Meathead East Coast Skiing Adventure Movies & Films

As eastern skiers, we know all too well the allure of deeper snow, a lack of rain in the winter and lofty peaks. Each year many of our brethren succumb to this pull and head west. Sure it’s tough when we lose the young talent to our movie makers in the Rockies, but there are other folks that we’d like to keep around too. Alas…

So AK, I hear you went west in April of last year after Heat Harvest 3, the Eastern Superpark. How was it?
It was a blast. My wife and I were slated to hit up Tahoe for a week, but they had gone 40 days without snow. Since the only thing we had reserved was our rental car, and being interested in getting some non-eastern conditions, we drove north from Oakland. 9 hours north. We caught some sleep in the car somewhere on I-5 and ended up in Bend, Oregon the next day. Found some wi-fi and got ourselves a place to crash. Oregon was getting 4-6” a night for few days in a row so we were amped. We hit up Meadows on day one and Mount Bachelor on day two. My ski pants were MIA on day one so I manned up and did a powder day on tele skis in jeans. It was strangely liberating.

We were both amazed with Bend. It’s so rare to have an actual city (by ski resort standards) in such an amazing location. I’ve lived in ski towns east and west and this is one of the few that I’d want to raise a family in. Mount Bachelor is about the skiing (not fuzzy boots and goofy spa treatments) and Bend is a real town with a vibe all its own. That’s what appeals to me in our sport. Bachelor was more powder on day two and I got a chance to meet some of the staff. We headed south from there for the second half of our week, back to Tahoe where I had some tickets that needed to be used. Caught up with some former colleagues and wrapped up the week in Napa Valley, which made Laura happy.

What’s new at Sunday River these days?
Plenty. The Chondola is being installed as I type and the mountain bike park is back in business. The Resort is coming off a great year and has more to come in front of it.

Anything more to say about that?
Nope.

Why not?
Sorry man, but I’m headed west. I just accepted the Director of Marketing role at Mount Bachelor in Oregon. Now I have to sell my house and move my stuff. Big fun.


What about Heat Harvest?
Well you guys played as big a role in that event as I did. It’ll be up to Sunday River to operate as they see fit. I think it had a good run either way. I like to think that it did what we intended. Eastern skiers got exposure and made names for themselves. 3 years ago when Ahmet killed it and we told the world, it was good for the east. Same for LJ getting two full pages in Skiing Mag. Shea got a ridiculous 3 page spread in his local paper. Justin Perry at HH3 was just one of many eastern shreds who have come and conquered over the years to get noticed. Of course Sunday River seemed to like the results too. But things need to keep changing to stay on the edge.


Mount Bachelor eh? Things been a little bumpy there lately?
That’s true. I’m a student of the industry and have been following their moves for a few years, even more so recently. I wouldn’t be going there if I wasn’t sure it could be dialed. It’s been a while since the mountain and the city have been on the same page. It’s led to both sides talking at each other instead of with one another. That’s not my style, nor the new style I’m being brought into. I’ll talk to anyone who wants to talk to me, as I have shown over the last 5 years in the east. You’d be hard pressed to find a resort rep as comfortable dealing with guests online, in person or otherwise. I’m a known commodity that has been literally raised by the ski industry over the last 15 years. The skiing is and will continue to be epic at Mount Bachelor; it’s the delivery of it we’re poised to tackle. 08-09 season passes have been announced and guess what – they cost less now. It’ll be a step by step thing. But that’s a pretty appealing first step for everyone.


What’s it like preparing to move across the country on short notice?
It’s wild. We are going to have a massive yard sale this weekend. I’m going to give away free hot dogs – it might help. We’ll have the ping pong table setup (for sale) in the front yard if anyone thinks they have game. I’ll also be flying out to Bend for a few days in the middle of August to get some balls rolling. We hope to be fully moved in early September. Our dog will enjoy Oregon, but we’re not sure our cat will survive the Oregon Trail experience in the car. It isn’t that major for me, but it’s a little daunting for Laura since she’s lived in the east her whole life. The new GM out at Bachelor is a guy I have looked up to for a while (he would call a spade a spade on ASC conference calls when no one else would) and apparently he’s dug the work I have done too. There will be a press release on all this once I get out there, but since I know the internet waits for no one, I wanted to say hello to the west and goodbye to the east. Needless to say, it’s an exiting time and I don’t get a lot of sleep.


Is this the last we will see of you?
Never say never, but I plan to take my act to Bend for a very long run. Come and visit. I visited Bend and months later I’m moving there. I have seen my fair share of mountain towns, so that says a lot.

Will you accept this honorary Meat badge?
With pride. The Rooster and Geoff show is unmatched!


More history of AK can be found in this story from Dec. of 2007 by Mike Rogge.
http://www.newschoolers.com/web/content/news/news_id/1754/

Don’t miss Meathead Films upcoming release "Head for the Hills" with exclusive action from Sunday River’s Heat Harvest 3 - the Eastern Superpark. Trailer coming soon to www.meatheadfilms.com (we swear!).