We have wrapped up the first 4 episodes of our show and I am still alive! All of the “talent or cast”, which is what they call us…funny huh, has been banged up pretty good but we are all standing with lots of enthusiasm. Everyone has stepped out of their comfort zones and pushed themselves farther than we ever imagined. I cannot even describe how much fun we are having. At the end of each episode I cant wait to head home and rest up. After a day or two I can’t wait to get back on the road and back into the action.
Episode 5 and 6 are this week and we have some good stuff up our sleeve. I cannot wait till they release the show so I can share more with you…I hope I never wake up from this dream : )
So I had to take down my last post and was asked to keep quiet regarding the details of our TV show. It is really hard to do as I am having the time of my life. Soon as the the show is released I can share more information with you. All I can say is it is going to be a wild ride. Get ready for the mayhem!!!!
Each Fall I try to stop by the Utah Winter Sports Park to hit the water ramps. The water ramps are designed for aerialist to train their huge spinney flippdi-doodle jumps over the summer. The ramps are made of a plastic hexagon shaped material that allows skis to slide down. There are 4 different jumps, all different sizes allowing for a variety of options. The pool has an aeration system at the bottom to displace the surface of the water for a softer landing.
For most skiers, the ramps are odd and very different than any jump we hit on snow…either man-made or natural. They take some time getting used too. For me it’s a fun time to slide down the hill…I mean ramp on skis and launch into a pool! However odd they may be, I think it is super fun and good for your jumping!
Sage, Seth, Dana, Tate MacDowell and Dynastar team manager John Minahan were all on hand to get into the action. If you ever have a chance you should try the ramps out!
The ramp set-up
Seth Morrison and John Minahan sizing up the jumps
Hitting the single jump
No, no, no…that’s all wrong
Getting out of the pool
One of the aerialist going big!
Taking in some of Fall…
Tahoe is one of my favorite places in the world…especially in the summer. There is so much to do here and the lifestyle is extremely laid back. I love living right by the big beautiful lake and I swim in it at least once a day.
I get so excited when Fall starts and Winter is around the corner…but a part of me is bummed the Tahoe summer has come to an end!
Going for my daily swim!
A calm Lake Tahoe…
Early morning water skiing.
The Lake from one of my favorite mountain bike rides.
Annika on top of Stanford Rock…another favorite ride.
My boy Chief enjoying The Lake as well.
Taking my Nephew Leif out for a spin. This little guy is a maniac and loves to pin the throttle!
Skiing Magazines 2008 South American Photo Challenge is held at Chile’s Ski Portillo. The event is an invite-only, five-day event to determine who can shoot the best photography in five categories: air, powder, big mountain line, ski culture, and creative angle. The photo/athlete teams were Grant Gunderson shooting Pep Fujas, Adam Clark shooting Erik Roner, Steve Lloyd shooting Jason West, Jordan Manley shooting Chad Sayers, and Gene Dwarkin shooting Josh Van Jura. The winning shots will be published in the February issue of Skiing magazine.
On our final evening in Portillo, each team put together their best shots for a slideshow presentation. This was an anticipated evening for all the competitors. We all wanted to know what the other teams had been up to the past 5 days…where have they been shooting, what type of shots have they been getting, and what was their overall vision.
The conditions started off very spring like and made ski photography very difficult. The last couple days of the event we received some wind and snow that created new opportunities for ski photos! Everyone worked super hard all week and put together amazing slideshows.
I am glad I don’t have to judge the best photos…it’s going to be really tough! Thanks to Skiing Magazine for a great experience…you can check out more at www.skinet.com
Check out Adam Clark and my slide show below….
One of the highlights of my trip was hanging out with Hermann Maier of the Austrian Ski Team. When the snow was good we caught him out with his team mates shedding powder in their tights and downhill skis! These guys are serious in their training schedules, so it was cool to see them out ripping around outside the course with enormous smiles on their faces!!!
After several weeks on the road with the Nitro Circus, I headed down to Baja with the Nixon team. Nixon is a great company stacked with amazing athletes and employees who understand our world. While we were there we surfed, drove go-carts, sky dived, flew in an outdoor wind tunnel, ate well and relaxed! We also went over future products of the company and their general position for next year.
It was cool to hang with athletes of all different backgrounds and hear their ideas and thoughts on different products. Thanks to Nixon for a couple great days!
I am off to Portillo Chile for a photo contest for Skiing Magazine. They have had a great season so far and I’m pumped to get on the snow!
Travis and Plamer chillin on the balcony
The view from our balcony…
Plamer flying in the outdoor wind tunnel
Go carting with locals…
The Nixon crew…
After riding the bike park at Whistler for a few days we were all beat down. Everyone was banged up, bleeding and sore from hard riding and numerous crashes. We loaded up the rig and headed to Twin Falls, Idaho where we met up with more Nitro Circus members and TP’s dad for some beginner BASE jumping. When I say beginner BASE jumping, I mean people with absolutely no parachute jumps…no skydives and no BASE jumps. Most jumpers would not advise this type of behavior but I figure I can take a certain type of person and make it relatively safe in a controlled environment.
The Prienne Bridge in Twin Falls is one of the only legal bridges to BASE jump in the US. Jumpers come from all over the world to session the bridge. This is a great place to spend time and learn about BASE jumping as well as practice your skills. When your not running from cops or hiding from security guards you can slow down and pay more attention to what is going on with the general safety of your jump.
In all, I pushed 7 new people off the bridge. The way it works is I hold the pilot chute in my hand while the jumper climbs over the railing. The pilot chute is the small parachute thrown out to catch air and pull out the larger parachute packed into the container on your back. The jumper makes the jump from the bridge and I hold onto the pilot chute manually extracting the larger parachute from the container. This allows the jumper to focus mainly on body position and shortens freefall time to avoid any type of parachute malfunction.
Once the parachute opens the jumper has been instructed to fly the parachute over the water and land in the water to avoid any chance of breaking bones trying to land on ground for the first time.
The highlight of the trip was when Travis’ dad stepped up and threw a gainer off the bridge for his first BASE jump ever. One of the crazier things I have witnessed and he stuck it! No wonder Travis is the way he is…
The bridge
Some of the Death Campers
Pastrana about to jump
Nitro Circus Member Hubert making his first jump
Willie Crum climbing over the railing…scared senseless.
Getting in some flips
Travis’ dad about to stick a gainer from the top rail without any parachute experience at all.
Death Camp Instructors
Landing pattern
During the mega ramp events at the X games, the idea you could hit the ramp with a big wheel came about. Bob Burnquist allowed us to stop by his house and try out his mega ramp.
Travis stepped up to the 75’ gap right off the bat. I pushed him down the drop-in and he sent a 75’ big wheel back flip over the gap. We were all completely blown away.
He proceeded to try it 5 times until he finally road one out…after some abuse. No one else stepped up to the 75’ air or a back-flip for that matter. The 50’ air was hit several times with various results.
After the 2 big wheels were destroyed from punishing landings, we loaded up the rig and drove straight from San Diego to Whistler.
Today Cederic Garcia, a nutty downhill mountain biker, is going to try to kill us on some trails today. Hopefully I come home in one piece…
The in run to the 50 and 75 foot gaps.
Pastrana and Burnquist
Bob’s mega ramp
TP inverted with Burnquist filming from behind
More TP and Bob cam
Bob hitting a 50 foot straight air. Check out the intensity on that face.
Travis convinced one of his rally competitors to come out and send the ramp too. He had the cleanest run with a straight air over the 50 footer into a 540 up the quarter pipe.
The X Games are gnarly! Each year the level of progression blows my mind. This was my first time back to summer X since it was held in San Francisco several years back. It was cool to see how big the X Games have grown. For most athletes, this is the biggest event of the year and they lay it on the line! I saw so much carnage…it was almost hard to watch. Half the athletes are riding hurt or injured cause they know what X Games means.
For Pastrana….this was just another year trying to win more medals. For my friend Jim DeChamp it was his first dance. He was set to showcase his moto front flip to the world and then scheduled to co pilot with Pastrana in the rally race. Unfortunately things did not go as planned. He ended up breaking his back on his front flip attempt sidelining him for 4-6 weeks.
Pastrana made an early mistake in the speed and style costing him another medal, which he should have easily won. In the end TP pulled it together and logged another gold for himself in the Rally race. A win he claimed “he needed”! Unfortunately Jim was unable to ride co pilot but his spirits are high and he was pumped for Trav.
We are loading up the Nitro Circus rig and driving up to the Whistler bike park for Crankworks. We have many stops along the way up and back for BASE jumping, Skydiving and other antics…it’s going to be a wild ride!
The steep and nasty drop in for the Mega ramp. We are scheduled to head to Bob Burnquists home today to jump his mega ramp with the Big wheels!
The air and monster quarter pipe after the nasty drop in…to the right is where best moto trick and moto step up are held.
Jim DeChamp after the first front flip on a dirt bike attempt…a broken T12.
Pastrana crushing it in the Speed and Style event right before he wadded himself!
Pastrana watching Mira in the qualifying rally round.
The cross over…
DeChamp out of the hospital and signing autographs in a back brace.
DeChamp getting special attention.
Pastrana fans patiently waiting at the Nitro Circus rig…
TP and Ken Block partying!
I just returned from my annual summer trip to Jackson Hole. Each summer all the TGR athletes make the trek to review their footage and give input on their segments. It is always a fun and stressful time as you are excited to see all the hard work from the winter but also hoping the footage turned out.
From the footage I saw…TGR film “Under the Influence” is going to be action packed! TGR really laid it on the line this year and I think it is going to show in the film. Make sure to check out the teaser and pre-order your copy today at www.tetongravity.com
A view of the Tetons from the plane. These mountains are so unique and I’m always greatful to catch a glimpse…even if it’s from the plane!
This is Tate McDowell. He spends most of his summer in the dark editing suite piecing together everyone’s segments. It is long tedious work but each year he always seems to put together a great movie! Thanks Tate!!!
AK master Jeremy Jones reviewing one of his shots with Tate.
