There is something that draws certain folks into the realm of photography. I don’t know what it is. Each year people around the world decide to pick up cameras and capture the beauty that exists everywhere. Trent Bona is one of the guys that is fairly new to the game, but his talents and the talent that he works with have him on the right track already. Check out more of his work at www.trentbona.com.
Photos and words by: Trent Bona.
Just a short sled ride from downtown Crested Butte can get you to some pretty surreal backcountry zones. These are the mornings I live for; bluebird, fresh pow, good friends/phenomenal skiers and a virgin canvas of white for us to do our work.Will Dujardin and Tristan Burch discuss early morning line choices on Mt. Axtell.
Unfortunately I have spent much more time drinking beer with this skier than I have shooting photos of him crushing lines in the backcountry. I plan on changing that next season. Will Dujardin smears a beauty of a powerslide in the Crested Butte Backcountry.
Shooting backcountry ski photos in a snowstorm can be a cold, damp, lonely experience; especially if the lighter gets wet. But its all worth it when you’ve got Freeskiing World Tour competitors to throw down for you. Tom Runcie blasts through a pillow line outside of Crested Butte.
Climbing on skis/splits is a challenging endeavor at times but always rewarding. Descending on skis/snowboards is, well, one of the greatest sensations one can experience on this earth. But what about the long flat slog? That approach or hut trip you dread because of that purgatory of pitchless snow it entails. Wearing your legs out without the reward of an ever increasing vantage point on the world below. Zach Springer endures a necessary evil below the east face of Gothic Mountain.
In honor of its 50th anniversary, Crested Butte Mountain Resort brought back the bump and jump competition for the final weekend of the 2011 ski season. The costumes were ridiculous, the crowd was raucous and the skiing was surprisingly professional, considering the festivities. Alex Else backflipping in support of the mantra “sun’s out guns out,” all the while being thoughtful enough to promote world peace.
Having amazing snow on amazing mountains right out your backdoor is priceless. It is too easy to become jaded when conditions get sketchy or work gets in the way of getting into the backcountry as much as you’d like. But those of us lucky enough to live at the foot of these winter playgrounds just have to remind ourselves how good we have really have it. Martin Smith takes a backcountry lunch break from tuning skis while Mt Crested Butte and downtown CB wait for him in the background.
There is something special about the narcissism in every backcountry athlete that makes admiring our freshly carved turns so damn enjoyable.The late afternoon sun sets the mood for carves and cornices in the Crested Butte Backcountry.