Final Take

Got snow? Hit the slopes

By Amy Materson

 

If you’re inundated by more snow than you know what to do with, perhaps you can draw inspiration from the mountain bike course – built entirely from snow – in just 10 days. Typically, mountain bike events are held on dirt courses. White Style, held in Leogang, Austria, is the only event held on snow.

To complete the course in less than two weeks, operators used a 20-ton Volvo crawler excavator to build huge ramps, including one with a 40-foot drop, for the obstacle course. Once the course was complete, the snow was allowed to harden for three days before obstacles were added. The winner, Great Britain’s Sam Pilgrim, edged competitors with a no-hands back flip.

snow 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Win a trip in

“Are You Carhartt Tough?” contest

 

Carhartt and Cintas are looking for North America’s toughest workers, and have launched a contest to find them. The “Are You Carhartt Tough?” contest coincides with the roll-out of a uniform rental program being offered jointly by the two companies, and will identify people who display strength, dependability, resiliency and ruggedness.

Three finalists will be announced quarterly, starting April 30. At the end of one year, the public will vote on the twelve finalists. Two grand prize winners will receive either a Ducks Unlimited weekend duck hunt trip or a trip to the 2011 Stihl Timbersports Series.

Potential contestants can register at www.CarharttRental.com, where they will submit a photograph and short essay. EW

 

Word for Word

“Where we’d see six guys bidding a job, now it’s anywhere from 8 to 15. So if you want to build something, it’s a good time because contractors are underbidding. Things are cheap.”

– Paul Wieckowski, general manager of Frank Schipper Construction in Santa Barbara, California, to the Ventura County Star about competition during the downturn.

 

“Today almost one in four construction workers are unemployed. But as dire as conditions are in our industry, things would have been much worse without the stimulus.”

– Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist, in a stimulus anniversary media conference call.

 

“For the better part of 2009, banks were closed for business. It didn’t matter what your project was.”

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– Michael Elzufon, chief executive of Real Development, to the Wichita Eagle about banks beginning to provide financing for construction loans