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The Rahlves Banzai Tour kicked off this past weekend at Kirkwood Mountain Resort. There is no doubt
that this is the most exciting race series in the US today. The course was set by Daron Rahlves and it
showed; technical, fast and above all fun. This particular course ran from above tree line and then dove
off the Pop Chips air into the Snake Gully. The lack of snow only added to entertainment of the course,
with more features such as jumps and the necessity of technical skiing. This Banzai stop will certainly go
down as one of the more exciting stops of the series.

Day one at Kirkwood was all about qualifying to determine who the best skiers were. The course was
running fast to say the least and having the right tune was key. There were skiers from all different
disciplines of skiers within this competition be it big mountain, freestyle or race all of which proved to
have certain advantages. Topping the Men’s qualifying was Toby Lamar with a time of 1:27.55 followed
by Greg Lindsey at

(Photo Credit: Marcus Caston)

By Lesley LeMasurier

Former World Cup Skier, National Champion, and Rahlves' Banzai Stop Winner.

Only two athletes hold these multi-titles, one male and one female.  Funny thing is, the latter looked up to the former when she was a kid.

Montana Girl

For Keely Kelleher, skier Daron Rahlves is the man.  “I loved going off jumps pretending to be him when I was a kid,” she reflects.  “I tell all the kids I coach now, Just Daron It!"

Just Daron It! is something Kelleher has been doing her entire career.  As a young ski racer, Kelleher was on the smaller side of the field.  “All my coaches called me birdlegs.  I could create these outrageous angles, but I was not fast. I developed so much later than most the girls I was racing against,” Kelleher reflects.

Her first year of FIS racing, Kelleher was a mere 95 lbs and pushing her birdlegs to compete against fully developed phenoms, like fellow 1984’s Julia Mancuso and Lindsey Vonn. Kelleher’s road to

This article has been sitting in my queue for quite sometime however after receiving the sad news of Sarah Burke's passing I felt this to be a wake up call for all of us spending time on the mountain.

Just as your old skis have lost their energy and edge, your ski helmet may have loosened up and have become unsafe.  It doesn’t take much for a helmet to lose its fit or protective qualities and depending on how old your helmet is, it may not have some of the important safety features we see today.

Within the recreational ski world we have seen huge improvements when it comes to helmet safety and technology.  Safety is ultimately the number one goal of wearing a helmet; I know it’s a big surprise that it’s not about making a fashion statement. For a helmet to be accepted into the US market the helmet must meet a certain level of criteria to be called a helmet. Some key factors are impact absorption, penetration resistance and rear head protection, all of which are imperative for you to

Nothing is better than waking up and seeing 2 feet of fresh at lake level or the valley floor; especially this season! We’re all pretty comfortable with the light and fluffy stuff but sometimes when the "Pineapple Express" hits, the fresh snow can be dense and heavy. How do you approach these types of conditions? Here are three tips to help make your day more enjoyable if its not as light as you hoped:

1. Allow your skis to plane out of the snow, you may need to aim straight down the hill or at a diagonal to get some speed built up. It will help keep your skis on the surface.

2. Steer your feet and legs progressively, spend just a little more time in the fall line than what your instinct directs you to do. Big, aggressive twisting moves will bog you down and throw you off balance.

3. Shrink your turns to go slower and stretch out your turns to go faster, read the terrain and scope out your line, so you know where you will need to make adjustments to maintain fluidity and control.

And don't

Skiing man-made snow is a far cry from those fluffy powder days that we dream about.  But skiing firm man-made conditions can be fun too, especially when it's the only snow around.  The first thing you need is a good tune.  Sharp edges and a smooth waxed base go a long way in these conditions.  In order to take advantage of those sharp edges you gotta tip those skis over.  Tipping action originates in the feet and ankles and then moves up the body to include the knees and hips – in that order.  Practice rolling your feet and ankles side to side while standing in place, start mellow with just your feet and ankles, then work your way up the body. Next try gliding and tipping the ski side to side by initiating the movement pattern with the feet and ankles. The next move is to take the hill at a diagonal and practice rolling your feet down hill and back up hill as you go across the hill. Once you get comfortable with this move, try tipping the ski through a complete turn. If you

The MX 88 is the ski that single handedly built the formidable reputation of the Kastle brand. Some brands may have a ski model that become a hot seller for one year, but almost invariably, they feel the need to tinker with it and change success. Fortunately for all concerned,  Kastle does not work that way. The Kastle MX 88 has been the flagship of the collection since its inception, has not really changed at all and yet it still sells out early every year. There are some very good reasons for this with the primary one being the construction and feel that sets Kastle apart from other brands.

Most ski companies tout their technology and construction and of course they should. A lot of times the new “whiz bang” tech that is “going to change everything” is just smoke and mirrors. With Kastle it is a different program. Kastle utilizes design and construction techniques that give their skis a unique and highly desirable feel, they tune the build and flex for the target customer, put on a

Dynastar has been a major player in the race world with many Olympic and World Championship medals as well as World Cup titles in their long history. This racing pedigree really shows in the Dynastar Speed Course TI. The Course TI wears race graphics, carries a racing binding plate, and shares the wood/metal construction characteristics of the World Cup skis. Despite this, it is in fact a pretty different animal than a pure race ski.  A wider waist width and rounded tail are the first visual clues that this is not just another race ski. The Course TI has a tight 15m turn radius in the 171 size and it is available in sizes as short as a 159 and as long as 183. This is a very good dual event race ski for non-FIS level competitors and also makes a great “cheater” GS ski for Masters racers. The Speed Course TI is even more than this though. This is a very good ski for someone that doesn’t race at all and is looking for a hard snow biased ski for everyday use.

The first runs I took on the

Dry skies have stamped a slow start to the 2011-2012 season.  But with a lot of help from the lakes of Mammoth, cold temps blasted a base strong enough to hold eight slalom sets at Mammoth Mountain for the season opener.   Steep pitches, fast flats, quick combos, and a slick surface made for an exciting opening series.

The weekend was packed with great results from many of our Far West athletes- and even some athletes from the East Coast, as Killington Mountain School joined in on Day One.  Morganne Murphy took back-to-back wins, with Sierra Nevada College skiers and first year J2s, Julia Cashell and Dianna Abbott, fast on her tails.  On the men’s side, Sierra Nevada dominated the podium, setting a great example for all our athletes and inspiring thrilling skiing out of some young guns, like Garrett Driller, Pieter Weemaes, and Jordan Cashman.  For the youngest athletes on the hill, it was a weekend of hard fought battles on a steep, slick hill, competing against skiers twice

Parents often wonder what their role becomes when preparation for the race season is over and the competition season begins.  New research published in the Journal of Applied Sports Psychology, investigates the athletes perspective on their parents behavior during competition.  Competitive youth (age 12-15) tennis players were studied and although different from ski racing, the information has validity due to the ever present parent/athlete relationship in all youth sports. The findings are described below in order to guide parents to better understand what they can do help their child during the competition season.

1. Parents should focus on supporting the athlete's involvement in the sport rather than the outcome of the competition.  You want to give them support not put pressure on them .  By focusing on the outcome(aka winning)  the athlete may become nervous and their performance may decrease.  In turn, this could make it even harder for them to focus on their next run or

It is important to maintain a centered stance over your skis to work the skis effectively.  While standing on your skis on flat terrain, try moving your body forward and backward over the skis by using the ankle joint as hinge.  This is how we want to re-center our center of mass over the skis.  The goal is to maintain a perpendicular relationship of body to the skis.  When approaching steep pitches it is natural to move your weight back because you are hesitant and maybe a little nervous.  Unfortunately when this happens, you lose the ability to direct and work the ski effectively.  You may find that you are suddenly going faster than you want and may be heading out of control.  When skiing steeper pitches, concentrate on keeping your body perpendicular to the hill by hinging the body forward through the ankle joint, especially at the start of the turn.  This will help to apply pressure on the front of your boots with your shins.  The pressure on the front of your boots

Staying centered over your skis at all times should be a key focus for
all skiers.  This starts by having an open stance over your skis while
balancing your weight between your feet.  Make sure that you keep some
contact with your shins against the tongue of both boots.  This pressure will
increase while flexing your ankles and bending your knees into a turn and
somewhat decrease while extending and preparing to start your next turn.
This contact focus will help you keep centered over your feet through out
the turn shape giving you more precise edging movements and pressure
control.  Keeping a centered, open stance allows for smoother shifting of
pressure between the feet and cleaner use of the four edges of your skis.
Staying balanced in the center of your skis and over your feet also allows
you to respond to changing snow and terrain conditions more effectively.
A centered stance allows for better independent leg and foot action,
which is key to sound skiing. The outside ski in