Beech Update

The past couple weeks have been fun but depressing. Last year by this time, we had the entire mountain open with a hell of a base. Now, we have technically 5 runs open, but it's really just one run from top to bottom. Bare spots. Grass. Mud. Rocks. NOT FUN. But the past couple days of cold weather have allowed us to make some decent snow. We'll be lucky to have another run open by Christmas. The weather forecast calls for rain by Tuesday night. There goes all the snow we're currently making. It's 20 degrees and sunny right now, just wish it would stay like that all winter! Well, in addition to a few good snowstorms :)

My riding has definitely improved since I got my new Smokin' board. It seems so much easier to ollie and pop off of nothing. I feel more stable on rails and boxes, and even landing small jumps feels much more stable than my old board.

Currently I'm sitting on the couch guzzling hot tea and taking Zicam. Thanks to whoever exposed me to the big bad cold that I now have. Didn't work yesterday and I'm taking today off to just rest and try to get better. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so hopefully I can get out and teach some lessons and ride tomorrow without feeling like I'm dying.

Here's some pics from the past couple weeks of riding.

^ LOVE this one!

^ locking down my frontsides

^ this waterpipe rail is fun!

^ an inspiration on my palm

Video Throwback!

Hey Beech Mountain fans... check this video out :)

October SNOW!

Wow. It's been way too long since I've updated.

A lot of stuff has been going on though.

On Sat, October 1st, it SNOWED!

Well, not much, but enough to get me pumped even more for the season. We only got a half inch, but man oh man was it good to see that white stuff coming down again. Hopefully we'll get a good snowfall soon!

Also, last weekend was the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Gravity National Championships here at Beech Mountain Resort. The event was super fun. Although the Brew's N View's beer tasting tent almost got the best of me, I did manage to get a few pics that I will post up in a bit. Gotta run for now.

* Peace <3 Snowflakes *

Beech Mountain Gravity Nationals Qualifier Race

Beech Mountain Resort held the Gravity Nationals Qualifier Race over the weekend, and it was a huge success! Saturday was the downhill qualifying and mother nature was barely on our side. It was a lil chilly, very windy, and foggy all day. Despite the weather, everyone seemed to be having a blast and loving the new AM trail! Sunday was much better with bright sunshine and warmer temps. The Dual Slalom course was insane, and everyone was stoked on it! I didn't get to stay to see the podiums either day because I had to leave to go to work, but I got to watch most of the races both days.

USA Cycling Mountain Bike Gravity Nationals will be held September 22-25th at Beech Mountain Resort. This will be one hell of an event, so don't miss it!

Here's some pics from Saturday's downhill race...

Riders' meeting before the race

The finish line was the only part of the trail that wasn't foggy!

New bike trays sponsored by Monster Energy

Rider boostin' it over the final table top jump before the finish line

Section of the course before entering the High Ground Park

Rider showin' everyone how it's done

Sunday's Dual Slalom race...

Walking up to enjoy the awesome ride down

Start gate

One of the many berm sections on the course

Another technical berm section

Pro rider boostin' the last jump on the course

New addiction.

Not only am I still obsessed with True Blood (don't judge!), but I've found a new addiction when there's no snow on the ground...

Skateboarding mini ramps!

I mean, I totally suck at riding one, but it's still fun as hell! Beech Mountain Resort built an indoor 5ft. mini ramp and I finally rode it for the first time last night. I busted my ass a few good times, but I finally got the hang of 'pumping' and could ride back and forth for a good while before losing it. 5 foot seems kinda sketchy to me... I can only get about halfway up to the coping. I feel like if I could skate a 3 foot mini ramp somewhere then I'd be able to do all kinds of cool stuff! :)

This will definitely be a hang out spot in the winter as well. Now when we have those rainy days, I'll have something to do! :) Did I mention what a workout it is? After about 5 min on the ramp, my legs were on fire. Way more work than snowboarding! I'm sure it will get easier as I do it more. I have no desire to get really good at riding the mini ramp, my goal is to just be able to make it to the coping, and to do kickturns so I can keep my right foot forward all the time, instead of just riding back and forth looking all lame. ha.

Anyways, my dad is going to be moved to a normal room today! Yay! No more ICU! What a good step in the right direction. I'm sure he's so happy to be off the '8th floor'. Seems like that's practically been his home for the past couple months. I can't even imagine what it feels like to lay in a hospital bed for going on 3 months now. Hopefully no more setbacks and he can get back in shape and get the hell outta there! He wants to be at home more than ever now, and we want him home asap!

Light up the sky...

Fireworks last night were amazing <3<3<3

We were right underneath them. It's such a cool feeling to be that close... almost seems like it was our own personal fireworks show! Gotta love Beech Mountain! We rode 4wheelers up the lower part of White Lightning, right above where the lifts 3&4 unloads and also where they were shooting them from. So awesome. I think tomorrow night we're going up to the Oz rock to see if we can see any other fireworks shows in the valleys that chose to do them on the actual 4th.

I'm so glad Dustin and I were able to be off of work and go to the Pig Roast and watch the fireworks. The bbq was sooooo good by the way. It will probably be another 4 years till we're both off for this event again haha.

Anyone have any advice on riding a mini ramp?

Beech Mountain Resort is building a 5ft mini ramp in the retail shop, and it's looking awesome! Almost completed. I really wanna learn how to ride a mini ramp. I really don't skateboard that well, mainly because I never really have the chance to get on a skateboard. It would probably help if I actually purchased my own deck lol. I'm determined though... I'm gonna learn how to ride it, and ride it well!

I finally ordered the R.E.D. helmet I've been wanting forever! So excited! Probably won't get here for another week though. Now I'll have no excuse not to go balls to the wall this winter in the park!

Almost done with Phase 2 of p90x... got one more week to go until I'm on the final phase! I love it though... I can definitely tell I'm getting stronger, and I can finally fit into some of my old favorite clothes! :)

Everyone have an amazing day!

Ladies Park Night 3 & Spring Shreddin'

So I FINALLY got to go to a Ladies Park Night at App Ski Mtn. It was SO much fun! Ladies Park Night is just a night where they set up a girls specific park so we ladies can shred it up without dudes bothering us! :) The set up was fun. There was a small jump, maybe 10 ft. at the most, round rail, rainbow box, short fat box, and a long t-box. Everything was chill and I even won a pair of socks in the raffle! Ha. Last thing I need is socks, but oh well. It's free, right?!

Anyways, here's a couple photos of me from the LPN, and a few more from our spring park we have set up on the remaining snow at Beech. Enjoy :)

Photo Credit: Kyle Beckmann

Photo Credit: Kyle Beckmann

Here's a few spring park pics

Beech Mountain Resort Pond Skim 2011

Here's a lil video of the footage I got from this seasons pond skim. Enjoy!

It's Over... Almost

Well Sunday ended the season for Beech Mountain Resort, and I must say, it was one hell of a season! Great snow, great conditions, fun events, everything was just awesome. I hope next season is just as sweet.

Forecast for today was rain. Woke up to a snow covered deck :) That just means a little fresh for our spring park! We were going to start on the spring park today, but the rain/snow mix has postponed our digging till tomorrow. I'm so pumped for the spring park. It's when I usually learn new tricks because it's a slushy soft landing, and we can set up features however the hell we want!

I was one of the two instructors that got 'Instructor of the Year' for this season! Stoked! Yeah, I'm kind of a big deal :) j/k. But I am so happy that they picked me! Made me feel all good inside. Ha.

The final Ladies Park Night at App is this Friday. I'm NOT missing this one! Should be a lot of fun! Get more info HERE if you're interested in going.

Here's a video I'll share with you...

Injuries Suck!

Fresh snow on the ground, 3 days till Beech Mountain Resort closes, and new coat of wax on the board... damn right I was gonna ride regardless of how my knee felt! Got one run in and it was killing me. Damn. Went inside and sat on my ass for about 4 hours. Took some ibuprofen. Then my friends set up a little box on the beginner area right outside ski school. Couldn't help myself and had to session it! Surprisingly, the knee didn't hurt once I starting riding. Thank god! Got a few good hits in and called it a day. Injuries suck. The season is almost over and I'm gonna enjoy it any way I can. Even if it is 'take a couple runs and then take a 4 hr break'! Ha.

Tomorrow is the End of Season Party for Beech. Poker run. Pond skim. Live music. Oh yeah. Be there or be square ;)

3rd Rail

So I ended up growing a pair after all and entering in the 3rd Rail Jam. Took me all morning to talk myself into it, but I'm so glad I did! I didn't win, but I thought I did pretty damn good. I did more technical tricks than the girl that won, but she went for one of the advanced features at the bottom, and even though she fell, she still got a higher score because she went for it. I should have went for it and now I'm kicking myself in the ass for not trying it at least once.

I was so nervous that I wanted to throw up the whole morning. Once I got up there and did a couple practice runs the jitters went away though. I'm glad I've experienced the whole competition scene now, so next year I'll definitely do more of them! One thing I need to remember though - less speed checking! Ha.

I also really need to get a helmet! I didn't realize till after I registered that helmets were required, and I don't have one! Luckily, one of my friends let me borrow one. I guess I need to start wearing one anyways. Never know when it might save your life I suppose! I've got my eye on the RED Hi-Fi in Electric Blue. Now all I need to do is save up some cash and go get one!

If anybody wants to send me one of these, just ask for my address! haha.

I Love Pow.

Yes once again I'm slacking on updating. Been so busy between work every day and other things that the internet is the last thing on my mind. I'll summarize today... which is also the most epic pow day of the season so far :)

Robin's Run and Southern Star was freakin awesome. Knee deep pow everywhere with the occasional waist deep drift. Got some super fun pow turns in today for sure. Got some pow footy but I'll wait till tomorrow night to edit cuz tomorrow will be another good pow day. Good pow doesn't happen often in NC so when it does happen, it's f'n epic.

Snow totals as of tonight was just over 2 feet and it's still flurrying a little. Supposed to get another epic snowstorm starting Monday. I love snow. I love pow. I love snowboarding.

Happy Shredding.

Epic Opening Weekend!

So this weekend was the best opening weekend ever for Beech Mountain Resort. Seriously. We opened to the top with great snow conditions, fresh pow, fast quad, cheap lift tickets, and lots of business! Mother nature just keeps dumping the snow on us... 16 inches and counting. This season is definitely going to be the most epic season ever, hopefully for everybody! Thanks to La Nina :)

I'm saving up for either a Flip or a GoPro so my buds and I can have some sweet shots this season. Video quality on the digital camera isn't cutting it, to my liking anyways.

For those shredding in NC, I hope all of you had as good of a weekend as I did!

Snowmaking in Progress!

Beech Mountain Resort started making snow this afternoon! Now the countdown is really on. It will feel so nice to see the ground white at our instructor staff meeting tomorrow. It's also a good feeling when I can step outside on my deck and hear the guns doin' their thing! This season is gonna be epic!

Winter's coming!

With snow in the forecast for the region, some resorts are about to flip the switch on the snowmaking! Cataloochee Ski Area plans on opening Saturday, and rumors of Sugar Mountain Resort opening as well. There's been lots of improvements at all the area resorts. Beech Mountain Resort, also my home mountain, has made many improvements to make this season the best one yet. I'm so excited to check out all the other resorts this winter to see how much they've really improved. Let's just hope Mother Nature loves us as much as she did last season and brings us lots of snoooooow!

There's a lot of stuff going on in the High Country this weekend. On top of some possible resort openings, the Edge of the World Snowboard Party is happening Saturday, Nov. 6th. They host a skate contest, snowboard rail jam, big glove boxing, raffles, snowboard video premieres and more. It begins at 12PM... don't miss it! Always a fun event.

Beech Mountain Resort and Buckeye Rec Center is also hosting a Kick Off to Ski Season Party on Saturday, Nov. 6th. Starts at 6PM Admission is free but it's $6 if you want to eat dinner there. Speakers from Beech Mountain Resort will be there to talk about all the improvements and what's happening this season at the resort.

I'll be at the Edge party. I want to go to the Kick Off to Ski Season Party but it's on the same day at the same time. Why those two events are always on the same day is beyond me. I'd rather waste my money on raffle tickets to try to win some gear and watch the skate jam and rail jam :)

Hope everyone can make it out to one of the events!

Happy Shredding

XOXO

Get Your Beech Season Pass!

Beech Mountain Resort's Super Saver Season Pass Sale is starting tomorrow, September 15th! At only $350, this is a deal you don't wanna pass up. This price is limited to only 200 passes, so call and reserve your pass before they are all gone! Here's the # - 1.800.438.2093 ext 213. At that cheap deal, you have no excuse not to be tearin' up the slopes this season.

Speaking of this snow season... the 6 new PoleCat's that the resort recently put up look AMAZING! I can't wait to see how much snow those bad boys are gonna put out!

photo from skibeech.com

Finally, My Shred Edit! :)

So I finally made an edit! Well, my boyfriend made it for me actually. What a sweet surprise! :) Wish we could've put a song on the vid but until we get some antivirus, no downloading music :(

Hope you enjoy!

Winter Edit 2010 from Jess Davis on Vimeo.

My shred edit for the 2010 season. All filmed at Beech Mountain, North Carolina.

Season Recap

Wow... it's been a hell of a season! Plenty of snow and good weather, lots of business on the mtn, good grooming and snow conditions... all that and more have made this the best season ever. I've progressed alot in the park and my switch riding. I can hit a RAIL now, yes, a RAIL! haha. If it wasn't for the little homemade rail that we made over the summer, it probably would've never happened. I braved up and hit a battleship and a flat down flat rail. Go me! :) I'm still iffy on bigger jumps. Perfected my 180's and even landed a couple 3's towards the end of the season. I feel really comfy on boxes now. Boardslides and lip slides are a peice of cake. Buttering is SO much fun. I can get 3 rotations before I start feeling a lil dizzy and set my nose down. Definitely my best progression year so far!

Whenever I get my laptop fixed, or on a computer that I can upload vids and pics, I'll have a nice lil edit of the season to post.

But it's not over yet... the chairlifts may be closed down, but the snow is still there. Last week we set up a flat box and a butter box, and yesterday we helped some peeps build a quarterwall, couple jumps, a massive battleship t-box, flat rail, and a flat down rail. Rain is in the forecast, but the next sunny day we'll be shreddin' it up! Gotta make it last while we can!

B4BC - Shred The Love!

Hey all you Southeast riders... Come out to Ski Beech on Saturday and support Boarding For Breast Cancer! There will be slopestyle and boardercross competitions, music, food, fireworks and tons of fun for everyone. See you there!

Click on photo below to visit B4BC website

Update

Cheers to a new year, new friends, and new experiences. It's been a while since I've blogged so I figured I'd let everyone know what's happenin' on the mountain!

A couple weeks into the season I took a spill on the rainbow box and banged my shin up pretty good. I can still ride, but I'm holding off on any park riding until it gets a little better. Don't wanna risk making it worse.

Holiday season has come and almost gone. Beech has been SUPER busy and as a result ski school has sold a ton of lessons, which is good for me because that means $$$! I'm saving up to take my AASI Level 1 in February. Maybe after I get that 'certification' then Dustin and I can close the season out at a different mountain.

Weather has been very cooperative this season so far. We got dumped on and mother nature left us with a couple feet of powder. The temps have remained below freezing for the most part since that storm so we still have a ton of snow everywhere, plus it snowed a few inches last night :) I love snow. Just not subzero temperatures.

The 3rd Rail Jam is coming back on Jan 23rd, so if you're in the area, swing by Beech Mountain Resort and check out the fun festivities!