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!

Hey, whadaya know...a win for the little guy! According to the Rock Art Brewery website as well as articles from the Burlington Free Press and local CBS affiliate WCAX, the Hansen Beverage Company (which produces Monster Energy) bowed to pressure from the Internet late last night. Detailed terms of the agreement have not been released, but Rock Art has agreed to stay out of the energy drink business.

In addition to ordinary citizens voicing their displeasure and calling for boycotts of Monster Energy and other Hansen products, U.S. Senator and all-around rabble rouser Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also got involved in the dispute, urging Hansen to leave his constituent's small brewery alone. As Sanders comically put it, "An energy drink is not a beer, and the word "monster" is not "Vermonster." Any person who would get confused by these two different products and names should probably slow down a bit, and lay off energy drinks." Sanders continued his scolding, saying, "Further, as you may know, Vermont is a small state in New England which is the home of the Rock Art Brewery. Not surprisingly, that is why this Vermont company uses the name 'Vermonster.' While the Rock Art Brewery is a small business in a small state, my understanding is that the Hansen Beverage Company is a major multinational corporation based in California. While Rock Art Brewery has seven employees, your company earns more than $1 billion a year off the 'Monster Energy Drink' product alone."

In this day and age of corporations run amok, it's nice to see that an amicable settlement was reached in this case!

Louie Vito made the cut again last night on ABC's Dancing With The Stars! The professional snowboarder and 2010 Olympic Snowboarding hopeful was rumored to be one of the competitors on the chopping block, but both the judges and his fans at home agreed Vito and partner Chelsie Hightower had performed well enough to merit another week on the show.

Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin was not as lucky last night. To the dismay of the judges (who appeared to disagree with the voters at home), Coughlin was sent on her way over pop star Aaron Carter.

In one of the more comical portions of the show the other night, the entire group was practicing for their first group dance, which was the Hustle. Louie couldn't understand why most of them already knew the steps - having been born in 1988, he had no idea what the dance involved!

Tune in next week to catch more of Louie's moves on Dancing With The Stars!

Monster Energy, an energy drink manufacturer owned by the publicly traded Hansen Natural Corporation, has stepped on the toes of beer lovers nationwide by sending a Cease-and-Desist letter to Vermont Microbrewery Rock Art. The product in question is the brewery's 10th anniversary "Vermonster," a delightful 10% 100 IBU meal of a beer. According to the legal geniuses at Monster Energy, the name Vermonster constitutes a trademark violation and will, in the eyes of the company, "undoubtedly create a likelihood of confusion." Right. Because I confuse giant, overpriced cans of chemically-infused sugar water with craft-brewed beer all the time.

So what's this have to do with snowboarding, you ask? A few things - first and foremost, my theory that snowboarders are in fact beer snobs has been well documented on this site. Any beer snob worth his or her chops should give the Vermonster a try - you won't be disappointed! Second, Rock Art rocks out in Morrisville, Vermont, a mere stones throw from the iconic slopes of Stowe and Sugarbush. Moving right along, Monster slaps its logo (which was obviously designed during the days when "extreme" was still cool) all over the action sports world, which is easy to do when your parent company is worth a billion dollars. Finally, it's my belief that the snowboard industry has always been for the little guy, even today when the sport is decidedly not little anymore. Someone get Jake Burton on the phone - Odds are he's on the side of Rock Art (although this is merely conjecture, as well as a deep seated belief in the man Jake Burton).

A boycott of Monster Energy and Hansen Natural products has already begun, and the issue has taken off in the blogosphere, on Twitter, and across Al Gore's Internet. A petition supporting Rock Art can be signed by clicking HERE.

For more information on the David vs. Goliath fight going on here, check out PJ's blog Starting a Brewery, Katie Pizzuto's writeup from Gonzo Gastronomy, and the Rock Art website itself. While you're at it, why not write Hansen Natural and voice your displeasure?

The East Coast got into the game Thursday as Sunday River opened for the 2009-2010 season. Recent natural snowfall accumulations of 3", coupled with several days of cold temperatures allowed the resort to open a full 13 days before Halloween, and well ahead of every other resort in the East.

Today, Sunday River has one trail open on the upper mountain for skiing and riding, and as is typical with early season openings, the terrain is recommended for advanced skiers and riders only. The best part? Lift tickets today are FREE! That's right, FREE...as in zip, zero, nada. Tomorrow, the price goes up (only place it could go, I guess) to $25 for all ages.

The resort plans to run the lifts through Sunday before closing again for the midweek period. Further operations in October will be weather dependent.

So now it's official - Loveland opened up nice and quick for those in the West, and Sunday River comes right back a week later to serve those of us in the East. Good show, folks...good show!

Louie Vito survived another round of ABC's Dancing With The Stars last night, meaning the professional snowboarder and 2010 Olympic Snowboarding hopeful can breathe easy and get back to practicing his dance moves with partner Chelsie Hightower for another week.

Mixed-Martial Arts fighter Chuck Lidell (nickname: The Iceman!), alongside partner Anna Trebunskaya, was dismissed last evening. I guess Chuck's moves in the cage weren't enough to wow the judges, eh?

Loveland Ski Area opens tomorrow, kicking off the 2009-2010 ski and snowboard season. Loveland is typically one of the first resorts to open in the U.S. each season, but tomorrow's opening date of October 7th is a record, even for the king of early openings.

The resort began making snow back on September 21, and when the chairs begin turning tomorrow morning at 9 a.m., lucky skiers and riders (read: all of you within driving distance of Loveland!) will find an 18" base with coverage from edge to edge. "We took advantage of the cold temperatures and got an early start making snow this year.  Those extra days paid off and we are opening a week earlier than last season," said Eric Johnstone, Snowmaking and Trail Maintenance Manager.  "Now we can move some equipment to other trails and try to open more terrain as quickly as possible."

With Loveland firing the opening salvo of this young season, look for other resorts around North America to begin hustling, weather-permitting, to get open as soon as possible. I'll update this post with photos from opening day at Loveland as soon as possible - stay tuned, and in the meantime, get those snowboards ready to go!