Words and Photos by: Brock Butterfield
“The thought of driving from Salt Lake City, UT to Valdez, AK has crossed my mind a few times since I first got the chance to ride in AK but it wasn’t until my homie Ryan Cruze told me he was going to do it that I decided I was going to be a part of it no matter what it took. I left SLC early and arrived in Seattle that evening where I met up with RC and camped out in his unique camping rig which consists of a Ford Bronco with a custom fit camper shell that RC got for $150 from the junk yard. Beers were consumed as we talked about how epic the trip was going to be. I went to bed tossing and turning like a kid on Christmas Eve.
The next day we picked up our buddy from the airport and made out way to Bellingham, WA. We heard that Mt. Baker was getting good snow so we made our way up to see what we could get done. With near blue bird conditions we broke out the splits and got to work on some lines right out of the upper Mt. Baker parking lot. Byron Bagwell, a local and good friend of ours, led the pack into some heavy northwest lines. After a day of shredding heavy powder we made our way to the local pub for some celebration beers and food. After getting back to Bellingham we found a note on the camper from some angry local. Allegedly we threw beer cans and trash all over but in reality the cans had been there for months judging by the rust.”
“After we left Bellingham we headed for the border. Unfortunately we didn’t make it far when RC blew a serpentine belt on ol’d “Yard Dog”. Luckily there was a Napa Auto Parts close by and we limped the Bronco over to the parking lot. RC’s got a slightly modified setup so the standard belt wouldn’t work. We had to try about 10 belts before we got the right one.
We lined up for the border crossing and for whatever reason I was the one who had to pull over to the side, go into the big building and get asked a million more questions. Luckily the crossing border officer was also a snowboarder and gave me the heads up on avy conditions in Whistler as well as the green light into Canada.
Just before hitting Whistler we pulled off the road and up to the Seagrams trail head where we made camp for the night. Hot soup, beers and moonshine was devoured as we talked about plans for the next day.
The next morning I remembered someone saying something about needing to change the jets on your sled if you’re going from high elevations like Utah and down to lower elevations like Whistler. I was able to get the phone number of a local sled shop called Revolution and got some info from them on what to look for on my spark plugs after running it full throttle for a bit. Sure enough my sled was running too hot and I needed to make moves to get the parts and put in the right jets for the carburetor. Couple hours later in the parking lot of Revolution and I had successfully changed out the jets to match the elevation. Huge thanks to Ryan and Felix at Revolution for all the help! After we refueled we headed to the Rutherford trail head where we made camp for the night and prepared for some bluebird conditions to follow the next day.”
“I’ll start off by saying that the Whistler backcountry will literally give you a seizure if you let your brain run wild trying to take in all the lines to be ridden. We linked in with some of our good local friends and made our way back towards the Rutherford Glacier to ride some of the famous BC backcountry we see all the time in magazines and latest shred flicks.
We started out with a short hike up a fun little zone with lots of options. After digging a quick pit we strapped in and dropped into some steep, poppy lines with lots of options. Stoke was on high was we rallied to the next zone on a different aspect. After taking a few “soul pow” laps we got to work on some technical film worthy stuff.
Another crew was just down from us filming and as I glanced over I watch one of the riders make two turns and a fracture line come roaring after. I shouted “slide!” and kept my eyes on the rider as everyone pinned their sleds full throttle over to the bottom. Luckily the rider had pulled their air bag and floated on top of the small slide which ended up being about 8-12 inches deep and about 30 feet wide. All was well in the end but we decided to take that as a sign and head up to the glacier cave for some exploring and then head back to camper for some dinner and beers.
The next morning we made our way out further and maneuvered our sleds down and around some crevasses to lay our eyes on an unbelievable zone with thousands of options and an easy sled shuttle to the top. We felt out the snow and after determining it was stable we got to work on some good, deep BC pow. A productive day of filming and shredding and we made our way to Pemberton for the night to camp in the skate park parking lot.
The following day we scored a hot shower at the community center for $3 and shredded the bowl section of the skate park before heading to dinner at a local friend’s house for a night of couch surfing before hitting the road for the 1500 mile drive to Alaska.”
After leaving early from Pemberton we made our trek north through some sketchy mountain passes. One of which just before Lillooet, BC took my rear tire out after hitting a small rock coming around a corner. I zigged when I should’ve zagged. It was a real pain when we realized my spare was only accessable if we lifted the tailgate up which had the sled resting on it. Three dudes and one sled and we managed to get the tailgate up to get to the cavity that releases the spare. In all of this we also managed to roll the truck off the bottle jack and narrowly missed our feet. I soon had the spare on and made my way to the next town of Lillooet where I was able to find the best tire shop in all of BC as far as I’m concerned.
The guys at Lillooet Glass and Tire found me a used tire that was the exact same make, model and size of the one I blew out. The price was right in the cheap snowboarder budget and they had me rolling in no time.
We continued the drive only stopping for gas and sleeping on the side of the road when needed. I played a scratch ticket for the hell of it at one gas station and won. It made me want to buy more scratch tickets with my winnings. That’s how they get you.
It’s indescribable how beautiful it is up in northern BC and Yukon territory. It’s truly in the middle of nowhere and you can go for hours without seeing a town but well worth the drive. One thing you have to keep an eye out for are the ice heaves in the road as they make giant jumps for your vehicle. The bad thing is they’re only marked with a little red flag right next to the ice heave so you have no warning. At one point I decided to take my seat belt off to remove my jacket and it just so happened that before I could get my seat belt back on I saw the little red flag go past my right tire. My fully loaded Toyota Tundra caught at least 3 feet of air and I roosted my head into the ceiling of my cab as I myself caught almost the same amount of air. Watch out for ice heaves. It’s a bumpy ride to Alaska!
We crossed the border into AK after a few days and witnessed an awesome sunset with the Wrangell Mountain Range in the background. It was almost as though Alaska was saying, “Welcome. Come shred!”. We continued the push with excitement and made it to Thompson Pass after a long 19 hour day of driving.”
Even after the long drive to get to Thompson Pass we didn’t sleep much due to the excitement in the morning from sleds being started and hearing people talk about “code blue”. We could tell that it was time to get up and take advantage of supreme conditions on the pass.
The next few days were filled with non stop hiking, sled necking and shredding the hell out of the fresh snow and blue bird days. From my experience two years ago I’ve learned it’s hard to get a “code blue” day so we took the opportunity and rode from dawn till dusk till we couldn’t see our lines anymore.
Some lines to note that we were able to attack was the Berlin Wall, Python and The Books. Out of all of those so far I have to say that The Books are the most memorable. Endless lines and fairly easy boot packs to the top.
We spent another day out on the HooDoo Glacier and hung a hammock with ice screws. The glacier had a pretty unique wall that Moss Halladay got a rad wall ride on.
We’ve got a few days of blue left before the storm rolls in to give a refresh. Hoping to get out in the heli for a couple bumps with Alaska Snowboard Guides!”
Throwback Photo Week
Recently, several local artists had the pleasure of hosting a slide show at Bomb Snow HQ for one of the godfathers of modern ski culture and photography, Ace Kvale. We assembled a small group of enthusiastic locals the first night and Ace did not disappoint. I left the show and after-party feeling inspired, and somehow strangely rejuvenated. A couple of days later, Bernie and Ace invited me to Canada with them to attend The Gathering at Red Mountain in Rossland B.C. With the end of the season rapidly approaching, I had to make the obvious choice and join them on what would become a legendary trip.
While the girls were distracting most of the old-farts, Bruno Long caught this shot of local Rossland ripper, Trace Cooke, throwing the only invert of the day. Notice… I was paying attention and throwing out the rocker horns in an awesome sweater, eh!
It seems that lately there’s been a ton of respect being thrown out for fun, funky, 80’s ski culture. American extreme skiing was created in the 80’s and has undoubtedly had a profound influence on a whole generation of skiers. I’m one of those skiers that fall slightly at the older end of the X generation spectrum. I was born in 1970 and was a complete ski addict by the 80’s. I’m a true product of 80’s ski culture.
We watched “Hot Dog…The Movie” at least 200 times in my high school years. We skied our asses off every weekend and thought that Greg Stump was a genius. Pictures and posters torn from the pages of Powder Magazine lined our bedroom walls. We were fired up about skiing! So it’s of no surprise that I jumped at the chance to attend The Gathering. The line-up included ski photographer legends: Ace Kvale, Mark Shapiro, Hank DeVre, and long-time Powder photo editor, Dave Reddick. I grew up admiring these guys and have followed a life undeniably influenced by them. It has been an awesome time!
Ten cameras...18 breasts
Did you get the shot? Did you get it!
Shapiro was going for the closeups! So Busted!
There were also two nights of inspiring photo presentations from the legends, as well as a talented lineup of rising photographers from all around the Canadian ski world. There was a roast to celebrate Dave’s 20 years at Powder, an 80’s Rocker & Groupie party at the infamous Rafters Bar, and a bikini bbq and photo shoot organized by Ace and Marko at the Start Shack on the hill. There had to be at least 500 shots taken that afternoon. The weekend was capped-off with the slush cup pond skim in front of the lodge (costumes highly encouraged) followed with vivacious drinking and dancing by everyone. This is a must see event for any true beer drinking, ski junkie. It was phenomenally awesome and I loved it. Travis Andersen – Keeping the dream alive.
The first night presenters
Ace gets dragged up on stage by the dancers
Hank signs the shot ski at the Phaat Cabin
Light reading on top of Roberts
Ace and Travis in his awesome US Ski Team sweater
Taken from Grassroots Powdersurfing’s vimeo page. For more pow love and to check out the handcrafted pow boards go here: www.powsurf.com
There’s something about blasting through freshly fallen powder when it’s only a few minutes old. It is so light, so dry and unsettled. These are the days when you get a facefull of it with every turn. The occasional gasp for air and brief glimpse of the terrain ahead keeps you flowing down the mountain and the powder-caked smiles at the bottom are ear to ear. Here’s to huge powder plumes and free refills!
Minus the product placement for Nike, this film is awesome. Read below to find out what it takes to be a paper shredder. - Bomb Snow.
A Stop Animation Snowboard Film
Created By: Paul & Stephen Gemignani
One snowboard shredders adventure in an unusual setting.
The Filming Process:
We started with actual sequence photos of Paul riding (taken by his brother Stephen). Then we printed each frame of the sequences on paper and cut out the rider from each one, which we used to re-create the sequences with different backdrops, creating the stop animation effect used in the video – a very SLOW process. It was challenging at times, but it came together in the end. We hope you like the film.
ENJOY!
Pre-Production Hours……………..48
Production Hours………………….152
Post Production (Photos)………..19
Post Production (Editing)………..27
TOTAL HOURS TO MAKE FILM :
246 Hours
Photos Taken:
713
Video’s Created:
1
Creating Something With My Brother:
– Priceless -
Story: McKenna Peterson / Photos: Ryan Walters
After a full week of standing by to stand by, the weather lifted and the first ever stop of the “true” Freeride World Tour took place in Revelstoke, BC. The much anticipated event went off without a hitch despite the -20 C temps and threatening fog. The men dropped first. Handling high speed sluff and inconsistent snow, they tore apart every aspect of Mac Daddy face. Tahoe local, Ralph Backstrom, proved once again why he is the reining FWT overall champ by taking the top spot with a fast and aesthetically pleasing run down the left side of Mac Face. Ralph was joined on the podium by French riders Ludovic Guillot-Diat and Aurelien Routens, taking second and third place respectively.
With 8,000 big ones awarded to the best single run, the entire men’s ski field threw down with consequential lines and huge airs. Long time competitor and Washington local, Drew Tabke, confidently executed the most creative line choice of the day. Drew skied a “movie style” run, linking up huge airs and fast turns down the true fall line of Mac Daddy. Even before it was announced, the spectators knew that Tabke had the top run of the day. Jeremy Heitz from Switzerland took the second place spot with a fast and technical double drop on the exposed skiers right side of the venue. The flying Frenchman, Julien Lopez, rounded out the podium with a solid run down the more playful skiers left side of Mac face.
The women took a stab at a sluffed out, bomb hole ridden Mac Daddy late in the afternoon. With no more direct sunlight on the face, the snow set up and the women found themselves competing in less than ideal conditions. Although unfortunate that the women had to compete in such conditions, the fact that the ladies still confidently went after big, exposed lines shows why they truly are the best in the world. Utah’s Shannon Yates executed a graceful and fluid run to grasp first place for the female snowboarders. Shannon was followed by Margot Rozies and Elodie Mouthon respectively in second and third, both from France.
The lady skiers admirably went for broke and, unfortunately, less than half of the field made it down without a tumble. Sweden’s Christine Hargin and Austria’s Nadine Wallner were the last two competitors to drop into Mac Daddy face. They both showcased their skill by skiing exposed lines and strength by stomping big airs. Hargin placed first with Wallner coming in second. Australia’s Natalie Segal came in third with a hard charging line that included a few playful pillow drops.
The athletes are jumping across the pond for the next two stops of the FWT in Courmayeur Mont Blanc and Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. Keep checking into www.freerideworldtour.com for news updates and live feed broadcasts of the next events. It is just going to keep getting bigger and better. Good luck to all of the athletes as the tour continues.
