Friday, April 15, 2011

The Final day of the Washington trip... Baker kicker

Washington final part
So after a much needed day of rest up in Bellingham, Nick myself and Andy decided to head up to mt. Baker and go build a booter. The sun was shinning, spirits were good and we were all ready to send it! 
After a quick stop at the legendary maple falls, where we all got a breakfast sandwhich, some snacks and a turkey cran sandwich for lunch we were back on the road to the mountain. With an un expected call from pat McCarthy informing us he was already up at the mountain and beginning to build a jump, I knew I was in store for a good day.
As we arrived at the upper parking lot and got all our gear on, I began to wonder to myself what we were going to build. I knew it was going to be something good, but at the same time hoping that I would be able to land some tricks and get a few more shots. With all our gear on and packs ready we began the mellow hike out to grandma's zone. A spot on the backside of the mountain with a ton of jump spots and an old cabin that they call grandma's cabin. We got out there and could see a crew of people in the distance which we all knew was pat and the 686 crew. I could tell we wouldn't be hitting a jump with them but thought we'd say hi anyways. It was funny being so far from home then seeing familiar faces from Breckenridge, such as Madison Elsworth and Brett Esser. It was a nice feeling and calmed the nerves a bit. Pat had a pretty large crew with him so we let them be and moved onto our own spot near by which Nick picked out.
The jump spot was pretty sweet, with plenty of landing to the left, right and straight in front we knew we were going to do work today. The three of us cranked out a pretty massive jump quicker then I would have ever imagined, and I skeptically started making a boot path up to slip the in run. I knew as I grew closer and closer to the top that this was an important task. The jump required a lot of speed, and a proper in run is crucial for that. With Nick putting that task on me I felt a good sense of worth as well as a bit of anxiety. After making sure all was good I slipped the path and did a bit of
bump removal to make sure we were set to send it. As all finishing touches were completed and the camera was set up the whole 686 crew showed up to watch, now Nick gave me the next big task hitting the jump first. This is a big honor as well as a nerve racking experience. You have to assume your speed is good, and do a big trick because you have a perfect landing.
As I dropped in whole crowed watching, camera rolling I knew this was a big moment for me. I pointed the run in, hit the lip and launched into a super slow double wildcat (backflip). As the first one came around and I started dipping into the second all felt well. I knew i was taking the jump to the bottom but my rotation and pop felt perfect. I spotted my landing put down the landing gear and got ready for the impact. I hit the ground about 70ft from the jump and felt my legs give out, I had done the trick perfect landed on my feet, but was just unable to withstand the impact. As everybody told me how deep I sent it I hustled up to the top to try it again. I was so close yet so far, I just had to go a bit slower and popped a bit harder, simple task I figured. I dropped in putting in a few speed checks here and there and popped hard as I took off the lip, too hard I realized instantly. The first one came around so fast I knew this was going to be bad, so I opened up and layed out the second one to slow my rotation, which helped just not enough. I over rotated my second one and figured I should let nick and Andy send it.
After a few hours of launching off the jump, Nick, Andy and myself all landing decent tricks I realized it had been a successful and another productive day shooting with wild card movies. We had all landed tricks but were far from over as Forrest Burke graced us with his presence and asked if he could send it a few times. We had all already landed tricks so there was no reason not to let another member of the crew get in on the action. And with that just as we did he put down some solid tricks as well. Nothing to complain about with another fun first for me. Building a jump on the back side of
Baker and landing some tricks. Nor was it a bad way to spend Nicks birthday, now to rush back and get ready to go out for the party. Than head to Seattle and fly back home to colorado to prepare for the next adventure.

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