKKikz5a2OFsLl1XqsG8Dnkb4FIKBJetmt5sYT-pJXG4zKte2RMrdXBCCacYLE2R0oo6fZQ0nYzh1PplmDuRyy0OB5LBDdE01Hc9zsA/s400/IMG_4443.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382200629400486338" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxv7-yg6vJ98Ql23FBbx8rRSwPsvVGYPnEiwJLcsgKlJ89d_w8H4oMMJb6mlxDRfOf-AiC3V9ET0QMd-zQCefbGdAXWEtyLKacGeoDe2JVCZSDP-jYSZCGE-Cdw3SgT1OgaHOyHwuEF9A/s1600-h/IMG_4431.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxv7-yg6vJ98Ql23FBbx8rRSwPsvVGYPnEiwJLcsgKlJ89d_w8H4oMMJb6mlxDRfOf-AiC3V9ET0QMd-zQCefbGdAXWEtyLKacGeoDe2JVCZSDP-jYSZCGE-Cdw3SgT1OgaHOyHwuEF9A/s400/IMG_4431.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382200620464262226" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMX0nYOuY8TT1hSbk9KL6ZqSXT5G2A5u4vk5zRHck0PRRfjw8OWXl7APzl-BRcBecg73yZfuIFDUk5OhscXrxUnuBpAb9uLfmUOs3vcLVaZqdmqb7QxLZLk_Inv6hfdtxx-dfbd_OL9E/s1600-h/IMG_0091.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMX0nYOuY8TT1hSbk9KL6ZqSXT5G2A5u4vk5zRHck0PRRfjw8OWXl7APzl-BRcBecg73yZfuIFDUk5OhscXrxUnuBpAb9uLfmUOs3vcLVaZqdmqb7QxLZLk_Inv6hfdtxx-dfbd_OL9E/s400/IMG_0091.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382200612535784178" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinE66oe-UIECatjc3QAGFFs2tAEnYV5w-QxDEGg5oR_Ndk5fELX_be_pPp2W7h8WGKc5U9E-kEy1TXm1HzE_5QxDXs8qrkH854rDGUPecSgcR4j7Si3IBOw3YBLY4F-s2vNdk3uj8j-js/s1600-h/IMG_0070.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinE66oe-UIECatjc3QAGFFs2tAEnYV5w-QxDEGg5oR_Ndk5fELX_be_pPp2W7h8WGKc5U9E-kEy1TXm1HzE_5QxDXs8qrkH854rDGUPecSgcR4j7Si3IBOw3YBLY4F-s2vNdk3uj8j-js/s400/IMG_0070.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382200603802240626" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAgQpydqR-RMm5evVyG6OeRi8HxbaYp6PV0QfnL6QXUCMWToQ3SQ7pHdGuziYTEjOyKoB7qvQoZuBLNRcNnf-DIv6N013XUQRyhLlI8IFgqNg_CA9gkWzxkTJxFZRxiZbGdsfcydUd8k/s1600-h/IMG_0054.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAgQpydqR-RMm5evVyG6OeRi8HxbaYp6PV0QfnL6QXUCMWToQ3SQ7pHdGuziYTEjOyKoB7qvQoZuBLNRcNnf-DIv6N013XUQRyhLlI8IFgqNg_CA9gkWzxkTJxFZRxiZbGdsfcydUd8k/s400/IMG_0054.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382200591998446242" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucl5JqfbmJvvcktiNtnp_-NLnZAZaN3l-YoqZWRsymqCuPAWkT54gTKcuYCbiDrayrgafrU7dYC6aHk3N18ouGf0B2P2i39WZpj0NXxMT5mZ-SnKsv2sQcNkboqyugnJLEwEEqxSodg4/s1600-h/IMG_0047.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucl5JqfbmJvvcktiNtnp_-NLnZAZaN3l-YoqZWRsymqCuPAWkT54gTKcuYCbiDrayrgafrU7dYC6aHk3N18ouGf0B2P2i39WZpj0NXxMT5mZ-SnKsv2sQcNkboqyugnJLEwEEqxSodg4/s400/IMG_0047.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382200118295850642" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUc-Nszu1WNN-iFuU1zTDd1Jk1CvK-MNsjmu147ecziYrYC56QnX5oJMO2IIZiNtTtMcI9iy5zCbBAVyKbEHgsFdkh5GH3mBtGX4m5f_SB8WetXqeF1rwFyeDQBmCyEZ6av6rq03T2iQ/s1600-h/IMG_0038.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUc-Nszu1WNN-iFuU1zTDd1Jk1CvK-MNsjmu147ecziYrYC56QnX5oJMO2IIZiNtTtMcI9iy5zCbBAVyKbEHgsFdkh5GH3mBtGX4m5f_SB8WetXqeF1rwFyeDQBmCyEZ6av6rq03T2iQ/s400/IMG_0038.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382200017810834402" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">On September 3rd I embarked on an awesome journey with a good friend of mine. Luke Miller and I grew up together through school and he was kind enough to join me on a road trip through California so I could attend a competition in Los Angeles. We made our way down to the Red Woods where we explored the forest and camped there to spend the night. The next day we started driving on route 101 and route 1 that runs along the entire coast of California. I couldn't help but stop a million times to enjoy the beautiful views and take in the ocean air. After a full day of driving we arrived at San Francisco late in the evening just in time to join some friends at the bar. However, instead of hanging out in the bar we were swigging a bottle of vodka on the street with some of the bums of San Fran. Our friends were kind enough to host us for the evening. The next day was another full day of driving through many twists and turns until we finally arrived in Venice Beach, Los Angeles. I had to keep saturday night mellow considering the next day was a competition day for me, but I have to say the next day was amazing. I got up and met up with Diana Distrolla, team manager for shredbetties.com and a few other team members. The set up looked fun, it was a single rail that came down some stairs with two sticky wooden boxes on each side. The caliber of girls that were there was amazing. It was an honor to ride with all of the girls and it was so motivating for me. Fellow shredbetties riders were killing it, Madison and Erika really impressed me and I am stoked to see their careers take off. I didn't place in the competition, but I still had a blast and left with an experience of a life time. There was an after party on top of the roof at the hotel right there on the beach. I got to meet the producer of our up coming documentary for shredbetties. Eventually the night was full of shenanigans and I was stoked to get to spend more time with my team mates to get to know them better. The next day Luke and I made our way down to Laguna Beach. Erika's mom has a house down there and Michelle Shea and Diana joined. We got to enjoy the beach for the day and Erika's mom made some killer burritos for dinner. Our final destination for the evening was a friend of Luke's in San Diego. The next two days were filled with surfing and doing absolutely nothing but sitting on the beaches. However, the fun had to come to an end as I needed to make my way back to Whistler for business. On our way back north we stayed at my time share in Clear Lake which is in Sanoma County. Luke was sweet enough to take me on some wine tours and we had an awesome dinner at a Chinese restaurant that was right on the water. Overall, the trip will always be imprinted in my heart. </p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-6911912460058299692009-08-22T14:29:00.001-07:002009-08-22T14:31:33.891-07:00EMV Launch in Canada<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglg6eYrAtrVY1Ks7bkjGMlC71rvLJpX1sK0q8KiqanJUq_MIh6mFR3LC8ckbykEKekMype8Ic6IiCGogetM61UwQO0dv-W3XXXBXDcMByn5nFwJvKCimYODYxD4HqKrHOA3NmYXuwuNks/s1600-h/6768_114085005805_604715805_2753667_601757_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglg6eYrAtrVY1Ks7bkjGMlC71rvLJpX1sK0q8KiqanJUq_MIh6mFR3LC8ckbykEKekMype8Ic6IiCGogetM61UwQO0dv-W3XXXBXDcMByn5nFwJvKCimYODYxD4HqKrHOA3NmYXuwuNks/s400/6768_114085005805_604715805_2753667_601757_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372903599766870546" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8cGKgk0uUFfQxFUqDNrDAShIYHzrqlkhb-1jfsIp8d2k05Vyuh9el1t9xXGv-4HU0gVd1G1B0kihYAsSqkSBzpZEVdVqLDTvrgkpdQZvKV8DjGIkCtkiNWaOeq5l0WYwe62eCdrPczE/s1600-h/6768_114084970805_604715805_2753661_750051_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8cGKgk0uUFfQxFUqDNrDAShIYHzrqlkhb-1jfsIp8d2k05Vyuh9el1t9xXGv-4HU0gVd1G1B0kihYAsSqkSBzpZEVdVqLDTvrgkpdQZvKV8DjGIkCtkiNWaOeq5l0WYwe62eCdrPczE/s400/6768_114084970805_604715805_2753661_750051_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372903595200482258" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVTHoK7bh45Q9u37KeJvQmXawlGXd9k80VNVOk6KFHMui5c2vQ8jGhrpDGUBqGrSZ0FhxfojZHpIOf24Sc1FOEFXSVVARcl0hoNl73df6sHpiu1hcv423_SSrpvYYbbaAnOvIolI3Dhkw/s1600-h/6768_114084960805_604715805_2753659_2163198_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVTHoK7bh45Q9u37KeJvQmXawlGXd9k80VNVOk6KFHMui5c2vQ8jGhrpDGUBqGrSZ0FhxfojZHpIOf24Sc1FOEFXSVVARcl0hoNl73df6sHpiu1hcv423_SSrpvYYbbaAnOvIolI3Dhkw/s400/6768_114084960805_604715805_2753659_2163198_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372903588159506194" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8RzqofSkMJGZcLVWqPPl_hjxY9pPoLE9X31f4kZ1mxRyZM3ZbJRwUEFf3y8rWxbgCIj4cgWJ6kuH8MTb7UPeGcTMq9gO7reGkqZrcVw0gyqqz9h-kf4BFo73M1DmPAY-QpWRF80l74Ig/s1600-h/6768_114084870805_604715805_2753642_984544_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8RzqofSkMJGZcLVWqPPl_hjxY9pPoLE9X31f4kZ1mxRyZM3ZbJRwUEFf3y8rWxbgCIj4cgWJ6kuH8MTb7UPeGcTMq9gO7reGkqZrcVw0gyqqz9h-kf4BFo73M1DmPAY-QpWRF80l74Ig/s400/6768_114084870805_604715805_2753642_984544_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372903578886280962" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">July 25th was the launch for Monavie's energy drink EMV in Canada. We got local club in Whistler called Moe Joe's involved. They were also nice enough to host the event for us. Marco stepped up and Dj'd the event and we all had a great time dancing. Monavie bombs was the highlight of the event......shots of vodka dropped into half a glass of EMV. My beautiful lady friends (Ilana, Tamara, and Eryka) and I have been working on promoting a health and wellness movement and I'm stoked to see that Canada is so open minded to embracing the movement. </p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-83391865673634034532009-07-28T18:54:00.000-07:002009-07-28T19:10:18.050-07:00Emv and 4th of July weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGG7VLnCidss3sm5ybxx76uDXcET4IZlH9NFieSnaQdNYiBSJXOeX5zvCycDbWUoPXfq9NR15J32JqGmie72IHfv-05eDn_WNoN5AAaZyVKTmwLjaSaPB5TuNMfIN_WF_ulZb3aZLxR5k/s1600-h/monavie_emv_usa.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGG7VLnCidss3sm5ybxx76uDXcET4IZlH9NFieSnaQdNYiBSJXOeX5zvCycDbWUoPXfq9NR15J32JqGmie72IHfv-05eDn_WNoN5AAaZyVKTmwLjaSaPB5TuNMfIN_WF_ulZb3aZLxR5k/s400/monavie_emv_usa.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363697707151416450" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2M3yP3GNrAI19W2LD7zK1vpaHOhMnpeZTi0uQTgdR0POOKDeyOBLkNITMJokJYrE8pahk3ge_cJAddy5ul9Mi8e7zrpKUkOS8TbwdrH94WJNn5MWqKIqcQalsW-bY26fODODH2-AJfE/s1600-h/l_8441ae8fc9a84f7987c0fd65c6407e4f.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2M3yP3GNrAI19W2LD7zK1vpaHOhMnpeZTi0uQTgdR0POOKDeyOBLkNITMJokJYrE8pahk3ge_cJAddy5ul9Mi8e7zrpKUkOS8TbwdrH94WJNn5MWqKIqcQalsW-bY26fODODH2-AJfE/s400/l_8441ae8fc9a84f7987c0fd65c6407e4f.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363697704677417026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ4JzbFX4wVaQ1qC9Z5aueW1LQPkYMZq6M1e4W8_GeAfKYC75FQWM1Hd1z3lwXTebpk4gIc4R2pMdhkqoOfRwFoRpj-U_eg8XKnJ0ePmvKLMnipoXXMu_XpsDmac1KI4jaN3EotLDlBA/s1600-h/l_4feff18bca254fa6a03d8c8a9e01a9c1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ4JzbFX4wVaQ1qC9Z5aueW1LQPkYMZq6M1e4W8_GeAfKYC75FQWM1Hd1z3lwXTebpk4gIc4R2pMdhkqoOfRwFoRpj-U_eg8XKnJ0ePmvKLMnipoXXMu_XpsDmac1KI4jaN3EotLDlBA/s400/l_4feff18bca254fa6a03d8c8a9e01a9c1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363697698156414002" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSvqwrczyiAyF8Yj7IcwuN4j1yf5U-GksWOYUF4jZaDx0sOOzSO1mgIcTv0LckZtJYzUWpDCoxIzHSGMyT28tnz7uNN-C00gZvFZgCPndbItyqiQXc-8p5SnNYVneovFv_B3SyV2Ex0M/s1600-h/l_2e0df49df7764a2f8a0c56e518183f8f.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSvqwrczyiAyF8Yj7IcwuN4j1yf5U-GksWOYUF4jZaDx0sOOzSO1mgIcTv0LckZtJYzUWpDCoxIzHSGMyT28tnz7uNN-C00gZvFZgCPndbItyqiQXc-8p5SnNYVneovFv_B3SyV2Ex0M/s400/l_2e0df49df7764a2f8a0c56e518183f8f.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363697700521235842" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwOL3U5H9iWBRcwh-yMSyZcO-fLnSXOM5EWNZ8qLKnQI6W-AXk8nSAx8AscxUTjj5XRb0Wgkn2z-cAqHwhYaUi-xHBhNkllUsWxwD1plILCnwJp-tR8s03wLnvcAQJH9ykKsSZq18wIU/s1600-h/IMG_4116.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwOL3U5H9iWBRcwh-yMSyZcO-fLnSXOM5EWNZ8qLKnQI6W-AXk8nSAx8AscxUTjj5XRb0Wgkn2z-cAqHwhYaUi-xHBhNkllUsWxwD1plILCnwJp-tR8s03wLnvcAQJH9ykKsSZq18wIU/s400/IMG_4116.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363697146150771906" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_fibaq5K79DO6mpTLf74VX6RgqLt3VR1iF1wpelNrj09sxcuRdOzPCrTvd7T-HyWREWzzJdWVWyY53zXDBil24zbgKpK3OPbRtiQyD-HoySy51135g-zE6esIVynF3kUlzSrc0L652Y/s1600-h/IMG_4117.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_fibaq5K79DO6mpTLf74VX6RgqLt3VR1iF1wpelNrj09sxcuRdOzPCrTvd7T-HyWREWzzJdWVWyY53zXDBil24zbgKpK3OPbRtiQyD-HoySy51135g-zE6esIVynF3kUlzSrc0L652Y/s400/IMG_4117.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363696592518300002" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIPNwc0KVReGYwGgBXeVcg2SFAhndzw4u4688MOeBv90DwGOSzxrYMLQm3a_TVR2ak0hJpfiNrwe0tU4_U4eyVrdbck7Qlg83KMbfW1qWQBfC02U_vOPRzxwDX81aAO4fKmHiPMnnsLw/s1600-h/3692244743_c429ed27f6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIPNwc0KVReGYwGgBXeVcg2SFAhndzw4u4688MOeBv90DwGOSzxrYMLQm3a_TVR2ak0hJpfiNrwe0tU4_U4eyVrdbck7Qlg83KMbfW1qWQBfC02U_vOPRzxwDX81aAO4fKmHiPMnnsLw/s400/3692244743_c429ed27f6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363695999640577554" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQYHZe7ipyMfjEWg8rtvhKAmUAokmZyNRCAFwF-4ZnaWSx-EGt9iqp2drJOWSpNkl4dHC2hoqeTKP5l2iFdw2vHrFA31WWD67Ztc0hvP1Sqa3JwfW2fp-XRbHH00Q7dRomZDgOmAifQ8/s1600-h/3693044372_e9914e5ed8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQYHZe7ipyMfjEWg8rtvhKAmUAokmZyNRCAFwF-4ZnaWSx-EGt9iqp2drJOWSpNkl4dHC2hoqeTKP5l2iFdw2vHrFA31WWD67Ztc0hvP1Sqa3JwfW2fp-XRbHH00Q7dRomZDgOmAifQ8/s400/3693044372_e9914e5ed8.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363695839630836626" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">Monavie just released an all-natural energy drink to accompany the already amazing products that Monavie has to offer. The new energy drink is called Emv, which stands for “Energy to the power of Monavie.” The energy drink is all-natural and is made of 80% juice, including the coveted Acai berry, Acerola, Camu Camu, Capuacu, Apple, Grape, and Pear. The caffeine comes from natural forms such as Yerbe Mate and Green Tea extract. There is no added sugar, artificial sweetener, colorings, or preservatives. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">Mark Frank Montoya has been a huge advocate of Emv. He recently left Monster to promote a new movement of health and awareness. With his help I was able to host a few events over 4<sup>th</sup> of July weekend to be able to start spreading the word and educating people about their health. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">July 2<sup>nd</sup> is not a day most people would associate with a snowboard rail jam in Portland, Oregon; but on this day it was. The temperature was well above 90 degrees and the 2 tons of snow was melting fast, but that didn’t stop the 40 snowboarders that contended in the event. The event turned out to be an epic party at Epic Snowboard Shop on NW 23<sup>rd</sup> and Vaughn. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 36.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">The event started with an introduction from Mark Frank Montoya. He brought his party bus and entourage of professional snowboarders to hype the new energy drink. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">Once the event began there was plenty of action. The riders were getting creative on the two features that were built by Axiomatic apparel. There were two rail setups in the middle of the parking lot. The guys were throwing down some heavy tricks, including a transfer gap from one feature to another. The girls were also throwing down and giving the guys a run for their money. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">Spectators and sponsors surrounded the parking lot. Rome SDS brought with them, Team Terror. Other sponsors include Smith Optics, DC, Axiomatic, Grenade, Cilla, Drop, Spacecraft, Frequency magazine, Neff, MHSS, Monavie, and Pyramid. The rail jam also benefited the S.O.S. outreach program. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">The spectators were taking advantage of the 3 free kegs of beer provided by Pyramid Brewery along with the many other attractions to keep people entertained. Three different Dj’s were keeping the music lively and Sharpening Markers played a set that kept everyone wanting more. We also had artist, Andrew Dvoracek, contributed paintings that fit the health and wellness theme. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">July 3<sup>rd</sup> was an art event at Evo Gear, an amazing shop in the heart of Seattle. Evo is a shop that really reaches to the community and interacts with the industry on many different levels. On this particular night Evo was hosting an art show in their gallery to show case all of the art work from their own employees. The event was called “helping hands.” Evo was nice enough to let us participate in the event. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">MFM spent most of his time having plenty of one-on-one interaction with people to spread the word of Monavie. People were enjoying themselves with free beer donated by Pyramid brewery and the music provided by Tronix. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">Evo did a really good job of putting together a video about the event. You can check it out at <a href="http://vimeo.com/5470246"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; color:#0000ff;">http://vimeo.com/5470246.</span></a></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">July 4th was a blast. We went to the lake and swam for a while. There was this great little island that you could swim to with a diving board. That made things a little interesting. From there we went to the waterfront to watch the fireworks and grabbed some drinks afterwards. We ran into John Kaiser and his girlfriend Nicole and then ended up having a dance party on the bus. Molly, Sara, Chris, and Ang stumbled upon the party and added to the good times. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria">The last event was on July 5<sup>th</sup> at Stevens Pass Snowboard Shop in Gold Bar, Wa. The rail jam was held on a double barrel rail that had stairs on each side with scaffolding to get your speed from. The owners of the shop, Tony and D, really wanted to make the event a success. They shoveled away on their Fourth of July to make sure there was enough snow the next day. Everyone that showed up had a great time and the top riders walked away with cash and prizes. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-10676878846427494642009-07-28T18:10:00.000-07:002009-07-28T19:11:08.239-07:00Monavie - The start of a healthy life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRIlH2I-K5Q07xi8PAYiA35S7ku3dXqiMezycyTvpD4lfPrZdk-IY2xZUSsjGt-V6-2XnW1F-9LFS6n4jF3FJw4owe3yD9xluRxffqd_BEK_667wvWD5ZR0KqAATJ_4DpVHWkZKuSe5E/s1600-h/IMG_4073.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRIlH2I-K5Q07xi8PAYiA35S7ku3dXqiMezycyTvpD4lfPrZdk-IY2xZUSsjGt-V6-2XnW1F-9LFS6n4jF3FJw4owe3yD9xluRxffqd_BEK_667wvWD5ZR0KqAATJ_4DpVHWkZKuSe5E/s400/IMG_4073.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363692814372644434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtrQVKPxzftf3GOl0jfTbWpWELEoUMXHubdFaKMUaxL8GlvbV-FTrUxMhwzpOvX8l1zZBNkw84Fkx6EGVDUrQm5xffX2rDiieBiwesOw-uOVOBECOOOPpn0N9iRuvry2tXLhwpkBBKSbM/s1600-h/IMG_4108.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtrQVKPxzftf3GOl0jfTbWpWELEoUMXHubdFaKMUaxL8GlvbV-FTrUxMhwzpOvX8l1zZBNkw84Fkx6EGVDUrQm5xffX2rDiieBiwesOw-uOVOBECOOOPpn0N9iRuvry2tXLhwpkBBKSbM/s400/IMG_4108.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363692762729929778" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuiFKjaDsLVJNqj8t1QwX4XuKfEcEKSKj0tO03d9KT4_-S-46B9ZhmYCKo3GW3ZVCclwhBjfw_eEjaU65NYpgAUqIMdxbpjtd-0hU8Rs4qyiZ_DanZraNdNsd_YicMQOCuzUZVAPrhEYU/s1600-h/IMG_4094.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuiFKjaDsLVJNqj8t1QwX4XuKfEcEKSKj0tO03d9KT4_-S-46B9ZhmYCKo3GW3ZVCclwhBjfw_eEjaU65NYpgAUqIMdxbpjtd-0hU8Rs4qyiZ_DanZraNdNsd_YicMQOCuzUZVAPrhEYU/s400/IMG_4094.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363692682834442114" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The Monavie Convention on 20th in Salt Lake City, Ut marks the start of my Monavie career. Jeff was nice enough to let me take his vehicle to Utah with Rachel and Robis. We hit the road on the 17th. Marco was nice enough to host our entire group and let us crash at his place. The convention was the launch of the new energy drink Emv. The whole experience was really what I needed to be motivated in this company. I got to meet the owners of the company. I really appreciated that because I got to see their morals and they truly are good people and I support their cause. Checking out the private jet and all of the other incentives was also motivating. Educating people about their health and wellness is something I am not ashamed of and I look forward to helping people change their lives to a healthier lifestyle. </p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-58696268957130390652009-07-28T18:00:00.001-07:002009-07-31T22:33:16.972-07:00Road trip from Arizona<div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">I had a very interesting trip this time around. I flew home to my parents house in Delaware for four days. I had to study for a professional exam that I needed to take in Phoenix, Arizona. From there I flew to Arizona on May 5th to take the exam the next day. Rachel flew out to Arizona with me from Pennsylvania because she needed help moving to Oregon and it all just worked out perfect. We got this sweet place to stay that was like a desert oasis. We spend plenty of time packing and packing, but we still had time to enjoy the pool and hot tub. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as much pool time as I wanted and I was a little crabby to Rachel....sorry. We hit the road on the 9th and made it home on the 10th. The sunset leaving Arizona was amazing. Best part is that I passed my exams, which was a huge relief. </p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcscJ1zEtYzTcN4m32ecADU2UjLBHbNeicQ_ENjHrzsmJ4ju5WXKf9KtVwls9kA3UiBoVIRjN9vEvoWpoxq5uGYbihjbLSu4ooGiynjM7CnMWJJAOggwUgIIrpkOnPxW6j7aCcIyraSU/s1600-h/IMG_4056.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcscJ1zEtYzTcN4m32ecADU2UjLBHbNeicQ_ENjHrzsmJ4ju5WXKf9KtVwls9kA3UiBoVIRjN9vEvoWpoxq5uGYbihjbLSu4ooGiynjM7CnMWJJAOggwUgIIrpkOnPxW6j7aCcIyraSU/s400/IMG_4056.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363681334071216386" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWsAnQerPvwcf4p4a-kB-GUpHFpzUWf92qEvY03aWguCL6WcZEwjZyTCveGxpPJxJFxyiLIa_LUpfcFYsysGkhyJeDP4vst9JIiBXPU0OdSVEwQYTGbM3qkAX4WaN9ONNV_HWHaxsUWI/s1600-h/IMG_4048.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidRFKznpi-9iDUZcvzBlzjn-axp2KZ2hD206KSGqIoIcdN00n6mUYpI-qS4uFwBr7g77LDaaTVNwcxl6-4695-vASnetlKB093otz0xNX_19R-bv96riYa96sjzPgzZayMlpKGMIOJvPU/s1600-h/arizona+feet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidRFKznpi-9iDUZcvzBlzjn-axp2KZ2hD206KSGqIoIcdN00n6mUYpI-qS4uFwBr7g77LDaaTVNwcxl6-4695-vASnetlKB093otz0xNX_19R-bv96riYa96sjzPgzZayMlpKGMIOJvPU/s400/arizona+feet.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363680675470465394" /></a>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-70520263850694005952009-07-28T17:16:00.000-07:002009-07-28T17:39:35.765-07:00Campus Rail Jam Tour - Oregon State University<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The Campus Rail Jam tour made a stop at Oregon State University on May 21, 2009. The day was beautiful, but it was a scorcher. I had a hard time motivating myself to compete. I had already qualified for the finals in Portland, but I wanted to get some extra practice on the set up and maybe get a chance to take some money home. I had a great time seeing lots of familiar faces. The Oregon stops always draw a good crowd of people. I got to meet a really sweet girl named Emily and I got to hang out with Ashley Thornton and meet her boyfriend. Overall, even though I felt sluggish, the event was a blast and I took home the money I was hoping for. </p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-86377644922817725832009-07-28T17:02:00.000-07:002009-07-28T17:03:43.159-07:00Mt. Hood Meadows and Kona Lager's Pond Skim<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQChP34d7DMKjI3HfuVuHSD0MvN91waWDouM0GGWVW-RCBzYkJFui1sybGygRM5DZW790wGWRh8Hcj2mAa0C1koW0j30Sb_wMk3p3piAl0wmM9SDiUPa7TZfYBpdOiqvlb4puYA26aBlo/s1600-h/Pondskim.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQChP34d7DMKjI3HfuVuHSD0MvN91waWDouM0GGWVW-RCBzYkJFui1sybGygRM5DZW790wGWRh8Hcj2mAa0C1koW0j30Sb_wMk3p3piAl0wmM9SDiUPa7TZfYBpdOiqvlb4puYA26aBlo/s400/Pondskim.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363665885958938434" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">April 25th was a really frigid day to be holding a pond skim. The objective of the event is to clear a 100 foot long pool of water that is even colder than the air. The objective may be to skim the pond, but this is really a costume contest. So really, the objective is to have the most elaborate costume that will not inhibit you from making the cross. Due to lack of time and care for preparing a costume, I kept it pretty basic and unoriginal. The first time around was a breeze. I successfully made if to the other side. Thank god, I don't think I would have been able to handle being wet and cold. It was cold enough when you were dry. Second time around, I was almost going to go swimming, but my determination to stay dry helped me to force myself above the water. The competition was fun, but I think that next year I'll stear away from the gaper show. </p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-37783547760348551402009-07-28T16:50:00.000-07:002009-07-28T17:01:10.474-07:00Whistler 4/20<div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">This was the most memorable 4/20 holiday celebration yet. I jumped in a car with Halo, Karim, and Ellie. We made our way through the northwest and over the boarder of Canda and the U.S. to make our final destination in Whistler, B.C. On 4/20 we got to go ride even though it was socked in and difficult to see. Shredbetties,com was nice enough to be able to help with lift tickets making the day and the whole trip all that much better. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Post riding, we celebrated further by lazing about the pool and hot tub as the sun graced us with a few moments of sunshine. Eventually, some how, Mark Frank Montoya joined our shit show and drank some vodka and grape cool-aid "Grape Drank!" with us to kick start the night. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">A nice stroll over to the Aussie house solidified the purpose of celebrating 4/20 and rejoined some good friends for a good time. Well intoxicated at this time, I thought it would be a great idea to go long boarding with Josh, which turned out to not be a good idea. I was left with a wonderful scar the size of my shoulder blade to forever remember this day. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">At this point the rest of the night beings to become a fuzzy mess, but a few more drinks later and a few bars later we ended up at Buffalo Bills dancing our asses off to a Led Zepplin cover band. With all of us doing air guitar, one could have guessed we were all having a great time. Thankfully, Erykah showed up to help us drunkies make it through the rest of the night. She helped us purchase food to eat and baby sat us like a bunch of little kids. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The rest of the trip panned out to be just as fun. I had a great time riding with Erykah and Ellie. It is not too often I have the opportunity to shred with those ladies. Karim was really sweet and was nice enough to take photos to document the event. I think spending 4/20 in Whistler may need to become a yearly tradition. </p></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-lTlQSlbk-6WYfmfylHK20Jr2hCpfG2UBvM-WCeWsD5fhxUIr_Tn1fCK3Z9klhxjiA4Ai6E8oBIlk2dRhRqMGbj091RRT3hNREvy5gwj70dLSJr7jiZn_-cmbdJHsnDXawUlzetyras/s1600-h/IMG_4020.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-lTlQSlbk-6WYfmfylHK20Jr2hCpfG2UBvM-WCeWsD5fhxUIr_Tn1fCK3Z9klhxjiA4Ai6E8oBIlk2dRhRqMGbj091RRT3hNREvy5gwj70dLSJr7jiZn_-cmbdJHsnDXawUlzetyras/s400/IMG_4020.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363664372846079778" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZhT0iJ_qkAOyzMoryjw3D3FMPeOebauLrNpeBq3DqlQmZqLnBjWqmoGYJmgE5jMohZ6vUoyatyzOnbdvpluYJuU6ezG_beqQJlL6yqsiwIobRUxfFrIBGj7vnaRgSeKd8aVu4AmWOhc/s1600-h/IMG_4039.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZhT0iJ_qkAOyzMoryjw3D3FMPeOebauLrNpeBq3DqlQmZqLnBjWqmoGYJmgE5jMohZ6vUoyatyzOnbdvpluYJuU6ezG_beqQJlL6yqsiwIobRUxfFrIBGj7vnaRgSeKd8aVu4AmWOhc/s400/IMG_4039.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363663723487495826" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYXKcJc1xkjFDpPaoBZZufVxo6WIaeUZH8qroVQjHx3ZVGxEe1ETPO5TCCszajjlklN60iSLmHdDQE7w8XblB45mYk_z2kSq06erh2lnSSZIQQqagV91oDiTRbZOknO7-9VLpgQ86ja4/s1600-h/IMG_3974.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYXKcJc1xkjFDpPaoBZZufVxo6WIaeUZH8qroVQjHx3ZVGxEe1ETPO5TCCszajjlklN60iSLmHdDQE7w8XblB45mYk_z2kSq06erh2lnSSZIQQqagV91oDiTRbZOknO7-9VLpgQ86ja4/s400/IMG_3974.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363663607306431570" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgHL_dY-sMQHkjNlFwqhdsTDyn7LOciSfHwbwQrZOmqS1-XLe4QKDZdfNhiFWN6NGjHULY5zw0RzzJQtHxlfW3rtSfvkJcSURabtju0SX8onsnFlKj078eADs1yYTb6zNcIb-1RhyBVk/s1600-h/l_89f612da9a1f4495b4c107bccd40fc17.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgHL_dY-sMQHkjNlFwqhdsTDyn7LOciSfHwbwQrZOmqS1-XLe4QKDZdfNhiFWN6NGjHULY5zw0RzzJQtHxlfW3rtSfvkJcSURabtju0SX8onsnFlKj078eADs1yYTb6zNcIb-1RhyBVk/s400/l_89f612da9a1f4495b4c107bccd40fc17.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363663422316675618" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtN8rv_3cRfBSyg5fwYfZ98aBX391PhRtSI6NEjVS09mymB1kFpWSU8AmeotDeYJSErcmlhdJi3wR59kVO604JLtEvBQNXAYi4OfGm9eaFs2J2o1aoQSutVhhNYZ8GTMelVSZhpW2LnzM/s1600-h/l_92394876e65344dfa7241e630516669a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtN8rv_3cRfBSyg5fwYfZ98aBX391PhRtSI6NEjVS09mymB1kFpWSU8AmeotDeYJSErcmlhdJi3wR59kVO604JLtEvBQNXAYi4OfGm9eaFs2J2o1aoQSutVhhNYZ8GTMelVSZhpW2LnzM/s400/l_92394876e65344dfa7241e630516669a.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363663279266496946" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHd_8nsUbwucrw0CnzwUQwRtBwkWGFRIENscDo2r_6P7vaqzQ9Xc4R2fb1XzDiCfREs8inksi-H_YP0Uu9kURdZEVyiOsR6xzUYOMk_iQeuTzM0-PZFuIaaLF7Xdo-WHWOp33iMqSMd2s/s1600-h/l_ae254102ff7344e9be1d6dc7cbfbd4e6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHd_8nsUbwucrw0CnzwUQwRtBwkWGFRIENscDo2r_6P7vaqzQ9Xc4R2fb1XzDiCfREs8inksi-H_YP0Uu9kURdZEVyiOsR6xzUYOMk_iQeuTzM0-PZFuIaaLF7Xdo-WHWOp33iMqSMd2s/s400/l_ae254102ff7344e9be1d6dc7cbfbd4e6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363663076329325138" /></a>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-76592703332196615352009-07-24T22:29:00.000-07:002009-07-24T22:35:41.900-07:00Road Trip Across the Country<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CkgDHtRnH2fDwbC3xAH79uyM0qQZ7KyjegUR7HGADigQyxvsAto9xfBMNhY3ErrJ_MKzEf1SINctYuHiqvEGfHINs7SRTuiUvFSl9PLIRi1wYYWWIOPO0BKxE9N4AoaCGZ6_KzQXUf4/s1600-h/IMG_3940.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CkgDHtRnH2fDwbC3xAH79uyM0qQZ7KyjegUR7HGADigQyxvsAto9xfBMNhY3ErrJ_MKzEf1SINctYuHiqvEGfHINs7SRTuiUvFSl9PLIRi1wYYWWIOPO0BKxE9N4AoaCGZ6_KzQXUf4/s400/IMG_3940.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362267020548324706" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67p7zTbtXdwOBC5GYZzXIMEWTVhIj6Cu2-_SXJ-DiT7q91Fh3-Invl9n6A4Df33A-Hc9v9t4-b2XfTsBVgQgNwHIpMgf83yaDbxdI_qhVAKDgh3NhlM4rCcFsmFP9QEiBnDesB7ArRB4/s1600-h/WOMENS_WINNERS.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67p7zTbtXdwOBC5GYZzXIMEWTVhIj6Cu2-_SXJ-DiT7q91Fh3-Invl9n6A4Df33A-Hc9v9t4-b2XfTsBVgQgNwHIpMgf83yaDbxdI_qhVAKDgh3NhlM4rCcFsmFP9QEiBnDesB7ArRB4/s400/WOMENS_WINNERS.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362266851361849906" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZfQY5K7vsMDr_l0d6dtGWWRpqAo03CW0xo1pC2T9G-nMuhYWD6X5rMq9SGhcetWKZxsV3z3bwphAD4AEPCJFPK4jD_ibFJIKpCqe-xhTDEqGvJsidBgTqKoRPGO0gaGkATbm2CiB4F6A/s1600-h/IMG_3929.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZfQY5K7vsMDr_l0d6dtGWWRpqAo03CW0xo1pC2T9G-nMuhYWD6X5rMq9SGhcetWKZxsV3z3bwphAD4AEPCJFPK4jD_ibFJIKpCqe-xhTDEqGvJsidBgTqKoRPGO0gaGkATbm2CiB4F6A/s400/IMG_3929.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362266730752601026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngzGh3yA_iC8z7L6PHMlq7l5RMTnUCafdrxHYbMh6dc8oM1f-2hvo3ihxsPUbd_qp9bDDIZKkRoY6qsR25BO69Xz2Dvf4lHa-DsVZgLS1aqXq_K2k7ZCvH8mFZ44wYH6qdY77Rdw6imo/s1600-h/IMG_3939.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngzGh3yA_iC8z7L6PHMlq7l5RMTnUCafdrxHYbMh6dc8oM1f-2hvo3ihxsPUbd_qp9bDDIZKkRoY6qsR25BO69Xz2Dvf4lHa-DsVZgLS1aqXq_K2k7ZCvH8mFZ44wYH6qdY77Rdw6imo/s400/IMG_3939.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362266612334751538" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ADaBPFhbgR2QM2yhpGWJeXw30W2ZoJRZlO0EDkoz8etFKUPfy7ZoROwAVav8m0ErWSh2WUJKpabEzxvyrUiOzhPRr9xgQTGrBZTRr1EVF4l5Keqr2NHHY4Ji6pg5rPYflWvmhWf2dFU/s1600-h/IMG_3964.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ADaBPFhbgR2QM2yhpGWJeXw30W2ZoJRZlO0EDkoz8etFKUPfy7ZoROwAVav8m0ErWSh2WUJKpabEzxvyrUiOzhPRr9xgQTGrBZTRr1EVF4l5Keqr2NHHY4Ji6pg5rPYflWvmhWf2dFU/s400/IMG_3964.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362266377325249634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdqniAZY0O6Zfxm_E8ycd8-dWXas_vDcoTJ_51bNHt9x3qQVJG0biDy0E7z1Jm3PBXzMwEx3aKe8EzOxGCjTVUQFsXM6jvrSI498AxGaHp9WdTqPYxH0l6toVPgRG8sXW_3yyTyllBeOo/s1600-h/IMG_3962.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdqniAZY0O6Zfxm_E8ycd8-dWXas_vDcoTJ_51bNHt9x3qQVJG0biDy0E7z1Jm3PBXzMwEx3aKe8EzOxGCjTVUQFsXM6jvrSI498AxGaHp9WdTqPYxH0l6toVPgRG8sXW_3yyTyllBeOo/s400/IMG_3962.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362266079024575954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHo7FHT-Tz3hN0q5zm2VfyQ4g0ZsrIIm9d0cPNyVVNaZfgsSmtPT4FR4oPPT9eFYRMonsb1OZcZAJT5y9_kfAIKolU1nDYOIT-JhPCPq3eQcuO51J2YF7QfASzZWb8pXyqXxRxlcOzhI/s1600-h/Gonzaga+09.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHo7FHT-Tz3hN0q5zm2VfyQ4g0ZsrIIm9d0cPNyVVNaZfgsSmtPT4FR4oPPT9eFYRMonsb1OZcZAJT5y9_kfAIKolU1nDYOIT-JhPCPq3eQcuO51J2YF7QfASzZWb8pXyqXxRxlcOzhI/s400/Gonzaga+09.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362265851061238850" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">I had the opportunity to drive across the country from Pennsylvania to Oregon in a large Dodge Durango. Of coarse I had to raid my parents house and completely fill the truck with stuff. Jeff and I hit the road on Monday March 23 at about 5 p.m. with a mission to get to Colorado State University by Wednesday morning, less than two days later. The Campus Rail Jam tour had a stop there and I really wanted to participate in the event. The drive out there was long and tiring. We really couldn't stop to sleep for two reasons. First, there wasn't enough time. Second there was no room in the truck to lay down. We had a chance to catch a few hours in and there, but overall it was a straight long drive to Ft. Collins. I showed up about two hours past registration, but the guys putting on the event were cool enough to let me compete. The girl vibe there was great. I had a chance to meet Amanda Poindexter and Charlotte Trundle, both really great girls. The comp was a success, I took first place and walked away with $100. The next stop was going to be Salt Lake City. We headed north and went west on I 80 until about two hours later we hit a block in the road because of weather. Jeff was a strong person for being able to drive through the storm, but it was crazy, gnarly. We had to turn around and figure out a plan for the day. We decided to head back south and try to make it to Breckenridge for the night so we could visit a good friend Aaron Thompson and have a warm place to sleep. Thankfully, we made it there safely and had a wonderful night of comfortable sleep. The next day Aaron showed us around and took us on some sweet runs. On our way out we had to stop at smoke shack tucked away. I'm sorry locals, but it is too cool not to mention. The shack was so well built and not appropriate for people with a fear of heights. <br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">The next day we started back on the road with Salt Lake as our destination. We got there and spent our time with Steve Pierce and Sam Driver. Many pow turns were created at Brighton and in the back country. I had a great time. I also had a chance to catch up with my friend Abby Johnson. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Once we left Utah we started to head towards Spokane, Washington but stopped in a small town called Mcall in Idaho. Jeff and I spent a night in a nice resort and had a wonderful opportunity to relax and catch up on some chill time after being on the road for so long. We enjoyed a good home cooked dinner and a few cocktails, but we had to get to bed early to get on the road early the next morning. The drive to Spokane was long because of snowy road conditions, but thankfully I made it to Spokane in time again to compete at the next stop of the Campus Rail Jam tour. This stop was at Gonzaga State University. I'm so glad I got to compete at this event. Mt. Hood local Becky was there and I had a chance to meet a girl named Kendra that is from Canada. The competition was a lot of fun and I walked away with first place again and some cash to put gas in the truck. We took off after the competition and drove till we made it home to catch an amazing night of sleep, in our own beds. </p><p></p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-57335510301776655452009-07-24T21:26:00.000-07:002009-07-24T21:30:24.616-07:00Mamafest 2009 at Summit at Snoqualmie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qCD4G88rKWGbrHglVYGMGSJQXRdz6x1waGxuu9aLgTeYdHYwkafbyF0x04auItg-CCp5wtnqx8NYoYWJRHftcWR8586tx6kkACTggfT6mqj2S9J3PTxLXPH2CXdT6bZkxoKantS5Epg/s1600-h/n557532245_2260457_4304045.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qCD4G88rKWGbrHglVYGMGSJQXRdz6x1waGxuu9aLgTeYdHYwkafbyF0x04auItg-CCp5wtnqx8NYoYWJRHftcWR8586tx6kkACTggfT6mqj2S9J3PTxLXPH2CXdT6bZkxoKantS5Epg/s400/n557532245_2260457_4304045.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362249920024644034" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtSqqi3719EfqKKfVESUFZPtZul6R9sdxyUMvrMboE9MLXrYqU-btaIKYj-tjp4LfOLDT9FW-YstcK0nDgNe3ZtSU_tOjBe4SmiCPAe5hFA5OT_HwjJlTKgJkIPzQ6V-lTQb44XPoI4QY/s1600-h/2636_59888211485_595226485_1998476_5481747_n.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 170px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtSqqi3719EfqKKfVESUFZPtZul6R9sdxyUMvrMboE9MLXrYqU-btaIKYj-tjp4LfOLDT9FW-YstcK0nDgNe3ZtSU_tOjBe4SmiCPAe5hFA5OT_HwjJlTKgJkIPzQ6V-lTQb44XPoI4QY/s400/2636_59888211485_595226485_1998476_5481747_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362249843564409010" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2CmNzbyis6202DIl28c_WNiwXa7C6XG2P24qOwLF6bz0Wik2RgGTG2F0L75WMSnxb6U1AOwKN2MuB4SONt4r0CtEPfpqdM-SfEBeqBGWDVBE21MtfEiy2-bIdnMpSM36dyzKDFweylfY/s1600-h/2572_1111901041939_1359287167_1378865_2208457_n.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2CmNzbyis6202DIl28c_WNiwXa7C6XG2P24qOwLF6bz0Wik2RgGTG2F0L75WMSnxb6U1AOwKN2MuB4SONt4r0CtEPfpqdM-SfEBeqBGWDVBE21MtfEiy2-bIdnMpSM36dyzKDFweylfY/s400/2572_1111901041939_1359287167_1378865_2208457_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362249776543733506" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">On March 14th, a non-profit competition was held for the cure for cancer called Mamafest at Summit at Snoqualmie. There was about a foot of fresh powder and it was completely silly to be doing a competition since the rails were caked in snow and the jumps were super fluffy, but regardless the comp was on. There was a great group of girls that came out for the event and local rider Raelynd Tarnove took first place followed by myself. She had a sweet 540 and sweet style on the rails. Overall the event was a great time. Since this benefit has a great cause, there was a great group of spectators and sponsors. I hope that Mamafest will be held again next season. </p>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-74560905141395620852009-03-19T21:53:00.000-07:002009-07-24T18:28:37.416-07:00Billabong's Flaunt-it at Mt. Symoure<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTNA3mvhyphenhyphenWvR5uU1KqqmMayQ6eUvRqU8wq1bn9_ratdbNq1TXiFUoIvtEGGCN7l3udbUC8Hnpi1GMGY2lS3sk7-dr-z_V0DxJtBse1HRDFfpwlNI7KLz6hoQXfxqlZiPqhgPA3JJohzA/s1600-h/Northshore+paper+09.jpg"><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTNA3mvhyphenhyphenWvR5uU1KqqmMayQ6eUvRqU8wq1bn9_ratdbNq1TXiFUoIvtEGGCN7l3udbUC8Hnpi1GMGY2lS3sk7-dr-z_V0DxJtBse1HRDFfpwlNI7KLz6hoQXfxqlZiPqhgPA3JJohzA/s400/Northshore+paper+09.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315132296834794978" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0GPibkdH3eBCHShbluLL2jcN8fmoyr6F1_uqjT2kkA_WWJg6128VQb5w0Lmx-pdCxtrjI79o8RU70UXucM42lOrTmYhmD9gl0UWCO7n90Wt8guzcgJYSe7848b-i0fKOchhwr_kJZAY/s1600-h/Flaunt+it+podium.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0GPibkdH3eBCHShbluLL2jcN8fmoyr6F1_uqjT2kkA_WWJg6128VQb5w0Lmx-pdCxtrjI79o8RU70UXucM42lOrTmYhmD9gl0UWCO7n90Wt8guzcgJYSe7848b-i0fKOchhwr_kJZAY/s400/Flaunt+it+podium.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315130153350983186" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU2dipo2x7rfnZQYbxOFkX7iVv1Iwec6fNlChzDG3sKNVhRU2sX7i_JtJsE7x6lBBe6OqxcyAavcZwNay_xbj9E_Xuyg21MVtZABG6-BveZETxaNeAQepKCBRe26i02voopoZHla7fEag/s1600-h/Flaunt+it.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU2dipo2x7rfnZQYbxOFkX7iVv1Iwec6fNlChzDG3sKNVhRU2sX7i_JtJsE7x6lBBe6OqxcyAavcZwNay_xbj9E_Xuyg21MVtZABG6-BveZETxaNeAQepKCBRe26i02voopoZHla7fEag/s400/Flaunt+it.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315130042939331314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5ZHhTKmPzbFgnRXr_HMc5DcvxE0ElqJ0AJxIVD_5V6A5QZYcE9-CbP4kuDRrwN7WIEQCTVouKV8geaRDGh-RHaV3zkeObUChvHQAtBzxCFfTOb_ltoH2GEc17j-uPEu5sr2aDkEC_CY/s1600-h/IMG_1489.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5ZHhTKmPzbFgnRXr_HMc5DcvxE0ElqJ0AJxIVD_5V6A5QZYcE9-CbP4kuDRrwN7WIEQCTVouKV8geaRDGh-RHaV3zkeObUChvHQAtBzxCFfTOb_ltoH2GEc17j-uPEu5sr2aDkEC_CY/s400/IMG_1489.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315129931195147442" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1PC95roqA-QdfWhzRFiF7prhLdsuiVLL1LJta2VvowaQ63tSed7ZFZB_fMjN2HBq7Wi8rJh2U5VIeSXQHj8vBi14CkbOQvXZyhtHZNFOJKBL-LlkjvLTzzbFYnRQDYOxadfqA9iJAxI/s1600-h/IMG_1461.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1PC95roqA-QdfWhzRFiF7prhLdsuiVLL1LJta2VvowaQ63tSed7ZFZB_fMjN2HBq7Wi8rJh2U5VIeSXQHj8vBi14CkbOQvXZyhtHZNFOJKBL-LlkjvLTzzbFYnRQDYOxadfqA9iJAxI/s400/IMG_1461.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315129848217909714" /></a><div>Canada was quite the adventure. Halo and I started our way into Portland to meet up Karim Hadid, who was rad enough to come with us to shoot photos. From his house we hit mad rush hour traffic so we scoped out some stuff at the zoo. There we chilled in the train, drinking beers in mailing envelopes and killing some green. Our final destination for the evening was Bellingham, WA at a friends house to post up before crossing the boarder the next morning. The next day started out amazing. We made it through the boarder to Mt. Seymour with ease and the morning was sunny and splendid. Billabong was holding a competition called <a href="http://billabong.com/flauntit">Flaunt It</a> for female riders only. There was a huge turnout, I thought, with 30-35 girls. The slopestyle course was really fun. There was a pseudo stair feature at the start going into one easy to clear jump into an impossible to clear jump. The second jump needed to be pointed straight at from the first. I went for the large side, only to case it and bruise up my heel. From there I stuck to the small side. Halo was killing it. She has been recovering from a knee injury and I thought she had a great performance. The second part of the day was dedicated to a rail jam that was held on the pseudo stair features. The comp was based on best trick, not overall performance, so I focused one doing my best stock trick...tail 270 out on the flat down box. That landed me a spot on the podium in 3rd. From there we drove to Whistler. Thanks to a group of Australians, we had a place to crash and people to party with. The village was a riot that night. Halo and I got our dancing shoes out for the occasion. Did I mention we polished a bottle of 151 prior to going out. Unfortunately, I lost 20 canuck dollars and my hoodie. Where they went? I wish I knew. At least I didn't loose myself. We were expecting fresh snow the next day, which was a total deception. Due to the lack of snow and our major hung over state, home is where we found ourselves late that night. <br /><br /></div>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-78166300904494795822009-03-19T21:30:00.000-07:002009-07-24T18:30:15.623-07:00Nikita Chikita<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRsPL5aPi7CZ6x_JbOf0kWT4GEZW_LwCW5bPKFosHqPnOwb6NC3EKbdAf2Y0ydhL3laMIN5oFr9croZhkkCMY8X7P91qeXFb5bAuZFizEev9Hj1yXUxquJ-dKfD6hO8C_UHhgDRTJqLg/s1600-h/img.ashx.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRsPL5aPi7CZ6x_JbOf0kWT4GEZW_LwCW5bPKFosHqPnOwb6NC3EKbdAf2Y0ydhL3laMIN5oFr9croZhkkCMY8X7P91qeXFb5bAuZFizEev9Hj1yXUxquJ-dKfD6hO8C_UHhgDRTJqLg/s400/img.ashx.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315127708245501330" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZAxfDTD_-J2G-SFQWlVYXC5wMVC0unmt_65sU0KiKW4WkNDePUKTUDgJH2i3U8EbmUK-bzU7WFI91CQHLV7Dp75IIdqKi8W7zg8ZdPFVsD-tsj-9nqZXQYdaMsuMvaQPUigWEweDGFE/s1600-h/IMG_3849.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZAxfDTD_-J2G-SFQWlVYXC5wMVC0unmt_65sU0KiKW4WkNDePUKTUDgJH2i3U8EbmUK-bzU7WFI91CQHLV7Dp75IIdqKi8W7zg8ZdPFVsD-tsj-9nqZXQYdaMsuMvaQPUigWEweDGFE/s400/IMG_3849.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315127465503929858" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXIBenzVBezp0qAU_-mvwvr9Mg5Lio5RcfBzjLk93tP_aAHLRXAFSlyPZVI5BCzq2pAbQcVKk_Ip8mXOLe5s3WJSSX4AQjbDwqMJ-HihmPRFRdeO_XWAz-O09TwdlXsv3vSN1hEf7a7U/s1600-h/IMG_3847.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXIBenzVBezp0qAU_-mvwvr9Mg5Lio5RcfBzjLk93tP_aAHLRXAFSlyPZVI5BCzq2pAbQcVKk_Ip8mXOLe5s3WJSSX4AQjbDwqMJ-HihmPRFRdeO_XWAz-O09TwdlXsv3vSN1hEf7a7U/s400/IMG_3847.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315127129025448082" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Nb7EzI2lPjVcuFeqDmL8qPMLkDU3KI4zoU5iuaIp_aU2w1O8rF7_k0xN71NiApDOSU86Yj4OBEespBcTAxOxJyRjUQJ4Uc3pHZiy_fgNsTKZMIVQoZCJmkSJx2jWxYwtNRMA4PY8mH0/s1600-h/IMG_1304.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Nb7EzI2lPjVcuFeqDmL8qPMLkDU3KI4zoU5iuaIp_aU2w1O8rF7_k0xN71NiApDOSU86Yj4OBEespBcTAxOxJyRjUQJ4Uc3pHZiy_fgNsTKZMIVQoZCJmkSJx2jWxYwtNRMA4PY8mH0/s400/IMG_1304.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315127026805070082" /></a><br />The road trip to Mammoth from Tahoe was awesome. Halo, Diana, and myself caravaned down there and stopped at a skate park and hot springs on the way down. A few beers later and some rips, we were ready to hit the road again. Nikita Chikita was a lot of fun this year...a challenge as well. Since I broke my neck, the northwest hasn't had a jump over 25 - 30 feet, so going to the comp was really intimidating. Getting the right speed during practice was impossible. The second jump had a giant wedge to a short steep landing with very little table top to clear, so it was sending the girls easily past the landing to the flats. One girl was taken to the hospital on a back board during practice. This caused the jump to be closed for the majority of practice and watching her go through what I did, deterred me from wanting to hit the big side of the second jump. I had planned on hitting the large side of the first jump, then the small sides of the last two. Oh how quickly my mind changes. Once the comp got underway, just about every chic in the pro was hitting the big sides. How could I enter a comp in the pro division and ride like an amateur? So of coarse I had to go and hit the big sides to make sure I didn't make an ass of myself. I am so glad that I did. The pressure of the comp helped me overcome some jumping fears that developed from my injury. I did not place well, but I was proud of myself personally and Ashley Thornton. Ashley placed 4th at the comp and I think that is oober. Thanks to Diana and Shred Betties for being so supportive. Diana is a killer team manager. RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-56522164043840006942009-03-19T21:18:00.000-07:002009-07-24T18:30:28.426-07:00Tahoe<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGQ4kXgVWYovUlM3T3c5mXu918U-LQ0GWUf7ETlH-ZjExVqyr0XleE75Rf-0IfDOSzKyEUtlGqJLHRcluURlcqtUApWV2NXXQmK4FsrrcPJ_3ylBiTtn4-FeEfgioQlTSErDiRFeNrVQ/s1600-h/Trukee+Bridge.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGQ4kXgVWYovUlM3T3c5mXu918U-LQ0GWUf7ETlH-ZjExVqyr0XleE75Rf-0IfDOSzKyEUtlGqJLHRcluURlcqtUApWV2NXXQmK4FsrrcPJ_3ylBiTtn4-FeEfgioQlTSErDiRFeNrVQ/s400/Trukee+Bridge.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315122568225823218" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lZkXL0i0OO-1CK6MAnlYKkis_OP7cmzP2t_DqpzDAx69Ch44l3zynJaasjaYR9NRTrSzyh6zTevXZw24ZXLkb_lOCq0bJ19ZQCIEAHMlp98aIcItPO8c6fBoM-IuXli5btGB5YRxgx8/s1600-h/IMG_3818.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lZkXL0i0OO-1CK6MAnlYKkis_OP7cmzP2t_DqpzDAx69Ch44l3zynJaasjaYR9NRTrSzyh6zTevXZw24ZXLkb_lOCq0bJ19ZQCIEAHMlp98aIcItPO8c6fBoM-IuXli5btGB5YRxgx8/s400/IMG_3818.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315122360280912354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6TX-9URJbYUATJTbVinxJt-Bg3Ci6YcP-LJBG4Rt-90o9WILDmwWwECTz8QOB0Rksyr7y3xZqb5vyoVl3JASmWLDkfcyCFWasV5-pgJCW70g9qKqv-I6gcF7efP1mk3yRU_BYJOAX4Es/s1600-h/IMG_3817.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6TX-9URJbYUATJTbVinxJt-Bg3Ci6YcP-LJBG4Rt-90o9WILDmwWwECTz8QOB0Rksyr7y3xZqb5vyoVl3JASmWLDkfcyCFWasV5-pgJCW70g9qKqv-I6gcF7efP1mk3yRU_BYJOAX4Es/s400/IMG_3817.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315122270450280786" /></a><br />I was planning on competing in the Nikita Chikita at Mammoth Mountain, so I decided to drive down to Tahoe prior to the comp to visit friends and get some shredding in. After rolling in late at night, we got to ride Squaw Valley thanks to some help from Candice. The pow was incredible that day. I totally understand Tahoe now. Big storms followed by lots of sun. We were there early and the snow was good until about noon. It started to get warm and the snow was getting really heavy. We checked out Donner pass with the hopes of building some stuff the next day, but with the snow warming up so quickly, the avalanche danger was really high the next day. Friday I had planned to go to Kirkwood for a photo shoot with shred betties, but on my way there from north lake, the highway was closed because of an avalanche. I would have had to go all the way around the lake to make it there, which would have been a 4 hour drive. I was bummed that I didn't get to go to the shoot with my fellow lady shredders, but everything happens for a reason. Noble and Driver were nice enough to invite Jeff and I to hit feature with them that night. They set up a wall ride on a post to a high bridge. I am really grateful for the experience. Riding with a bunch of legit guys was really intimidating, but I am glad I got over my fears and joined in on the fun. We had wanted to stay through the week, but mother nature brought us some rain instead. It was dumping at Hood, so we called it, and drove back to Hood for some major freshies. Thanks to Christine and Candice for letting us crash. RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4598556921524527455.post-53101536456571350112009-03-15T13:52:00.000-07:002009-07-24T18:30:40.793-07:00PB&J at Snoqualmie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_W9w9fzMSdKNVwzUjAvPa52iES5ixCU7dwSTFdMQktMjp71Z5KTROWbvskh-YATYkmrJgUeyybvtFdXmCo9_AR8DeuJc0HcK48wXUkVPPkkmMK6UIvppsPdZ_63RrJUe5-5gHEL2_MjI/s1600-h/09saspbrj28big.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_W9w9fzMSdKNVwzUjAvPa52iES5ixCU7dwSTFdMQktMjp71Z5KTROWbvskh-YATYkmrJgUeyybvtFdXmCo9_AR8DeuJc0HcK48wXUkVPPkkmMK6UIvppsPdZ_63RrJUe5-5gHEL2_MjI/s400/09saspbrj28big.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313548679910332306" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cL51PZYqjZNaTjV1PbA5GoAL6tmKPB0txGc6l7m98diySVbh7X3F2aWPTVmSzKJNVpuhkBHJcuxvsE8nIQBGz6qVLGrKh4wJBYHSQlO6pigzhVOZKCYRHN37BMFiRj-6RvMwsskrvu0/s1600-h/09saspbrj4small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cL51PZYqjZNaTjV1PbA5GoAL6tmKPB0txGc6l7m98diySVbh7X3F2aWPTVmSzKJNVpuhkBHJcuxvsE8nIQBGz6qVLGrKh4wJBYHSQlO6pigzhVOZKCYRHN37BMFiRj-6RvMwsskrvu0/s400/09saspbrj4small.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313523385345019954" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTX305xwEPO5xtWAtXz0UDnTPTZD4zRXcJrMrZbR3O0DoJxHEajXmZxCnHkbgw2Igw6impfaY86YUrePipZUlg1QvdHOf92ksu95cE-yeK2sQIwhLEvEdhI-4qqSbN1onve4WIis7F45w/s1600-h/09sasarticle5.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTX305xwEPO5xtWAtXz0UDnTPTZD4zRXcJrMrZbR3O0DoJxHEajXmZxCnHkbgw2Igw6impfaY86YUrePipZUlg1QvdHOf92ksu95cE-yeK2sQIwhLEvEdhI-4qqSbN1onve4WIis7F45w/s400/09sasarticle5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313523133127979074" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The PB&J was a super fun event. The set up was awesome. There was a box line set up as a flat down with a gap to the down. There was a corrugated pipe that was set up as a down feature. The last feature was a pole jam into a down box. The girl turn out was really good. I have to say after doing comps in the northwest for a few years, there is more and more of a girl turn out every year. I think that is awesome. I had first place going into the finals, but I ended up with 5th in the long run. There was a group of chics from Canada rolling through. The level of riding for girls snowboarding is stepping up every year. <br /></div>RShahinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13484258367703931357noreply@blogger.com0