Snowboarding

In this episode of Brothers on the Run, the Jacksons start working their way south from Alaska, and make a stop over at Baldface Lodge in British Columbia. There, they pay tribute to Craig Kelly, and do some late season slush riding. Craig Kelly did a road trip from Alaska to Chile years ago, and inspired the Jackson brothers to follow in his footsteps.

If you haven’t seen Brothers on the Run yet, you should probably check out the past couple episodes:     Episode 5     Episode 4

Watch for Episode 7 on July 24, when the Jacksons go wake surfing and design jewelry in LA.

This excellent start to the 2012 winter in the Andes just keeps getting better and better! It is currently snowing from Portillo to Las Leñas all the way down to … Read More

In Episode VII, the Sweetgrass crew wraps up their trip to Bolivia. They fall short of their goal to ski Sajama (Bolivia’s highest peak), but they end up with a solid consolation prize: Parinacota. Parinacota and its sister Pomerape stand nearby Sajama. All three are 20,000+ foot volcanoes.

Sweetgrass is releasing weekly episodes of “On the Road with Solitaire” this summer, which give a behind the scenes look at the making of their last film, Solitaire. Check out some of their past episodes:     Episode VII     Episode VI

Stay tuned for Episode IX, on July 5.

John and Eric Jackson just released the fifth episode from their new series, Brothers on the Run. This episode features some mountaineering adventures in Alaska:

It’s springtime in Alaska, and John and Eric are eager to get some fresh powder riding in before snow season is over. They rally up the troops and head out on a 4-day mountaineering trip, where the clear conditions allow them to get some fun lines in. After some fresh snowfall, the boys hit one of the best kickers of the season, putting the perfect end to their last snowboarding session in the state of Alaska. The boys will now venture down south, and it’s time for the Jackson brothers to kick off their boots and put on their board shorts for summer.

For more Brothers on the Run, check out their past episodes:     Episode Two     Episode Three     Episode Four

Stay tuned for episode 6, when they head down into to British Columbia for some riding at Baldface Lodge.

Sweetgrass just released On the Road Episode VII: Welcome to the Jungle. On the Road provides a behind the scenes look at the creation of their last film, Solitaire. This episode explores the jungles and rivers around Iquitos Peru with Ptor Spricenieks.

Sweetgrass’ work in the jungle provides the introduction for one of the cooler segments in their movie. It is part of a segment that follows Ptor, the lone traveler, as he journeys from the source to the summit. They start deep in the jungle, follow a river all the way upstream to its original mountain source, and proceed to climb that mountain.

This episode is in a 12 part series, so keep a look out for new episodes coming every week. Also, check out their last episode, shot in Bolivia: End of the Line.

Ptor climbing.

Alaska Archives will chronicle a spring spent ski touring out of an RV around south central Alaska. Item 1: Arrival and Thompson Pass     Item 2: Gone Skiing     Item 3: … Read More

Alaska Archives will chronicle a spring spent ski touring out of an RV around south central Alaska.

Item 1: Arrival and Thompson Pass     Item 2: Gone Skiing     Item 3: A Full RV   Item 4: Alyeska Bound    Item 5: Harvest is the Season to Behold     Alaska Archives RV Living Part 1: Staying Warm     Alaska Archives RV Living Part 2: Downtime     Alaska Archives RV Living Part 3: Food     Item 6: Early May Orange Sherbet

Words and photos courtesy of Zach Paley. See more on his blog.

Skipping over a few days of heavy drinking in Seward and Anchorage, and a week of getting shut down at Hatcher Pass, the skies finally cleared when we moved back to the Kenai Peninsula. Finally knowing what it’s really like in Alaska, we pushed through fatigue, wet feet, and sun burns to to ski hard on these clear days. We were rewarded with some late season powder skiing and the biggest spine line of the trip. Little did we know these would be the last good turns of the trip. In retrospect, I’m glad we made the most of it.

No corn here

Nice to see contrails again

More good turns

Tracks down the last line. Spines are really fun.

Saturday afternoon countless professional athletes and action sports enthusiasts converged at “the Bunker”, the 33,000 square foot building that is the prize and jewel of Woodwards growing action sports brand. Woodward Tahoe represents an infusion of action sports culture, camps and progression to the area.

The Bunker at Woodward Tahoe

The facility can be used by skateboards, BMX, inline skates, and Roller skis and Roller Snowboards. 6 Olympic Fly Bed trampolines, 1 super tramp (one of a few in the world designed in Toronto),  a Mega ramp into foam pit, a Mega ramp onto a resi landing, a skate park, mini ramp, pump track, 3 foam pits, and spring floors fill the building. There was a sense of awe from everyone in the building on Saturday.

Mega Ramp into Foam and Resi

Tony Hawk made the trip up for the grand opening, as did Tanner Hall and the Inspired Crew. So did too many other athletes to list, or remember. The level of performance inside the building on Saturday was shocking and not just from the pros. 9 year old Cody LaPlante was throwing multiple doubles on the super tramp. Where this next generation is going to be in a few years isn’t really fathomable yet.

Rollerskis allow access to the same terrain as skateboarders and inliners.

Not only was The Bunker going off inside, but outside Boreal had a perfect 22 foot superpipe, a bag jump, 30 foot jump, and 20 or so jib features. All in all a perfect Saturday shred sesh.

Thanks Woodward for putting this facility here in Tahoe. It is going to change the future of action sports here.

Digital Media Room

Alaska Archives will chronicle a spring spent ski touring out of an RV around south central Alaska. Item 1: Arrival and Thompson Pass     Item 2: Gone Skiing     Item 3: … Read More

Xavier de Le Rue, hands down one of the most intense, most French, most all around extreme snowboarders just released his final edit of the season…Beer O’Clock.  Testament to the rather dismal season, the boys got skunked their last days of filming, hence the conspicuous lack of big line snow sliding.  But this video speaks to the fun that continues into the summer, even without snow.  Skip the first 1:30 which is a slightly obnoxious montage about beer.  Check it out as the Timeline crew gets after it on bikes, skateboards, wake skates, and more.

What do you guys think, like it or hate it?  The lack of snow time fun is less than ideal in my opinion, but it certainly helps to fuel the summer stoke.

Fear not, if you feel starved of epic pow lines, here’s the previous heart thumping, big line slaying episodes from the season in case you missed it:

Best shots from the series with guest riders Lucas Debari and Candide Thovex:

A rad day of “heliboarding”:

And last but not least, white guys can jump!  Check it: