The owner of Tsaina Lodge in Valdez, Alaska, Jeffery Scott Fraser is a seasoned executive with more than two decades of experience sponsoring a broad range of business ventures. Jeffery Fraser enjoys snowboarding in his spare time and follows the sport in the Winter Olympics. The Winter Olympics added a new snowboarding event to its 2018 lineup: Big air.
Snowboarders who compete in the event slide down a steep, 160-foot ramp that ends with an upward curve designed to launch them high into the air. While airborne, boarders attempt to perform a single outstanding trick. The steepness of the ramp allows boarders to achieve extreme heights, enabling them to perform many of the most challenging and memorable snowboarding maneuvers. PyeongChang owns the largest ramp worldwide with a 40-degree drop at its steepest point. Both men and women alike may compete in the event. Judges assess each competitor’s performance according to four major factors: trick difficulty, trick execution, amplitude, and landing stability. They particularly focus on the boarder’s balance and control as they hit the ground. Reverting, stance switching, and dragging a hand on the ground will cost points. Boarders can receive scores between 1 and 100. While new to the Olympics, the big air event has been a component of the X Games and snowboarding world championships since 2003. Numerous smaller-scale snowboarding competitions have also included the event far back into the sport’s competitive history and its origins date back to the days of the snurfer, the snowboard’s predecessor.
Jeffery S. Fraser is the owner of Alaska’s Tsaina Lodge. Prior to taking over lodge operations in 2011, Jeffery Fraser spent nearly two decades as chief executive officer of NIC, Inc., a software company in Kansas. When he is not managing business operations at the lodge, Jeffery Fraser enjoys snowboarding and fishing.Prior to any snowboarding activity, participants should familiarize themselves with the rules and regulations for the mountain they are on, as well as the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) Responsibility Code. That said, there are also several elements of snowboarding etiquette individuals should observe.Passing etiquette is of particular importance. Individuals farther down the hill always have the right-of-way, as they cannot monitor and adjust for individuals behind them. With this in mind, snowboarders must make passes as safely as possible. In some cases, this may require snowboarders higher up the hill to slow down or change direction. In other cases, they may not have an opportunity to safely pass, and must simply wait until a better opportunity arises.That said, there are also several aspects of stopping etiquette that dictate how individuals further down the mountain should behave, to protect the safety of those at their backs. Ideally, riders should never stop in the middle of a trail or in a place where they are obstructed from view. Unfortunately, an injured friend or malfunctioning gear may require a sudden stop. In this case, snowboarders should slow their speed and move off to the side of the trail as best they can. Riders who stop should refrain from rejoining the trail until the path is clear of other riders already moving downhill.
Jeffery Scott Fraser is an accomplished executive who led the National Information Consortium (NIC) for several years working with internet applications that could connect businesses with government bodies. Jeffery S. Fraser now focuses on owning and running the Tsaina Lodge near Valdez on the Thompson Pass in Alaska. Thompson Pass is known for its beauty and for its winter sports, especially skiing. It represents a gap in the Chugach mountain range whose unique climate produces more snow than anywhere else in the world. The average annual snowfall is more than 700 inches, and this past December, the region saw a storm that dumped 15 inches of snow in an hour and a half. The region also holds the highest concentration of Alaska’s glacial ice. In addition to its extreme snowfalls, Thompson Pass is often bright and sunny, avoiding a marine effect that can make other snowy mountainous regions too overcast for heli-skiing. The Chugach snow also tends to stick to the steep mountain sides, which is why Thompson Pass is known as a place where extreme skiers practice and show off their skills. Snowboarders also enjoy these slopes, but even individuals who are not into extreme downhill sports can enjoy heli-hiking, glacier trekking, and many other ways of experiencing the unique natural environment of Thompson Pass.
