Arctic Man… & Dog

A few days ago I was watching the BBC’s Arctic Man documentary on the legendary Alaskan race and this cool looking dog made an appearance.

Mayrhofen, Austria

G strapping up his bindings at the top of another empty slope. Nearing the end of a bluebird day, the wind picks up and the dry powder flows up n’ over the slope.

Shot taken 20th Dec 2009.

Best Beer in the world?

I found this image on my Mac whilst having a randon hunt through some old files. I thought it was already on the blog, but I was mistaken.

This shot was taken after a great day ridin’ the slopes in Chamonix in March. There is not a lot that comes close to that first well earned beer at the end of a perfect day on the slopes, shared with your best mates. That truly tired, satisfied feeling with the low sun falling on your face is pure nirvana. Yes, it may have cost an extortionate €8, but f*ck me, it was worth it. Actually it was worth getting another round or two in.

Beer was shared with Spider, G and joining us later was Mike & Dave. It’s one of those moments that will never be forgotten.

Domain de Balme / Chamonix, France

View from the top of the Tête de Balme chairlift, 2270m.

The first full day riding in the Balme region of Chamonix produced a stunning view from the top of the Tête de Balme chairlift.

The morning was hindered by low cloud and flat light conditions, but by early afternoon the cloud began to lift and produced an amazing view across the valley. The last remnants of the cloud hung motionless with the sunlight streaming through, producing aqua blue horizontal streams of light across the valley. Skiers and boarders dismounting the chairlift gathered to see this wonderful scene.

Top of Cassons, Flims / Switzerland

Spider & G at the top of the Cassons cable car, Flims, Switzerland.

The Cassons cable car isn’t particularly big, or popular, as there is a breathless steep 200m plus hike to the top of the ridge.
We stopped for a breather at the top to take in the spectacular view. At 2675m it’s not particularly high, but the way the mountains form there, it seemed like the highest I’d ever been. It was a perfect bluebird day with little wind. We were the only people there, which made it even more spellbinding.
It’s pretty remote and usually windswept, you can see the ridge itself is devoid of snow and strewn with loose rocks. There was a sign informing the few that made it up there about the local mountain goats that live in that area. We didn’t see any.

Someone, who shall remain nameless, had a slash over the side of the ridge. When I pointed out that was probably the highest open air slash he’d done, I was proudly told that I was wrong and that an open air wazzing incident had been had at something like 10,000 feet in Tibet!

This is me enduring the hike up to the ridge.

The only way down is off piste. It looked like fresh deep powder, but it had a sun melted re-frozen crust on the top, so the going was tough. It was so hot, there was an issue with steamed up goggles if you stopped. It was a bit of a thigh burner, but well worth the excursion.

Flims/Laax Piste Map

Shots taken 29th December 2007

Slick Photography

A refuge hut on the Gherdecia piste, 1500m above the town of Canazei, Val Di Fassa, Italy. By FoxyMcSlick.

I stumbled upon FoxyMcSlick’s FlickR page through a random Google image search. I really like his photos. The above pic was taken in the Dolomites.
This is the story behind the pic…

I had an afternoon off from skiing and just walked the slopes in search of the stuff I’d been past without my camera. It turned into a 5 hour walk as it turns out that some of the ski lifts only let you on wearing skis, and most wouldn’t let you travel downhill (only the gondola style). Still, it was worth it.

If you like this pic, there are many more stunning examples on his FlickR page…
FoxyMcSlick’s photostream

Dano Pendygrasse / Snowboard Photographer

Dano Pendygrasse is a talented snowboard photographer. I like his stuff.
He shoots a lot in and around Whistler, a place dear to my heart, as it was the first place I ever strapped on a snowboard.

Further reading…
Snowboard-Revolution interview with Dano
Dano’s blog
Dano’s website