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Sony Eye of the Condor 3 Previ Sony Eye of the Condor 3 Preview
- From: TetonGravityResearch
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Description:
EYE OF THE CONDOR 3 from La Parva on Vimeo.
The final chapter of the saga comes to fruition for its third and final year. Ski La Parva is thrilled to announce that it will once again be host to the annual Sony Eye of the Condor – a weeklong film and photo competition set high in the heart of the Andes.
This year’s event will showcase teams of skiers and snowboarders hailing from around the world August 2 - August 9. Discrete Headwear, and Icelantic Skis are among some of the teams returning but the competition will also feature some exciting new faces that will be making a first time appearance for the events third and final year. With all-star alumni featuring icons such as Andy Mahre, Pep Fujas, Sean Pettit, Tanner Rainville, Ingrid Backstrom, Rachael Burks, Seth Morrison, Chris Davenport, and more, you never know who will show up this year.
“Sony Eye of the Condor has been such an important event to us the past several years, and we would love to see more events with this format, but all good things must come to an end and we have decided to put this trilogy to rest and look forward to what is next. To those teams out there thinking about making the trip this year, I am going to make you an offer you can’t refuse!” says La Parva Director of Marketing and Sales Rodrigo Medina.
In addition to the competition, which will award cash prizes to the best video and photography portfolios, Sony Eye Of The Condor will present its annual forum discussions led by industry leaders examining the role action sports and media play in our society at large.
The week of festivities will culminate in the booming metropolis of Santiago Chile for the second annual iF3 La Parva/Chile (International Freeskiing Film Festival). The film festival will play host to the Sony Eye of The Condor awards and will include a celebration of the global Freeskiing film community, complete with athlete autograph sessions, film screenings, vendors, and live music.
The winning films and photos from Sony Eye of The Condor will be showcased not only in Santiago but also around the globe at the other iF3 events, including Montreal, Quebec; Annecy France; and Innsbruck, Austria.
Eye of the Condor is presented with the support of Sony. Please address press and other inquiries to La Parva Team eotc3@laparva.cl
- Blog post
- 4 weeks ago
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Helly Hansen Battle in The Bow Helly Hansen Battle in The Bowls 2013
- From: TetonGravityResearch
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Description:
The toughest skiers and boarders on the mountain battled it out once again during Spring Jam to compete in the annual Helly Hansen Battle in the Bowls at Aspen Highlands on March 30, 2013.
Teams of two raced to ski/ride the many bowls of Aspen Highlands as quickly and strategically as possible on a course designed by Aspen/Snowmass athlete Chris Davenport, which included several Highland Bowl laps in addition to a dozen of additional runs at Aspen Highlands.
- 4 weeks ago
- Views: 7
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Jeremy Jones Asks Obama To Ste Jeremy Jones Asks Obama To Step Up Climate Game
- From: TetonGravityResearch
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Description:
(Washington, D.C.) - Warning that “winter is in trouble,” 75 Olympic medalists and other winter sports athletes – including White House “Champion of Change” awardee and pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones – are sending a letter to President Obama today urging the President to take action on climate and clean energy.
The representatives of the global snow sports community signing the letter include X Games champions and World Champion snowboarders, alpine/Nordic skiers and professional climbers, including:
• Olympic gold and silver medalist Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA)
• Olympic silver medalist and four-time X Games gold medalist Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO)
• 10-time Big Mountain Rider of the Year Jeremy Jones (Truckee, CA)
• Olympic silver medalist, three-time World champion, seven-time X Games champion Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton, VT)
• Two-time Olympian and six-time X Games gold medalist Nate Holland (Truckee, CA)
• Olympic gold & silver medalist, six-time X Games medalist, six-time World Cup champion Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT)
• 2010 Olympian, Nordic skier Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK)
• Five-time winner Powder Magazine’s Best Female Performer Ingrid Backstrom (Seattle, WA)
• Two-time World Freeskiing champion Chris Davenport (Aspen, CO)
• Two-time World Freeeskiing champion, Kit Deslauriers (Jackson, WY)
• 2013 World champion, X Games medalist Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, CO)
For a full list of signers, go to protectourwinters.org/athleteletter.
“Without a doubt, winter is in trouble,” the letter states. “… at risk are the economies of tourist-dependent states where winter tourism generates $12.2 billion in revenue annually, supports 212,000 jobs and $7 billion in salaries. Those are the jobs and businesses owned by our friends and families, generators of billions in federal and state income.”
Jones is being honored on April 11 at a White House ceremony along with other “Champions of Change,” in recognition of “ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.”
Jones is being recognized for his contribution to raising awareness about the impact of climate change on the winter sports industry by creating Protect Our Winters (POW), a foundation established in 2007 to unite and mobilize the global winter sports community against climate change.
“This nomination is an absolute honor for me and the work we're doing at POW. But it's now my responsibility to take this recognition and help secure a place in the climate discussions in Washington. The letter that's been enthusiastically signed by so many amazing athletes is a strong showing of solidarity from the leaders in snow sports on climate action, so together, we have to keep that momentum going,” Jones said.
The letter to the president references a December 2012 report published by Protect Our Winters and the Natural Resources Defense Council highlighting the economic impact of inconsistent winters on the U.S. snow sports community and tourism-dependent states. (See protectourwinters.org/climate_report/.)
The athletes’ letter calls on Obama to follow through on the promise he made in the State of the Union address to fight climate change. He can do so by using executive authority currently available to reduce carbon pollution emitted by America’s power plants, the largest source of carbon pollution worsening climate change, and by rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline, which would add millions of tons of new carbon pollution to the atmosphere.
“Mr. President, it’s time to force our transition to clean energy, and we need your leadership,” the letter states. “…on behalf of 23 million of us who love winter and depend on it for our economic livelihoods, please take the action on climate change you have promised.”
The full text of the letter follows:
Dear President Obama,
During the recent State of the Union address, you urged Congress to “get together, pursue a bipartisan market-based solution to climate change...but if Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will.“
As professional athletes, representing a community of 23 million winter sports enthusiasts, we’re witnessing climate change first-hand. Last year was the warmest year on record, and once again, we’re currently experiencing another winter season of inconsistent snow and questionable extremes. Without a doubt, winter is in trouble.
And with this lack of consistent snow, at risk are the economies of tourist-dependent states where winter tourism generates $12.2 billion in revenue annually, supports 212,000 jobs and $7 billion in salaries. Those are the jobs and businesses owned by our friends and families, generators of billions in federal and state income.
The good news is that because we know this warming is human-caused, we can do something about it and it can be done, now, from limiting carbon pollution from our nation's dirty power plants to rejecting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
First, it is time to tackle pollution from the biggest emitters in the United States: power plants. We’re asking for you to issue standards under the Clean Air Act that cut carbon pollution from America’s aging power plant fleet - at least 25 percent by 2020, while boosting energy efficiency and shifting to clean energy sources. Power plants are our largest source of carbon pollution. Cleaning them up will create tens of thousands of clean energy jobs, meet the pollution targets set for the country, and restore U.S. international leadership.
Furthermore, we urge you to reject dirty fuels like tar sands. Specifically, reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which is not in our national interest because it would unlock vast amounts of additional carbon that we can’t afford to burn, extend our dangerous addiction to fossil fuels, endanger health and safety, and put critical water resources at risk.
Mr. President, it’s time to force our transition to clean energy, these are the first big steps and we need your leadership.
Again, on behalf of 23 million of us who love winter and depend on it for our economic livelihoods, please take the action on climate change you have promised.
Thank you.
- Blog post
- 2 months ago
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Through The Lens Of Jim Harris Through The Lens Of Jim Harris
- From: kimhavell
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Description:
Chris Davenport skis a chute in Antarctica. Photo by Jim Harris.
“Through The Lens” is a regular column on TetonGravity.com that highlights the work of a photographer in the ski and snowboard industries. The series exists to celebrate the photographers who bring us extraordinary imagery, to get to know who they are, and to understand their process.
Jim Harris is a TGR success story. An athlete with an artistic eye and a photographer of great strength and perseverance, Jim hit the big time from an unlikely start. Through honest and thoughtful posts on the TGR web forums, Jim unwittingly developed a huge following and grabbed the attention of industry players. Proving himself time and time again in the field and at the computer, Jim has photographs, stories, and drawings featured across varied media spots, print and online, in the world of adventure sport. He is humble, adventurous, and bright, and gets things done.
Jim has been behind the lens for Sweetgrass Productions, Powderwhore Productions, Camp4Collective, First Ascent, Powder Magazine and more. From scaling 20,000-foot peaks in Bolivia to descending steep couloirs in Antarctica to negotiating a pack raft down Alaskan rivers, this motivated talent keeps at it as he proves that with heart and hard work, success will be a reality.
Jim’s sincere and straight-up approach resonates with his audiences. Follow his creative journeys as “GnarWhale” on TGR and as Perpetual Weekend online at his Blog, Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter sites. www.perpetualweekend.com
Forrest McCarthy melts water at a ridge line campsite as a storm rolls in. Photo by Jim Harris.
The Start.
I was first interested in photography when I was a kid playing with this all-metal Nikormat that my dad had brought back from Japan a decade or two before I was born. I didn’t develop a twitchy shutter button finger until I was around 16 and started documenting the graffiti scene where I grew up. Looking back at those boxes of prints, I was pretty much just mechanically recording ephemeral art. A few years later I extracted myself from that scene by moving to Montana where I enrolled in Wildlife Biology and Fine Art courses. The blend of planning, creativity, daring, and community that made the street art scene compelling also runs through mountain culture. It didn’t take but a few weeks in Montana before I began pointing my camera at people on mountains.
Studying Wildlife Biology seemed like a good route to finding a job that combined adventure with critical thinking, plus I was good at plant and animal identification. An empirical science education has proved to be a good framework for learning about the world, even though I never took up wearing one of those flat-brim Smokey hats. The fine art courses were just for kicks, but I regret missing the memo that my university had a Photo Journalism school.
Andrew McLean skis the Chugach Mountains in Alaska. Photo by Jim Harris.
TGR.
While I’d been registered on TetonGravity.com’s message board for years, I rarely visited until I moved to the Wasatch Mountains in 2007 and discovered it offered a way to meet backcountry touring partners. Then I began posting photos of ski tours and that led to invites on more missions. One of those photo essays prompted Gordy Peifer to offer me a spot on one of his Straightline Advenutures Ski Camps, and another trip report garnered an invite to shoot with Powderewhore Productions in Alaska. That AK trip, in turn, resulted in my first print-published words and photos (Powder Magazine 40.1 “Beast out of the Earth”). Then I won a TGR and Smith Optics photo contest where the prize was an Ice Axe Expeditions ski cruise to Antarctica.
I was sharing just for the sake of sharing and that idealism struck a chord with people. If I suddenly couldn’t sell photos and stories about the sort of trips I like to take, I’d be okay going right back to doing them just for the intrinsic rewards.
Hi-fives with Andrew McLean after discovering and skiing a rad chute in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska. Photo by Jim Harris.
Inspiration.
Media-makers who also are high-performance athletes hold a role I admire. Photographers who can climb and ski alongside top athletes are the ones who, most often I think, bring back something insightful to share.
Galen Rowell about tops my list of “photographers I wish had reincarnated as me.”
Christian Pondella has crafted a career shooting photos with skis on his pack, an ice axe in one hand and that shines through in his photos.
The Camp 4 Collective team brings boots-on-the-ledge perspective to their productions and it’s apparent in the art and illustrations of Renan Ozturk, Jeremy Collins and Adam Haynes.
Leslie Anthony writes with legitimacy in his words and Fitz Cahall’s Dirtbag Diaries carry that too.
What all of them have in common is this gonzo journalism approach where, because they can hang athletically, they’re able to convey a first-person narrative that offers candid, humanizing insights into the lives of super-human athletes.
On the business side, I admire the people who help others to create content in our ski media ecosystem. When done well, enabling other peoples’ creativity is good for one’s own income. The TGR Forums empowered me and I hope the web ad revenue more than pays for the server space.
Photographers Adam Barker and Chase Jarvis both open source some of their knowledge via web interviews and tutorials. They’re investing their knowledge in aspirant photographers while legitimizing their expertise at the same time. It’s both altruistic and shrewd.
Sunrise on Illimani, Bolivia, while the city of La Paz still sleeps. Photo by Jim Harris.
The Challenge.
I want to be a really good storyteller. Sometimes when I speak, my thoughts branch into a tangent, then a tangent of that, until I’m caught in a spiraling fractal of storylines and everyone has stopped listening. So it takes some intention for me to spin a story well. Photo essays keep me on point and the narrative jogging along.
At some heady level, wilderness adventure stories like the ones I want to tell are another variant of Joe Campbell’s monomyth: the hero marches off into the wild, conquers something untamable, perhaps then realizes that the real conquest happened inside his or her head, and then returns home to share the new wisdom.
My challenge is that I don’t want to just tell those stories but want to actually watch them unfold too. Going up and down difficult mountains with interesting people carves as close to living that myth as I know how to get.
Alan Schwer hops down a steep ski line at 19,000 feet on Volcan Pomarape, Bolivia. Photo by Jim Harris.
The Business.
The business-side of working as a self-employed creative is a murky learning curve. There’s no roadmap to “making it” and even things as dry as sending photos for an editor to review turn out to involve diplomatic maneuvering. Many working photographers will tell you that your photos are only valuable if you keep ‘em squirreled away, unseen by anyone but the editor, right until they appear in print. While I see the wisdom in that approach, the only reason I’m paid to take photos now is because I’ve enjoyed sharing pictures in the past. So, I’ve continued to post photos on TGR, though I’ve become more strategic about sharing.
The ski photo world is a tough one to find recognition in, in part because much of it has fallen prey to this syndrome of collaborative competition where somebody says “Oh! Look at what they’re doing. We should be doing that too.” Photo buyers, photo makers, and athletes all push one another to converge. One outcome is that photographers face an uphill battle when it comes to creating marketable work that also conveys individual style.
On the other hand, who wants to feel like they’re leaving money on the table because they’re too elitist to take routine photos? Faced with that question, I’m no strict idealist. I’m not exactly shooting decorative cupcakes, but I’ve dug into commercial projects, studio opportunities, and jobs outside the ski industry. Sometimes they feel like art school assignments where students replicate some Old Master’s painting. Even if it’s not an approach that I’m particularly interested in, it’s impossible not to glean something useful. Those Elinchrom-lit sets are great for learning technique but they’re not where my aspirations lie.
Tyler Jones leads a climb in the Waddington Range while Seth and Solveig Waterfall follow. Photo by Jim Harris.
Being Diverse.
When I was about ten I was way into these Redwall books about mice doing medieval things. My parents took me to a reading by the author, Brian Jacques, at the neighborhood bookstore and he described to us kids around him that he’d worked as a sailor, and a truck driver, and a milkman, and some jobs that I’ve forgotten before he eventually became a writer too. The notion that one could do a lot of things in a lifetime, rather than be stuck with just one profession, took root in my ten-year-old cortex that day.
Photography has been my main focus for the last year or two, but it’s not my only outlet. I still dabble in woodcut printmaking, painting, shooting video, writing, and teaching. If this photo gig stops working out, I’ll always have the latitude to sidestep into one of these other roles.
Solveig Waterfall skiing from the summit of Mt Waddington, BC over a cavernous crevasse. Photo by Jim Harris.
Expedition Style.
One thing that distinguishes me from the pack is that I like unstaged, one-take, expedition shooting. Long and difficult trips are full of little victories and disappointments and they make for great photographic moments. As a member of an expedition team, I share credit and blame for the ups and downs I’m chronicling. Every bit of the process from planning, traveling, climbing, skiing, cooking, laughing and just surviving together is rewarding.
There are a couple big hurdles to being an expedition shooter. One is keeping one’s gear alive in the cold, wet, sandy, camera-killing places. That takes diligence but isn’t rocket surgery. Another is that one has to learn to suffer with grace. That takes practice and some balanced brain chemistry.
The biggest hurdle, however, is managing the dual loyalties of being both a weight-pulling team member while also caring enough about one’s audience to stop helping your buddies and grab the camera. Jabbing a camera in someone’s face in a cruxy moment can be a bridge-burning move. It takes a pretty keen awareness of the group dynamic plus articulate communication to balance photographic and team needs.
Before leaving for our first trip together, ski mountaineer Andrew McLean told me he was willing to ski for the camera but that he didn’t intend to re-hike anything for a missed shot. If you’ve skied with Andrew, you know that he zips uphill then right back down. Either I had to bully him into slowing down or learn to be quick on the draw, get the shot the first time, and not sulk when I misfired. I went with the second approach and haven’t regretted it.
One-take shooting is an ethos I’ve embraced. Shooting actual skiing down actual lines, as opposed to the ubiquitous one-turn-wonder approach, feels truthy. As a bonus, there’s a lot more skiing involved in a “work” day.
Chris Davenport skiing in Antarctica. Photo by Jim Harris.
Turning Point.
Three years ago, three friends and I spent a month backpacking and then rafting across Wrangell St Elias National Park. That trip changed my view of what’s achievable by a small, unsponsored team. I felt empowered by our success and humbled by the times I faltered.
Back at home, I tried to summarize the story via a long column of captioned photos. The resulting trip report garnered a lot of attention that I never expected. Something about our mix of ambition, unique route, and amateur status really resonated with people, and not just the outdoorsy ones. Traffic poured in from Digg, Reddit and other link-sharing sites.
Years later, I’m still feeling the reverberations of that trip. I’ve been back to the Wrangells once and have plans for another trip this year. I’m also packing today for a crazy Mexico adventure that I’ve been invited on because a couple of Alaska’s most-audacious wilderness travelers saw my photo essay and thought I’d be a good fit for their team. Looking back, it is comical how many doors have opened for me based on something that I never guessed would have much impact.
Forrest McCarthy midway through a 120 mile traverse of the Abaroka Beartooth Mountains. Photo by Jim Harris.
Future Direction.
There’s been this recent uptick in the ski industry’s acknowledgment that what we do is risky. At a fundamental level, action sports culture pushes the idea that “advancing the sport” or “pushing the envelope” is the loftiest goal an athlete can strive for. I think that presumption deserves some scrutiny because it is steering our risk-taking. We’re not going to revert to blue-square level skiing in movies but it’s worth acknowledging that there are perhaps less death-defying ways to “advance the sport.”
For me, that means looking for trips that are challenging because they’re remote, or because they require an endurance component, or because they offer a quirky perspective on the norm. Both writers and photographers search for unique angles. As someone with a growing grasp of both pursuits, I’m positioned to connect interesting story ideas with smart photos.
Jim Harris' Powder Magazine cover photo. Skier unknown.
Game Changers.
A few years ago, I watched an acquaintance trigger and then swept by an avalanche. It was formative. It changed how I communicate with partners, how I plan for a tour, and is a continual reminder to make conservative choices.
Soon after that incident, I began teaching avalanche classes. Now that I’ve shifted to proselytizing wilderness skiing for a living, teaching the prophylactic aspect of it feels essential. Not only does it feel like righteous work but teaching avy classes also helps keep my skills honed.
At the other end of the spectrum, one of my photos is running on the cover of the new Powder Magazine Photo Annual. For someone who’s only been making a living as a photographer for just over a year, it’s like putting boots on at 9:30 and somehow still catching first chair. That cover isn’t recognition I’d expected to have so soon in my photo career, but I’m grateful for it.
Want to shoot like Jim, start with some high end DSLR camera gear available at Amazon.com - Blog post
- 5 months ago
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Chris Davenport skiing in Anta Chris Davenport skiing in Antarctica photo by Jim Harris
- From: kimhavell
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Description:Chris Davenport skiing in Antarctica photo by Jim Harris
- 5 months ago
- Views: 421
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Chris Davenport skis a chute i Chris Davenport skis a chute in Antarctica photo by Jim Harris
- From: kimhavell
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Description:Chris Davenport skis a chute in Antarctica photo by Jim Harris
- 5 months ago
- Views: 519
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Interview: Chris Davenport On Interview: Chris Davenport On 50 Classic Ski Descents Of North America Book
- From: SamPetri
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Description:
A skier drops in to Terminal Cancer Couloir in Nevada, one of the lines featured in the book 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America.
Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America is a large-format compilation book of iconic and aesthetic ski descents from Alaska to Baffin Island, from Tuckerman’s Ravine in New Hampshire to eight states in the western U.S. and the three western provinces of Canada.
Created by ski mountaineers Chris Davenport, Art Burrows and Penn Newhard, 50 Classic Ski Descents taps into the local knowledge of contributors such as Andrew McLean, Glen Plake, Lowell Skoog, Chic Scott and Ptor Spricenieks with first person descriptions of their favorite ski descents and insightful perspectives on ski mountaineering past, present and future.
TetonGravity.com recently sat down with co-author and pioneering skier Chris Davenport in Aspen, Colorado, and flipped through the pages to see what it’s all about. We found it is one of the best hit lists out there, as no one skier has descended them all. As they say, game on!
A crew stands on top of Polar Star Couloir on Baffin Island and gets ready for a classic descent.
Sam Petri: Tell me about how this book came together.
Chris Davenport: Penn Newhard, myself and Art Burrows, we were talking about it for a couple of years, but we really started working on it in January of 2010 - getting the framework, building the list of the 50 classics. You know, what were the mountains going to be? Who were we going to get images from? Who were we going to talk to? We really wanted to have a lot of contributors.
Nobody has skied all of these mountains. There is not one person who has skied all 50 of these. So we really need to rely on the expertise of some of North America’s most well known skiers. These people right here. They represent not only a huge amount of history in the sport of skiing and ski mountaineering, but they also represent all the different regions, so we kind of started building this list. Like, who were the people we want to include in the book? Who has great stories to tell? Who has got great images we can use? So we went through building that list, talking to people, doing the legwork, and then by April or May we really had everything we needed to sit down and start building the book.
It’s sort of like running a marathon, the first mile you are like, “Oh my god am I ever going to finish this? This is already hard.” So the first 10 pages it was like, “holy shit, are we ever going to get through this thing?” We bit off a lot and the more conversations we had with people, the more we realized how much was really out there. Certainly, I pride myself on knowing a lot about great places to ski. That’s what I do, but you know, for instance, the Polar Star couloir in Baffin Island, I didn’t really known much about that and we started talking to people like Andrew McClain and Hilary O’Neill and they were just like, “This is just the most incredible line on the east coast.”
Skiing Polar Star Couloir.
SP: What were the criteria for a classic? What defines a classic?
CD: Yeah, that’s a good question. I think the main thing that defines it is it has got to just grab your eye. You have to look at this and just go, “Wow, oh my gosh, look at that line.” It really has to jump off the page at you.
I think there has to be history to it. I think it’s got to be aesthetic. You know, most importantly for me was the aesthetics. Take Tuckerman’s Ravine, for example. I mean, it’s a super aesthetic glacial cirque with an incredible amount of history and it’s really popular. A lot of people go up there. Huntington Ravine as well. But then there are other ones like Baffin Island. This couloir has only been skied like half a dozen times, but it’s just in a super striking part of the world. We wanted things that were going to be inspirational or aspirational, where people would go, “Wow, I wonder if I could ever do that?” And things like Tuckerman’s, where people are up there every week in the spring. It was a nice blend of things. We didn’t want it to be super exclusive, you know like, “The Gnarliest 50 Descents On The Continent.” We wanted it to be a good collection – a variety, I guess you’d say. So we got the east, and then we get to right outside Aspen. I wrote this story, “Breaking The Glass Ceiling.” I wrote this one because we skied the second decent of the east face here on Pyramid, and this is probably the most classic line in all of Colorado.
SP: Daaaaamnnn.
CD: It had only been skied once and it was in 1978. It sat there for 28 years.
SP: Who skied it first?
CD: Chris Landry. We went up there and it hadn’t been repeated. This line over here had been skied, but nobody had gone off the summit, down the Landry line. So we did the second decent and once we did it and word got out that we just did the second decent, people flocked and were like that’s the glass ceiling. It broke and people came down and started doing it, so here is a story that I wrote about that experience and why this face is unique. It is pretty burley climbing.
University Peak in Alaska, "probably the most burley peak in the whole book," Davenport says.
Climbing University Peak.
SP: Were there any lines that you guys argued about being a classic?
CD: I would say there wasn’t any argument, but there was definitely deliberation about things like, “Do we put this in there?” We originally had like 70 mountains that we needed to chop the list down to 50. There was deliberation because there were ones we didn’t have good photos of and there were ones we just didn’t know that much about. This peak is super badass, University, probably the most burley peak in the whole book. It has only been skied twice. 7,000 vert. It’s ones like this we were like, “We have to put this in there.” Even if hardly anyone is ever going to get to do this, it is so rowdy and so awesome, we’ve got to put it in there. And some expeditionary kind of stuff in Alaska. Pontoon peak in the Valdez area is a super classic peak.
Pontoon Peak in Alaska's Chugach Range.
SP: I’ve been up there. Last year I camped up there, sort of near Pontoon. I just went and skinned around for 10 days, just outside of Point’s North Heli’s zone. Yeah, Kevin Quinn is the man.
CD: Yeah, he knows a ton of people.
SP: Pontoon is badass.
CD: You’re right. And this is a super classic photo of Meteorite in Valdez. This is the first decent. This is a really good story. Eric Pehota writes about Trevor Peterson missing out on the first decent because he got wasted the night before. They couldn’t find him and these guys Scott Markewitz, Eric Pehota and Kirk Jensen, they got it. Trevor was left behind.
SP: Ha, that’s funny. So you put heli lines in here, too?
CD: Yeah, because, I mean, the mountains don’t care how you access them. Like I said, the aesthetics and the beauty of it all is open to anybody. And yeah, there are some things that are accessed by helicopters and there are some things that certainly are only human powered access, and we felt like those were both valid ways of going skiing. We are not trying to say like, “Oh, heli-skiing is bad or you have to be a ski mountaineer to be able to do these things.” There are plenty of classic lines out there that you can walk up, and there are some you can fly to. And yeah, we talked about that. Do we include things that have heli-skiing or not? That’s just the way it is in Valdez. There is heli-skiing there. And you can’t just say we’re not going to put that in there just because it’s mechanized. But that was definitely a discussion, for sure. Yeah, we wanted a good variety. We wanted this book to appeal not just a hardcore, but also the beginner, the guy that is just getting into it, and to have it be really inspirational. We wanted people to have this book and have it be their hit list.
SP: We’ll, it’s cool that no one has done all of them yet.
CD: Yeah, I’ve skied like 25 or 24 of them. That’s a lot. Maybe someday somebody will be like, “You know what? We’re going to do a project to ski the 50 classics that these guys wrote about.”
Get Your Book And Get Out There
The Skillet on Mount Moran in Grand Teton National Park. - Blog post
- 7 months ago
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News: Jeremy Jones, Travis Ric News: Jeremy Jones, Travis Rice, Gretchen Bleiler And More Remind You To Vote November 6
- From: TetonGravityResearch
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Description:
PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - With voter turnout a major issue in the 2012 election, Protect Our Winters and the Surfrider Foundation have asked professional skiers, snowboarders and surfers to remind their respective communities to get out and vote.
Eleven pro athletes such as Travis Rice, Jeremy Jones, Shea Lopez and Gretchen Bleiler have all submitted personal video clips asking people to remember to get out and vote on November 6.
“Do you part to protect the environment and get and vote, because every vote counts,” professional skier Chris Davenport said.
“Climate Change is affecting our oceans … and if you don’t vote, you can’t complain,” pro surfer Torrey Meister said.
“This is a critical election for the environment. It’s just so important that everyone who can vote, takes a few minutes to do it. We spend the entire year fighting for key environmental issues and this is our opportunity to be active participants to create the change we’re seeking. And we know that having pro athletes deliver that message can be really impactful,” Protect Our Winters Executive Director Chris Steinkamp said.
POW/Surfrider’s goal is to distribute these as widely as possible throughout the action sports community between now and Election Day to remind the action sports community to get out and vote.
Share these videos to remind people to get out and vote on Nov. 6.
Travis Rice:
Ingrid Backstrom:
Gretchen Bleiler:
Forrest Shearer:
Ralph Backstrom:
Chris Davenport: - Blog post
- 8 months ago
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News: Scarpa Teams With Chris News: Scarpa Teams With Chris Davenport To Launch New Freeride Boot Line
- From: media-75233
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Description:
Premier big-mountain skier Chris Davenport will be intimately involved in the product development process for the new Scarpa freeride line, available fall 2013.
Boulder, Colo. – Scarpa, the Italian-based manufacturer of footwear for the full range of mountain sports, began a long-term partnership with renowned big mountain skier Chris Davenport in August 2012. Along with serving as a Scarpa ambassador and testing new Scarpa products, Davenport will be a key member of the product development team for a new line of Scarpa freeride boots that will be available in Fall 2013.
Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished big-mountain skiers in the world, Davenport said he was attracted to work with the Scarpa brand not only because of its world-class reputation in the ski-mountaineering, touring and footwear categories, but also because of the opportunity to be intimately involved in the development and testing of a new, innovative line of ski boots specifically for the freeride market.
“I’m a product guy, a gear geek if you will. I love equipment, I love tweaking it, and I believe that you can always make a better product,” Davenport said. “Scarpa is super well respected in the world of skiing, so for me, this a chance to work with an already great line of products, but also a chance to help create something innovative and new.”
“There’s very definitely an opportunity in the freeride category – a product for a specific set of needs that doesn’t yet exist in the marketplace,” he said. “I’m not just joining Scarpa, I’m joining Scarpa to be involved in the development of the strongest boot line yet specifically built for the needs of freeride and sidecountry skiers.”
Chris Davenport absolutely shreds. Photo by Adam Clark.
Davenport began working closely with the Scarpa product development team in August with the goal of launching Scarpa’s innovative new ski boot collection to the world market at the 2013 Outdoor Retailer, SIA and ISPO shows in January and February.
Another factor that attracted Davenport to working with Scarpa was meeting the Parisotto family that owns the company, along with the Scarpa North America team, and seeing their passion for developing game-changing products for skiing and mountain sports.
“We’re all product people, we love having the right product, the best thing out there, the most high performance thing we can have,” Davenport said. “So I think that also makes this a great match.”
After beginning his skiing career as a racer, Davenport was a fixture on the freeskiing scene for a decade, winning two Freeskiing World Championships, an X Games medal, and many Powder Magazine Reader's Poll Awards. Among his many ski mountaineering achievements, he became the first person to ski all fifty-four of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks in less than one year (2007) and recently guided and skied on Mt. Everest. Davenport has numerous first descents of peaks around the globe under his belt, and has been featured in more than 30 ski films by Warren Miller and Matchstick Productions. He is also a TV commentator for ESPN, ABC sports, and Outside Television, and is an Olympic and World Cup announcer for ski racing events. A professional speaker who often lectures on risk management as it relates to business and mountain sports, Davenport is the author of two coffee-table books that celebrate North America’s mountains, Ski The 14ers and Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America. When not traveling the globe, he resides in Aspen, Colo., with his wife and three boys.
Founded in 1938, Scarpa builds performance footwear for climbing, hiking, skiing, mountaineering, trail running and other outdoor pursuits from its headquarters in Asolo, Italy. Scarpa has been owned and operated by the Parisotto family since 1956. In 2005, Scarpa opened its North American headquarters in Boulder, Colorado., staffed and directed by veterans of the North American outdoor industry, to oversee sales, marketing and distribution in the U.S. and Canada. For more information about Scarpa footwear, visit www.Scarpa.com.
Davenport puts on Scarpa boots. Photo by Adam Clark. - Blog post
- 9 months ago
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Chris Davenport puts on Scarpa Chris Davenport puts on Scarpa boots. Photo by Adam Clark
- From: media-75233
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Description:Chris Davenport puts on Scarpa boots. Photo by Adam Clark
- 9 months ago
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Chris Davenport shreds. Photo Chris Davenport shreds. Photo by Adam Clark
- From: media-75233
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Description:Chris Davenport shreds. Photo by Adam Clark
- 9 months ago
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Chris Davenport Chris Davenport
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Description:Chris Davenport
- 9 months ago
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Choose Your Own Adventure by P Choose Your Own Adventure by Powderwhore Productions
- From: powderwhores
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Description:
Powderwhore Productions, a backcountry ski film company based in Utah, is proud to announce its eighth annual ski movie, called “Choose Your Adventure.” The film will premiere at Brewvies in Salt Lake City on September 26th 2012. Followed by a 50 city TOUR through ski towns throughout North America.
This movie is such a mixed bag of characters, exotic locations and action that we wanted to get that point across with the title. You really can’t guess what’s coming next in this film, like the Choose Your Own Adventure book series we enjoyed growing up. We’re exploring an abandoned mining town in the Arctic, dropping cliffs with Hugo Harrison in British Columbia, plunging into the Antarctic Sea in speedos, blasting through deep powder, catching up with crusty locals in the Wasatch and more.
Our interest lies in finding people with real stories and ski objectives. We wanted to tag along and capture their actions and motivation for heading into the mountains, creating more of an authentic experience. We traveled light and moved fast to avoid interfering with the actual adventures as they unfolded.Despite the underwhelming winter of 2011-12, in which snowfall reached near record lows and unstable avalanche conditions,the Powderwhores were able to make the most of the conditions at home and abroad, with trips to Cerro Castillo, Chile; La Grave, France; the Antarctic Peninsula; Svalbard, Norway; Mount Foraker, Alaska; British Columbia, Canada, and the Wasatch Mountains in Utah.
The film features an array of characters from salty backcountry veterans to some of the top skiers and snowboarders, including Chris Davenport, Jake Sakson, Andrew McLean, Seth Wescott, Dylan Freed, Noah Howell, Matt Reardon, Drew Stoecklein, Forrest Coots, Ian Provo, Neil Provo, Chuck Mumford, Darrell Finlayson, Bob Athey, PY Leblanc, Jason Thompson,Todd Stuart and Hugo Harrison.
In the end, this is a feature-length ski film that celebrates exotic locations, wild adventures, and the dedicated personalities writing their own stories in snow.
- 9 months ago
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Interview: Julian Carr's Balls Interview: Julian Carr's Balls Are In The Air
- From: brodyleven
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Description:
Discrete Headwear owner and professional skier Julian Carr drinks a beer in Chile. Photo: Chris BezamatSure, he’s on DVD covers, posters, and probably on top of whatever social media app you’re currently perusing, but Julian Carr does more than style his professional ski career. His business savvy is as on point as anyone else with 40-plus-hour workweeks; the difference lies in his ability to keep his 120-foot frontflips on point, too.
World record holder, Discrete Headwear proprietor, and professional skier Julian Carr has a couple of balls in the air — and not only when he’s dropping cliffs. This week, he’s managing incoming shipments, hiring sales reps, dispersing product to retailers, designing the 2013-’14 line, revamping website content, and handling international brokering. He fails to mention maintaining contact with his thousands of social media followers, fans from around the world, and his entire ski career. All of this after spending the last three weeks in Chile, competing at La Parva’s Eye of the Condor event, which he won (People’s Choice and Best Photo Portfolio).Yesterday, I joined Julian for the second of his two time-trial trail runs of the day, on Salt Lake City’s Mount Olympus, bookending his long day at Discrete’s Salt Lake City headquarters.
BRODY: Rank your abilities: 1) Skiing off 100-foot cliffs; 2) Instagramming; 3) Dog-owning; 4) Business-operating.
JULIAN: 1) Decent; 2) Have a ways to go to catch @brodyleven; 3) Crush it; 4) Always learning.
BRODY: Why did you start Discrete Headwear?
JULIAN: Because I love creating stuff that people dig. I’m so appreciative of each of Discrete’s customers.
BRODY: With the optimism of a skier, I will now claim summer to be officially over. So, given summer’s recent end, how did you spend the miserable season-that-shall-not-be-named?
JULIAN: Europe in May, NYC, Vegas, Portland and Denver a couple times each, Bend, San Fran, Sonoma, South America. Portland has the best trail running and is home to my sister’s family and my mom. Vegas is the wildest. New York was a lot of working. Denver is where Icelantic, Spyder, and some new business relationships are based, so it rules. I raced $150,000 Audi R8’s in Sonoma’s Sears Point Raceway during the GoPro athlete retreat. That was so radical. Between trips I hang and hike and water ramp in Salt Lake. I work on Discrete wherever I roam, but have an incredible team holding down the fort when I’m away.
Julian Carr at Discrete HQ. Photo: Brody Leven
BRODY: Your social media following is more likened to a celebrity than a skier. How did that come to be and what does it mean to you?
JULIAN: My nose for action is always sniffing and it’s super fun to interact with everyone. Thanks y’all!
BRODY: Everyone knows you won two of the three awards at Eye of the Condor in La Parva. Last time I was there, I was living in a snow cave, hitchhiking to the mountain, and trying to find lift tickets. How are Condor athletes treated? Do you get discount lift tickets!?
JULIAN: Between the marketing department, Mike Reff, and the mountain host, Rodrigo Medina, they took care of us. We skied, slept, ate and were merry. Very merry. It was cool being there with some heavy hitters like Rachael Burks, Ingrid, Davenport, Adam Clark, Sherry McConkey, Kaylin Richardson, Parker Cook, Bezamat, Roderick, the Widsix crew, the Icelantic crew and local Chileans.
BRODY: I heard you got sponsored.
JULIAN: Icelantic, Spyder, GoPro, Discrete, Backcountry.com, Smith, POW gloves, Suunto, Panda Poles, MFD bindings.
BRODY: …speaking of bikinis, what is your ideal vacation?
JULIAN: My own bed.
Julian Carr goes big in the office. Photo by Brody Leven.
Carr obviously has an undying and atypical desire to succeed. And while we all hold different definitions of success, it’s hard to disagree with Julian’s tireless work ethic, vigorous drive to be the best skier/CEO/person he can be, and ambitious determination in both the mountains and the office. - Blog post
- 9 months ago
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News: Top Athletes, Industry L News: Top Athletes, Industry Leaders Confirmed For Sony Eye of the Condor 2
- From: media-75233
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Description:
La Parva, Chile – Top skiers and industry leaders are scheduled to arrive in La Parva this week for the second annual Sony Eye of the Condor, a week-long film and photography contest. Set in the heart of the Andes, La Parva will play host to athletes including JT Holmes, Julian Carr, Rachel Burks and Drew Tabke, and industry leaders including Chris Davenport, Adam Clark, and Ingrid Backstrom.
“The Eye of the Condor format is full-throttle,” says professional skier JT Holmes. “It's not a long period of time and the competition is fierce, so you have to hustle to get exciting shots, but with the terrain available it all works out. I tend to need a week to decompress after the event.”
While the film and photography competition will be the centerpiece of the event, a collection of industry leaders will also provide a forum for broader discussion during the Eye of the Condor Actions Sports Symposium. Industry leaders such as Chris Davenport, Dave Fields and Julian Carr will offer their insights on the roll that action and adventure sports play in the world at large.
“Yes, Eye of the Condor is about teams producing the best short film and photography portfolio, but it’s also a celebration of skiing and mountain culture,” says La Parva Director of Corporate Sales and Marketing Rodrigo Medina. “It’s a perfect way to share Chilean ski culture with the rest of the world.”
2012 Sony Eye of the Condor Teams and Competitors:
Team Discrete
Julian Carr
JT Holmes
Parker Cook
Rachael Burks
John Roderick Cinematographer
Chris Bezamat PhotographerTeam Icelantic
Annelise Loevlie
Alex Taran
Rebecca Selig
Kaylin Richardson
Katy Robin-Garton Cinematographer
Roberta Rebori PhotographerTeam Chile
Chopo Diaz
Vicente Sutil
Soledad Diaz
Iñaqui Irarrazaval
Alvaro Zurita Cinematographer
Juan Luis De Heeckeren PhotographerTeam WIDSIX
TJ David
Ashley Maxfield
Drew Tabke
Jordan Ingmire Photographer
Derek Smith CinematographerJudges
Chris Davenport
Dave Fields
Adam Clark
Steve Backstrom
Ingrid Backstrom
Sherry McConkey
Thomas Grob - Blog post
- 11 months ago
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News: Eye Of The Condor Return News: Eye Of The Condor Returns To Ski La Parva, Partners With IF3
- From: media-75233
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Description:
Members of Dubsatch Collective blast through powder in 2011 at Ski La Parva in Chile during the Eye Of The Condor film and photo competition.
SANTIAGO, CHILE — After an extremely successful event in 2011, Ski La Parva is pleased to announce the return of Sony Eye of the Condor — a weeklong film and photo competition set in the Andes. Presented by Sony, Subaru Chile and Delta Airlines, Sony Eye of the Condor 2 will showcase elite athletes and photographers from around the world from July 27 to August 4, 2012. A new partnership with IF3 will provide increased media distribution for teams and brands, as well as the first ever IF3 Film Festival La Parva/Chile in Santiago. An all-star panel of judges — including Ingrid Backstrom and Chris Davenport — and athletes including the K2 Factory Team — will surely set a high benchmark for what’s to come in the 2012/2013 season.
“With the direction of the sport focusing on digital media and quality of production, we have created a venue for athletes and brands to showcase their highest quality work in a cultivating environment,” says Ski La Parva’s Director of Corporate Sales and Marketing Rodrigo Medina. “Not only does Sony Eye of the Condor provide a great outlet for competitors, the laid back Chilean atmosphere provides a great platform for industry leaders to discuss the state of the sport.”
In addition to the competition, which will award cash prizes to the best video and photography portfolio, Sony Eye of the Condor will support local arts, with a photography exhibition showcasing local talent. The event will also provide a forum for broader discussion with seminars, photo retrospectives and other events that seek to examine the roll that action sports and photography play in society at large.
“The Eye of the Condor is such an awesome event because it celebrates the creativity in skiing; it's really open to interpretation and gives teams the freedom to show how much fun skiing is in whichever way they choose.” Says judge Ingrid Backstrom. “Plus to have the film and photos set against such an insane backdrop way up in the Andes guarantees some truly stunning imagery”
The week of festivities will culminate in the booming metropolis of Santiago de Chile at the first annual IF3 La Parva/Chile. The one night film festival will celebrate the global Freeskiing film community, complete with athlete autograph sessions, film screenings, vendors, and live music. The winning films and photos from Sony Eye of The Condor will be showcased around the globe at IF3 International Film Festivals, including Montreal, Quebec; Annecy France; and Innsbruck Austria. “We are extremely excited about our new partnership with IF3, we feel it’s going to show the international community the beauty and uniqueness of the Chilean ski community,” says Medina.
“The Eye of the Condor competition is an amazing event” says Team Discrete (2011 EOTC People’s Choice Award) member and 2012 Red Bull Cold Rush Champion Rachel Burks “It's rad, because all the teams are staying in the same area, dining together, running into each other on the slopes — it’s the perfect competition atmosphere.”
Eye of the Condor is presented with the support of Sony, Subaru Chile, Delta Airlines and Columbia Sportswear. For more information please refer to http://www.laparva.cl/eyeofthecondor/. - Blog post
- 1 year ago
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15 Volcanoes In 14 Days - Skii 15 Volcanoes In 14 Days - Skiing The Ring Of Fire Part 2
- From: jessmcmillan
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Description:
The Spyder crew of Ian Fohrman, Jess McMillan, Chris Davenport, Christy Mahon, Ted Mahon, Scott Rinckenberger, and Jon Burrill celebrates on top of Mount Saint Helens. Photo By Richard Hallman.The Ring of Fire Volcano Tour started in the parking lot of the Whole Foods Market in Reno, Nevada. Chris Davenport, Daron Rahlves, and myself were ready for the ultimate road trip. We had great food, the Spyder Land Yacht, and a plan to ski as many of the major volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest as possible. We skied 15 volcanoes in 14 days, traveled 141.32 miles, 78, 674 vertical feet, and skied some of the best corn I have ever skied in my life.
It is hard to describe how the journey felt, but I will attempt to bring you into the Ring of Fire by sharing some of my favorite quotes and experiences from the trip.
An email from a friend: “Advice for volcanoes: Get stoned. Yes, even you Jess. Leave the beacons probes and shovels in the car. Bring an iPod. Don't ever stop — just keep walking. Bring ski crampons. Wear a helmet if you're near any rock whatsoever. When you get weather windows, recent precipitation totals mean very little — wind and freezing levels are everything. “
“Just keep walking, don’t ever stop” turned out to be some of the best advice anyone could have ever given me. “Just keep walking” was my mantra. It was volcano season in the Pacific Northwest. The weather was perfect. The corn cycle was in prime condition. It was time to ski some volcanoes.
Chris Davenport skis perfect corn on Mount Baker. Photo by Ian Fohrman.
I found myself counting my steps. I would not allow myself to stop until I had walked 100 steps. And if I walked 101 steps, I wouldn’t allow myself to stop until I reached 200. It is amazing how easy it is to trick yourself into walking when you are at 13,000 feet. This little trick of counting turned out to be a benefit on the Three Sisters Traverse just outside of Bend, Oregon.
The Three Sisters Traverse is comprised of three separate summits: North Sister (10,085’), Middle Sister (10,047’), and South Sister (10,358’). Here, Jess McMillan and Jonas Tarlen summit the South Sister. Photo by Chris Davenport.
The Sisters Traverse was the most challenging day of the trip for me. Chris Davenport and I hiked and skied an 18-mile traverse of over 10,000 vertical feet in just under 12 hours. It was late in the day and we were on our final accent, the south sister. I was busy counting my steps when all of sudden I just stopped walking. I could see the summit, but couldn’t bring myself to take one more step. I stood staring at the summit wondering why the hell I was doing what I was doing when Dav’s head appeared from the summit and said, “Are you coming?” “Yes, I’m coming.” “Well then keep walking.” Luckily, I laughed because I could’ve cried as took the final 1000 steps to the summit.
Jess McMillan traverses the North Sister. Photo by Chris Davenport.
The best aspect of ski mountaineering is that all of the mental and physical anguish of the accent is erased by the pure joy of skiing down. Every step feels worth it when you are ripping perfect corn.
“Isn’t it amazing to push your body past your breaking point?” Chris Davenport said. “Once you have pushed past your breaking point, everything else seems possible.” Dav told me this as we fell asleep that night in the land yacht. I thought he was crazy until I found myself on the summit of Mount Rainer.
The Spyder crew climbed and skied Mount Rainier in a day. Photo by Ian Fohrman.
Rainier in a day? “Don’t most people take two days to ski Rainer?” I asked Dav as we entered Rainier National Park. “Yes, but wouldn’t it be cool if we did it in a day?” Dav replied.
Climbing up Mount Rainier. Photo by Ian Fohrman.
We started up in the dark at 4:20 a.m. The Nisqually Glacier was well covered, with just a few major crevasses to navigate. By 9 a.m. we were up through the classic Fuhrer Finger Couloir and 9,300 vertical feet later we reached the summit. We were back to the land yacht in 11 hours. It felt good to have skied Rainier in a day.
Jess McMillan and Christy Mahon boot up the Nisqually Glacier on Mount Rainier. Photo by Ted Mahon.I have to admit that I truly had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to join Chris and Daron for the Ring of Fire Volcano tour. I had dabbled in ski mountaineering, but had never really understood what all the hype was about. I learned so much. Ski mountaineering isn’t about reaching the summit. It’s about skiing without boundaries, rules, and people. There is freedom in ski mountaineering. I will never forget standing at the top of Mount Jefferson. I could see my past, present, and future. It was awesome to see the peaks I had skied: Mount Bachelor and the Three Sisters. My future was just north of me: Mount St. Helens, Mount Hood, Mount Rainier. Everyone has heard of the saying, “Live in the present.” We definitely were living in the present as we ripped 8,000 vertical feet of the best corn I had ever skied in my life.
Mount Jefferson, looking so, so sick. Photo by Jim Morrison.
Click Here To Read About The First Part Of The Trip - Blog post
- 1 year ago
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Chris Davenport Skis Corn on M Chris Davenport Skis Corn on Mount Baker
- From: jessmcmillan
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Description:Chris Davenport Skis Corn on Mount Baker
- 1 year ago
- Views: 194
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The Spyder crew on top of Moun The Spyder crew on top of Mount St. Helens
- From: jessmcmillan
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Description:The Spyder crew on top of Mount St. Helens
- 1 year ago
- Views: 220
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Daron Rahlves, Jess McMillan A Daron Rahlves, Jess McMillan And Chris Davenport Ski The Ring Of Fire
- From: drahlves
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Description:
The Spyder Active Sports Land Yatch is seen parked in front of Mount Lassen in California. Skiers Chris Davenport, Jess McMillian and Daron Rahlves have been on the road skiing volcanoes out of this rig for the past two weeks.Words by Daron Rahlves
On May 2, Captain Grant, our event director at Spyder Active Sports, hit the road in the Spyder Land Yacht from HQ in Boulder, Colo. After one stop in Salt Lake City to pick up Jess McMillian, the two were back on I-80 West to meet up with Chris Davenport and myself at Whole Foods Market in Reno, Nev. This is where we loaded up the back garage with the food cache we were going to rely on for this epic trip called the “Ring of Fire.”
The team’s mission: to climb and ski 16 volcanoes from California to the Pacific North West Cascades, practically back-to-back in a two and a half week period.
My plan was less of a commitment, but still a mission in itself: to tour for four days and ski five volcanoes.
Starting in California with 10,457-foot Mount Lassen and 14,162-foot Mount Shasta, I was committed on the trip through Southern Oregon for 9,495-foot Mount McLoughlin, 9,182-foot Mount Thielsen and 9,065-foot Mount Bachelor.
What an opportunity to top-out on iconic peaks and score creamy corn in prime May conditions. It was a pleasure to hang out with Davenport, who has so many experiences summiting amazing mountains all around the world and the enthusiastic charger, Jess McMillian. I was eager to learn a few tips on preparing and achieving these ascents.
Jess McMillan, Daron Rahlves, Jim Morrison and Chris Davenport on the summit of Mount Shasta.
I’m always hungry to ski. Growing up in Tahoe I learned to appreciate the mountains. Then taking on a racing career, it kept my skiing experience locked into resort skiing. My desire to see what’s out there and work to get it is at an all-time high. My interest is not all over the planet, but more of what’s out my back door and this trip was a dream opportunity. From Cali to Southern Oregon skiing volcanoes and taking in the surroundings of old growth forests, pristine lakes, ancient lava flows, wide open panels and terrain filled bowls after earning it delivers a stronger connection to the adventure.
The weather was just what we needed. We scored with clear nights and sunny days with calm winds, or none-at-all. On some days, you could light a match on top of the peak.
Daron Rahlves blasts down Mount Shasta.
Northern California and Southern Oregon turned out to have a lot more snow than I expected. We could start skinning right from the road or parking lot and even had to walk in over a partially snow covered dirt road 3 miles to the McLoughlin trail head.
Days started with wake up calls from 3:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. for the best climbing conditions and to limit the physical exertion by avoiding the intense solar radiation. Hulk Shakes, Bare Naked Granola, Greek Yogurt and fruit fueled us up for days on the Ring of Fire tour. Clif shots, gels and electrolyte drinks / water were mostly what I consumed on the way up to keep the pace moving and keep Dav and Jess close. Dav would get so fired up on the hiking and at times I’d shake my head when I was dripping wet and my heart was pounding. My motivation was to take one step at a time to ultimately ski down, but deep down I can say that his outlook made for a better experience and made me take in the beauty of what we were doing and where we were.
Chirs Carr, Jim Morrison, Jess McMillan, and Chris Davenport after skiing the West Face of Mount Shasta.
Reaching the top was a great feeling and then to share it slapping high-fives from excited friends tops that off. We had a variety of snow conditions, but most vert was dry, smooth chalk to buttery corn on the open faces. Then it went into the trees and made for the most fun tree GS skiing chasing each other through a maze, picking lines at speed. When it tightened up and we had trouble locating skin tracks and were surrounded by massive trunks and an enclosed canopy from the trees, I was able to help out the team with navigation using my Garmin Rino to track back the route. It was total disorientation in those old growth forests and without a GPS we would have added on lots of time and expended a lot more energy.
Oregon's Mount McLoughlin as seen through the trees.
To put eyes on home base was a huge relief. Now we could wind down and most of all the feed was on! Protein waffles, egg scrambles, recovery shakes, fruit, Red Bulls, jerky, cookies and water. Heavy caloric intake sessions would then be followed with packing up the drying gear lying in the sun and then the wheels began to roll to the next one on the hit list. We had all kinds of great snacks for the road trip and then once we found our next place to post up, we ate like royalty with in-house recipes a Whole Foods nutritionist planed out for us.
Chris Davenport updates his Twitter and Facebook followers from the summit of Oregon's Mount Thielsen. Follow him on Twitter @steepskiing see more updates at #volcanotour.
Thinking back to the trip a recurring moment that set it apart was reaching the top of each volcano, we could then see the next volcano and look back to the one we did the day before. To see where we were, standing on what we just climbed and then gazing out to the north for the next day was a very cool feeling.
Looking at Diamond Lake and Mount Bailey from the summit of Oregon's Mount Thielsen.Thanks to Dav for dreaming up the Ring of Fire Tour and to Spyder and Whole Foods Market for helping us make it happen.
Follow the adventure at blog.spyder.com and think about getting after a few or all of these volcanoes yourself. My favorite was Mount Thielsen. It was the full package, with skinning, booting, rock climbing to the summit, great views and the best skiing I had. We left the Land Yacht at 6:08 a.m. and got back by 11 a.m.Daron Rahlves skis from the summit of Mount Thielsen at break-neck speed. He also hits a pine tree like a slalom gate. Awesome.
Thanks to Johnny Cash for putting these words into my head on the daily climb, “I fell into a burning ring of fire, I went down, down, down and the flames went higher…” The broken record effect kept me plugging away. - Blog post
- 1 year ago
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