Some Great Footage from Finals and the Season

For those of you wondering, the white jacket warn by Bode is part of the KJUS Spirit collection that will be available next fall. He's wearing the men's CIO down jacket. There is also a ladies model that too is available in multiple colors.

Bode on Ellen this Week

Bode won't be ripping turns on Mount Ellen at Sugarbush, but will be sharing the couch with one of America's favorite talk show hosts- and likely his new crystal too. Set your TiVo for Friday. Check your local listings for air times.

Star Sighting

Keeping with the constellation theme... Kelly Ripa was photographed by People Magazine wearing a KJUS Yukon jacket.

Bode's Galaxy

Congratulations to Skispace for breaking the 3 million page views mark. link: http://news.websitegear.com/view/48469

If you haven't checked it out yet, do so. It's Bode's social networking site that is ski centric. Bode may be done for the season (he's skipping US Nationals this week at Sugarloaf, ME to get some well earned rest), but you can keep up with him, ask him questions, and meet friends during the off-season on the site.

Thanks to Wicked Outdoorsy for the image of Bode's Galaxy.

Ski With Casey

Brian Blackwell of Hailey was the big winner of the Ski with Casey giveaway. Before heading out on the slopes we gave Brian next year's Formula Jacket in Methyl Blue and Formula pant, which is what Casey is going to have as his uniform for next year.

His whole family came out to meet Casey.

Hanna gave us prime headgear placement and had Casey sign her helmet.

Brian gave us a great tour of the mountain and showed us how the locals ski- fast and well! Brian was not the only winner, as Meredith of Brass Ranch also got to ski with Casey.

We had lunch up at the Round House where afterwards we took a photo of the team.

From l to r Michael Collin- KJUS USA, Stacy- Brass Ranch, Meredith- Brass Ranch, Casey Puckett, Brian Blackwell, Kurt Widen- KJUS USA, Dave Kellam- KJUS USA rep.

After the afternoon skiing we took a break down at Warm Springs. Checked out the half pipe competition and then headed to Apple's to cap off the day.

We finished the day off back at Brass Ranch where we presented Brian's wife Brenda an outfit. Everyone had a great day and we all got some good technique pointers from Casey.

Afterward Brian said SKIING WITH CASEY, RECEIVING YOUR INCREDIBLE PRODUCT, AS WELL AS ENJOYING ALL YOUR COMPANY MADE THE DAY OF THE YEAR FOR BOTH OF US.

We all felt the same- great skiing, great weather, and great people made it a perfect day all around.

Bode Gets His Globe

48Straight JKOM- Sun Valley- Post 2

Today was the big day for the Ski with Casey giveaway drawing. But before that could happen, Casey had some racing to do. He qualified 8th and was in a fairly good bracket. There were some timing issues in qualifying so Casey and Jake Fiala had to take second runs which included a head wind which wasn't there on their first run.

Before the race Casey was interviewed for the CBS Broadcast which was simulcast on the big screen at the event.

Casey was mobbed by kids after every run to sign autographs.

In the race Casey made it into the mini final, but with his shoulder he wasn't able to get a strong start. It was evident that the day had taken a lot out of him.

After the race Casey met us at the Brass Ranch at River Run to select the winner.

Casey called the winner Brian Blackwell of Hailey to meet him the next morning to ski with Casey.

48Straight JKOM- Sun Valley- Post 1

This past weekend we were in Sun Valley for the 48Straight Jeep King of the Mountain series final and the Ski with Casey giveaway. It was a tumultuous week leading up to the weekend as we were not sure if Casey was going to be able participate and then we heard he was not only going to be able to free ski, but he was going to race with a separated shoulder.Doctors told him he really couldn't do much more damage to it and if he could handle the pain he could race.

On Friday we did a little free skiing in the morning at Baldy. It was a beautiful clear day and scenery was amazing. The runs have great pitch and are super wide, compared to what we are used to in the East, which makes for some great GS or Super G turns.

The light got very flat in the afternoon so we headed over to Dollar to take in some of the snowboard cross.

That afternoon we stopped in at the Brass Ranch location at River Run where people were signing up for tomorrows drawing of the Ski with Casey giveaway.

Congratulations Bode

Bode takes the World Cup Overall! By Cuche deciding not to ski in the slalom, Bode is assured the Cup. Way to go Team America-

Puckett is One Tough Buck

Game on! says Puckett

Casey just let us know that he is going to give her a go. He was cleared by his doctors and will be competing this weekend in Sun Valley.

He is currently in second place in the overall series standings and it's tight at the top. Puckett is only 30 points behind Tomas Krause, but Daron Rahlves and Errol Kerr are only 40 points behind Puckett.

It should be exciting.

Amazing, that he can bounce back from such a crash and race a week later.

See you out there.

KJUS Welcomes Sara Orrensjö to Freeride Team

Today, we announced that Sara Orrensjö, one of the world's top female freeride skiers, has joined the KJUS team of riders. You can learn more about her on her website, or if your Swedish isn't what it should be, try here.

These shots of Sara also give a sneak peek of next year's KJUS line. In the top photo she's wearing the 08/09 ladies Fomula in Java, and in the bottom photo she is wearing the ladies Val jacket, which is part of the new Spirit Collection we are introducing next fall.

Casey Puckett's Crash in Grindelwald

This isn't quite as bad as Scott Macartney's crash, but it's still painful to watch more than once. Casey was clearly out in front from the start and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That said, being out in front is right where you want to be- usually.

Even so, he's ready ski this weekend in Sun Valley with the lucky winner of Ski with Casey.

Weather Shines on the Globe- DH title eludes Bode

Soft snow conditions and warm weather caused organizers to cancel todays training run in Bormio. Tomorrow was to be the men's downhill and the first day of competition at the World Cup Finals, however FIS rules stipulate that there must be at least one training run before a race can be held. As a result the Didier Cuche of Switzerland takes the Globe for the season's downhill title, edging Bode Miller by 5 points.

The Bormio downhill looked to be three easy layups for Bode to overtake Cuche, as he won on the course earlier this season and has had success in Bormio in the past. We were obviously pulling for Bode, but being a Swiss based brand and skiing purists, we tip our hat to Cuche (not to mention that they both ski for HEAD).

Bode still maintains a healthy lead for the World Cup Overall title, 169 points ahead of Cuche and 264 points ahead of defending overall champion, Benni Raich of Austria with three races left. SG runs on Thursday, GS on Friday, and Slalom on Saturday.

There are still lots of points out there, and Bode's strategy of focusing on one race at a time will likely continue through the weekend. Our only hope is that it doesn't have to come down to a three point buzzer beater on Saturday afternoon.

Lasse Kjus back to racing?

Over the past week there have been news reports circulating through Europe that Lasse and Kjetill Andrè Aamodt are going to get back between the gates at Norwegian nationals (March 26 thru April 2). In a TV interview Aamodt said it was a "medical report" of sorts to see how the duo were doing after two years off.

It will be very cool to see how the two are doing compared with today's Norwegian top dogs. According to the Aamodt the duo is looking for a top 10.

Lasse and Kjetill have both been spending a lot of time sailing since retiring. Skiing is a watersport, though usually in frozen form.

Casey Puckett is OK and Ready to Ski Next Weekend

Casey was injured in a qualifying round in Gridelwald this week, when one of his competitors took him out. Casey gives a full description of the ordeal and the results on his blog, so we won't go into the full details. The good thing is that he is OK, though it looks to be a season ending injury- shoulder separation. We're are all happy he is fine.

Today he let us know that he should be fine for some free skiing in Sun Valley, so the Ski with Casey promotion goes on.

Skier cross is a rough sport and unfortunately Casey come out on the short end of the deal this day. It's a tough way to an end of what looked to be another great season for Casey, where before Gridelwald he had podiumed in all but 2 of the 7 events he entered this season.

Ski with Casey in Sun Valley

Today we announced that we are teaming up with our dealer Brass Ranch in Sun Valley to give away a day skiing with Casey Puckett. Casey will be in Sun Valley for the 48Straight Jeep King of the Mountain series finals. He is currently in second overall, and with a win and weak finish by series leader Tomas Krause could take the overall.

Casey will be selecting the winner in the Brass Ranch River Run location at 5pm on March 15th. The selected entrant will get to ski with Casey the following day.

For more details on the event visit skiwithcasey.com.