July 26, 2011
June 4, 2011
Season Recap
Check out a recap of my season and while you're at it look around the SASS Global travel website...you could be skiing powder this summer.
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
April 6, 2011
No Winter, Don't Go!!!
Wow, what a winter it’s been. I can’t believe it is already April. I guess what they say is true--time flies when you’re having fun. So much has happened since my last post, so here is a quick overview of the rest of my season.
On March 1, the Freeskiing community lost a very respected and well-loved skier. Sadly Ryan Hawks passed away after a tragic accident at the Kirkwood Freeskiing World Tour competition. Ryan was a fellow Vermonter, as well as member of the Blizzard/Tecnica crew. He was one of those guys that just absolutely loved life and skiing, and always put a smile on your face. He will be greatly missed, but his passion for skiing and life will most definitely live on.
After Ryan’s accident I was a bit shaken up and had to make some decisions. After some hard contemplation, I decided to take the rest of the season off from competing. Instead I shifted my focus towards photography and filming. This season, I landed my first filming stint with Futuristic Films. I spent a few days filming with the crew in Utah and then later filmed in my hometown of Aspen. As I learned, filming isn’t all the glory you see in the movies. You have to work your ass off for those turns and the weather doesn’t always cooperate. We were out in the backcountry for 12-hour days, and boy was I beat. But I think our work will really pay off and I can’t wait to see the final product, which should debut in the fall, entitled, “Our Backyards.”
So now as the season winds down, I have been able to spend some much needed time at home, skiing the four mountains and backcountry in my backyard. And just when you think spring is approaching, the snow gods come through, and send us some much-welcomed storms. Within the last week and a half, I have had three absolutely amazing powder days. In fact I had what might have been the best day of the season at Highlands last week...can you say endless face-shots, and free refills all day? Sooooo much fun.
But wait! Ski season is NOT over!!! Next week I am headed to Chamonix! I am so ecstatic; it should be a great time. I have only skied a few glaciers in Europe in the summer, so to actually ski Cham in winter...I couldn’t ask for a better trip!
Here are a few pics from some recent adventures….
Pillows anyone?
The 3 Marmot girls...Pip, Me, and Darcy
On March 1, the Freeskiing community lost a very respected and well-loved skier. Sadly Ryan Hawks passed away after a tragic accident at the Kirkwood Freeskiing World Tour competition. Ryan was a fellow Vermonter, as well as member of the Blizzard/Tecnica crew. He was one of those guys that just absolutely loved life and skiing, and always put a smile on your face. He will be greatly missed, but his passion for skiing and life will most definitely live on.
After Ryan’s accident I was a bit shaken up and had to make some decisions. After some hard contemplation, I decided to take the rest of the season off from competing. Instead I shifted my focus towards photography and filming. This season, I landed my first filming stint with Futuristic Films. I spent a few days filming with the crew in Utah and then later filmed in my hometown of Aspen. As I learned, filming isn’t all the glory you see in the movies. You have to work your ass off for those turns and the weather doesn’t always cooperate. We were out in the backcountry for 12-hour days, and boy was I beat. But I think our work will really pay off and I can’t wait to see the final product, which should debut in the fall, entitled, “Our Backyards.”
So now as the season winds down, I have been able to spend some much needed time at home, skiing the four mountains and backcountry in my backyard. And just when you think spring is approaching, the snow gods come through, and send us some much-welcomed storms. Within the last week and a half, I have had three absolutely amazing powder days. In fact I had what might have been the best day of the season at Highlands last week...can you say endless face-shots, and free refills all day? Sooooo much fun.
But wait! Ski season is NOT over!!! Next week I am headed to Chamonix! I am so ecstatic; it should be a great time. I have only skied a few glaciers in Europe in the summer, so to actually ski Cham in winter...I couldn’t ask for a better trip!
Here are a few pics from some recent adventures….
Pillows anyone?
The 3 Marmot girls...Pip, Me, and Darcy
February 21, 2011
New Boots, Back to Jackson, and on to Crested Butte
The past few weeks it seems like I have been on the go nonstop. First off, right before I left for Jackson, my new boots arrived from Tecnica. I had been waiting on these for a bit, so I was absolutely ecstatic when they arrived. I really only had one day to “break” them in before I left, but I also managed to squeeze in a few runs the morning before I hopped on a plane to Jackson Hole.
I was in Jackson for a Marmot shoot of next year’s gear. Also on the shoot was Marmot athlete Mike Leake, who I just met for the first time. Mike is an astounding skier to say the least, yet such a modest low-key guy. We were shooting with photographer Gabe Rogel. And while we didn’t exactly have powder, Gabe worked his magic and we took advantage of some bluebird skies. Here’s a sneak preview of some of the shots.
After flying back to Aspen in the evening, it was on to Crested Butte in the morning. I was headed to compete in the 20th Annual Subaru Freeskiing Extremes. While Thursday was set as the qualifying day, I didn’t have to compete since I’m a pre-qualified athlete, thanks to my results earlier in the season at Jackson Hole. However, due to high winds and low visibility qualifiers were pushed back to Friday and competition started on Saturday.
Crested Butte, also know as the east coast of Colorado, has some seriously rock littered terrain, and usually doesn’t see exceptional amounts of snowfall. Day one’s venue, held on Staircase, is the epitome of Crested Butte’s standards, and it most definitely was not a forgiving venue. While I feel that I skied the top section solid, when I got in the middle section I launched by first air and was thrown backwards. Unfortunately I was unable to recover and had a good old fall on to my ass. Oh well, if you don’t fall once in awhile you aren’t trying hard enough….right?
So after arriving back home I was greeted with over a foot of powder and have just been having a blast ripping up the home mountain the last few days. Nothing like some powder to make you feel like a million bucks.
I was in Jackson for a Marmot shoot of next year’s gear. Also on the shoot was Marmot athlete Mike Leake, who I just met for the first time. Mike is an astounding skier to say the least, yet such a modest low-key guy. We were shooting with photographer Gabe Rogel. And while we didn’t exactly have powder, Gabe worked his magic and we took advantage of some bluebird skies. Here’s a sneak preview of some of the shots.
After flying back to Aspen in the evening, it was on to Crested Butte in the morning. I was headed to compete in the 20th Annual Subaru Freeskiing Extremes. While Thursday was set as the qualifying day, I didn’t have to compete since I’m a pre-qualified athlete, thanks to my results earlier in the season at Jackson Hole. However, due to high winds and low visibility qualifiers were pushed back to Friday and competition started on Saturday.
Crested Butte, also know as the east coast of Colorado, has some seriously rock littered terrain, and usually doesn’t see exceptional amounts of snowfall. Day one’s venue, held on Staircase, is the epitome of Crested Butte’s standards, and it most definitely was not a forgiving venue. While I feel that I skied the top section solid, when I got in the middle section I launched by first air and was thrown backwards. Unfortunately I was unable to recover and had a good old fall on to my ass. Oh well, if you don’t fall once in awhile you aren’t trying hard enough….right?
So after arriving back home I was greeted with over a foot of powder and have just been having a blast ripping up the home mountain the last few days. Nothing like some powder to make you feel like a million bucks.
January 30, 2011
Jackson Hole
It's been a great past few days here in Jackson Hole for the Freeskiing World Tour. Never having skied Jackson, I am astounded by the vast amount of terrain the mountain has to offer. Unfortunately there was no powder in the forecast during my stay, but I definitely got some great skiing in. The weather was fairly mild and the sun was strong on Friday and Saturday, perfect conditions for spectators.
Day one's venue, was held in Casper Bowl. Although we had inspection Thursday, I failed to find a line I wanted to ski after getting into some pretty hairy spines. So I went into the first day having somewhat of an idea where I was going to ski, making it up a little as I went along. I felt that I skied well, but my line choice was very mediocre, which was reflected in my line score. I qualified for day two, sitting in 7th place.
Day's two venue was held on Tower 3, I quickly found my line and got in some solid inspections. Feeling more confident with my line choice definitely helped make for a better day. I feel that I skied a solid technical run with a few good airs. It seemed that the judges agreed. I ended up taking 3rd for the day. Overall I grabbed the fourth and final qualifying spot to put my name on the list of pre-qualified athletes for the 2011 Freeskiing World Tour! Now I'm headed back to Aspen after a successful and fun trip to Jackson, but there is no doubt in my mind that it won't be long before I'm back in Jackson, hopefully skiing some pow.
http://www.doglotion.com/essays/results-and-pics-2011-fwt-event-jackson-hole
Day one's venue, was held in Casper Bowl. Although we had inspection Thursday, I failed to find a line I wanted to ski after getting into some pretty hairy spines. So I went into the first day having somewhat of an idea where I was going to ski, making it up a little as I went along. I felt that I skied well, but my line choice was very mediocre, which was reflected in my line score. I qualified for day two, sitting in 7th place.
Day's two venue was held on Tower 3, I quickly found my line and got in some solid inspections. Feeling more confident with my line choice definitely helped make for a better day. I feel that I skied a solid technical run with a few good airs. It seemed that the judges agreed. I ended up taking 3rd for the day. Overall I grabbed the fourth and final qualifying spot to put my name on the list of pre-qualified athletes for the 2011 Freeskiing World Tour! Now I'm headed back to Aspen after a successful and fun trip to Jackson, but there is no doubt in my mind that it won't be long before I'm back in Jackson, hopefully skiing some pow.
http://www.doglotion.com/essays/results-and-pics-2011-fwt-event-jackson-hole
January 15, 2011
Life Update
Ok so I need to get better at updating my blog more regularly, but here's a quick run down of what's been going on. Basically life is awesome. I've been skiing everyday and living it up in Aspen. I was also lucky enough to practically have a job at Hamilton Sports in Aspen fall in my lap. The shop is right across the street from the gondola and mandatory ski breaks aren't so bad. Everyone who works there is really great and it's a lot of fun. I've been meeting so many great people in Aspen and have found those local boys who rip, so much fun to ski with.
Update on sponsors. Early in December I officially signed with Marmot. I am so stoked on all their products, and am glad that I am representing such a reputable company. I'll be giving a gear review soon. Also I will now be skiing on Blizzards thanks to Blizzard/Tecnica Freeride Team manager Frank Shine. So far I've been skiing on the Crush and I am absolutely in love.
Ok more to come soon, as life here in Aspen is never dull.
Update on sponsors. Early in December I officially signed with Marmot. I am so stoked on all their products, and am glad that I am representing such a reputable company. I'll be giving a gear review soon. Also I will now be skiing on Blizzards thanks to Blizzard/Tecnica Freeride Team manager Frank Shine. So far I've been skiing on the Crush and I am absolutely in love.
Ok more to come soon, as life here in Aspen is never dull.
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