News

Daydreams come true

by Newschoolers
Feb 8th 2010 - 0 comments

Today was all about realizing daydreams. Both of these lines have been on the list for awhile. Ursus minor NE has been on for about 4 years, and Sifton N face was spotted 10 years ago and wondered about then. Today we decided to try a link up that we have never done and would put two new notches on our ski poles. Aaron, Conor and I cruised up Ursus minor in 3.5 hours and we were skiing down the NE face before noon. The snow was facetted and sloughy, pouring down the slopes behind you. No slab and great turns down this face. So great to finally ski this line, and then we are off and up towards Sifton mt. Which I seem to be climbing  more and more now, the wrap around to the north and the final scramble up the ridge is always worth it. Now this N face has allure but also drops us into the unknown, and we were worried about our escape. The escape seemed do-able, a 500 ft bootpack up a steep slope but seemingly manageable. So at 3 pm we dropped down the north face and had wicked turns down the ridge and into the north bowl. Such a cool line and so removed from the rest of Roger's Pass. Its quite possible that both of these lines have never been skied, we know for certain that none of us has skied them before and we were psyched. Pretty exhausting day, but well worth it.

10/11 CATALOG PRESS CHECK

by Newschoolers
Feb 7th 2010 - 0 comments

It's that time of year again to produce print catalogs for the upcoming season. This is something we have a lot of fun w...[IMG]http://images.newschoolers.com/images/17/00/00/38/81/3881.jpeg[/IMG]

Superbowl Sunday Funday

by Newschoolers
Feb 7th 2010 - 0 comments

It’s Superbowl Sunday. And to celebrate the occasion, what could possibly be more fun than mixing sixteen hot dogs into a large batch of Kraft mac n’ cheese!? Four boxes worth, to be precise. I’ve crunched the numbers; it’s a collective 5,920 calories, and an additional 14,080 mg of sodium. Add to that 150 hot wings [...]

Hermit Mountain

by Newschoolers
Feb 7th 2010 - 0 comments

My biggest interest in ski mountaineering is the exploration, the ability to have so much to explore and almost constantly have new summits to stand on. I have tried Hermit mountain once and we were turned around due to exposure and conditions. Today we approached via the ridge and had a wild and fun bootpack/skin/rock climb to the summit. Mid way up I ran into a mountain goats tracks and used his footprints to boot pack up. He showed us the way and then let us billygoat our way to the summit. Super fun and right on the edge of comfort. So great to stand on this 10 000 footer. Epic.

High Fives new website

by Newschoolers
Feb 6th 2010 - 0 comments

High Fives Nonprofit Foundation has a new awesome website (Thanks Ethan). There are scholarship applications available o...[IMG]http://images.newschoolers.com/images/17/00/00/38/24/3824.png[/IMG]

BRIGHTON SHRED DAY UPDATE*

by Newschoolers
Feb 5th 2010 - 0 comments

Good times in Brighton today at the Surface Shred Day. There's still plenty of good snow to be had and more on the way t...[IMG]http://images.newschoolers.com/images/17/00/00/37/96/3796.png[/IMG]

They Don?t Call It ?Breckenfridge? For Nothing

by Newschoolers
Feb 5th 2010 - 0 comments

Ventured up to Breckenridge today with tan pimps, Meg O and Roz G. I tried to come up with an adjective to describe our day, but nothing seemed to fit. Thrilling, awesome, magical and perfect are all understatements. Just check out how awesome this video is. Awesome Day at Breck! from Henrik Lampert on Vimeo.

Avalanche night in Jasper

by Newschoolers
Feb 5th 2010 - 0 comments

I just drove up to Jasper to do a slide show on decision making. There is so much behind the decisions we make in the mountains that it was an interesting topic. To make proper decisions in the mountains requires so much, but I believe the most fundamental is learning from experienced people and then to pay attention. If you are not paying attention, regardless of how much you know, things will happen. Constantly vigilance is key. We are in the process of watching Dexter, a riveting show where Dexter is a forensic blood spatter analysist who hunts down and kills people who have escaped justice. To ensure that he never gets caught he kills by a very strict code. I think that as backcountry skiers we must also abide by a strict code. Learn a set of safety rules and obey them. Minimize exposure,Ski from the top, always stop in a safe spot, ski one at a time, ski cut.... the list goes on. Develop a code and follow it. Instead of being surprised one day by an avalanche, I ski things always expecting them to release. I assume that it will and I always have an escape plan. I always ski cut, and then when I am skiing I try and always look back. Especially when I change features, every feature is different and although what I was just skiing was stable this new feature needs to be re-analysed.  I keep looking around expecting things to release and ensure that I know what I will do if it does. Yesterday on my way back from Jasper I headed up Grizzly mountain, I followed a very exposed skin track that headed up Teddy Bear face, lots of start zones above and no safe spots. When I caught up to the group I wondered whether they were clued in to the fact that their skin track was sketchy.  They were completely exposed for over an hour, for no reason apart from that they did not follow the safety of the ridge. Not being someone who comes up and lectures people I do not know, I simply mentioned that I felt super scared on their up track and that I would go and set a track up the ridge. Off and up Mt-Grizzly, 10th summit of 2010, where I tore up the grizzly chute, wicked fast turns down the chute with minimal sloughing, out skiers left onto an exposed feature where I cut off a size 1 avalanche, down 18cms on suncrust, and then down the bowl, great turns. I then headed back up  and skied the upper face and headed home. 10060 ft                                                                                                                    188223

Tanner Hall I?m a fan

by Newschoolers
Feb 5th 2010 - 0 comments

I’ve gotten to know Tanner Hall and I’ve seen him at his best, he’s a very solid dude with a giant heart. For real he’s awesome! This ski season Tanner is recovering from a serious injury suffered while shooting last spring. He’s on the mend and he’ll be back stronger and more focused, I believe [...]

MegaMo

by Newschoolers
Feb 5th 2010 - 0 comments

When she was five, Slopestyle competitor Meg Olenick dreamed of having hair so long that it reached the top of her buttocks. Unfortunately for Meg, be...

PC EDIT*

by Newschoolers
Feb 5th 2010 - 0 comments

The boys went out with Clown School yesterday and put together a little edit featuring John Ware, Josh Bishop and Jeff K...

SHRED DAY TOMORROW!

by Newschoolers
Feb 4th 2010 - 0 comments

Get on up to BRIGHTON tomorrow for the infamous Surface Shred Day... gonna be off the chain with the grill blazin' all d...[IMG]http://images.newschoolers.com/images/17/00/00/37/50/3750.jpeg[/IMG]

The Blogosphere Welcomes, Thach Cat

by Newschoolers
Feb 4th 2010 - 0 comments

Did you catch the news today? Thach Cat has a blog, folks! Be sure to follow along as Thacher Stone (a.k.a Black Thunder) shares magical stories, recounts exciting adventures, posts compelling/provocative/nude photographs, and much more. Link to the blog here. Thach Cat Makes an Appearance In Downtown Aspen

TJ lands a 1620?

by Newschoolers
Feb 4th 2010 - 0 comments

You might ask what is a 1620… well its four and a half rotations and its never been done in competition until last weekend when Vernon BC’s own TJ Schiller stomped a new one at X games.