Cold Smoke Powder Fest in Nelson - PART 1

Location

The Olympics were done. 17 days of madness in Whistler and I managed to get through it all. It was time for a road trip and I had one good reason to head to Nelson – the Coldsmoke Powder Fest. There hadn’t been a whole lot of pow recently at Whitewater, something the locals noted as quite out of character for their mountain. At least the forecast was calling for sunny skies.    

Another beautiful day in the Kootenays

We arrived in Nelson the evening of the Coldsmoke Opener. It was a packed house at the Capitol Theatre for the feature film ‘Signatures’ by Sweet Grass Productions. There were an assortment of other short films including the latest adventures of Greg Hill and the comical entrants for the Powder Highway Ultimate Ski Bum Contest.  The winner Chris Tatsuno made an appearance just before the showing of his well crafted documentary of himself- a traveling second generation ski bum who trucks all over North America following the Freeskiing World Tour.

Saturday morning was an early start on the road up to Whitewater to catch the start of the Roam Randonee.  The racers gathered around the start line, all sleekly dressed clad in Dynafit and bike helmets. While the bagpipes blare (that’s-right- bagpipes) the wave of the WH20 flag signalled the start.

The bagpipes don't seem as loud as I hear the squeal of roughly 40 pairs of skins glide past me. The conditions made for a tough race climbing on slippery skin tracks and skiing frozen crust and on the descents. First place went to Michael Bestwick of Whitefish, Montana.  His spidey suit surely gave him the edge over 2^nd place local Scott Jeffrey, last year’s King of the Hill winner.

Father and Son. Scott and Bill Jeffery at the finish line. Scott placed 2nd in the open category

Open Winner Michael Bestwick of Whitefish, MO

I quickly jump on the Summit Chair and I’m just in time to catch the first runs of the Powder Keg Slope Style. This was more of a free ride comp with skiers, snowboarders and telemarkers all hucking themselves off the natural features. A big thanks should go out to WH20 Ski Patrol who closed off the terrain for 10 days prior to the comp. With a little new snow and zero skier compaction, this north facing slope was kept in prime powder condition. While not sticking a lot of landings, the King of the Hill contestants went big with a whole lot of spinnage and flippage being thrown down. Extra points were awarded to skiers who flicked their boots to walk mode for the run. 

Misty front flip on telemark skis. The pow made for a great conditions on upper Powder Keg 

Saturday night all gathered at Selkirk College for the Western themed Buff-Eh dinner. ‘Cowboy Mitch’ Scott was the tasteful MC for the night, roasting the crowd throughout the night and giving insightful descriptions of why they should not be from the US or Alberta.

The winning photo Slideshow from Kari Medig explored a deeper meaning of pillows, an animated ski adventure that never left the bedroom. Grant Gunderson tied for second place and received jeers from Cowboy Mitch about the size of his heli budget.

Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow with the Cold Smoke Powder Fest video.

Thanks to the Dancing Bear Inn for hosting Biglines at the 2010 Coldsmoke Powder Fest.