NEPSA VIDEO AWARDS 2011

Dav & Trav staying classy @ NEPSANEPSA is Aspen spelled backwards. The Nepsa Video Awards is a fierce competition among Aspen's local filmers hosted by Aspen / Snowmass.  NEPSA awards cash prizes and it's a chance for the homies to show their stuff and claim bragging rights for the upcoming ski season.  Last night was the 9th incarnation of NEPSA and per AspenSpin its the "unofficial kick off to ski season in Aspen".  All the usual suspects were there. This year a new fresh face took the top prize at the NEPSAs.  Not a new face to skiing, or to Aspen, or to stylie ripping on film, but a guy who's new to the new school....wait for it, The NEPSA goes to... 92 year old living legend Klaus Obermeyer. Klaus can add another trophy to his overflowing case... NEPSA WINNER.    Klaus starred in filmmake Geoff Stump's masterpiece  AN EXTREME NEPSA featuring RICK DIXON which took home the top prize.

Click 4 pix:   NEPSA VIDEO AWARDS     and     D & E on the CATWALK

Fit 4 Real. An Excellent FilmThe coveted runner-up vid. was awarded to the ladies. The docu-drama FIT for REAL from Jacqui Edgerly and her crew of Erin, Megan, Lula and Rachel was nasty (in a good way).  The new Secrets of Aspen were filmed getting fit all around Aspen in their leotards and neon ski outfits.  RIGHT ON!!

The third place NEPSA went to BIG Mountain Skier and B.A.S.E. Jumper Ted Davenport for his auto-biographical flick HEY LOOK at ME...and my MUPPETS.   Ted is on the mend from two broken legs...so he rolled to NEPSA in his chair. The good news is he'll be back on his sticks soon.

The NEPSA Audience Award.. always a highly contested category, and perhaps the most important NEPSA went to High Society's own Nate Berkel, D & E team rider Tae Westcott and the highly technical Matt Hobbs for THE TOP 5 SECRETS of ASPEN.

NEPSA always attracts an over-confident (skiers) and rowdy (snow boarders) element to the Historic Wheeler Opera House, but the super high-quality video entertainment kept the animals in their cages.   NEPSA hosts Chris Davenport and Travis McClain cleaned up their acts and rented tuxes in an attempt  to increase their KLOUT Scores (don't ask).  Dav & Trav scored BIG with their "staying classy" style.

The after-party included a sick D & E FASHION SHOW (tons of models) and entertainment from ROBOTIC PIRATE MONKEY out of Boulder.  Click the pix... you won't regret it.

NEPSA VIDEO AWARDS         &      D & E on the CATWALK                        

Geoff Stump and his Posse took home the top prize at NEPSA. Click 4 pix.Do u like Models?? Click for pix...u won't regret it.

Earning Turns in Aspen

Aspen Local and ski alpinist Ted Mahon is taking his game to the next level...on the mountain, behind the lens and with the keyboard.  He and fellow "peak-bagger" Chris Davenport (fresh off summiting Mt. Everest ) recently did a quick up and down on North Maroon Peak, one of Aspen's famed Maroon Bells.  Ted shares his experience here on AspenSpin.  

You can see more of his work at  STUCK in the ROCKIES.

The North Face of North Maroon   by  Ted Mahon.  Elev. 14,014

Good call, Dav.

Sometimes you just have to play the hand you’re dealt.

Not that skiing isn’t one of my favorite things to do, but after six or seven months of winter, the arrival of summer is definitely welcome. As we all know though, nature doesn’t always follow a set schedule and this year’s prolonged snowy spring was a good example of that– summer really didn’t seem to declare itself until just a few days ago. In fact there’s still so much snow, even Aspen Mountain is set to be open this weekend.

So rather than fight the trend, we’re still skiing. Earlier in the week, after some flakes fell in town on Memorial Day, Chris Davenport– just back from a successful expedition to climb Mount Everest that included a rare ski descent of the Lhotse Face– made the call to head up to North Maroon Peak, where we found conditions to be more like March than June.

Until things dry out around here, the ski season will likely play out a bit longer. And if all the days are like this one, we should have no problem making the best of it.

Stacked with snow, including a few inches from the night before, Chris approaches the big North Face of the "relatively" small mountain. Just ten days earlier Dav was atop Mount Everest, and it was great to catch up and hear all the stories from his expedition.

After catching up to a solo skier from Colorado Springs (seen below), we took the lead booting up the North Face. Despite being in front of Dav here, his acclimatization from the Himalaya was no doubt still working to his advantage. We managed to make the round trip climb and ski in five and a half hours.

Status Verfified: One of the 50 Classics. Stuck in the Rockies.