Killington, otherwise known as "The Beast of the East," is now open for the 2009-2010 ski and snowboard season! The resort fired up the chairlifts this morning at 10 a.m., and plans to be open today and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with terrain available for intermediates and above. No beginner terrain will be open. According to today's snow report, access to the K-1 Gondola base is possible, but will require some walking (or some serious speed...sorry...I did not just suggest you blast across non-snow covered surfaces at high speeds in order to impress the ladies...seriously...don't do it).

This weekend, adult lift tickets are priced at $49 per day, with Express Card holders paying just $39.

For more information, visit www.killington.com

I'll admit it, I thought Shaun White's time had passed. The kid was far and away the best competition snowboarder on the planet for a time, but I thought he was beginning to be surpassed by up and coming riders like Louie Vito and some of the Europeans on tour. I was wrong. Really wrong.

Enter the geniuses at Redbull. This is how I envision things went down in the corporate conference room:

Rad Guy 1: "Should we build a superpipe in the Colorado backcountry for Shaun White, complete with foam-pit?"

Rad Guy 2: "It's never been done before, and I'd imagine it would be fantastically expensive."

Accounting Geek: "Fantastically expensive doesn't begin to describe how much this could cost! Given the current state of the U.S. economy, I have to recommend against this idea."

Rad Guy 1: "Dude, let's do it. We can apply for bail-out money later on if necessary."

Rad Guy 2: "Good call. I'll get Shaun. See you there?"

Rad Guy 1: "Word. We should probably keep this a secret. Let's call it Project X."

Rad Guy 2: "I like it. Let's go reinvent snowboarding."

Accounting Geek: "Can I come?"

Rad Guys: "No."

Still with me here? Good. So Red Bull goes out into the backcountry and, with the assistance of explosives, builds a perfect superpipe complete with foam-pit for learning new and ever more difficult tricks. The footage that came out of those sessions is, to put it lightly, mind-blowing. Front Double Cork 10. Switch Back 900. Rodeo Double Back. Cab Double Cork 10. I could burn an entire page just trying to explain those tricks, but you'll be better off watching for yourselves. While you're at it (it's Friday, people - you and I both know you're not working), watch the videos of the halfpipe and foam pit being constructed. It's wild stuff!

So what does this mean for the upcoming season? One thing - Shaun White is going to be a force that I'm not sure the rest of the riders on tour will be able to deal with. If he's able to put the tricks he recently learned down on snow, he may be unstoppable this season. Olympic gold, X-Games gold, Grand Prix titles...you name it, he'll be laying claim to them. Just remember, you heard it here first!

Click here to watch all the footage from Red Bull's Project X.

News from the east - Okemo has fired up their snowmaking system! The resort, which routinely ranks near the top for snow quality in the east (according to reader polls from magazines like SKI and Skiing), has gone so far as to bring in extra air compressors to assist in the onslaught of creating snow in anticipation of opening day.

The resort plans on kicking off the season on November 21.

It was a good run, but alas, professional snowboarder and 2010 Winter Olympic hopeful Louie Vito has been voted off ABC's Dancing With The Stars. After Melissa Joan Hart was eliminated last evening, the judges put Vito and partner Chelsie Hightower to a dance-off (similar to the "walk-off" between Derek Zoolander and Hansel in the 2001 movie "Zoolander") against NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin and his partner Anna Demidova. Although one of the judges - Bruno - voted to save Louie and Chelsie, Len  and Carrie Ann Inaba (who, as an aside, is apparently one of Howard Stern's least favorite people on the planet) weren't in their corner, which meant they were going home.

Although I can't say I'm heartbroken to see Louie go (I can finally watch Monday Night Football in peace!), it would have been a feather in the cap of the snowboarding world to say we had a Dancing With The Stars champion in our midst. So what's next for Louie? The Olympic trials, of course, which begin December 11 at Copper Mountain in Colorado.

One final note - my fiancée swears that Louie and Chelsie either are or will be dating shortly. I have no idea whether or not this is true, but I generally trust her judgement in these matters. I guess only time will tell!