The videos are out from the Red Bull Coldrush and Red Bull is asking the viewers to vote and choose a Viewer’s Choice winner. The Viewer’s Choice winner will receive an extra $1,000 on top of any prize money already awarded at the contest.

Both the videos and voting are available over at Rip.TV.

To recap quickly, each competitor was given three hits on the slopestyle portion which took place on day one. Day two consisted of the touring and big mountain section events. Double flips, spins and huge cliffs were the name of the game ensuring the viewer some exciting coverage, tricks and of course, crashes. So go get involved in the comp by reviewing all the skier’s runs and cast your vote. There is plenty of footage available as it’s three segments, each about fifteen minutes in length.

Travis Rice is a name that really needs no introduction in the world of snowboarding, or action sports for that matter. His new film which is set to release sometime in early fall is bound to follow similar footsteps. That’s it, that’s all, shot in HD from locations round the world to bring you into Travis’ life and the progression he brings to the sport. The two year project is better seen than talked about, so check out the link above to watch the trailer.

These days it seems to be pretty clear that Red Bull is organizing some super sick competitions and events, the Red Bull Playstreets comp is no different. Playstreets is a slopestyle event that takes place right in the heart of the city. The event aims to bring skiing right to the people and it delivered on that goal.

The course is placed in the middle of a street in Bad Gastein, Austria. It was filled with people coming out to enjoy both the competitors stomping tricks and the party atmosphere alike. As the contest got under way it was standing room only and the energy could be felt in the air.

The content is set up so that each competitor had to make his way through the head to head rounds in order to qualify for the match final. The course consisted of four features; a step down, gap jump, hip, and a rail to bring them to the finish corral.

Oscar Scherlin stood out from the others as the day progressed. Scherlin was consistent all day stomping his runs that included a switch nine mute, five forty mute, safety seven, and a solid rail to finish things up. Oscar won bragging rights and the keys to a brand new Suzuki Vitara. For more pictures and video check out Red Bull Playstreets site.

Unique contests like this one are a blast to watch and they are super good for the sport of skiing. They definitely help push it in a positive direction by bringing something fresh to keep the stoke.

If you still haven’t heard about the new Hunting Yeti project then you need to check it out. Here’s a quick recap for those of you that missed our last post about Hunting Yeti… it’s a ski film project featuring Pep Fujas, Andy Mahre, Eric Pollard and Chris Benchetler. The project will include five free webisodes and a final DVD that will be on sale this fall. The idea behind the project is to bring the audience into the process by showing a different viewpoint on skiing and film making.

The first webisode aired this past Friday and has already been downloaded and watched by thousands of people. It is, in my opinion, one of the best short-ski films ever put together. Hunting Yeti features some awesome big mountain, powder, jumps, lifestyle, night shots and all around fun clips, this movie has something that will stoke any skier. I’m impressed by both the quality of the film and the riding in the flick.

This will be the film project of the year and something that will bring skiers into the season as it happens. It’s nice to finally get some new ski porn to watch mid-season, which is right around the time I usually start jonesing for something fresh. You see, I can only watch those other ski movies that come out every fall a few hundred times each before I start itching for something new.

The first ever GvR snowboarding event will be held this week in Big Bear, California. It is set to take place during Wide Open #5; a set of slopestyle, rail jams, and other events, will surround the GvR this week setting the mountain up for an insane showcase of snowboarding skills.

The GvR contest isn’t new to surfing and skating but, Etnies will bring it to the snow this year and will be featuring the best riders in the world. Included in the lineup of athletes is Travis Rice, Andy Finch, Eero Ettala, Shaun White, Andreas Wiig and Gigi Ruff to name a few. There is also set to be an open the morning before the main event to decide four amateur riders who will join the pro teams to determine which is better the Goofys or the Regulars. A prize purse of $50,000 is at stake, not to mention the pride of defending your stance. As an extra incentive to get up there and enjoy the events, free products will be given away at random during the contest.

Last summer I asked if Quiksilver was looking to dump Rossignol, the ski company they purchased for a cool $300 mil back in March ‘05. It’s no secret (as not much is with public companies) that Rossignol has been struggling ever since it became a Quiksilver brand as the first year it went from a profitable company to a money-losing company.

Last week Quiksilver president Bernard Mariette was shown the door and troubled Rossignol was cited as one of the main reasons. Mariette was one of the main architects behind the original Rossignol deal and Quiksilver has speculated that he will likely try to acquire the company from them. I’m sure the shareholders are thrilled with that news. Either way, Quiksilver is definitely looking to get rid of Rossignol.

It’s hard to say at this point whether or not Quiksilver will try to remain in the ski game. I can imagine this has left a pretty sour taste in their mouth. If they do they should definitely purchase a smaller ‘core’ ski company that has the same culture as a surf company like QS.

On a side note: Bernard’s getting quite the severance package…

Bernard will receive $106,726 to serve as a consultant for a year. In addition, he will receive severance pay of $2.8 million.

The Redbull Coldrush is the ultimate ski contest for skiers who don’t necessarily like to compete. Hosted by Red Mountain Resort in Rossland, B.C. the Coldrush displayed skills from the world’s top skiers. The winner was determined by the skiers themselves and was judged by skills in three areas; big mountain, slopestyle and touring.

Day one was the slopestyle event. Each skier chose a feature and then had three hits to throw down on. All features were filmed, edited, and judged by the other athletes based on that individual’s tricks in the segment.

Tricks ranged from Andy Mahre’s switch threes to Anthony Boronowski’s unnatural cork sevens. Back flips seemed to be the most popular trick of the day with a few double-backs being thrown down as well. In the end of day one, it was Sean Pettit’s switch cork fives on one of the middle section cliffs that came in first. Anthony Boronowski and JP Auclair rounded out the podium with second and third.

Day two was the touring and big mountain day where competitors skinned to the top of the venue and picked a line down. Dave Treadway finished first making it to the top in 1 hour 11 minutes and starting his line with a huge cliff huck. Sean finished second doing a smooth 360 off a bottom section cliff and JP Auclair placed third.

Designed by both the best park skier (Jon Olsson) and pipe master (Simon Dumont) in the sport, the North American Open sets out to set the standard for open competition format. Instead of the typical two run format, all competitors will have the privilege of a full day jam on a course hand built by Jon Olsson himself. Jon has assured that all the jumps will be big enough to throw any trick but at the same time be as safe as possible for the riders. Not only will this be a chance to ski a great course but also a chance to meet and ski with various pros. As an added privilege, all competitors are free to ask any of the pros questions or advice throughout the jam.

Competitors will be hand picked from the jam by either Jon, Simon or TJ Schiller. Once qualified, judges from both the X Games and the Jon Olsson Invitational will select a winner from the finals. The focus for this new competition format is more on having fun than it is competing. Hopefully all who compete will have a good time and want to come back and ski in the comp next year. If nothing else they should be excited to ride the one of the best courses ever built for a slopestyle. For more information and video check out the Open Freeski Website.

Hunting Yeti is a new film project that’s being released from pro skiers; Pep Fujas, Andy Mahre, Eric Pollard, Eric Iberg and Chris Benchetler. It all began last year when Andy, Eric, Eric, Pep and Justin Wiegand came up with the idea to try and bring the viewer into the process of filming and getting shots for a ski movie. Last season they produced possibly one of the best ski films ever seen, Idea, which showed both the life-style of the sport and the story behind a ski film. They wanted to show more than just jump, jump, jump, perfect landings, grabs and lines. They brought something new to the viewer by producing a raw ski movie that the viewer can relate to.

The story continues this year under a new company Nimbus Independent. In association with Poor Boyz Productions, Nimbus Independent brings you Hunting Yeti, a series of six movies. The concept is to bring all of us into what they are doing and how they push the sport. They will be releasing five webisodes for free and the sixth, a summary of the other five, will be available only on DVD. The first webisode is set to be released on Feb 15 and others will follow every two months. You can check out each webisode via the company’s profile page on Rip TV.

Each of the four skiers push the sport in directions never seen before by others. Sure there are other guys out there pushing the limits and doing their part to progress the sport but, none quite like the Nimbus crew. Each member brings something unique to the project; from Pep Fujas buttering 30ft cliffs to Andy Mahre destroying back country hits switch, this is going to be the must-see film for the ‘08-’09 season. Male sure you get in on the action starting Feb 15.

With so many new ski shapes coming out, it’s hard to know if it’s all just a gimmick or if they really are legitimately better. Most of these condition specific skis are pricey and for the average skier it’s too costly to buy a pair without knowing exactly what to expect. Especially considering the average skier probably doesn’t own more than one pair of skis, so it might make more sense to go with an all-around ski when they don’t know what they’re getting.

In the ‘07 - ‘08 season they were a handful of companies that designed powder specific or reverse camber skis. Reverse camber is just that, instead of the traditional ski curving to touch the snow, reverse camber bends away from the snow. The idea in theory is simple, in powder your tips won’t sink, therefore making it much easier to ski the deep stuff. The concept isn’t entirely new, similar ideas such as swallow tails and over-sized tips have surfaced in the past. The original reverse camber ski was the Volant Spatula. Although it had a cult-like following, other manufacturers never caught on and the idea faded away for a while. That’s until Shane McConkey switched to K2 and they released the Pontoon. The idea seemed to spread like wild fire but, the question still remains, do they really help you ski powder better or not?

If you are familiar with water skiing this concept has been around for many years. Water skis are banana shaped (reverse camber) in order to float the tips. The same thing exists with pontoon planes (hence the ski name Pontoon) so they can land on water.

Being somewhat of a skeptic myself, I decided to give them a try and let me tell you it was the best ski decision I’ve ever made. Skiing a reverse camber ski in the powder is what I would describe as like floating on a cloud. It is its own little niche of the ski world and the difference is amazing. Not all that ski them will love them, but those that don’t are few and far between. But don’t take my word for it, talk to others that have skied them or demo a pair for yourself before you plunk down the dough.

Some of this year’s reverse camber skis are; Armada ARG, K2 Pontoon, K2 Hellbent, K2 Seth, Line EP PRO, Drake, DPS Lotus, and the Salomon Rocker.