Snowboarding

So day 2 of Deep Winter was not the best shooting conditions but still a good day.  In the morning the Whistler Blackcomb site said 1 cm of fresh powder overnight and for once Whistler under estimated.  Although it was wet there was around 20 cm of fresh and due to the very poor visibility it was almost empty up there.  Yet again the high alpine didn’t open however they did open glacier chair and Spanky’s on Blackcomb.  Half way through the day some gnarly winds kicked up and the Peak to Peak closed.  Overall the morning was awesome but by the end of the day it all got pretty heavy and wet which made the ride out a bit rough.

A while back I made a post about The Making of a Jeep Commercial.  Well, the Jeep commercial is out now in time for the X-Games.  I’m really surprised and impressed to see how it came out, give the conditions we were working in.  The snowboarding isn’t at all impressive, but I guess it isn’t about the riding.  All the riding is Nate, except for the shots towards the end when I am racing the Jeep.

Please take a moment to check out the High Fives Foundation, a Non-Profit based out of Lake Tahoe, CA.  High Fives was created by Roy Tuscany who was seriously injured while skiing at Mammoth a few years back.  Since then, Roy has made it back to the slopes and enjoys days skiing at Alpine Meadows.  The foundation is dedicated to raising money and awareness for athletes that have suffered a life altering injury.  High Fives has Vermont roots too!  Roy originally hails from Waterbury and grew up skiing all over VT!  Please show some support and help out High Fives!

Today was an awesome day at Stowe!  The mountain received about 3 inches of the super fluffy snow overnight which filled in some of the tracks from yesterday.  There was absolutely no wind in the morning, which was great.  The new snow sat on the trees and made for  beautiful views of the entire mountain.  The woods are definitely starting to fill in.  It seemed like we were the only ones shredding the woods today, which was fine by us!  Also, the grooming came out so good!  A major improvement from yesterday when it seemed like every trail was bullet proof.  Good job Stowe Grooming Team!  The conditions are really starting to improve all over the mountain!  Check out the video to see what the conditions were like today!  There is a major snow storm heading our way.  It looks like it could really slam Southern Vermont, but Stowe could receive 8+ inches!  Keep your fingers crossed!

I recently stepped up and got myself a helmet.  After years of riding with only a hat, I was a bit nervous to see how I would like riding with … Read More

This video is of the sweet halfpipe Shaun White had built in Silverton to train for the Olympics last winter. Red Bull got behind the project and like everything they do, pushed it to the limit. What an amazing place for a pipe, the logistics of building this thing must have been nuts. No wonder
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Stowe FINALLY received a gift from Mother Nature yesterday and last night.  We were blessed with a nice 6 to 8 inches of the white fluffy stuff!  A lot of the snow had been blown around since it was a bit windy up at the top, but for the most part the snow stayed on the sides of the trails and in the woods.  Today was one of the first days I felt comfortable getting into the woods.  I had ventured in a few weeks ago, but since we had the thaw around New Years, it left the woods pretty bare.  BUT, now after this storm, we are starting to look good.  Stowe reported 6 to 8 inches, but I found some stashes that were much deeper… probably 12+ inches!!  We got some great lines through the trees today, but you have to still be light on your feet so nothing grabs you.  Be careful out there!  Check out the video for some of the highlights from today.

January 09 2011 was another cold one up on Blackcomb and a lot of the pow had been seriously shredded by the weekenders, but we fought against the elements, and shredded the gnar. We took a hike up to the top of Blackcomb and went over to body bag.  couple drops, and some lines and called it a day. Another sick one with Craig Beaulieu. The snow was pretty wind blown up there, but we found some good stuff in the North facing pockets. Check out the double stage at the start of the video. Craig gets’er done.

This is a video compilation of a couple days in the Tahoe backcountry this past week.  With storm cycles finally stopping, only for the time being I hope, we did a little snowmobile accessed snowboarding and split boarding in the backcountry where the snow was deep and soft.  Local legend Dave Hatchett was kind enough to show us a couple of his stashes, as well as do a little bit of filming.  We camped one night in a bitter east wind, and were nervous that the face we were planning on riding (at the end of the movie) was going to be scoured.  Lucky for us, the snow was mostly soft, however there was a bit of a crust in places.  Unless anyone can tell us otherwise, we’re giving Ryland credit for a 1st descent on “Shark Attack.”

Filmed by: Ralph Backstrom, Ryland Bell, and Dave Hatchett

Edited by: Ralph Backstrom

Music by: Radiohead, I might be wrong, off the The Best of Radiohead Album

Craig Beaulieu Snowboarding the backside of Whistler on January 8th. Sick laps of Kyvers in the sun with some fresh pow. Today Peak opened and the mountain was packed. The lineups were pretty long, but at least the snow was good. We went up and rode some Kyvers with Craig Beaulieu, but it was tracked pretty early. The snow was great today. You could send it pretty hard and be ok.