Vertfest 2011

Vertfest 2011 is coming up fast...Feb 12 and 13 at Alpental.  Yep - Vertfest has grown to a 2-day event!  Come join us for 2 days of clinics, demos, films and of course the biggest rando rally in the Northwest! It all begins on Saturday February 12th at Alpental with Ski Photography clinics with Grant Gunderson and Jason Hummel, sidecountry steeps clinics with guides from Pro Guide Service, and clinics one Advanced Beacon Skills and Snow Pack analysis with the Alpental Ski Patrol.

Once the fun is over on the mountain, come join us for the Backcountry Film Festival at the North Bend theater in the evening. There will be awesome gear raffles, a chance to check out the latest product showcased by our sponsors and time to enjoy a beer and food in our beer garden...and of course some great backcountry films!

Sunday the 13th is race day, so don't drink too much on Saturday at the film fest!

For more details checkout the official VertFest Facebook page   for all the up-dates, details and info as it becomes available!

Get ready for 'HurtFest' 2011...same Vert, more Fest!

oh yeah!

good heads up!

see you there. stoked for Jason's class.

Vertfest registration is now open.  Buy your tickets to clinics and the film fest, and register for the race here .

I can't find any details on the clinics themselves i.e. duration, topics covered, prerequisite knowledge, etc... I'm interested in the steep ski, photo clinic, and the advanced beacon clinic but want to make sure I'm not biting off more than I can chew as a skier who hasn't been into the backcountry yet. Thanks in advance.

I can't find any details on the clinics themselves i.e. duration, topics covered, prerequisite knowledge, etc... I'm interested in the steep ski, photo clinic, and the advanced beacon clinic but want to make sure I'm not biting off more than I can chew as a skier who hasn't been into the backcountry yet. Thanks in advance.

For more details checkout the official VertFest Facebook page .

Steep Clinic details Here.

Photo clinic, and the Advanced Beacon Clinic details are also there.

Uhhh . . . Facebook page is now saying "event cancelled" - hope this isn't the case?

Uhhh . . . Facebook page is now saying "event cancelled" - hope this isn't the case?

Not cancelled- just the "facebook calendar" cancelled. Click on the link from Friends of NWAC for details and registration.

now how about you loan me something lighter than my 186 LPs for the day?

now how about you loan me something lighter than my 186 LPs for the day?

Dude, I think you need a handicap! Just joking, what's the BSL on your Titans?

Dude, I think you need a handicap!

Yeah GregL please lend him some lighter gear, it's more embarrassing when he whips up with a pair of anchors tied to his legs.

Can anyone fill me in why the entrance fee is $30 more if you don't have a pass at Alpental? Seems like if you are just there to do the race there really is no need to have a lift ticket?

I agree Joedabaker; I think it's weak sauce charging for a lift ticket. It's called stupid resort liability bullshit due to Corporate America and ambulance chaser attorneys!

I can't find any details on the clinics themselves i.e. duration, topics covered, prerequisite knowledge, etc... I'm interested in the steep ski, photo clinic, and the advanced beacon clinic but want to make sure I'm not biting off more than I can chew as a skier who hasn't been into the backcountry yet. Thanks in advance.

I have no fixed agenda / course plan for the photoraphy clinic that I am teaching. My plan is to asses the group size / experiance / ability level and of course the snow and weather conditions and taylor the clinc to that.

If you have any questions shoot me an email: grant AT grantgunderson.com

I'm contemplating taking the steep skiing clinic, but want to make sure I'm a good enough skier. Are there certain benchmarks you'd recommend potential students meeting with their ski skills before taking the clinic (i.e. ski 45 degree slopes confidently, navigate chutes x feet across, etc...)? I'd really like to add to my skillset, but don't want to get in over my head nor hold everyone else up.

Thanks!
Brian

Are probe and shovel still required equipment in the rando rally? I have found no mention of required gear on the info pages I've looked at.

Hey all,

Sorry about the delay in responding to some of the questions on here.  Here goes...

As far as the skill level needed for the steep skiing workshops, you should be able to ski any in-bounds run at Alpental with ease and confidence.  Hope that helps.

Lowell - shovel and probe are still required.

And to address the concern about the the need to purchase a lift ticket...the Summit puts a lot of time and resources into the event and needs to recover some of the cost...and yes, liability is also an issue.  On the positive side, you get a cheap ticket and can ride the lifts the rest of the day if your legs can handle it.

24 hour count down.  We have sold over 100 tickets...way ahead of past years.  It should be a great time with snow falling.  Hope to see many of you there.

Thanks for the info. I see that it is necessary to sign up for Facebook to get most Vertfest information. I wish that was not necessary. Looking forward to Vertfest tomorrow...

When will results be posted?

When will results be posted?

Edited to add: Jan Kordell should be 6th and Andy Hill 10th in MRC, somehow they didn't record  first lap times for them but I'm pretty sure they got there ahead of me. David Britton should have been 4th in Men's 50+.

Hats off to Christian and his OR crew and Martin and Ben of Pro Guiding, who step up year after year to make this event happen, as well as Trevor from the Summit at Snoqualmie. The participants and NWAC really appreciate it!

A big thanks to everyone who put on Vertfest. The afternoon steep skiing clinic was awesome, and I had a lot of fun throughout the day. This was my first Vertfest and I already can't wait until next year!

Wow close finish!
Nice job Traslin Bros! Must be a good story where a second here made a second there.
Was the 2nd loup shorter? I see time improvements of nearly 10 mins.
Congratulations to all that participated!

Congrats all!

Thanks to all for putting on a really well run event again this year and a big thanks to the course oragnizers and the Alpental patrol for great course prep.  The tributes to Monika Johnson were really touching- Ryan L. carried the heart of a lion on his back today and the slide show during the awards was emotionally moving. Seeing so many participants with stuffed animals was a great reminder of how many peoples lives she touched.

The weather cooperated as well and was beautiful, it almost made me forget how much I was suffering on the up.

Wow close finish!
Nice job Traslin Bros! Must be a good story where a second here made a second there.
Was the 2nd loup shorter? I see time improvements of nearly 10 mins.
Congratulations to all that participated!

Second lap was to knoll 1 instead of Piss Pass due to the new snow up high.
kudos to all the race division finshers.

Thanks for the fun yesterday. Was amazed to see the creek crossing in, the groomers must have filled that as it was flowing for tha last month. Thanks also for the great snow too, right on queue! Skinning was a breeze compared to last year and what a wonderful set of tributes and comaraderie from all involved! I haven't wolf whistled in years so that was fun to make some NOISE for Monika.

Thanks also to the ski patrol for not opening the upper gates until late morning so we could all enjoy some powder turns after the race!

I hurt today....

Photos from Sunday's events
www.flickr.com/photos/millcreekmm/sets/7...371/with/5444591168/

Once again, an awesome event! Thank to the organizers who do all the hard work and thanks to the other competitors that help make it so much fun.

Daniel

A fantastic day indeed! A huge thanks to everyone who made it out for clinics, the film fest or the race. And a special thanks to all of the volunteers and sponsors, in particular Outdoor Research, The Summit, Pro Guiding, Osprey and Mountain Gear. This event would not happen without such fantastic support. As I mentioned at the awards ceremony, NWAC is facing some tough budget times in the next year. The support of this community is critical to keeping it around. Thanks again!

Oh...and to whoever ordered the sunny weather and new snow...thanks for that too...and how did you do that exactly?

Edited to add: Jan Kordell should be 6th and Andy Hill 11th in MRC, somehow they didn't record  first lap times for them but I'm pretty sure they got there ahead of me.

I'm not sure what happened there. I must have gotten through the lower control gate without getting checked off.

What a great day it turned out to be. The course was in great shape, especially considering how marginal the conditions have been lately. Thanks to all the organizers and volunteers for making it happen.

The boys up front were certainly putting the hurt on. The tribute to Monika was very moving.

It was a great event everyone!

Here are some images I took of the day from the beginning and finish lines.

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=335582&id=263091828407

I'll try and add them on TAY when I have more time...for those that don't have facebook.

Here is a link to some more pictures I took at the finish line.

www.flickr.com/photos/56870634@N08/sets/72157625927914385/

Thanks to everyone for a fantastic weekend.  We really appreciate the show of support, love and respect from participants, volunteers, sponsors, old man winter...everyone involved! 

Official results are posted here .

More to follow.