With the Asymbol Gallery ExhibitTravis Rice and Mike Parillo have turned an online photo-printing business into a traveling art gallery featuring work from some of the biggest names in board sports art and photography including: Jamie Lynn, Ari Marcopoulos, Scott Lenhardt, Tim Zimmerman, Danny Zapalac, Adam Haynes, Jeff Curtes, Nick Russian, Mike Blabac, Matt French, and Trent Mitchell. From April 16-25, 2010 the show will be set up in the Blake Jorgenson Gallery in Whistler’s Westin Hotel. The opening reception is April 21, 2010 at 7:30. For all the details, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
A snowboard tour in Russia’s Kamtchatka turned deadly when a helicopter carrying 18 people was buried in an avalanche on April 10, 2010, according to a story in the Telegraph.
As of now we think 10 people died,” Irina Andrianova, spokesperson for Russia’s Emergency Ministry, said. . . .Three Russians and one German citizen were dug dead out of snow, but the six others were missing presumed dead. . . “Two Russians and four Germans are still under the snow. There is practically no chance they have survived as the temperature is minus 20 degrees Celsius and the thickness of the snow is 10-15 meters,” she added.
The helicopter had just landed when it was reportedly hit by a slide set by tourists who were traveling downhill above them, according to the Washington Post.
Add a new name to the list of people who have invented snowboarding: Steve Weill. The 58-year-old lutheir from Cocolalla, Idaho says he began snowboarding in 1959, according to a story in The River Journal.
Steve grew up in Southern California near the edge of the Pacific Ocean. He boated, surfed, and was one of the original snowboarders. . . “I invented snowboarding,” Steve said with a smile. “The first time I snowboarded was in 1959.” . . In the late 70s, Steve moved to Idaho and started building 16’ Whitehall rowing boats. He also built snowboards and spent plenty of time carving up Schweitzer Mountain on his handcrafted boards. . . “I wanted my son to carry on with Weill snowboards,” Steve said, “but they have gotten pretty high tech. Troy (one of his sons) still builds 16’ rowing boats.”
There is nothing better than summer shredding at Mammoth Mountain. Morning park riding, afternoon skate, and an evening at the tubs. Day, after day, after day all the way until July 4, 2010.
“Those of us who run Mammoth Mountain came here to ski and ride as much as possible so we always open as early as we can and stay open as long as the snow lasts,” said Rusty Gregory, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mammoth Mountain. “We have the best April snow conditions I’ve seen in my 32 years on the mountain. With as much snow as we have, our customers would riot if we closed down as early as the other ski resorts. Keeping the mountain open until July 4th is what ‘Playing Big’ is all about.”
And the best news? Next year’s season pass is good beginning May 1, 2010. Follow the jump for more. [click to continue…]
Laura Austin interviewed former Snowboard Magazine editor Mike Basher for her Decent Exposure column on Rad Collector and got the behind the lens look at life, business, and the art of capturing the moment. Basher even talks about why he left Snowboard Mag.
As my role at the mag became more serious and involved, that left less time to shoot. I’m a photographer at heart, and I wasn’t doing what I really wanted to do, and I didn’t have the time to devote to shooting for the mag, since I was the Editor, Photo Editor, and staff photographer. I was responsible for checking things off of lists, keeping in touch with over 150 photographers, tracking down photo files, color correcting, making sure stories were done, maintaining a strong relationship with key people at each brand, going to deadlines in Portland, and when time permitted; shoot. It had gotten to the point that I would dust my gear off one day a month to shoot some boots, or whatever the products were. Trust me, I don’t regret any of it. I did far more in the magazine business than I set out to, and the experience is so valuable. It was a good ten years.
Follow the link for the rest of the interview. It’s well worth the time.
A 30-year-old Whistler snowboarder was found dead face down in the snow outside the ski area boundary on Sunday according to a story on CTVBC.ctv.ca.
The Whistler resident was found face down and buried in snow in the heavily forested area known to locals as the “Khyber Pass.” . . . He was found by a group of passing skiers, who dug him out of the snow and began performing CPR around 11:30 a.m. . . . Police, ski patrol and search and rescue workers were notified, and located the victim an hour later. . . Police believe the snowboarder fell into a hole created by fallen trees and suffocated in the deep snow.
The name of the snowboarder has not yet been released.
“Dalton was definitely the hero of the day.” Brad Whiting, director of Mission Ridge’s ski patrol, said of Dalton Anderson. “Dalton did things right.” . . Dalton used a shovel to dig out Payton Weber, 13, who was partly buried, then raced to Wyatt Baird, 13. Wyatt’s left hand was the only part of him above the snow, Whiting said. . . “I don’t know how many 12-year-old boys would have the courage to stay there, instead of running for help,” Whiting said. “In an avalanche, you can’t go for help, really; there’s not enough time.”
Wyatt Baird, was “quite blue and coughing up blood” when he was pulled from the snow, but after time in the Central Washington Hospital critical care unit it appears he is recovering fine according to the story. Nice work, Dalton.
Brian Wright, 37, of Whitefish, Montana, has been identified as the snowboarder whose body was found on Thursday, April 1, 2010 at the “bottom of a slide at the base of Mt. Shields in the southeaster part” of Glacier National Park, according to a story in the Great Falls Tribune.
He had climbed to the top of Mt. Shields countless times in the winter alone and with friends, according to friends and coworkers. . . . He apparently was the victim of a slide created by heavy snow last week on top of a spring-hardened base. The last U.S. Forest Service Glacier Country Avalanche Center advisory, issued on Friday, March 26, indicated wet snow avalanche danger was considerable between 5,000 and 7,000 feet. Mt. Shields stands just over 7,000 feet.
Wright was riding alone at the time and officials say there is no reason to believe that anyone else was buried in the slide. Our thoughts are with Wright’s family and friends.
[Update April 20, 2010: According to a story in the Missoulian, an investigative report suggests that Wright survived the avalanche, but died from his injuries while trying to walk back out. “His tracks intersected the avalanche run about 390 vertical feet below the summit, immediately below a steep pitch. Some 533 feet below that, “blood-stained snow was found among sapling-sized trees. . . .A snowboard track lead out of the avalanche path at that point, descending the mountain to 5,868 feet, where Wright’s snowboard was found. . . Wright’s body was discovered another 441 feet down mountain, face down on top of the avalanche debris with his head facing uphill.” His backpack and transceiver have not been found.]
On March 20, 2010 Chamonix’s Xavier De Le Rue won the Nissan Freeride World Tour at Verbier. And while it happened a few weeks ago, we still thought it a good idea to put this video up just as a reminder of how good extreme runs can get.
With the Asymbol Gallery Exhibit Travis Rice and Mike Parillo have turned an online photo-printing business into a traveling art gallery featuring work from some of the biggest names in board sports art and photography including: Jamie Lynn, Ari Marcopoulos, Scott Lenhardt, Tim Zimmerman, Danny Zapalac, Adam Haynes, Jeff Curtes, Nick Russian, Mike Blabac, Matt French, and Trent Mitchell.
