Hot off the presses, we received “The Pact” this weekend.
Thanks for all of you who have pre-ordered. Your shipments were all sent today Monday Sept 29th (2 days ahead of schedule).
Those are some sexy DVD’s. Enjoy!
Archive for September, 2008
The following is a trip report using pics from the point and shoot camera’s of Andy Jacobsen, Noah Howell and Dan Grolley. It’s not the high quality ski action shots, but more the travel and “lifestyle” pics. World renowned photographer Jay Beyer shot some beautiful images, which he might let us post at a future date, but I wanted to put something up while it’s still fresh.
It’s hard not to think one has been wasting the “summertime” up north with all these snow covered mountains down south just waiting to be skied.
I can’t confirm that Ushuaia really is the beginning of “Everything”, like they claim. It was the beginning of one of the best adventures I’ve had the privilege of being part of.
The 5 of us met up in Buenos Aires and headed straight for “The end of the World”.
Left to right: Andy Jacobsen, Dan Grolley, Dede O’Mara, Noah Howell, Jay Beyer.
How did we end up here? All credit goes to this man, Paul Turecki; guide, porter, spanish speaker, tatoo artist (see part 2), weather forecaster, and master of good com’s. He’s a good guy to have around.
We met Paul in AK a few years ago and he invited us down south this summer. He arranged a little apartment for the week.
A bit tight with all the gear and 6 people, but the price was right ($3.50 per person, per night U.S.).
Dede was a great sport putting up with 5 dudes who were trying to see who could go the longest without showering (the shower didn’t work, so it wasn’t too challenging).
Luckily we brought along some bootpourri to keep the room fresh. All you do is place them by the heater and the room takes on an instant almost overpowering aroma.
Vast terrain all around town and there were various ways to access it. During our week there we toured off the road-side in the Valle de lobos, lapped some lift served sidecountry for a few days at Cerro Castor, and we started off with a one-ride into the backcountry using this little double chair out of town at Glacier Martial.
Dan and Andy (a bit like bosom buddies).
Jay pointing out the town of Ushuaia below our beloved mountain mistress Olivia. We all vowed to return and ski her someday.
We met some local broboarders who seemed to be some of the only folks interested in the backcountry. They had just received their sled that had been in transit for 7 months from Washington state. They are stashing the snowmachine in the woods because Argentina doesn’t have any snowmobiles or registration and they’re not legally supposed to have one. Typical rebel snowboarders.
Great group of guys! They gave us good beta on where to ride and invited us to a backyard lamBBQ. A total blood sausage fest!
We considered buying a dictionary, but found that this amazing product “Quilmes”, really helps gap the language barrier.
Delicious!
It’s a much bigger city (65,000) than any of us expected. Seems to be quite the ski destination for the wealthier Argentine population that enjoys to ski inbounds. Main street was a bit like many of the tourist ski towns of the west.
But with strict bathroom laws.
Here’s Jay, doing his best to keep his needs within the toilet. Luckily nobody was fined!
The view of Olivia from town.
We shot some amazing footage that we can’t wait to put up, but we’re heading on tour soon so it may be a bit before we can get something on the web.
It was an action packed week that seems like only a dream now. One week isn’t enough time, but this was a great eye opener to all the skiing possibilities.
We rested well en route to El Chalten and the central Patagonia region.
Part 2 of the Patagonian adventure coming soon.
Submitted by Noah Howell
World Champion, Megan Michelson, just returned from a trip down south. Here is her report.
I learned a new word on my two-week trip to New Zealand in August.
“Ski-sick.” Kind of like sea-sick or car-sick, only it means the
nausea induced by a day of skiing in clouds so thick, you can’t see
the tips of your skis. We were at Craigieburn Club Field, a tiny ski
hill on New Zealand’s South Island that’s basically the Silverton of
the southern hemisphere—steep backcountry-like terrain, a couple
tractor-powered rope tows, no grooming, no frills. We arrived late on
a Monday night and the hostel-style lodge at the base of the ski area
was socked in by a rain cloud so dense it felt like a wet towel. The
next morning, the weather wasn’t much better. Visibility was limited
to about three feet in any direction. We skied downhill blind, trying
to feel the changing snow conditions with our legs and searching for
obstacles before we plummeted off an unmarked cliff band. My stomach
twisted and flopped like I was riding an upside-down roller coaster.
We suffered through the day, fighting vertigo and holding back the
need to vomit. I fell asleep that night in a bunkroom shared with my
two friends and two strangers from Canada. I dreamed about being lost
in violent seas. Early the next morning, the curtains drawn tight in
our bunkroom, my eyes flittered open when I heard the Canadian guy
come into the room and say something to his buddy. All I needed to
hear were those two words. Words far more glorious than any new ones I
had learned the day before. He whispered them gently, but they shook
me awake. “Blue bird.”
Putting chains on our 2-wheel-drive Toyota Yaris on the
six-mile, dirt access road to Craigieburn.
Kiwi Tele Ripper Jess Smithers gearing up for the day.
It’s called a nutcracker. You wear it clipped to a harness or leather waist belt. You must fling it over and clip it onto the fast-moving cable without eating shit. Leather glove protectors are highly recommended.
Flirting with the edge of the world.
Bunk room: Smelled like mildew and Canadians.
Look for more of Megan’s writing’s in Skiing Magazine and catch her laying down big turns on the big screen in this years PW flick.
Megan wanted to give maximum respect to Flylow, her clothing sponsor, who helped make the trip to New Zealand possible.
Thanks Megan,
Telemark skier would like you to get 3 free issues of their magazine, go here and use promo code WHTM.
You might remember Mr. Cox from the last 3 PW movies. Sam has been working for the U.S. Forest Service for the past 10 years, he’s currently in his second year as a smokejumper. Here’s a little peak into what he does when it’s not snowing.
Here’s Sam’s account of his summer.
Shorter days and brisk nights have me thinking about winter, however it seems like appropriate timing for a summer update. Fire season has been fickle across the West. It will come crashing down for a brief time, and then falter, followed by a complete disappearance for several weeks. I have been fortunate enough to spend time on fires in ID, NV, OR and two trips to CA during the past 3 months. Not a banner season by any stretch of the imagination, but enough to keep the bills paid during the winter. The addition of newfound free time this summer has also allowed for all types of extracurricular activities. Another smokejumper here at the McCall base is an experienced B.A.S.E. jumper. We ventured down to Twin Falls and jumped the bridge under his supervision. Jumping from a fixed position is an entirely different animal than exiting the aircraft. Overall it was an excellent experience. My photography skills leave quite a bit to be desired, but here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure.
”Hit it” drill in front of the DC-3
A fire in the Stanislaus Forest, CA
Perrine Bridge, Twin Falls, ID
G Hud packing a B.A.S.E. jumping rig
Sam leaves the bridge
Under canopy, Twin Falls
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Time and time again we hear complaints that we do not have enough females in our movies. We understand the critique and have honestly tried in the past to make it happen, but for one reason or another it has not. It’s a new day here at PW, Last winter we had the pleasure of getting out with not one, not two, but three ripping women. It’s with my pleasure to introduce you to three new faces that will hopefully be in many more movies to come.
We met Kate a few years back at a freeski comp in Tahoe, she ended up winning the comp, but what was really impressive were her table surfing skills at the after party. We were very happy with how her segment turned out, and look forward to many more in the future.
We kept hearing it through the grapevine that Megan Michelson was someone we should ski with, luckily for us we listened to them and found out first hand they were right. Megan beats you up and down the mountain. We knew she was good, but then she proved to everyone last year that she is the best, by winning both tele freeskiing comps.
The PW crew ran into Dede last spring in the Chugach. She was just on vacation by herself heli skiing and touring, if that were not impressive enough she had a pair of K2 Pontoons over her shoulder. We knew we’d found someone special. She made it out to the Wasatch last winter and pillaged the powder.
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