Wrap-up!

It's been a while since I've posted, so here's an update of what's been going on. From tree rides to all nighters in the car to ski pow, I've had a great winter. While I'm sad that it's basically over, I am definitely ready for some warm weather. Who knows, though. It's been chilly in Jackson, and was even snowing today. So, maybe a few more shred days will be in order. Now that I've had a day to recoup from my 18-hour drive home from Whistler, here's some photos from one heck of a crazy month - the end of March to the end of April. Enjoy!

We set up a tree ride toward the base of the Village on March 20 and hit it as the sun was going down. It was one of the most fun sessions all winter. Here's Rob Lapier gettin' high.

Matt Lancaster

The PNW had been getting pounded so I called my friend Nadia Samer to see if she wanted to make the drive down to Mt. Baker from Whistler to get some shots. She did. At 6 p.m., I hit the road, arriving at Baker around 10 the next morning. The above picture was the first shot of the day. Needless to say, we got lots of work done. The two sleepness nights of driving, however, weren't so great.

Here's Anna Boone gettin' blasted right before I hit the road again to head back to Jackson.

The morning of my second day at Mt. Baker, I got a text from my roommate saying Jackson just got two feet of snow. After shooting all morning, I booked it back to Jackson through the night to shoot. Here's Tyler Horne in Granite. I tried panning for the first time, and it worked. This is something I am looking forward to playing around with more.

We got a ton of snow in Jackson the end of March. After days of skiing pow without my camera, LJ Strenio came to town. I decided it was about time to get the camera out. After all, he wanted to Misty 7 into Corbet's. And, he stomped it!

The photog got some sick turns, too!

Closing day at the Village looked like this. Alex Martini in Granite.

A few days after Jackson closed, I set out on a 2.5 week road trip beginning in Utah, then to Washington and finally, ending up in Whistler for the World Ski and Snowfirst Festival. The festival was pretty crazy, and I'm still exhausted from all the skiing and partying. Here's Joe Schuster and LJ Strenio killin' it at the Orage Masters for Line.

Pipe finals wrapped things up at WSI. Jess Cumming was boosting.

So, here I am, finally sitting on my couch chilling out. It's been a wonderful first winter living in Jackson and cannot wait until winter comes around again. 

Targhee Backcountry

On Saturday, Feb. 21, I headed over to Targhee for some sunny shooting. The original plans involved hitting Teton Canyon, but after one run, we opted to stay closer to the resort since the warm weather baked the lower elevations too quickly. Aside from Mike breaking everything he was wearing after sending a front flip a little too far, the day was wonderful. Hope your knee heals up fast!

Another Alta Adventure

So after returning home from Alta last Wednesday night after two epic deep days, there still wasn't much snow in Jackson. One look at the upcoming forecast made it clear that a trip back was necessary. On Friday evening, a few Jacksonites made our way to the land of 3.2 beer. Saturday was super deep and snowy. The camera didn't come out. We just charged all day. Then, on Sunday, after some more overnight snowfall, the sun came out. As did the camera...

Everyone else heading back to Jackson on Sunday evening. Since Jackson was still lacking in the snow department, I chose to stay in Salt Lake. Word of three feet of fresh by Wednesday is hard to pass up. Needless to say, Tuesday and Wednesday were again ridiculous days of skiing.

Once again, I returned back to Jackson on Wednesday night. The Village received over a foot of snow on Tuesday. That, on top of the few inches that fell most days, left the backcountry is pretty good shape. I'm heading out on a photo mission tomorrow, so check back soon for an update.

And then we went to Alta

A few friends and I were sitting in the Cadillac on Monday evening talking about the lack of snow in Jackson, and how Little Cottonwood was getting dumped on. Suddenly, I stopped drinking my martini, and said, with quite a bit of conviction, that I was going to drive to Alta in a few hours. The guys looked at me like I was full of it.

Before 10 that night, however, we were on the road. The usual 4 hour drive took about 6 since someone forgot to plow the roads. By around 4 in the morning, we pulled into the Goldminer's Daughter parking lot, shut off the car and went to sleep for about two hours. The best alarm clock ever woke us up. They were bombing away, a sure sign it had been nuking hard. And then the siren sounded, signaling interlodge. For us, it was car lodge. Oops.

We were on Wildcat when it first opened, starting out one of the best days of the winter thus far. They had reported around 20", but many places felt a lot deeper. White room turns were definitely not in short supply. And, the sun even poked its head out for about half an hour, allowing Kerry and Sarah, who had never skied Alta, to get a feel for how expansive and gorgeous the area is.

We called it quits around 4, went out for Sushi, and then the rest of the crew headed back to Jackson. I was set to stay one more day. The thought of Alta and back in a day just wasn't that appealing since Jackson wasn't getting much snow.

Wednesday was more of the same pow. I met up with two friends, Vanessa and Tide, to go shoot some pow. Sadly, the weather didn't want to cooperate. Regardless, we had a blast lapping Rocky Point on the backside of Catherine's Area. All the bootpacking and sidestepping, however, didn't make my hurt knee feel so good. So, here I am, back in Jackson, taking the day off, limping around the house. It's been snowing a little in Jackson. Hopefully it just keeps on coming!


Vanessa Aadland
Tide Smid
Tide Smid
Tide Smid
Kerry Klauder
Me!!
Jacki Strenio

I've finally created a blog!

So, I've finally created a blog and revamped my Web site. On January 12, I hurt my knee a little bit, and haven't been skiing all that much since then. After a trip to Salt Lake where I got to see the JH Air Force documentary and then to Vegas for SIA, I decided I needed to sit down and glare at the computer for a while to work on my site. The entire "snow" section has been updated. All the pics are from the past season and this season. Next up will be an area full of galleries, mostly from contests, where those interested can just click the photo wanted and buy it right off the site. For now, here is a pic of me from Jackson in early January. Almost white room! And, below that is the crew from Vegas: Tats, yours truly and Cortney.