1.28.2014

sungawd

Not looking super inviting or like the spine paradise it can be, but with the stability being good, I was itching to get onto some bigger terrain.

We made the decision to hike straight up the face.  Jon J punching.

We had to traverse the lower portion of the face, as the main line was not filled in yet

We destroyed vertical, with the help of Billygoat ascent plates.

Dave B, Mie and Jon working on the final punch to the ridge.  My usual instinct while hiking up stuff is to stay close to the rock, but due to how rotten the snow was, we just hiked where there was more snow.

Dave B stoked.

Fun Line to drop into... 1000 metre or so run.

Dave B

Mie Yamashita



1.24.2014

At least there is a tide.

Well, it has been a strange start to winter.. Lack of real snowfall, has made the coast mountains feel like a different place. I have been trying to get out as much as I can because we have some snow, and we still have mountains, so it still makes sense to get amongst it.
I decided to test out some of the steeper slopes.. This one shredded nice, but it eventually peeled down to rock, just out of view of this picture.  I wasn't surprised.   Foon photo.

Delaney and I shredded this zone over a week earlier.  No new snow, but still holding.  Delaney Zayac gets in there.
Delaney finds some creamy pow, on a sheltered north side.   Johnny Foon photo.


As the day went on, the temps got crazy hot in the zone, so we headed to the shade and toured up to a real gem.
At first glance, this line looked like a gnarly shark pit, but with sun shining on it, and the quality of the snow, I knew I was going to drop in

Delaney and Johnny Foon opt for the central chute off the top.. It is usually closed out by a cornice.  Foon photo

I was pretty stoked I got to shred this one.. Nice snow the whole way and totally shredable.  Foon photo
She was a beaut of a day.  We watched the sunset in the alpine and manouevered our way out in the dark.  In this photo, My line is barelyvisible on the ribbon of sunlight.

1.12.2014

rock-grinder

Despite the low snow, it has been pretty fun shredding around the ski hill, the last few weeks.  Got onto this rock ride , i haven't hit in years.. Link to the sequence shot.

       mie yamashita photo.

1.06.2014

Getting out

It has been a slow start in the coast mountains.  We recently saw 25 cms of new snow, so i figured it was finally time, to venture away from the ski hill area and have a poke around in the local hills.  
We managed to get to the alpine by sunrise.  We were happy to see a crew had been up the day before, as there was alot of rock hidden just under the snow. We brought our splitboards, to avoid getting too aggressive on the snowmobiles, which seemed like a smart decision.
beaut of a day
The snow was a bit wind slabby up high, and it felt sketchy on the ridge top, but it got friendlier as we got into the more protected areas. The snow pack is sugary, which seems like it will be a issue, after we start getting some real snow.. Time will tell, I am not writing off the season just yet, like some people like to do.   I am cautiously optimistic.

The riding was fun, and the coverage was good enough to shred.  This was the entrance to a fun air to straight line, that only exists when the snow is as low as it is. 
dave b slashes the natural halfpipe.
dave b finding the pow amongst the trees.
Extreme contrast between the sun and the shade.  This line turned out to be a bit more full on than what i expected.. A couple drops, and some needle threading. It worked out, and got the stoke going.
Dave B shreds the lean cuisine.  It was rad to get out again. It was a real reality check when dave and i skinned out of our first line, and looked 10 ft up a tree to see, a scar , that was likely caused by the ski of snowmobile from another year.
A few shots from last spring.. We are only 4 meters away from this.