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.
We have been dealing with tough unsettled and impossible to predict weather. “Chasing the white rhino” or “window shopping” have been common terms used on the first part of our trip. Clouds come and go as blue holes poke through enticing us to chase the light. As an athlete it’s a difficult position to be, as we need to be ready both mentally and physically at a moments notice. It’s much easier when you are down due to weather for a few days and then go in to a charging good weather period. The always needing to be ready and never sure what’s going to happen can be a challenge and frustrating.
We have been making good calls for the most part and when we do get out the skiing has been good. Another storm has just rolled over and we are down again. We got out yesterday afternoon and found some really deep snow. Check it!
The crew stoked to be back in the mountains
Sarge and Todd cutting a cornice. This is a technique we use to test slope stability. If we cut a good sized cornice onto a slope, the load from the cornice gives us good info on the slopes stability. This afternoon we were pleasantly surprised with a new 24″.
Sequence: Ian Mac getting barreled
Alaska is real deal. The environment can be harsh, the laws are relaxed, and the locals are rugged. The countless sightings of bald eagles and moose are always a reminder of the unique Alaskan land. When you’re here, it’s so easy to loose contact with the rest of the world. Simple emails and short phone calls seem like annoying tasks. We are so focused and dedicated to riding these mountains any downtime is needed from the intense days. The constant reading of the weather, snow conditions and terrain options can be taxing.
We have flown 4 of our first 6 days and everything is going great. The weather has been spotty and kept us window shopping but we’ve been making all the right calls and everyone is getting shots. Our crew’s dynamic is one of the best I’ve had and everyone is warmed up and ready for more.
This is all of Haines, Alaska…life is pretty simple for us when we are in town.
There are no mountains in the world like Alaska. The terrain is so steep and big…the snow is so ideal…flying to everything in a helicopter is a dream. These are a few photos from our first days out. It is indescribable what it’s like to be in this environment…humbling, inspirational and beyond majestic.
Ian McIntosh, TGR founder Todd Jones, Seth Morrison and myself loaded in the heli and ready to ride!
TGR workhorse Josh Neilsen…in the field getting shots. Tanner Hall…loading up.
I just arrived to Haines, AK with TGR for another epic 3-week heli mission. We have a block of 32 hours of heli time, our own guide, pilot and helicopter. For us this trip is what it all comes down too. As my friend Seth Morrison says “everything up until this point is just practice.” This is the big league and these mountains are huge, intense and extremely volatile.
The whole trip itself is hard to describe…you can spend days or weeks sitting in your hotel room and then the next moment you’re on top of the biggest line you have ever skied and as gripped as you have ever been. There are so many variables that go into a trip like this…snow conditions, line choice, islands of safety, weather, snow pack, group dynamic to name a few.
We have a great crew consisting of Seth Morrison, Tanner Hall, Ian McIntosh and myself. We flew in with some bad weather but woke to clearing skies on day one. We were able to get out in the heli and asses the snow pack and start getting into some lines. The snow is deep but a little unstable which forces us to ease our way into the bigger terrain. Our group kicked off a couple of avalanches on day one leaving us with not a ton of confidence. We will have to go back out our next chance and acquire some more beta.
We have some sun in the future and everyone is excited to get after it!
Day 1 (photo: Seth Morrison)
Moving into my home for the next 3 weeks.
Refreshing our safety protocol with our longtime head guide Jim Conway aka Sarge.
I had to be the example of how to put someone in the portable backboard.
Seth Morrison…getting into the mountains.
The Wizard Cap
Alaska!!!
TGR founder Todd Jones stoked after shooting some roles on day one.
Right after Europe I flew to Utah and met up with the rest of the Nitro Circus crew. We were scheduled to each shoot an interview discussing the events and stunts of the 1st season. As usual… these were not going to be regular interviews…each member was to have some sort of torture dealt to them during their interview. Such tortures included a chicken on the head clawing at the scalp, a paintball gun shot from less than 10 feet, a 2 x 4 forceful lashing across the back, a dog collar zapping at max voltage, as well as other genius ideas. The tortures proved to be funny and helped lighten up what would be a normal boring interview. Make sure to tune into MTV every Sunday at 10pm to watch a new Nitro Circus Episode!
Streetbike Tommy’s torture was not much of a torture for him. He had to eat all this food during his interview. He loved it!
We went to the motor-home demolition derby graveyard from our Utah episode. It was cool to see the reminisce of our motor-homes after all the destruction. This is where we interviewed Jim DeChamp…
Jim wore the dog collar and was zapped at full voltage multiple times during his interview. I will tell you from experience it hurt!
Executive Producer Jeremy Rawle getting full voltage from the dog collar.
This was my chest after my interview. I had to sit on top of a building with an open shirt in the cold while they shot nerf darts at my chest. The catch was they took the ends off the nerf darts and inserted push pins so when the dart hit me it would stick in my skin. Woohoo what a great idea!
