Marmot Grind – Arapaho Basin Cosmic
The Marmot Grind held at Arapaho Basin Ski Area is the last in a series of 9 Ski Mountaineering races held in Colorado this winter. I want to say how great it was to follow the series and meet the racers along the way, thanks to everybody that included me and helped me out. A special thanks to Pete Swenson and Bryan Wickenhauser for inspiring me and the masses to get out there and ski while you can, no matter what the conditions are!
To purchase images please go to SMUGMUG
April in the Anthracites
Today we reaped the benefits of many days if not weeks of inclement weather. When you can’t beat’em, join’em.
COSMIC season photos
The COSMIC season has been going all winter since the first race in early December. Check out all the photos by race at Crested Butte Photography’s SMUGMUG site.
Go to www.crestedbuttephotography.smugmug.com
Go to the COSMIC site
Breckenridge Cosmic – The Five Peaks Challenge
To purchase photos go to Smugmug
More pics from the race by Daniel Dunn
Video from Daniel Dunn
Summer Pilgrimage
Even though it has been snowing on and off for weeks my thoughts have been on spring and spring skiing. Even though everyone is talking about biking and the desert, I’m trying to focus on skiing the peaks of Crested Butte this spring and summer. Our snowpack is deep from a good snowfall this winter and will provide for some good skiing despite the “gray” layer that arrived instead of the “red dust layer” of past winters.
Read the rest of the story in “The Photo of the Weekly” at The Mountain Weekly News.
Super Full Moonrise March 2011
The full moon on March 19th, 2011 was something super. In fact, some were calling it a supermoon. Supermoon is given this name because of its perceived size due to it being at its closest point to the Earth in 18 years.
This date has been on my calendar for months and I was really hoping for some epic sunsets to accompany the full moon rise. At its peak, the supermoon of March may appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons of the year so my chances for the proverbial image was good without using any graphic or Photoshop tricks.
50 minutes after the official full moon occurred on the 19th, the moon was at a distance of 221, 565 miles away and rising in the southeast. I knew that the sunset the on day before, on Friday, would have the best potential for a sunset-moonrise combo to occur. I jumped on my sled and took a chance even though the clouds were heavy in all directions.
I had a few options for staging my shoot but I didn’t want to commit to 12,000 feet in Irwin or on top of Red Lady. I decided on the meadows under Evans Basin before you start up the massive avalanche path, in the aspens. The approach is fairly easy but when I came to the big rollers at windy point without my knee pads on I quickly remembered my knee-cap-slap to the snowmobile that happened last winter the day before the Alley Loop. Be careful I said out loud.
The RMK rallied up the mostly moist snowpack to find a perfect perch overlooking the Coal Creek drainage and aspen meadows in front of Mt Crested Butte to the East. The clouds indicated that I had come up for nothing. Luckily I came prepared with tunes and a canned adult bevi. In addition, the 3G network was kicking so I caught up on a few emails and phone calls while I waited to see if there was any chances of a photo shoot still to come.
Just as the Naval Oceanography Portal’s predicted moonrise time (plus estimated time for mountains) was approaching I noticed a hole in the cloud cover exposing some blue sky where I thought the rising moon was going to be. I crossed my fingers and set up the tripod.
As the color turned from graybird to deep purple and pink I ran around trying different foregrounds of tree trunks and branches also incorporating a flash for fun. I can’t say the images I got were epic but the outing was another learning process. I always underestimate how hard it is to be in place for “when” the moment occurs. Had the clouds parted in a slightly different way or angle I could have gotten the “epic” I was looking for, but if I wasn’t there; no dice, no matter what happened. As it turns out, I ended up with some images that can get stored away for future graphic projects. I threw together some artsy drafts before I finished developing the shoot and assembled the gallery. Always something in there.
Pencil Chute – 14 years later
Last time I skied the Pencil Chute it was 1996 and I was on Tele’s!
Read about the first tracks down the Pencil here.
Oh yeah, and the Pack won the Superbowl.
Dirt and Birds
Even though the skiing is great in Crested Butte, my wife Marilyn and I took the opportunity to ‘get out of Dodge’ and go find some dirt and birds. Dirt for our feet to stand on and Sandhill Cranes at the Monte Vista Crane Festival. While we didn’t participate in the festival itself, we did go see the birds. As you can see they were there in significant numbers. There was no real way to estimate how many cranes we were looking at at any given time but guessed in the 10′s of thousands; all squawking and cooing like our cat. There were many, many people there as well. The birds did not seem to mind the scores of school buses, cars and motor homes all circling their roosts. It was an amazing site especially when you throw in the backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range including the Crestone Needle and Kit Carson peak.
I should have snapped some shots from our campsite but we got there a bit late and left early. It was up the Alamosa River Canyon. Beautiful southwestern Colorado country. We’ll be back on bikes for sure.
Scenic shots from Aspen and Paonia
Although it was a hectic day of chasing racers and pavement I was still able to manage a few deep breaths to take some great scenic shots along the way. Pictured in the panorama are the grand peaks of the North and South Maroon Bells and Pyramid Peak. On the way home I was treated with an epic sunset and a field full of bull elk grazing in a field below Mt Lamborn.
Minus33 Men’s 100% Wool Expedition Weight Bottom Review
Read the full review at the Mountain Weekly News
Hydro Flask Double Wall Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle Review
Read the review at the Mountain Weekly News
Crested Butte- Subaru Freeskiing World Tour
Qualifier-Headwall
After having to take a weather day on Thursday due to high winds and blowing snow the Freeskiing World Tour was able to hold the qualifying runs today on the Headwall at Crested butte Mountain Resort. Conditions were variable from soft new snow from yesterday to hardpack. One thing was for sure and that was the caliber of skiers was turned up a notch.
Read on at the Mountain Weekly News
Day 1 – Staircase/Slot Rocks/Body Bag Glades
The Subaru World Freeskiing Tour continued at Crested Butte Mountain Resort on Saturday and Sunday. After a weather day on Thursday because of high winds and blowing snow the forecast for the weekend was back to questionable. According to the Crested butte Avalanche Center there was 15-25” of snow in the forecast for before the end of the day on Sunday. On Saturday, however, the storm held off and the competition was held under a mixed sky of fast moving clouds and a few sucker holes of blue sky.
Check back at the Mountain Weekly News for entire story.
Day 2 – Spellbound Bowl
The Storm arrived. Crested Butte Mountain Resort received 10” overnight and this officially qualified for a Powder Day. The snow was still falling at daybreak but there were glimpses of blue sky moving through so the comp was set to go on. The base area was alive and packed with competitors, MSI employees, volunteers and snowmobiles hauling around last minute requests on top of the throng of spectators that looked more like an Everest Expedition with packs full of beer, sleeping pads and bags, tripods, camera, camcorders and even megaphones to heckle the rest of the crowd and their favorite skiers.
Check back at the Mountain Weekly News for entire story.
CB Shred Betty’s
Went out on my first shoot with Alix and Louise today at CBMR. Even though I was a bit out of my element up at the ski area it was an epic day of skiing and shooting. Thanks to the gals for sticking with it on a powder day, they even dropped their friends but you know what they say.
Day two of shooting with Alix Klein today. She brought a few friends along including Ben Breslauer. A lot of sun made for much better light and Third Bowl skiing was fantastic. It is amazing terrain that I don’t shoot often if ever. Challenging angles without flattening out the steepness from below. Looking forward to exploring and shooting more in the bowels of CBMR.
Back in the backcountry with the Bettys. We spent two days in Elk Creek shooting and exploring this week on our four day stint of learning about ski modeling, positioning, fashion, exposure and new school riding. It occurred to me throughout the shoots that riding styles have changed a bit over the last decade, duh. I’ve been shooting what are now forty somethings for years and have grown accustomed to the choppy and angular style that was needed for turning old school skinny slalom skis. Back in the day it actually took effort to turn; in fact you really needed to get out of the snow and into a jump turn to even change direction in powder. Now, with fat skis and rocker you can get on and ride the boards. Skiers are now using the terrain and speed to float their way down the slope. No more cookie cutter fall line turns but a swift tail ride to the bottom. Unfortunately, this style is a bit harder to shoot and maybe not quite as dramatic from a photography point of view. Nonetheless, it is the challenge I’m looking for and the Shred Bettys will continue to provide great skiing and good laughs for CB Photo.
SIA 2011-The Skinny and Fat
The Skinny and Fat-SIA 2011
Though our world of niche sports continues to grow the niches within them continue to get smaller. Similar to the mountain biking industry; ten years ago there were only a few categories of snow sports; powder and hardpack or backcountry and resort riding. Now after a an explosion of specialized gear there is: sidecountry, backcountry, ski mountaineer racing, all mountain, fat pow, carving, mid fat, early rise tips, rockered tails, full rockered skis and equipment to fit in all niches. And SIA was the place to see them all.
The buzz on the floor and at the on snow demo was all about the specialization and new technology of the construction of the new breed of skis entering the market. With the advent of the early rise tip, which makes turn initiation much easier, there are several new categories using this technology including Fisher Nordic skis. Walk by any booth at the show and you’d see buyers checking the camber on the skis comparing the traditional camber to the new rockered versions. Adding to the hoopla is the increased number of Boutique ski makers. At every turn around the biggest booths housing the now what could be called “big boxes” of ski manufacturers were smaller ma and pa, well maybe, bro and bra ski companies. These custom ski makers are offering choices like flat or rockered camber, custom graphics and twin tips. What both ends of the industry are producing are some of the wildest graphics ever seen. Most are one-of-a-kind artist works, many artists being pro athletes sponsored by any given company. The result is an incredibly diverse look to the ski graphic industry. Some designs are successful and some are not; some offensive, some not; some are congruent through the line and some are not. Ski Logik has demonstrated this boutique market beautifully with all natural wood inlay designs and Mother-of-Pearl accents. What is certain is that the ski industry continues to push the limits of innovation and creativity. Got Rocker and Art?
The category that has seen the biggest growth in the last year is the Alpine Touring industry. As mentioned above this category represents a large demographic that wants to get away from the traditional ski resort lift riding and earn their turns. Again, this group spans several niches filled by very special gear. At the heavy end, sidecountry (accessing the backcountry from ski resorts) skiers are looking for solid alpine performance from their gear as they escape from the lifts through backcountry gates opened by the resort. Many of the alpine manufacturers have jumped in with new offerings of stiff four buckle boots that offer a walking mode for returning to the lifts but keep the emphasis on all mountain performance and super wide skis for riding in powder. Dalbellow and Technica have very nice offerings of this sort. The next niche would be the traditional backcountry skier that shies away from the lifts all together. This gear has become much lighter and stiffer. You can now get nearly perfect alpine performance from a lightweight three buckle boot and binding system. For snowboarders there are an increased number of companies offering the Split-Board, a snowboard that comes apart in the middle to form two ‘skis’ to walk on. Skins have been specially cut to fit these boards. Equally as cool is the Mtn Approach ski that has skins permanently fixed and they fold up and go in your pack for the downhill. In addition to the Fritchi and Dynafit AT binding choices there are now several others in the alpine hiking department including Marker, G3 and La Sportiva all brands including several ‘weights’ and DIN release settings. In the silly light class is the Rando Racing equipment. This gear has taken light weight to the next level. Several companies have dedicated R&D to stripping down their boot/ski/binding into minimalist specifications. With the increased popularity of Rando Racing in the US, gear has seen many adjustments for what is now being called “ski running”. Scarpa, Dynafit and Ski Trab lead the charge with other companies like Camp-USA, Hagen, Goode and La Sportiva joining in the race. Last month Jackson Hole, Grand Targhee and Sunlight ski resorts held the US Ski Mountaineering Nationals to qualify a US Team for the World Championships in Italy later this month. COSMIC, the Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup has gained increased popularity right in line with the growth of Dawn Patrollers skinning up the mountains before work. There has been much talk in the circles of racers that Ski Mountaineering will be added to the 2018 Olympics. Have you hugged a Rando Racer today?
Aside from the new ski, boot and binding tech there have been new innovations in some of the accessories as well. Helmets designs have come to feature new and exciting colors and patterns some so bright you can’t really look at them for too long. Integrating you tunes into the ear pads is old news but now offered in almost all brands. Brims and visors have taken on all shapes since first seen on the Giro 9 MX in 1997. Another product category that has seen gigantic growth is the consumerization of the helmet cam or Point of View video cameras. Just a year ago the $800 VIO POV was tops on the market and offered a “lipstick” lens that could attach anywhere on your body, bike or skis. The only drawback was the long cord that had to be connected to the actual camera body the size of a water bottle and only medium 780i resolution. Since then GoPro has introduced and ran with their GoPro HD Hero. A less than $300 investment will get you superior HD video in a compact and completely waterproof camera. If you have watched any sports on the national networks you have surely seen the GoPro videos in action. Their newest offering is a tandem mount for producing 3D HD movies from your helmet, ski or surfboard not to mention anywhere else. Also in the Tech division are the Recon/Zeal goggles which have transcended into TRON realms. The Transcend goggle offers a small GPS enabled LCD screen inside of the lens to track your location, speed, integrate your iPod play list and look at trail maps. Whoa, ground control to Major Tom!
Amazing to see at SIA was the hat and neck gaiter industry all competing for their spot in the market. For every ski or snowboard company there was a hat or gaiter booth next door. Judging by the popularity of the Buff (of Buff, Inc.), a super lightweight neck gaiter that virtually replaced the Turtle Furr gaiter and the outlaw look of the pro ski and snowboard riders, the other companies have jump into the ring. The choices were plentiful including traditional bandana looks to multiple configurations of fabric, neoprene and wearing options. Perhaps the most fun product in this category is the Beardski, a fully lined neck gaiter that fits great and transforms the average skier into a gnome gone skiing.
Perhaps the most contradicting observation at SIA is the fashion industry. While ski clothing has not changed a ton over the years from bright colors, waterproof breathable fabrics, men’s and women’s lines and great designs, what industry professionals are wearing has, especially the athletes. While passing absolutely exquisite booths filled with exceptional branding I couldn’t help but notice that the overall attitude among riders attending the show was to be dressed as derelict as possible. Baggy pants, naked ladies, pajamas, basketball jerseys and the nappiest hair do’s on most athletes, either sponsored or not, all contributed to the Gangsta trend of the ski industry. I wish I understood.
Overall I was thoroughly impressed with the SIA Trade Show and On Snow Demo. Never before have I seen the industry come together to play, talk, network and show off their big ideas and to see what the industry as a whole is up to. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season of testing products, shooting our models with them out in the field and developing the many new relationships that were started and strengthened at SIA.
Fischer Skis
Ski Logik
Dalbellow Boots
Technica Boots
Mtn Approach skis
Fritchi Bindings
Dynafit
Marker
G3
LaSportiva
Scarpa
Ski Trab
US Ski Mountaineering Nationals
COSMIC
GoPro
Recon Transcend
Buff, Inc.
Beardski
