ISSUE 129
WORDS & PHOTOS: RICH ODAM
WORDS & PHOTOS: RICH ODAM
“I’ll start out by saying nobody should spend a week in Vegas—that’s the worst idea,” mentions Skylar Kehr, who did just that alongside his Altamont Canada teammates Hugo Balek, Colin Lambert, Andrew Wenckstern, Scott Varney and Timebomb Trading TM Tyler Holm. “A week in Vegas,” Skylar continues, “is like a year’s time anywhere else.” The city of Las Vegas can be a two-faced bitch, divided only by the natural ambient light given to you by the sun. The daylight hours are more known for recovering from the previous night’s hangover, overheating, spending time swimming in pools, and sightseeing at the Hoover Dam. Then there’s the dark side. Vegas nights are pretty much the only reason people travel there. During the winter the sky turns down at around five o’clock, which is technically too early to start up on indecent behavior. But those damn neon lights attract humans to The Strip like flies to poop.
50
Nestled in the Mojave Desert, Sin City offers an abundance of skate spot options. And as Colin Lambert puts it: “Las Vegas skateboarders are extremely generous with their time, equipment and spots. No attitude whatsoever.” While skating during the day is the obvious choice, you have to battle the desert climate and intense heat. But once the sun goes down and things cool off, businesses close and more spots become available. No matter where you are, those neon lights shine bright though. The Strip is easily spotted from anywhere in the city at night. Do you remember anything from a stint in Vegas? Going there on a skate trip is a definite gamble, but these guys managed to make it happen day and night.
altamontapparel.com timebombtrading.com #altamontsincity
One thing Las Vegas has lots of, which is fairly odd for a city that has virtually no rain, is very good skateable ditches. These are pretty sweet for warming up the legs because the ground is smooth. And unlike some skateparks, they’re not vortex-like traps, plus they can become a great spot to start shooting if the situation arises (which it did). From there we would plan out a skate spot route. Thanks to the Vegas homies Bernard Van Weydeveldt and Dom “G” Granieri, we had the city laid out. We’d scout spots, skate the ones we were feeling and take note of the ones we had to revisit later. Once we were out skating under the penetrating sun, lunch was at times overlooked. Our focus didn’t shift towards food as much as beverages and lip moisturizer. The extremely dry air had claimed many white-lips-of-pain victims. “Buy the finest box of chapstick money can afford or your lips will look like a mild case of herpes,” Hugo Balek clarifies.
52
It’s rare to think that Las Vegas claims victims during the daylight hours, but in the case of our good friend Andrew Wenckstern, that was just the case. Sporting a common cold upon arrival, his body never seemed to recover. Even a daily dose of Vitamin D triggered by the sun didn’t help. He just didn’t feel right, so we drove him to a nearby hospital to get checked. Once released back into the wild he felt much worse within hours, so back to the hospital for him it was. As he puts it, “Vegas got the best of me with crazy anxiety attacks.” I suggested that a legal prostitute might help his case, but apparently it wasn’t in the allocated budget for this trip. While driving the streets of Las Vegas during the day, it’s hard to say how far you’ve traveled or how far you got until you get back to the hotel. It’s all desert and much of the neighbourhoods seem the same. But once night falls, the strong white beam emerging from the top of the Luxor Hotel pyramid serves as a lighthouse for The Strip. From anywhere in the city, it’s a symbol of where to find trouble.
a e k i l s i s a g e “A week in V where else.” y n a e m i t s ’ r a ye r —Skylar Keh
55
57
Once sunset came we basically had two choices, set up the generator and lights to skate some spots, or hit the strip and begin the debauchery. We did a little of both, but the best stories came from what happened after we got back from skating. Our first couple nights started rather mildly: walking the strip, hopping from casino to casino looking for those good tables with low buy-ins and free booze. The first night Hugo Balek generously offered to buy the crew some sugary slush booze drinks from a street vendor. This was the Montrealer’s first-ever night in Vegas, and he chose to make it memorable. Hugo spent more money in five hours than I had budgeted for the whole trip. He already spent most of that buying drinks during the flight over with some stranger that was sitting next to him. “The Vegas night life will kill you,” Hugo remembers. “I spent $450 the first night, and got banned at the Hooters Casino on the last night.”
When I got to Vegas, I had set the usual low gambling budget for myself. I’m not a huge fan, but it didn’t take long for that limit to go out the window. One night we all sat down at a roulette table (our game of choice) and next to me was Skylar. After a few $20 bets, he decides to throw down $100 and wins. His luck was just getting started, which was clear when I heard an important sounding 8 a.m. bang at the door of the hotel room I shared with Tyler Holm. As Skylar explains: “Me, Hugo and Scott met Jason the pit boss and stayed up all night drinking and gambling at the Hooters Casino. This landed me a comped room, $380 in slot play and $180 in comped goods around the casino. Oh, and $3,400.”
59
e h t s a w s “Thi ” . r e v e a e d i p i r t t s r o w bestk e l a B o g u H —
61
Skylar’s gambling streak continued for a few days, and it got to the point of acquiring some quirky rituals that included poor hygiene. Scott Varney adds: “One time after leaving the bathroom Skylar asked me if I washed my hands. I said ‘nah’ and he said, ‘Neither did I; I’m not washing off this good luck.’”
62
Gambling, panic attacks, sleep deprivation and brutally chapped lips aside, we all survived Vegas more or less. Some were lucky enough to come out alive, and some were lucky enough to leave with money left in their bank accounts. Sin City itself was lucky that Hugo didn’t extend his stay by missing his departing flight. In his words: “This was the best-worst trip idea ever.” But Skylar sums it up best by saying: “In the end, we all walked away with a bad case of the Vegas.”