Check out the online interview with ESPN about skiing, Nitro Circus and everything else.
http://espn.go.com/action/news/story?id=4241721
Author Archive for Erik Roner
So we were invited to walk the red carpet at the MTV Movie Awards this past Sunday. Travis and Tommy could not make it but Jolene, Andy, Jim and I represented. We all felt odd walking down the red carpet…that’s not anything we’re used too. We pretended as best we could and smiled for all the cameras.
It was fun to be amongst all the “famous” people and rewarding to be recognized by some of them. The feedback for Nitro Circus was great and we were all grinning from ear to ear.
We have less than a week off and then were back out filming episode 3!
Heading to the red carpet…
Inside the show…
Jim Dechamp, Executive Producer Jeremy Rawle, Andy Bell and myself at the after party.
I just returned from shooting the first 2 episodes for Season 2 of Nitro Circus airing this fall. This was by far our strongest film trip yet! Most of us have been thinking how are we going to top season 1? I can honestly say we are off to a great start.
For me the past 10 days were some of the best in my life. I learned Parkour from the Worlds best, got tear gassed, jumped a big wheel down a 35 foot dirt step down, walked on a wing of a plane with no parachute, got shot out of a cannon almost 100 feet, rode a dirt bike at Jeremy McGrath’s ranch, BASE jumped the Superman ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and flew an acrobatic plane. There was also Quad rainbow rail grinds, rocket powered big wheels, 75-foot building-to-building gap jumps 100 feet in the air and much much more!
We had an amazing trip and only 2 minor hospital visits for the crew. We have a week off before we go at it again. I am headed to the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday with most the crew to walk the red carpet. Pretty crazy!
We are not allowed to share photos with you guys right now so you will have to wait and watch the show this fall. I am going to cheat a little and show you one shot from the trip…
Sending the Superman ride at Magic Mountain. Photo: Matt Hoffman
Nitro Crew in LA.
I love living in Lake Tahoe. There is so much to do and the environment is one of a kind. The combination between the mountains and the lake offers so much. Summer is my favorite time here and I am just starting to set into my summer mode.
After a week of a relaxing vacation I picked up right where I left off. The day after I returned, I spent the morning skiing and hiking all over Squaw Valley Resort. After a mountain bike ride and a quick lunch I met up with some friends for my first boat trip of the season. The lake was as flat as it gets and the weather was warm…there is nothing more peaceful than being on the lake in those conditions.
The following day I met with some other friends for a couple days of skydiving and BASE jumping. I really love this place!
Skiing some of the last snow of the year.
Looking down some of the late season lines at Squaw…
Taking it all in on top of KT 22 after hiking and skiing from the peak on the far lookers right (way back there), all the way around the ridge to the left and up to the top of KT 22.
Hanging on the lake after a nice day…the “Best Place on Earth”.
Next day..after a morning of BASE jumping (no pictures: its illegal and too dark out)…into a day of skydiving!
Now what? Maybe a night time BASE jump off a different object…check!
I just returned from a relaxing 4 days in St. Martin in the French West Indies. The island is situated in the Caribbean and half the island is French and the other half is Dutch. A Caribbean feel mixed with a European touch was a unique contrast.
Although we didn’t do much besides lounge around, swim, sleep and relax it was a refreshing trip. I am back in Tahoe ramping up for our first Episode of season 2 of the Nitro Circus. We start shooting in one week and its time to get ready…
Catching up on some much needed sleep in route to the Caribbean island.
Ahhhhhhhh!
Ahhhhh!
More tough living.
Oops!
Annika and I enjoying ourselves.
The Alamanda Resort was great…right on the beach, amazing hospitality, and they were Nitro Circus Fans!
I just returned from shooting 30 second spots for the See You Sunday Night Season Finale of the Nitro Circus. Rob Dyrdek’s crew, Knoxville and Steve-O, Jason “Mayhem” Miller from Bully Beat Down and our Nitro Crew all gathered at the Fantasy Factory for some more chaos…human bowling, moto wall rides, tennis ball launcher, 40 foot slam dunks, indoor pit bike races just to name a few. MTV is going to show reruns of the shows all day leading to the finale in the evening. It was cool to get together with everyone from all the different shows and shoot a bunch of short clips.
I am still not used to this TV world. There are so many people involved…we have craft services everywhere, people catering to our needs constantly, chauffeured rides…its really weird. I am used to dragging my ski bags all over the world figuring everything out on my own. This TV stuff makes you soft but it sure is nice!
I have 3 weeks off before we start shooting season 2 and I am going to use everyday to rest up and get ready for some more action. Here we go again!
All the crews combined…
All the extra people there to help out…nuts!
Steve-O, Knoxville and Rob Dydrek promoting “The Demise and Rise of Steve-O” show.
Travis…wall ride on a pit bike
As the season is winding down and summer is getting close, I decided to head to the glaciers around Whistler for a few last minute shots for the TGR film Re:Session coming out this Fall. I drove my old Jeep and towed my snowmobile 18 hours North to Pemberton for 2 sunny days of snowmobile skiing. The mountains in British Columbia are amazing…it always blows my mind how much terrain you can access with your snowmobile. We had really long days in the alpine and it was good to get back in the BC mountains.
After the short sunny window, I drove another 18 hours down to Snowbird, Utah for Dynastar’s “Spring Daze” event. Luckily I had to drive right past the Twin Falls Bridge and naturally I needed to make a stop and BASE jump.
Each year Dynastar invites shop employees, managers, industry people to Snowbird for 4 days to hang out, catch a glimpse of the Dynastar family, and ski. Hundreds of people show up to participate and the event always proves to be a good time! The last night I had to give a presentation to 150 or so people about what I have been up too. I was happy to get that over with and head home the following day after a lot of driving.
I am home now but headed to LA in a couple days for the season finale of Nitro Circus. We have signed on for season 2 and start filming in the middle of May…Time to rest and heal up!
My old whip…
Snowmobile and big mountain legend Dan Treadway. He was a great host as always and hes probably the most fun guy to be with in the mountains.
Some of the terrain we road…you can snowmobile right to the top of this face.
A glacial cave we came accross. We were able to ride our snowmobiles right through it.
Making the pit stop at Twin Falls for a jump…scared up top.
Happy after making a successful solo jump.
Finally made it to Dynastar’s Sping Daze event…time to relax and have some fun.
Except for the presentation I had to give…
23 of Shane’s BASE jumping friends got together for a memorial jump. I cannot discuss in full detail but I can say it was one of the coolest jumps I’ve ever made. I’ve never before jumped with so many people or in such an amazing place. Stories, laughs and cheers for Shane were shared and ashes were spread. We all felt Shane watching and laughing hysterically…I’m sure he was proud. Long Live McConk!
Some of the boys about to gear up…
The landing area looked like a skydive drop zone with all the jumpers…so cool to jump with so many people.
The crew celebrating McConkey!
After dealing with difficult weather the first part of our trip, two days of blue skies came our way at the end. This is what we had been hoping for…soft, stable snow with clear skies. We got right into the action making the most of our good days.
Waiting to get the call from the heli to drop in… photo Todd Jones
Early morning first turn of my line…deep. Photo: Seth Morrison
Skiing on the edge. Photo: Todd Jones
More steep AK turns. Photo: Ian McIntosh
Looking down one of my lines.
One of the faces we sessioned. You can see Ian, Seth and Sage in the bottom corner.
Our private heli…TGR does it right. We charter our own helicopter with our own guide and pilot. We come and go as please and have 31 hours of heli time to burn in a 3 week period.
The highlight of my trip came on the last day. I skied BASEd this line. If you look at the top of the chute you will see a dot in the shade. That is me droping in. This one was for my buddy Shane McConkey!
I sit in my hotel room in such disbelief. I am so sad and cannot keep a dry eye. My good friend Shane McConkey had complications during a ski BASE jump in Italy and passed away. My heart is so heavy and the reality of our loss has not even set in.
Shane was such an inspiration to me. He taught me so much and influenced my life in so many ways. His outlook was one of a kind, his skills in the mountains and in the air were unbelievable, and he was so fun to be around. Shane would always brighten the room with his light-hearted sarcastic attitude. He was such a good person in every possible way and loved by everyone that knew him. I will miss him so much. McConk was my hero.
