Ski The East Freeride Tour March 6th

[WWF-VT]

Just wondering if anyone else is bothered that the Castlerock Extreme Challenge was co-opted by the Ski the East Freeride Tour ?

The Sugarbush events calendar made no mention of the event being the second stop on the Ski The East Freeride Tour. The SkiTheEast.net web site says” presenting sponsors for the tour are SkiTheEast.net, Meathead Films and JayPeakVideo.com.”

Registration turned into a nightmare for everyone and the post event ceremony in the Wunderbar was monopolized by the Ski The East guys selling t-shirts, videos, raffle tickets and passing out Jay Peak posters.

I got a kick out if a poster at the Ski The East website saying “Ski the East should beware of putting money, effort and marketing up for a competition that amounts to an internal mountain team event. “ I was not aware of Ski The East having any monetary sponsorship of the event and it looks to me like it became a money maker for them by selling raffle tickets to Adventure Blazers.

Ski The East should be faulted for essentially trying to take over the Sugarbush Castle Rock Extreme and Sugarbush should clarify its role in the Ski The East Freeride Tour.

[vonski]

I was on facebook and saw that Jay Peak was tagged on a photo. I checked out the photo and saw it was Castlerock liftline and was posted by the ski the east Freeride. I was wondering how they effected the Extreme challenge, I now know! The registration is limited correct? Did any normal participants get blocked out? meaning the adventure blazer kids!

Or was the event still a success!

Why would Sugarbush allow raffle tickets and t-shirts to be sold on the premises if they are not Sugarbush related. Maybe they need some no solicitation signs! :roll:

[skibum1321]

It looks like they are calling the MRG Unconventional Terrain Comp the final stop on the tour. There is no word of this on the MRG site that I can find. It looks like the Meatheads are just going to these competitions and taking them over as part of their tour. Kinda shady if you ask me.

[WWF-VT]

Ski the East did post a well written wrap up of the event:

http://www.skitheeast.net/blogs/bd/2010/03/09/Ski-The-East-Freeride-Tour%3A-Sugarbush-Recap/

"The level of competition of the event among all the divisions was incredible. Despite the influx of newcomers to the event, the podium spots were dominated by Sugarbush locals. A part of that is home field advantage; part is a reflection of Sugarbush and the vibe John Egan and his crew have created there. What other mountains here in the East offer cat skiing adventures for first tracks on powder days or have backcountry progams like Bush Pilots? Most importantly, this dedicated group of accomplished skiers is passing along their knowledge and getting the mountain’s next generation of kids stoked."

[BushBumpGirl]

Totally a great write-up there by Ski the East.

I attempted to rock the rock in the Challenge, only to arrive at 8:30AM... to find out there was a line out the door at 7AM! Woah. It's entirely fantastic that the CRE has generated that much interest, but it bummed me out to see that kids were crying, Mom's were screaming... and after getting denied entry myself (it was given to some of the teary eyed kids)... I found out afterwards that there were only THREE women out of the 60+ that competed. Frustrating, to say the least.

Has there been any thought to re-jigger this a bit? Again, I LOVE that all the kids are competing at such a high level, and that they care so much about it that it brings tears... but perhaps have a Junior competition, and the top XX qualify for the real Extreme? Just throwing the thought out there. I do think the folks handling the sign-up did the best they could with the mad rush of folks - it's certainly not easy handling all of that.

[gone.skiing]

I think it is awesome. It is great to see new faces that showed up because STE is promoting competitions. It was no longer just local kids and adults, there was a bunch of people from first stop at Magic that made a trip this year. If it was not for STE promotion, I doubt they would have been there. They are putting real resources as you can see from writeups that show up a couple of days after the event.

Egan and Whiterspoon worked with mountains to put schedule together where events are on different days. Overall winner gets entry to the world tour next year, so field becomes more competitive. Let's not over simplify how much work it takes to get these things organized. I am not involved with the tour, but am pretty sure it is more than just showing up and throwing posters around.

Registration issues I am sure will be sorted out next year one way or another. They are already talking about having multi day events with qualifiers, splitting juniors from adults, etc. Other than that it was an awesome day.

WWF-VT, did you compete? What is your actual issue with the scenario? Event sold out last year and sold out even faster this year. Are you saying that is bad? People visiting Bush from other mountains, having somebody promote Sugarbush event on their website and then post up pictures and videos. Is that bad? I can't see the downside.

vonski, registration is limited and somebody always gets cut off. This year is no exception. They actually extended the field to allow travelling folks and a few others to get in.

[WWF-VT]

WWF-VT, did you compete? What is your actual issue with the scenario? Event sold out last year and sold out even faster this year. Are you saying that is bad? People visiting Bush from other mountains, having somebody promote Sugarbush event on their website and then post up pictures and videos. Is that bad? I can't see the downside.



My biggest issue is the communication about who is actually in charge of the event. To the Sugarbush community this is seen as the annual Castlerock Extreme Challenge. To the Ski The East crowd this seems to be viewed as a Ski The East event that happens to be scheduled at Sugarbush. There was no information on the Sugarbush web site that referenced the STE Freeride Tour and it turned into a big surprise for a high percentage of the participants on Saturday. I also thought that it was improper for the Ski The East guys to turn the Wunderbar into an opportunity to cash in on the day by selling their wares. It's fine to have a free bib drawing to give away free schwag from vendors, its offensive to sell raffle tickets. (anyone know if the proceeds were donated? )

[gone.skiing]

My biggest issue is the communication about who is actually in charge of the event. To the Sugarbush community this is seen as the annual Castlerock Extreme Challenge. To the Ski The East crowd this seems to be viewed as a Ski The East event that happens to be scheduled at Sugarbush.

Let me make sure I understand... Your biggest issue is communication? Not how well event did or how much business and exposure it brought to the Bush.

In any case it is still a Castlerock Extreme Challenge, Egan is still in charge, it is still his baby. Just a little coordination between the mountains and IFSA to make sure that comps are not on the same dates and that winners have a path to the world scene. Would you not agree that these are positives?

As far as website goes, that is nothing new that information is not up-to-date or not complete.


There was no information on the Sugarbush web site that referenced the STE Freeride Tour and it turned into a big surprise for a high percentage of the participants on Saturday.

How did it change their day? Did the competitors enjoy it less because there was STE banner at the finish line?


I also thought that it was improper for the Ski The East guys to turn the Wunderbar into an opportunity to cash in on the day by selling their wares. It's fine to have a free bib drawing to give away free schwag from vendors, its offensive to sell raffle tickets. (anyone know if the proceeds were donated? )

How is it different from any other vendor? Do you ask vendors that rent skis at demo days to donate their proceeds?

[gone.skiing]

WWF, did you personally compete or have kids in the comp?

[summitchallenger]

The man has a point that it is bad form for an outside vendor to come in and hand out posters for a competitor and to name drop for that resort located about 75 miles north on Route 100. FWIW I went to the STE site and they referred to "JPR" when the event was at SB.

But then again remember that we are talking about STE, who are basically college grads who think that they still are in college and act like it. They are not always as polished as they could be. I've been to their shows and it is about making the bucks. I am always surprised that certain "friends" always win their "raffles"......

[gone.skiing]

Head coach of freeride team from that certain resort competed and brought kids to the Bush this time around. Kids from Sugarbush go to other places to compete in mogul and slopestyle events all the time. At Magic last weekend they were promoting Sugarbush's comp. How close-minded can you be?

Making the bucks... I am sure they are rolling in it, this freesking stuff is real gold mine.

[summitchallenger]

Head coach of freeride team from that certain resort competed and brought kids to the Bush this time around. Kids from Sugarbush go to other places to compete in mogul and slopestyle events all the time. At Magic last weekend they were promoting Sugarbush's comp. How close-minded can you be?



That's not the issue as I understand it. One of the original issues was why STE was promoting Jay Peak, not the competition at Jay Peak. There's a difference there.

[WWF-VT]

I guess I must be all wrong about the value of the STE Freeride Tour to Sugarbush. Thanks to their “promotion” the mountain sold a bunch of day tickets to season pass holders from other mountains while pissing off Sugarbush regulars and participants in our seasonal programs.

Sugarbush should encourage more events where “The 1st place Men's Alpine finisher at each STEFT stop will win $100 cash & the coveted STEFT custom "shot ski" (a stickered out retro ski with 4 shot glasses glued to it for group alcoholic shots)”

[gone.skiing]

Let's build a fence and check for "regular" card before allowing anyone in next time. Did you just complain about a shot ski at award ceremony that takes place in a bar?