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Sochi Approaches
With the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics rapidly approaching, the anticipation is building. Sochi, Russia is preparing for the XXII Winter Olympic events by designing and building brand new courses and venues for the winter events.
With the new ski and snowboard Slopestyle events being added to the roster, a new Olympic park being constructed, and the host city being known for its snow, the Sochi Winter Olympics is sure to be a great one.
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Where Throwback Thursday Meets Future Friday
You know that moment when it’s 11:59pm on Throwback Thursday, and Future Friday is approaching? That’s where CB Sports stands. All of the nostalgic excitement of vintage CB gear is becoming a part of our future as our designers draw inspiration from past collections (like the one in the photo above) to release a new line of gear.
Can’t wait for that clock to strike 12 and for this vintage-inspired CB collection to become a reality? We can’t either! All we can say for sure is that the future is bright…and so is our new color palette.
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One Weekend Away
[Or- Realizing There Is More to Montreal Than Maple Syrup]
A hectic past week prompted a spur-the-moment trip North to Montreal for a weekend away. The trip began in the bitter cold of Syracuse’s lake effect and landed in the windless, welcoming cold of a Montreal winter.
For anyone who has never been to Canada, the first images this Northern country invokes are of friendly forest rangers, maple syrup and hockey rinks. Although these do exist in high numbers cross-country, there is more to the atmosphere than this surface tourism approach.
Amongst other activities and events, this week’s Festival Montreal en Lumiere (Montreal in Light Festival) is a highlight for tourists and citizens alike. The festival includes free ice luging, fire eaters, concerts, and most importantly, belgian waffle stands. Yes, wooden carts porting waffle irons and all possible toppings and amenities. This is not a drill.
The nightlife during the Festival is even more vibrant and luminous than the daytime, which is still rather overcast and gray on this last leg of winter.
Old Montreal meets the new as horse and buggies canter down cobbled streets past chic restaurants and modern art displays. Down every street at any time of day, music is certain to be echoing down alleys and laughter is known to burst unexpectedly from creperies and coffee shops
What began as a blind decision to jet set for the weekend ended as an eye opener to the amazing culture Montreal has to offer. However, this is not to debunk the maple syrup myth. The maple syrup speaks for itself.
Check out the Montreal photo diary below.
Jetting off to Cote-Vertu on the metro.
On the way to the nighttime portion of the Festival.
No tree went unlit on the streets of Old Montreal.
Art is everywhere, even on the walls of the metro.
Horses on the cobbled streets near the icy port of the river.
Lest you forget the maple syrup…
Written by Lauren Yobs for CB Sports
All photos by Lauren Yobs
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Weather Resistant
If there is one thing that stands in the way of a great outdoor adventure, it’s an unfortunate weather change. Flash-flood rainstorms, winter blizzards or sweltering sunshine, the improper conditions make it difficult, if not impossible, to take that hike, bike that new trail or take that kayaking trip.
Luckily, solutions for weather-proofed adventures exist in many forms. On one hand, the proper gear can shield you from conditions like snow, sun and rain. On the other hand, unsavory weather is a great excuse to check out what indoor facilities have to offer.
Indoor rock climbing, cycling, swimming and ropes courses provide a similarly fun and exhilarating experience with the added bonus of a guaranteed perfect climate. The air might be a little less mountain-fresh, but making it to the top of the rock wall, biking those 30 miles or touching the wall after that last lap still initiates that same sense of accomplishment, even if the ground under your feet is a rubber mat of a less than natural color.
So the next time it rains, try checking out your local recreational facilities and fight for your right to adventure.
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Last year’s winter X Games were action-packed. Shaun White achieved a perfect 100 score in the Men’s Snowboard SuperPipe Final, Mark McMorris landed the first triple cork at a winter X Games, and Heath Frisby’s snowmobile front flip had everyone excited.
This year’s X Games are already getting off to an exhilarating start. Shaun White was seen performing a triple cork in practice for the Slopestyle competition. Off camera, Mark McMorris was seen perfecting the same move, bringing back his celebrated trick from last year’s Games. It looks like White and McMorris are evenly matched for this year’s Games, which should make for some intense competition in Men’s Snowboarding.
Other anticipated highlights? Bobby Brown, gold medalist in the Ski Big Air event in 2010 and 2012, is back again this year and sure to impress. The Snowboard Street event is expected to be interesting, as always, due to the creativity required to maneuver the urban props. Lastly, Ski and Snowboard Slopestyle are highly anticipated, especially in light of this year’s announcement by the IOC that Slopestyle has been added to the list of events for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
As always, the X Games can be trusted to push the limits and shock audiences and athletes worldwide with new stunts and tricks. Action sport enthusiasts everywhere can’t wait to see what happens next.
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The Action Behind the Action
In the world of action sports, athletes are acclaimed for their daring- and usually gravity defying- stunts and ventures. Photographs of such daredevils upside down midair, leaping from cliffs, parachuting out of planes, and performing other such feats are proof of these fantastic endeavors. What seems to be forgotten, however, is that there is an artist of a different sort behind the lens, capturing these incredible moments on film.
Whether it’s a still photograph or an action-packed video, the sports photographers behind these stunts are there to capture the action as it happens.
One of the most influential action sports photographers, John Zimmerman, photographed amazing sport photos throughout the second half of the 20th century and changed the way sport photographs were taken.
Another influential action photographer, Neil Leifer, is responsible for some of the most well known Olympic photographs from various Games throughout the 1990’s as well as 2000.
Whether it’s a big time athletic event or a little league tournament, sport photographers are the eyes behind the most amazing moments of the game. They capture the fantastic performance of the athlete, but beyond that they capture the intensity and the drama of the moment; with ocean spray flying, wheels spinning and sails billowing, these artists bring sports photography to the next level.
Photographs by John Zimmerman and Neil Leifer respectively.
Written by Lauren Yobs for CB Sports
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Comet-Gazing in 2013
Something spectacular to look forward to in 2013? The Ison comet, which will be at its most brilliant in the fall and winter of the new year.
Discovered late in 2012, the Ison comet has already been on the move for millions of years. Despite Ison’s extensive travels, it will not develop the classic comet “look” of a tail until around November, at which point it is believed that Ison will be brighter than a full moon.
Astronomers, stargazers and dreamers alike are considering Ison’s passing a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There’s plenty of time to gather some cold-weather coats, plan a trip to the nearest campground- and maybe learn how to build a fire- because Ison is the perfect excuse for a cold weather adventure in the coming year.
For a month-by-month viewing guide of Ison, visit earthsky.org.
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Back to the Future
It may be a new year, but there has never been a better time to stop acting your age. As the years pass, most people make resolutions to be more organized, more responsible and more successful. This year, try something new and resolve to do what your childhood self would do; worry less, laugh more, and go play in the snow!
De-stressing and enjoying the simpler things could be the secret to success. Plus, having the height of a grown adult will really help with snowman building.
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Spotlight on Switzerland
Today’s spotlight is on the superb ski towns of Switzerland. From the top, check out these pictures of Zurich, Geneva, and Verbier mountains and resorts. We may be half-way through the average East Coast winter months, but in some snowy countries, you can relive the chill all over again, even in the off season. Now that’s cool…literally.
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Reaching the Summit
Trail running and cross-country events are unique in their simplicity. There is no pavement, there is no one lining a fenced course cheering, there is just a runner and the natural earth.
How fantastic, when you consider it, that each runner is pushing themselves forward against nothing but natural hills. Each individual dodges fallen logs and rocks, puddles and ditches not placed there intentionally, but simply present and waiting to be side-stepped or leapt over by some unwitting runner who decided to conquer that rocky slope, the one they usually only see on the distant skyline.
These back-to-nature running sports offer the most natural type of resistance, climate change, elevation, uneven ground and obstacles older than the runner’s shoes. There’s something about pushing through a natural course, taking nature as it comes and being quick enough to react accordingly, that makes reaching the summit that much more rewarding. There is no banner at the finish line, only a million more miles of earth. It’s the mental finish line, the reward of taking that last step, surveying the view and exhaling. That’s what makes it all worth the run.
