The Goods

Brad Slack is as good with a camera as he is on a board..  These skills allow him to shred the gnar, but to also capture the moment.  It's always a pleasure to hang with Brad. It's nice to see some of his stuff get published- well deserved.  www.bradleyslackphotography.com

The Goods

Posted on December 15, 2012

Hidden deep in the coast mountains there are big north facing spine walls that are still untouched and are what any big mountain rider aspires to shred. This is the story of one of those lines. Joe, Daryl and I set out to claim a first down the north west face and document it at the same time. Dave B. met us the next morning after pulling an all nighter to meet us for first light.

Pemberton traffic

Joe has been developing his new avalanche airbag system , it just straps to your back pack.

Bridge building.

Moments after yours truly almost dumped her in the creek.

The Goods

Avalanche alley

Joe dropping into the warm up line

Dave B.

Daryl T. getting radical.

This is where the sleds started to act up.

And then disaster struck, Dave’s sled blew up and we spent the next 10 hours laboring to get it back to safety.

Daryl set up a 3-1 pulley to get us up a hill. We spent a long time here.

The next morning came all to quickly.

Dave was gracious enough to serve as the pick due to us loosing a sled.

It was a surreal morning with the morning cloud and the sleep deprivation hazing our accent.

This was my P.O.V.

Joe bagging a first on one of the burliest lines around.

A man and his mountain.

Daryl T.

We spent the rest of the aft. getting Dave’s Sled back to the trucks.

Dave after getting hauled out behind Dan T. .    Mission complete.

For the complete story check out Joe’s article in Frequency- The Snowboarder’s Journal Issue 10.1 

Craig Kelly- Let it Ride

It's pretty cool to see a complete version of this online.  Craig's riding and story is inspiring.
The late 90's freeride footage is so sick!

Frequency TSJ 10.1

Mount Meager, BC

Two years of exploration north of Pemberton, BC, one Aquaman, and a handful of alpine walls—a small group of dedicated riders unlocks the most unstable mountain massif in Canada and reaps its rewards.

Words Joe Lax

Some say necessity is the mother of invention. In the case of the Pemberton Aquaman, our necessity was to access the Meager Massif, a dramatic set of mountains at the northernmost point of the Pemberton valley in southwestern British Columbia. Located approximately 50 miles from town, this volcanic complex boasts six summits—Job, Capricorn, Devastator, Pylon, Plinth and Meager—the highest of which reaches to 8,790 feet. Upon these six summits lie dozens of ridges and massive, 3,000-foot-plus spine walls; essentially, big mountain snowboarding at its finest.

Yet access to Meager’s bounty was blocked by a formidable opponent. Since a landslide on Aug. 6, 2010 destroyed the Lillooet River bridge, road access to the Meager Valley has been eliminated. The area had been on my hit list since I first saw Mount Meager 13 years ago during a summer camping trip to the Meager Hot Springs.  Over the years, I had heard stories from friends who had explored in the group, but those stories didn’t really resonate until I saw a photo Delaney Zayac had taken from a ski plane of  Mount Meager’s iconic northeast face: a myriad of steep spines and ramps perched above towering seracs and open glaciers. It was then that I fully realized the extent of its terrain. To that end, Dave Basterrechea, Delaney Zayac, Chris Ankeny and I had spent a good portion of the 2010-11 winter looking for a way in via snow machine, but eventually realized we would have to get wet to cross the glacial-fed river. We just had to find the right tools for the job...

Frequency TSJ Mt Meager Bonus footage

A little edit, frequency put together of Dave B's Gorb-pro footy.

As featured in frequency TSJ #10.1, Dave Basterrechea and Joe Lax sled up and rip a serious spine wall on BC's Mount Meager. Also available in our new, iPad-friendly digital edition, this is the culmination of two years of alpinism in the Coast Range.

Old Gold

I found this photo, from a bunch of years back.. it got me stoked for winter.  Dave B and I Ro-Sham-Boed for this one, and I managed to take it. Thanks for the photo, Dave.  Amazing how this line is only accessible every few years as the cornice gets hane-o-insane-o.  Cheers Mates.