Stellar Community

February 7, 2007

Reno River Festival

4TH ANNUAL RENO RIVER FESTIVAL
RETURNS TO RENO’S TRUCKEE RIVER THIS SPRING
Festival Set For May 10-13, 2007

RENO, Nev. (Sept. 29, 2006) —The Reno River Festival is set for another year of world-class kayaking on the Truckee River in downtown Reno, Nev., May 10-13, 2007. Now in its 4th year, the Reno River Festival brings together top kayak professionals and amateur athletes from around the world to compete at the nationally acclaimed Truckee River Whitewater Park. The Reno River Festival showcases kayaking action at its best with a weekend full of competitions, demos, clinics and an expo featuring the hottest products on the market, all set in one of the most adventurous cities in the country – Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place.

“In just three short years, the Reno River Festival is now recognized in the kayaking industry as one of the premier, first-class events in the country,” said Jim Litchfield, Truckee River Whitewater Park designer and principal of Fluid Concepts, competition producer for the Reno River Festival. “Now, as we go into our fourth year, there’s huge expectation in the industry for the event each year and our hopes are to attract even more competitors as well as provide additional opportunities for participants of all levels to find a spot to compete while continuing to provide access to those that want to learn.”

According to Deanna Ashby, executive director of marketing for the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA), “The Reno River Festival is a great example of what our America’s Adventure Place message means and the event brings adventure to life right in the heart of downtown Reno. All just steps outside our hotel room doors. Spectators and competitors can expect amazing whitewater action with the addition of new events and competitions, as well as demos, instructional clinics and exhibitors.”

The Truckee River offers a dynamic water experience year-round and the Reno-Tahoe region provides many other adventure attractions including 24-hour gaming excitement, golf, skiing, hiking and biking trails, lakes and a selection of art museums and galleries, just minutes from downtown and the Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

For more details about the 4th annual Reno River Festival, please visit www.RenoRiverFestival.com. For more information about Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place log on to www.VisitRenoTahoe.com or call 800-FOR-RENO (800-367-7366).

The Reno River Festival is held at the city of Reno’s $1.5 million Truckee River Whitewater Park, located in the heart of Reno’s booming downtown business and arts district. The park, with rapids rated class 2 and 3, is both Nevada’s and the region’s first whitewater park and kayak slalom racing course, totaling 2,600 feet in length and featuring north and south channels that surround an outdoor amphitheater and park. There are 11 “drop pools” and specially-placed boulders for kayaking maneuvers, a slalom racing course, and 7,000 tons of smooth flat rocks along the shores for easy river access and spectator seating.

###

January 31, 2007

yeah

I am happy to read about your adventures but I am even more excited that someone is actually posting here! I had about given up! Write on.

August 31, 2006

Three Places I Want to Go RIGHT NOW!!!

I have a map of the world sitting above the computer in my office, and for a good 20% of my time I’m staring at it, wondering whats going on… there. Maybe its the human need to get out and explore, or maybe its the energy drinks forcing my blood to move faster than is probably good, but I can’t stop form twitching at least a little bit every day, thinking of where, if everything were perfect, I would go.

And today I feel like sharing – hooray! Lets all hold hands and share. No, lets not. Lets just see where this daydreaming takes me, on the perfect mind trek for the office rut:

• Silverton, CO – because its there, its new, and I’ve heard its pretty much the greatest thing going in skiing today (well, not today, maybe in a few months). Pefect powder, 50% grades, about 2,000 acres and a max of 80 people a day? Sweet. Now all I need is $15,000 to buy one of their limited-time Lifetime Passes!
• Dubai, U.A.E. – Why not? They’re building new worlds out in the desert, literally, and I’d like to see an indoor arctic at least once in my life. And something tells me that with a little cash the place would rule – and I really dig sand, so I think the place would be a blast. Well, not a real blast, but – you know.
• Kyrgyzstan – Nope, can’t get much more isloated than Kyrgyzstan. Triple land locked, smack in the middle of Asia, with 5 of the world’s 12 tallest peaks and lakes and, and, and what? I don’t know. No one seems to know, and thats why I want to go.

So there it is, thats where I’d go on this strange Thursday afternoon. And in the spirit of sharing, however lame, why not reply to this post and tell us where you’d want to go. Stare at a map and get weird for a while. I’ll be hiding behind the dome!

August 28, 2006

From Iron to Green Belt in 18 Years

I always thought the Iron Curtain was a symbolic allusion to the USSR blocking out western influences – I just learned it was at an actual, physical fence. I’ve also just gotten word that soon enough us avid endurance hiking, biking, walking, and running beasts will be able to groove all up and down the entire 6,800 kilometer ( about 4,000 miles, according to my Hungarian Source) length of the thing, made possible by a new, multi-national initiatve daintily called The Green Belt.

Earlier this month, the first 15-km strecth of the Green Belt officially opened in north-west Hungary, and with #1 patron Mikhail Gorbachev leading the push you can be sure the rest of the track will be finished and we will all be able to propel ourselves from the Black to the Barents in no time!

But what does this mean for America? How is this trail different from our mega-pathways? For starters, there is history involved, and historical markers will be in place everywhere. So you’ll learn while you’re getting fit and losing consciousness from months and months on the belt. Oh yes, 4,000 miles is a beefy path indeed – the Appalachian Trail is a meager 2,167 miles, and the Great Wall of China weighs in at anywhere between 1,500 and 4,000 miles, depending on who you talk to. Suffice to say the thing is long, and the Iron Curtain will hopefully be forever remembered as a new bar in the annals of endurance trekking, and a great use of International border stupidity. So it looks like its our turn to up the ante – I’m thinking Cancun to Nome, 4,571 miles as the Bald Eagle flies, just put the thing out of reach and make those Euros dream envious dreams from their tiny pseudo-continent.

August 23, 2006

Whistler? Lets Hear it for Squamish!

When I think skiing, when I think outdoor adventures and getting my mile-high freak on, and when I’m forced to think British Columbia, I think Whistler – of course. But I just went to a wedding up in the north lands, and discovered something better than Whistler. I discovered Squamish – and want to share this newfound x-treme pad with the Stellar world.

Anyone who’s been to Whistler has been to Squamish – you can’t miss it, its right on the Sea To Sky highway between Whister and…and basically everything else. There is a car dealership, a few fast food restraurants, a tiny downtown and outlying neighborhoods. There is a country club. And a golf course. And enough mountains, cliffs, peaks, year-round snow, ocean access, rivers, and just plain wild, open space to satisfy whatever your wandering soul desires. Squamish, in other words, is friggin awesome.

I was only in Squamish for three days, and the time I didn’t spend with the wedding party (an adventuresome duo and their ski-crazed chums, I was outside:

*I hiked straight up the side of a mountain, barefoot, to the top of the Stawamus Chief, with a view of piercing Garibaldi Peak which is reason enough to make a return trip.

*I took a lenghty dip at the northen limit of Howe Sound, playing around with some sea lions, bathing.

*I watched a world-class mountain bike team practice on a no-name hill (looked like fun).

*And everywhere I went I was eating blackberries right off the bush – which is a thrill when coming from Colorado’s destroyed Front Range.

And it was summer! Looking up at those peaks and into those valleys that even in August still had enough snow to ski, I could just imagine endless epic days trouncing up and down snow-decked hills, getting weird on some steeps with no one around for miles (kilometers, sorry) in every direction. It was perfect, Squamish as it is today is an ideal outdoor mountain town within striking distance of both Vancouver’s size and Whistler’s glitz…but that idealism is fading fast. People are moving in, making preparations for los Olympicos 2010 with a four lane highway and new developments springing up everywhere, ringing in the certain deathknell for the quiet perfection of Squamish, B.C.

But its still small, it’s still relatively unknown and there is enough space for everyone. Get to Squamish while the getting is good!

August 17, 2006

The Great Bike Debate ( R vs. MB)

Whitney! Girl, you sure have stirred up the can of bees. Stand on a corner in Boulder, CO – any outdoors minded hamlet for that matter – asking your question, road or mountain bike, and you’re sure to get a violent, passionate, biased response from a huge number of two-wheeled, opinionated denizens.

So, whats it gonna be – road bike or mountain bike? There are plenty of reasons why to choose either, and after discussing the question with multiple enthisuasits and professioanls alike, I’d have to say…drum roll please… Mountain Biking! Oooo, but the saddle riders will be angry! And with their endurance, their speed induced psychoses, they’ll probably come after me with the lynch, or just run over my toes with their tiny, high-pressured wheels. But I stand by my mountain biking decision, and I’ll tell you why:

• For starters, mountain biking is cheaper. A decent beginner road bike will run you about $1000, whereas a mountain bike will be about half that. And mountain bikers can get away with shirts, and maybe even basket pedals – road warring demands the entire uniform ( I know, I was laughed off a local biking thoroughfare for wearing a t-shirt and sandals – not fun).
• Road biking demands roads, mountain biking doesn’t. You can go anywhere on a mountain bike – in the mountains, through a stream, over a small dirt patch in the road without worrying about slipping and scarring the entire right side of your face clean off. You can get injured on either, but road wounds are usually ugly, straining our health as well as our vanity.
• Road bikers are a delicate, intense group, and if you aren’t with them you are against them. Even the semi-dedicated road biker goes to bed early, wakes up early, regulates their diets and dedicates their life to the wheel – is that the kind of lifestyle you want? Mountain bikers are a rowdy, crazy bunch who will invite you out into the hills and laugh when you fall off a rock.

It all depends on where you live though. If there are mountains, get a mountain bike. Roads everywhere? Click in and ride forever. But if you live in a place with both roads and mountains, why not both? Just begin with a mountain bike. Definitely. Give it another try. _Or you can try a pennyfarthing – wheeeeeee!_

August 16, 2006

Road or Mountain Biking?

So, I don’t really do either of these sports often. I used to have a mountain bike, and I can pretty much say that I HATED it! Which is better? What are the similarities? Should I even try road biking if I hated mountain biking so much?

Help me out!

Say Your Prayers, Buffalo

There are an estimated 3,500 American buffalo, bison, Bison bison, living in Yellowstone National Park, and 3,000 is the target population size. Uhh ohh, those buffalo have been busy! Too busy according to some. An extra 500 wouldn’t be a problem if the Yellowstone herd didn’t carry the cattle-bashing disease brucellosis, which doesn’t kill cattle necessarily, but it makes them lazy, tarnishes their coats, and has been known to cause abortions. Which wouldn’t be good for the sprightly, beautiful, conservative cattle in the ranges surrounding Yellowstone, and rangers want the problem contained. Eradicated.

The solution: Issue more bison hunting licenses and gun down the buffalo that wander north into Montana this winter. Focus firepower on the vacationing cows, kill off the wombs before they can generate more disease-carrying youths. When we say “more” licenses we mean triple the amount of licenses as were issued in 2005 – the kill fest is on.

Buffalo! Run for the hills! Huddle up beside a gyser and wait until spring. The bacteria in your gut puts you right in the crosshairs – we killed you off before and we’ll do it again! Sure, you make the biggest national park that much better – with your charges, your lazy road crossings, your lust for sulfer vents – but that doesn’t mean you own the place. A Japanese corporate conglomerate is the real king, and nearby ranchers the lynch mob of justice. Just toe that line, your filthy disease carrying ungulates, or we will make you toe that line. Bang! Bang!
The Real American Hero.

August 15, 2006

Skiing Under the Influence

Its tough enough to get your drink on in Utah – and things look like they’re going to get tougher. We’re not talking new liquor laws or restrictions on overall sales, we’re talking about drinking, and skiing, drinking and skiing, at the same time. About the long-standing American passion with SUI and one man’s quest to make skiing sober.

State Representative Mike Morley, R-UT, is considering changing the rules a bit, making it crystal clear that “ski operators have the authority to stop drinking on hills and prohibit open containers on the lifts.” They already have the authority, they simply choose not to enforce it.

The motivation for such legislation? A single constituent in Morley’s district 66 sat beside a drunk guy on a chairlift. The constituent harrased the resort manager for action – to no avail – so he went straight to his representative. And the situation has snowballed into a statewide fight to tighten the reigns and plug up the slopeside boozefest wrecking havoc upon the sensitivities of the good people in district 66.

What would such a law mean? Not much as it turns out – people will still be able to drink on chairlifts, but the resort managers can force them to stop. And who knows! Maybe some manager will have enough pluck and audacity to do such a thing. We wouldn’t lose much – just one less place to drink dangerously, one more stitch taken out from the American fun fabric.

By the way: Rep. Mike Morley’s birthday is coming up – Aug. 21. Be sure to send him your birthday wishes, a ski pass perhaps, and a case of O’Douls. MikeMorley@utah.gov.

August 14, 2006

WWJS?

Apparently, Jesus would surf the chilly breaks off England’s North Coast in Croyde Bay, or at least he’d make an appearance – they are having a surf contest named for Him after all. Thats right, the Jesus Surf Classic is back for its 14th straight year in the England Atlantic, hosted by Christian Surfers UK and run by hundreds of volunteers from throughout the United Kingdom just gddy to do surfing’s work.

Last years winner for the men’s open – Joss Ash – will be looking for a repeat over an increasingly tough comp – more entrants than ever, more interest than ever, more spirit, more sponsors, and more prize money. And body boarders? Well, Cristian Surfers UK has spoken, and their word is that body boarding is officially lame – they’ve cancelled the traditional body boarding category for lack of interest despite the British Body Boarding Association throwing a hub bub. And I sent an email to Phil Williams of Christian Surfers UK asking if the Jesus Surf Classic would be an appropriate venure for my Jewish friends to show off their vastly improving surf skills. No response.

But no worries dudes, there is still enough fun to go roud for all you radical Christians; a skate park, BBQ, even an outdoor movie theater are in the works around Cryode Bay. And if the Christian Surfers’ Core Values of surfing, evangelising, integrating and serving are any guide, there should be fun enough for everyone in that warm North England Sun. The Jesus Surf Classic – its outta sight!