Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Photo of the Day 3/7/12
Skier David Magoffin straight lines out of area that started to move around on him. We were skiing in Alaska's Chugach Mountains. Managing your sluff(loose moving snow) in Alaska is an absolute must. Slopes are upwards 60-70 degrees at times and even a small amount of moving snow can knock you on your ass and take you for a ride.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Photo of the Day 3/5/12, Emerald Downs with Mt. Rainier in background
There is nothing like a day by the mountains when gambling is involved! Emerald Downs horse track sits near the base of Mt. Rainier. In other words at least you have a nice view while losing your money.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Photo of the Day 3/4/12, Skier Paul Forward, location Hatcher Pass, AK
Skier Paul Forward rips a huge line in the Rae Wallace Chutes of Hatcher Pass, AK. This particular day a group of us ventured up the Rae Wallace Chutes, after some analyzation of avalanche probability we decided it was a go. Our reward was about 1-2 feet of untracked powder. So we did again, and again. It just never gets old!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
New Photo of the Day 3/3/12, Jonathan Gurry freeheel skiing the Joule Couloir
This photo was taken by me while I was skiing the famous Joule(Jewel) Couloir, in the Northern Italy Dolomites. I mounted a big DSLR camera to my chest and had a remote trigger in my hand so I could take wide angle perspective photographs while I skied this fabled chute. As you can see from the photo is was an epic day with new snow and sun. 
Friday, March 2, 2012
New Photo of the Day 3/2/12
This photo was taken at Snowbasin Resort in Utah of JT Robinson. It is an amazing thing when a person gets to go to there hometown and be counted as somebody more than when they left. JT called me about 2 months ago wondering if I had anything quick at my finger tips to send to his hometown(Wilmot, Wisconsin) paper the WESTOSHA REPORT. JT was there for the new premiere of Telemark Skier Magazine's movie LOYALTY, which he stars in. I was amazingly proud when JT sent me this photo over a text of him on the front page. I would have to say it felt cooler than any previously published photo, for the simple fact of getting to know that all his hometown people would see him and all he has become on front page. Not to mention how good of powder we had that day at the Basin. 
Thursday, March 1, 2012
New Photo of The day 3/1/12
This photograph was taken by my friend David Magoffin while I was photographing bears on Kodiak Island. Dave, who is the owner/operator of Saltery Lake Lodge guided me around for a couple days back in September. Kodiak bears are the largest brown bear in the world, partial due to lakes like Saltery Lake that sees incredible amounts of fish all summer long. You can get very close to these belly full bears, within reason of course.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Photo of the Day 2/29/12
This year Alyeska Resort has received over 700 inches so far. This snow has created all kinds of new features. This is David Magoffin ripping a pillow line.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Utah-Alaska
About a year and half ago my wife, little girl, and me picked up and moved from Park City, Utah to Anchorage, AK. We lived in Utah about 12 years, where my wife and I moved many years ago for college. Monica, my wife, moved from Anchorage, and I from Seattle, Washington.
Utah is the place where a lot of things began for me. First time away from home, first time skiing endless days of powder, first time backcountry skiing, first time I would seriously pick up a camera, oh yeah and I got a degree somewhere in the middle of skiing. I got married and have a little girl born in Utah. You have the idea. My prime early adult years of growth are planted in Utah as much as my childhood is planted in Seattle.
Living in Alaska has broaden my perspective of life and that which is important. In Alaska we are lucky that we get a good ski season all the way to end of June. It is much longer. Utah, every year is late November to April and done. So to try and fit in a career other than skiing is almost impossible. Now it is not necessarily snowing in June or even May, but the spring season is still in full affect and there is not a skier on the planet that doesn't like good corn skiing.
Two weeks ago I went back to Utah for a visit and was reminded once again of what a glory hole it is. Yes there are too many people, bummer. But it is literally in the middle of everything that has to do with the ski world. And the marketing is true, it really is the best snow on earth, it literally makes skiing easier, which does makes some people in Utah fair weather skiers. For example, "It is not sunny and we don't have a foot of new snow, wah, wah, wah." I can't remember having a bad day of skiing, worst case scenario I am out skiing.
JT Robinson and his lovely wife Christine put me up for the week, THANK YOU. Once Dave Magoffin showed up on Monday night it was on. After a rough weather cycle in Utah, and reports of 2 feet of snow in the Grand Tetons of Idaho/Wyoming, I picked up Magoffin at the airport and we drove up to the Tetons for 2 days of skiing at Grand Targhee. We stayed and were guided around by a good friend Vince, whom we fondly call the "Coach." Though it was hard to get a lot a film and photographing done do to massive amounts of snowfall and low visibility, the skiing was epic. Long and consistent powder runs all day. After a 2 days of skiing the reports in Utah were looking up. It had snowed close to a foot and everything was reset again in Utah. So we headed back to JT's.
The next day we hooked up with a great friend Ben Geiger for a good long backcountry day. The location itself I can not tell you, as Ben Geiger asked me to keep it quiet. What I will say is that it is the Northern Wasatch and that I was blown away being in the Wasatch Mountains without tons of people around. We skied 2000 vertical feet runs of powder X 4. Amazing! The next day, Friday, we headed to Snowbasin for a day of powder and filming seeing that the snow had started up again, and Snowbasin is my favorite resort in Utah. We hooked up with JT, Geiger, and Wes and filmed some deep powder tree skiing. That night we headed up to a friend Ben Johnson's house to hang out with his wife Katy and him. Life had made them busy all week with trade show stuff and Katy having very important interviews for a doctrate program she is up for. The are are the owners of Second Track Sports, the coolest ski shop on the planet. It is a consignment ski shop where people sell there used gear through the store and they take a cut. It is a good one because Utah is home to about 90% of the worlds pro skiers and snowboarders of whom all know Ben now, seeing that they can upload all of their older gear. Bluntly, Ben is a genius because he actually has high end gear as opposed to used crap.
The next day I was flying solo. So I went for a very mellow hike up the Grizzly Gulch area of Alta. Once again powder all day long. But to my suprise and elation it had gotten even deeper and I had it all to myself. Nice!! Sunday I was off to Minneapolis where the company I work for is based. Back to work. Though it was hard to leave, I enjoyed a great week of work at the home office where I completed a training with some of the best professional people I have ever met.
Wasatch Mountains from the air on my way to Minneapolis.
It is great going back to Utah as a visitor. It makes me appreciate the friendships I have there and the time I got to spend there. The journey turned into an unplanned storm chasing event, where Magoffin and I literally didn't ski any runs that weren't deep powder runs. So Cheers to Storm Chasing!
Dave Magoffin getting some pow.
Utah is the place where a lot of things began for me. First time away from home, first time skiing endless days of powder, first time backcountry skiing, first time I would seriously pick up a camera, oh yeah and I got a degree somewhere in the middle of skiing. I got married and have a little girl born in Utah. You have the idea. My prime early adult years of growth are planted in Utah as much as my childhood is planted in Seattle.
Living in Alaska has broaden my perspective of life and that which is important. In Alaska we are lucky that we get a good ski season all the way to end of June. It is much longer. Utah, every year is late November to April and done. So to try and fit in a career other than skiing is almost impossible. Now it is not necessarily snowing in June or even May, but the spring season is still in full affect and there is not a skier on the planet that doesn't like good corn skiing.
Two weeks ago I went back to Utah for a visit and was reminded once again of what a glory hole it is. Yes there are too many people, bummer. But it is literally in the middle of everything that has to do with the ski world. And the marketing is true, it really is the best snow on earth, it literally makes skiing easier, which does makes some people in Utah fair weather skiers. For example, "It is not sunny and we don't have a foot of new snow, wah, wah, wah." I can't remember having a bad day of skiing, worst case scenario I am out skiing.
JT Robinson and his lovely wife Christine put me up for the week, THANK YOU. Once Dave Magoffin showed up on Monday night it was on. After a rough weather cycle in Utah, and reports of 2 feet of snow in the Grand Tetons of Idaho/Wyoming, I picked up Magoffin at the airport and we drove up to the Tetons for 2 days of skiing at Grand Targhee. We stayed and were guided around by a good friend Vince, whom we fondly call the "Coach." Though it was hard to get a lot a film and photographing done do to massive amounts of snowfall and low visibility, the skiing was epic. Long and consistent powder runs all day. After a 2 days of skiing the reports in Utah were looking up. It had snowed close to a foot and everything was reset again in Utah. So we headed back to JT's.
The next day we hooked up with a great friend Ben Geiger for a good long backcountry day. The location itself I can not tell you, as Ben Geiger asked me to keep it quiet. What I will say is that it is the Northern Wasatch and that I was blown away being in the Wasatch Mountains without tons of people around. We skied 2000 vertical feet runs of powder X 4. Amazing! The next day, Friday, we headed to Snowbasin for a day of powder and filming seeing that the snow had started up again, and Snowbasin is my favorite resort in Utah. We hooked up with JT, Geiger, and Wes and filmed some deep powder tree skiing. That night we headed up to a friend Ben Johnson's house to hang out with his wife Katy and him. Life had made them busy all week with trade show stuff and Katy having very important interviews for a doctrate program she is up for. The are are the owners of Second Track Sports, the coolest ski shop on the planet. It is a consignment ski shop where people sell there used gear through the store and they take a cut. It is a good one because Utah is home to about 90% of the worlds pro skiers and snowboarders of whom all know Ben now, seeing that they can upload all of their older gear. Bluntly, Ben is a genius because he actually has high end gear as opposed to used crap.
Geiger, left. Magoffin, right. Hiking for the goods.
Northern Wasatch, Utah
The next day I was flying solo. So I went for a very mellow hike up the Grizzly Gulch area of Alta. Once again powder all day long. But to my suprise and elation it had gotten even deeper and I had it all to myself. Nice!! Sunday I was off to Minneapolis where the company I work for is based. Back to work. Though it was hard to leave, I enjoyed a great week of work at the home office where I completed a training with some of the best professional people I have ever met.
Wasatch Mountains from the air on my way to Minneapolis.
It is great going back to Utah as a visitor. It makes me appreciate the friendships I have there and the time I got to spend there. The journey turned into an unplanned storm chasing event, where Magoffin and I literally didn't ski any runs that weren't deep powder runs. So Cheers to Storm Chasing!
Dave Magoffin getting some pow.
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