The Jackson Hole Air Force believes in freedom in every sense of the word, and we know you do, too. That’s why we’re giving you a chance to win prizes that will help you exercise your freedom the way you like best, by skiing.

Enter now to win a five-day ski trip for two to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort by clicking http://www.swiftsilentdeep.com/sweepstakes. The winner, to be chosen Jan. 15, will be given two domestic plane tickets to Jackson Hole, two four-day lift passes and five nights of free lodging to be used this ski season. It’s a trip of a lifetime to the ultimate Western resort. And it’s absolutely free to enter, with no purchase necessary.

Other prizes from our benevolent sponsors include a pair of Salomon Shogun skis, a pair of Cloudveil RPK pants and RPK shell, a Smith Optics Variant helmet with matching I/O goggles, custom headphones from Ultimate Ears, and a Swift.Silent.Deep. stoke-package that includes our DVD and a Creative Vado HD pocket video camera that will help you document your own legendary days on the hill.

Drop in to our contest page and sign up now. The countdown is on. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will open Nov. 28.

You would never know it talking to him because he’s ridiculously modest, but Len Zanni is kind of a big deal.

In addition to helping run the show at sister companies Big Agnes and Honey Stinger, Len is a bit of a local celebrity on his bike. This year Len has been crushing the competition at pretty much every Wednesday night local race. He currently sits in third place in the overall points series of the Mountain States Cup. He finished 17th at the National Mountain Bike XC Championships at Sol Vista last month and he won the Leadville Silver Rush 50 a couple weeks ago.

But this weekend featured what might have been one of Zanni’s biggest races yet. Len certainly had some homefield advantage at the Blast the Mass race in Snowmass this past Saturday, but he also faced some of the toughest mountain bike competition on American soil. It just so happens that part-time Aspen local and 7-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong, decided he wanted to join the fray at the Snowmass race. Lance’s appearance definitely added some excitement and brouhaha to what is typically a fairly insular regional mountain bike race scene.
Lenny leading Lance and other pro men up the starting hill. It’s not everyday you can race ahead of a 7-time TdF winner.

Lenny leading a 7-time TdF winner and the other pro men up the starting hill.

Despite the spectator donnybrook surrounding Lance, Len kept his eyes on the prize and raced his own race. Lance shot out to three minute lead over perennial Mountain States winner and full-time pro rider Jay Henry, with Len holding onto third place in a field stacked with strong regional pros. In the end Lance proved he can ride a bike off road as well as on, and won with a three-minute margin. Jay stayed in second and Len finished in third – his best Mountain States Cup finish all season.

It’s not every day you get to share a podium with Lance. Not bad for a guy pushing 40 with two kids and a full-time job. Nice work Len, we’re proud of you.

Heck, we even enjoy a good large mouth bass and cold beer story here at Cloudveil. Salt or fresh, we like it all!

Now, put your money where your mouth is and show the world a photo of your fish … or your friend’s fish … and give us a good story and you could win a Cloudveil Cool Short Sleeve Shirt. All you have to do is post your photo and story on the Cloudveil Facebook Fan page wall and we’ll do the rest.

One winner will be chosen every Monday for the next 10 weeks. That’s June 29 through August 31, for those of you keeping count. You will be notified via your Facebook Inbox and we will announce the winning shot each week on the Cloudveil fan page.

Now, how big was that fish again?

Today was also the last day of another successful conference. So, three cheers for the folks that bring word lovers together every year, and three cheers for the writers that submitted pieces to Cloudveil.

The First Place winner is Tim Pogue, for his story, Two Matches (below). Second place went to Valley Peters for Memory as Muse. And third place went to Terry Rasmussen for Untitled. All submissions can be read here.

And thank you again to all the writers and readers!

Two Matches

Strike a match against a gritty surface and it will ignite a flame, but what do we strike across our psyche that sparks the imagination? The beauty of inspiration is that quite literally anything can be its source; but perhaps what’s even more profound, is that the source itself can inspire different things to different people. A winding, raging river may inspire one man to learn how to kayak, yet inspire another to write an essay on global warming. Seeing a child giggle at a public park could inspire one young couple to start a family, and yet convince another to vow to never have kids. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the source of inspiration is in his mind.
•

It was 1985 when my best friend and I quit our jobs and left the Midwest for the “good life” of the West Coast. I left a promising career in bartending and my friend left his career as a gas station attendant. We were the same age, graduated from the same high school in the same year, and we both even had the same first name: Tim. We laughed at the same jokes, liked the same brand of beer and sometimes could even finish each other’s sentences. Most of all, we both wanted something better, and we knew it was there, waiting for us in California.
•

The first stop on our journey was Oregon. We stayed in affordable but comfortable motels as we worked our way down the Oregon coast, enjoying the sun, surfing and meeting girls at the local taverns. Life was good. But we kept heading south and so did our accommodations. Our odyssey took us down the coast of California and by the time we reached Baja, Mexico, we were trading our belongings to local fishermen for our evening meals and sleeping on the beach. This four-month whirlwind was an experience I will cherish and never forget, just as it was for Tim (the other Tim).
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We went on the same trip, to the same places, in the same run-down Chevy Tahoe, yet the effect this trip had on each of us was remarkably different. The trip inspired Tim into a life-long love affair with the simple art of discovery through travel. He tried to go back to work for a while, but he hated it. He went back out on the road and he, right now as I’m typing this story, is riding his motorcycle through the mountains of Colorado. And me? The trip inspired me to get a job – a good job! Where Tim found joy and excitement in not knowing where we were going to sleep that night, I found fear and anxiety.
•

Two Tim’s, like two matches in a matchbook, were struck against the gritty surface of the same four-month adventure. Yet one flame burned for freedom and the other for security. Do we ponder over why, or just find another gritty surface to strike?
•
•

Cloudveil is partnering with the Jackson Hole Writers Conference to sponsor an online, reader-judged story and poetry contest. The following is from organizer Nicole Burdick.

True inspiration traverses and connects cultures.

The contest is for Jackson Hole Writers Conference attendees only, but it will be judged publicly by the thousands of faithful and new readers of this blog who relish the inspired life. If you are just dying to enter the contest you can sign up for the Jackson Hole Writers Conference by clicking here.

The theme:

Inspiration – what moves us from essence to exultation, from source to summit, from muse to masterpiece?

Cloudveil and Jackson Hole Writers Conference have more in common than meets the eye. We’re both homegrown. We’re both attached to the gear that saves our butts whether it’s a pen or an ice pick. And we both know that inspiration comes in many shapes and sizes, insights and instincts. Both writers and adventurers have to dig in a little deeper and push their personal plots a little farther to be at the top of their games. With this in mind we want to hear more about sources of inspiration and how or where they take us.

Writers will submit their story – 500 words or less – or poem – 40 lines or less – to The Mountain Culture by June 24.

Blog readers will rate entries with 1-5 stars, 5 being the highest. Encourage your friends to read and judge too. Readers may only vote once on each story. Then the winners will be posted on this blog and the www.jacksonholewriters.wordpress.com blog.

The top three winners will receive inspired Cloudveil apparel. Winners will be announced at the Jackson Hole Writers Conference on Thursday evening, June 25. The first place in each category will have the opportunity to read these pieces aloud during the Conference event that evening. Then winners First through Third place in each category will be posted on the Jackson Hole Writers Conference Blog.

This is our way to crossing cultures!
We’re inspired, now we want to hear from you!

A panel of unnamed judges, who use an undisclosed voting process, will pick one film among what looked like about 25 narrowed down entries.

The rules are pretty simple: create a film that takes place in Wyoming, features Wyoming, or presents Wyoming as a major character with a run time of no more than 15 minutes. A number of Jacksonites jumped in to vie for the substantial prize of $25,000 for the winning film.

Now, much to the dismay of filmmakers, if you get the nod from the judges, they don’t just hand you a briefcase with 25 G’s in it, but rather, the prize money goes towards your next film project based on/in/around/about Wyoming. Still a very generous award, and if anyone can make a budget creep, it’s a filmmaker. Last year, Jackson’s David Gonzales took home the prize for four short films.

The entry below is from Jackson-based Arris Productions and follows the story of acclaimed Jackson photographer, and real Wyoming Cowboy, Carl Oksanen.

Other local entries include:

Snow Many Possibilities: Story on Jackson skier Trevor Hiatt.
Freedom Riders: A condensed version of KGB productions feature film.
Wyoming Yodeler: A different perspective on Bill Briggs
Swift.Silent.Deep: Short version on the story of the Jackson Hole Air Force.
Freedom, Wyo: Good story on the growth and decline of a Wyoming border town.

The Wyoming Film Office was established initially to provide a database directory of services for filmmakers considering shooting in the Cowboy State. More recently, they have started to push outreach to actively bring shoots to the state. An opportunity for Wyoming cities to capitalize on the landscape without literally capitalizing on the landscape. I’m not sure how much success they’ve had, looks like the last major production in Wyoming was Flicka in 2006. Brokeback Mountain was set in Wyoming, but it was actually cheaper to shoot in Canada and make it look like Wyoming.

The blog that they’ve set up for viewing and voting on the films leaves plenty to be desired. But, if you have some time to kill, go here and watch a few of our local favorites above.

Living in a van down by the river?

Going on a road trip soon and need some extra cash?

Cloudveil is searching the globe for six creative men’s and women’s T-Shirt designs.

Designs must involve the themes Environmental Causes and Place (causes = being green and place = WYOMING!)

-Design can be submitted by any medium (digital, ink, cardboard…you get it. Our graphic designers will take care of the details)

-Only three color ways permitted

-Designs must be submitted to nbrosnan@cloudveil.com by Sunday, May 24, 2009 at 11:59 p.m.!

-Six winning designs will be chosen next Wednesday, May 27.

$300.00 will be awarded per design chosen. You can win all six!

Please email images info, designs and questions to nbrosnan@cloudveil.com

Cloudveil launched the Skid Cribs contest this winter in hopes of discovering mountain town folks who forgo normal living accommodations to save money to ski (or climb, or couch, or whatever) everyday. Last week, we narrowed it down to four finalists. And after all the votes were tallied, the Teton Teepee won the Grand Prize.

“We were really psyched to have seen such a great response for this video competition! In conversations before we started this comp we were a little nervous that the true ski-bum had disappeared but it’s refreshing to see that people are still staying true to their sport and living the dream of being able to ski everyday!” said Nick Brosnan, who introduced the contest. “It’s not a Jackson, Wyoming – Burlington, Vermont, or Alyeska, Alaska ideal but a universal desire and creed that is still very evident and alive. We’re proud to be a part of that culture and help support it by providing the gear that will hold up to these die-hard’s standards and keep them warm and dry – whether that might be either on the slopes and peaks or sleeping in your teepee at night!! … Thanks to everyone for the support and for keeping the Dream Alive!!”

We’ve been trying to contact Sharif to find out what he’ll do with the $2,400 worth of gear, including Dyanstar Legend Pros and subscription to Powder Magazine. But, we haven’t heard from him. It’s snowing in Jackson, which means he’s either schralping the gnar or figuring out how his new gear could be used to plug up the hole in his teepee. We hope he’s not running from the Village police, now that they know about his skid crib. …

From Sharif’s original email telling his friends about the video:

“I have chosen to live in the Teepee for the last few years, not for financial reasons, but to prove to myself and to you all, that we can get by with much less than we think we need or are accustomed to.”

Keep livin’ the good life, Sharif! We can’t wait to hear from you. Doesn’t your teepee have wireless yet?

Curious about these living situations, Cloudveil called on skids from across the world to submit videos documenting their dwellings – dirty and drab. After weeks of internal mulling, the staff has narrowed the contestant field to four finalists.

Now, it’s up to the public (YOU) to decide who walks away with $2,400 worth of gear: a complete Cloudveil outfit, a pair of Dynastar Legend Pros with bindings, a subscription to Powder magazine, and whatever swag we can find in our office corners, closets and cubbies.

Voting ends at midnight on March 24. Hurry! Vote!

The Final Four:
1. The Clubhouse. 2. Trailer Park Toys. 3. The Shack. 4. Teton Teepee.

Click on the thumbnail or title to go to the Voting Page on Cloudveil.com/cribs.

THE CLUBHOUSE.

TRAILER PARK TOYS.

THE SHACK.

TETON TEEPEE.

In 1986, the skis were skinny and the snow was fat, and during a 14 foot storm, the infamous underground crew of the Jackson Hole Air Force was going stir crazy in the Bear Claw Café, waiting for the mountain to open.

In those days, the bartender would send a freshly filled beer mug sliding down the bar to the patron who ordered it. One fateful night, a beer mug slid off the end of the bar and took air. A deft young man then caught it, seconds before a glass shattering catastrophe, and promptly pounded it. Thus, Gelande Quaffing was born.

Aprés ski competitions followed, testing the unique skills of all who entered, and provided exciting entertainment for all spectators. But somewhere along the way gelande quaffing was lost and the aprés spirit forgotten.

Until now.

Twenty years later, the site of the original Bear Claw Café won’t let its voice be forgotten. On February 26 – THURSDAY!!! – the Village Cafe will host the 2nd Annual Gelande Quaffing World Championships, and the spirit of the past will live on again at the base of the mountain.

This unprecedented event will host entrees from throughout the snow sports industry and remind the world of ski culture’s colorful past.

Last year’s defending champion, the team from the Village Cafe who won a close final round against the Patrollers, has their hands full with teams from Cloudveil, Smith, Big Sky Brewing, Teton Gravity Research, Jackson Hole Air Force, Powder Magazine, Backcountry.com, Teton Village Sports, Pepi Steigler’s, Kaestle, Black Diamond, and many more will go head to head to determine who holds the Stein for another year.

Come out and watch the sliding, the chugging, the splashing and perhaps the breaking!