The 2nd Annual Icer Air hits San Francisco, and Jonny Moseley was there...

Thursday, October 26th: Winter has been cleared for liftoff! With the opening scenes of the Annual Mt. Baker Filmm Festival's first offering, winter officially began and Mt. Baker Theater's sold-out crowd of 2,000 went berserk. The year’s festival featured works from local as well as legendary filmers. Standouts included Theory 3 Media, Teton Gravity Research, The Ski Journal provided a short teaser announcing the launch of our premier issue. Shouts of "skiing rules" bellowed throughout the crowd during the TSKJ clip.If you haven’t yet seen this year's videos get down to your retailer, grab a couple, run home, put on your gear, and jib the furniture. First descents off the back deck? It can be done. Railslides down the stairwell? Now that's urban jibbing. Afterward the real party got going at the Wild Buffalo including a slideshow from local photgos Grant Gunderson, Mike Stamm, Josh Thompson, and Mike Yoshida and others. Dancing and general mayhem ensued, Gunderson lost his cell phone and ended up on the floor, and, as one bystander put, ”All I know is those Howat girls can really shake it!” Huge thanks to Mt. Baker Ski and Snowboard Area for a proper winter kickoff.

Fall is my favorite and most dreaded time of year. The sweet smell of apple cider, the glow of leaves changing from their chlorophyll-green to rich, dark reds and oranges, and the briskness of cold air in my lungs. My mind fast-forwards to a bottomless midwinter storm day. The three short months of fall seem like an eternity while I wait for that day when the bull cranks for the first time of the year. Fortunately Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood offers some salvation. For $36 you can satisfy your need to ski by making preseason laps on the upper Palmer snowfield.

Meeting up with Eric Pollard and his new wife Erin, we headed up to Timberline where we hooked up with Pat Keene and several minions from the TGR board to test out the newly pressed Bro Models. The Palmer snowfield basked in the sun above low-lying clouds and offered up some great corn and fun times. While the sliver of snow connecting the mid-station with the lower terminal of the lift was fondly referred to as "the ribbon of death," it provided an excellent opportunity to get the Bros up to full speed without worrying about other skier traffic. The biggest hazard was avoiding the jagged rock walls surrounding the ribbon.

So if you're sitting around twiddling your thumbs waiting for the snow, be proactive and head to Timberline. Skiing may seem like a far-off dream, but really it's only a car-drive away.

The first time I visited Chateau du Freq in downtown Bellingham, I had the proverbial feeling of being watched. Not just by the meter maid, who casually slipped out of the alley just as I parked and entered the nearby bank seeking quarters. And not just by Jeff, Grant, and Wibby, who eyed me curiously as I walked with them into Jeff's cramped and cluttered office (Katie was rat-a-tat typing behind us at her microscopic desk) to discuss, among other topics, Grant's potent homebrew. I don't recall seeing any two-way mirrors or signs of hidden cameras, but there definitely was another presence in the office, an observant force that strangely reminded me of a Halloween special I watched on TV in the '70s that featured cool on-stage fireworks and speakers covers blowing off.

I took my place on the old chairlift seat directly opposite Galbraith's desk, and as the conversation turned toward Ski Journal banter, my eyes drifted upward until I saw the apparent source of my paranoia. There, hanging on the wall above Jeff's chair, were Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter.

I rubbed my eyes as Jeff went on and on about the ski industry and the magazine market and Frequency and oh yeah, how he'd always been a skier, while Grant and Wibby offered their own occasional "mmm-hmmms" and "no doubts," but I couldn't keep my eyes or attention off the Knights In Satan's Service. The KISS poster is about 4x6 and it commands obedience. There was Gene, mouth blood-red and eyes staring into mine. Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud... I was lip-synching. I blearily surmised the poster was part of Galbraith's mind-control technique to get visitors to Ground Zero of funny feelings LLC to basically see things his way. Whatever the deal was, it worked. I soon found myself shaking hands (with the devil?) and happily agreeing to devote all my time and energy to learning how to spurt blood from my mou--um, to helping make The Ski Journal a commanding new title in the mag industry.

How can you lose with Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter behind you? It's not fair.

Images of the year's first snows at higher elevations at Canadian ski resorts Whistler and Sunshine Village were cruelly (today's forecasted high for Denver is 85 degrees) broadcast this morning around the globe. Though the snow is all but doomed to melt later in the day or week, one can be forgiven for pumping one's fist in the air given yesterday's dire-sounding NOAA forecast. Memo from Canada to the Pacific: El Nino can stuff it.

Sunshine Village cam

Whistler cam

Mt. Baker, WA - funny feelings, LLC, independent publisher of the award-winning quarterly frequency: The Snowboarder’s Journal (www.frqncy.com) today announced the launch of a new era in ski magazine publishing. “The Ski Journal is a title whose time has come,” said publisher and frequency: TSJ founder Jeff Galbraith. “We’ve been planning The Ski Journal for several years. Since the first issue of frequency: TSJ, skiers--pros and regular subscribers--have asked us when we were going to produce something of the same quality for them."

Galbraith continued, "I’ve skied since I was three and snowboarded for 20 years-plus. We’ve always believed in a product like this for skiers, and now we’re doing it.”

Featuring the highest-quality paper, printing, and design in the industry, The Ski Journal is a community brought together in a limited edition coffee-table quarterly. The Ski Journal is a year-round catalogue of the sport's culture, not just another gear guide.

Releasing in January of 2007, The Ski Journal features skiing’s top writers and photographers, as well as a global perspective and a real appreciation for all aspects of skiing and ski culture combined with a clean, artful layout. The Ski Journal has built its own forward-looking creative team with personalities as wide-ranging as skiing itself. With (the late) Freeze Magazine’s Mark “The Jerk” Epstein as Editorial/Online director, aspectjournal.com's (and Powder correspondent) Kristopher Kaiyala as Senior Editor, and top young photographer (Powder, Freeskier, etc) Grant Gunderson as Photo Editor, The Ski Journal looks to embrace skiing’s future as well as its rich heritage.

Global adventure, individual icons, amazing landscapes, big personalities--and a refreshing lack of advertising. Located near Mt. Baker, Whistler, and the North Cascades backcountry, The Ski Journal remains connected with skiing on a daily and real basis. Subscribe today and become a part of skiing’s new true voice -- skier-owned and based in the mountains.

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funny feelings, LLC is a high-end media/content/event company focusing on mountain sports cultures. Located in Bellingham, WA near Mt. Baker, Whistler, BC and the 2010 Olympics. funny feelings, LLC -- mountain fresh since 2001.

www.funnyfeelingsllc.com,
www.theskijournal.com,
www.frqncy.com.

115 W. Magnolia St #207
Bellingham, WA 98229