by 4FRNT
Jan 18th 2010
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0 comments
Well, its been a while since i've logged on here...i've been more than busy the past couple months. After summer camp in Whis it was pretty much straight back to school. This past fall semester was my last semester of high school- luckily i had gotten a few extra credits here and there my first three years, allowing me to graduate in December instead of May. Because of this, though, i had to take a few extra classes this year and was so busy with work that i really had no time to travel. As soon as snow started comin, however, it was time to start slacking and get away from the highschool hubbub. So i went to Montana to visit my brother Taven and enjoy Thanksgiving.
The trip started on November 20th, which happened to be my 18th birthday. I knew there was no better way to spend my 18th than in Reno, so as soon as school got out my buds Ramsey and Thomas packed themselves into ye ol' Lesbo Cruiser (my Subaru Forester, of course) and we headed out.
This Grimey person here is Ramsey:
And this is thomas.
Yeah, they like to party. I, of course, do not indulge in any of their lude activities or performances.
Reno was very radical. That night also included the Warren Miller premier, which was a totally huge turnout and a super cool thing to be a part of. I didn't film with them too much last year so i only got a few shots in the final product, but the whole experience of going on stage and just generally being a part of Warren Miller stoked me out for the season. Tanner also happened to show and gave a little speech about the Lawsuit situation, preaching peace and equity among the ski community. I totally agree- there is absolutely no reason for there to be any beef whatsoever between ski companies or film companies...aren't we all here to ski and have a good time? Its a little sad to see a financial-based problem occuring in the ski realm, but as the sport grows, it seems to me irrelevant to bypass corporate beef...simply put, if there is a money making scheme goin on, there will be problems between competitors. After the premier, we dropped in for a DormStorm at UNR...always fun.
The 21st of november we drove. All day. The road from Tahoe to Bozeman is a long and treacherous one, especially after a Reno Experience, but we made it there soon enough... actually around 4 in the morning. Upon arrival, we caught a glimpse of the legendary Haggard Beast, at home in the wilderness of Montana. These creatures are rarely glimpsed, but fortunately for us their main habitat is the college campus in Bozeman. This lovely specimen goes by the name of Taven Anderson.
yup, thats my brother- he recently turned 21. Anyways- That was pretty much thanksgiving for me. We spent the week in Bozeman, shredded a little bit, ate some great food, and caught up with our friends. Hands down, the best thanksgiving i've had to date, but my camera broke and i got zero photos, which blew.
After thanksgiving it was back to California to finish up school for good. The last few weeks were pretty gnar, but luckily i made it through successfully with good scores and whatnot. I will not be missing highschool whatsoever. Since I graduated, i have taken 4 days off from skiing- out of thirty. Basically i've been nonstop ripping and training for the upcoming comps and shoots that i plan on participating in. I like to spend december and january in tahoe because it gives me a chance to gather myself and recover from school- going out to CO super early season never seems to be as fun as i think it will be...and when you aren't having fun, you arent skiing well.
One thing i started doing this year that i always wanted to do is skinning up peaks. My first little peak i ascended was on New Years Eve- just a tiny little mountain that is directly off highway 50 on your way up to Sierra-At-Tahoe. Last year in Norway i bought a pair of skins that would fit my CRJ's and never really got a chance to test them out until this adventure. I went with two of my friends who were also virgins at climbing.
This is Luke and Patrick at the trailhead. As you can tell, our equipment was just as amateur as we are. You may also notice that they are snowboarders. I don't really ski with skiers too much- shredding with boarders opens my mind to different creative tricks and lines.
Just a little self portrait i took before the real climbin started. As you can see im pretty stoked. I've always wanted to get out into the backcountry- no patrollers, no ropes, no rules. You can get as gnar as you want, and also get bucked harder than ever. It's an entirely different world than resort skiing.
Midway Cheerio break. Luke's stoked.
When its too steep to skin, we hike. There is no better way to realize your out of shape.
Heres me, just before dropping in. That's highway 50 in the background...watching cars drive by and standing up there is one hell of a reality check...made me realize there is so much more skiing to be done than just park and rails and general manufactured skiing. Upon dropping in, i got a huge gust of self-fulfillment and stoke. The pow was still pow, 3 days after getting sunbaked every single day. So deep, so soft, and remarkably not Sierra Cement.
Walking down highway 50 after skiing. I was more stoked than ever. I see this day as a huge leap in skiing for me- although it was a small peak, with no exposure and miniture features, it was my first time earning my turns without the added advantage of a ski lift to help me. So much fun, so soul. When i'm 60 and to broken to jump, this is all im gonna do.
As soon as we were done, it was time for New Years in South Lake. If you ever get a chance to go to Tahoe for New Years, do it. It is...insane.
This is the only photo i acquired from New Years- in the parking lot of Sierra at Tahoe getting ready for another day of pow. Contrary to popoular belief, i was not hungover. As i said earlier, i am only 18, and that would be illegal.
Well, those were my holiday experiences, hope everybody out there reading this had just as good of a time. The next two weeks are gonna have a whole bushel of updates- We're getting 10 feet of snow out here between today and next weekend...so stoked. I have a backcountry shoot planned in the next couple days as well...so keep looking for that. I've also been filming a little park edit...should be pretty radical i think.
Keep shreddin, yall.
