Early Season Washington Trip part 1

I've been playing around this winter trying to find the best experience to start my 2012/13 season blog, and was having trouble finding the right thing. A bunch of fun days hot lapping the Keystone Area 51 park. A super fun day board testing the new Sims Enduro E-Board technology with at copper, hitting jumps and sending it off moguls, but nothing felt unique enough to really make a whole post about. My Washington trip on the other hand was way to Epic to not share about.

With Colorado popping off with multiple resorts and features open I was a bit hesitant to make my trip to Washington too long. I knew I had to come early to finish up my intro for Wild Card, but didn't want to end up sitting around while people were riding in Colorado. That was not the problem what so ever though. After an amazing world premier of Wild Card Movies; Shred-A-Vision. With a sold-out theater and more friends than I could even talk to, we took a day of rest in Seattle and decided to get to work. I extended my plane ticket and we headed up to Stevens Pass to see what              we could make happen.               

Once up at Steven we Instantly found a unique little spot and started shoveling on the build. It was a little rhythm section over a railing, onto a patio than off the other side. It was super fun and Nick was killing it, popping in BS 180 Egg-planting out. With Dubs behind the lens and Kryn Allen assisting with the second angle we got a few shots and were pretty stoked as the snow continued to fall. With Nick and I each stacking a couple of clips and photos we decided to let a couple locals hit the feature with us. Friend of Wild Card Ryan stomped a sweet Fs miller and I knew it was time to switch it up. I grabbed a picnic table and put it on the backside. We sessioned that till the day turned to night and we called an end to the super fun Stevens mission.

As the snow continued to stack up and word of Mt. Baker opening on Wednesday I decided to extend my trip one more time to get the most out of Washington . So with a short but fun day hiking up baker to get some freshies with Morg and Nick. We got the sleds ready to get a little back country access. Unfortunately things don't always go as planned. Any Bellingham rider knows that 48 degrees is your cut off for it being rain or snow. So with the temperature gauge reading 47 in Nicks truck we loaded the sleds and headed north towards glacier.

As we climbed the gloomy road, rain pouring down we questioned how it might be up at the cabin. A quick chat with fellow Wild Card rider Andy Stern and we know the mission had come to an end without it even starting. Snowboarding and especially is always a gamble when it comes to early season conditions, so with the torrential down pour still raining down we turned around to head back down in to Bellingham..

At the end of the day, at least we made an effort and tried, but boy does it suck not getting to ride because of the rain. A quick night of rest, and a last minute decision to head to Stevens pass for their pre-opening day got our spirits back and excited to board.

Unfortunately once again we were a bit disappointed in our snowboarding experience...yes Stevens Pass started turning its chairs, but with a very wet snowy conditions, and only one real chair lift running our snowboard day was less than amazing. Luckily though this industry is much more than just boarding so a nice afternoon eating some grub and grabbing some beers with all the Stevens locals, and some Wild Card buddies made the day that much better.

Sometimes in my travels and experiences its hard to not take things too seriously, Yes its a job but its a job where I get to have fun, be with great people, and have new and unique experiences all the time. So with that I urge everyone to find the best in things, there is always something that makes any moment the best one yet so take a second figure that out, and put a smile on your face.

10 VIDEOS TO GET YOU STOKED TO SHRED...

As winter is upon us and more and more mountains are opening up, I thought it would be a good time to post a little list of new edits that will stoke you out. So take a gander and feel free to comment with other videos you think people will be stoked on.

In no particular order... and I searched out long and hard to find these 10 videos. Im sure there are tons more, but these are the 10 I decided to post. feel free to add some of your own!

1: WCM: SHRED-A-VISION

2: YES MOVIE: Colin + Madison part

3: FULL PART: Scotty Vine

4: FULL PART: Mark Hoyt

5: NIKE: Snowboarding project, official teaser

6: FULL PART: Alex Andrews

7: IRPC FULL PART: Bode Merrill

8: FULL MOVIE: This Must be the Place

9: FULL PART: Austin Hironaka

10: FULL PART: Dylan Thompson

Hope these stoke you out, and inspire you to strap in and slide sideways

SUPER PARK 16, don't stop till they kick you off the hill

Super Park 16, don't stop till they kick you off the hill

For most of the world the snowboarding season has ended long before may 7th, but for some of us we just can't get enough. What a better opportunity to get some late season shred in than the Snowboarder magazine SuperPark at Mt. Bachelor presented by Gatorade. Until last year I had only dreamt about ridding the amazing features and sessioning with all the incredible riders. With last year being nothing less than an extraordinary experience I gathered my things and prepared for what was soon to become one of the longest and most epic weeks of my life.


I pulled up to the mountain 30minutes prior to registration to ensure my meal vouchers and get my gear all dialed, as I hung in what I decided to call "tailgate bachelor" I chatted with all the homies and soaked in some rays anticipation killing me to see all the enormous features. After last years setup I knew things were going to be large and ready to be charged.


We all cruised around the sunshine area scoping features, checking speed and deciding what to hit first. The sevens spring jump directly to riders right of the lift jumped out at me as a solid starting point. I mustered up the confidence with all the other riders and dropped in for the first test run, the start point was set perfect so i sent it just past the sweet spot. The jump was amazing; long straight in run, great hang time and a smooth landing.

photo courtesy of Snowboarder Magazine. Photo: E-Stone
http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/superpark-16-day-1-photos-recap/?pid=7841

With so many features and only a week to hit everything I charged trying to get as many hits as possible during every session, hiking if necessary, sled laps when possible, and strapping in on the lift to lap faster. This year I teamed up with Filmer Jeremy Dubs of Wild Card Movies and Snowboarder staff photographer Ethan Stone to ensure all of our efforts were captured at their prime, and with out a doubt they were.

Courtesy of Snowboard Magazine. Photo: E-Stone
http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/superpark-16-day-4-photos-recap/?pid=7939 

Courtesy of Snowvboarder Magazine.
Photo: E-Stone

With the insane set up of superpark, location is always an interesting one. This year only a few features were above tree line making it a bit of a chore to get solid backgrounds and angles for banger shots. luckily I was working with E-Stone who has a hell of an eye and knew exactly where to be to get the shot at all times.


When it comes to getting the shot, with our success from last year for the sims snowboards ad we decide to go with the same plan of using shots from super park for my ads, so E-Stone and I constantly were on a mission to go big and style the tricks out. The outcome was more than I could have ever asked for and I can't wait to see the final products!


The week was a success in every aspect. With the 1st ever sunrise shoot we got stunning light for our shots on the Sims quest snowboard. Than with that perfect shaped top seven springs jump we were able to get an awesome sequence on the Sims "E-Board" with x wedge technology.



As Friday night rolled around, everyone was well passed being tired, but as the snowboard lifestyle goes; ride hard and celebrate harder. Astro Lounge was the place to be, and as Wes killed it on guitar, we all gathered shared a drink and relaxed after an unforgettable week

Courtesy of Snowboarder Magazine. Photographer: Huggy
http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/superpark-16-day-4-photos-recap/ 

In the end the icing on the cake was receiving the Gatorade "driven from within" superpark 16 standout award. Every year one rider receives it for non stop charging, and this year I was lucky enough to get that honor. I can not begin to explain how much it means to get the award and it's only going to fuel my fire and make me work that much harder!

Courtesy of Snowboarder Magazine Photo: Laura Austin
http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/superpark-16-day-5-photos-recap/?pid=7947

Thanks for all of you who have bared with me through my adventures and provided the audience for my stories! I write these for you, so thanks for spending the time to take a look.


Have an amazing summer, and don't forget to have as much fun as possible everyday, because it's the fun we have that keeps us young!
-Seth


Links to more photos:
http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/superpark-16-day-3-photos-recap/?pid=7886
http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/superpark-16-day-2-photos-recap/?pid=7868
http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/superpark-16-day-3-photos-recap/?pid=7891 
http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/superpark-16-day-5-photos-recap/?pid=7946 
Links to video:

http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/superpark-16-day-2-video/  2:15
http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/superpark-16-day-4-video/ 3:54

http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/superpark-16-day-5-video/ 1:11

Mammoth, Where the water flows at 140degrees

As Tahoe wrapped up, we continued our adventure on to mammoth lakes CA to take in some of the most insane sunsets ever and get our windy jumping on.

We loaded the car with Jeremy Cloutier, Zach Aller, Alba Pardo, myself and a board bag of all the homies gear. With literally no room to even think we arrived at mammoth got our gear on and hit the slopes. With Alba shooting photos we knew all we had to do was get in the air and she'd make us look good. So as the wind flustered we continued to drop and send it off the amazing mammoth jumps.

Plenty of great shots were taken by Alba, but the sunsets are really what made mammoth so photogenic. Every second between about 6-8pm was picturesk and the shots we got were beyond amazing.

On top of the stunning sunsets, great snowboarding and fun times at the house. My trip was topped off by the absolutely insane natural hot springs and fun skate sessions at the volcom skatepark.

This whole adventure will stay with me till the end of time, it's amazing what snowboarding has provided. The best friends, amazing adventures, and stories that I could never imagined.


CLICK HERE for a link to the Alba's story on Snowboardmag.com
http://snowboardmag.com/stories/road-sunset-safari-mammoth

So to all of you; get out there, take a chance and make the story of your life as interesting as possible!

-Seth

Tahoe, where the mountains meet the water

As the  saying goes; time flies when your having fun, and so is true for this trip. With a fun quick Stop in Utah, our adventure continued onto Tahoe. Not only did Tahoe bring us some fun shred and good jumps, it also brought us closer to some past friends, and plenty of new ones.

The highlight of Tahoe for me was the double line of jumps set up for snowboarder magazine ms. SuperPark but than opened up for the public. Granted I had a blast hot lapping with all the crew in the main park. But when it comes to high lights jumping tends to be top of my list, and as the Squaw Valley jumps were on point. It would be almost impossible for me not to spend a majority of my time there.

Obviously this adventure isn't only about the snowboarding,  it's about experiencing what every where has to offer and seeing how much we can pack in a few days.

With Tahoe's diverse environment, seeing what it had to offer was easy. A stop to the lake to meet up with past Colorado friend Camille, we soon realized that the lake brings the board out in everyone. I honestly can't imagine how cold the water was but Camille and friends rose to the challenge and got their surf on. With surfing, skating in truckee, and super fun park lapping at alpine meadows and squaw valley. There was no lack of excitement during our stay in Tahoe, and to top it all off we had an amazing host; Kara Strehle made sure we always had a bed to sleep in and that our cups were never empty.


For the story on SNOWBOARD MAGAZINE click HERE
http://snowboardmag.com/stories/road-squaw-ters

Don't just soak in Utah, go for the full ride!

The Adventure!

No one questions how amazing colorado is, but as April approached and the snow rapidly melted I knew it was time to head out west.The final destination may be mammoth, but as the say "it's not where you go, but how you get there". And when deciding who to sit shot gun on this ride i could think of no one better than friend and and photog/writer extraordinaire Albo Pardo!


As I said we were just as worried about the adventure as we we're the destination. So with the potential to ride some extra mountains, and see some extra friends we headed a bit north to Utah; Slc and Snowbird to be exact.


As with any area with an In-N-Out, we made our first stop and scarffed down some delicious animal style burgers. (someone had to take alba's In-N-Out viginity) As we waited for good homie and Utah efficianato Adam Drost to get off work, we hit up the American Fork skatepark and took my first turns on the skate since last summer. Not going to lie was pretty rusty and the 90 degree weather didnt help my cause, but it was nice to atleast roll around.

With some help from my friends at snowboard mag, our tickets and plan for snowbird were set. We met with communications manager Emily and some local Snowbird riders (Mark Edlund and crew)  hopped the tram ready to shred.


It's obviously late season and with Snowbird being known for big mountain, I wasn't really sure what to expect for the day. All the thoughts I did have were blown out of the water, as we reached the bottom of the 2 mile "Chips Run". Numerous fun hits and poppers, good steep pitches and a solid crew, I knew this was going to be a super fun day.


This was hands down the case, got plenty of shots (photos as well as face shots) and ended the day with nothing less than VIP treatment as we headed up to "The Cliff" to enjoy the roof-top spa with a nice dip in the pool and nap next to the hot tub. An amazing end to an awesome day at Snowbird thanks to Emily and Snowboard Magazine.

Check out the Alba's Post here Snowboard Magazine Day 1 Post

and stay tuned on Snowboard Magazine for more posts and recaps of our adventures out west.

One night in Vancouver

Vancouver showdown over the city recap

I'm sitting here going through my crazy adventure to Vancouver and all I can think is how much I enjoy the snowboard industry.

I never could have predicted how much excitement and interesting turn of events could happen in a 24hour trip across the boarder. Off the bat this trip had a downhill motion; we arrived at the train station 5 minutes prior to departure to Vancouver, and as I attempted to pay I was instantly reminded that you need a passport to travel to another county (you think id remember this with how much I travel, but nope forgot it) so we rushed back to the house as Colin began unpacking my snowboard stuff Incase I didn't make it back. With seconds to spare and thanks to Jeremy I arrived back passport in hand ready to head to Canada.

Arriving to Vancouver at a mellow 11:30 at night, no phone service, and only an address of a hostel in mind we hopped a taxi and made our way downtown. Just our luck the hostel had closed its doors for the night, and we were shit out of luck. Convent enough just down the road was another hostel which was still open, we got a room, grabbed a beer and called it a night.

The bright sun glistened as it shined through the morning dew on our big window overlooking the Vancouver space needle. The twin bunk bed had made for a plenty sufficient nights rest. and as we washed up in the communal bathroom our sights were high for the day ahead of us. With a cup of subpar coffee, and a random muffin in hand. We wondered the streets looking for this "C" bus we had heard rumors as the ideal transportation up to the contest venue of Grouse Mountain. A few minutes at the bus stop and the language barrier was picked up on as there was no "C" bus and we were actually looking for the SEAbus which was exactly that a transport across the water to N Vancouver.

The 336 bus cruised up the hill, passengers suited up in snowboard gear and ready to enjoy the beautiful saturday at the resort. Lift ticket and bib in hand we made A quick outfit change at the base of the slopes and headed up to check out the course. 2 Beautiful 65+ ft jumps arose above the stunning Vancouver skyline, giving off the feeling of jumping over the city. Aside from some sticky snow and not quite the steepest landings these jumps were perfect.  Smooth take offs, a nice straight line, and clean sides gave the excited spectators one heck of a show.

The field was narrowed down to ten after semi-finals with some awesome riders and good friends Matt's Kullisek and Colin Spencer having a bit of speed troubles and barley missing the cut. Bummed to not be able shred along side of them in the finals but always stoked to have good homies out there with you. The bluebird skies and recent absence of park  put me in an awesome mood and I was able to stomp my semi finals run seating me second into finals. As the speed continued to get slower the amazing park crew did everything that had to make the course as fast as possible. When it came down to it only a few riders really had the speed to throw their best moves, not to say there wasn't some great riding. But I personally know I felt a bit to slow to perform what I wanted. Resulting in a landed safety run placing me in 4th place, just .1 out of third place. Either way, always stoked to make finals and just need to use this momentum for the ride shakedown in montreal this weekend.

Until than, a last minute ride from a random awesome photographer and we still missed the train back to Bellingham. Just 5 minutes late of the cut off to buy tickets we were forced to take the greyhound bus. A few more bucks a bit more effort of a ride but in the end still a ride down to Bellingham.

Traveling is always an adventure, it never hurts to have a good buddy along side and an open imagination to what can happen along the way.

http://www.snowboardcanada.com/news_article?news_id=2046

http://grousepark.com/2012/03/26/the-5th-annual-quiksilver-showdown-over-the-city/

http://push.ca/snowboarding/video/videos.aspx?ASPostID=55096

Who needs gear when you have friends?

Who needs gear when you have Who needs gear when you have friends?

As one of my favorite Beatles songs goes "I get by with a little help from my friends" this was with out a doubt the case this past weekend at the Ride Shakedown at Mont Saint Sauveur Quebec. From getting picked up at the airport to late night sleeping on couches, to snowboarding in different gear, this weekend was fueled by willing and helpful friends! So thanks each and everyone of you! For booking me on flights (sis Erin), to loaning me gear (everyone), to driving me around (Benjamin and Frederyke) to hanging and helping me figure stuff out (Yale and entourage) to driving me back to the states (Joe), to having my back the whole time (shakedown staff) You all made  everything possible and so freaking fun!

Every bit of this trip had its hiccups; from missing my flight through DC and having to sleep on the floor of the Newark airport. To NEVER having my luggage arrive, To sleeping on the road at 4am, to atm's not working, to loosing my phone for a morning. nothing quite went as planned; but with that said its all about the adventure, and the adventure was AMAZING!!

I arrived into Montreal Friday morning with nothing but the bag on my back, and some high hopes. As 11:11am rolled around I set my sights high and wished for a podium and some money to come back home with. As finals came to a wrap my wish had come true and I took my place on the podium aside Seb Toots and Kim rune-Hanson. Honestly cannot begin to explain the honor of being on the podium next to these two amazing riders.  Have to say though its pretty ironic getting my first big podium, when I don't even have my board to bring up with me :)

Shake Down Web Site

Ride Shake Down VIDEO

This whole situation has been the biggest testament to the fact that just relaxing and having fun pays off. I rode the contest in a pair of girls pants, a backwards cap, Joe Mango's goggles, Jeremy Thompson's board and bindings, and the vans demo dudes boots, hahahaha. And because of this I just rode and have fun, i didn't have my gear so i wasn't stressed to ride super well, i just wanted to have fun and put on a good show. I was with all my friends, tons of great fans and spectators under the lights, it would be impossible not to have a smile on my face. So with that said, THANKS again to all my homies that provided me the essentials to ride and make the podium.

I have to say that after Joe Mango was robed of his first place in the rail jam, I can't believe I ended up on the podium. Not to hate on the judging but Mango obviously should have won the rail jam, and didn't even make the podium so from that moment on lets say my expectations weren't to high. In the end things worked out, so this one goes to you Joe Mango who should have been first in the rail jam, and Jeremy Thompson who we all have in our hearts as he makes a strong and quick recovery from his crash Friday night, see you soon buddy, your the man. 

In closing what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and nothing good comes with out a little bad; so fight through the unfortunate events, make the best out of every situations and never stop having FUN, what ever you may be doing!!!

I wrote these for you everyone so hope you enjoy and let me know how I can make them better :)friends?

Backcountry Jumping

Back Country Jumping

"Practice makes perfect"... It's hard to find a better phrase than that when it comes to hitting jumps in the back country. It doesn't matter how good of a park jumper you are, or how amazing pow shredder you are; with out legit backcountry jumping experience you can't be expected to land much

This was with out a doubt the case for me the other day when I was out with Wild Card Movies, Tim Humphreys and Brian Schaefer at Stevens Pass doing some jumping.

We arrived bright and early Monday morning to Stevens Pass ready to catch some air time. The sun was out, one jump already built and video/ photo ready to capture. The sun was still high in the sky so we decided to build a second jump to make the most out of the day. While this was happening Tim was next door stomping some heavy maneuvers, amping everyone to get some shots. The snow wasn't perfect by any means, but definitely still land-able as Tim proved.  Unfortunately Tim's landings didn't give me the motivation I'd hoped for and I was forced to move on and cut my loses. I put a few tricks down to my feet but for the most part had some trouble riding all the way out.

When it all comes down to it, any day on the snow is good experience. Especially hitting "grande" backcountry booters. figuring out how to stomp spins is a whole different world, and I look forward to getting as much experience as possible.

Hope you all challenge yourself and don't stop learning... Ever!

Mt. Baker Powder

Mt Baker Powder
Today marks a full week down hanging here in Washington with wild card movies. If you missed my blog about the first couple days check it here... First Time Experiences

After getting my Washington legs back under me riding the resort for a day we got to work building jumps for the next 3 days.  When it comes to jumps at baker you have a few token ones, but also plenty of new spots. (let's just say we got both)

The Road gap, Cat gap, and two step down jumps set the scene for us to get some solid shots. With the jump spots being a bit new to all of us nothing came to easy . With that said as goes with life nothing good comes easy. So we stayed at it, and made sure we didn't leave with out a solid lander on every feature.

Photographer: Carson Artac

Wildcard movies doesn't mess around no matter what the conditions. Dumping snow; were in the woods hitting pillows or poppers. Blue bird skies; were setting up kickers and sending it till its dark. Hopefully that gives you an idea of what goes on here in Baker, but if not stay tuned for my next blog about getting wild in the trees. Check out Filmer/ Photographer Jeremy Dubs and some of his awesome shots at Gallery on Mt. Baker Website

For a more in depth post on whats going on up at Mt. Baker with Wild Card Movies Check out the website!!! WILDCARDMOVIES

Hope what ever the conditions are for each of you your making the most out of your day!

Washington let's do this!!

Beginning of Washington shred with wild card movies After a fun and partially successful time at the grandprix I headed out to Washington to get some pow.

A travel day and night of rest and we got to work. Meeting up with Jeremy from wild card movies. While we waited for the snow to fall in baker, we headed out towards Stevenpass to meet up bergin-sperry and the rest of the crew. With a cool super aesthetically pleasing feature accomplished we rolled up to Bellingham.

Day 2 was nothing less than a legit old school Mt. Baker day. 20" of fresh snow, no lines a Filmer and photog we hit the slopes and got to work. Starting in the trees to stay out of snow we kept our eyes peeled for anything and everything. After some fun launchers, deep pow, and a quick lunch we headed out to finish the day strong. In short hotels, gun sight, and the road gap were all taken care of... Currently headed back out to baker to see what the sun can provide us.

Grand Prix Results and photos

Got a shot on the Snowboarder magazine website.

Grand prix The Us snowboarding Grand Prix; how can I even begin to explain this week. 1 day of ok visibility with 100mph wind gusts, 1 day of poor visibility with 70mph wind gusts, 1 day of horrible visibilty with 80mph wind, 2 days of perfect sunny California weather.

Emotions ran high as
the contest was postponed a second day... But with out a fail, weather cleared on the final day and the contest was on.  To keep it brief, the jumps were perfect, riding was solid, and a nice 10 hour day at mammoth mountain was had by everyone!!

The two heats of qualifiers wrapped up with 16 worthy competitors moving onto finals. US team Eric Willett led the pack with other standouts include Colorado local Colin Spencer, double back flipping Hunter Wood,  and young gun Ben Ferguson.  In the end Chas Guldemond came out on top with Sage Kotsenburg in second, and huge props to first time Grand Prix appearance Mark Hoyt with one of the coolest runs and a solid third place!! Definitely a crazy week in Mammoth for the Grand Prix, always a blast hanging with all the homies and hitting the perfect jumps at mammoth unbound park. Thanks for checking in, and stay tuned for my updates from my back country  experiences here at Mt. Baker Washington!

Check out the Full recap @ http://www.snowboardermag.com/exclusives/2012-mammoth-grand-prix-slopestyle-finals/

PRESIDENTS DAY Snowboarding fun!!

Its easy to say we are blessed living in Colorado, and its even easier to take for granted the amazing riding we have with-in a short drive. I mean, if there is good snow we have sick peaks, and good sledding, and every other day of the week we have amazing parks, my favorites being Breckenridge, and Keystone obviously.

With that said I'd like to present a two days riding and filming with Doug Cushnie, during my time back in CO between Dew Tours. Lets just say I'm lucky enough to film with Doug, because he can make any simple maneuver look oh so cool.

Watch, Enjoy, and check out Doug's other videos; Douglas Cushnie Video Library