8 Search Results for ""fuck it""

• Go Now: Selkirk Wilderness Ski Go Now: Selkirk Wilderness Skiing

  • From: SamPetri
  • Description:

     

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

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• Video: Ice T On Taking Risks A Video: Ice T On Taking Risks And Living In The Moment

  • From: SamPetri
  • Description:

    Words to live by.
    
    

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  • 1 year ago
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• Shipwrecked With Andrew Burns Shipwrecked With Andrew Burns

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    Words by Ryan Dunfee

    Andrew Burns, a dirty Canadian buccaneer of a snowboarder, is one of the true pirates of the snowboard scene.  First-hitting backcountry booters to the bolts with Blackbeard-level talent, Burns has been sending it in the Whistler backcountry for a long hot minute.  Thanks to a mild form of insomnia, he only needs four or so hours or sleep between when he leaves the bar in the Village and hops on the sled for sunrise.   Like a true dirty bandit, he also showers and washes his clothes just as seldom as he sleeps.  Although you may not have heard of him until more recently, this season he’s breaking out of hiding in Whistler.   In the first season of Shipwrecked, Burnsie documents his 2012 season living in a fourteen-foot trailer painted like a pirate ship and navigating his swashbuckling vessel from storm to storm across North America.

    TGR: What is living in a fourteen-foot trailer like and what kind of person do you need to be to live in that sort of space?

    Andrew Burns: Well, first off it’s 15 feet long, let’s not cut me short here… but seriously, it’s pretty awesome.  I have it pretty set up: kitchen, big bed, editing zone, flat screen, surround sound and such. I got it for $600 and put another $300 into it. It’s definitely a little different than a normal living situation, most people probably couldn’t handle it but I like it, I go to lots of cool places and see lots of cool stuff, and spend my money on sled gas or helis instead of rent!

    The pirate ship. Photo courtesy of Andrew Burns.

    TGR: How many days a week do you spend in there, how often do you get to shower, and have you been able to stay warm at night?

    Burns: I live there pretty much full time since I bought it in September, unless perhaps my evening schedule happens to lead me to someone else’s house for the night (haha). It’s been in Nevada, California, Colorado, and now it’s up in Whistler. I like the cold already, so it’s pretty mellow in there at night, but even when it’s like -30 outside, that little nugget stays warm with the tiniest little heating device. 

    I’m up in Haines, AK right now, and the original plan was to drive my trailer and sled up, but The Levitation Project has us dialed with a house and some sleds to use, so I decided to go back to normal living for a minute… I kinda miss the trailer… it’s coming up next year for sure.

    TGR: What has been the deal with “Shipwrecked” this season and who have you been working with for filmers and riders?

    Burns: Well I’ve wanted to do my own thing for a while now, and shit was hectic trying to get me into a good crew this year, so I decided I’d try this out and see what happens. I think my situation is pretty obscure and interesting, and I get to ride and film with such a diverse crew of shreds, so I figured people might be down with an inside view of my Pirate life and the world of backcountry shred boarding. 

    I also feature a crew or shredder in each episode. The first one was a rail trip with the D.O.P.E. crew, episode 2 is Bralorne, BC with my close buddy Andrew Geeves, the third and fourth will be Alaska with the Levitation Project crew, the fifth will be spring boarding in Whistler and some COC and High Cascade action, and the sixth and final episode will be Argentina with SGT. Then I’ll get a part together from my season, and hopefully get a banger placement in a big movie! Got something on the line but it’s not official so I’m keeping it under wraps.

    Burns doing what he does best. Photo courtesy of Andrew Burns.

    TGR:You just signed with Levitation Project.  Seems like their program is expanding pretty quickly with new riders and some new gear like backpacks and snow surfers coming out for next season.  What’s going on with LP right now and what’s it like joining the team?

    Burns: The Levitation Project crew is ridiculous. Nico Nolan (owner) is the man, he’s been working on this for some years now, and the shit that’s about to come out is insane. Super tech first layers, best hoodies ever, backcountry and camera bags, and some collab stuff with Dragon and Northwave. So many heavy hitters are jumping on as well, it’s a straight up take over! Nico is also a part owner at SEABA Heli in Haines, AK so we’re all posted up here right now destroying shit. Watch out for the new Levisodes that LP will be dropping of our crew tearin’ AK a new one.

    “…you gotta make sure you get shots and don’t just throw all your money in the rotors.”  Matthew Borish photo.

    TGR: You have been enjoying quite a bit of heli time on your first trip up there.  What was your first line like and what is something about heli skiing no one told you about before you did it?

    Burns: My first line was called Moby Dick.  I was at the bar the night before getting loose and talking a bit of shit about “fuck warm up lines” and such… so the next morning at 7 am we fly out, having no idea what the line was like, still a little whiskey breath, and get dropped. Pretty mellow line, but the first 50 feet of the drop in was about a 60 degree slope that cliffed out, and the next 1000 feet was about a 50 degree slope. Instead of dealing with the entrance and getting into the line to shred it properly, I decided to send it off the dome about 30 feet, and couldn’t hold the landing on the variable snow… and ate shit. Probably the most expensive fall I’ve taken, but oh well. 

    What people need to keep telling me is to tone it down a bit. Shit out here is HUGE, and getting too agro right off the bat as a rookie can cost a lot of money in time using the heli, you gotta make sure you get shots and don’t just throw all your money in the rotors. 

    TGR: Is everyone and their mom really in AK right now or just the internet just make it seem that way?

    Burns: Actually yes, everyone and their mom is in AK. In the past 3 weeks, almost every heavy hitting big mountain skier or snowboarder has been through Haines. After being up here and getting into it, I see why.

    TGR: How long are you planning on staying up there and what are the plans?

    Burns: Well, with my pirate life I know not to plan returns from trips any more, and after being here a couple weeks, I decided I’m staying till the heli season is over! It’s good up here, Nico and The Levitation Project have me dialed till the start of May, and heli boarding hit me like a new-found crack addiction… I will leave when they say: “No seriously, get the fuck outta here, it’s over!” I love the mountains.

    Check thepirateburns.com to follow the swashbuckling.

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• Pipe Dreams Part 1 - Tanner Ha Pipe Dreams Part 1 - Tanner Hall On The 2014 Olympics

  • From: SamPetri
  • Description:

    
    
    While shooting for TGR’s 2009 feature film Re:Session at Steven’s Pass in Washington, Tanner Hall overshot a giant gap jump and broke both of his tibia plateaus, tore both ACLs, and wrecked all the lateral cartilage in his right knee. In order to recover, Tanner had to have microfracture surgery — a technique that helps you heal by actually injuring you more. The procedure involves fracturing the knee-joint bones, which causes new cartilage to develop from a “super-clot.”

    “That’s pretty much the worst situation you could ever have,” Tanner said. “An ACL surgery is very easy compared to a microfracture. A microfracture takes up to three years for it to heal and I’m going on two and a half years right now.”

    
    This Almost Live episode features the Steven's Pass gap jump that Tanner Hall wrecked on in 2009.

    Recently, on Dec. 26, 2011, a video showing Tanner murdering the Park City halfpipe was posted to YouTube. The 28-second clip set to banging reggae music (complete with gun claps) has a feeling of immediacy. It's loud, it's fast, it's 100 percent Tanner Hall. Watch the clip below.

    TGR caught up with Tanner back in October to talk about reggae music, but ended up also talking a lot about his recovery and the Olympics. The recent release of his halfpipe video proves that Tanner is a man of his word — what he said back in October is exactly what he’s doing now. Watch out, Tanner’s back in the pipe and he’s got Olympic dreams.

    As he says, “I’m starting to feel really fucking good.”

    In Part 1 of this interview, Tanner Hall talks about halfpipe and slopestyle skiing and the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. In Part 2, to be posted one week from now, Tanner discusses his passion for reggae music and his Inspired Music record label.

    __________

    
    TGR: How’s your recovery going?

    Tanner Hall: I’m pretty much back to 100 percent, almost even past that. Just been working as hard as I ever have. I haven’t had a sip of alcohol since November (2010) I haven’t had any tobacco. I only burn one doobie a day, right before I climb into bed. So I’m pretty much completely sober and just fucking working my ass off eight hours a day whether it’s on the trampoline, on my bike, on the weights, or running. I’ve just brought it to the next level where I needed to go and I’m ready for world domination.

    That’s good to hear. Will you be competing this year? Or filming?

    TH: I’m gonna be skiing pipe pretty much all winter. Just getting my run down, training underground, learning all my shit with nobody around. And then I’m going to come out to New Zealand in about a year from now and do the New Zealand Open and the New Zealand Winter Games and just drop the bomb on the world and start the qualification process for the Olympics.

    TGR: So you’re preparing for 2014?

    TH: Yeah man. I mean, if it happens it happens, if it doesn’t it doesn’t. But I wake up everyday and, you know, I put all my positive thinking, all my positive thoughts toward it. I have CR [Johnson] walking with me everyday and I’m just taking my training and all my trampoline tricks to the next level so when I get back in the pipe it’s fucking go time. You know what I mean?

    TGR: What do you think the Olympic qualification process is going to be like? The FIS will control it, right?

    TH: Yeah man. I look at it two ways: It can either hurt our sport a lot or it can help it out a lot. You know what I mean? I just want to do everything I can to get in there and represent our sport right in a nice, stylie way. And hopefully we have myself from the US, we have Phil Casabon from Canada and a handful of other guys that are really going to push the good style and put skiing on that righteous platform instead of us looking like a bunch of robots and just turning into ski racing, you know?

    Phil Casabon at the X Games.
    
    TGR: What will be the Olympic qualifying events?

    TH: It’s going to be through the Grand Prix. Dew Tour is trying to become an Olympic qualifier. But, you know, it’s kind of weird FIS accepted Halfpipe and Slopestyle in to the Olympics and they didn’t even have a qualifying criteria set. It’s a pretty interesting time all around in the halfpipe and slopestyle skiing world. Everybody is trying to figure out how to train. What works for them, what doesn’t. FIS is trying to come up with a criteria that qualifies people. It’s pretty crazy to me they accepted it and didn’t have something set up that qualifies people.

    Slopestyle and halfpipe — it’s what people want to see. There’s not too many young, young, young kids that are growing up that want to be the next Bode Miller. Granted, I have more respect for Bode than ever — the guy is one of the gnarliest fucking skiers in the world.  But, it’s just how the times are changing. It’s the natural evolution of our sport. Every kid wants to be the next Simon Dumont, or Tanner Hall, or Jon Olson, or Bobby Brown. Kids really want to be in the air, have style and show skiing how they see it. They don’t want to have some ski race coach, or Nordic coach or some ski jump coach just beat a thing of perfection in to their heads.  Freesking, halfpipe skiing, slopestyle sking — it’s free. You get to be your own individual and you get to do what you see. You know what I mean? You’re pretty much an art and your course is the canvas and it’s just, how are you going to paint your run on the way down? That’s why I believe halfpipe and slopestyle are going to be the big events in the upcoming Olympics.

    TGR: Hopefully it will bring skiing to the forefront of people’s minds.

    TH: Yeah man. Granted, it took skiing quite a long time to get there. But I mean, fuck man, it’s really starting to come to the forefront. I’ll never say anything bad about snowboarding — that’s where I get a lot of my inspiration from and some of my best friends in the world are snowboarders — but it’s pretty great to see skiing almost rise past the level of snowboarding in slopestyle events and it’s getting there in halfpipe now. It’s pretty interesting to see how far we’ve come in just a 10-year period of time. It’s pretty sick.

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• Interview: Getting In The Free Interview: Getting In The Freedom Chair With Josh Dueck

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    September 14, 2011

    By John Clary Davies
    
    At the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Josh Dueck had big expectations. The Kimberley, B.C.-native wanted gold. With 10,000 onlookers, many of them sporting the “Go Josh Go” T-shirts his wife had made to raise money so his family could stay near the mountain, Dueck finished fifth. 

    “Honestly, it was more disappointing and harder to digest than finding out I was paralyzed,” Dueck said. “Because I had geared myself up for this moment, this fairytale story.”
    
    In 2004, Dueck was paralyzed from the waist down after overshooting a jump. At the time, he was an aspiring coach in Canadian freestyle skiing, working with young talents like Riley Leboe, TJ Schiller, Justin Dorey and Josh Bibby. Six years later, Dueck’s first Olympic campaign wasn’t a total disappointment. He won silver in the slalom the day before the downhill, and the ensuing media attention lead to talks with Mike Douglas about doing a Salomon Freeski.TV webisode. Douglas thought he had such a good story, he decided to make a short film about Dueck with cinematographer Jeff Thomas. The film, "The Freedom Chair," which tells Dueck’s inspirational story, premieres Sept. 15 at the International Freeski Film Festival in Montreal. Tetongravity.com caught up with Dueck, who is also the world record holder in high-fiving, to talk about his accident, racing, the film, and his first love, skiing powder.

    
    
    I was pretty quick to drop the shovel whenever I could, and I put on a helmet and did a speed check and three-quarters up the in-run wasn’t fast enough, so I went to the top. It was an uncommon starting point but it was spring and slow. It felt a bit fast and I thought I was going to slow down. As I was going up the transition and up the face of the jump I knew very well that I was fucked. 
    
    There were some athletes down there hanging out and [the doctor] said, ‘I just need to talk to Josh,’ and he closed the door and he’s looking at me and smiling but has tears coming down his cheek and says, ‘Dude, you’re going to kick ass in a wheelchair.’ And I was like, ‘fuck me.’ 
    
    'Before you know it, though, we’re going to get you back in the mountains skiing a sit ski,' [the doctor’s] saying. Right away I was like, 'I can be back in the mountains!' It gave me something to look forward to, and that was huge. 
    
    No matter what I do and how I react it’s not going to change what happened. No matter how mad I get or how many tears I cry it’s not going to change it. So fuck. Lets’ get a grip and move forward.
    
    People just started flooding into the hospital. I got to witness dozens, hundreds, thousands of people in the hospital over the first month. People just started filtering through because this is a make or break moment in this kid’s life, so they started coming through the hospital and they’re nervous and it’s awkward.
    
    The unanimous reaction was like, 'dude, you didn’t deserve this.' My wife was like, 'if everybody is feeling sorry for you, you are going to feel sorry for yourself. We need a beer fridge, we need some posters and get the TV out of here.' The sound of a beer getting cracked puts everybody at ease.
    
    That momentum was crazy and put a ton of wind into my sails and made it as effortless as can be. I’m as average as they get. I was never really that confident but suddenly the momentum and positive energy was insane. ... It was like, alright, 'I’m going to get out there and give ‘er.'
    
    It was second to none to be in front of the home crowd, like when I was looking down at the crowd — and in the slalom start you can see the finish area and you can see the faces of 10,000 people that are down there. I can see my old coach, the kids I used to coach, and friends from all over. 
    
    That whole attention from the media and crowds is what attracted Mike D[ouglas] to approach me about filming a Freeski.TV episode. I’ve known Mike D for a long time, but I never thought he would approach me for a Freeski.TV episode. 
    
    I got wrapped up in a great community of people. The freestyle world has been so good to me and that made a great story and Mike had the foresight and wisdom to tell a great story. It’s the first time anybody has ever been able to tell my story the way I wanted it to be told, the way it should be told.
    
    Jeffy [Thomas], he is the hardest working motherfucker I know, and he’s like, 'I just put a little segment together,' and it was banger. Oh my god. 'Is that really what you guys were seeing?' That got me so stoked.
    
     
    [The film] has given me the confidence to dream anew, to dream something I always wanted to do. 

    I hope that more filmers want to take a chance and want to show a slightly different aspect to get down the mountains. We’re attracted to pillow zones, jibbing as well. There are a handful of us trying to do the first backflip on snow. The hype is happening. There are more guys that are trying to express themselves on snow in ways they never thought possible.
    
    I want a butter three, I want to backflip. In the film, I was dropping some good 40- to 50-foot cliffs. I want to sequence that. Pillow lines. There’s so much more to be done, so much more to be shared. 
    
    [My wife] was never overly sympathetic. She’s not holding my hand, but always encouraging me to challenge myself.  One of my most ridiculous things I’ve ever done on snow — I got caught above a zone on cliffs and I’m like, 'Holy fuck, I can’t hike out of here. I can’t ski off of this. If I miss it then I’m going to tomahawk down.' And she’s like, 'no, you got it.' Well, she loves me. So, alright. I just shifted and pointed it and stomped it and it was like, 'oh my god.' The greatest feeling in my life was hitting those lines. 
    
    I have a few years left of hard charging and then I’ll pull the plug. I want to start a family, but I’ll always be a soul skier and pow skier as long as I can be. 
    
    If you haven’t challenged yourself or created positions to move forward physically, or in your sport, or in any different capacity, I don’t think there’s a neutral. If you aren’t challenging yourself to move forward, what you think is neutral is actually slipping back. 
    
    

    "The Freedom Chair" trailer: 

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• Video: Forum Snowboards F* It Video: Forum Snowboards F* It Full Parts Including John Jackson And Jake Welch

  • From: media-75233
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    JOHN JACKSON FUCK IT FULL PART from Forum Snowboards on Vimeo.

    JAKE WELCH - FULL FUCK IT PART from Forum Snowboards on Vimeo.

    NIKO CIOFFI - FULL FUCK IT PART from Forum Snowboards on Vimeo.

    

    Buy F* IT on iTunes now!

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• Interview: Behind the Lens wit Interview: Behind the Lens with Grant Gunderson

  • From: sbcskier
  • Description:

    ORIGINALLY POSTED ON SBCSKIER - TO VIEW THE FULL INTERVIEW IN ALL IT'S GLORY, HEAD OVER TO WWW.SBCSKIER.COM | INTERVIEW BY JASON MOUSSEAU | PHOTOS BY GRANT GUNDERSON

    Grant Gunderson is one of skiing's most talented photographers. He has shot for nearly every snow sports publication, is the standing photo editor for The Ski Journal, recently won the Salt Lake City Photo Shoot Out and was named one of the worlds top 50 action sports photographers by Red Bull. He does all this while still managing to ski 200+ days a year and brewing one of the finest beers around. This is what he has to say about photography, skiing and his career. 

    

    Well to start things off I would like to congratulate you on your slide show at the Pro Photographer Showdown.

    Thanks man. The pro photo showdown was a pretty cool event to be part of, especially this year with such a deep pool of talented photographers in it.

    When and where were you when you found out you got invited? What were some of the initial thoughts that went through your head at that time?

    I was at my house and had just gotten back from one of my many trips this year, I've been on the road so much it all blends together. I was pretty blown away to find out that I had gotten double-invited. This was the first year that I submitted a slide show to the search, and they called saying that I earned a spot with the slide show, but that I was also on their list as one of the three invited photographers as well.

    Not bad at all! Did you have to shift things around to put together your slide show? Were there any specific obstacles you faced when trying to  choose which images to use?

    Definitely. The slide show prep was during my busiest time of the year with photo deadlines looming, as well as coinciding with one of the best pow cycles of the year at Baker. You could say the timing was not so great. That and I bought finalcut to put my show together and it took me longer than expected to learn how to use the software.

    As far as picking shots go I had a few in mind that I knew had to be there, but I knew from experience it is always best to have someone else help edit your shots. As a photographer you get too attached to your work and just like a writer always needs an editor not familiar with their work to check for grammar and such.

    

    Who ended up being that person?

    My girlfriend Re Wikstrom. She is a pretty amazing ski photographer specializing in chicks that rip and also the assistant photo editor at Backcountry.com so she is pretty well qualified. That and the fact that she is my girlfriend, she didn't have much of a choice.

    The end result was amazing, so I would say she did a pretty good job. You were alright too I guess. Were there any photographers you considered a major threat before the competition?

    Brian. I knew that the rest of us didn't have a chance as soon as I saw that he was in it. The guy is a legend in surfing and has been a pro surf photographer longer than I have been alive.

    His work was definitely on another level. Were there any other photographers that really impressed you?

    Seo's flash work always impresses me, but I am really good friends with him so I was already really familiar with his work. Mason was pretty amazing, I had never heard of him before the show and he displayed a LOT of potential at a young age. I think he will do well in the years to come.

    

    What were you doing when you were his age (24)? When did you start taking your photography seriously?

    Hmmmmm, that was six years ago. I have to stop and think what was I doing...

    Ah, that would put me in my 6th out of 7 years of engineering school. I was going to school full time, managing a camera store full time and shooting full time. That was also the same year I spent the summer interning for Powder. So I was pretty well into ski photography at that age, I had already had three or four covers and was shooting a ton. At the time I was definitely one of the youngest guys shooting, but I feel like there was a crew of us that all started about the same time. Things were also way harder then since we where still shooting film.

    How hard was it making the switch from film to digital? Do you see similar technological advances having as big of impacts as that did in the near future?

    I personally liked working with with film as you had to get it right in camera, and then you were done. It was easy for me to switch to digital after shooting film as it has a huge tolerance for fuck ups, but I am still not stoked with the immense amount of time that you have to spend sitting in front a computer to make your digital files look like they should. Even if you do everything right in camera, the digital files still look like shit until you tweak the levels a bit.

    As far as new technological advances, that's tough to say and I am not even going to try to predict the future, but the prototypes I have been testing for Canon definitely show the potential for new ideas. Now if Apple would just make a computer fast enough...

    Could you offer any advice to those amateurs trying to make the jump to pro? Whether it be in terms of shooting, personal goals or even the business side of things.

    That's a big ball of wax to tackle and it would take a full book to just touch the basics. That being said, here is what i think the key is:

    1.Only show your best work

    2.Try new things. Don't imitate others

    3.Be as professional as possible. Take a business class and learn by asking other photographers advice. Most importantly don't bite the hand that feeds you, that is what killed Wheels and Wax.

    Personally I think the key to my success so far has been being nice and trying to learn as much as possible at all times. That's the cool thing about photography, no matter how much you learn, there is always more.

    

    What were some life changing trips, experiences, photos, etc that have shaped you over the years?

    Every trip I have ever done has changed my life, as I have learned from every single one. The goal is to constantly strive to do better than you did on the last shoot, but the two most life changing things have been my internship at Powder and my star trail shot at Alta. Reddick is an amazing photo editor and I learned a LOT from him. I think that image was truly special at the time and did a lot to further my career, that being said I am the first one to admit it is not perfect and that there are better photos yet to be taken.

    Let's stray away from the photo side of things for a bit, because skiers are important in the whole process also. What are your thoughts on the industry at this moment in time?

    SKIERS are the most important part, you can't shoot any ski shots without skiers. The industry... It's changing and it's interesting. Some of the biggest players in the game are no longer key players and there are a lot of upstarts that are starting to do quite well for themselves. As always it's really important to keep an open mind and be aware of how things are changing.

    What do you see your role being in the future?

    Our role as photographers has changed from documenting the sport, to helping drive the creative and artistic aspects of it and trying to showcase the fun of skiing to a broader audience. It is no longer about documenting the biggest air or the biggest named athlete. Personally I hope to see my role evolve to working with more brands to help define their image and culture through new and creative imagery.

    

    Anything else you would like to touch upon?

    The only other thing is that I would like to see our industry get away from focusing 90% on video parts and focusing more on imagery and creativity. Sure video has an important role, but personally I am not interested in seeing the same trick after trick. I would much rather watch video and film move in a more creative direction where it is more about the aesthetics of cool lines, tricks, etc and not about who does the most spins or who does the craziest dance on the same rail.

    Are there any film companies that you think are doing a good job of going in this direction?

    I got to be careful here so that I don't piss off any friends, but I think Jeff Thomas has done a great job of pushing the edit and ideas. Unfortunately the snowboard film crews seem to be light years ahead of any of the ski film crews. I do think there are a bunch of younger film makers and I can think of one crew in Whistler for example that is trying new things. We will have to wait and see if they succeed.

    If there was one discipline of skiing you had to shoot for the rest of your life, what would it be?

    Big mountain freestyle. Note I did not say freeride. Nothing gets me more stoked then shooting beautiful mountain terrain and seeing amazing skiers produce rad imagery with tricks that will compliment the terrain.

    Which athlete would you take with you on that never-ending mission?

    There is not a single athlete, every skier is different and that's half of what makes ski photography so interesting. However two skiers that really impressed me this year were Zack Giffin and KC Deane. Both have amazing work ethic and are equally at home in the big mountain or park environment and possess the skills to perform the trick that best compliments the environment we are shooting in.

    Now for some shitty generic one liners.

    Haha, go for it!

    Favorite band/artist?

    None, whatever is randomly playing on the ipod.

    Best powder?

    Mt. Baker

    If you had to pick one ski to ride at all times, what would it be?

    Lib Tech, more companies should use magne-traction. Or Black Diamond for touring.

    Best beer after a day of powder?

    Newcastle, only if i have no home brew.

    Best snow sports publication

    You really want me to answer that? The Ski Journal. Well ummm I mean SBC of course ;)

    Of course!

    Depends on who is buying more photos!

    Good answer. Any closing thoughts?

    Is it time for more beer?

    It's always time.

    

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  • 3 years ago
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• Poutine and Powder #5: It's al Poutine and Powder #5: It's all about what you learn!

  • From: ConorB
  • Description:

    Well its all over.  We were gonna post this when we got back, but I got an Olympic hangover.  More precisely a vicious flu and sore throat that might have cost me my job and pass here in Jackson.  Was it worth it.  For sure.  
    
    Here is the recap of our last days of this powder and poutine adventure.  
    
    Thursday we went to the Olympic medal ceremony at the Whistler Village.  Not only did we get to see the US get gold and silver in Nordic Combined, but we got sweet pictures of us with the Olympic mascots Quatchi and Miga.  After the ceremony we were front and center for the legendary Roots band!  Jimmy Fallon opened up the show with an impersonation of Neil Young, singing the Fresh Prince of Bell Air theme song.  

     

    

    

     

     

    
    

     

     

    

    On Friday we headed to the sliding center for the 1st heat of Men's 4 Man Bobsled.  This was definitely the best spectator event that we saw at the Olympics.  You could walk up the whole course watching with whiplash as each bobsled zoomed past at over 90 mph.  We saw one of the US sleds slam sideways into the wall and screech down the rest of course upside down.  It sounded like a train wreck.  

     

    
    

     

    
    
    After 4 hours of bobsledding we headed home to get ready for our last night out!  Needless to say we lived it up.  I really wanted to go to Buffalo Bill's for some reason and realized early on it was a cougar's den.  We quietly slipped out and headed to the tried and true Longhorn Saloon.  The Longhorn was packed and Conor and I both found ourselves heading towards Alaska, but staying true to our rules (stay away from girls from the States)  we left the bar satisfied and ready for our twenty + hr drive back to Jackson.  

    
    Saturday we hit the border with some issues from an angry American.  He tried to give us as hard a time as possible, but eventually allowed us back in.
    
    On Sunday, we rolled into Drummond, MT to try and find a bar to watch the gold medal Hockey game.  At first we tried a bar called Swedes.  We were the only two people in the entire bar so we figured it would be easy to get the game on one of the TVs.  Unfortunately we didn't realize it was "Nascar Day" at Swede's.  Welcome back to the good old USA.  Apparently in Drummond Nascar day is a big deal.  We found the other bar in the town and were able to get the gold medal game on one of the TVs.  They even had 2 dollar PBRs and home cooked queso.  With a huge crowd of four, we cheered for the USA.  Unfortunately we didn't get the gold, but it was one of the greatest games we have ever seen.  We left Drummond and went on our way to finish out our 16 day adventure. 

    
    
    This was one of the best trips I have ever had the chance to go on.  Whistler always lives up to your expectations and having the Olympics put it over the top.  We will both be on a detox for sometime now.  Below are just a couple of things we learned throughout the 16 days we were on the trip.
    
    
    
    You'll always hit on the waitress at a strip club over the stripper cause they still have their clothes on. Thanks Olivia at Lil Darlings.
    
    Getting back into the US is always way harder than getting into Canada.  
    

    Gapers in Canada are called gorbies.  A gorby in the States is called a Bungee.
    
    Fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy = heaven (Poutine).  Put a cut up brat on top for added deliciousness.  (Photo below)
    
    Don't go to staff housing.  Get off the bus.
    
    Get it on in public with 2 girls in front of 5 cops is apparently acceptable behavior in Canada.
    
    Ottawa rocks!
    
    Ontario Rocks!
    
    If some really nice girls invite you over to there house to go hot tubing at 2 am think twice. You might get there and be threatened by a little guy with a hockey stick yelling at you to get the fuck out of his house.
    
    If Keith bitches don't worry about it he's a baby.
    
    When you take a a blind corner on a snow machine at 30 mph riding tandem and flip it make sure you hold onto the handle bar while you and the sled slide sideways  as to slow the sled down from going into the river.  Missed it by 2 feet.  (Side note, don't listen to Conor when he says lets try to take the corners a "little hotter")  
    
    If your sled won't start put some gas in the carb, that gets it going.  Thanks Rick!
    
    If a girl wants you to go to Vancouver you should probably have gone.  Conor sucks!  
    
    SourKraut makes burgers better.  Splitz Baby! 
    
    You can get in to the Longhorn Saloon in Whistler free any day or night.  Go down to the coat check, check your coat and walk right past the stamp guy when you come back up.  
    
    Cesars are good for you.  
    
    Watching everyone around an event like the Olympics is way better than running around and trying to watch the events.  

     

    Here are some more pics:

    

    

     

    

    

    

    
    

  • Blog post
  • 3 years ago
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