767 Search Results for "bagley ice field"

• Griffin Post Drops the Middle Griffin Post Drops the Middle Teton

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    Words by Michael Sudmeier 

    The Tetons are loaded with classic ski descents. It’s one thing to survive these lines—it’s another to destroy them. This, however, is exactly what Griffin Post did when he recently terrorized the Middle Teton. After a seven-hour push to its summit, he laid down a line rich with style and worthy of reverence.

    Post was led by Exum Guides Nat Patridge and Zahan Billimoria and accompanied by a team of filmers and photographers shooting for TGR’s Way of Life. With a 2:00 a.m. start, the crew spent the first few hours of its journey navigating by headlamps and moonlight. “Our route led us up the South Fork of Garnet Canyon to the saddle between the Middle and South Teton, which was a seven mile approach with about 5,000 feet of gain with skins,” explained Patridge. 

    

    As the sun rose, Griffin Post neared the end of the first leg of his journey: skinning 5,000 vertical feet. (Photo compliments of Zahan Billimoria)

    From there, the crew traveled up the Southwest Couloir on the Middle Teton, using ice axes and crampons to climb nearly 1,000 vertical feet. En route to the summit, the group navigated terrain steeper than forty degrees and peppered with rocks and exposure. Adding to the challenge, a spring storm had just hit the Tetons. But unfortunately, this storm failed to leave an abundance of powder. “Despite receiving over ten inches of new snow the day before, the slick surfaces [of the Tetons] resulted in very little new snow up high,” Billimoria said. “The route was clean but very firm.”

    Billimoria and Patridge closely studied the snowpack throughout the ascent, as well as in advance of it. While using automated plots to monitor the snow depth, their concerns for the ascent began to shift. “It became evident that the snow was settling very rapidly,” noted Billimoria. “Instead of dealing with slab avalanches, we started to turn our attention to whether the surface would be too firm. What we found on the route matched that reality—there was little avalanche hazard, but a high hazard in case of a fall.”

    

    While Post and his crew headed up the Middle Teton, a team of filmers--including Chris Kitchen and Pat Mc Dermott--headed up Disappointment Peak to capture the "barbi" angle for Post's descent. (Photo compliments of Greg Von Doersten)

    Throughout the ascent, Post also kept busy trying to avoid thinking about the line he had yet to lay down. “Seven hours is a lot of time to think about one run—so I tried not to worry too much about the descent,” he explained. “I tried to laugh it off as best as I could. I was the only athlete—I think a lot of people would have been pissed off at me should I have crashed.” Although Post was concerned about letting the crew down in the event of a fall, everyone else was simply worried about his ability to survive one. After all, explains photographer Greg Von Doersten, “the top of the Middle Teton is an exposed no fall zone checking in at over fifty degrees.”

    

    Roped-in, Post and Billimoria paused to ready for the descent. (Photo compliments of Zahan Billimoria)

    As is often the case, the same things that made the Middle Teton so challenging also made it so appealing. “When people think of Grand Teton [National Park], they immediately think of the Grand and Bill Briggs’ classic ski descent—which is awesome for sure,” Post explains. “The Middle Teton, however, offers more of a classic big mountain ski descent—it’s more of a full throttle line 2,500 feet down to the drainage below.”

    

    The view from Disappointment Peak revealed that Post's line was more than a walk in the park. (Photo compliments of Greg Von Doersten)

    According to Billimoria, the east face of the Middle Teton provided the perfect canvas for Post. “I’ve known Griffin and skied with him for a few years so I have a sense of his style. He’s a super aggressive fall line skier,” offered Billimoria. “I wanted to line him out on a face that matched his skill set—not a tight couloir but rather a wide-open face where he could open the throttle.” And that’s exactly what Post did.

    “He dropped in off the notch at full tilt and opened it up like a downhill course, bending his ski like he was ripping fresh tracks on the corduroy—only this was a fifty-five degree face with huge exposure,” explained Billimoria. “After two turns, he committed to the blind rollover just above the col—a mistake there would have been entirely unforgiving. Griffin took the center line—aired the cliff and just GS’ed it down into to the canyon.”

    

    Before dropping the Middle Teton, Post and his crew got had the opportunity to contemplate their sanity. Here, Billimoria provides a glimpse of the line. (Photo compliments of Zahan Billimoria)

    For everyone watching Post, the cliff—and the firm landing that accompanied it—served as the crux of the descent. “Everyone held their breath during this because it was a big move and a must-land situation,” filmer Chris Kitchen revealed. “Otherwise, he would have been tomahawking thousands of feet to the basin.” Nonetheless, the entire line was worthy of recognition. “Griffin skied the East Face of the Middle in a way I have not witnessed before in the Tetons,” offered Patridge. “Only heli guiding in Valdez have I seen someone rip the big mountains like Griffin did.”

    Despite the seven-hour approach, Post skied the line in a matter of seconds. “Once Griffin got the notch, he pretty much sent that line like I’ve never seen anybody ski it before. It was a whole other level of athleticism to watch him ski that face in forty-five to fifty seconds,” explained Von Doersten. “It takes a skill level very few ski mountaineers possess to ski a line like Griff did.”

    

    Mid-descent, Post was dwarfed by the Middle Teton. (Photo compliments of Greg Von Doersten)

    Although Post’s mission to the Middle Teton will be remembered for the descent, the crew was quick to emphasize that it should not overshadow everything that led up to it. “With a line like the Middle, it’s about much more than just the skiing,” explained filmer Sam Pope. “We had been up since 1:00 a.m. and hiked 6,000 vertical feet in just over seven miles. It’s a huge ascent and most people are pretty wasted by the time they get to the summit, but for Griffin his work didn’t even start until he was at the top.”

    The approach, however, did nothing to phase Post. “Griffin skied a line with confidence and speed that most people make jump turns down,” noted Pope. “But that’s what makes him a pro.” Billimoria was quick to agree. “My guess is that the Middle Teton has never seen a descent like that,” he explained. “It was as impressive a performance as I think the high peaks have ever seen.”

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• Connor Field's Backyard Playgr Connor Field's Backyard Playground By KGB Productions

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    Connor Field is an up an coming freeride mountain biker from Wilson, Wyoming. Riding on Teton pass near his house is where he trains an develops his skills. In an effort to expand his biking he built his own downhill jump course in his backyard and this is it.

    Watch KGB Productions Videos

     

  • 4 weeks ago
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• Sending It with Sage: Postcard Sending It with Sage: Postcards from Fantasy Camp

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    After returning home from his annual pilgrimage to AK, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa gave us a glimpse inside Fantasy Camp. Located deep within the Neacola Mountains, Fantasy Camp served as TGR’s staging ground this spring. Whether nailing first descents or documenting them, the TGR crew kept busy filming for Way of Life. As we gear up for the film’s release, we’ll be filling you in on what went down in Alaska.

    Words and Images by Sage Cattabriga-Alosa

    

    Todd Ligar and Ian Mac look down on a nice little spine wall we dubbed NHL. The wall earned this name because lurking just under a thin dust of snow was a solid sheet of ice that stretched from wall to wall. It made for some exciting attempts at hanging on—and some hockey stops. 

    

    Ariel views like this allow for quickly spotting multiple zones. I often go back through my photos, looking for areas where lines and zones might have been hiding on the first look. 

    

    The Land of Ice—seeing glacial caps and massive glacial fields is quite a sight. It’s cool to see mountains being formed right before your eyes.

    

    The ol' Look down.

    

    Ian Mac speeds out of a massive line in an icy world. The challenge on lines like this is dealing with an exit plan. Large bergshrunds littered the bottom of this wall and the snow was firm underneath the top layer. Needless to say, control—and a plan—was critical to getting out safely.

    

    House-size chunks of ice and snow make up this peeling glacier.

    

    This looks like a calm perch, but the area below is loaded with spince walls that branch out in almost all directions. Here, Ian enjoys a moment of calm before the storm.

    

    Tim Durtschi launches into a 360 off this natural spine flank. This was his first film line of the trip, and he came out of the gate hot!

    

    Mountain views for days.

    

    The glow of the sun reflects off the ocean in the distance. 

    

    Wind can be your enemy out in the alpine, turning glory pow into sastrugi moguls. Luckily, we found protected zones that held good snow through the end of our trip. 

    

    Tempting fruit. 

    

    A razorback. 

    

    Doug Brewer, a bush pilot, was the key to our success at Fantasy Camp. He flew us, our gear, our camp supplies, and fuel out in many different flights. In this photo, he is headed home after taking us on a recon flight in his Bush Hawk.

    

    GPS helps, but helicopters are fly-by-sight aircrafts.

    

    This is how we measure our time out in the helicopter. It keeps track of the amount of hours that we are pulling power, and how long we can fly. 

    

    Sammy Carlson flies out of the bottom of a fun line.

    

    The production team hard at work. Dutch Simpson shoots third angle, picking up the action, and reaction as we roll up to the group at the end of each run. And Tim D, who mostly shoots his Sony Action Cam helps out. 

    

    Dana Flahr lays some smooth tracks while killing time before our next set up.

    
     

    A zone that got away... always tons of options out there. And it feels good to have goals for the future. It looks like you could have a bit of fun with this one.

     

    Ice . . . 

    

    Ice . . .

     Baby.

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• TGR Joins Exum Mountain Guides TGR Joins Exum Mountain Guides in the Apocalypse Couloir - Almost Live Season 5 Episode 9

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    In episode 9 of "Almost Live" Season 5, Exum Mountain Guide Zahan Billimoria teams up with Jackson Hole athletes, Griffin Post and Max Hammer, to take on the Apocalypse Couloir in Grand Teton National Park. Get an intimate glimpse inside the effort it takes to ski the remote, steep couloir. The team makes a series of repels, commiting them to the dangerous line. The boys then drop into the 3000 foot line, which is as steep as 50 degrees in some areas. They are faced with falling ice and unstable snow which add to their thrilling pursuit.  

     

    Music:

    Artist: BOCrew

    Track: The Pursure of a Dream

    http://ccmixter.org/people/BOCrew

     

    Sponsors:

    http://www.exumguides.com/

    http://www.jacksonhole.com/

     

    Shop TGR Merchandise as seen in this episode of Almost Live here: 

    https://shop.tetongravity.com

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• Angeli VanLaanen Speaks Out on Angeli VanLaanen Speaks Out on her Lyme Disease Awareness Film LymeLight

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    LymeLight - The Story Of Professional Freeskier Angeli VanLaanen Living With Lyme Disease from NEU PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.

    "LymeLight," an inspirational Lyme Disease awareness film centered on professional freeskier Angeli VanLaanen and her battle with the complicated, debilating disease, was recently released for free online by Neu Productions.  We reached out to Angeli for her insight into the film, the biggest obstacles faced while filming, the level of Lyme awareness she hopes to achieve, and how she is currently doing with the disease. 

     

    Check out our interview with Angeli below, and watch "LymeLight" in it's entirety above. 

     

    What excites you most about the release of "LymeLight"?

    The making of "LymeLight" was in part funded by 150 people who donated during a Kickstarter fundraiser we held last May. The most exciting aspect of releasing "LymeLight" is sharing the final product with everyone involved in funding this film. I am forever grateful for their support in making "LymeLight" happen!

     

    What was the biggest challenge you faced while creating this film?

    The most challenging yet rewarding part of creating a documentary film on my battle with Lyme Disease has been processing the emotions that built up over 14 years of misdiagnosis. "LymeLight" is an authentic and raw account of what I went through before and after my diagnosis in 2009. 

     

    What is your inspiration behind "LymeLight" and what do you hope to accomplish with the film?

    My inspiration for "LymeLight" came from my personal experience battling and overcoming Lyme Disease. When I was diagnosed in November of 2009, I struggled to find a hopeful outlook on my diagnosis. I searched high and low for a Lyme treatment success story to look up to, but only found horror stories and a grim reality for people battling Lyme Disease. I looked for support from my family and close friends, but found their lack of understanding of Lyme Disease very isolating. When you have an illness that manifests as both physical symptoms and mental/emotional symptoms, it is challenging for someone who has not experienced a neurological condition themselves, to fully understand the impact. Hearing that I never looked sick from friends, is a testament to how invisible this disease can be. 

     

     

    I have many goals for "LymeLight", all of which fall under the category Lyme awareness. My family and friends often felt lost in trying to help me. Navigating your way through illness is tough for both the patient and their support system.  One of my goals in creating "LymeLight" is to reach out to the people battling Lyme Disease and their support systems. With understanding comes compassion and compassion inspires personal strength. I want to inspire people to be strong through hard times.

     

    I am motivated by preventative action! I went years clueless to the cause of my illness. For fourteen years I had doctors stumped! Through education, "LymeLight" will impact those not yet diagnosed. I found my diagnosis because of my Aunt Jenny. She saw a documentary film on Lyme, "Under Our Skin," and recognized the symptoms in my health struggles. I asked my doctor to be tested for Lyme Disease and two weeks later, I was diagnosed. That documentary changed my life. I want to make that same impact on the lives of others. 

     

    My goal is to bring Lyme Disease prevention through Lyme awareness. I plan to take LymeLight on a tour to talk to people, mainly schools about Lyme Disease. By teaching kids and their parents proper tick extraction and follow up protocols, we are empowering them to catch Lyme Disease early. With exciting and beautiful imagery balancing out the struggle in "LymeLight," this film will be relatable and appropriate for all ages.  

     

    You've been living with Lyme for over 15 years, what is your current state with the disease?

    I am happy to report, I'm in remission. And I'm ecstatic! Being in remission is the best case scenario for someone with Lyme Disease. There is no technique in the medical field reliable enough to test if you have eradicated the Lyme bacteria completely. Therefore, doctors use clinical diagnosis to determine your progress. When you are symptom free, is when you are in remission. With there being no guarantee of a cure, it's easy to doubt your recovery with the "what ifs" looming. This is one of the harshest realities about having Lyme Disease. I am still working to regain my physical confidence. My outlook is, with a healthy and active lifestyle I will support my body in remaining in remission.

     

    Check out more about Angeli and "LymeLight" here.

     

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• Through the Lens: Jason Thomps Through the Lens: Jason Thompson

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:
    Words by Kim Havell and Jason Thompson
    Images by Jason Thompson
    
    
    Upon graduating from Montana State University in 2004, photographer Jason Thompson joined Big Sky’s Ski Patrol and also worked as a mountain guide in Washington and Alaska, steadily building a career in adventure photography. His focus is on creating skiing and climbing imagery that captures the essence of action adventure.
    
    
    With a style that Thompson describes as “raw and unposed”, he strives for simplicity. His images are the product of his lifestyle, telling stories inspired by nature, adventure, and the human experience. At twelve years of age, Thompson decided to pursue photography with an old-school Olympus camera. He took photography classes in high school while shooting action photos of skiing, backpacking, and soccer.
    
    
    
    
    
    Thompson is currently on an expedition to University Peak in Alaska with friend and ski partner, Forrest Coots. When asked about Thompson, Coots shares, “JT has a strong skill set built from years of guiding. He is comfortable climbing and skiing big lines, while also shooting, which allows him to capture that raw-feeling. His images reflect his travels through the mountains via ice climbing and ski mountaineering in iconic locations around the world.” 
    
    
    
    
    The Start—Insights from Jason
    As a kid, I was drawn to the mountains and loved the winter months. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest I was exposed to some of the finest mountain terrain in the lower 48. The Olympic Mountains served as my launching point for adventuring as well as capturing the escapades with my camera. The Washington experience extended from childhood through high school. 
    
    
    A high school friend gave me a flyer for Montana State University. That was the first time I realized the power of marketing; there was a skier on the front page of the flyer. I was sold. I had also seen many of Kris Erickson's pictures and read many of Hans Saari's words. It was an easy move to a place where two creative adventurers that I had looked up to had made their home base. In the fall of 1999, I moved to Bozeman, without ever having been there, two days before classes started. Five years later I graduated with a degree in photography. The community in Bozeman welcomed me and it’s been home ever since. 
    
    
    
    
    Breaking Through
    For me, the photography process has more been a series of ups and downs with a continual ebb and flow. There have also been great moments that have provided me with bigger surges. 
    
    
    In 2008, Tyler Jones, Seth Waterfall, and I received a Hans Saari Ski Exploration grant for a trip to Mount Shkhara in the Republic of Georgia, located in the Svaneti Region. I had to plan a major trip from a climbing/skiing perspective as well as from a photography perspective. It was a great learning exercise. The expedition was powerful for the three of us, visiting a place that we knew little about. It left a mark on me in my young photography career.
    
    
    In issue #36 of Alpinist Magazine I had a double page spread. The article, written by Joe Josephson, was about ice climbing in Hyalite Canyon here in Bozeman, Montana. I was humbled and thrilled at this incredible opportunity to be involved.
    
    
    
    
    
    Inspiration
    During my junior year of university, Kris Erickson came in and gave a talk to my photography business class. It was groundbreaking for me. I remember being blown away by the images he was showing, the adventures he had been on, and the people and places he had seen. It was an inspiring forty minutes for me. I remember thinking that, yep, I could do that for work. 
    
    
    Since then I have had a chance to get to know Kris better. The insight he provided that day and since then has motivated me to follow suit in many ways and has helped me to carefully evaluate how I mold and shape my photography and my brand.  I have heard Kris mention so many nuggets of wisdom over the years. When I used to shoot slides, I built myself a light table, made of out of cheap plywood and plexiglass. I would write quotes or ideas that I had heard which inspired me or had caused me to take pause. Some of my favorite nuggets written on that light table were from Kris. I wish I had kept that light table—somewhere during the many moves I lost it.
    
    
    
    
    Safety
    I have always wanted to be a photographer and that has always been my number one goal. But, I tactically decided early on to pursue ski patrolling and guiding in order to give me a solid foundation of management, in particular from a safety standpoint. I heard Will Gadd explain his philosophy and outlook on life as a “positive, negative outlook.” Meaning, the universe is out to kill us. As Will put it, if you get hit with that piece of ice that is your fault. No one else can be blamed for that. He preached personal responsibility. I agree.
    
    
    
    
    
    As a ski patroller at Big Sky Ski Resort, I learned a lot over the years about avalanches and helping others with medical incidents and avalanche mitigation. I also started mountain guiding, spending time in the Alaska Range and on Mt Rainier.
    
    
    
    
    I have a very open dialogue with athletes with whom I am shooting. Safety is number one. Just because there is a camera does not mean that you have to accept a risk that you wouldn't normally take. The industry trend is to make everything look very sexy. Often times the careful calculations are not shown or exposed. That is one of the things I want to bring to the table as a photographer. Showing the process of how the hazard is being evaluated and what steps are being taken in order to minimize “our” exposure to that risk or hazard. 
    
    
    
    
    
    The Creative Process
    The creative visual process has only begun to take shape in the vertical terrain. I think that we have just seen the beginning. As a visual adventure artist I try and pre-visualize how an athlete will ski a certain line or climb a certain line. I use the athlete as my brush stroke on a blank canvas to generate the exclamation point to the already stunning landscape. 
    
    
    Hans Saari stated this idea beautifully: “ The vibrancy of the line means everything. Like a cello, there is no sound until the string is taut. The more you struggle, the tighter the string, the greater the music.” 
    
    
    
    The Business
    With the current status of the industry, it takes creativity to approach the visual side of things and to see things from new angles. If I use a business model that my mentors used previously, chances are that I probably will not last too long in this industry. 
    
    
    The digital age has shifted many things. But, I believe that relationships propel us forward. It’s the human connection. As a viewer of images, you are drawn to the content that captures that soul. One of the quotes that I had written on my plywood light table twelve years ago was from Kris Erickson—“It’s about the relationships.“ 
    
    
    
    
    
    Just like any business that is starting out, a plan of action has to be put into place. Still, taking that first step into the unknown is still probably one of the biggest adventures upon which I have embarked. But just like climbing or skiing a big objective, after the first few pitches your nerves calm down. I have been able to realize that “yeah, I can do this.” It’s something that you have to commit to. It’s a lifestyle. Creative artists pour their lives into doing what makes them passionate. 
    
    
    
    
    Partnerships
    Time spent with friends exploring and adventuring inspires me the most. I've found a greater personal joy in the expedition style shooting versus the one-day shoots. It is a chance to get to know my subjects in greater detail and see more of their personalities shine.
    
    
    
    
    
    There are several folks with whom I really love working:
    
    
    - Ice climber Andres Marin has been a great friend of mine for a very long time. His energy is contagious. Andres has a drive for perfection and professionalism that is very admirable.
    
    
    - Forrest Coots and I met for the first time while in Chile during the fall of 2011 on a ski trip. We meshed right away. I enjoy Forrest's desire to take trips to places that require some thoughtful planning. Forrest and I have sat in our tents during storms and shoot texts back and forth dreaming about trips and different ideas that spark our passions for skiing in the mountains.
    
    
    - Tyler Jones and I met in 2005 while we were guiding for the same company. Tyler has since gone on to finish his AMGA guiding certifications as the youngest American to complete the process. His meticulous attention to detail is somewhat astonishing. Tyler is one of my best friends. From the Republic of Georgia, Montana, Alaska and La Grave, our mountain time has played a huge role in our friendship. I've learned a ton from Tyler in regards to hazard mitigation.
    
    
    - I was recently on a shoot with Conrad Anker. His vision, dedication and outlook on life is inspiring. He would prefer to talk about his new route the “Nutcracker” than talk about his last summit on Everest without oxygen. His psych for climbing is contagious, his energy transcends generations, his talents are inspiring to watch, and his mentorship helps many. Conrad never stops learning and he is a proponent for adaptation. That’s just rad. 
    
    
    
    
    The Future of the Industry
    I believe the future involves a lot of creative collaboration. Sharing ideas and collaborating can be very rewarding. It will most likely evolve and morph on a much larger scale. I know of some climbing projects that are in the works based on wide scale submissions from climbers willing to submit content from a whole season’s worth of footage from one location. So instead of one or even five filmers being involved, there will be fifty contributing work. 
    
    
    
    Career Highlights
    - Every year I make a little more money than the previous year as a photographer.
    
    
    - Having my first image published in a Patagonia catalog and then having them re-license it for a store display in the Seattle store—that was a goal of mine that year and it felt really good to nail it. 
    
    
    - Being awarded the Hans Saari Ski Exploration Grant for a Ski trip to Mt Shkhara in the Republic of Georgia. 
    
    
    - Double page spread in Alpinist Magazine #36
    
    
    - The moment I realized that I actually had an audience that was listening to me and actively following my work. It was a moment that shifted my mindset and challenged me to work even harder. It wasn't just my mom who was looking at my pictures anymore. 
    
    
    - Being asked to give a talk at Montana State University in the same business photography class in which I had heard Kris Erickson give his talk. 
    
    
    - The friends I have made and the many interesting people that I have been fortunate to meet over the years because of photography. 
    
    
    - Being invited on the Cerro Castillo ski trip in Patagonia with Drew Stoecklein, Chuck “The Pit Viper King” Mumford and Forrest Coots to work on and create the short film “Take The Ride.”
    
    
    To view more of Jason's work, drop into http://www.jthompsonphotography.com
    
    
    
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• Line Choice with Drew Tabke - Line Choice with Drew Tabke - Pro Tips

  • From: freerideworldtour
  • Description:

    No other than Freeride World Champion Drew Tabke gives advice on choosing a freeride contest line on a face.
    
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  • 2 months ago
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• Jackson Hole PowWow Jackson Hole PowWow

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    Rob Kingwill, Teton Gravity Research and the JHPowWow crew assembled some of the most dedicated and solid riders on the planet to test powder and freeride boards over 3 days at the beginning of March here in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
    
    We tested over 60 amazing freeride and pow boards, threw some super fun parties, and shredded our faces off at Jackson Hole in deep snow everyday.
    
    For More Information

    Watch More TGR Videos

     

  • 3 months ago
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• Cherry Picking – Points North Cherry Picking – Points North Heli “Buddy Love”, the Worm Glacier

  • From: kimhavell
  • Description:

    Photo: Grant Kaye
    
    Remote, bold, and mostly unknown, some of the dream, big mountain lines lie deep in Alaska's mountains and are accessible only by helicopter. Over the season, we will cherry pick the modern gems of ski descents from one of the greatest places on the planet for big mountain powder skiing: Alaska, The Dream Factory. It will be a display of mind-blowing, inspiring, and intense moments as we ask the heli-guides and owners to cherry pick a run from each of their permit areas. This is a look into what is possible by some of the best operators in the world and their talented guides, clients and athletes.
    
    Buddy Love - Cherry Picking No. 2 - Points North Heli
    
    The Worm Glacier is a Points North Heli (PNH) treasure. Sitting at the Southern entrance of the Chugach mountain range just north of Cordova, Alaska, the Worm zone offers a vast number of options off the peaks lining its valley. Terrain ranges from the 3,000ft warm-up run “Guilt Trip” to spines galore. The stand-out, however, is a peak named “Buddy Love” that, according to PNH Chef and tail guide Nathan Stone, “is undoubtedly the brains and beauty of the Worm Glacier. Flying in, if you can make it past the temptations viewed on approach, your eyes become fixated on this lone peak at the head of the valley.”
    
    The prominent peak of Buddy Love is roughly 2800 vertical feet and a consistent 50-degree angle pitch. It is named after one of Cordova's most respected citizens and good friend of PNH, Bud Jansen, AKA “Buddy Love”. A third generation Inuit tribesmen, Bud is a central figure of the land-locked community. PNH photographer and friend Keoki Flagg explains, “Like most who were born and raised in Cordova, Buddy has made his living as a commercial fisherman. This giant of a man has a gentle, easy-going manner and he is engaged and committed to supporting any and all activities that help the community thrive.” Janson also owns the famous “Pro Shop” in Cordova, and the Worm Glacier and many of its runs are named in honor of him.
    
    
    
    When Kent Kreitler put the first descent down Buddy Love it was pre-PNH as well as pre-most heli operations in AK. Kreitler was based off the Maritime Maid boat in Prince William Sound, close to the current Points North base. The first descent was documented in TGR’s film, “Harvest”. The segment opens with Kent charging from the top, airing over a rock outcropping, and then sending it to the bottom effortlessly in about eight turns.
    
    Countless pros and film companies have visited the area over the years and superstar big mountain skier Wendy Fisher calls it the best heli run of her life. Pro snowboarders Mitch Toelder, Flo Orley and 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist Seth Wescott have also charged multiple routes off its face.
    
    As Guide and Co-Owner, Jessica Sobolowski-Quinn shares, “Buddy Love used to be a peak I often skied with Kevin (Quinn – husband, guide, & co-owner). The landing zone is small and the adrenaline I would feel on the toe-in would stay with me for the first three turns skiing down. It’s exciting! Dropping onto the massive spine is intimidating, but as soon as you’re a quarter of the way down the run appears, the rollover fades away, and you are skiing a beautiful, consistently steep slope to the bottom.”
    
    Sobolowski-Quinn adds, “It was a special moment when one of our guests, KC, skied it. She is a mom of three and in her forties. I was overcome with pride and awe. It's not often you see a lady just ripping the you-know-what out of a line like Buddy Love and doing it just for the sheer joy of doing it.”
    
    Photo: Court Leve
    
    PNH company man Stone describes the run:
    
    “On the west aspect there are fluted spines, top to bottom. The apron is littered with gaping crevasses that catch your eye like an S.O.S distress signal from a pocket mirror. Due to its sun exposure, this aspect is rarely skied. But in the right conditions, it will be what you dream about. 
    
    Panning around to the northwest aspect, Buddy Love proper, is a beautiful A-framed layout. The tip of the peak is rarely landed on by helis as it occasionally can have wind scoured rock formations and a miniscule landing area; so about fifty percent of the landings are in the saddle just below the summit. This is where I set out for the quick climb to the top.
    
    Once on the summit, as I double check my gear, the bass drum in my chest is increasing in velocity and depth. Peering over the tip of my board, the view is peppered rock and small cliffs scattered about the entrance. Beyond that, the only visual is the valley floor 3,000 feet below. Classic AK roll.
    
    There are safe points. But if you are caught in the wrong area, it's taking you top to bottom in a hurry.
    
    
    
    With a consistent 50-degree pitch, I have no problem finding the accelerator in the first turn. From there it offers several routes—my personal favorite being fall line. I work the mountain from right to left. A third of the way down, a distinct rib just calls for turns. Shedding snow forms rivers on both sides of me, and yet more concentrated on either side of the spine. I make a few surf-style turns, whipping the tail while scrubbing speed in the same motion. A smooth lip. Take off!
    
    Airing a small cliff band, I am now in the gut. The belly of the beast. I have two choices at this point: wait out the slough train, or, my choice, hammer down, working left toward the shoulder, letting the snow fall away from me.
    
    Getting to the bottom third, the thought of pointing to the finish line comes to mind. But keeping one step ahead, I lock onto the open seracs and depressions on the left side of the apron. All of the snow I've been avoiding is now catching me and its destination is the danger zone. Smashing the pedal to the floor, I exit right, just before the slough nips at my heels to pull me back fall line. Arms raised, yelling in ecstasy, I realize that I made it. And I rode it how I wanted.”
    
    
    Be safe in the field, shop for all your avalanche saftey gear online at Backcountry.com

    Photos by

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  • 3 months ago
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• Go Now: Selkirk Wilderness Ski Go Now: Selkirk Wilderness Skiing

  • From: SamPetri
  • Description:

     

    
    
    “I don’t fuck around.” Dr. Powder says. “This is my 30th week up here. I only get two weeks each year to really ski, and I’m not going to blow it. I come here. I am not fucking around."
    
    It’s hard to look directly into Dr. Powder’s intense, near-purple eyes as we chug uphill in one of Selkirk Wilderness Skiing’s bright-yellow snow cats on a bluebird Monday morning. Instead, I look outside in awe of Canada’s pillow-packed mountains. Dr. Powder is actually a heart doctor from California, and he’s serious about skiing. A quivering passion shows on his face when he talks about the sport, and he spends his precious little skiing time here. But he’s not alone.
     
    
    
    Fanaticism runs deep in the clientele at Selkirk Wilderness Skiing, the first cat skiing operation in the world located in Meadow Creek, British Columbia, just two hours north of Nelson. It’s not a mystery why. The cats access more skiable terrain than Whistler/Blackcomb and Vail combined, and only see about 24 skiers per day. They’ve been quietly delivering stellar powder since 1975, when founders Allan and Brenda Drury literally changed the ski world by inventing a new way to ski.
    
    It snowed 25 centimeters up high last night. In Freedom Units, that’s 10 inches. SWS lead guide and 20-year veteran Jason Remple, has seen fatter days, but he wasn’t complaining as we ended our first cat-assisted assent. 
    
    Ecstatic chatter cracks over the radios: “25 centimeters of new! Whoo Ha!”
    
    Our crew of 12 applauds.
    
    
    
    The cat stops and we file out into knee-deep snow. I just grin while looking the snow-caked, spine-filled mountains with pillow clusters and steep glades. There’s every type of skiing feature imaginable here. I search for my skis. Ian, our cat driver, has already laid them out on the snow for me, as he has with everyone else’s skis. How nice. I click in.
    
    Remple, who also owns a business called Stellar Heli-Skiing, rallies the crew.
    
    “Follow me.”
    
    We’re off. We ski 12-deep in a mob, like some sort of Canadian cat skiing advertisement. “We really are skiing Canadian,” I chuckle to myself. We keep it up until we reach a convex rollover, the top of our main line. We stop.
    
    
    
    Remple explains the layout of the run, and where people of different abilities need to go. Throughout the trip, Remple, Jeff Gostlin, and Carla Aldinger consistently guide us to the gnar. Every run has features to jump off of, leaving us repeating phrases like: “So sick!”
    
    “You’ve got to understand this is a diverse group,” says Remple. “On any given run though, there are a lot of options and we can get into almost anything. There’s something for everyone.”
    
    
    
    That might be the best thing about SWS—you can go there with your old man and have a blast. In fact, two guys in our cat were a father-son duo from San Francisco. While dad would ski the open powder field, his son, who we nicknamed “Big Air Blair,” would shred pillow lines. Both were fired up at the bottom of every run, ready for more. That’s quality family time.
    
    It goes on all day. We ride up, blast down, each time linking back up with the cat. Rarely do you see the other cat out there. Each run from start to finish takes about 40 minutes or so, including time spent in the cat. Depending on the group, it’s possible to ski anywhere from eight to twelve runs in a day. Depending on the group, it's possible to get six to twelve runs per day. Most runs are about 2,000 to 3,000 vertical feet.
    
    Helicopter flights jack you up for the next run, while traveling in a snow cat is like a relaxing bus ride through a powder forest. If heli skiing is a stimulant, then cat skiing is an opiate.
    
    SWS serves lunch in the snow cat, and it’s one of the best things about the experience. It even comes with tea and cookies. This daily ritual happens every day at SWS. It’s amazing. Skiing needs more tea and cookies.
    
    
    
    The lodge, located at an elevation of 4,000 feet, has a cool, community-style vibe where guests hangout together and eat together. There’s a pool table, ping-pong table, hot tub, sauna, and a serve-yourself bar stocked full of chronic Canadian microbrews that don’t show up in America. Oh yeah, there’s WiFi, but you’re here to unplug. Just ski. Don’t forget to eat though. The food is healthy, hearty, and delicious. Dinners are served family style, adding to the overall camaraderie one feels while at SWS.
    
    The snow in interior BC, while feather-light, has a bit more moisture content than in the Rocky Mountains. This lets mini-AK-style spines, flutes, and pillow features form almost everywhere, allowing for playful bonks off terrain features without fear of dry-docking. I go all day without hitting a rock or crossing a track.
    
    
    
    Back at the lodge we melt into the cushy chairs, kick our feet up by the fire, pop beers, thumb through Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine, play ping-pong, and soak in the tub. This is the place. Tomorrow, we’ll get on a snow cat at 8:15 a.m., and ski the best powder of our lives all over again. It’s no wonder Dr. Powder comes twice a year—he’s in on the Selkirk’s secret.
    
    Book Now
    
    Selkirk Wilderness Skiing TGR Special
    
    March 24 to March 30. Both 3 and 5 day package are available at 20% off right now.
     
    3 day – normal price/discounted price = $2580/$2150.
    5 day – normal price/discounted price = $4300/$3440.
    
    Photos by Steve Shannon

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  • 3 months ago
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• Tiny House Tour Episode 3 - Ou Tiny House Tour Episode 3 - Outdoor Research

  • From: outdoorresearch102344
  • Description:

    Every moment in the mountains lends an opportunity to learn. A lifetime education awaits those willing to explore, watch, and listen. And sometimes we meet purveyors of the knowledge, people who have made it their intention to understand the intricacies of the snow, and share what they've learned about the many varieties of a snowflake. These snow aficionados are our greatest educators, devoted to dissecting the element that brings skiers life and death simultaneously.
    
    The tiny house arrived in Utah at the beginning of a storm cycle that would invigorate the mountain community with pow turns, while burying a weak layer in the snowpack that would require trepidation in the backcountry. In the two weeks the tiny house lived in Utah, many slides were seen and experienced by skiers and snowboarders across the Wasatch. Instead of playing their usual roles in this act, they became the audience and learned from a friend of the Utah Avalanche Center, Trent Meisenheimer, a passionate snow safety ambassador who grew up at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon.
    
    Following Trent and his father Bruce (a man who should be put in the Ski-Loving Father Hall of Fame) into the special ski stashes of the Cottonwoods (yes, they still exist), the OR team investigated their own capacity to learn and re-learn what they already thought they knew. You're never too experienced in the backcountry. And there is always something new to digest.
    
    “Education is the process of living, not preparation for the future.”
    
    Watch More Outdoor Research Videos Here

     

  • 3 months ago
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• 13 Days Along The Powder Highw 13 Days Along The Powder Highway In Less Than 2 Minutes - TGR Moments

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    In this episode of Teton Gravity Research’s web series Moments, take a look at a stream of production snapshots from the filming of The Dream Factory along the powder highway as the team heads to Alaska. Each behind-the-scenes shot is 1 to 1 ½ seconds long and edited together to give a sense of what it was like filming The Dream Factory along the way with Todd Ligare, Griffin Post, Chris Benchetler and Rory Bushfield.
    
    Inspired by Cesar Kuriyama’s “1 Second Everyday – Age 30” video, Moments is a web series by Teton Gravity Research that pieces together snapshots from the filming of The Dream Factory during the 2011-’12 season. Celebrate moments from locations such as Jackson, Anchorage, Valdez, the northern Chugach, Canada’s Powder Highway, and Pemberton, BC.
    
    Order The Dream Factory
    
    Watch More TGR Moments

     

  • 3 months ago
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• Chickering-Ayers, Paaso, Bell, Chickering-Ayers, Paaso, Bell, And Rozies Win FWT In Kirkwood

  • From: gregfitzsimmons
  • Description:

    
    
    3 Americans and 1 Frenchie take the top spots at the fourth stop of the FWT, TGR's Ryland Bell posts the highest score of the day.
    
    By Greg Fitzsimmons
    
    “Variable” was the word of the day at the fourth stop of the Swatch Freeride World Tour by The North Face at Kirkwood. Variable snow conditions underfoot made the challenging Cirque venue — the permanently closed terrain at Kirkwood — heavier than normal. There were a lot of high-speed crashes and tooth-rattling backslaps during the only stateside comp of the season. In the end, the winners of the male and female ski and snowboard fields displayed solid fundamentals en route to earning their titles.
    
    Mad River Glen’s Lars Chickering-Ayers took home the win in the men’s ski field, showing total control in the difficult conditions. Chickering-Ayers has found a home on big-mountain contest podiums in recent years, but he excelled on the variable snow in Kirkwood, linking a technical line in his typical full-throttle assault that fans of big-mountain competitive skiing have come to expect. Without any hesitation, Lars billy-goated through volcanic rock, pioneered a mandatory air into a chute, and laced clean GS-turns through the venue, making exposed and difficult terrain look fun.
    
    
    “I wasn't really planning to win here,” said Chickering-Ayers. “I just came out to spend time with family and have fun. I have skied these types conditions in competition in the past and knew how to deal with them. The skiing was my favorite part of the day.”
    
    Chickering-Ayers was awarded a score of 75.33 to take the top spot at Kirkwood. The “Flying Frenchman” Julien Lopez and Kiwi FWT rookie Charlie Lyons rounded out the podium in second and third place, respectively.
    
    
    Tahoe local Jaclyn Paaso won on the women’s ski side with a score of 71.67. Paaso had a difficult first half of the season on the FWT, but skied a fluid line en route to winning the comp. The Squaw Valley female skier known for sending huge cliffs skied a smart comp line. Paaso stomped a cool air off the ridge over exposed rock, cleanly navigated a tight s-turn chute, and skied out of a bottom air on the venue to take the top spot in Kirkwood.
    
    “I have had a number of crashes this season and really needed a win. It feels great to come out on top,” said Paaso. “I took my run down a notch this time because I needed to stay on my feet. Making it to the finish line was the best part for me.”
    
    Paaso’s win made her the first female skier to dethrone Sweden’s Christine Hargin this year. Hargin was perfect so far on the FWT with wins in Revy and Cham (the women didn’t compete in Italy this year), but Hargin took a hard fall during her run in Kirkwood. Pia Nic Gunderson of Norway took second and the third place spot went to American Ashley Maxfield.
    
    
    Squaw Valley’s Ryland Bell parlayed a wildcard entry into a win in men’s snowboarding. Bell, one of the stars of the Further movies, spun a backside 360 off the ridge and a frontside 360 into a chute during his line. His score of 87.67 was the highest score awarded by the judges to any competitor throughout the day. American Sammy Luebke took second and Swiss rider Emilien Badoux rounded out the men’s snowboard podium.
    
    “This was my first win ever,” said Bell. “My stoke level is really high. I wanted to do tricks, try to flow, and have fun.”
    
    
    After consecutive second-place finishes on the FWT, French rider Margot Rozies finally won in Kirkwood. Her consistent riding throughout the season meant that Rozies was the overall tour leader going into Kirkwood. After her fast and fluid winning line, Rozies has a firm grasp on the tour title with two stops left. Elodie Mouthon and Shannon Yates finished in second and third, respectively.
    
    Now, the Swatch Freeride World Tour by The North Face heads back to Europe for the last two comps of the year. Fieberbrunn, Austria is on-deck before all attention will focus on Verbier’s famed Bec de Rosses venue for the FWT finale.
    
    Overall Ski Men Standings
    
    1 Tabke, Drew     (USA) 6500.00
    2 Heitz, Jérémie (SUI) 6200.00
    3 Lopez, Julien (FRA) 5820.00
    4 Lyons, Charlie (NZL) 4900.00
    5 Barkered, Reine (SWE) 4595.00
    6 Studer, Fabio (AUT) 4340.00
    7 Gauthier, Laurent (CAN) 4180.00
    8 Eder, Markus (ITA) 4048.00
    9 Lindberg, Wille (SWE) 3900.00
    10 White-Allen, Oakley (USA) 3885.00
    11 Ducroz, Aurelien (FRA) 3685.00
    12 Guri, Kevin (FRA) 3470.00
    13 Post, Griffin (USA) 3445.00
    14 Chickering-Ayers, Lars (USA) 3395.00
    15 Collin, Sean (USA) 3070.00
    
    Overall Ski Women Standings
    
    1 Wallner, Nadine (AUT) 6025.00
    2 Gundersen, Pia Nic (NOR) 5980.00
    3 Hargin, Christine (SWE) 5975.00
    4 Maxfield, Ashley (USA) 4895.00
    5 Paaso, Jacklyn (USA) 4630.00
    6 Wright, Crystal (USA) 4265.00
    7 Slinning, Anne May (NOR) 4200.00
    8 Huber, Lorraine (AUT) 3255.00
    9 Segal, Natalie (AUS) 2955.00
    10 McMillan, Jess (USA) 2260.00
    
    Overall Snowboard Men Standings
    
    1 Backstrom, Ralph (USA) 6325.00
    2 Luebke, Sammy (USA) 5980.00
    3 Badoux, Emilien (SUI) 5585.00
    4 Guillot-Diat, Ludovic (FRA) 5290.00
    5 Routens, Aurelien (FRA) 5200.00
    6 Charlet, Jonathan (FRA) 4095.00
    7 Carlson, Tim (USA) 4060.00
    8 Rodosky, John (USA) 3870.00
    9 Orley, Flo (AUT) 3730.00
    10 Van Helfteren, Irian (NED) 3615.00
    11 Rizzuto, Jamie (CAN) 3220.00
    12 Rouge, Joel (SUI) 3215.00
    13 Annetts, Matt (USA) 2715.00
    14 Bell, Ryland (USA) 2500.00
    15 De Le Rue, Xavier (FRA) 2130.00
    
    Overall Snowboard Women Standings
    
    1 Rozies, Margot (FRA) 6900.00
    2 Mouthon, Elodie (FRA) 5805.00
    3 Dewey, Laura (USA) 5415.00
    4 Lucas, Casey (USA) 5400.00
    5 Yates, Shannan (USA) 4480.00
    6 Lazzareschi, Iris (USA) 4205.00
    7 Mouthon, Anouck (FRA) 4040.00
    8 Bock, Aline (GER) 3435.00

    Staying at Kirkwood is the way to go, sure beats driving from South Lake Tahoe.  Book your next Kirkwood vacation pacakge at: http://mountainreservations.com

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  • 4 months ago
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• Kirkwood Hosts Stop No. 4 Of F Kirkwood Hosts Stop No. 4 Of Freeride World Tour

  • From: gregfitzsimmons
  • Description:

    
    
    CLICK HERE to watch today’s event live. The action gets underway at 9 a.m. PST as the ski women drop in.
    
    The FWT comes stateside to kickoff the second half of the season
    
    By Greg Fitzsimmons

    The fourth stop of the newly unified Swatch Freeride World Tour by The North Face goes down stateside today at Kirkwood Mountain Resort. We’re halfway through the FWT, with stops in Revelstoke, Courmayeur, and Chamonix in the rearview mirror, and Fieberbrunn and Verbier coming up after the sole comp of the season in the United States.
    
    Today’s action will take place on Kirkwood’s famed Cirque, a permanently closed rock-littered zone that introduces a new type of terrain into the FWT mix this season. The Cirque is almost 1,500 vertical feet of exposed terrain, with tight chutes, big cliffs, scattered trees, and open bowls for arching turns. Unlike Mac Face in Revy and the venues on the Italian and French sides of the Mont Blanc, Kirkwood’s Cirque is a wide, venue with a mix of steep aspects and bench-like sections that will require some navigation from the competitors if they’re going to ski the Cirque fluidly from top to bottom.
    
    Per usual, the athletes are working off of a visual inspection only, and the consensus is divided amongst athletes. Fall-line chargers will be tasked with finding terrain that suits their style, while freestyle jibbers might have an advantage with the abundance of natural features that are primed for a playful approach.
    
    
    
    
    “The Cirque at Kirkwood is a powerful place in the history of freeride, and I take riding it very seriously. It’s a pretty big face, so solid runs definitely have to be high speed and powerful so you don't spend multiple minutes up there,” said current tour leader Drew Tabke. “But there are lots of airs with good takeoffs and steep landings, so there is definitely a place for freestyle as well.”
    
    Tabke’s blend of full-tilt and playful charging has earned him the overall tear leader spot going into the fourth stop of the FWT. With wins in Revelstoke and Chamonix, Tabke’s approach has been rewarded so far on the tour, and rightly so.
     
    Other athletes, like last year’s overall FWT Champion Reine Barkered, aren’t super psyched on the Cirque’s prospects. “I don’t believe [the venue] suits me that well,” said Sweden’s Barkered. “On the top part you can go pretty fast, but in the middle and bottom sections you will have to slow down since there are a lot of airs to flat landings. I like to send my cliffs with speed so it might be better for the more freestyle influenced riding as there are a few transfers and kickers.”
    
    It’s ladies first on the venue today, with the ski women kicking things off. There was a storm last week that dropped a few inches of fresh snow on the venue, but temps have gotten warm the last few days and there’s a spring break vibe in the Sierra Nevadas.
    
    “The venue is in rough shape, but still has a ton of fun potential,” said Jackson Hole’s Crystal Wright, who has had solid showings in Kirkwood in the past. “I am looking at the same line as last year but hoping to ski it better if I can. It is fast and fluid and it makes me happy! [That line] is the only thing that is jumping out at me when I look at the venue.”
    
    
    
    With Kirkwood’s Cirque possibly favoring a more playful approach to skiing and riding, there are a few names in the start list to take note of. Last year’s North American-based Freeskiing World Tour Champion Josh Diaek is a longtime Kirkwood local, and Diaek has won the last two comps on his home turf. Look for Diaek to blast a fast, creative line through the Cirque that mixes trickery with fall-line skiing. If big-mountain jibbing is the predicted approach for Kirkwood, Euros Fabio Studer and Markus Eder and Americans Johnny Collinson and Colter Hinchliffe are names to watch, too. But, don’t sleep on Tabke, Barkered, Oakley White-Allen, and Jérémie Heitz—who is sitting in second place overall behind Tabke—to put on full-throttle show.
    
    On the women’s ski side, Sweden’s Christine Hargin is riding a lot of momentum into today’s comp after sweeping the first two stops of the FWT in Revy and Cham. Jess McMillan and Crystal Wright, both from Jackson Hole, have a lot of experience on the Cirque and are due for strong showings.

    Save Big on Kirkwood Mountain Resort discount lift tickets through Liftopia.com
    
    The men’s snowboard field should be interesting to watch as Squaw Valley’s Ralph Backstrom will don the yellow bib, which denotes the overall tour leader. Another Squaw rider, Ryland Bell, who has been sending it on Jeremy Jones’s Further project, will slide into the FWT start gate for the first time this season. Frenchmen Jonathan Charlet got his 2013 season going in the right direction with a win in Chamonix, and Sammy Luebke always brings a fresh approach to riding; both will be throwing down in Kirkwood.
    
    Tahoe locals Casey Lucas (from Kirkwood) and Iris Lazzareschi (from Squaw) will be looking to represent in front of their hometown fans as they take on overall tour leader Margot Rozies, Snowbird’s Laura Dewey, and the rest of the snowboard women field.
    
    Some competitors are in good shape going into the Kirkwood stop of the Swatch Freeride World Tour by The North Face. Tabke and Hargin sit atop the men’s and women’s ski fields thanks to two wins by each athlete so far this year. Ralph Backstrom has ridden consistently en route to being the tour leader of the snowboard men at the halfway point of the FTW, and French rider Margot Rozies is on top of snowboard women after her win in front of her home crowd in Chamonix.
    
    Other competitors are feeling the pressure, however. There are no guaranteed spots for the final in Verbier, and everyone is vying for a bib to compete on the renowned Bec de Roses venue in Switzerland. So, look for a high level of skiing and riding today in Kirkwood, and at the subsequent stop in Fieberbrunn, Austria in early March, as competitors are working to solidify invites to Verbier.
    
    CLICK HERE to watch today’s event live. The action gets underway at 9 a.m. PST as the ski women drop in.

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  • 4 months ago
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• Why You Should Ski In Afghanis Why You Should Ski In Afghanistan

  • From: kausarhussain
  • Description:

    

    Afghanistan.
    
    Just the mention of the word sends images into the mind. Military units driving through deserts, windswept mud brick villages and broken arid urban landscapes. When I mention the possibility of going skiing in Afghanistan it can get some strange responses. Forget about the risk, the first question is, “Is there any snow?”
    
    Whilst it is true that much of Afghanistan is desert or semi-desert and that it hardly ever rains, it does snow. In the mountains it snows a lot. The snow is the lifeblood of Afghanistan. As it melts, it flows through the rivers that fill the canals that irrigate the fields.  A good snowfall ensures that the people of small rural communities will have a good harvest and can feed their families and livestock. A poor snowfall often leads to a drought and a famine. However, the snow in Afghanistan is both a blessing and a curse. Heavy snow cuts off villages in the mountain and every winter people freeze to death or are crushed by avalanches.
    
    Families wait for the snow to melt hoping to survive the winter until they can reap the reward that the snow will bring in the summer. For thousands of years there has been nothing for the people to do in the winter except wait for the Spring....until now.
    
    This winter young men from the villages of Kushkak, Jawzari, Ali Baig, and of the valleys of Qazan and Dukani and Foladi will pull on home made skis, crafted from wooden planks, with edges made from flattened tin cans and with poles snapped from a nearby tree. Some will be selected for training to represent their valley in a competition to see which valley can produce the best skier. They will be given modern ski gear to use. They’ll be taught how to ski, and they’ll receive basic training in first aid and avalanche awareness — skills they can take back to their village and potentially use to save lives.
    
    A handful of young men from Bamian, in Central Afghanistan have already begun guiding foreign skiers - both ex-pats from Kabul and visitors from around the world who are trickling into the region to try out Afghan skiing first hand.
    
    
    
    So how did this happen?
    
    At the beginning of the winter of 2010 almost no-one had skied in the province of Bamian. The valley's chief claim to fame had been the giant Buddha statues carved into the cliffs overlooking the town of Bamian. Tragically the two statues – which were about 1400 years old – were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 robbing the world of two of its most important ancient Buddhist relics, and robbing the people of Bamian of one of their key sources of tourist income. For Afghans, Bamian province was also well known for the lakes of Band e Amir  – a series of five lakes formed by natural travertine dams, that appear like a mirage in this high, arid landscape. In the summer Kabuli families come here to picnic and to escape the dust and heat.
    
    Bamian is also home to the Hazara people. The Hazaras are recognisable by their Mongoloid features. They’re Shia Muslims, unlike most Afghans, who are Sunni. In popular tradition they are reputed to be the remnants of the Mongol armies who came to the region with Genghis Khan. Historically they have been looked down upon by the ethnic Pushtuns and Tajiks who make up most of Afghanistan’s population. Some radical Sunnis — such as the Taliban — have seen them as heretics because of their Shia faith. Modern Afghanistan has always been ruled by Pushtun kings or Pushtun dominated governments who have tended to overlook the Hazaras. However, there have been important changes in Bamian since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. It is no Shangri-La —  there is little electricity, the province is one of the poorest in the country and by any standard it ranks as one of the least developed places on the planet. However, for the first time in decades there are signs of progress and positive change.
    
    Ten years ago, Bamian province had never had a hospital, a paved road, or a university. Now these all exist. There are still many problems, of course, but the Bamian valley is relatively secure and there is none of the anti-government fighting that plagues large parts of the rest of Afghanistan.
    
    An international development agency, the Aga Khan Foundation, saw the potential of promoting tourism in Bamian as a way of giving the people of the province an additional source of income. The Foundation has helped to develop guest houses, organise cultural festivals and provide information about the places of interest in and around Bamian.
    
    That’s fine in the summer when tourists come to the valley, but what about the winter, when guest houses lie empty? Well, the people of Bamian fall back on their timeless winter pastime of just surviving and waiting until the Spring.
    
    
    
    But taking their cue from other mountainous developing countries it was clear that any winter income was better than none so the Aga Khan Foundation began the Ski Bamian programme. With no infrastructure or lifts, the idea was to make the Koh-e-Baba mountains a new destination for ski-touring.
    
    In 2010 two American skiers were employed for the winter to map out potential routes. They brought only their own equipment so the Afghans had to get creative if they too wanted to ski along with them. Anyone with a small knowledge of Afghan military history will tell you that not having state of the art equipment never stopped the Afghans with competing with foreign powers.  Skiing with no ski equipment was not an insurmountable problem. Strips of wood with battered oil tins for edges were formed - - so, the bazaar ski was born.
    
    It quickly became clear that the mountains of Bamian were perfect for skiing and in 2011 a foreign ski trainer arrived to train the first batch of Afghan ski guides. It was early in 2011 that Ali Shah met Nando the Italian ski trainer at his village of Khushkak. Ali Shah was fit, young and spoke good English. Nando asked him what he wanted to be?
    
    “An engineer” said Ali Shah.
    
    “Why you wanna be an engineer? In Kabul there are a thousand engineers. You shoulda be a mountain guide. It's the best job in the world. You spend your whole life in the mountains with beautiful women.”
    
    It may not have been a textbook interview but Ali Shah is now Afghanistan’s best ski guide and Nando's singular teaching style set the basis for the success of the project.
    
    
    
    During 2011 and 2012 the annual Afghan Ski Challenge race (Rule number one — no weapons) was organised by a Swiss journalist and has became a focal point for the ski season (www.afghanskichallenge.com). With most Afghan Challengers having only one month’s ski training the Swiss organisers thought it an unfair challenge. They divided the race into Afghan and non-Afghan categories. The challenge is a classic ski touring route which includes skinning up as well as skiing down. They were right to divide the competition as most of the Afghans had finished before the foreigners had even got to the top.
    
    With donations from western organisations like gear4guides (www.gear4guides.com) there is now a well equipped ski rental shop in Bamian serving the local community and the ex-pat and international skiers that trickle in.
    
    My connection with skiing in Afghanistan began in 2009 when I bumped into a Scottish lad who worked for an Afghan aid agency. Ken was hiking with his girlfriend in the Wakhan region of Afghanistan in the far North East and I was leading a group of trekkers. The Wakhan region is the only other part of Afghanistan safe enough to consider these types of outdoor trips.
    
    He told me of a group of British and French skiers working in Afghanistan who regularly skied near Kabul in the winter and if I was serious about being an Afghan tour operator then I should be offering ski trips to Afghanistan. I said I'd join him on a trip that winter.
    
    On the first trip I made we took one of our regular drivers, Ali. For someone who has never skied it is quite hard to explain what we planned to do. Once we loaded up the poles and skis he had a rough idea of what we were up to and wanted to help. At the bottom of the Salang Pass, which crosses the spine of the Hindu Kush, Ali stopped at a small teahouse and ordered food for all of us. As any Afghan will tell you the best thing for breakfast if you are going to spend all day in the snow is Cow’s Foot. Boiled for hours, this gelatinous lump of bone, fat and gristle is never appealing to non Afghans and the French skiers particularly do not like it. We made a quick note that for the commercial trips, we wouldn’t let the drivers choose the dining options.
    
    But it was then that I saw how skiing was something that really appealed to all the Afghans who saw it. Standing next to Ali as we watched Ken fly down the slopes, he was awestruck. “He is a Djinn,” was Ali's response. Hazaras believe there are mountain spirits and clearly Ken was one.
    
    In the tea house where we stopped on the way back, Ali regaled the owners with the tale of Ken's exploits. Ken was described as a Djinn and I as a Boz (a goat). I hoped it was a way to describe my sure footedness in the mountains but I think it was more to do with my erratic skiing style.
    
    In keeping with Afghan tradition, the story was heavily exaggerated but it started a long discussion about skiing, mountains, snow conditions, avalanches and Afghanistan’s future.
    
    It was not only Ali who became a convert. I realised that, Cow’s Foot aside, this was an awesome way to experience Afghanistan in the winter. Skiing was something that was very foreign but the snow and the mountains was a common factor that could bring people together as it had done in that tea house. I also thought Bamian could be the perfect place for skiing.
    
    
    
    It has not always been smooth. A few elders in one or two villages are suspicious about the skiing fuss. They worry the young men will hurt themselves – preventing them from doing the hard farming work - or that skiing will be the thin end of the wedge and they'll get caught up in other foreign un-Islamic ways. This generally does not stop the young boys from hiking up the hills and skiing. “The only say it is bad because they don't know how to ski,” said one boy from Jawzari village.
    
    All the trailheads start from the villages and we have a code of conduct to help ensure that skiers behave properly. The Aga Khan programme representatives have discussed the skiing idea with all the local villages. We pay our respects to the village leaders and maybe take a cup of tea. There are many ways in which thoughtless skiers can cause offence, generally to do with women. In a country where the majority of people are illiterate and there is very limited access to the media, in these isolated rural communities, rumour is often taken as fact. If someone tells a man that the foreigners took a photo of his wife and put it on display in Kabul he will probably believe it. So Rule Number One is – Don’t take pictures of the women. Ever.
    
    Cultural sensitivity is key to the future of skiing in Afghanistan.
     
    When guiding a group of snowboarders last winter we spent a good hour discussing with the headman of one village what we wanted to do in their valley. The snowboarders were professional and were heading to a steep area that had not been ridden, so the villagers were suspicious. It took a great deal of persuasion until he agreed and let us pass around his village.
    
    As we walked around the village we were watched closely by the men on the rooftops, with no smiles or handshakes. We travelled far up the valley and soon the snowboarders were making jumps from the top of large cliffs. On the second attempt one of them failed to make his landing and crashed in a huge cloud of snow. Suddenly huge cheers rang out from the village below. All the village stood watching on the house rooftops. They liked all the action, but they liked the crashes best of all.
    
    On the way back down there was still staring and silence but we knew the ice had been broken.
    
    We went back to that area for three days and by the end we were inside drinking tea and joking with the local people.
    
    The key to a successful trip is that the Afghan villagers have  a positive experience as well as the visiting skiers.
    
    
    
    Afghanistan has always presented a contrast of lifestyles. An abiding memory of my first visit back after years away was of an old man and a young boy herding sheep down an unmade road. With his turban and billowing shalwar-kameez — a long, loose shirt and trousers, the man looked almost Biblical. A closer inspection revealed that his son was wearing a Megadeath t-shirt (presumably a charitable donation). The road they were walking along had a traffic calming feature – a half buried tank caterpillar track to stop cars speeding through the village. Introducing skiing to a small valley in the Hindu Kush seems to build on such contrasts.
    
    A typical night is spent in rooms heated by wood fire stoves called Bukharis. These are very efficient heaters. You fill them to the maximum before bedtime. It might be -25C outside but we would be sitting in our rooms in shorts and a t-shirt. As the night passes and the fire burns out the temperature plummets in the room and at dawn we'll be inside sleeping bags and the glass of water by the bed will have a layer of ice.
    
    Breakfast could be eggs or pancakes. Where we stay, the cook was trained at a US agency guesthouse. He knows exactly what hungry Westerners like to eat. Recently married, he returned to Bamian from working in Helmand province. The wages are much lower in Bamian but it is safer. In Helmand he always had to carry his ID card to get into the compound. However, if the Taliban stopped him and found this ID card he would be killed.
    
    On a very cold night the diesel will freeze in the vehicles used to take us to the mountains. We'll drink tea whilst a fire is built under the engine to defrost it, and perhaps watch the daily UN helicopter coming in to land at the Bamian military base, managed by the New Zealand army.
     
    Once in the villages at the top of the valleys, when we start to skin up we'll be invited in for tea by the village elders. Depending on the weather we'll either accept or continue uphill to make the most of the snow. I'll remind people that they should always remove their shoes when entering a house, never speak directly to the women -– and above all, no matter how serious their latest case of Kabul Belly, NEVER to fart in a room with their Afghan hosts. This is perhaps the greatest social faux pas of all.
    
    Often we'll be joined for all or part of the day by the local youths on their home-made skis. Making light work of skinning up and paying little or no attention to our avalanche warnings. they just laugh – “Inshallah” – if God wills it
    
    There is not much to do in the evenings. Alcohol is forbidden, but there is plenty of hearty traditional Afghan food and drink - kebabs, rice and hot drinks. With alcohol forbidden, we like to call this the Apres- tea scene.
    
    Skiing will not solve all the problems in Afghanistan. It won't solve the problems of Bamian but in a few small valleys in the Hindu Kush they are making a small positive impact to a handful of people and that is something worthwhile.
    
    Interested in traveling to Afghanistan, be smart and read up first.  Amazon.com has some grea books on travel and history throughout Afghanistan.
    
    
    •    Kausar Hussain is a guide and operations manager for Untamed Borders and arranges ski trips to Bamian every year. http://www.untamedborders.com www.facebook.com/untamedborders
    
    
    

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• Chris Bangs, Human Powered Mou Chris Bangs, Human Powered Mountaineers, Cleo’s Hyalite Canyon, Photo: Patrick Clayton

  • From: patclayton
  • Description:
    Chris Bangs, Human Powered Mountaineers, Cleo’s Hyalite Canyon, Photo: Patrick Clayton
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• Masters of Snowboarding Squaw Masters of Snowboarding Squaw Valley Highlights 2013 - The North Face

  • From: thenorthface
  • Description:

    The 4-star competition of The North Face Masters of Snowboarding presented by PrimaLoft was a pleasure for spectators with dynamic and creative lines abound in spring break weather. Ruari MacFarlane out of Mount Olympus, New Zealand and Squaw Valley local Iris Lazzareschi were crowned Masters Champions of a highly competitive field consisting of 16 females and 53 men.
    
    Athletes Featured: Rosemarie Daiek, Christopher Galvin, Marissa Krawczak, Casey Lucas, Colin Boyd, Moss Halladay, Hans Mindich, Ryan Hudson, Sammy Luebke, Irish Lazzareschi and Ruari McFarlane.
    
    Music credit: “What you know” by Hot Noize
    
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• Tiny House Tour - Episode 2 - Tiny House Tour - Episode 2 - Outdoor Research

  • From: outdoorresearch102344
  • Description:

    All of us have mountains and lines that beckon to us every day, every season, every turn—Giants that loom in the periphery of our memory and thoughts. These monoliths sleep in our wildest dreams. And sometimes they creep slowly, after years of hoping and wanting, into our reality. These lines turn into days of our life that we’ll never forget. They trump weddings, graduations, and other celebrations because they represent an achievement that others can’t understand unless they spent that day with you, saw you make those turns, and felt what it was like to be in those places. These mountains and lines are officiators of greatness, if only in our own psyche. But they signify greatness that you’ll never forget (and may never surpass) because being invited into the wild by a mountain is like heaven’s doors opening for your welcome.
    
    This December the OR team was called into the living room of one of our favorite peaks, a mansion that stoops over their existence every day they've ever skied in Washington’s North Cascades. Each time they've ventured into the threshold of this esteemed range, they've cautiously dusted off our shoes at the door hesitantly asking, “Are you sure?” But the mountain has been a gracious host. Polite and accommodating, serving up everything they'd hoped for as an intimidated guest.
    
    On our 15-hour mission in December, the gates opened with an honest certainty. Snow stability and freshness we’re expected as they climbed the nearly 7,000 vertical feet to the summit. After skiing that same distance in warm sunlight, but cold crystallized powder, back down to the valley floor, they were only half way done with the mission. They still had to go home. They still had to get back to the tiny house two drainages and another climb away. Their day and night we’re not over.
    
    Invitations can be just like that. You can’t make assumptions based on your R.S.V.P. The party might go on for longer than you’d hoped. And mountains are surprising hosts, often temperamental. But, sometimes they let you slip out the back door, going unnoticed, like the quiet guest who sat in the corner, barely uttering a sound, but soaking in all the glorious sounds, smells, and sights, of people enjoying the time that they are alive.
    
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• Tiny House Tour - Episode 1 - Tiny House Tour - Episode 1 - Outdoor Research

  • From: outdoorresearch102344
  • Description:

    Everyone wants to be the all-sacrificing powder hound, vagabonding from storm to storm, with no possessions, a bank devoid of money, but full of powder turns. In some places, we know true ski bums. People who don’t have cars, jobs, friends on powder days, or houses (or at least houses that don’t live in trees).
    
    Meet Ben Price.
    
    A true specimen, and maybe one of the last of his kind, Ben lives deep, deep in the Cascade Mountains, living out of his tree house, a map of the peaks engrained in his mind, and more of a dedication to making turns and finding adventure than anyone you’ll meet in the mountains these days. And he does it because of one reason…wait for it…because he wants to.
    
    Before the days of the glory and fame of the vibrant, mowhaked professional skier of the 90’s to the energy drinking XGames youth of today, there were local heroes, people who skied because of the freedom and counter-culture found in the mountains. There was some risk involved in this—giving up everything to find solace in the powder. Comforts were gone, but enlightenment was found by the skiers living in the parking lot on the periphery of what was normal.
    
    As a snow loving community we’ve come full circle and today we’re all looking for that kind of hero. We need to draw inspiration from something unfamiliar, someone not constructed in the minds of a marketing team, but from a genuine icon—a legendary ski bum. We’re looking for Ben Price.
    
    The Outdoor Research team found him in Washington this December and parked their tiny house in his kingdom, following this splitboarding cowboy to the last frontier. Unexplored mountains and unknown pillow lines were found. And they also discovered that in the world of ski bums there’s everyone else and then there’s Ben Price (a true snow loving freak who would hate us if he knew we put him on the Internet).
    
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• Flying With Sage In Fieberbruu Flying With Sage In Fieberbruun

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    Sage Cattabriga-Alosa gets ready to drop into deep Austrian snow. Photo by Dutch Simpson.
    
    “Oh man! Hehe, I got a Fieber brew'n!” 
    
    Excitement was thick in the air after our first run, filled with insanely deep snow.
    
    We had arrived just hours before in the dark of night to Fieberbrunn, Austria, after a wrong turn led us up a snow-covered single-lane road. Once the realization hit that things were not right the crew, Tim Durtchi, Colter Hinchcliff, Dylan Hood, photographer Mark Fisher, cinematographers Dustin Handly, Athan Merick, the TGR production crew, and I, found that one of our vans was basically stuck.  The van was not stuck so much as it was ****ed, as it was overloaded, filled with bags on the inside, five ski bags on the roof, and equipped with non-snow tires and without chains.
    
    The steep, single-lane snow-packed road was slick, and the van became a toboggan. We literally inched the van back down the mountain in a full skid, using the crew as anchors dragging along each side, and back, keeping the van from gaining too much momentum and ending up in a creek, ditch or snow bank. The drive, which should have taken about an hour and a half, took almost seven.
    
    That was all behind us now, nearly forgotten, washed away with, as nearly all the crew described, the deepest snow that they had ever skied.  Our start to the day was a little slow, but as we made our way up the series of pod gondolas, the first glimpses of terrain revealed steep trees covered in a visibly thick blanket of snow. As soon as we clicked in and made or first turns, verbal excitement erupted in a chain reaction as one by one we dipped into the waist deep snow. Excitement was high, and we were eager to get right to work, capitalizing on the amazing snow, and capturing the phenomenon of really, really deep snow. Immediately we began identifying shoot-able lanes of powder and pillows that inspired us to break out the cameras, line up zones and embark on the blind ride that would start as soon as you began skiing.
    
    This storm was unique to our trip in Austria, it had snowed almost three feet in just over 24 hours, and was sitting on a soft base creating a bottomless, blower, layer of snow that covered the mountain. Skiing already feels like flying, and when conditions are like this, you are flying in slow motion, hovering down the mountain, suspended by a million feathery crystals, where the flying only ends when the fall line stops. 
    
    We continued through the day stepping out small takeoffs, floating off pillows and linking turn after turn of blinding fun. The entire crew was glowing, in awe of the experience, and grateful to have made it to this powder paradise.

    Sage busts a cork 3 into bottomless pow at Fieberbrunn. Photo by Dutch Simpson.

    Charging 50 cm of snow. Photo by Dustin Handley.

    Deep, deep snow. Photo by Dustin Handley.

    Sage gets pitted. Photo by Dustin Handley.

    So pitted. Photo by Dustin Handley.

    Yes, yes it was deep. Photo by Dustin Handley.

    Field goal. Photo by Dustin Handley.

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