The Proof of POW was all in the Footy
New KirkwoodMtn Weather Station - January 2025
There's a change in the air, you can feel it, right? The sun's hanging a little lower, the nights have that crisp bite, and the aspens are starting to think about putting on their autumn fireworks show. Summer's wave is receding, and the tide of the coming winter is pulling. For us powderhounds, this is the season of #Stoke. The anticipation for that first real storm, for the start of the official #POWHuntnSeason, is building.
It reminds me of the old'n days. The truly Kirkweird days. Before the big capital injections????, back when we were a rowdy, off-the-grid ski area deep in the Sierra. We were 20 miles from the power grid, generating our own electricity and running on a whole lot of heart. We were fiercely proud, but we were old. Our motto? We didn't need one. We were just… Kirkwood.
Skiing Mag 10.2013
This was a place with its own gravitational pull, the infamous "K-Factor." Sure, it meant that when it wasn't snowing anywhere else, it was dumping here. But it also meant that when the powerhouse burned down or a generator died, well, that was the K-Factor, too. We were a no-frills kind of place where legitimately good skiing was the only thing happening. And our marketing budget was, let's say, creative. As in, creatively non-existent. We were guerrilla marketers fueled by passion, not cash.
How do you sell a mountain that's a beast of its own making? You show it. That was the mission, and The Krew was always ready to punch the clock. Call time was 0645, zero-dark-thirty, no exceptions. Garbones, BBJay, Casey Lucas, Rose Daiek, Cobb, A-Bomb, Brent, Carolyn, Suzie, Mr. Dill… this wasn't a weekend warrior club; this was the ride-hard-or-die chapter of KirkwoodMtn loyalists, on hill seven days a week.
The Proof was in the POW, a Crack team of KirkwoodMtn loyalists filmed seven days a week, rain, snow, or Snain
Rain? We're shooting. That lovely Sierra cement mix we'll call ‘Snain'? We’re shooting. Bulletproof ice that would make a hockey rink jealous? You guessed it, the Krew was lapping, and we were out there, cameras rolling. We learned early that the proof of POW was in the footy. We had to show you the money, and the money was BabyJay (Josh Daiek) finding a line, or Craig Garbiel gettin' shacked right off Chair 6. That was our advertising—a visual testament to the 37 inches that just fell in 48 hours. It was how we proved that an average of 600 inches a year wasn't just a number, it was a reality.
Sure, things have changed. When the corporate money finally arrived to keep the lights on, we all held our breath. Now lifts run on time, tickets get scanned, and they put "comfort bars" on all the chairs . But the heart of it? They can't touch the heart. The 2,500 vertical feet of steep, rugged terrain remains. The middle-of-nowhere feel that means you chose to be here, deliberately. The potential for storms of biblical proportions is still brewing out over the Pacific.
The gear is packed. The skis are waxed. The stoke is high. POWHunt'n season is coming. Keep your eyes on the sky. I'm hearing whispers of a strong run this season in the #WayOut. Let the snow start to fall!
Stay Thirsty for POW,
Coop
The Proof was in the POW, a Crack team of KirkwoodMtn loyalists filmed seven days a week, rain, snow, or Snain
