Monthly Archive for May, 2008

Downtime in Mexico

After a very long winter and a packed summer ahead, I decided to head to Baja for some relaxation. Traveling all year with ski and BASE gear can be more than cumbersome. It’s nice to pack one small bag with a couple pair of board shorts and flip-flops!

A friend of mine lent me his place, car, and surfboards in San Jose Del Cabo…I was stoked! I had never been to the tip of Baja and I was surprised at the landscape. The cactus filled desert gives way to some of the most beautiful, isolated coast I have seen. The empty beaches are pristine and the surf is dam good…well actually the 8 -10 foot waves were a little too good for my sub par surf skills. After having my ass handed to me a few times I decided to let things settle down before I paddled back out. Multiple days of sleeping in, eating well, burying my face in the sand with not a care in the world can make it hard to return to reality.

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The view from my buddy’s balcony in San Jose….one of the mellow surf days.

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This is the road up the East Cape of Baja. If you have never driven this road before I suggest you do so. The dirt road goes up the entire East Cape and is filled with isolated beaches and great surf spots. It is hard to believe places like this still exist in a world crowded with people. This will not last for long as the development has begun.

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An Ass I ran into…

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The cactus replace the trees I am used to seeing.

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Some girlfriendology

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I did a lot of this….

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…and this

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This guy didn’t make it home…that’s a pretty nice shelter!

Chaos on the Lake!

Whenever I thought of the upcoming Nitro Circus trip to the lake, my palms immediately started sweating. A week of fun on the lake with this group is not what most people would consider fun. I knew I was going to be lucky to come away uninjured or alive. Our goal was to get footage for the new Nitro Circus film “Double Wide” due out this fall.

The Nitro Circus rolls in style. I was picked up at the Las Vegas airport and taken to the owner of Nu Skin products “get away” house near Lake Mead. The house is entitled “Pirates Cove” which is basically “Pirates of the Caribbean” for adults. Long water slides, 60-foot mast jumps into small pools and pirate bars throughout the estate. I have never seen anything like this place and could easily spend a week there getting lost in all the details.

From there we loaded up a motor home, 2 fifth wheels, all the other trucks and headed for the lake. In all we had 2 houseboats, 3 cigarette boats, 4 ski boats and more toys than you can imagine.

Throughout the week we accomplished Big Wheel BASE jumps, Mtn Bike BASE jumps, rowdy zip lines, Rollovers for folks who have never skydived or BASE-jumped as well as many punishing stunts the crew was trying to step up too. I watched stunts executed to perfection and I also witnessed a few miracles. All in all, everyone came away in one piece. We had great time and I was stoked to play with the team again!

After the Lake, Pastrana, Plamer and myself rolled back to Vegas for some more BASE fun. Pastrana has some pull in Vegas…we showed up at 2 in the morning made one phone call, and found ourselves at the wind tunnel for a private middle of the night session.

The winds did not cooperate in Vegas but we made up for it with a private go-cart session with Cowboy Kenny Bartram, TP and TJ Lavin.

Make sure you check out the new Nitro Circus film“Double Wide”. You are not going to want to miss this one!
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Ring Leader of the Nitro Circus…Travis Pastrana getting warmed up at “Pirates Cove”

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One of the many nooks at Pirates Cove. The mast behind the girl goes up 60 feet with a platform to jump from. This is also the finishing pool for a legit water slide!

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Some of the crew…after they ran out of gass.

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TP’s Big Wheel BASE jump. This was a nasty 250 foot cliff right above our camp. TP had his heart set on riding a big wheel down this face. It was super gnarly and he went mocking down the side of this rock. TP crushed the jump in true form!

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Next up was the zip line. After about 5 of us hit it, Jim DeChamp decided to try it out. You can see at the start of the zip line you are 80-90 feet off the deck. What you cannot tell is that the first 200 feet is over water that is only 2 feet deep. Somehow DeChamp managed to peel off the bar and fall every bit of 80 feet into 2 feet of water. Miraculously he was alright….

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There was endless firework warfare!

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TP, Plamer and myself getting ready to send it.

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The aftermath…

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Jim DeChamp redeeming himself with a rowdy Mountain bike BASE jump.

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Waiting on wind….Not a bad view

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Willie crum wanted air time himself. He decided to send the Big Wheel without a parachute. I am sure you can use your imagination to figure how this ended up.

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Cowboy Kenny Bartram, TP, Me, TJ Lavin just after our private rally session.

Check out some helmet cam footage in the “BASE” section of the Video page!

Legend of the Motorcycle

For the past 3 years, my sister and brother and law have put on an amazing International Concours d’Elegance for motorcycles. It is a one of a kind event showcasing over a century of motorcycling history. The event is held at The Ritz in Half Moon Bay on a closed off 18th fairway right on the water. Bikes and spectators from all over the world come together to honor and celebrate some of the finest bikes from all eras.

Before the event, a group of bikers get together and ride from L.A. to Half Moon Bay. This years ride included 15 x World Grand Prix Champion Giacmo Agostini, 9 x World Grand Prix Champion Phil Read, the president of MV Agusta along with other press and media.

To help my sister out, I man the chase vehicle and follow the boys up the coast over the 3 day ride. The trip is first class and we eat and stay at some of the finest place along the coast.

For me it was a relaxing break from the winter mayhem and my upcoming trip to Lake Powell with Pastrana and the Nitro Circus crew.

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Some of the Agusta bikes…these are bad ass!

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Phil Read and some of the boys getting ready to ride.

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Tight formation up the coast

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My ride for the trip

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9 x Grand Prix World Champ Phil Read, 15 x Grand Prix World Champ Giacomo Agostini, and me.

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A sunset we caught

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The highlight of the ride was when all the boys poached the Laguna Seca track. They got chased out after one lap but that one lap was sweet glory!

Visions

After much convincing of sponsors, family and friends, I was able to return to Alaska for a unique mission. I was after a ski BASE I found a few years back that has kept me awake at night and resonated in my mind. I have dreamt and envisioned like one cannot imagine.

This line is deep in Juneau ice field, far away from civilization. While the entire ski world was locked down in Haines. I struggled to find a heli, pilot, guide and crew to converge in Juneau for the long awaited AK high pressure. I could count on TGR and Mike Wilson from Costal Helicopters to help me out.

After much work we arranged for a 3 day mission…2 travel days and one execution day. In true AK fashion the night we arrived so did the wind. The northeast wind clobbered my line. The snow was scoured and much too nasty to ski such a gnarly line. After standing on top for a couple hours reasoning…I had to turn away. I have walked away from all sorts of lines and jumps but this was the most difficult.

It will hurt all summer long and not one night will go by that I do no think if this line… so be it. I will have to patiently wait for another chance…
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The Juneau Harbor

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Intense commute

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My line…

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Just a couple of towers to fly through on our way out the icefield.