This February record breaking snowfall brought the TGR crew to the Eastern Block of Europe. The crew consisted of Athletes Eric Roner, Dash Longe and Dylan Hood, Still Photographer Chris Bezamat, and TGR Cinematographers Steve Jones and Dustin Handley. The crew met up in Prague and traveled overnight to Poland. The snow in Poland was some of the deepest the crew had ever encountered. Tree-clad mountains, horse drawn carts, knee slapping accordions, deep powder skiing and lots of Kielbasa and Sauerkraut. Unfortunately, the rules in Poland for skiing off piste are super harsh. So, the boys headed a little deeper in to the Tatra Mountain Range and found themselves in Slovakia. The terrain in Slovakia was surprisingly good and the boys made the best of it. Old castles, steep terrain, great lift access, and a solid vibe. Check out the photos from Still Photographer Chris Bezamat.
- Dustin Handley
** Dustin follow cam of Dylan Hood in Slovakia **
** Dash Longe scores deep kilbasa powder **
** Erik Roner deep Polish Powder **
** The crew in Poland. Left to right Steve Jones, Joury the Guide, Eric Roner, Dash Longe, Dylan Hood, Dustin Handley **
I have put together the ultimate crew for the ultimate challenge; ride first descents in uncharted terrain accessed on foot. Myself, Travis Rice, Jonaven Moore, and Johan Olofson, with the help of Tom Burt, will set out to ride first descents far from the heli boundaries in Haines. Chris Edmunds, Gary Pendergrass and Dan Milner will document the experiment.
The first order of business was to find our home. There is so much radical terrain that picking one spot is hard. Everywhere is new. Picking a spot is like picking a ski resort out of one of the best ranges in the world and doing it in an hour. Does it have small lines, big lines, a place to land the plane, multiple aspects, the right elevation, and negotiable bergchrunds and glaciers? It is all new. A new mode to access these mountains. The big question is “can it be done? Can we go out and ride world class lines in Alaska with out a helicopter?”
For 15 years, all my riding in Alaska has revolved around a helicopter. I have this world dialed. I can go from hotel room, to helicopter, to riding spines quicker then almost anyone in the world. This skill set has given me this amazing world of professional snowboarding. Now I am taking away my biggest tool, the helicopter. Why don’t I keep turning out video parts like I did in the past? I did 5 last season. I could focus on one this year, make it awesome, people would cheer, I would keep getting paid. It is safer, requires less time away from my family and way less energy. This was the original goal, ride sick lines, star in movies. But after appearing in over 45 movies something strange happened along the way. I am almost embarrassed to say. I am no longer being fullfilled. It started turning into a job. I was not coming home bouncing off the walls. I think the root of the problem is that I was riding the same stuff over and over. It would be the day of days and I would be standing on a line I stood on 5 years ago. I enjoyed it, but I was missing that all encompassing obsession. That feeling I got on my first reel turn in my backyard, my first run in Valdez or my first few years exploring Haines with no one else around. I could get this with a heli, but it would take the mother off all lines. Huge exposure, shooting sluffs and hairball speeds. On a good trip this would happen once.
Changing the rules, going on foot, stepping outside the safety bubble, exploring new terrain. This is how I get off now and I do it with ease. I am a cheap drunk on foot. I wish it were easier. I wish I could keep doing the same thing to achieve my highs, but I do not make the rules. My brain needs new things and new challenges. This winter we have had good luck ripping the hard to reach lines in the lower 48. Is it a pipe dream to try and do it in Alaska? Did I bite off more then I can chew? There are seven other people I have sold the dream to. Hopefully we can turn this dream into reality.
**The new weapon for the mountains. Twice as fast as a heli, a 10th of the price, but tow ins are not an option.**
**Split boards gone wild. The split board is the ultimate snowboard tool in the mountains. It allows you to access stuff you could never imagine.**
**Rice and Jonaven waiting for the next drop. This is the last time we will see the comforts of town for a while.**
**Off to the unknown. The clouds are sittlng at about 5 thousand feet. This is the top of many heli runs, but we are heading to the bigger mountains off in the distance.**
**Our new home. Pretty much nothing is named or has been climbed or ridden. The options are endless. Tom Burt gives it a look over. Burt is our guide on the trip. His years of knowledge and experience become glaringly obvious on a trip like this. He is still the master.**
**Another pic of the zone. We were not planning on going this deep, but we could not pass this up. The movie is called "Deper" after all, so why not.**
**Stacked mountains with fingers of water in between. It is like nothing I have ever seen before. This is what I imagine Greenland to be like.**
**This is our hotel. These trips require a commitment to leave your comfort zone. Loosing the bird is one thing, but now the hotel. Oh well, these lines are worth anything.**
**TGR cinematographer and co-producer of Deeper, Chris Edmunds. Here he is roped and ready to check out the backyard.**
**The temp drops fast when the sun goes down. It is the coldest temps I have ever camped in. Everything freezes. Toothpaste, sunscreen, ect.**
Winter is here. The second in a string of storms to hit the Wasatch just dumped 15-20 inches, blanketing the mountains with a tempting dust. At Alta there was a high concentration of skiers and snowboarders, boot packing, skinning, and snowshoeing their way up.
While things look nice and white, rocks, sticks, and bushes poke out everywhere, plenty of gnarly “shark teeth” lurk under the surface ready to punish the early season riders. the mountain is a wild horse, not used to people climbing up looking for a ride. P-Tex and metal edges grind in to rocks, roots, and bushes as people traverse into the tops of runs. Scoured spots, and ridges, are “summer like” but mid-winter lurks in the protected, drifted, chutes,and gullies. Tread lightly in the right spot, and you can reap the rewards of slow motion, waist deep turns, that feel as if it could be January.
"WME has no valid claim for Trademark Infringement, and that is why they are attempting to delay the action with Level 1 and go to arbitration with me."
Warren's Statement
For so many of you who may not already know, I would like to clarify that I am not, nor have I been involved with Warren Miller Entertainment (WME) or their ski movies for quite some time now. When I sold the company to my son in 1988, I was excited about staying involved and helping carry the company forward. However, the company has twice since been sold, and it has been six years since I have had anything whatsoever to do with the films bearing my name.
The lawsuit that WME has filed against Josh Berman and Level 1 Productions is something that never should have happened. WME has no valid claim for Trademark Infringement, and that is why they are attempting to delay the action with Level 1 and go to arbitration with me. The judge will rule on the stay of action sometime this week. For Josh and Level 1, a stay of action only means that WME gets to put off their lawsuit, until the arbitration between them and me is finished. That is unacceptable as it leaves Josh and Level 1 hanging in the wind.
I stopped working with WME because our ideas on what the ski films should be weren’t on the same page, and they demonstrated that they didn’t want my involvement in making ski films any longer. WME’s statement that they “would like nothing better than to have Mr. Miller be a continuing part of WME,” but cannot because they are “a small company with limited resources and we are not in a position to meet the financial conditions Mr. Miller requires” is really absurd.
I have never made ski films solely for the money. I have always done what I do out of my love for skiing, passion for people, and the freedom that I find while on the mountain. I sat down and did an interview with Josh, a friend whose entire company, Level 1 Productions, generated less than $100,000 in revenue in 2008. While on the other hand, WME is the largest company of its kind in the world and is part of a multi-million dollar corporation, which is owned by a larger global conglomerate that posted more than a billion dollars in revenue in 2008.
I am really flattered by how much support so many people have shown not only to me, but also to Josh and Level 1 Productions. Thank you for reading this. Let’s all look forward to bluebird days and untracked powder snow!
Last Sunday, October 4 2009, I was sitting on the couch at home thinking, "What the hell am I gong to do today?It’s pissing rain." I started looking at the weather; I noticed it was going to snow again for the second time that week. I started to franticly check the mountain cams at alta.com and realized it was dumping. I got on the phone, called some homies and told them to break open the boxes labeled “Winter Stuff” out in the garage because we’re heading up the canyon tomorrow. TGR filmer and photographer, Pete O’Brien, had already been up skiing and was already planning on going again. I talked some other friends into going, one of which was local Snowbird/Alta legend Nick Greener.
** One of the pow shots we left behind that we would later hit on the way down. **
Pete and I ended up meeting in the parking lot sometime between 10 and 10:30 Monday morning. We originally set out to hike some of the smaller pow shots just under the Collins lift. Plans changed when we met the other boys a ways up the main pieced run known as “Cork Screw”. They were headed for Baldy shoulder, a popular area hiked by many skiers every powder day of the season. We decided that we better head up there too.We would ski better snow and get a longer run in as well. Shortly after we had started our hike, a storm moved in, picking up fast and within a matter of 10 minutes it was dumping. We made it to the top of the Wild Cat chair, where you can view Baldy shoulder. The visibility was so bad we opted out of hiking any farther. We were concerned that with it being as early as it was in the season, we should stick with something we knew wouldn’t be too rocky.
** I remember one of the characters from Charlie Brown's Christmas claiming snow doesn't taste good before winter. I disagree **
** I wasn't lying when I said it was dumping **
I watched Pete and Nick drop in; it looked like they were almost getting face shots. I listened for the sound of their boards hitting rocks and there was nothing. The feeling of excitement and anxiousness came over me. I nudged my way off of the flats and into my first run of the year.I set my first turn waiting to hit the bottom, and I felt nothing. I was once again floating through over a foot of fresh cold Utah powder.It was so surprising, I thought for sure I would be riding on rocks and dirt the whole way down. We all looked at each other and started yelling back and forth about how sick it was to be skiing deep freshies in early October.
We got back to the parking lot and gave each other high fives. We expressed how enjoyable the run was and how we needed to head up again. It was dumping so we figured it would be good the next day. I got on my phone and checked the weather. It was claiming it was to snow another 8” to 12” that evening. You know we weren’t going to skip out on that!
The next day, I pulled up to Alta with Nick in my truck; Pete was already waiting for us in the parking lot.It was a perfect blue bird day and the snow was looking deeper than the day before. There were some jibbers with boxes and rails set up, but we had our minds set on more of the good snow we skied the day before. Our friends, Carlo Treverelli and Rick Robalowski, had just finished skiing a chute called Stone Crusher off of Alta’s High Rustler. They told us it was sick, so we decided to do the same. We followed what is usually the groomed trail and ended up at the bottom of Stone Crusher.
We scoped the line that Carlo and Rick had gone up and we proceeded to stay in their tracks as we climbed the boot packed ladder to the top of the chute. We sat and caught our breaths and drank some water.We gazed around at the dusted Wasatch Range from the edge of the well known, Hi T that takes you to High Rustler.
** Mt. Superior **
We dropped in for another straight shot of wide open pow that was easily five or six times the length of what we had skied the day before. The only thing about skiing this early in the year, even more so in Utah because the snow is so cold and dry, is that you have to make sure you don’t fall. If you do there are many jagged rocks, or what we like to call shark teeth under that blanket of deceiving white fluff. So, cautiously, we made our way down for what ended up being another sick run. ** Pete O'Brien Puts his camera away after snapping off some quick shots **
It was by no means bottomless, but that’s what rock skies are for. We ended up back at the parking lot to see that Carlo and Rick were hanging out watching us ski and drinking PBR’s in honor of skiing a sick day in early October. We sat and chatted about our mornings and looked up at the tracks we painted down the gut of Stone Crusher. Carlo told me I skied too fast and I think it was probably true, but it was too much fun not to open it up a little bit. We all headed to Snowbird’s infamous Tram Club where we went for some celebratory rounds of the $5 shot and a beer combo offered by this fine establishment. We raised our glasses to the best October 6th. ever.
** (From left to right). Local hero and Big Mountain pro, Nick greener, Cine and photog, Pete O'Brien, Multi Magazine cover boy Carlo Treverelli, and the man with the fist double flip (the risky flip, which is a D-spin into a backflip and it was performed over flagstaff gap circa 2001 or 02) in the freeskiing game, Rick Robalowski. **
Nick and I both woke up the next day hurting a little from the evening, and sore from shredding the day before.We decided that the best way to shake this feeling was to head back up and hike one more run before the snow melted off.Once again, we found our selves charging up the steep booter that was set the day before and sitting on the top of what would become our first High Boy (the main chute off the top of the Hi Rustler) of the year.
** Looking Down High Boy. Only two tracks. Pumped!!! **
** Nick Gets fired up to ski his first High Boy of the season **
Check out my recent interview with espn.com for more details, photos, and a short video at:
Helmet Camera shows skier buried in avalanche for four and a half minute while skiing in Haines, Alaska last spring. Skier is pulled out alive.
Haines-While skiing in Haines Alaska last spring an experienced backcountry skier was caught and buried in an avalanche for four and a half minutes. The skier dropped into a powder slope and did not make the precautionary ski cut that is common practice when assessing avalanche terrain. Instead he was lured in by the deep powder and dropped into the slope. After a 20 second 1,500 ft ride in the avalanche he settled in under the snow and waited for his friends to hopefully locate him with their avalanche transceivers. Fortunately for this skier, his friends got to him quick and he was pulled out alive. Two main factors contributed to his successful extraction from the avalanche. 1. The skier was wearing a Black Diamond Avalung that he was able to partially get into his mouth. This device allows you to breath fresh oxygen from the air filled snow packed around your body, and at the same time displaces the poisonous carbon dioxide that normally kills someone buried in the chamber of an avalanche. 2. The most important factor was that the other members of the skiers group performed a rapid rescue and uncovered the skiers face very quickly. Using their avalanche locator beacons, the other members of the group found the buried skiers signal and dug a hole to his face in under four and a half minutes. This is about as quick a recovery you could have in these circumstances.
Fortunately for this skier, he will live to ride another day.
Check out this harrowing clip. The sound you hear while the skier is buried is his avalung at work
Grand Targhee Resort welcomed winter with a bang when an intense snowstorm dropped over a foot of snow at Grand Targhee Resort on Wednesday, September 30. Resort personnel recorded 14+ inches of snow at mid mountain. Skiers and Boarders took advantage of this September dump and laid early season tracks.
A second strong winter storm system is expected to move through the area on Saturday.
Grand Targhee Resort will open for the winter season on Friday, November 27, 2009.
For more information on Grand Targhee Resort please visit our website at www.grandtarghee.com.
Check out one of the best deals ever at Targhee, $40 Lift Tickets
“We need men who can dream of things that never were”JFK
After seeing Noah Salasnik ride “Super Spines” in TB5 my view of the ideal snowboard run changed forever.Since that time I have searched all over the world looking for that perfect wall of Spines.The more I looked for spines the more I realized finding rideable ones was not easy.
Spines are usually hidden behind bigger peaks or surrounded by glacial ice.They are formed by a precise combination of wind currents and snow densities. They consistently get two to three times the amount of snow and seldom see light.I am obsessed with spines because they are so elusive and because they are so technically difficult to ride.
Getting a good view of what you are riding is hard.There is your standard blind roll-over at the top of the run and then every time you cross over a spine there is also a moment of blindness.They are so steep that riding them is like standing next to a wall and your whole body is touching the snow. Often times both arms are needed to hug the spines to help keep you from getting peeled off the wall.The spray from each turn instantly turns into small avalanches and there is no way to beat your sluff so you are forced to work around it and often ride through it.Meanwhile, gravity is doing all it can to pull you off the face and often times you cannot stop if you want to. One slip or misjudged sluff and you may find yourself cart wheeling down a face at 60 mph.
Surprisingly when it comes to high avalanche danger spines can be the safest features to ride.Because they are so steep the snow constantly sluffs off them making it hard for slabs to form.If a slab does release when you are riding them you can switch to the other side or to another spine.Having all that gravitational pull helps when riding them also. You can go from zero to sixty mph as if you were in a sports car and a small ollie can result in an fifty-foot drifter.Having all that speed at your mercy allows you push down hard on every turn and throw huge rooster tails.
Spine hunting is not limited to helicopters and Alaska. During the right winter any mountain can hold spines.The best part is they are often the last things to get hit because most people do not see them as rideable. Although finding a good spine takes extra time and effort, when you find one the ride makes it all worthwhile.
I named this the Brothel. It took me five years to unlock this thing because there was so many crevasses and seracs in the out run. There is only a 4 wide section that is clean but it is in the sluff runnel so if you do get caught in your sluff you will be fine.
The view from the top of a Haines classic "Sexy Spines." This is a party run and odds are if you are reading this you could shred this line.
Some great spines from the bottom. My track is in the left corner..Seth Morrison gets busy on the right side.
This is another wall that took years for us to step up to the bigger lines. A couple turns into this beast I learned how to tackle spines and grind them with my arm pits.
Dr Suess. I started in the upper left and worked my way right. I barely got this line clean and I am not sure I could pull it again. Check the filmers on the knob in the middle of the photo.
Russia is stacked with Spines. Photo: Eric Bergeri
Shackeltons. This is one of the highest and biggest spines walls I have ever ridden. The spines were waist deep
but the runnels were blue ice. This made getting flushed off the spines not an option.
Shackeltons half way down ripping pow with a great ice climb to my left. Pic. IJ Velenzuala
Tordrillos. The Prow. This one took an hour of shovelling to get off the ridge and over to it. It is one of the steeper ones I have made it down.
Another Free Fall Wall. I am 0 for 2 on this thing. I have pulled the top but have gotten pitched off the bottom spine.
Touch and Go wall. Three hours of exposure. I clawed my way up this thing and clawed my way back down it.
Dream spines. My mom would enjoy these. So ripe and perfect we named them "Avocado"
"As of today I am no longer working with Rossignol Snowboards. It has been an amazing experience and I want to thank everyone at the company for supporting me the last 19 years. You always gave me the freedom to do what I wanted with my snowboarding. Off the hill I learned a ton about how to develop snowboards from the start all the way to the snowboard shop. This has been my college education.
I want to give a special thanks to Francois Goulet, the North American President. He was pivitol in helping me get Protect Our Winters of the ground and always supported my ideas. It has been an amazing learning experience watching him lead the company.
I have so many great memories from my time with Rossignol and I wish them the best of luck in the future. Hope to see you all in the mountains."
There will be more updates today as well as the release of the trailer for Jones' new snowboard collaberation with TGR Deeper
You can view discussions, rumors and speculation on Jones' next moves here
Nitro Circus season 2!We just wrapped shooting season 2 of the Nitro Circus, which premiers August 27th at 10 pm on MTV. We shot 8 crazy episodes and fortunately everyone is still standing.If you liked season 1 wait till you see season 2…
I included a few photos from the first couple of episodes…I wish I could show more!
**Cathing some sweet air while tubing at Lake Havasu**
**We got to fly in the only outdoor wind tunel!!**
**We did some big mountain big wheeling...**
**Some up rapid water skiing...**
**Some Biplane wing walking...**
**Some human cannonballing**
**More water skiing...**
**More tubing...**
**I got to fly this red bull plane...I did flips and barrel roles. It ruled!**
**The Grave Digger, Dennis Anderson, shit-whipped me around his field on the hood of a truck...good times.**
Sweetgrass Productions Releases Official Signatures Teaser: A Backcountry Skiing, Snowboarding and Telemark Film
August 6th, 2009
From the orange and gold of fall to the pink cherry blossoms of spring, Signatures follows an entire winter deep in the hardwoods of Hokkaido, Japan. Deliciously deep January blower to April corn, we bring you a film about expression, and the art of riding on snow. Every turn has a personality, and every personality has it's own unique style: the air, the smear, the spin, the grab, the laid-out cutback carve. Shot in HD, Signatures is 100% human powered backcountry skiing in all snow-sliding styles: board, noboard, ski, and drop-knee.
Rookie years equal pressure. The pressure to perform, the pressure to impress and the pressure to stand and deliver. When last December rolled around I got the call to come out to Jackson to stand in front of the TGR lens. Immediately I was beyond psyched. Jumping up and down with stoke. Then the reality of the job came in. This is TGR. This is the big time. Oh shit.
Then winter rolled around and I drove on into Jackson to meet up the crew for the first time. Immediately the greenhorn nerves were washed away. Not because of any particular shreddage on my part or neccesarily anything I did to quell the pressure, but because I walked into a crew that was just like any crew of life long ski bums. TGR's stoke for all things snow, humility to the mountains and love for the sport made it seem like the film days where more just 'shred-with-your-buddies' days. It was an infectious vibe that kind of summarized my ski season.
I slept on a the floor more than a couch. Slept on the couch more than a bed. Tallied 20,000 miles on my odometer. Truck stops and gas stations became sort of a personal kitchen. Saw the sunrise more than the sunset. Made perfect turns, fell on others. Stumbled upon new terrain, rediscovered old terrain. Landed on my feet, landed on my head. Got snow in the face, got snow down my back. Made new friends, lost old friends.
It was truly a season that defines skiing to me.
So that being said, here are some pictures from along the way. Cheers.
**Sights like these are the spice in the curry of life**
**Stairway to Heaven. Following Jeremy Jones to the gateway**
**In in with JJ**
**Desert Moonrise**
**Evening Snow in Utah. What we live for as skiers.**
**Shroder Baker trenching in Jackson with Josh Nielson and Tigger Knecht capturing**
**Todd Ligare airing out the bottom of Breakneck in Jackson**
**Rachael Burks punting under Cody Peak.**
**A new beast. Finding gem's like this is what makes those countless days of sledding and hiking worth it.**
**Secret Spine Wall. Sorry, can't tell you where this is because when you find it on your own, it'll be that much more satisfying.**
**The one moment of the season that didn't fall into the "ski bum" category. Top of a competition face in Austria for the Swatch/O'neill Big Mountain Pro**
**Tracks from nowhere laid down by yours truly.**
**Sending it over the waterfall in Utah. Adam Clark below shooting.**
Warren Miller Entertainment vs. Level 1 Productions case officially put on hold. WME lashes out at Mr. Warren Miller, claiming they will now focus their efforts “to stop Warren Miller from continuing to mislead the public and companies with false statements about WME”.
THE CASE The big hype in the ski industry right now is lawsuit between Warren Miller Entertainment (WME) and Level 1 Productions (L1P). The quick background on the case is that Level 1 Productions had Mr. Warren Miller’s voice in their new film “Refresh”, which released in early September. On September 21st, 2009 WME filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit against L1P in Denver’s Us District Court. The suit claims that Level 1 had “irreparably injured and damaged" WME’s brand by illegally using Mr. Warren Miller’s likeness. The suit further claims that WME has “exclusive right, in perpetuity, in all media, to the name, the personal endorsement, use of voice and the likeness of Warren Miller."
THE REACTION Ski industry professionals and participants quickly rallied around L1P in support, and denounced the film giant WME for picking on the small guy. L1P defended themselves, saying that they did not violate any rights of WME and that their use of Mr. Warren Miller in their film was perfectly legal, as it was in the form of an interview and not a narration. It is common knowledge now that L1P is in no position to defend itself in a drawn out lawsuit. L1P has revealed their annual earnings to be in the five figures, while WME’s parent company Bonnier Corporation has annual earnings of over 300 million a year.
Things were not looking good for the upstart production company L1P. Despite the tremendous support from the industry and a ton of great exposure for L1P, it was only a matter of time before the financial burden took its toll on the small company. Level 1 needed a hail mary.
MR. WARREN MILLER In comes Mr. Warren Miller, the man who has inspired hundreds of thousands of snow sports enthusiasts and almost single handedly invented the genre of action sports films. Warren started making films over 50 years ago and did so up until 1988, when he sold his film company and relinquished most of the control to WME. He eventually stopped working with WME all together when he decided that, “our ideas (his and WME’s) on what the ski films should be weren't on the same page, and they demonstrated that they didn't want my involvement in making ski films any longer.” Warren got involved with L1P to stay connected to the sport he has spent his life promoting. His goal was to help a young man who probably reminded him of himself.
THE LEGEND GROWS On September 25th Mr. Warren Miller filed a “motion to intervene”, essentially asking that WME sue him and not L1P. This is a very noble move for someone who was probably never going to be brought into this mess. Warren believes in what he did and is not going to let the WME giant bully the small guy. It is rumored that Mr. Warren Miller has agreed to cover L1P’s legal costs.
CASE ON HOLD
On October 21st, 2009 it was announced that the court has allowed WME to put its case against L1P on hold, while they enter into private arbitration with Mr. Warren Miller. This move will likely put the case against L1P on hold for a year. At this point the film in question will have run its course on its film tour and in DVD sales. WME recently issued the following statement:
NEW WME STATEMENT “We are pleased with the Court’s decision to allow Warren Miller Entertainment (WME) to put its case against Level 1 on hold and to take its dispute against Warren Miller and Warren Miller Company into private arbitration. As noted in our motion, we had asked the judge to grant a stay on the Level 1 case as we feel that we must tackle the bigger issue first, which is the difference of opinion between WME and the Warren Miller Company/Mr. Warren Miller, before advancing the Level 1 case.
WME is now able to focus exclusively on resolving, in the proper forum, the unfounded claims the Warren Miller Company/Mr. Warren Miller are making. Mr. Miller sold WME exclusive and permanent rights to his name and trademark in 1988, as they were to be used in connection with action sports films, and reaffirmed that transfer of ownership a number of times over the following decade.
We are anxious to legally resolve this difference of opinion, which will also serve to stop Warren Miller from continuing to mislead the public and companies with false statements about WME and our rights and stop the unauthorized use of WME’s trademarks by Warren Miller and any other party that might be led to believe that he is free to re-sell those rights.”
THE TRUE WINNER IS Regardless of the outcome, this is a small victory for L1P. WME has personally damaged their brand and voice in the industry throughout this whole process. Going into it, the majority of the world had no idea that Mr. Warren Miller was no longer involved in WME. Not anymore. The world now knows that not only are the two not connected, but Mr. Warren Miller is against everything WME does. L1P was a tiny movie company most had never heard about. Not anymore. They now receive national press on an almost daily basis, most of it in their favor. There has been talk of people abandoning their life long support of WME as a result of this debacle. That remains to be seen. What is very noticeable throughout this whole process is that we live in a very different world than we used to. The Internet has changed the face of communication. It is no longer possible to operate in the ways of the past. Public Relations are done in chat rooms and in blogs, not with big PR firms. The people have a voice that is stronger than anything anyone could have imagined. In the case of WME vs. L1P the social media jury has spoken. This case should be thrown out of court.
PROLOGUE I am left wondering if this never would have happened if the crew at WME had popped in Bob Marley’s hit song Zion Train while deciding how to deal with the situation. They would have heard the legendary Rasta chanting his prophetic words of advice. “Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, cause wisdom is better than silver and gold.”
Skiing Legend Seth Morrison chalks up another cover photoon Freeskier's 2010 Buyers Guide
August 22, 2009,
Seth Morrision has been pushing skiing as long as anyone still in the game. His style is smooth, he likes big air, and he charges hard. Seth came on to the freeski scene hot in 1992, placing second in the US Extreme Skiing Championship. Since that time he has been in countless MSP, Warren Miller, PBP and TGR films. This is hardly Seth's first cover and it will not be his last. Morrison is currently down in Las Lenas Argentina on an Oakley trip testing new product.
This photo was taken on an incredible trip we did to a remote area in Northern BC with Last Fronrier Heli Skiing. We had 10 days of bluebird conditions, which continued to deterirate over time. Seth and Chris O'Connel found a cool spot for a still shot after we had finished sessioning a big natural jump. It is always a pleasure to see Seth's turn up close.
Seth comments on the shot, "This was a one turn moment down the run from where the tomahawk jump was. Cool little spot there, nice glacier in the back ground thats hard to see. Last Frontier Heli Skiing is such a great place, hope we make it back there."
Shay Williams, Freeskier Photo Editor adds, "There is a very fine balance that must be met for our Buyers Guide cover, between strong action, stand out product and a pertinent personality on the cover. Chris O'Connell's photo of Seth was the perfect integration of visible product, iconic skiing style and in-your-face action, bridging the ever delicate line between sick action and illustrating gear to the viewer. The combination of Seth skiing at Last Frontier Heli Skiing was an ideal image for us, our needs and the needs of every consumer and skiing fan out there."
Las Lenas is one of the best places to head to in the Southern Hemisphere to get some real skiing. This season I can down here with the Oakley crew to do some testing and a catalog shoot. Traveling down here is an experience itself, being a large group adds to it. Most of the group have never been in the Southern Hemisphere, so it has been pretty interesting. Partying has made for some interesting decision making on their part, standard rookie show.
Conditions have been pretty good. Main issue has been the Marte. It has not been open since we have been here. Hiking has been the norm once it was allowed by patrol so the better riders have been getting after it. We did get a cat ride up to the Marte and had first racks out in Cerro Martin. Very deep, but no light so skiing was by braille. Winds are always here, but the snow has stayed nice in the sheltered zones.
Halfway through the trip now, the current crew will leave and another will come tomorrow. Looking forward to more skiing, hope the weather cooperates. With catalog shoots there's alot of non skiing shooting, at least the Marte has not been open other wise some of us would be going nuts during shooting. Its really nice to come down right into winter and not have to wait for it to get to the point it already is at down here. Everyday is a new day, what will tomorrow bring.
**Marte is still sleeping**
**Got POW?**
**Eduardo's**
**Jose leading the way to Cerro Martin, we got it Prick style after a week of being closed, we rode to the Bora Bora in a Snow Cat, Thanks Jeff.**
(Los Angeles, CA – August 11, 2009) BNQT Media Group and Coast Body Wash are proud to announce Tom Wallisch as the Grand Prize Winner of Coast-Make Me Famous, a video ski/snowboard sponsorship contest (www.Coast-MakeMeFamous.com). Not only being the most technical and clean, Tom Wallisch‘s 4-minute edit of style and skill had our judges hooting and wanting more. Filmed throughout the 08/09 winter in Squaw Valley, Salt Lake City and Copper Mountain, Wallisch’s edit was deemed as the recipient of a 1-year sponsorship with Coast and a cool $20,000.
“It’s sort of ironic that Tom skis away as the grand prize winner, because he was already a pretty famous athlete,” says Danny Spyra, BNQT Marketing / Project Manager. “But in a contest that recognizes talent above all else, Tom is a worthy champion.” You’ll see Wallisch on the slopes rocking his new Coast Body Wash stickers and riding in all the big winter ‘09/10 events.
Throughout the competition there were unknowns that blew minds with their amazing tricks, which is partially why we wanted to crown someone as the Top Amateur. Whether it was jibbing rails or launching huge airs in his creative edit, there was no reason not to crown Marc Moline as the king of the amateurs.
In a contest where 87% of the entries were male, we needed to show some love to the female shredders out there. After lengthy discussions and an influx of skill, the Best Chick award goes to Joanna Dzierzawski. Hailing from South Lake Tahoe, Joanna aka “Pnut” will be stoked to find out she’s getting gear from Bern, Dragon and Skull Candy.
While other prizes were awarded for what you landed, the Worst Crash award recognized a special someone that didn’t pull anything. After watching Andrae Cameron’s edit and being glad it wasn’t us, we knew we had a champ. Congrats to Mr. Cameron for taking the unproven path to stardom.
This wraps up a successful Make Me Famous contest for both BNQT Media Group and Coast Body Wash. A huge thanks goes out to Coast Body Wash for throwing this contest and Bern, Dragon and Skull Candy for getting on board as well. Thanks to all who registered and participated in the Coast-Make Me Famous contest!
Tanner Hall Video Update on his recovery from a major crash in May 2009
August 1st, 2009
By: Todd Jones
Tanner Hall had a career threatening crash while filming with us at Stevens Pass in Washington last May. He overshot the landing on a test jump that took out Wiley Miller the day before. Tanner suffered two fractured tibia plateau's as well as two blown knees. Recent reports are that Tanner will not ski during the 2010 season and is focusing on the 2011 season. Knowing Tanner and how hard he works and trains, I would be incredibly surprised if he does not put skis on late next winter. The amount of work that he is going through just to get fixed up is mind blowing. Thankfully, Tanner and his boys are keeping the world up to date with the recovery through a series of video clips that track his progress.
In Salt Lake City it's hot right now, somewhere in the 90's. Yet as trailers are dropping and new ski mags are only a week out, I can't help but think about snow. Before the movie premier and editorial action explodes, i'm taking a second to look back at some memories from the piece of my season that I had the privilege of spending in Jackson. I had some good days, definitely learned a lot, and ticked off at least a few lines I can be proud of.
During my stay in Jhole at the cozy Raintree Resort (aka Dustin, Keith, and Howie's) I had the opportunity to ski with a lot of solid riders. Absorbing knowledge from some of skiing's current greats is the perfect tool to help me carve out my own path in the ski life. The non-filming days with Townsend, Sammy, Dylan, Schroder and more proved to be just as enlightening as the days we got our A+ film shots.
As I reviewed my own shots for this blog, I came upon the realization that I did a less than average job documenting what went down (I'm really glad there were some professional documenters around). The truth is I guess I used my camera more as a pair of binoculars with a memory card and less a window to the action. About 90% of my shots were of lines I did, thought about doing, or will do in the future. That being said, here are a handful of action, line, and lifestyle shots documenting what went down during my time in Jackson '09.
**It didn't take Dylan too long to step out this natural hit and it turned out to be a nice launch pad. After Dylan got a few shots on it, I took a lap and the hangtime it provided put a huge smile on my face. Thanks Dylan.**
**I had the opportunity to ski Cody Peak with Cody a few times last season. It's unbelievably appropriate that his parents actually named him after this peak. They must be a bit psychic, even before he was born they knew the life he was destined to live****From what I've witnessed I don't think Dustin gets enough sleep. Regardless, I am constantly impressed by the energy level he can bring first thing in the morning. I am grateful to have him around shortly after dragging myself out of bed.**
**This is the first season I had the chance to ride with Sammy Carlson. He is unmatched in both his style and level of enthusiasm. This is his style.**
**Schroder and I had the opportunity to drive the Dream from Victor up towards Targhee. The fact that it started at all was a miracle, shortly after, we discovered that on top of the nearly flat tires and missing windows the Dream no longer shifts out of first gear. This proved to be quite an adventure on the highway, even redlining we came up way short of the designated speed limit. Some motorists cheered us on others honked and gave us dirty looks. I think I know which group of people I'd rather hang out with.**
**I've heard this cliff referred to as Tron, but when brought up in conversation with knowledgable locals I've recieved blank stares, which probably means: a. it never gets hit or b. it's actually called something else. When Cody first told me he was going to hit this I thought he was nuts, from my angle it looked like 100 ft. (it's big not nearly that big). I ended taking a crack at this one later in the season and I can tell you from experience that it's a very worthy ride but it also packs an awfully rough landing.****Jackson locals are familiar with the Gelande Quaffing Championship that takes place annually at the base of the mountain and right in front of the TGR offices. Here is the team ( L- R, Tate McDowell, Dave Hudascko, Josh Nielsen, Aaron Hamby, Tigger Knecht (smith quaffer)) shortly after their early round loss. What can be obviously observed from the photo is regardless of the loss, this team is still clearly the champions.**
**Rachael is Rad, and so are her spicy margs. Here she is launching in the Breakneck Zone.**
**Dustin has the pleasure of Snowmobiling, Hiking, Skiing, and Dragging the heavy 16mm camera and gear everywhere. Although mostly gracious about it, he often makes me pick it up, just to remind me how incredibly heavy this set up is. Here he is about to catch a little air massive pack and all.**
**Look closely and you'll see Josh Nielsen perched in a tree that isn't really designed for human perching. I've seen Josh indulge in a few precarious angles, like on the edge of a cliff with his only security being a hand on his belt loop. That's how he gets it done, combine that with athletes like Sammy and you get an A+ shot.**
**This line is called Rubberneck. Here is a glimpse of it the day before I had the opportunity to put my mark on it. After dropping in I discovered the snow conditions to be quite sub-par. However, this was the second season I had my eye on it and it was satisfying nonetheless. Perhaps I'll get to Re:Session it in the future.**
**Cody likes to do front flips, here he is mid flight. This particular jump didn't meet his grandiose intentions (that bombhole is from a different kicker) but he still gracefully put this to his feet.**
**This is the best haircut that I have ever given. Congrats me, thanks Keith for rockin the mostly uneven racing stripes.**
POWDER! We finally got some. A great cycle came in and gave us chest deep pow in Tahoe. We'd been waiting a long time for it and Jones knew exactly where to go. We started with a day of low hanging fruit just off of highway 80 and then pushed deeper into the backcountry to find some new terrain. We camped just outside of Desolation Wilderness with rad terrain right out the front door and the sunsets alone were enough to make the trip worthwhile, lighting up the snow like no other place I'd been. Cliffs, rollers, windlips, natural jumps and spines littered the zones surrounding our bivouac and we rode everything we could in four days. We had to leave because a storm was headed our way and we needed to get some rest while the mountains reset. On the skin back someone mentioned checking out the southern Sierra after the new snow settled. My mind wandered thinking about the big, steep lines we would find and the places we would sleep.
Nothing excites me as much as adventuring into those mountains. There are so many spots to visit in the Sierra and I feel as though I may never have the time to see them all. All I can do is try.
**This is the low hanging fruit, and the first face we hit after the storm cleared.**
**Chris Gallardo, founder of www.splitboard.com, joined us on the first day and got some killer turns.**
**After we finished with the low hanging stuff we hustled to our bivy spot and ended up racing for a sunset shot.**
**This is the aftermath of a Ryland Bell sunset pow turn.**
**Jeremy opted to ski instead of taking the time to convert over to board mode. You knew he could ski right?**
**The next morning we headed to this spine face. It had been calling Jones for years.**
**He returned the call and was glad that he did. It's not very often that spines form in Tahoe.**
**Seth Lightcap joined us to shoot photos. He's a local, but his knowledge of the Sierra spans the whole range. What a great resource, and one hell of a good guy too.**
**Jeremy, Ryland, and Seth discuss where to go next while I catch the action.**
**While looking for other terrain Jones comes across a land mine-and detonates it!**
**Ryland climbs to the top of the mega-ramp to scope.**
**Looks like he found some explosives too.**
**Jibbin' with Jeremy Jones-except this one does it at 60mph!**
**Ryland takes the front door out of the white room.**
**Jones prefers to take the elevator.**
**Ryland uses a shovel to put the smack-down on a pat-down.**
**Frontside five off the pat down.**
**Jones pauses for a glamour shot.**
**Man I'm stoked! What an epic four days. We rode tons of awesome pow and had great fun. Snowboarding is rad.**
August 29th – September 12th 2009 Wanaka NZ MEDIA RELEASE 20th May 2009:
The World Heli Challenge, the most exotic free ride and free ski event on the planet, debuts onto the international snow sports calendar this year. Wanaka, New Zealand will play host to this legendary event, coming back on the scene due to the immense support from global media and already athletes are knocking down the door to claim their spot.
The World Heli Challenge consists of 3 days of helicopter-accessed competition, staged over a two-week period to allow for perfect weather conditions. Athletes vie for top honours in Extreme, Free Ride and Downhill events and the coveted overall World Heli Challenge Champion.
“The World Heli Challenge offers the athletes the best conditions of which to ultimately test their all round ability as a snow athlete. The unrivalled camaraderie among athletes, the two weeks of continuous adrenaline activities that the Wanaka region is renowned for and the incredible helicopter skills of Harvey Hutton and the Back Country Helicopter pilots make this event quite simply one of a kind” event organiser Tony Harrington exclaims.
The event has secured substantial global media distribution across the platforms of TV, print and online media.
The are only 50 spots available for athletes, divided into 18 male snowboarders, 18 male skiers, 7 female boarders and 7 female skiers. Some of the named athletes to take part in the World Heli Challenge include: Matthew Annetts, Jackson Hole: Overall title winner of the 2009 North Face Masters Janina Kuzma: Ski winner of the Engadine Snow in St Moritz Maria Kuzma: 3rd in the Engadine and 5th in the World Tour Finals in Verbier, Switzerland
Ralph Backstrom: 4th place overall North Face Masters World Tour Rachel Sheidow: 2 x Dicks Ditch J.H. winner and former 3rd Alyeska Extremes, Alaska Chris Davenport: “The World Heli Challenge is my favourite competition on earth. No other ski or snowboard event combines freestyle, extreme and psycho downhill skills like the Heli Challenge." 2 x World Champion and inaugural World Heli Challenge Champion.
Kiwi sensation Jossie Wells had his first taste of international acclaim when he was a fore runner of this event at just 9 years old. This time he’s back as an athlete along with his protégé brother Byron – two of the hottest ski kids in the world making big waves. Confirmed athletes also include Australia’s Chris Booth, Andrea Berchtold, Charlie Timmins and Boen Ferguson and daily growing list.
For more info and photos contact Tony Harrington info@worldhelichallenge.com Ph: 61-(0)427427761
This is a classic photo from the early days of the Heli Challenge.
Blog Posts With the Most Comments
Powder Kielbasa in the E.B.
This February record breaking snowfall brought the TGR crew to the Eastern Block of Europe. The crew consisted of Athletes Eric Roner, Dash Longe and Dylan Hood, Still Photographer Chris Bezamat, and TGR Cinematographers Steve Jones and Dustin Handley. The crew met up in Prague and traveled overnight to Poland. The snow in Poland was some of the deepest the crew had ever encountered. Tree-clad mountains, horse drawn carts, knee slapping accordions, deep powder skiing and lots of Kielbasa and Sauerkraut. Unfortunately, the rules in Poland for skiing off piste are super harsh. So, the boys headed a little deeper in to the Tatra Mountain Range and found themselves in Slovakia. The terrain in Slovakia was surprisingly good and the boys made the best of it. Old castles, steep terrain, great lift access, and a solid vibe. Check out the photos from Still Photographer Chris Bezamat.
- Dustin Handley
** Dustin follow cam of Dylan Hood in Slovakia **
** Dash Longe scores deep kilbasa powder **
** Erik Roner deep Polish Powder **
** The crew in Poland. Left to right Steve Jones, Joury the Guide, Eric Roner, Dash Longe, Dylan Hood, Dustin Handley **
Alaska, Going Deeper
I have put together the ultimate crew for the ultimate challenge; ride first descents in uncharted terrain accessed on foot. Myself, Travis Rice, Jonaven Moore, and Johan Olofson, with the help of Tom Burt, will set out to ride first descents far from the heli boundaries in Haines. Chris Edmunds, Gary Pendergrass and Dan Milner will document the experiment.
The first order of business was to find our home. There is so much radical terrain that picking one spot is hard. Everywhere is new. Picking a spot is like picking a ski resort out of one of the best ranges in the world and doing it in an hour. Does it have small lines, big lines, a place to land the plane, multiple aspects, the right elevation, and negotiable bergchrunds and glaciers? It is all new. A new mode to access these mountains. The big question is “can it be done? Can we go out and ride world class lines in Alaska with out a helicopter?”
For 15 years, all my riding in Alaska has revolved around a helicopter. I have this world dialed. I can go from hotel room, to helicopter, to riding spines quicker then almost anyone in the world. This skill set has given me this amazing world of professional snowboarding. Now I am taking away my biggest tool, the helicopter. Why don’t I keep turning out video parts like I did in the past? I did 5 last season. I could focus on one this year, make it awesome, people would cheer, I would keep getting paid. It is safer, requires less time away from my family and way less energy. This was the original goal, ride sick lines, star in movies. But after appearing in over 45 movies something strange happened along the way. I am almost embarrassed to say. I am no longer being fullfilled. It started turning into a job. I was not coming home bouncing off the walls. I think the root of the problem is that I was riding the same stuff over and over. It would be the day of days and I would be standing on a line I stood on 5 years ago. I enjoyed it, but I was missing that all encompassing obsession. That feeling I got on my first reel turn in my backyard, my first run in Valdez or my first few years exploring Haines with no one else around. I could get this with a heli, but it would take the mother off all lines. Huge exposure, shooting sluffs and hairball speeds. On a good trip this would happen once.
Changing the rules, going on foot, stepping outside the safety bubble, exploring new terrain. This is how I get off now and I do it with ease. I am a cheap drunk on foot. I wish it were easier. I wish I could keep doing the same thing to achieve my highs, but I do not make the rules. My brain needs new things and new challenges. This winter we have had good luck ripping the hard to reach lines in the lower 48. Is it a pipe dream to try and do it in Alaska? Did I bite off more then I can chew? There are seven other people I have sold the dream to. Hopefully we can turn this dream into reality.
**Split boards gone wild. The split board is the ultimate snowboard tool in the mountains. It allows you to access stuff you could never imagine.**
Shred Light. Sage checks in fr
Winter is here. The second in a string of storms to hit the Wasatch just dumped 15-20 inches, blanketing the mountains with a tempting dust. At Alta there was a high concentration of skiers and snowboarders, boot packing, skinning, and snowshoeing their way up.
While things look nice and white, rocks, sticks, and bushes poke out everywhere, plenty of gnarly “shark teeth” lurk under the surface ready to punish the early season riders. the mountain is a wild horse, not used to people climbing up looking for a ride. P-Tex and metal edges grind in to rocks, roots, and bushes as people traverse into the tops of runs. Scoured spots, and ridges, are “summer like” but mid-winter lurks in the protected, drifted, chutes,and gullies. Tread lightly in the right spot, and you can reap the rewards of slow motion, waist deep turns, that feel as if it could be January.
Warren Miller Ent. vs Level 1
October 13th, 2009
"WME has no valid claim for Trademark Infringement, and that is why they are attempting to delay the action with Level 1 and go to arbitration with me."
For so many of you who may not already know, I would like to clarify that I am not, nor have I been involved with Warren Miller Entertainment (WME) or their ski movies for quite some time now. When I sold the company to my son in 1988, I was excited about staying involved and helping carry the company forward. However, the company has twice since been sold, and it has been six years since I have had anything whatsoever to do with the films bearing my name.
The lawsuit that WME has filed against Josh Berman and Level 1 Productions is something that never should have happened. WME has no valid claim for Trademark Infringement, and that is why they are attempting to delay the action with Level 1 and go to arbitration with me. The judge will rule on the stay of action sometime this week. For Josh and Level 1, a stay of action only means that WME gets to put off their lawsuit, until the arbitration between them and me is finished. That is unacceptable as it leaves Josh and Level 1 hanging in the wind.
I stopped working with WME because our ideas on what the ski films should be weren’t on the same page, and they demonstrated that they didn’t want my involvement in making ski films any longer. WME’s statement that they “would like nothing better than to have Mr. Miller be a continuing part of WME,” but cannot because they are “a small company with limited resources and we are not in a position to meet the financial conditions Mr. Miller requires” is really absurd.
I have never made ski films solely for the money. I have always done what I do out of my love for skiing, passion for people, and the freedom that I find while on the mountain. I sat down and did an interview with Josh, a friend whose entire company, Level 1 Productions, generated less than $100,000 in revenue in 2008. While on the other hand, WME is the largest company of its kind in the world and is part of a multi-million dollar corporation, which is owned by a larger global conglomerate that posted more than a billion dollars in revenue in 2008.
I am really flattered by how much support so many people have shown not only to me, but also to Josh and Level 1 Productions. Thank you for reading this. Let’s all look forward to bluebird days and untracked powder snow!
-Warren Miller
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The scoop behind the case
Early Season Turns at Alta, UT
Last Sunday, October 4 2009, I was sitting on the couch at home thinking, "What the hell am I gong to do today? It’s pissing rain." I started looking at the weather; I noticed it was going to snow again for the second time that week. I started to franticly check the mountain cams at alta.com and realized it was dumping. I got on the phone, called some homies and told them to break open the boxes labeled “Winter Stuff” out in the garage because we’re heading up the canyon tomorrow. TGR filmer and photographer, Pete O’Brien, had already been up skiing and was already planning on going again. I talked some other friends into going, one of which was local Snowbird/Alta legend Nick Greener.
Pete and I ended up meeting in the parking lot sometime between 10 and 10:30 Monday morning. We originally set out to hike some of the smaller pow shots just under the Collins lift. Plans changed when we met the other boys a ways up the main pieced run known as “Cork Screw”. They were headed for Baldy shoulder, a popular area hiked by many skiers every powder day of the season. We decided that we better head up there too. We would ski better snow and get a longer run in as well. Shortly after we had started our hike, a storm moved in, picking up fast and within a matter of 10 minutes it was dumping. We made it to the top of the Wild Cat chair, where you can view Baldy shoulder. The visibility was so bad we opted out of hiking any farther. We were concerned that with it being as early as it was in the season, we should stick with something we knew wouldn’t be too rocky.
I watched Pete and Nick drop in; it looked like they were almost getting face shots. I listened for the sound of their boards hitting rocks and there was nothing. The feeling of excitement and anxiousness came over me. I nudged my way off of the flats and into my first run of the year. I set my first turn waiting to hit the bottom, and I felt nothing. I was once again floating through over a foot of fresh cold Utah powder. It was so surprising, I thought for sure I would be riding on rocks and dirt the whole way down. We all looked at each other and started yelling back and forth about how sick it was to be skiing deep freshies in early October.
We got back to the parking lot and gave each other high fives. We expressed how enjoyable the run was and how we needed to head up again. It was dumping so we figured it would be good the next day. I got on my phone and checked the weather. It was claiming it was to snow another 8” to 12” that evening. You know we weren’t going to skip out on that!
The next day, I pulled up to Alta with Nick in my truck; Pete was already waiting for us in the parking lot. It was a perfect blue bird day and the snow was looking deeper than the day before. There were some jibbers with boxes and rails set up, but we had our minds set on more of the good snow we skied the day before. Our friends, Carlo Treverelli and Rick Robalowski, had just finished skiing a chute called Stone Crusher off of Alta’s High Rustler. They told us it was sick, so we decided to do the same. We followed what is usually the groomed trail and ended up at the bottom of Stone Crusher.
We scoped the line that Carlo and Rick had gone up and we proceeded to stay in their tracks as we climbed the boot packed ladder to the top of the chute. We sat and caught our breaths and drank some water. We gazed around at the dusted Wasatch Range from the edge of the well known, Hi T that takes you to High Rustler.
** Mt. Superior **
We dropped in for another straight shot of wide open pow that was easily five or six times the length of what we had skied the day before. The only thing about skiing this early in the year, even more so in Utah because the snow is so cold and dry, is that you have to make sure you don’t fall. If you do there are many jagged rocks, or what we like to call shark teeth under that blanket of deceiving white fluff. So, cautiously, we made our way down for what ended up being another sick run.
** Pete O'Brien Puts his camera away after snapping off some quick shots **
It was by no means bottomless, but that’s what rock skies are for. We ended up back at the parking lot to see that Carlo and Rick were hanging out watching us ski and drinking PBR’s in honor of skiing a sick day in early October. We sat and chatted about our mornings and looked up at the tracks we painted down the gut of Stone Crusher. Carlo told me I skied too fast and I think it was probably true, but it was too much fun not to open it up a little bit. We all headed to Snowbird’s infamous Tram Club where we went for some celebratory rounds of the $5 shot and a beer combo offered by this fine establishment. We raised our glasses to the best October 6th. ever.
Nick and I both woke up the next day hurting a little from the evening, and sore from shredding the day before. We decided that the best way to shake this feeling was to head back up and hike one more run before the snow melted off. Once again, we found our selves charging up the steep booter that was set the day before and sitting on the top of what would become our first High Boy (the main chute off the top of the Hi Rustler) of the year.
Check out my recent interview with espn.com for more details, photos, and a short video at:
http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/news/story?id=4546131
Skier survives four and a half
October 10th, 2009
Helmet Camera shows skier buried in avalanche for four and a half minute while skiing in Haines, Alaska last spring. Skier is pulled out alive.
Haines-While skiing in Haines Alaska last spring an experienced backcountry skier was caught and buried in an avalanche for four and a half minutes. The skier dropped into a powder slope and did not make the precautionary ski cut that is common practice when assessing avalanche terrain. Instead he was lured in by the deep powder and dropped into the slope. After a 20 second 1,500 ft ride in the avalanche he settled in under the snow and waited for his friends to hopefully locate him with their avalanche transceivers. Fortunately for this skier, his friends got to him quick and he was pulled out alive.
Two main factors contributed to his successful extraction from the avalanche.
1. The skier was wearing a Black Diamond Avalung that he was able to partially get into his mouth. This device allows you to breath fresh oxygen from the air filled snow packed around your body, and at the same time displaces the poisonous carbon dioxide that normally kills someone buried in the chamber of an avalanche.
2. The most important factor was that the other members of the skiers group performed a rapid rescue and uncovered the skiers face very quickly. Using their avalanche locator beacons, the other members of the group found the buried skiers signal and dug a hole to his face in under four and a half minutes. This is about as quick a recovery you could have in these circumstances.
Fortunately for this skier, he will live to ride another day.
Check out this harrowing clip. The sound you hear while the skier is buried is his avalung at work
Grand Targhee Resort gets hit
News Release
October 1, 2009 -- Alta, WY
Grand Targhee Resort welcomed winter with a bang when an intense snowstorm dropped over a foot of snow at Grand Targhee Resort on Wednesday, September 30. Resort personnel recorded 14+ inches of snow at mid mountain. Skiers and Boarders took advantage of this September dump and laid early season tracks.
A second strong winter storm system is expected to move through the area on Saturday.
Grand Targhee Resort will open for the winter season on Friday, November 27, 2009.
For more information on Grand Targhee Resort please visit our website at www.grandtarghee.com.
Check out one of the best deals ever at Targhee, $40 Lift Tickets
Jeremy Jones examines the beau
September 30th, 2009
words and photos: Jeremy Jones
“We need men who can dream of things that never were” JFK
After seeing Noah Salasnik ride “Super Spines” in TB5 my view of the ideal snowboard run changed forever. Since that time I have searched all over the world looking for that perfect wall of Spines. The more I looked for spines the more I realized finding rideable ones was not easy.
Spines are usually hidden behind bigger peaks or surrounded by glacial ice. They are formed by a precise combination of wind currents and snow densities. They consistently get two to three times the amount of snow and seldom see light. I am obsessed with spines because they are so elusive and because they are so technically difficult to ride.
Getting a good view of what you are riding is hard. There is your standard blind roll-over at the top of the run and then every time you cross over a spine there is also a moment of blindness. They are so steep that riding them is like standing next to a wall and your whole body is touching the snow. Often times both arms are needed to hug the spines to help keep you from getting peeled off the wall. The spray from each turn instantly turns into small avalanches and there is no way to beat your sluff so you are forced to work around it and often ride through it. Meanwhile, gravity is doing all it can to pull you off the face and often times you cannot stop if you want to. One slip or misjudged sluff and you may find yourself cart wheeling down a face at 60 mph.
Surprisingly when it comes to high avalanche danger spines can be the safest features to ride. Because they are so steep the snow constantly sluffs off them making it hard for slabs to form. If a slab does release when you are riding them you can switch to the other side or to another spine. Having all that gravitational pull helps when riding them also. You can go from zero to sixty mph as if you were in a sports car and a small ollie can result in an fifty-foot drifter. Having all that speed at your mercy allows you push down hard on every turn and throw huge rooster tails.
Spine hunting is not limited to helicopters and Alaska. During the right winter any mountain can hold spines. The best part is they are often the last things to get hit because most people do not see them as rideable. Although finding a good spine takes extra time and effort, when you find one the ride makes it all worthwhile.
I named this the Brothel. It took me five years to unlock this thing because there was so many crevasses and seracs in the out run. There is only a 4 wide section that is clean but it is in the sluff runnel so if you do get caught in your sluff you will be fine.
The view from the top of a Haines classic "Sexy Spines." This is a party run and odds are if you are reading this you could shred this line.
Some great spines from the bottom. My track is in the left corner..Seth Morrison gets busy on the right side.
This is another wall that took years for us to step up to the bigger lines. A couple turns into this beast I learned how to tackle spines and grind them with my arm pits.
Dr Suess. I started in the upper left and worked my way right. I barely got this line clean and I am not sure I could pull it again. Check the filmers on the knob in the middle of the photo.
Russia is stacked with Spines. Photo: Eric Bergeri
Shackeltons. This is one of the highest and biggest spines walls I have ever ridden. The spines were waist deep
but the runnels were blue ice. This made getting flushed off the spines not an option.
Shackeltons half way down ripping pow with a great ice climb to my left. Pic. IJ Velenzuala
Tordrillos. The Prow. This one took an hour of shovelling to get off the ridge and over to it. It is one of the steeper ones I have made it down.
Another Free Fall Wall. I am 0 for 2 on this thing. I have pulled the top but have gotten pitched off the bottom spine.
Touch and Go wall. Three hours of exposure. I clawed my way up this thing and clawed my way back down it.
Dream spines. My mom would enjoy these. So ripe and perfect we named them "Avocado"
Big Mountain Snowboarder Jerem
News Release
October 1st, 2009
From the Words of Jeremy Jones:
jeremyjones.net
"As of today I am no longer working with Rossignol Snowboards. It has been an amazing experience and I want to thank everyone at the company for supporting me the last 19 years. You always gave me the freedom to do what I wanted with my snowboarding. Off the hill I learned a ton about how to develop snowboards from the start all the way to the snowboard shop. This has been my college education.
I want to give a special thanks to Francois Goulet, the North American President. He was pivitol in helping me get Protect Our Winters of the ground and always supported my ideas. It has been an amazing learning experience watching him lead the company.
I have so many great memories from my time with Rossignol and I wish them the best of luck in the future. Hope to see you all in the mountains."
There will be more updates today as well as the release of the trailer for Jones' new snowboard collaberation with TGR
Deeper
You can view discussions, rumors and speculation on Jones' next moves here
Erik Roner Exclusive Behind th
Nitro Circus season 2! We just wrapped shooting season 2 of the Nitro Circus, which premiers August 27th at 10 pm on MTV. We shot 8 crazy episodes and fortunately everyone is still standing. If you liked season 1 wait till you see season 2…
I included a few photos from the first couple of episodes…I wish I could show more!
**Cathing some sweet air while tubing at Lake Havasu**
**We got to fly in the only outdoor wind tunel!!**
**We did some big mountain big wheeling...**
**Some up rapid water skiing...**
**Some Biplane wing walking...**
**Some human cannonballing**
**More water skiing...**
**More tubing...**
**I got to fly this red bull plane...I did flips and barrel roles. It ruled!**
**The Grave Digger, Dennis Anderson, shit-whipped me around his field on the hood of a truck...good times.**
Sweetgrass Productions Release
Sweetgrass Productions Releases Official Signatures Teaser: A Backcountry Skiing, Snowboarding and Telemark Film
August 6th, 2009
From the orange and gold of fall to the pink cherry blossoms of spring, Signatures follows an entire winter deep in the hardwoods of Hokkaido, Japan. Deliciously deep January blower to April corn, we bring you a film about expression, and the art of riding on snow. Every turn has a personality, and every personality has it's own unique style: the air, the smear, the spin, the grab, the laid-out cutback carve. Shot in HD, Signatures is 100% human powered backcountry skiing in all snow-sliding styles: board, noboard, ski, and drop-knee.
www.Sweetgrass-Productions.com
Year One- Season of Photos
Rookie years equal pressure. The pressure to perform, the pressure to impress and the pressure to stand and deliver. When last December rolled around I got the call to come out to Jackson to stand in front of the TGR lens. Immediately I was beyond psyched. Jumping up and down with stoke. Then the reality of the job came in. This is TGR. This is the big time. Oh shit.
Then winter rolled around and I drove on into Jackson to meet up the crew for the first time. Immediately the greenhorn nerves were washed away. Not because of any particular shreddage on my part or neccesarily anything I did to quell the pressure, but because I walked into a crew that was just like any crew of life long ski bums. TGR's stoke for all things snow, humility to the mountains and love for the sport made it seem like the film days where more just 'shred-with-your-buddies' days. It was an infectious vibe that kind of summarized my ski season.
I slept on a the floor more than a couch. Slept on the couch more than a bed. Tallied 20,000 miles on my odometer. Truck stops and gas stations became sort of a personal kitchen. Saw the sunrise more than the sunset. Made perfect turns, fell on others. Stumbled upon new terrain, rediscovered old terrain. Landed on my feet, landed on my head. Got snow in the face, got snow down my back. Made new friends, lost old friends.
It was truly a season that defines skiing to me.
So that being said, here are some pictures from along the way. Cheers.
**Sights like these are the spice in the curry of life**
**Stairway to Heaven. Following Jeremy Jones to the gateway**
**In in with JJ**
**Desert Moonrise**
**Evening Snow in Utah. What we live for as skiers.**
**Shroder Baker trenching in Jackson with Josh Nielson and Tigger Knecht capturing**
**Todd Ligare airing out the bottom of Breakneck in Jackson**
**Rachael Burks punting under Cody Peak.**
**A new beast. Finding gem's like this is what makes those countless days of sledding and hiking worth it.**
**Secret Spine Wall. Sorry, can't tell you where this is because when you find it on your own, it'll be that much more satisfying.**
**The one moment of the season that didn't fall into the "ski bum" category. Top of a competition face in Austria for the Swatch/O'neill Big Mountain Pro**
**Tracks from nowhere laid down by yours truly.**
**Sending it over the waterfall in Utah. Adam Clark below shooting.**
**Nothing more needed to say**
Case on Hold. The full story b
October 22cnd
Story: Todd Jones
Warren Miller Entertainment vs. Level 1 Productions case officially put on hold. WME lashes out at Mr. Warren Miller, claiming they will now focus their efforts “to stop Warren Miller from continuing to mislead the public and companies with false statements about WME”.
THE CASE
The big hype in the ski industry right now is lawsuit between Warren Miller Entertainment (WME) and Level 1 Productions (L1P). The quick background on the case is that Level 1 Productions had Mr. Warren Miller’s voice in their new film “Refresh”, which released in early September. On September 21st, 2009 WME filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit against L1P in Denver’s Us District Court. The suit claims that Level 1 had “irreparably injured and damaged" WME’s brand by illegally using Mr. Warren Miller’s likeness. The suit further claims that WME has “exclusive right, in perpetuity, in all media, to the name, the personal endorsement, use of voice and the likeness of Warren Miller."
THE REACTION
Ski industry professionals and participants quickly rallied around L1P in support, and denounced the film giant WME for picking on the small guy. L1P defended themselves, saying that they did not violate any rights of WME and that their use of Mr. Warren Miller in their film was perfectly legal, as it was in the form of an interview and not a narration. It is common knowledge now that L1P is in no position to defend itself in a drawn out lawsuit. L1P has revealed their annual earnings to be in the five figures, while WME’s parent company Bonnier Corporation has annual earnings of over 300 million a year.
Things were not looking good for the upstart production company L1P. Despite the tremendous support from the industry and a ton of great exposure for L1P, it was only a matter of time before the financial burden took its toll on the small company. Level 1 needed a hail mary.
MR. WARREN MILLER
In comes Mr. Warren Miller, the man who has inspired hundreds of thousands of snow sports enthusiasts and almost single handedly invented the genre of action sports films. Warren started making films over 50 years ago and did so up until 1988, when he sold his film company and relinquished most of the control to WME. He eventually stopped working with WME all together when he decided that, “our ideas (his and WME’s) on what the ski films should be weren't on the same page, and they demonstrated that they didn't want my involvement in making ski films any longer.”
Warren got involved with L1P to stay connected to the sport he has spent his life promoting. His goal was to help a young man who probably reminded him of himself.
THE LEGEND GROWS
On September 25th Mr. Warren Miller filed a “motion to intervene”, essentially asking that WME sue him and not L1P. This is a very noble move for someone who was probably never going to be brought into this mess. Warren believes in what he did and is not going to let the WME giant bully the small guy. It is rumored that Mr. Warren Miller has agreed to cover L1P’s legal costs.
CASE ON HOLD
On October 21st, 2009 it was announced that the court has allowed WME to put its case against L1P on hold, while they enter into private arbitration with Mr. Warren Miller. This move will likely put the case against L1P on hold for a year. At this point the film in question will have run its course on its film tour and in DVD sales. WME recently issued the following statement:
NEW WME STATEMENT
“We are pleased with the Court’s decision to allow Warren Miller Entertainment (WME) to put its case against Level 1 on hold and to take its dispute against Warren Miller and Warren Miller Company into private arbitration. As noted in our motion, we had asked the judge to grant a stay on the Level 1 case as we feel that we must tackle the bigger issue first, which is the difference of opinion between WME and the Warren Miller Company/Mr. Warren Miller, before advancing the Level 1 case.
WME is now able to focus exclusively on resolving, in the proper forum, the unfounded claims the Warren Miller Company/Mr. Warren Miller are making. Mr. Miller sold WME exclusive and permanent rights to his name and trademark in 1988, as they were to be used in connection with action sports films, and reaffirmed that transfer of ownership a number of times over the following decade.
We are anxious to legally resolve this difference of opinion, which will also serve to stop Warren Miller from continuing to mislead the public and companies with false statements about WME and our rights and stop the unauthorized use of WME’s trademarks by Warren Miller and any other party that might be led to believe that he is free to re-sell those rights.”
THE TRUE WINNER IS
Regardless of the outcome, this is a small victory for L1P. WME has personally damaged their brand and voice in the industry throughout this whole process. Going into it, the majority of the world had no idea that Mr. Warren Miller was no longer involved in WME. Not anymore. The world now knows that not only are the two not connected, but Mr. Warren Miller is against everything WME does. L1P was a tiny movie company most had never heard about. Not anymore. They now receive national press on an almost daily basis, most of it in their favor. There has been talk of people abandoning their life long support of WME as a result of this debacle. That remains to be seen. What is very noticeable throughout this whole process is that we live in a very different world than we used to. The Internet has changed the face of communication. It is no longer possible to operate in the ways of the past. Public Relations are done in chat rooms and in blogs, not with big PR firms. The people have a voice that is stronger than anything anyone could have imagined. In the case of WME vs. L1P the social media jury has spoken. This case should be thrown out of court.
PROLOGUE
I am left wondering if this never would have happened if the crew at WME had popped in Bob Marley’s hit song Zion Train while deciding how to deal with the situation. They would have heard the legendary Rasta chanting his prophetic words of advice.
“Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, cause wisdom is better than silver and gold.”
More coverage
October 13th, 2009
Warren Miller Ent. vs Level 1 lawsuit. Mr. Warren Miller releases statement with latest updates to the case
October 9th, 2009
Warren Miller Entertainment suspends lawsuit against Level 1 Productions
Warren Miller Entertainment suspends lawsuit against Level 1 Productions
Seth Morrison Scores the cover
Skiing Legend Seth Morrison chalks up another cover photo on Freeskier's 2010 Buyers Guide
August 22, 2009,
Seth Morrision has been pushing skiing as long as anyone still in the game. His style is smooth, he likes big air, and he charges hard. Seth came on to the freeski scene hot in 1992, placing second in the US Extreme Skiing Championship. Since that time he has been in countless MSP, Warren Miller, PBP and TGR films. This is hardly Seth's first cover and it will not be his last. Morrison is currently down in Las Lenas Argentina on an Oakley trip testing new product.
This photo was taken on an incredible trip we did to a remote area in Northern BC with Last Fronrier Heli Skiing. We had 10 days of bluebird conditions, which continued to deterirate over time. Seth and Chris O'Connel found a cool spot for a still shot after we had finished sessioning a big natural jump. It is always a pleasure to see Seth's turn up close.
Seth comments on the shot, "This was a one turn moment down the run from where the tomahawk jump was. Cool little spot there, nice glacier in the back ground thats hard to
see. Last Frontier Heli Skiing is such a great place, hope we make it back there."
Shay Williams, Freeskier Photo Editor adds, "There is a very fine balance that must be met for our Buyers Guide cover, between strong action, stand out product and a pertinent personality on the cover. Chris O'Connell's photo of Seth was the perfect integration of visible product, iconic skiing style and in-your-face action, bridging the ever delicate line between sick action and illustrating gear to the viewer. The combination of Seth skiing at Last Frontier Heli Skiing was an ideal image for us, our needs and the needs of every consumer and skiing fan out there."
Check out Freeskier.com for more info on this issue
Seth Morrison dispatch: Las Le
Las Lenas is one of the best places to head to in the Southern Hemisphere to get some real skiing. This season I can down here with the Oakley crew to do some testing and a catalog shoot. Traveling down here is an experience itself, being a large group adds to it. Most of the group have never been in the Southern Hemisphere, so it has been pretty interesting. Partying has made for some interesting decision making on their part, standard rookie show.
Conditions have been pretty good. Main issue has been the Marte. It has not been open since we have been here. Hiking has been the norm once it was allowed by patrol so the better riders have been getting after it. We did get a cat ride up to the Marte and had first racks out in Cerro Martin. Very deep, but no light so skiing was by braille. Winds are always here, but the snow has stayed nice in the sheltered zones.
Halfway through the trip now, the current crew will leave and another will come tomorrow. Looking forward to more skiing, hope the weather cooperates. With catalog shoots there's alot of non skiing shooting, at least the Marte has not been open other wise some of us would be going nuts during shooting. Its really nice to come down right into winter and not have to wait for it to get to the point it already is at down here. Everyday is a new day, what will tomorrow bring.
**Marte is still sleeping**
**Got POW?**
**Eduardo's**
**Jose leading the way to Cerro Martin, we got it Prick style after a week of being closed, we rode to the Bora Bora in a Snow Cat, Thanks Jeff.**
**Winds of Distruction on Cerro Las Lenas**
**Hike up ridge of Cerro Martin**
**Clouds blowing in**
Coast-Make Me Famous Announces
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Tanner Hall Recovery Update Au
Tanner Hall Video Update on his recovery from a major crash in May 2009
August 1st, 2009
By: Todd Jones
Tanner Hall had a career threatening crash while filming with us at Stevens Pass in Washington last May. He overshot the landing on a test jump that took out Wiley Miller the day before. Tanner suffered two fractured tibia plateau's as well as two blown knees. Recent reports are that Tanner will not ski during the 2010 season and is focusing on the 2011 season. Knowing Tanner and how hard he works and trains, I would be incredibly surprised if he does not put skis on late next winter. The amount of work that he is going through just to get fixed up is mind blowing. Thankfully, Tanner and his boys are keeping the world up to date with the recovery through a series of video clips that track his progress.
The Latest installment of Tanner Recovery Videos:
Tanner's first Recovery Video Update
Tanner's second Recovery Video Update
Stop! Hey What's That Sound, E
In Salt Lake City it's hot right now, somewhere in the 90's. Yet as trailers are dropping and new ski mags are only a week out, I can't help but think about snow. Before the movie premier and editorial action explodes, i'm taking a second to look back at some memories from the piece of my season that I had the privilege of spending in Jackson. I had some good days, definitely learned a lot, and ticked off at least a few lines I can be proud of.
During my stay in Jhole at the cozy Raintree Resort (aka Dustin, Keith, and Howie's) I had the opportunity to ski with a lot of solid riders. Absorbing knowledge from some of skiing's current greats is the perfect tool to help me carve out my own path in the ski life. The non-filming days with Townsend, Sammy, Dylan, Schroder and more proved to be just as enlightening as the days we got our A+ film shots.
As I reviewed my own shots for this blog, I came upon the realization that I did a less than average job documenting what went down (I'm really glad there were some professional documenters around). The truth is I guess I used my camera more as a pair of binoculars with a memory card and less a window to the action. About 90% of my shots were of lines I did, thought about doing, or will do in the future. That being said, here are a handful of action, line, and lifestyle shots documenting what went down during my time in Jackson '09.
**This is the best haircut that I have ever given. Congrats me, thanks Keith for rockin the mostly uneven racing stripes.**
Deeper: Powder in California!
POWDER! We finally got some. A great cycle came in and gave us chest deep pow in Tahoe. We'd been waiting a long time for it and Jones knew exactly where to go. We started with a day of low hanging fruit just off of highway 80 and then pushed deeper into the backcountry to find some new terrain. We camped just outside of Desolation Wilderness with rad terrain right out the front door and the sunsets alone were enough to make the trip worthwhile, lighting up the snow like no other place I'd been. Cliffs, rollers, windlips, natural jumps and spines littered the zones surrounding our bivouac and we rode everything we could in four days. We had to leave because a storm was headed our way and we needed to get some rest while the mountains reset. On the skin back someone mentioned checking out the southern Sierra after the new snow settled. My mind wandered thinking about the big, steep lines we would find and the places we would sleep.
Nothing excites me as much as adventuring into those mountains. There are so many spots to visit in the Sierra and I feel as though I may never have the time to see them all. All I can do is try.
**This is the low hanging fruit, and the first face we hit after the storm cleared.**
**Chris Gallardo, founder of www.splitboard.com, joined us on the first day and got some killer turns.**
**After we finished with the low hanging stuff we hustled to our bivy spot and ended up racing for a sunset shot.**
**This is the aftermath of a Ryland Bell sunset pow turn.**
**Jeremy opted to ski instead of taking the time to convert over to board mode. You knew he could ski right?**
**The next morning we headed to this spine face. It had been calling Jones for years.**
**He returned the call and was glad that he did. It's not very often that spines form in Tahoe.**
**Seth Lightcap joined us to shoot photos. He's a local, but his knowledge of the Sierra spans the whole range. What a great resource, and one hell of a good guy too.**
**Jeremy, Ryland, and Seth discuss where to go next while I catch the action.**
**While looking for other terrain Jones comes across a land mine-and detonates it!**
**Ryland climbs to the top of the mega-ramp to scope.**
**Looks like he found some explosives too.**
**Jibbin' with Jeremy Jones-except this one does it at 60mph!**
**Ryland takes the front door out of the white room.**
**Jones prefers to take the elevator.**
**Ryland uses a shovel to put the smack-down on a pat-down.**
**Frontside five off the pat down.**
**Jones pauses for a glamour shot.**
**Man I'm stoked! What an epic four days. We rode tons of awesome pow and had great fun. Snowboarding is rad.**
World Heli Challenge Returns t
August 29th – September 12th 2009 Wanaka NZ
MEDIA RELEASE 20th May 2009:
The World Heli Challenge, the most exotic free ride and free ski event on the planet, debuts onto the international snow sports calendar this year.
Wanaka, New Zealand will play host to this legendary event, coming back on the scene due to the immense support from global media and already athletes are knocking down the door to claim their spot.
The World Heli Challenge consists of 3 days of helicopter-accessed competition, staged over a two-week period to allow for perfect weather conditions. Athletes vie for top honours in Extreme, Free Ride and Downhill events and the coveted overall World Heli Challenge Champion.
“The World Heli Challenge offers the athletes the best conditions of which to ultimately test their all round ability as a snow athlete. The unrivalled camaraderie among athletes, the two weeks of continuous adrenaline activities that the Wanaka region is renowned for and the incredible helicopter skills of Harvey Hutton and the Back Country Helicopter pilots make this event quite simply one of a kind” event organiser Tony Harrington exclaims.
The event has secured substantial global media distribution across the platforms of TV, print and online media.
The are only 50 spots available for athletes, divided into 18 male snowboarders, 18 male skiers, 7 female boarders and 7 female skiers.
Some of the named athletes to take part in the World Heli Challenge include:
Matthew Annetts, Jackson Hole: Overall title winner of the 2009 North Face Masters
Janina Kuzma: Ski winner of the Engadine Snow in St Moritz
Maria Kuzma: 3rd in the Engadine and 5th in the World Tour Finals in Verbier, Switzerland
Ralph Backstrom: 4th place overall North Face Masters World Tour
Rachel Sheidow: 2 x Dicks Ditch J.H. winner and former 3rd Alyeska Extremes, Alaska
Chris Davenport: “The World Heli Challenge is my favourite competition on earth. No other ski or snowboard event combines freestyle, extreme and psycho downhill skills like the Heli Challenge." 2 x World Champion and inaugural World Heli Challenge Champion.
Kiwi sensation Jossie Wells had his first taste of international acclaim when he was a fore runner of this event at just 9 years old. This time he’s back as an athlete along with his protégé brother Byron – two of the hottest ski kids in the world making big waves. Confirmed athletes also include Australia’s Chris Booth, Andrea Berchtold, Charlie Timmins and Boen Ferguson and daily growing list.
For more info and photos contact Tony Harrington info@worldhelichallenge.com
Ph: 61-(0)427427761
This is a classic photo from the early days of the Heli Challenge.