Silverton

Been posted up in Silverton with Dragon for the past week.  Pashley, Drago and myself along with Scotty Vagarnold, Zach Siebert and young buck Blake Paul have made up the first crew.  The week started off by dumping a nice 24" reset, but now it has gotten very warm.  Up high the snow has still been really good though.  Its been a really fun and motivated crew, and between cheese wedges, road gaps, Scotty's freestyle folk songs and my cabin zone we have been loggin' some hamms.  Pashley panicked back to Encintas for a few days and Scotty and Seibs headed back to Utah yesterday and now it looks like some weather is moving in so the rest of us might head to Breck for a night or two and then its right back for another week of shooting starting Friday.  On another note, I bought a tilt shift lens a week or two ago (you may have noticed in recent post) and have really been enjoying it.  The problem is trying to not over use it.  Right now its all I want to use, but I have been able to show some restraint.  I decided to get the 45mm which I really like because its essentially a normal or true lens as far as distortion/perspective.  A great lens to throw on the camera and walk around with just that, because if you don't want to use the tilt shift, you pretty much have a 50mm, but have the option to tilt and shift which adds a very cool effect to a somewhat ordinary perspective or scene.  Anyways, this is my Silverton basecamp.  Not too shabby....

Post Dew Tour Pow

After Dew Tour I headed down to Monarch with Drago, Pashley and Pashley's better half, Erin.  Pashley popped the big question at the top of the mountain about mid day.  It was funny because he told me I could drop in, and that he needed to change is lenses, and that he would meet us at the bottom.  I was like, "this is going to be pretty sick you're probably gonna want to follow me" but he persisted that he would meet us at the bottom. Something was up for sure!  Haha, sure as shit he proposed.  Congrats to Pashley and Erin!  It was a fun day of shredding too.  No crowds, deep snow and good friends, what more could you ask for?  Not much if you ask me....










The TM Challenge

Before Dew Tour and after the Grand Prix, I headed out to Vail Pass for a little fun in the sun with Team Manager's, Alex Pashley (Dragon), Kevin Casillo (Spy) and Even LeFebvre (Monster Energy), and the 1st annual TM challenge was born.  It was great to get out of the caos of Breckenridge and the contest circuit for a day and just shred pow.  How was the overall champ?  You decide....


Casillo...




Evan...



Pashley...













Berthoud Pass, Colorado

Like I said I'm a bit behind on my blog and want to get some post up today.  So going back to December 5, Chad Otterstrom, Celia Miller, Teddy Hoffman and myself went up to Berthoud Pass to get some pow laps in on the splitboards and generally scope the scene.  Not too shabby for early December....










BLISSS December Issue

If you haven't seen or heard of BLISSS Magazine out of Southern California you gotta get with it.  I'm stoked to have been contributing photos for a solid year or two now, and am always pleased with how things turn out.  These guys do a great job at putting together a monthly magazine covering skate, snow, surf, music and Art.  I might add that its a free mag.  Stoked to see Doran get an interview too.  After almost losing his life, its so good to see him back on the shred!!



The Cover of All Covers!


I'm very pleased to announce my latest cover, SNOWBOARDER Magazine's 2011 Photo Annual.  In the photo world this is kind of the cover of all covers.  I couldn't be happier right now.  This shot was taken in March 2010 at my cabin in Silverton, the Bonnie Belle.  Such a stress free, fun trip!  We had easily one of the (at least for me) best days of the year shredding, the shooting was epic, and we even got a few noboard laps in on the side.  Easily one of the best trips of last season.  Thanks to Scotty for hitting this rock that he actually didn't want to hit (Could have been his boot), and thanks to Huggy for finding a nice spot for it in Volume 23!

So a little back story that goes along with this.  If you've ever hung out with Scotty Arnold you know its usually filled with non stop laughter, whether its the things spewing out of his mouth or something that he does or maybe even doesn't do.  Well on the last night of the trip, he failed to keep an eye on his boots the night before while drying near the wood stove. The room starting getting super smokey...in a bad way, like I had never seen before.  Something was up.  By the time we found the problem Scotty's boot was toast, literally.  The next day he wasn't even sure if he was going to be able to ride.  We convinced him a little duct tape should do the trick.  So Scotty bagged his foot in a grocery bag, and then pried the deformed boot onto his foot.  Fully taped up, he was locked in and ready for the last day of our trip.  So glad in the end it all worked out.  Would have been such a bummer to have not gotten this shot.  I think Scotty will agree.



Splitboarder.com

About eight or nine months ago my friend Teddy Hoffman approached me with an idea of starting a splitboarding website.  Well eight or nine months later we are getting really close to launching the site, splitboarder.com.  We hope to have it up and running by January 1, 2011.  Regardless of that, we have been getting pounded with snow the last two weeks here in Breckenridge.  Over 50" in the last week alone.  It is shaping up to be a great winter and I have been getting out on the splitboard as much as possible seeking out some early season pow turns.  I made two trips out on the Breckenridge Ski Area, one time going to peak 9 and one to peak 10.  It was almost too deep both days and it is really helping me get the stoke up for the season.  I gotta get my days in early because I'm usually too busy in the winter to actually ride.  Well I can't say I don't get some good days or at least runs in, but sometimes my snowboard is mearly transportation to and from a said spot.  That is why I love a good early season like the one we are having now.  Bring on the snow!
















SRT ACA Level 4

A week or so ago I went through a three day Swiftwater Rescue course through Colorado Mountain College and the American Canoe Association.  For all the time I've been spending on the river lately its pretty cool to have this knowledge.  However its like avalanche rescue skills, you hope you never have to use them....

Photos by our exceptional instructors, Roger and Billy.  Thanks guys!

The Dragon's Lair

It was early March and Alex Pashley from Dragon Optics pitched me an idea to do a trip to my cabin in Silverton, The Bonnie Belle Cabin.  He said that he was bringing one of his athletes from Australia, Tom Pelly and already had a story lined up for Australian & NZ Snowboarding Magazine.  All I had to do was come and shoot it and then write it.  Well it seemed like a no brainer to me, and I was there.  Along for the ride was of course Pashley, and Scotty Arnold, Zach Siebert, myself and fellow business partner and guide Skylar Holgate.  This was by and far one of my best trips of the year.  Epic shooting conditions, an unbelievable pow day of soul shredding, and some sick noboarding laps all in the comfort of my own zone and cabin.  And did I mention good friends?  Not sure how many hours I spent laughing on this trip, mostly at Scotty expense, but it had to be a lot.  Anyways peep the article below.  Enjoy....




Upper Colorado Float

The last week of September felt more like the last week of July.  Maybe this whole global warming thing is for real?  Well, I actually, like any person with half a brain know its getting warmer out there.  A lot of the time we don't see these "global warming" effects up here at 10,000ft in Breckenridge, or even down at 8,000ft here on this stretch of the Upper Colorado River.  However, this summer and fall was unseasonably hot!  This was my last float of the season (we'll see about that) and it was September 28th, but it really felt much more like July 28th.  I have to say I wasn't complaining too much.  We met some great people on the river and camped with them, which you could say is pretty typical.  They turned out to be a mix of musicians, construction peeps and the new owners of State Bridge, a live music venue that burned down a few years ago.  They are in the midsts of rebuilding it and decided that the nice weather and hard work had earned them a trip out on the river.  I couldn't have agreed more.  Good times and a great end of the summer.  I guess we can bring on the snow now....uhggg.  Yeah I'm still not quite ready.....














Fall is in full effect

I swung through Silverton, Colorado and the Bonnie Belle Cabin last week to sip on some whiskey, chop some fire wood, stain the deck and generally clean up and prepare for winter, which is not too far away.  It actually has already snowed up there since I left.  Preparations are being made to install our new solar system which has been purchased and just needs to be installed.  Hopefully we can get it done before the snow really starts to fly.  Right now it is looking good though as we are having a great Indian summer here in Colorado with temps into the 70's during the day, and that trend looks to continue.  Book your trip today for this winter.  Spaces are filling up quickly!!





Katrina Active Wear Shoot

I got a call a few days ago from fellow Colorado/Florida Photographer Chris Garrison, and he asked if I was willing to do a shoot that he wasn't going to be able to make it back for.  I happily accepted the work, and it turned out to be a lot of fun.  So thank you Chris, as well as Tina and Jessi from Katrina Active Wear, as well as our two models, Molly and Phoenix.  Katrina active wear recently relocated from Arizona to Silverthorne, Colorado, and its always nice to get some local work here in Colorado!  Check them out here.

This is an outtake, but I really liked it.  What you are seeing is 3 of 4 flashes firing.  My main or fill flash wasn't done recycling when I fired this shot, and you are seeing my two side highlighs as well as a very subtle strobe on the backdrop.  Thanks again to everyone involved!

10 Mile Traverse

DC and I headed out yesterday afternoon to hit up the Ten Mile Traverse, or at least the shorter but more fun route.  A short climb up Ten Mile Peak followed by some pretty intense scrambling over to peak 3 and then some really fun scrambling up to Peak 4, and then back down to the car.  We made it out about 15 minutes before we would have needed our headlamps.  All in all we couldn't have asked for a better day to be out on the peaks and ridges of Summit County.



















Photo by DC