Roadside runs in Alaska

For half the price of one day of heli-skiing, my brother Neil and I rented a little front wheel drive compact sedan and made it our mobile base camp for two weeks. We bounced around between Girdwood and Turnagain Pass, camping at trailheads and parking lots, and skiing anything that looked fun. I might add that a snowmobile or a helicopter would have been a tremendous help, but on this trip we intended to spend as little money as possible to see what we could manage. It worked out quite well, but really it was the spectacular weather and absolutely bomber snowpack that allowed us to do it. Neil dropped the line at the end of the video at 7:15pm on April 18th, our last day in Alaska for the season, a picture perfect ending to sickest month of skiing I've ever had

While I wait...

I've been watching the dogs a lot lately, while my family members are out having way more fun than me. First it was my moms dog, while she enjoyed a distant beach on an island near Madagascar for nearly a month. Than my younger brother left for a ski bumming road trip leaving me fully in charge of our dog. And most recently I have acquired my older brothers animal while he's away in Costa Rica doing whatever it is one might do in paradise.

So I've been firmly planted, unable to travel away for more than a half day, patiently waiting for my chance to move. Typically this would be a non issue in Utah, but with the sad state of this winter I have been getting antsy. Luckily I live in an area where I could never get bored, a little fishing and biking here and there, and more days skiing flat groomers than I care to admit.

dogz....


1st time biking in january, ever...

Snurf Ya Later

Neil and I just released our first episode of the season. "The Provo Bros", will be a 3 part series released throughout the 2010-2011 winter, produced under Inspired Media Concepts.

a little info about "Snurf Ya Later" :

The early season conditions in Utah were about as amazing as I have ever seen before. My brother and I logged thousands of feet of some of the best pow turns we've ever had, but for the first time in my life, they were not on skis. Instead, we traded in the fancy splitboards and alpine touring equipment for two basic wooden boards. By removing bindings from the equation, we're essentially crippling our ability to travel through the mountains, but at the same discovering new ways to push our riding into uncharted territory. Progressing, by de-progressing in a way....



Check out the face book page for The Provo Bros show here....
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Provo-Bros/167417003303897?v=wall

Armada @ Retallack

I just returned from a short but sweet trip to Retallack, BC. It was the annual trip with the Armada squad to get some imagery of all the new products in their natural environments. Once again, deep powder and high avalanche danger kept us off the big terrain. But like always we were able to find some incredible skiing in the protected forrest at Retallack Lodge.






^ These trees have adapted well to the heavy snowfalls of the Kootenays.


^ Always a good fire burning at the lodge.


^ Head up to Retallack and visit with CR. His spirit is up there!

dashing through the snow...

Twas the night before Christmas, and the powder was good, particularly over in our neck of the woods. We assembled the sleighs, loaded up on snacks, to the stoney zone we were headed, for fresh pillow stacks. We were delighted to find, that the powder was kind, but the pillows we loved, had been buried above. At the top of the headwall a new line with a vision; a hair-ball traverse through a steep pillow ribbon.   Maybe next time when every-thing's right, for now we're on a mission for a powder delight. Back to the sleighs for some boondocking splendor, there's nothing like a christmas eve, backcountry adventure.....






^ pick a pillow, pack it, send it

photos taken by Neil....

Utah pow season opener....

Just like that, another sure to be classic winter in the Wasatch has begun. And boy did it start off nicely. All it took was one storm cycle to put down a blanket of snow so deep that it allowed us to go wherever we chose. Jim Harris and I chose to ski the north chute off the summit of mount superior for our first run of the 2010/11 season.


^ Like most of my favorite runs in utah, this one began with a steep skin track.


^ the skin track ended on the summit of Mt. Superior. I wasn't anticipating skiing off any big peaks in october, but when nature calls, one must go.


^ The last of the storm makes its way up and out of little cottonwood canyon.


^ Jim happily makes the first turns of the year down this wasatch classic


^ Cardiac Bowl on Oct 27. shhhhwiiiing!


^ nice little playground for the day


^ A skier on High Ivory smokes a fat bowl of wasatch ice

and for some HD video documentation....      http://vimeo.com/16293201

Deep Powder P.O.V

This video is about an unforgetable day at The Canyons ski resort in Park City, Utah. The date was 4/6/10, and it was nearly spring time yet the biggest snowstorms of the year were coming down on the wasatch mountains. Sheltered from the wind, the aspen tree forests at The Canyons were holding bottlomless untracked snow that never seemed to run out.

Im getting excited because I know winter is just around the bend. If nothing more this video is a little teaser for the epic powder days that are sure to come this winter. May the powder be plentiful and light!


Click the HD button to watch at vimeo in High Def

Mount Superior

Mount Superior and its razor sharp spine to the north, Cardiac Ridge, make up some of the finest big mountain riding in the Wasatch. The access is relatively easy (minus the exposed knife ridge bootpacking) and the terrain choices are endless. To get the goods, dawn patrol missions are the protocol. My brother and I scored a couple sweet lines in the area last season.....

The south face of Mt. Superior



youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAxzbxfjzOs

Reids Peak

Reids Peak and Bald mountain are two monolithic mountains in the western uinta range. My pop refers to them as "the Tits" because, well, they resemble the beautiful breasts of a woman! I've driven past these peaks hundreds of times en route to fishing and climbing trips over the years and I've always thought they would make for some good skiing. I decided to give them a shot...


^ I made it to the summit of bald mountain just after sunrise where I shot this photo of reids peak. The southeast ridge was the ascent route, while I skied a choice line off the north face. I was expecting the snow to have been more consolidated like traditional spring corn, but there was still powder snow on the north faces. Go figure. This made the skiing and climbing more variable.


^ The topography of reids peak is really unique. Its like a volcanic cone. You could ski down every aspect for 1800' vertical.


^ 7 yrs ago when this photo was taken, skiing in the uintas was far from reality. now its an everyday thing.


^ definitely one of the premier peaks in the western uintas


^ another old photo from the archives.


^ I've seen many sunsets over the years with reids peak as the backdrop, and it never gets old.

a quick little video of the descent:

Reids Peak 5/16/10

Cold Rush!!!

First of all, I'd like to thank Red Bull for putting together one of the greatest events in all of skiing! Their production, planning, and organization was really Impressive. It's so great to see a company like Red Bull supporting this type of skiing in such a huge way. Also, I'd really like to thank the staff at Retallack Lodge. They did such an outstanding job accommodating this rowdy bunch of skiers. The food, hospitality, and environment was on another level! I truly believe that Retallack Lodge has transformed the Cold Rush from a contest into something more of a festival, celebrating the joy of skiing in the mountains with your friends. BIG THANKS!!!!!

My experience with the Cold Rush began when I received a phone call, asking if I could make it up to fill the position of an athlete who got injured. I knew I had a to take care of a few things at home, but how am I going to pass up this opportunity? The next day I was on my way to beautiful british columbia, my new favorite place on earth. I've never been involved with anything like this before, so I was completely humbled to even be considered for this event.

The Red Bull Cold Rush is a contest to see who is the best all around, mountain skier. The venues included the beautiful north face of Texas peak with all of her various alpine descents, a kicker zone with 7 different jumps that all had powder landings, and the PME cliff section which was a short, technical face with unlimited potential. The terrain at Retallack is absolutely ideal for such an event. I wish that I had more time to prepare for this, as I skied far to conservatively to be considered a contender for the top spots. My position in the final results (7th), meant very little in comparison to my excitement for being a part of such an amazing event. To me, it was all about experiencing all that the cold rush had to offer with a great group of people, at one of the greatest places on earth, RETALLACK!

So, here is a video I made with the goal of documenting the cold rush from a skiers perspective. I shot it using my 5D Mark II with a fisheye lens and a 50mm 1.8. I also used the GoPro HD mounted on my helmet. Even with all the camera men and photographers capturing the action, I still felt compelled to document it for myself. Enjoy! I know I did!

Click for HD

Hypodermic Needle

Yesterday was a good day. I had a chance to hit one of the best lines in the wasatch. Its known as the hypodermic needle. Everything but the approach is appealing. The top 1200 feet is a 50 degree couloir thats just wide enough to make some hop turns. Then, it empties out into a massive apron to finish off the run with endless powder turns.

I was stoked to get a call from my buddy Jim, asking if I wanted to ski something big and steep. Naturally, I was down. After all, I love skiing things that are big and steep. We rallied at sunrise and made our way into little cottonwood canyon.




^ Sunlight hits the peaks on the south face of little cottonwood canyon


^ The objective as seen from the trailhead. A long way to travel


^The impressive Pfeifferhorn comes into view as we continue up the mountain.


^ A great view of the south faces of little cottonwood canyon. Lots of sick runs over there. Folks were getting after it.


^ After climbing thousands of feet over the course of a few hours, we finally got a clean look at the objective. The needle is the prominent chute on the right. Still, a long way to travel.


^ during the final push to the summit, some fast moving clouds moved in. During a break in the clouds, the Pfeifferhorn appeared and the NW couloir was visible.


^ Jim drops into the needle. The conditions were as good as they get.


^ Looking back to the top after a successful descent. In the foreground is a crooked old tree that has survived many large avalanches.

Here is a helmet camera clip from the decsent:

Lambs Canyon Time Lapse

A time lapse video taken while hiking in upper lambs canyon on christmas eve:

Time Lapse in HD

Snowboarding P.O.V

Although I prefer to ski, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! For me that was mounting up my brothers snowboard and taking it up for my first pow day of the year. During a 2 day period, Utah was pummeled by a snow storm from the south-west. 2-6 feet was deposited in an instant. Since I didn't have any skis at the time, I eagerly grabbed the 164 Jones Experience mid-wide and learned how to surf the pow. It was all time, and probably ranks up there as some of the best pow days of my life!

I've also been testing out the GoPro HD. Its a fine little camera that allows me to slam it against a tree, drop it off the lift, or lose it all together. I can't do any of that with my canon!

HD

HD