I am a man of many theories. Many I keep to myself and just mull over when I'm bored. But lately, one has kept creeping into my conscious. It has to do with pro sports, athlete salaries, funding, and sports arenas. Since I'm here in Seattle I've been watching the spectacle that is the Super Sonics.
For those of you who haven't been following the dilemma, the team was sold to Clay Bennett who wants to move the team to Oklahoma. Upon purchasing the team from Howard Schultz, Bennett publicly was willing to keep the team in Seattle if Key Arena would be remodeled. This of course means more luxury suites, amenities, seats, and high tech big screens. It turns out he really had no intention of keeping the Sonics in Seattle, but that's not what I have an issue with. He wanted Seattle citizens to fund much of the remodel with tax dollars.
These tax subsidized sports arenas and stadiums that many citizens seem to be okay with is what bothers me. When did professional sports become such an economic power that city and state politics have to become involved? What place do politics have in sports? Now I'm not talking about corporate politics, I'm talking about government politics. When new sports facilities and arena's are funded by tax dollars because it's become a 'necessity' for city, community and local economics is where I have a problem.
Big business and sports organizations have flexed their financial muscles to push our government into making unethical and poor decisions for the citizens they represent. But what's the root of this evil or problem? I think there are many variables to the equation, but it starts with the absolutely inflated salaries pro athletes are paid.
Are pro athletes really worth tens of millions of dollars, or even 100's of million dollars in salary? Let's take a look at baseball, Alex Rodriquez makes $28 million dollars a year on a team, the Yankees, whose player salary totals $209.1 million. Whereas one of the lowest team salaries in baseball is the Florida Marlins at $43.8 million and the Marlins won the World Series in 2003. Something about that just doesn't seem right, generally and from a business perspective.
Or how about we take a look at basketball, where Kevin Garnett is the highest paid athlete at $23.7 million and the Dallas Mavericks have the highest team salary at $105.3 million. Oh, the smallest team salary is the Charlotte Bobcats at $52 million, half of what the Mavericks operate with.
When it comes to football, the top paid player is Dwight Freeney of the Indianapolis Colts at $30.7 million and the biggest team payroll is Washington Redskins at $123.4 million. The smallest team payroll in pro football is the New York Giants at $75.7 million and they just won the Super Bowl.
There seems to be a huge disparity between the salary of teams, individual athletes, and wining. I seriously doubt there is as much difference between the total number of people the stadiums hold from team to team? I think the first step in fixing the problem is standardizing or putting better parameters on what pro athletes are paid. Then make the main revenue stream be determined by corporate sponsorships.
So if you have a pro sports team that is paid millions of dollars a year in salary, should each working class citizen help pay for their office? Especially if most athletes only stay on a team for a couple years before being traded? How much does the guy or gal make who's working at the convenient stand in comparison?
What about the people who manage these stadiums and arenas? They usually play host to other events and sports teams. In Key Arena's case, there are rock concerts with Kayne West or other big headliners and the women's basketball team the Storm play there. Just because the Sonics aren't going to play there doesn't mean Key Arena isn't going to generate revenue. Whether or not it will be profitable, I don't know. But that's the challenges of running a business.
What if owners and managers of pro sports teams stopped inflating athlete salaries each year by another million or two? What if teams where forced to make profits from selling tickets to games more than corporate sponsorships? Think of the possibilities if athletes were held to five or six year contracts, were paid less, and the best only made ridiculously more than their teammates because of corporate sponsorships. If players salaries weren't so skewed, maybe team sports would still be more team oriented? Maybe more athletes would finish getting their college education then leaving early for the draft and huge salaries?
Okay, I'm starting to get slightly off topic. The professional sports business model is broken and moving in the wrong direction. Taxes should never be used to fund a stadium or arena for a pro sports team, period. Build roads, pay for education, or even bring PE back to schools and help fund better health for our youth, than help the wealthiest of the wealthy. I realize it's a trickle down model, but it seems like less and less is going through the funnel. Minimum wage employees working at a stadium may go up .10 cents while player salaries go up by the millions. I also understand its the restaurants and bars that also experience financial gains, but this trend just can't keep pace.
You'll end up killing the sports. As prices of participating in sports, whether a fan or participant, keeps being driven up by more expensive equipment and ticket prices, the overall number of people taking part in those sports will shrink. If the market size continues to shrink, there won't be enough people to fund it long-term. As price increases, less people will be able to participate, leaving only the true enthusiasts or the rich. You'll have a bunch of stadiums that just sell season tickets and corporate suites with nobody in them. People will only be involved for the love of the sport or for the love of the money. Those two ideals don't correlate well. How can you develop a devoted fan base if players come and go every couple years and the team has an erratic win/loss results?
I don't know how much sense this rant makes. I haven't thought it out completely. But something just isn't adding up anymore. It all just feels somewhat tainted. Who and how are we going to fix this negative trend? Maybe it will just all work itself out and I'm worrying about nothing. Just think about it for a second.
I drove up to Bellingham yesterday to meet with a potential client. It was nice to get out of Seattle and go for a drive, however short it may have been. I tend to do good thinking while I drive. I've never had a hard time staying awake at the wheel because as soon as I hit the highway, my mind begins to plan, ponder and sometimes dream.
On my visit I met with some like minded individuals whom would be fun to work with. Not only do I think the work would be rewarding and successful but I also like the town of Bellingham. We went out to a local drinking establishment that reminded me of the bars in Bozeman. Where the beer is tasty and you just throw your peanut shells on the ground.
Keeping with the beer theme we then had dinner at a local brewery. Good eats and conversation with a little talented guy playing his guitar and singing. I kind of wish we would have stayed longer and listened to his set.
Then this morning after a little breakfast I packed up my car and started the drive back to Seattle. I needed a thinking break and turned the station on my radio to NPR. Today is Earth Day! I then began to look out and take in the scenery. It just happens to be a blue sky day.
As I make my way down Interstate-5, I come to Mount Vernon and the Tulip Festival. I'm not sure if this is the season, but I figure what the hell, it's Earth Day. I pull into the visitors center and find directions to the Tulip fields. I drive a ways but only see empty fields. I'm about to turn around when I see gorgeous yellow, red and orange hues in the distance. They are in blume on Earth Day.
I stop and snap a few pictures. The total mass of Tulips are on the verge of making me dizzy. It's rather breath taking and a great way to celebrate the beauty mother nature produces.
Happy Earth Day everybody. Take care of what we have. Enjoy the beauty of nature. And let's try to tread a little more lightly.
This last weekend I rode a ski resort that wasn't my home mountain. I found myself wishing Crystal was open still in the morning, then being thankful at the end of the day that I had the Alpental experience. Such an amazing little hill so close to Seattle. Great steeps slopes, a family resort personality, and great backcountry access make Alpental a gem in Seattle skier pockets.
I only have to state one slight oddity. I thought the pricing structure they have is somewhat stupid. Look at the image of the rates. An adult starts out at 13? If I were a kid, I'd buy an adult lift ticket and then hit the bar and demand a beer. The silly pricing parameters continue with a 'Super Senior' ticket for those over 70 and 'Child' tickets for 6 and under. Is it just me or are they kind of ridiculous?
My friends from Norway were passing through again. The snow turned to crap in Alaska and after having such a good time in the city they decided to come back. Lucky for them the powder was here. It snowed a little in the city and there was an article in the local paper which inspired the locals. I figured most folks would be over skiing. I was wrong.
I met the crew at the W hotel around 8:30 and we were at the hill by a little after 9. All the parking lots were full. Are you kidding me? It's the third week of April and there isn't a parking spot. We drive over to Summit West and get shuttled back to Alpental. Today turns out to be a record breaker for the season. I stood in the longest lift lines of the season, if not the past few years.
But that's were the backcountry comes into play. Every run we hiked, side stepped, or traversed into the back glades, bowls, and trees. One run I followed my friend Bryce, as he rides Alpental all the time, I figured we'd get a great tour. Turns out he's looking for a new line right next to the run called Shot 8. So we descend just skiers left of Shot 8, with the large cliff to our right. Once we get to the choke, most of the snow has slid out leaving twigs, ice, and 55 degrees. Others are hiking out. Bryce and one of the Norwegians give it a go and yell back it's sketchy. We then hike back out and ski down Shot 8. Not the best tour. I became a sweaty mess with fogged up goggles. Not what I had in mind. You can see Shot 8 in the image below, it's the open face at the top.
What a fun day. Not a whole lot of runs, but definitely quality. Makes me remember how much fun spring skiing can be. I seem to remember more fun events at resorts during the spring. Bands playing out on decks and the local hard core skiers and snowboarders loitering longer enjoying the warmer weather and telling their seasons stories. Have we lost some of the spring time skiing magic. Maybe. Or maybe I'm just older and am seeing it differently. Regardless, today reminded me how special skiing at seasons end can be.
Also always fun to snap a few pictures. Endre brought his camera and I was lucky enough to play ski model for a few runs. Sorry Endre, you can only do so much with what you have for talent. Next time I'll step it up some more. Thanks for the photos.
The time has come and the second webisode is ready for your viewing. Once again my friend Eric Pollard created an amazing edit. He and the whole Nimbus Crew again delivers a film that's a true joy to watch. I hope you like it as much as I do, but then again I'm a little biased.
Within this episode he Nimbus crew gasses up, grabs their snowmobiles and heads north to explore the backcountry of Whistler, BC. Here they team up with pro snowboarder Shin Campos for a tour of his favorite zones, hitting pillows, cliffs, and natural features. The Nimbus crew continues to showcase their backcountry snowmobiling skills with road trips to Sonora, CA and Cooke City, MT.
I had good fun this weekend partying like old times. Thursday evening and my friend Endre Loovas is coming through Seattle with his friend Kaare on their way to do some heli skiing in Girdwood, Alaska. Endre and Kaare are from Norway, where Endre does Marketing for Fri Flyt Magazine and Kaare is a successful real estate developer.
I'm on my way to my soccer game and wondering if they have arrived at Sea-Tac. Just as I put on my cleats, Endre sends me a text they've landed. It's going to be beautiful tomorrow and we're going skiing at Crystal. Or not, as their luggage got lost at the Heathrow Airport. Oh well, there's other things we can do.
I meet them Friday evening at the W Hotel, then walk down the street to Purple Cafe and start off with a few cocktails. After taking in the scenery and catching up on old times, we decide it's time for dinner. I'm trying to think of a good entertaining spot for my friends.
We start off walking towards Pike Place, as that's always a good tourist spot and I recall the great times I've had at the Can Can watching the Cabaret. We stick our head in and sure enough, the next show starts in a half hour. We go for it.
The food isn't the best but the entertainment makes up for it. There were a couple dudes who'd climb on a beam in the ceiling and swing on ropes with other women in the cast. There were belly dancers, singing, dancing, and great costumes. I think my guests were happy with the show.
Once we finished up it was on to 1st Avenue and Belltown. Now I haven't been out in Belltown in a long time. I just don't like the whole meat-market scene anymore. I have lost my interest in making small talk with people whom I most likely will never see again. But tonight was better than usual, as Endre and I found a group from Swedish hospital. A few nurses and doctors who were letting off some steam. Partying with Endre made me think of the good ol' days of traveling for HH and getting my game on.
The next morning my head was a little foggy and I had to enlist my roommate for a ride to pick up my car from downtown. What a amazing day Saturday was. I should be up skiing but blew it on going out too late. Was hoping for Sunday but the weather just didn't hold.
Called up my buddy Ryan and we grabbed the long boards and cruised around Green Lake. I think it was the most people I've ever seen out. Pasty white people hitting the lawns working on the first sun burn, runners, roller bladers, people playing instruments, soccer, volleyball, and the b-ball court was hopping. The warm air felt great as we slalomed threw people cruising around the lake.
Then I went and grabbed some groceries and headed to Ryan's house for boys night BBQ. That's Ryan, his two sons, and I. We consumed a meat diet and then collapsed on the couch and took in Star Wars, Empire Strikes back. An amazing film.
Got a big week coming up. Time to launch the second webisode for Hunting Yeti, look for a place to live or a new roommate, try to take on some more clients, do my finances, and finally start updating my website. It's go time people.
The wait is over! It’s been two months since Nimbus Independent premiered their first installment of a five part webisode series titled, “Hunting Yeti”. Now on April 15th, the Nimbus crew delivers another stellar episode of documented ski culture and filmmaking. Witness the crew of Pep Fujas, Chris Benchetler, Andy Mahre, Ike Smith, Justin Wiegand, Eric Pollard, Christian Sirianni, and Shin Campos as they hit the backcountry slopes around Whistler, BC, Sonora, CA and Cooke City, MT.
The second webisode takes you more behind the scenes with injuries, travel challenges, down days, herding Bison and the crew’s snowmobiling skills, while maintaining the same signature vibe only Pollard edits bring. Also returning are some original music tracks from H-Mob Productions, the group that brought you the original soundtrack to the debut film “IDEA”.
Having previewed the episode, I can tell you it just keeps getting better. This one has more backcountry freestyle skiing with huge kickers, natural booters, and lots of air time. It's a seriously talented group of people.
After a great time at the Ghostland Observatory concert, my friends and I went over to the Alibi Room for some more dancing. We cut the rug downstairs in the smaller bar and had a few cocktails.
I of course opened a tab with my credit card. At closing, we got the 'alright, everybody out' speech by a couple of bartenders. They turned on the lights and shut it down quickly.
So quickly in fact that I just up and left, forgetting my open tab at the bar. The next day my wallet felt a little bit thinner and I realized my mistake. I called the bar when it opened at four and they said come on down. Upon getting there, the woman in the bar apologized as my credit card was locked in the safe. I would need to come back again when the manager was there.
So I returned again the next day but there was no manager. I called again the following day to the same result. Finally, three days after leaving my card I would get it back. I called four times but no body answered the phone so I just drove down and luckily the manager was there.
Every trip down to the Alibi Room, I would notice the gum wall and theatre across the alley. So impressive is the number of stuck pieces of gum that it stops people in their tracks. How many people have donated? How many people have donated their gum multiple times? Was this intentional? When did they decide it was no longer just a mess and more like art? It's like guessing how many jelly beans are in a jar. So I finally took a picture of it's glorious wonder, I even donated my own piece upon retrieving my credit card.
The band leader is back in town. My old roommate and good friend Trevor came to Seattle this weekend yielding tickets to the Showbox for the musical duo Ghostland Observatory. These guys impress.
The duo is made up of Aaron Behrens and Thomas Turner, two guys from Texas who play a new style of music. Aaron has a stage presence and entertains the crowd like few can with his singing, guitar playing and dancing. He reminds me of Jim Morrisson of the Doors. Thomas is the mad scientist on the drums, keyboard, and synthesizer.
The concert experience isn't like a normal show, it's like a fun party. The music is original and refreshing. All types of music fans are present, some dressed up in wigs and capes while others are in khaki's. The Showbox is packed and the floor is bouncing up and down with the weight of its' occupants.
Not only is the music really, really good but they have a laser light show that's also entertaining. The lasers, back lit stage, and smoke machine give the group a futuristic feel. I had a great time partying with old friends and dancing throughout the evening.
Be sure to catch the Ghostland Observatory if they come play in your town, you will have a great night.
I almost didn't make it. I sprained my ankle, I'm tight on cash, my roommate just told me he's moving, I have a ton to do for my main client Nimbus Independent and the kids who rent out the basement of my house partied until four in the morning. They were making so much noise that I used earplugs in hopes of catching a few hours rest. What I forgot to do was turn the volume up on my alarm. Somewhere in the back of my conscious, somebody is talking, should I be getting up for something? I shoot upright in bed and look at the clock, it's quarter past five and my flight departs at seven. I take a record breaking short shower, grab my bags and put the pedal down in my Subaru.
I pull into the Park-N-Fly to find no attendants on duty. I wait anxiously, trying to decide whether or not to change to another park and ride but this is my pre-flight routine. I stay put and 20 minutes later the shuttle arrives, only to drop me off at the wrong terminal. I run with my two ski bags rolling arduously behind me with a pack on my back to the check-in counter, check my luggage, pay the over weight fee, and run to my gate. Just as I arrive the last of the customers have boarded. I've made it. I fall back in my seat and slip into a deep sleep before the wheels leave the runway.
I arrive in Anchorage, pick up my bags, walk outside the baggage terminal and watch as a rented Yellowstone RV pulls up with a band of characters whom I plan to share an Alaskan adventure. The crew consists of Matt Harvey and Luke Blaser, the Editor and Account Executive (sales guy) for Freeskier Magazine. It's Freeskier thats invited me on this journey. Joining them are industry icon, Jimbo Morgan, who was featured in Greg Stumps film Groove Requiem for his speedskiing endeavors, a medalist in the Olympics and who helped start Skullcandy and Electric Eyewear. Along with Jimbo, is Gabe Glosband, the Marketing Director for Scott USA and funny man. With my bags in the RV, we first stop and stock up on supplies at the grocery store, then hit Glenn Hwy with Captain Blaser guiding the ship towards our final destination, H2O Heli Guides in Valdez.
We pull into the parking lot of the Mountain Sky Hotel, where we're going to call home the next 7 days. We're running a little late but still manage to get our briefing, sign our paperwork, get our packs, shovels, probe polls, and beacons. Due to their somewhat tight heli baskets, we have to use their packs. We proceed to do our beacon searches and then organize ourselves for the day to come.
The following morning we awoke to partially clear skies. I woke up too early as I must have been anxious. I had weird dreams of obtaining Jedi like superpowers. I went to have breakfast, see who our guide would be and our departure time. It's the first day and we're going to fly. I've been to Alaska for heli skiing before and I mostly drank beer, ate, watched movies and got fat more than I skied. Coming into this trip, I came prepared with books to read, movies on my hard drive and a long list of things to accomplish for my business. This was not going to be like my previous Alaskan heli adventures, this was going to involve the most epic skiing of my life.
Another guy named Gabe was our guide on day one. Cool guy who started us off on some good manageable terrain. Unfortunately, just as I was starting to feel slightly comfortable, the weather got milky. By our third run, we could barely see the slope and the guides tracks. We felt our way down the last run, which was still awesome deep snow on a great pitch, but then called it a day.
The following morning we were met by the legendary pioneer of Alaskan big mountain skiing, Dean Cummings. He was to be our guide for the next three days. Dean has been a constant presence of the Alaskan heli frontier for years and is the owner of H2O Guides. He was personally going to show us his playground.
This day also started out a partially cloudy but turned foggy and cloudy by the end of our second run. We ended up on the glacier without a ride. Time to push and poll our way out through the crevasses, following closely in Dean's tracks. I have to admit it was really fun to trudge out in the fog. It reminded me of something out of Empire Strikes Back and the beginning scenes from the film on the frozen planet. This could be because Luke kept making Chewbacca sounds throughout the trip.
Our crew was in Alaska for eight days, of which we had five days alloted for heli skiing. Since on our second day, we only got two runs, they didn't count toward our total. To count as a day of riding, groups must get in at least three runs out of a possible six. So we actually got six days of flying and skiing. Upon checking out, we were told we actually made 29 runs at approximately 95,000+ vertical feet. No wonder my body is sore.
The third day we awoke to completely clear skies which we would experience for the remainder of our trip. Not a cloud in the sky and a beautiful glow on the mountain peaks surrounding Valdez. We drove to the airport, where we loaded into the helicopter and flew out to a new zone. Our pilot was better at flying a helicopter than I am driving my Subaru. Karl is the man!!! I've flown at a number of heli operations but none of them could come close to Karl's skills. Point to a peak, a knife edged ridge or a tight landing zone and he would land like a mother setting her newborn down in its crib. Okay, more badass than that... Like the pilot Stringfellow Hawke who flew the supersonic military helicopter on the television series Airwolf.
The next two days of Dean guiding us around could be the best two days of skiing in my life. We experienced a little bit of everything, super long chutes, butt gripping steeps, long powder runs, amazing bowls, rolling glaciers, blower pow, slough on top of super firm, some wind blown crust and possibly a first descent. I'm not totally sure on the first decent though, maybe I'm jaded, but it just seems too good to be true. I want to believe but the marketing guy inside me keeps saying they tell a lot of their clients that. If it is true, then we named a run in the Chugach Brohan (bro-han).
By the sixth and final day I was getting tired. Both mentally and physically. The long runs made my quads burn. My left ankle was swelling in the evening from my previous weeks sprain. My right knee was starting to feel weak and the back that I broke a couple years ago was starting to tell me to take it easy. I was also feeling mentally tired of being nervous for the next run, drop off, and unknown slope. During the helicopter rides up I would strain to see the run we were about to ski. My muscles, particularly my legs, would flex and I'd have to take a deep breathe and remind myself to relax.
The whole crew was feeling it too. The last day we all took a deep breath, relaxed, and had a more mellow day. It started out with our main inspiration, Jimbo, being out with a hurt knee from the prior day. The group just lacked some energy without Jimbo firing us up. Then our all-star pilot was taking the day off and we had what seemed like a total rookie. I'm sure he wasn't, but compared to Karl he just didn't fly nearly the same. We weren't in the same helicopter, we changed seating order, and things weren't in the same synch as they'd been previously. All of this added up to our crew telling our new guide, a snowboarder who rode with poles, that we were beat and looking to ride chill slopes and deep powder. I do have to point out that he too was an awesome guide.
The final day of riding was really nice being more relaxed about the terrain, skiing powder on a blue sky day, and also having Freeskier staff photographer Jeff Cricco in our group, who was at H2O to learn about guiding and taking photos. I think I got the money shot that will work for next year's X-mas card.
I also have to point out we did more than just ski while in Valdez. In the evenings we sampled the local eating and drinking establishments while meeting the friendly locals. One day some of the other heli clients jumped into the sound, then we went into the Club Bar. Here we learned about the fishing trade, how to fling dollar bills to the ceiling, and I listened to an individual explain why George W. Bush is the best president we've ever had. We ate at Fu Kung a few nights, upon which I ate so much it was hard to breath. We played shuffle puck, danced, and Harvey played guitar at the Pipeline Bar while testing the waters with local Tundra Wookies. Of course we sent it on the last evening, providing for a nice headache for the drive back to Anchorage.
On the drive home, we stopped off and picked up some fireworks which we shot out of the RV along the way. We stopped at a pull out to fire off the remaining Roman Candles and Bottle Rockets. I then was dropped off at a friends house in Anchorage and was treated to a home cooked meal, good conversation, and some wine. The next morning they cooked me breakfast and took me out to the airport. The trip was coming to an end.
Throughout my life I have skied, watched tons of ski movies, and dreamed of the ultimate Alaskan helicopter skiing adventure. It's weird once you realize a dream has come true. I just finished one of the best ski trips of my life. It may never get any better than what I just experienced. There will always be more turns, more chutes and more powder but maybe not in Alaska. I am truly fortunate to realize my dreams.
I will post a an entire slideshow in my photo gallery as soon as I've collected all the images from our crew. Check it out in a week or so.
