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After a “all time” day at Targhee I headed off for San Leandro California where The North Face’s main office is located. I met up with a large portion of the ski and snowboard team and the designers from the snowsports line. It is always really cool and exciting to work directly with the people on the design team, trading ideas, fine tuning of the gear, and on this particular trip seeing the new line for the first time. The line was looking great, the designers at TNF are extremely talented, passionate and dedicated to making next level gear.

While meetings were going well, I had something in the back of my mind that was demanding attention. Days had been spent sculpting snow to perfection, and the potential for another epic session was high. TGR had plans to call in a heli to get some unique filming angles, sun was on the horizon, and once again Targhee was blanketed with a fresh batch of snow, this time twelve inches had arrived.

At 12:29 am I changed my plane ticket to a 6:00 am departure, awoke at 4:28 am moments before my alarm and caught the flight. By 10:45 I was rolling towards Grand Targhee once again, 12:pm I pulled into th parking lot to hear the sound of a heli lifting, and after a quick ride from a snowmachine I was standing at the base of jump #1. Realizing that I hadn’t made a turn in days I suddenly had apprehension about hiking right up to the jump and stepping into tricks right off the bat. Tate McDowell, who had given me the ride simply stated that the heli only had a short time to film before it would need to make a long trek to re-fuel, and so he started singing lyrics from the song “8mile”. With that I dropped my back pack and began hiking.

After some high fives with the fellow riders I slid into the rotation and fired off a huge fly-away front flip.It was a perfect way to start off another session in paradise. We continued to session kicker #1 and then slotted into a sunset kicker #2 session before calling it a night over beers and food at the Royal Wolf in Driggs.

At 5:30 am the next morning, some 19 hours after touch down, I rolled out heading back to Salt Lake where another plane ride was scheduled, this time to Portland Oregon.

Dylan Hood= super smooth.

Sammy Carlson floats one.

360 , Photo By Pete O’Brian

Jump #2

Todd Jones, and Cory Gavitt sit on the flying carpet cameras in hand.

Whiley Miller floats one over jump 2 while taylor felton looks on.

As the storm ended a north wind had picked up and our first blue day we realized that the perfect widespread stable pow we had, was no more. Wind had scoured the landscape, glaciers had hard wind rippled snow and faces that once looked cherry now had a rough scoured texture that was anything but enticing. After a half day of scratching around we decided to send one group back to base while the second crew hunted the range for a protected pocket. I went in early, frustrated, cold from the glacial wind, and seriously disappointed with my tail between my legs. Hanging back at base with blue skies above seemed wrong, so Ian, Adam and I went for a round of disc golf at the local Haines course. After our best round of 18 so far in the trip we had unanimously decided that all was not lost, we would go back out tomorrow and make the best of what we had. We were convinced that there was pow pockets stashed somewhere and we could find them.

The following morning we found ourselves flying into a small secluded zone we call Hotel room after a line that Jeremy Jones had ridden in 2005 after a long stint of laying low in the captains choice. we landed near the zone which is a massive spine wall that has only a few clean lines down, and tested the near by snow on a free run. To our surprise we found killer snow, but the temps were rising and the face was getting prime light. At the bottom after talk of interest in the line between riders I decided that I would ride the small flank and Seth was going for the horizon line.

Flying up we got a good look at the lines, and as we rounded the face and had a side look at the zone the true beauty of the line stood out. the spines of snow attach themselves to the east side of a thin flake of rock, the backside is so steep that its a vertical cliff but the front is slanted just enough to hold snow. The crest of the peak was a muffin top cornice hanging off the backside almost across the entire massif. in the middle of the zone the cornice was vertically supported enough that we decided we could get out onto the slope safely. The heli toed us in and we gingerly crept out of the ship onto the snow. As the Helli lifted Seth and I felt slightly exposed on what felt like a island. After some time to evaluate the snow we decided to move forward and commit to the line.

the hotel room

first light on the Hotel room, mostly rock, only a few lines go and even they seem like a fantasy.

Seth and I were both fairly gripped up top, and getting to the bottom felt so good. our lines after execution. Seth on the horizon, mine down the middle.

After riding a line like this I was blown away and fairly mentally spent, without much energy left I took it fairly easy the rest of the day and decompressed. The next morning we found ourselves in a similar situation, starring at another protected pocket of snow and another line pioneered by Jeremy Jones, this one called Dr. Seuss. Again I stepped out of my comfort bubble and stepped out on top of this line. Again, at the bottom the feeling of elation and amazement of survival overwhelmed me, adrenaline reserves tapped, I coasted through the rest of the day beyond content.

Dr. Seuss

Ian McIntosh moments after getting dropped off on a massive double drop pillow line in the Seuss area.

Fly on the wall, photo by Seth Morrison

Entering the shower curtain. At this point Ive made it above all the exposed lines and its now time to get into the knife thin curtain of spines. photo by Seth Morrison

When its sunny it seems like it will last forever, when its gray it feels like it will never be sunny again. Day upon day of overcast or rainy weather forces us to lay low, occupying our time with all sorts of activities, Indoor exercise, lounging, gaming and cruising around town. Every thing is in walking distance and there are some great locations to shoot photos, do interviews, and soak in the AK culture. With little road access most of Alaska is connected by air, and water ways, the car is merely a local transport vehicle. The harbor and the pier have been our favorite places to roast the day away.

The Pier

Contemplating where these massive snow chunks came from, did they wash ashore?

Pier sessions, from left to right, Cory Gavitt, Todd Jones and Josh Nielsen from TGR.

out to the Bar with the boys.

After many down days we finally got out for some turns, this is our lead guide Jim Conway getting out for a slope evaluation. We had a break in the weather and got in a few runs this day before a storm set back in.

Ready at a moments notice, the gear is stacked, radio and other electronics are charged, getting poised for it to pop blue. -self portrait.

Going mad???

For several days now we have been waiting for sun to come out. The day gets filled with all kinds of activities like store missions, eating, gaming, hiking, and eventually drinking. Last night we went on a pub crawl around town before going to dinner. there is about four bars in town and we planned on ending up at the Mexican food restaurant on the other end of town. The night started at Pull Tabs, right on the main drag, after a beer we headed down the street to the Lighthouse. The bar in the Lighthouse, which is also one of the main restaurants, has several games including pool, darts and our favorite, shuffle board. After a few shuffle board matches and a beer or two we headed up to Fort Seward to have a beverage before the Mexi session. Walking up to the Mexican food place we started to get spooked, cars were overflowing the parking lot and as we walked up big picture windows revealed our suspicions. the place was wedged. We quickly and unanimously decided to retreat. Word of fish and chips, and a championship game on the line, sprung up as if to reinforce our decision.

The shuffle board teams were as follows, Roner and Steve Jones, Seth and I, and Josh and Bez. Seth and I dominated the first round, then it came down to the finals between Roner/Steve team, and Josh/Bez. In a close Finnish Josh and Bez took the championship.

gray skies over town

the competition gets hot

Morrison running the table

It felt great after warming up for a day, to get out with the TGR crew here in Haines. Conditions couldn’t be more perfect and the crew is charging. Dana Flair, Erik Roner, and Seth Morrison are my fellow riders. The production crew consists of Todd Jones and Josh Nielson from TGR, and photographers Chris Bezamat, and Flip McCririck. A full day left us tired, stoked and ready for more. When the snow is stable, deep, and the weather is nice its time to ride.

First thing in the morning we spotted this zone, our process is usally to post up at the bottom of the run or on a apposing angle so we can scope the zone and decide on what lines we want to ride. The digital camera is a critical tool in this process, with this info on hand we cross refernce our lines, hazards, and islands of safety once we are on the top.

This is the view from the top. Its always nice when you can look right down the line like this, you can see most of the run aside from the exit so now we use the camera to double check the route out the bottom that will best avoid the shrunds (cracks in the glacier below).

love the track photos!

Morrison throwing a big front flip.

Production crew Josh and Bez

Steping up to some bigger lines

The amazing views never let up! This is on the way back to the airport staging area. Haines sits just to the left of these tributairies.