Nike ACG Team Blog : News from the snowbard team

Argentina Diary - Day 5

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (Jimmy) — Tue, 2 Sep 2008 12:40:00 +0200

Day five of our trip could not have been further removed from to the previous day’s adrenaline rushes. Although a forecast of blue skies and sunshine had been predicted the previous night, rain fell heavily from the morning until the sun escaped beyond the horizon and darkness engulfed us. With the weather forecasters seemingly incapable of calculating the conditions during our week in Argentina, it is unlikely that we will continue to trust it so readily!

On a day like today with no filming taking place and little excitement to be had, all that was left to do was to relax and unwind from what has already been a very busy, action- filled trip.

Whilst some found entertainment in playing games or working hard for various different assignments, others went about town in search of other sorts of amusement. Finding the internet was a priority and indeed we needed to upload the video version of our blog which highlights our experiences for an audience with less imagination! However, it seems that the wonders of fast-speed internet have bypassed this unique town in the Andes. It certainly makes you appreciate some of the things that we take for granted back in Europe when a video of 2 minutes takes 30 hours to upload. At the time writing, only 14 hours have elapsed.

Tomorrow, we are supposed to be expecting yet more rain and cloud, however going by today’s prediction I think I should anticipate the opposite and perhaps I will even unveil my beach body for the lucky residents of Caviahue.

Argentina Diary - Day 4

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (Jimmy) — Tue, 2 Sep 2008 12:35:00 +0200

At noon, we set off into the backcountry in a group of fourteen whilst being transported rapidly by snowmobiles to a spot nicknamed the ‘Amphitheatre’ by locals. The area certainly produced drama and anxiety in equal measure as the cameras started to roll. Everybody was stoked as Richard pulled off a 180 off a ridge and sped towards us down the steep face leaving a stream of mist shrouded in his wake.

Things did not go so smoothly for Eva though as she tried to get into position for her next line. As she ambled along the peak, she found herself in the grasp of a 30 metre wide crevasse that was lurking menacingly. Although she managed to escape its clutches, she was shaken up enough to stay back for awhile until her next attempt 20 minutes later.

However, just as Eva was about to drop into her next line, an area of snow 60 metres wide collapsed around her and sped down the face in an eruption of snow. Due to the warm weather of the previous few days, the top layer of powder had become too heavy and could hold no more. Luckily no one was harmed but it certainly brought an abrupt end to filming in this position.

As we cruised into yet more picturesque mountains and passed through the border into Chile, the sun hid behind the clouds and the wind picked up once more, leading to bitterly cold temperatures. Almost anticipating our wishes for a little more warmth, our seasoned guides set about making an igloo that sheltered us all from the forces of nature as filming commenced for the last time until it was time to head home.

Weather permitting; we will revisit our final spot tomorrow in search of more lines and hopefully, a little less excitement…

Argentina Diary - Day 3

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (Jimmy) — Tue, 2 Sep 2008 12:25:00 +0200

Waking up to the rhythm of rainfall clashing against the tiled roof of our chalet was hardly the best introduction to our third day. We had been expecting fresh powder that had been forecast the previous night however the rain was now dissolving a lot of the snow that was left stranded on the ground.

Nevertheless, our altitude at our residence is over 1,300 metres lower than the highest peaks of the resort and we were confident for some fresh powder at more elevated destinations.

We set off in search of some fresh lines. However, the drizzle still persisted and the powder of the previous day had transformed into heavy snow that was almost impossible to negotiate, even for the professionals.

There was only one thing for it and we all agreed that the hot springs would be our next destination to relax from the exhausting task of 30 minutes filming. Heated by the active volcano that is one of the peaks of the mountain range, the thermal springs were incomparable to anything that we had seen before in our European cities. The natural pools looked tempting as the clear blue water swelled and bubbled up in front of us. It even seemed to urge us to jump in. However we resisted our cravings, safe in the knowledge that there would be other opportunities for entertainment during this trip once the snowfall has increased.

However, after being told that the Copahue Volcano has erupted three times over the last 16 years in 1992, 1995 and 2000, it suggests that we are perhaps more overdue for an eruption of ash…although an increase in powder would certainly be more than welcome.

Argentina Diary - Day 2

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (Jimmy) — Tue, 2 Sep 2008 11:40:00 +0200

Greeted in the morning by a fresh fall of at least a foot of snow, our expectations were high for filming on day two. Due to the lack of snowmobiles, the plan was that we would travel up to the shoot in two clusters. However, the Caviahue wind prevailed once more and it was deemed it was simply too strong to pursue our goal of riding up through the powder and allowing Richard Permin and Eva Walkner to crash through the snow whilst we would watch expectantly at the base.

Back to square one and after an hour and a half of waiting, the wind died down enough for a group to travel up and film the exploits of our two professionals. Everything did not run as smoothly as first expected though as Richard managed to ride a mini avalanche that was thirty metres wide over a cliff. Fortunately, he was able to power out of the snow and hunt more lines across the resort. Indeed, we decided that Eva’s drop off the cliff would no longer be ‘on’ and we were forced to find another section of mountain to work with. Undisturbed by his dramas on the last ridge, Richard was unrelenting and threw in a clean 360 off a five metre drop half way through the afternoon whilst Eva continued to free-ride through the increasingly heavy powder that was at times, extremely difficult to traverse.

Perhaps our highlight was the waterfall that we found at the end of the day that sheltered caves standing undisturbed beneath. This piece of nature set up some spectacular shots for our resident photographer to got to work with. Lesson for the day – when the weather closes in, you work with what you’ve got. Having seem some of the footage back though I think we’ve got some killer lifestyle shots already.

Here are some images from the filmshoot so far.

Argentina diary - Day 1

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (The Elk's Brother) — Mon, 1 Sep 2008 15:55:00 +0200

After awakening from some much needed sleep after an exhausting thirty hour journey from London to Argentina (via Sao Paulo and the rest) I made my way over to the shower to get ready for our first day. Having battled for a few minutes and woken myself up thanks to extremes of hot and cold I was ready to face skiing Argentina style.

With a reputation for being extremely windy due to its exposed location, Patagonia and indeed the resort of Caviahue itself certainly lived up to its name as we hit the slopes. It was bitterly cold, and as the wind picked up it spat fresh powder into our faces- although it was impossible to feel any negativity as we looked down the piste of fresh snow and admired the lake at its base which hugged the mountain all the way around.

For most of us, months had passed since skiing had been a priority whilst in our European climate and the gentle warm up that we began with was unquestionably welcome. However that tame gradient soon became tedious as we searched for fresh challenges whilst the sun was still glowing down and reflecting pleasingly off the Argentinean snow.

After lunch, and a pizza that was more akin to cheese on toast, we headed off in the direction of the snowmobiles that were waiting further down the mountain ready for our experimentation. Indeed, due to the very few lifts around in our resort, this method of transportation is a necessity and everybody needed to learn how to use them quickly. Having never used one before, I found my introduction fairly difficult. Led off by one of our professional skiers Richard Permin, I set off up the mountain being towed along up a trail that was less intimidating than first appeared. However, connecting myself to my belt whilst being towed was a mistake that I paid for half way up the hill as it snapped in half and I saw the snowmobile speed away. Unfortunately, I was no longer connected and had to ski down through the wall of snow that was eclipsing me from every angle.

Once home, all I hoped for was another shower that wouldn’t result in third degree burns and for tomorrow to be as full of blue skies when the proper filming gets underway.

head cam movie

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (dan-wakeham) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:04:04 +0200

while i was in 2alps i met up with one of my pals. he works with the vio head cams. i was good because the hard drive is small and fits in to your pocket, the camera has a wide angle lens and just straps to the side of you goggles.
i made this little edit click here to check it out!

les deux alpes

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (dan-wakeham) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:05:49 +0200

The Mrs and I drove out to Les Deux Alpes for two weeks to get in some summer riding and keep my legs fresh.

The weather has been mostly perfect, up to 25 degrees in the town. Up the hill it had been clear sky all day long and I have had some serious tanning potential.

It was still pretty icy in the mornings and the pipe was bullet proof until about 11ish., we cruised around for a few hours, waiting for it to soften up and found a sick water ride; an oversized pond about 10m in length

me in blue and dom harington in red

We sessioned that for a few hours and got some rad shots, taken by Nick Atkins.

In the park, there were two pipes back to back. They were both in good shape and held up well in the sunshine. I got straight into it and was throwing down 1080s on my first day – aided by the fact that Jonno Verity and Tim Warwood were filming me so I had a bit of Kodak Courage.

The mountain shut at about 1is each day so a crew of us hung out in the park when all the kids were gone and sessioned the hip for a couple hours., until we were kicked off.

Afternoons were filled with fun activities in the sun, such as tennis and skateboarding and lounging at the pool. LOVE IT!

Andreas sweetspot - Mrykdalen

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (the-elk) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:36:19 +0200

We arrived in Norway late on Friday night and made good time to Bergen from the airport after Seb received his standard strip search by customs, fortunately they let him in cause obviously he had nothing except a bad smell! We hooked up with the Czech and Rusian crews who were over to do a shoot for the weekend and headed to the hotel.

The next morning we made our way up to Myrkdalen and it was a beautiful day and an amazing drive and we settled into the hotel which was at the bottom of the ski run. The first task in hand was to find a spot for teh retail shoots and Seb found some good spots. They were night shoots and everyone was in high spirits even though it took quite a while.

With the retail shoot out of the way it was full steam ahead, Andreas and the crew had already finished the big kicker so it was only the monster hip left to do - and what a task it was. I jumped in to help as I need all the exercise I can get these days to keep the middle age spread at bay and started digging. It was a 2 day build which we did on Monday and Tuesday - we finished in time for Andreas to hit it up and start filming on Tuesday afternoon as the bad weather was rumoured to be coming in. See below for some shots from teh session taken from my little camera, Seb has the bangers.

Jon Hatveit was using the parapont to film from and got some great images. It also proved quite amusing as he has not had any training and only did it once 4 years ago, but he picked it up really fast and didnt have any serious crashes.

The sweetspot is going to be sick, just seen the clips, the shots from the parapont are unreal and the riding is down right bad boy.

Check www.nikeacg.com next season to see the final product. Thanks to the resort (www.vossfjellandsby.no) , drivers and all the shapers for the hard work.

Team Update from the UK

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (The Elk) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:32:04 +0200

It’s been a busy few weeks for the Nike ACG UK Team; they’ve left their mark in Laax at the British Championships, taught over two thousand UK students a thing or two at BUSC in Hinterglemm, and hiked for hours across the backcountry of Pontresina, Switzerland in search of the ultimate powder runs on the Nike press trip…

The Brits – Laax, Switzerland

Team Nike ACG were killing it at The Brits this year – Murray Buchan (16 yrs) set the standard on day 1 by taking home the British Half Pipe Freeski Championship title. He was on fire stomping his run which included a 900, to 1080 and reverse mute alley-oop. Paddy Graham was hot on his tail claiming 3^rd place with some huge airs and a massive d-spin 900.

Zoe Gillings showed us all why she’s one of the world’s top boardercross riders by throwing herself out of the start gate and leaving the other boarders trailing in her wake. She had a solid run and kept her lead throughout to claim the Gold.

Dan Wakeham just missed out on a podium place in the Half pipe, despite scoring the top score on his qualifying run. He was clearly on top form during qualifying, throwing down perfect frontside 10s and proving that he’s still the best pipe rider in the UK. Other notable results were Murray taking second in his age group in the ski slopestyle, as well as runner-up in the carnage that was the Red Bull Home Run – not bad for a wee guy. Paddy on the other hand chose style over speed…

BUSC – Hinterglemm, Austria

Whilst some stayed to represent Team Nike ACG at the Brits, others went to join 2,500 British students living it up in the resort of Hinterglemm, Austria. Similar to other alpine resorts across Europe, the snow was still dumping which meant Noddy Gowans could not be held back; he took a crew of eager BUSC students to shred some serious pow, whilst Zoe Gillings spoke about being a pro and riding for the Nike team. We then headed to Tanzhimmel for the Nike ACG party where 2,000 students rocked out to Alps band, Hail Carta.

Nike ACG Press Trip – Pontresina, Switzerland

Having refuelled on schnitzels, we were on the road again, putting the Nike ACG Volvo through its paces, whilst heading back to Switzerland. This season the Nike Press Trip was all about the backcountry so the remote resort of Pontresina was the perfect destination for our shoot.

The team was reunited in Pontresina near Saint Moritz where we would be based for the next few days. Following a day’s avalanche and off-piste training, we awoke to bluebird conditions and epic powder – the perfect setting for our backcountry shoot and long hike to the remote Mountain Hut (complete with its own hole in the ground – luxury this was not…).

Noddy was in his element, continually searching for cliff jumps and leading the way for the rest of the team. The guys took to the off-piste straight away with Dan and Paddy taking their park tricks to the backcountry, whilst Zoe proved that she was just as comfortable in waist-deep pow as she is on a boardercross course, getting some great shots for next season. The trip and stay in the Mountain Hut was an awesome experience but we were all happy to return to the comforts of our hotel and their motto ‘good food – good mood’.

The full story will be in Document Snowboard and Fall-Line Skiing magazines next season, and if you can't wait until then, there will be videos and shots of the document website coming soon: www.documentsnowboard.co.uk

Images by Yves Garneau

Highlights Grandvalira Total Fight

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (rudi-kroell) — Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:30:00 +0200

Mariann's Sweetspot on the White Nile

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (Jimmy) — Mon, 7 Apr 2008 11:14:12 +0200

Mariann's filming her summer Sweetspot in Uganda right now - check out what's been going down and what you can expect to see later this summer...

Uganda was described as the pearl of Africa by Churchill, and from my point of view I certainly agree. The White Nile flows through the country in a series of rapids, and also forming some of the best surfwaves on the planet on its way to the confluence with the Blue Nile, the two of them meandering their way down through Egypt as the mighty Nile.

This is a perfect Sweetspot, with warm water, 25 degrees every day, lots of huge rapids and a mecca for freestyle kayaking. The power of the river is raw, and every day can be an adrenline filled day... Depending on the waterlevel from day to day you can challenge yourself with rapids like Bladerunner, Widowmaker and Itanda (which means Death in the local language..) In the afternoon you can head out and surf for hours on standing waves that allow for some big air in our kayaks..

The film crew has been here for three days already, and we have covered a big portion of the rapids already. Today we are moving down the river to run a drop called Kalagala, and to get some freestyle footage to go along with the hairier stuff... After all, diversity is the spice of life...

Mariann

Sverre's Mica Sweetspot - a test of patience

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (Jimmy) — Thu, 3 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0200

Sverre Liliequist report from Mica Heli Guides, Canada , April 2:nd 2008

After a pretty crazy season with a lot of traveling and a lot of free skiing competitions I’m now in Canada at the Mica Heli Guides lodge.

I’m here doing my Sweetspot for Nike ACG. I feel so fortunate being here, heli skiing some of the best terrain in the world. We are a very small crew, Myself as the athlete, Sasha from Wink Inc as a filmer, Seb as a still photographer and Spencer Francey from Chasing Winter Productions as the location producer.

To get here is a little adventure by it self. I was flying from Stockholm Sweden, where I live, to Calgary via Frankfurt . After that you drive about five hours west, passing Revelstoke and until the road ends at the Mica dam.

Parking the car and loading the heli, flying into the unknown wilderness. The Mica Heli Lodge is located by the foot of the mountains, with a killing view filled with water and mountains, wow!

We have now been flying for three days, and the snow is great. The only issue for us, and it’s a BIG issue, is that there is a bad snow layer, about 80cm down under the fresh powder, that is very unstable. This means that the avalanche situation is forcing us to stay in the lower areas, and unfortunately we have to leave the big lines in the higher areas untouched…

I was here two years ago with ACG, and it was the totally opposite, to warm and wet to ski the lower stuff, so we had to fly far into the higher lines and glaciers to find the powder snow. That’s the way it is sometimes, you have to play with the rules by Mother Nature…

That’s kind of hard to deal with, since I have been traveling half the world to come here to ski some big lines, but what can you do? Instead we have put our focus on pillow lines in more safe terrain, which is great! Skiing pillows is every skiers dream I think. The ones here is perfect, but at this time a little bit to hard to charge full on, but I’m sure Seb´s got some pretty nice stills on this trip for sure.

Anyway, tomorrow we are hoping for great weather again, Seb spotted a pretty crazy line today that I doubt anyone has ever skied before. I’m hoping to leave this trip with a first decent under my belt J

Rudi Kröll - 2nd Grandvalira Total Fight 2008

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (rudi-kroell) — Wed, 2 Apr 2008 15:20:00 +0200

El Tarter. On the 26th of March i made my way to Andorra for the 4 Star TTR Contest Grandvalira Total Fight. It was the second time I have been there. We (Louis Purucker, Michi “Stani” Stanschitz) arrived with the shuttle on Thursday afternoon in El Tarter (Andorra) while a snowstorm was hitting the Area. Just right for a afternoon wellness session. Unfortunately it got already warm again in the evening and it started to rain up the mountain. There went our Pyrenees powder turns.

On Friday it was Bluebird again and temperatures were climbing rapidly to 17°C at the park. Friday was qualifying day and so I could just go get some slush powder lines and ride the park during training. There were 2 different lines to go:
- Pipe -> Gap Kicker (18m) -> Step up Butter Box Step Down
- Big Kicker (20m) -> Gap Step up Transfer (MotoX Jump) -> Step up Butter Box Step Down
So we had a fun day riding and got ready for the final day on Saturday.

On Saturday about 50 riders were competing for 16 Spots in the K.O. System. We had two runs and the better one counted. I did cab 9 on the big kicker, Bs Air over the Step Up Gap and Fs 180 to Sw Bs 540 at the butter box. I qualified first for the K.O. System. First round and quarter finals we had just one run each. The guy with the higher points decided who goes first.
I won my battle in the first round. Quarter finals were next which I had to go against Jaakko Ruha. I had more points from the first round so I let Jaakko go first. That moment I was thinking about doing a cab 9. Then Jaakko dropped in and did a BS 10 to Backflip and to Fs 360 down the butter box. Damn, nice run. I was standing up there and had to change my run in seconds if I want to beat this. So I dropped in normal and went for a Fs 10 Mute which I stomped perfectly before I did a Backflip over the Step-up Gap Jump and a Fs 180 to Sw Bs 540 on the butter box! I guess my trick on the butter box made it clear and so I kicked the first finish rider out!

But what a surprise, there was the next finish kid waiting in the semifinal. Now we had two runs and the better one counts. I was dropping first with a Cab 9 on the Big Kicker. Ville Paumola went straight for the Fs 10 but he slide the last 90° and couldn’t land it clear. 2nd run Ville went for the Fs 10 again but from up there I didn’t see the landing. So I went also for the Fs 10 in the second run and stomped it perfect like the backflip and the Sw 540. Turned out that Ville just did a Fs 9. Sick, I just kicked out the second finish guy.

And guess what, there was another Finish guy waiting for me in the Final. Ville Uotila made it also to the Final. 2 runs each again. I went first and I really wanted to take the title so I went for risk. I did already two Fs 10’s and stomped 100% so I thought I go for it again and out of two runs I’m going to stick one and the rest of my run. But I couldn’t land the first one and Ville did a nice Sw Bs 9 to Fs 7 to Sw Bs 540. So I had one more run to beat that and my point was that I cant kill that Sw Bs 9 with a Cab 9. So I went for risk and Fs 10 again. Unfortunately I also couldn’t land my second either. I went to big and I guess the 12 would have been easier to land as the 10. So I guess my Tactic for the final was not the best, but you loose and you learn! And a 2nd place on a really high leveled 4 Star Contest is amazing and I’m really stoked!!!

The party was on! There was Motocross action in the evening and a big tent where the party was going off till 1am. Then everyone moved to “Nemo”, the bar that is managed by Merlin Balfour. I know Merlin since the SPC Times in Mayrhofen and from me a big THÄNKS to Merlin for the amazing hospitality all weekend.

In the TTR Ranking I caught up 4 places to 31st position. I got one more chance to climb the Top 30. In two weeks the Snickers Classic in Saas Fee is going down, which is the last 4 Star contest of the season.

So I’m looking forward to some nice spring sessions!
Greets from the Chillertal
Rudi

roy kittler update

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (the-elk) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:46:15 +0200

Hey everybody

just wanted you all to know that i had been in Austria for the weekend to take part in the Newschoolpicknick(one of the biggest comps in whole europe after the european open...) and the X-Override!

everything started of on friday, when we started our trip in Schönried(near by Gstaad, Switzerland).
there was a huge snowstorm and about 20cm of snow on the highway, the traffic was crazy and we already needed 2hours
then usually to get to Bern, so we decided to go back home and ski some pow, but when we had been home already i got a call from a friend and he said that it´s supposed to be good weather i Austria and no big snowstorms at all....

so we turned after 1,5h of an detour and went to St. Gallen to pick up Henrik Harlaut and Kalle Leinonen....
we arrived in Austria at 2am in the night....after good 13h of driving....luckily the comp on saturday was just starting at 11am....

after 1h of training things started of and everybody got 2runs, and out of the 2 the best one counts, i made it to semis with a smooth sw7 mute to tail, while everybody else was busting sw 10s...
at 7pm we came back up to take the training...the kicker was just 14m of flat but really poppy and a huge, step landing, so everybody could go really really big as u can see in the picture...

16people had made it to semi finals! the concept stayed the same like in qualis, and 8people advanced to finals...
i got 7th with a sw10 mute to opposite tail, which i just learned in training...everybody else was going huge and busted super stylie sw10s...

the finals went down as a head to head system were the 8th had to go againts the 1st, 7th/2nd, 6th/3rd and so on...but now everybody got 3runs, a technical one, a style one and one you were able to choose...

i had to go against Thomas Hlawitschka out of germany who did huge and really good looking sw misty 10s!
so the first round was the technical one and Thomas put down his sw 10 perfectly and i did my sw 10 too, the style jump had to decide...Thomas went for a smooth bio5 but struckelt in the air and i nailed my 5blunt tail perfectly.
Now Thomas went for another bio5 but overrotaed a little bit in the landing, so i advanced to super Finals, as well as Henrik Harlaut, Kalle Leinonen and Oscar Sherlin...

Due to time proplems every rider just got 1 more run, so everybody was trying to do his best to get a new suzuki...
I was first and put down my sw 10 mute to tail better then ever before, next was Kalle, who did a huge sw misty 12 but missed the grab and slightly landed on his ass, Henrik did a sw14(with 16years...) but unfortunately he put his hands down and missed his grab too,
now Oscar dropped in and put down a huge perfectly tweaked sw 10 nose mute.....which was putting him into first place, right before me...

but everybody, especially me, was really stoked about the comp and the results.....

8th Pekka Hyysalo Fin
7th Martin Misof Aut
6th Thomas Hlawitschka Ger
5th Russ Henshaw Aus
4th Kalle Leinonen Fin
3rd Henrik Harlaut Swe
2nd Roy Kittler Ger
1st Oscar Sherlin Swe

now everybody was going to the afterparty, exept of us because we had to go to kitzsteinhorn for the x-override a friend had invited us too....
after 2more hours of driving we arrived there and finally good some sleep....

I had to get up really early on sunday, cause training was starting at 8.30am

Sadly the weather was not on our site and the organisation had to change the format after one kicker run to a rail session
Everybody got a good session and had fun even the weatehr wasn´t to good...and in the end the top three had been:

3rd Szczepan Karpiel Pol
2nd Patrick Hollaus Aut
1st Roy Kittler Ger

unfortuneatly we also had to leave right after the comp to drive another 8h back home, because i destroyed the wheel of my car on thursday, so we had to take the car of my girlfriends parents company, and we had to bring it back until monday morning because of work...
so we were not able to party at all but still had a good time and some funny driving hours

Rich and Gary in Golden pt.2

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (Jimmy) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 23:45:13 +0100

We’re not far off the end of the Sweetspot shoot in Golden and things are still going well. Since the original update Rich Permin and Seb Leon have rolled into town. They had a pretty perfect start with bluebird for the majority of their first day. Since then though it’s been a mixed bag with the sun breaking through from time to time.

Our first day as a full crew was pretty eventful. After a bit of a late start (thanks to more bags being lost in transit) we pushed well into the late afternoon as energy levels were still high. Both Gary and Rich were drooling over some great chutes and a natural hip we found late on. On the way back down for the day the tail end of the group found a local guy who’d obviously been charging a bit too hard on the lower levels. Boris and Soaper ended up having to dig his sled out of the forest (and by all accounts the guy himself). Boris ended up getting tired of all the digging and, like a true pro, he ended up filming the latter part of the rescue mission. Look out for the eagerly anticipated release ‘when snowmobiling goes wrong’ from Blank Paper

We have been venturing deeper and deeper into the wilderness though and uncovering some more sweet zones. Looking up at some of the climbs we’ve been doing to move into new bowls you’d think they were vertical. I can’t say enough how mind blowing the scenery is; for the majority of us, the first snowmobiling experience is going to be super hard to top.

Back to the riding though, Rich is absolutely slaying everything he’s going after. 2 days ago he dropped at least a 30ft cliff that the snowmobiles only just managed to get him up to. Yesterday he took on 2 sweet drops, nailing a 180 on one and getting beaten up after a 5 off the other. The landing was super flat and his knee opened his chin up pretty nicely. 7 stitches for $700 – ouch and ouch. Glad to say he’s all good now though

As for Gary – he’s loving the pow and put together a sick kicker off a wind lip yesterday that he rode a super floated f/s 3 off. It’s been great to see the 2 guys feeding off each other and pushing the other to go bigger.

Before I sign off I need to give big props to Brian, a guide who’s been with us since Rich arrived, as it’s his Birthday today. We’re heading over to session his mini ramp later and share a couple of cold ones.

Gary's Golden Sweetspot

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (Jimmy) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:55:00 +0100

Hey all- we’re 2 days into our Sweetspot shoot in Golden, BC with Blank Paper and Gary Zebrowski.

From the cluster of civilisation here we can look up to the peaks of Kicking Horse, the main focus for the holiday-makers in this area. Golden isn’t a resort though, if you want to ride around here you’ve got to trek. In our case that means snowmobiles and pushing into untouched terrain way up the valley.

We fire up the sleds in the morning and head a good 15 kilometres before we even stop to look around us. Up at this level the climbs get steep and the knack of hanging onto your sled becomes more of a necessity than a skill. I’m glad to say though that Gary seems born for this kind of stuff and he’s charging around looking for new zones to hit.

We spend the best part of the day moving through valleys and spotting new lines for Gary to shred. It’s unreal to be able to drop into a bowl which seems so remote from civilisation and then push further and further into the unknown. We’re spoilt to say the least and that includes our guides and new friends. Both Spencer and Soaper are not only essential to keep us working the right areas but are great company.

The weather has been on and off. A fair amount of snow fell through yesterday and into the night but left us with some great fresh today and cleared for odd windows of perfect conditions.

Rich Permin and Seb join us tomorrow… more updates to follow.

Jimmy

sweetspot update

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (the-elk) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:37:59 +0100

Its a busy time of year on the sweetspot campaign with Gary and Rich heading over to Golden in Canada to shoot with Blank Paper Productions in the backcountry. There is a lot of snow over there and they will be using sleds, dogs and perhaps heli if the conditions are right.

Striaght afterwards Sverre is heading over to Mica with Wink Inc to re-visit this amazing terrain and hunt for some more first descents. With just him, a filmer and a photographer its the dream trip, a private heli and untouched mountains.

Ulrik may also be getting in on the action up in Norway with the factor films crew as he attempts various different tricks in the backcountry. It should produce some interesting results and you never know what Ulrik will do (or if he will turn up)

SOPHIE IS THE WORLD CHAMPION

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (the-elk) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:24:23 +0100

Great News

Sophie RODRIGUEZ is World Junior Champion in Half Pipe 2008

It was at Valmalenco (Italy)

Wängl Tängl 2008 Movie Clip on Method.TV

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (rudi-kroell) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 01:25:52 +0100

Found a nice Review Clip of the Ästhetiker Wängl Tängl Jäm 2008 on Metho.TV:

http://stream.method.tv/?ch=00034&id=878

Have fun watchin

Rudi

10t in world cup finals

noreply@tales-from-the-elk.com (dan-wakeham) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Dan Wakeham and Ben Kilner from the British World Cup Halfpipe Team wrapped up the 2007/2008 FIS World Cup season in style over the weekend when they competed and finished in 10th and 20th place in the final World Cup Halfpipe event in Valmalenco, Italy.

The British World Cup Halfpipe Team
Dan Wakeham ended his World Cup competition season on a real high over the weekend when he qualified into the top 12 men final in an impressive 9th place. Wakeham continued to push the limits in the final and stomped a perfect McTwist and massive air-to-fakie during his run to take 10th place overall. This is Wakehams best result in the World Cup circuit this year and places him 28th in the World standing.

Ben Kilner was also on top form and threw down a technical run with signature Kilner style to finish in a respectable 20th place. Coverage from the Valmalenco World Cup event including interviews with Dan and Ben will be aired on Channel 4 at 8am on Sunday 30th March, so make sure you check it out!

Dan and Ben along with the rest of the British Snowboard Teams will be heading out to compete at the BRITS 08, Laax Switzerland from the 29th March – 5th April and following on from the teams great European and Worldwide results and achievements this season standards are set to soar. For regular team news updates subscribe for FREE to the “Across the Board” newsletter at www.snowsportsgb.com