Waking up slightly hungover to find that it’s 36ish degrees and snowing, I wasn’t super motivated to go skin around and get soaked. But, as is always the case, it feels really good once you’re out there! Due to the high avalanche danger, we chose a zone that was very densely treed, and hoped to find some pillow outcroppings, which we unfortunately didn’t find. However, we did find some amazing tree shredding, and it seemed like the snow was better in the trees too.
This was my first day filming with the Deeper crew, and I learned how hard this project actually will be. Heavier packs, longer days, and less lines ridden (fewer opportunities to get shots) are some of the variables that I immediately noted. Not to mention, it’s extremely frustrating after you’ve spent so much time getting to the top of your line if you don’t nail your line on the way down. It sure is fun though; everyone is always in pretty high spirits, the snow is always untracked, and the terrain is always pretty sick.
The temperatures unfortunately warmed up, avalanche conditions were still pretty sketchy, my free place to stay was disappearing, but Tahoe was (and still is!) set to get a good amount of snowfall. Given these factors, it was an easy decision to make! I did the drive back down in 23.5 hours, including getting searched again at the border, stopping at the store for groceries, taking some naps, and getting gas.
The day after I got home was a nice blue bird pow day, and Jeremy, Ryland, Edmands, Seth Lightcap, Aaron Sedway, and myself headed into the Tahoe backcountry. The lines we were riding were pretty short, but the snow was good, the terrain was fun, and it was sunny. We went for the snowshoes instead of the split boards.
Ryland was sending stylie airs like these two all day long. Straight air above, frontside three stalefish below.
It’s amazing watching Jones out there. He’s really good at judging the size of the terrain, and nails his line every time. Below he’s about to slay some pillows.
Today, Ryland, Edmands, and I went back into the Tahoe backcountry for some split boarding. The sun was out most of the day, but had a thin cloud layer at times. We were hitting a rock drop that had a pretty short landing, but was nice and steep.
Unfortunately, right after the above air, I ripped the binding pucks out of the board! Edmands said he can fix it, which is very nice of him. So, unharmed, I attempted to make tele
turns the rest of the way out the bottom. Needless to say, I fell every 40-50 feet.
All in all, it’s been a fun few days filming with the Deeper gang. Looking forward to getting back out there after these storms come through!
