Armada SKis @ Retallack Lodge 2012.... like a dream

Its been like ground hog day in Utah for the last 3 months. Wake up, not a cloud in the sky, and absolutely no snow anywhere in sight. I couldn't have been more excited for this annual trip to Retallack, where I knew it was firing and I could escape this devastating drought. The trip was a major tease, and it was kind of like a dream, for more reasons than I could ever describe. It's like I went to sleep in Utah, arrived in this snowglobe winter wonderland in the Interior of BC, skied blower snow for three days without a cloud in the sky, and then my dream turned into a nightmare when I woke up in Utah again. No snow. It was a very surreal trip, maybe not sleeping much for 4 days has added to the illusion. But I know for sure it definitely happened, there were photos on my leica when I got home....


^Goat Range, BC, its on the list, believe me.


What was crazy about this trip, was that I spent over 65 days at this very place last winter, and I never saw one bluebird day like we saw on day 2 of this trip. Lucky we were.


^Johnny Five, master of the joke, keeper of the stoke. Rockin the same toque as last year.


^ Pretty strait forward here, bounce all the way to the end and hope there's a nice place to land. Skiing on the all new Armada Bubba's here. I feel like the mayans prophesied that in the year 2012 I would have these ultimate skis to sacrifice snow pillows for the good of man and to bring even more prosperous snow falls. Maybe not, but these are next level.

randoms...

^wake up from nap, look out window, "HOLY SHIT"




2 month old recycled ice grains. Not even really snow at that point.

unexpected light

A few nights ago, I was sitting down to a fantastic burrito dinner when the light broke through the clouds with incredible force. A tractor beam of light was engulfing the valley, and I knew the shit was about to go off. I set my burrito aside, trusting that the dog wouldn't find it, and grabbed the only camera I had in the house, my trusty Leica d-lux 3. It's a small point and shoot that makes great raw images. On a night like this I would have loved to be perched high on a mountain with my big camera, but you never know when the sky is going to look like this.


HDR








Moral of the story is, screw the burrito. nothing is more important than seeing a spectacular sunset. You can get a good burrito any day of the week, but this kind of offering from the sun is rare, and much more inspiring than any tortilla wrapped creation.

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San Francisco

Out of all the cities in the world that I've been to,  this is probably my favorite. After spending the weekend in the bay area visiting my family, I wondered why I haven't been there more.  It's been a long time since my last visit and I realized that I should never wait that long again.




^ the bridge


^ Perhaps the best part of the trip was being able to escape the endless winter in utah where even more snow fell over the weekend. I bet it was pretty good.


^ got a couple irish coffee's from this classic dude.


^ I was hoping I might be able to get this shot!


^ paddling out to mavericks. not quite.


^ my bro and I riding giants.

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!

Chile: La Cultura

The last part of my photo update from Chile is focused around the culture. In between sessions up in the mountains, I had plenty of time to explore the cities of Santiago and Valparaiso which is a crucial seaport town on the coast. The cities are dominated by vibrant colors, detailed architecture, and street vendors selling everything from roasted nuts to local goods. I really enjoyed this part of the trip as it allowed me to relax and really take in the sights and sounds. Between surf sessions and futbol matches, I walked around the cities with my point and shoot to capture the local scene....

Chile: Sunset Espectacular

Part 2 of 3 continues with photos of some of the incredible sunsets I saw on my trip to Chile. I don't know what it is about the place, but I witnessed some of the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen on a regular basis. I think the location of Valle Nevado, perched thousands of feet above one of the most polluted cities in the world, plays a role in the formation of these amazing displays of color and light. Every day after skiing, I would anticipate the arrival of dusk, to see what the sky's might offer up.














photo: Hans Hval




photo: Josh Finbow

Chile: La Nieve

This is part one of a 3 part photo update from my ski trip to Chile. La Nieve (snow), is the feature of this round. Throughout one month of skiing, sometimes the snow was plentiful, other times scarce and downright shitty. Valle Nevado was having one of its worst years, with only 50% of normal snowpack. Compare that to places in southern Chile like Termas De Chillan which had heaps of snow, as apparent in the photograph below. It was excellent to finally have the opportunity to travel to South America and see first hand the potential of the mighty Andes mountains.


"Chilling at Chillan"

"Valle Nevado"

Big Thanks to Evolve Chile (http://www.evolvechile.com/) for making this trip happen for me! To read a few stories and watch a few videos about the 2010 Evolve Chile camp, click on the following links:

http://newschoolers.com/ns/content/readnews/id/3408?

http://newschoolers.com/ns/content/readnews/id/3421/