NORTHWEST FREERIDE PROGRAMS

Round 1: Crystal Triple Crown

2012-02-12T20:53:00.000-08:00

Round ONE of The Crystal Mountain Triple Crown kicked off this past weekend on Crystal's infamous Elk Chutes. This three part junior event gave opportunity for young mountain boarders and skiers to make a name for themselves by showcasing their skills while cruising through chutes, cliffs, trees, and rock gardens. The athletes were obviously eager to earn points towards the overall title as all participants rocked the kasbah.

In addition to earning Triple Crown title points and snagging sponsor schwag, up for grabs was $100 CA$H for best overall impression. The "NWFreeride Money Line" nominations went to...
- Austin Stromme
- Corey Nugent
- Duncan McNabb
- Philip Patterson

A unanimous BENJAMIN delivery call went to Corey Nugent for his fast, fluid skiing mixed with big airs.

Three total girls came out to compete in the young women's category. Since this competition is comprised of best 2 scores out of 3 rounds, I highly recommend you girls at home to come out and compete at the next round. This is anybody's game, come get it!

Round 1 Girls category:
- 1st place Danielle Rowe
- 2nd place Hadley Michaels
- 3rd place Oli Moseley

Round 1 Boys young-14 category:
- 1st place Nick Ruggiero
- 2nd place Patrick Beighle
- 3rd place Cole Herdman

Round 1 Boys 15-18 category:
- 1st place Corey Nugent
- 2nd place Philip Patterson
- 3rd place Austin Stromme

Additional shout outs go to snowboard athlete/pioneer, Dylan Maggard, for being the solo boarder to compete directly against many veteran junior big mountain skiers as well as another shout out to our youngest competitor, 8 year old, Nick Sajer, who has big plans to dominate the action sports scene and is wasting no time getting started.

Round TWO of the Triple Crown will be held on March 24th. Be sure to sign up.

The Crystal Triple Crown event sponsors include:
Contour
Crystal Mountain
Dakine
Evo
K2 Sports
NWFreeride
Outdoor Research
Red Bull
Smith Optics
Snorting Elk
photos by Upper Left Images

First Stop of Crystal Triple Crown Blows...

2012-01-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

This past week's storm dumped several feet of snow in the Cascades, dropped trees all over Hwy 410, and put people without power throughout the Cascade foothills.

With Hwy 410 closed from Wednesday night until Friday evening, a decision was made to push the event to Sunday...but who knew the storms evil twin would show on Sunday bringing sustained wind in the 50's(mph), with gusts even higher.

Due to the nasty weather and heavy winds, the event had to be cancelled.

An update will be coming soon regarding a reschedule date. Crystal is offering both event refunds or the opportunity to credit entry fees towards the rescheduled date.

NWFreeride Team Captains named

2012-01-18T21:04:00.001-08:00

Congrats to Nash Grimm and Austin Stromme who have been named NWFreeride Team Captains for the 2011/2012 Season. Nash and Austin are both extremely dedicated athletes, working hard to continue the progression of big mountain freeskiing. With support from NWFreeride we hope to see these two continue to accelerate as well as become mentors to the NWFreeride community of riders.

Nash Grimm

"It is a great honor to have received this status on the Freeride Team but with it comes a great responsibility for setting a positive influence"

"I will give tips and hints to keep the team skiing as stylish and hard charging and as safe as possible. The most important advice I could give would be to always listen to your coaches and peers and never take them for granted..." ~ Nash

Austin Stromme

"The Freeride Team here at Crystal has been super supportive and helpful to me since the beginning and I owe them so much! Now being called upon to be a team captain means a lot to me, and I really hope that I can share my passion and stoke for the sport with everyone that's involved!" ~ Austin

Major Congrats to Carlo Ruggiero!

2012-01-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

Way to go, Carlo! The Red Mountain freeskiing event has wrapped up and props go to Carlo Ruggiero for taking 5th Place in the 7-11 age group.

There were some tough breaks along the way for other riders. That's what makes the podium so sweet when you get there. Good job to the whole crew: riders, coaches, parents. Way to represent!

Red Mountain is Underway

2012-01-14T20:10:00.000-08:00

We have 12 team riders competing at this year's Canadian Freeskiing Open at Red Mountain. Coaches J.D. Thompson, Jodi Grimm, and Josh Wirta are there supporting our crew. We will post final results as soon as they are in. Here's a shout out to all of our competitors representing Crystal this year:

Michael Bloedel
Lloyd Dahlem
Stuart Earle
Nash Grimm
Duncan McNabb
David Michalove
Rome Mora
Olivia Moseley
Zach Moseley
Carlo Ruggiero
Nick Ruggiero
Jimmy Schweter

Enjoy a sample of pictures taken by team parent, Paul Moseley.

Crystal Mt. Freeride Video Session #1

2012-01-11T23:11:00.000-08:00

On December 27, Crystal Mt Freeride hosted the first video session of the season, bringing out Brian Gavin and Mark Erickson to pass wisdom along to the crew on how to work with a video team. With the recent explosion of social media, being featured in a video is no longer reserved for the Rice/Morrison/Wallisch elite athletes only. Most pro and semi pro athletes now regularly produce "edits", "webisodes", "short films", etc. in order to define themselves and stand out. This session will definitely be repeated later this season so stand by to attend the next one.

The primary focus was to educate the riders, but of course we collected enough footage for an edit. Grab some popcorn and enjoy...

Snow is coming this weekend. Hope to see you at Crystal for the next freeride session this Saturday and Sunday.

Drew Tabke Takes 3rd at Revelstoke

2012-01-11T22:51:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Crystal Freeride team coach, Drew Tabke, who took 3rd this week behind Kye Peterson and Oakley White Allen at the Revelstoke stop of the Freeride World Tour.

To read more on the event, visit Freeride World Tour News

photo credit Freeride World Tour

Team Night at Evo

2011-12-11T22:11:00.000-08:00

This past Tuesday night, NWFreeride had private access to Evo's retail store, their hot dog grill, and their highly knowledgeable gear consultants. With a team discount on the 2012 goods, the team should be fully geared up for this already snow filled winter.

Opening Weekend - Crystal, WA

2011-11-23T14:51:00.000-08:00

Introducing a short pow video by Mark Erickson and friends. Mark(red coat, red gloves) is joining the Crystal Mountain Freeride/NWFreeride Team as a media guy. Can't wait to see the media content we plan to produce this year, big thanks to our new sponsor, Contour!

2012 JFT Tour

2011-11-20T22:01:00.000-08:00

The 2012 Junior Freeride Tour has been announced.

Stop #1 - Crested Butte, CO February 3-5
Stop #2 - Crystal Mt, WA March 2-4
Stop #3 - Squaw Valley, CA March 9-11
Stop #4 - Grand Targhee, WY March 16-18
Stop #5 - Snowbird, UT April 5-7

Athlete registration opens on December 6, 2011 at 9 a.m. PST. Click on the event links to register at that time. Best of luck to all the athletes!

Know Boundaries

2011-10-30T16:55:00.001-07:00

Two weeks back Dana Flahr and Ian McIntosh were in Seattle for the Teton Gravity Research premier of "One For the Road". While in Seattle the guys spent an evening in The North Face's Seattle retail store speaking on backcountry safety and avalance awareness. As part of the evening presentation they showed a series of videos titled, "Know Boundaries" that I found to be invaluable.

Check them out below:

videos from The North Face

NWF Hanging at K2

2011-10-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

Marketing guru, Mike Powell, laid down the law - "No Photos". I don't know how these were taken during our tour of K2 Headquarters yesterday. Hopefully we're not leaking any top secret info. Good times were had by all as Powell filled us in on K2's history. Did you know K2 got its starting capital from manufacturing plastic dog kennels? That's dog gone cool.

We toured the manufacturing wing which included the triaxial braiding machine, K2's top secret ski molds, and peeking into their 40 foot test freezer. Their marketing office is where we all drooled over the gear on display and noted all the posters of K2's heroes both current and legend. Did I mention that they have an employee skate park and workout facility? We ended the tour bellied up to the K2 bar where Gatorade, Red Bull shots, Slim Jims, and a stomachache were had by all.

For those who are interested in an internship, you have to be 18 and in college to apply. The sweet deal is that college credit is included. Big thanks go out to K2 for their support as a "Partner in Freeride" and for making the best skis on the planet.

Tyler Ceccanti - Prospecting Idaho

2011-10-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

Be sure to check out Episode 1 of Prospecting Idaho
featuring Tyler Ceccanti

AA Compilation

2011-08-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

Ski edits never seem to get old... well not at least for me. Mark took a couple shots from Gavin plus a bunch of his headcam footage from this last winter and threw together a little compilation edit for me. I hope you enjoy. Thanks Mark!

-Andy

6/25 NWF Boots Chinook Pass

2011-07-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

The NWF crew took to Chinook Pass for opening weekend. On Friday night Josh and Nick went to work throwing together enough snow to build a park worthy booter that we had the pleasure of arriving to on Saturday morning. With a small amount of shaping and time to build a second trainer jump, the crew got after it. Enjoy a video with a few shots from the day filmed by Mark E.

Chinook Pass: 10 a.m. June 23, 2011

2011-06-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

CHINOOK PASS to reopen this Thursday at 10 a.m. Click the link to read the WSDOT report on this years opening.

photo credits: www.flickr.com/wsdot

Cayuse Pass 2011

2011-05-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

According to WSDOT Cayuse Pass had potential for a reopening this weekend... Current listing is showing closed but it is bound to happen soon. Keep watch!

Cayuse and Chinook Pass current data

details here

photo credits: www.flickr.com/wsdot

Crystal Junior Freeride Competition

2011-05-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

With all of this late season snow, how could we not take advantage of it? Last Saturday, we decided to host a junior freeride competition on Elk Chutes. We had over 30 riders compete, our Partners in Freeride threw in a heavy stash of prizes, and Drew Tabke, the current World Freeskiing Tour Champion, was one of our judges. Needless to say, we just witnessed the making of a new tradition.

Here's the breakdown of results along with a few pics. More photos to come....

Boys 11-14
1st DUNCAN MCNABB
2nd GERARD WEYNS
3rd JIMMY SCHWETER
4th NICK RUGGIERO
5th IAN GREENWOOD

Boys 15-18
1st AUSTIN STROMME
2nd ERIK MOLNES
3rd NICHOLAS BLAIR
4th PHIL PATTERSON
5th NASH GRIMM

Girls 15-18
1st MACKENZIE BACHMEIER
Runner Up DANIELLE ROWE

Endless Spring!

2011-05-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

Continuing the fun times this endless spring...

I am looking forward to watching the comp this weekend. Do your situps and focus on the stomp. See you all up at Crystal!

-Andy

OR Photo Shoot

2011-04-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

Why wait so late in the year to do a photo shoot? Because you get powder and sun. This week I met up with OR team photographer, Grant Gundersen, and athletes Molly Baker and Zack Giffen.

So for all you up and coming Northwest Freeriders who are bound to become sponsored athletes, what's a photo shoot all about? First, you hope and pray for new snow and a bluebird day. Second, hopefully you like the company you represent because you're going to be decked out head to toe in their gear. Third, hope the photographer is able to keep up. In our case, everything fell into line: the weather, the gear, and Grant Gundersen, who is one of the best photographers in the biz.

When a variety of products are involved in a shoot, you'll find yourself doing more than just taking action shots. We skinned, put up a tent, and even dug a pit. With those out of the way, we got to let go and capture some of Crystal's backcountry shooting mostly out-of-bounds.

This is where your ability to communicate with the photographer will either make or break the shot...and determine whether you'll be booked again. Enjoy these pics that I took on my iphone capturing Grant and the other OR athletes in action.

Thanks to Keith Karlick with OR for putting this together and to Tiana, head of marketing, for picking us up at Lower Northway after another long day at the office (8:30 am - 6:00 pm) - Wayne Grevey

A Wirta Fiesta

2011-03-30T12:14:00.001-07:00

photo credit: Thomas O'Connell

This past Saturday Steven's Pass crowned Freeride team coach, Josh Wirta, Big Air Fiesta Champion!

The bar was set high with ultra stylish tricks by athletes such as Jamie Baril, Derek and Evan Spong, Grant Domer, Jake Rouches, Erik Stai, and many more. The one hour jam format kept the competition fun and allowed the athletes to experiment.

Coming in 2nd was Stevens Pass team athlete Derek Spong dropping his signature switch 10 along with numerous other ultra styled switch shifty tricks. Coming in third was Erik Stai attempting several switch double rodeo 10s but was unable to stick it leaving the overall title to your very own Josh Wirta sticking a cork ten tail, a double front flip, and his first ever double rodeo 9(kangaroo flip).

My original goal for the day was to bring a good camera out and knock off some quality pics but battery issues prevented that from happening. Instead I took some video and put together a short film of Wirta's day at Stevens. Enjoy:

I also did still end up getting some banger photos with my G11...

cork 7 tail

destroying a piece of pizza

leading nose thru the ticket checker

Wirta picking up his winnings

Thurs Night Park: prep for Big Air Fiesta

2011-03-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

This Saturday Team coach Josh Wirta and hopefully some members from the NWF/Crystal Freeride crew will be competing at the Stevens Pass Big Air Fiesta. To prepare for this event and to pass positive banger vibes to Wirta, come join us for Park Night this Thursday at the Summit Central Terrain Park. Meeting place is the Central fireplace at 6:30. We hope you can make it.

Stevens Pass Big Air Fiesta

photo credit: Paul Moseley

ahh... Freeskiing

2011-03-23T14:20:00.001-07:00

Here's a little video featuring Josh and Ricky skiing Central Park this past weekend. Enjoy!

and here's a little video my friend Mark threw together from this past weekend featuring fun times with Shane, B. Gavin, Mark, Jeff, and me(Andy). Enjoy!

Grand Targhee Wrap Up

2011-03-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

There's a long 13 hour drive home in store for us all. Crystal was well represented at Grand Targhee's Junior Free Skiing Competition this year. Everyone made a strong showing, but special props go to Zach Moseley who competed in the Males 12-14 category. Zach skied a man's line today, landing him the highest line score (degree of difficulty) during the Super Finals. Zach is a great rider to coach and a force to be reckoned with in the years to come...

Targhee Ages 15-17

2011-03-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

Philip Patterson and Jake Sivinski qualified today taking 24th and 28th place respectively out of a field of 47 riders. Sunday is the Super Final. The 15-17 bracket will go first followed by the 12-14 group. Team member Zach Moseley is sitting in 6th place going into the finals tomorrow... Photo credit to Paul Moseley.

Day One @ Targhee

2011-03-18T23:22:00.001-07:00

Both Zach Moseley and Austin Stromme competed today in the 2011 Grand Targhee Junior Freeskiing Open's 12-14 bracket. Zach finished the day in 6th place. The 15-17 group goes tomorrow with both Jake Sivinski and Philip Patterson representing Crystal. There will be a Super Final on Sunday. Coaches Wayne and Caleb have been on the hill. We'll post more as results roll in... All Pics thanks to Paul Moseley.

The Grand Targhee Junior Freeskiing Open

2011-03-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

The Targhee Tee Off kicks off this weekend. Coaches Wayne Grevey and Caleb Cole will be travelling to the event and will providing coaching all weekend starting on Thursday. Best of luck to all team members competing!!

Venue pics provided by Grand Targhee Resort(click to enlarge):

Image 1

Image 2

Congratulations to Crystal Freeride Coach, Drew Tabke

2011-03-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend your own Drew Tabke won the Snowbird Freeskiing World Championships and also accrued the points necessary to also win the overall tour title, McConkey Cup. Huge congrats Drew!

Read more at ESPN, MSI, Doglotion, Powder Magazine, etc. etc.

photos borrowed from Doglotion and Carlsen/MSI

2011 Jr. Freeskiing Nationals, Crystal Mt PHOTOS

2011-03-12T23:54:00.001-08:00

The Crystal Mt Freeride Team enjoyed yet another splendid weekend of rip roaring skiing during competition weekend at the home mountain hosted Jr. Freeskiing Nationals. Be sure to check out the large majority of team photos from the event posted on the NWF Facebook page.

Without further adieu, see below for my 10 favorites. Enjoy!

Also, be sure to check out a few from industry photographer Mark Epstein.

Avy Danger going EXTREME

2011-02-26T21:42:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have yet to see the new Avy "rose" used for a pictoral guide to avy danger, today is the day to be introduced.

Sunday, 2/27, is about as bad of an avy forecast as I have seen in a long time in Washington. We are typically blessed/cursed with better bonding, higher moisture content snow. This latest cycle of snow dumped heavy amounts of cold, low moisture snow on top of hoar frost and frozen older layers and the forecast is showing a slightly warmer snow which could become the cause for potential releases. Please be aware and stay inbounds while avy danger is this high.

Current avy forecast for Cascades near Crystal Mt

VIDEO: Sasquatch BC Booter Jam

2011-02-26T20:48:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the video from Brian Gavin of the Sasquatch BC Booter Jam!

MiH INC. on Vimeo.
See photos from Paul Moseley here!

Summit Session #1: The Kick Off Party

2011-02-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

Thursday night's Summit Sessions kicked off this past week with all party goers having a good time hitting the small and medium features in the terrain park at Summit Central. The top jump was in solid, mellow wu, form to learn switch take offs giving us the joy of a few switch 3, 5s and a 7. The bigger set at the bottom brought on many rad tricks including regular and switch 3s and 5s, cork 7s, cork 9s, flat spins and an underflip.

This Thursday promises to bring more good times. Be sure to join us at 6:30 at the Summit Central fire pit. See you there.

Showing Off Your Steeze

2011-02-08T19:40:00.000-08:00

The Sasquatch BC Booter Jam is fast approaching. Come throw down your best tricks and let our videographers and photographers catch the action. Top riders will be featured on our blog and Crystal Mountain's website. The top 3 winning riders will also get a free drop-in session with us. Did I mention we'll have giveaways from K2, Smith, Dakine, Red Bull, Clifbar, Crystal Mountain Bootworks, Evo Gear, OR, and others...

Don't just compete. Be seen. Get noticed. Make your mother proud.

The event is open to all ages 11-18. You do not need to be a freeride team member, simply sign up with us for the day at a cost of $70.00.

SATURDAY, February 19th

It would be cool if you registered early, but yes, you can register the day of. If you are 11-17, you will need a parent to sign off.

Summit Sessions start this week

2011-02-06T15:38:00.000-08:00

NWFreeride will be kicking off Summit Sessions this coming Thursday, 2/10. The group will meet at the Summit Central fire pit at 6:30. See you there!

If you had a park pass last year, go to customer service and give them your name and for $5 they will re-issue you a park pass. If you are not able to get a park pass, at some point you will need to sit through a 45 minute class held on the mountain to be issued a park pass.

Sasquatch BC Booter Jam

2011-01-30T16:42:00.000-08:00

The Crystal Mountain Freeride Program will be hosting the 1st annual Sasquatch Backcountry Booter Jam Session with prizes from K2, Smith Optics, Dakine, Red Bull, Evo, Crystal Mountain, and Bootworks.

Date: 2/19/2011
Ages: 11-18
Location: Crystal Mountain backcountry
Entry fee: $70
Equipment: Board, Skis, Snowlerblades, saucer sled, shovel...
Registration: email RSVP to wg@northwestfreerideprograms.com

This event is hosted by the Crystal Mountain Freeride/NW Freeride Teams and will offer freestyle coaching, if desired, for athletes that would like to improve technique and add to their bag of tricks. This will be an open format with multiple jumps for different skill and ability.

Photographers will be on hand and photos will be posted on www.nwfreeride.net, the Crystal Mountain/NWF Team blog.

For more info please contact Wayne at wg@northwestfreerideprograms.com
or 253-686-7208

spring skiing in January...

2011-01-25T19:27:00.001-08:00

La Nina was the hype, corn snow in January is our reality. Did we jinx ourselves with all the hype? It is possible, but the Crystal Mountain Freeride team will be ready when we do get some of that fluffy goodness.

Enjoy a few pics from this past weekend at Crystal Mountain:

Finals at Red

2011-01-25T09:18:00.000-08:00

We had two riders podium - Alex Bachmeier took first in her division and Olivia Moseley grabbed a second place in hers.

The team overall had a strong showing. Austin Stromme finished 7th and many of our other riders were just out of the top 10. If a few hand-drag 3's would have gone our way, we would have had some podium finishes for sure. We clearly had some of the most innovating runs of the competition. It was great to see the NW Freeride / Crystal Freeride team camaraderie and the debooting of Austin Stromme.

Thanks to the Ski Patrol for letting us use their hut to warm up before runs.

7:00 am inspection run

NEWSCHOOLERS POST

Day 1- Qualifiers at Red Mountain

2011-01-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

SHANE SCHORZMAN

OLI MOSELEY

NICK RUGGIERO

IAN FLAHERTY

COREY NUGENT

AUSTIN STROMME

The NWF crew had a great showing on Friday. Below is a breakdown of the results leading into the finals:

FEMALES 7-11
Olivia Moseley 1st place

FEMALES 16-18
Alex Bachmeier 1st place

MALES 12-15
Austin Stromme 6th place
Patrick Beighle 9th place
Zack Moseley 11th place
Hunter Hoffman 17th place
Nick Ruggiero 28th place

MALES 16-18
Shane Schorzman 8th place

There were over 50 competitors in the Males 12-15 category. Our team had a strong showing, placing 5 times. Once the event wraps up, we'll post the final results and of course, more pics.

Red Mountain Comp UPDATE

2011-01-21T09:10:00.001-08:00

We've got 13 kids and 2 coaches competing this year at Red Mountain's Canadian Freeskiing event. Here's the names from our group of freeriders:

Patrick Beighle
Ian Flaherty
Liam Gallivan
Will Greenwood
Hunter Hoffman
Olivia Moseley
Zack Moseley
Corey Nugent
Nick Rinaldi
Nick Ruggiero
Jimmy Schweter
Jake Sivinski
Austin Stromme

Plus two of our coaches, Alex Bachmeier and Shane Schorzman are sending it this year.

Inspection day was Thursday. The venue looks good overall and each rider now has a game plan going into the competition. We were also able to get some nice powder runs in. JD, Jodi, and I are coaching the crew at Red and Andy is managing the homefront at Crystal this weekend.

Get updates at http://canadianfreeskiing.com/. I'll send more as results come in...

3rd Week of Winter Sessions

2011-01-18T19:59:00.000-08:00

It is snowing again! Thanks to all those hardcore riders who joined us last weekend despite the rain and the wind. Hallmark of a true Northwest rider!

Enjoy a couple pics below from the last few sessions. Part of our team will be away competing at Red Mountain in British Columbia this weekend. The rest of the crew will be shredding the pow at Crystal with Andy Devore leading.

Week 1, Crystal Mountain regular season

2011-01-12T18:14:00.001-08:00

All smiles as Wayne kicks off the Crystal Freeride regular season

Approaching "The Beach"

Riley digging into some spines in lower South Back

Hunter makes a spray turn in lower South Back

Zach skiing steep in lower South Back

Nimbus Video: Thank You

2011-01-11T23:19:00.000-08:00

This is a great video and set to some killer music. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Also... you may recognize some terrain at 10:27 into this video.

Bookmark these!!!

2011-01-08T21:48:00.000-08:00

For the best data on weather, precipitation, and avalanche forecast at Crystal Mt, bookmark the following sites:

Weather forecast - check forecasted temperatures, wind speeds, and forecasted snowfall

Total Precipitation - check 24hr snow and temps at different elevations.

Avalanche forecast - note which facing aspects are the most prone to avalanche

Freezing levels - WSDOT weather forecast is not as accurate as NOAA for Crystal due to Rainier and it's unique weather patterns. I do recommend noting the freezing levels from WSDOT though.

Coach Collaboration

2010-12-27T20:24:00.000-08:00

Most of our coaches came together to game plan for the upcoming season while getting in their fair share of pow turns. Looking forward to another great year with the Crystal Freeride Program. Never too late to join the team. Our Christmas Camp wraps up Tuesday, December 28th. Feel free to drop in, even if it's just for a day. For more info on registration, visit www.skicrystal.com and look up "team freeride".

Fall Session: Week 3 Short

2010-12-16T15:52:00.000-08:00

Filming and editing by Brian Gavin:

Crystal Freeride: Fall Sessions

2010-12-12T23:20:00.000-08:00

This winter has kicked off nicely with tons of snow and many a powder slash. This last weekend marked the wrap up for the 3 week Crystal Mountain Freeride fall sessions. The sessions included some powder hounding, some hiking, and some jibbing in the new Crystal Terrain Park.

For your enjoyment, here are some shots from Saturday:

Coach JD Thompson charging a line in Teddy Bear Cliffs

Alex making turns through Northway's natural gates

Coach Troy Hoff getting white roomed in Northway

The Crystal Mountain Freeride Christmas Camps are coming soon. We hope to see you there!

Chinook Pass: final weekend, 2010

2010-11-18T06:42:00.000-08:00

Gavin and I decided to venture out to Chinook Pass this past Saturday to scope out the snow and get in a few turns. The snow was about 2 feet or more on average and had settled in quite nice.

Several NWF'ers were out taking advantage of the Pass as well including Nick and Carlo Ruggiero, Philip Patterson, Nick Rinaldi, Jake Sivinski, and Austin Stromme.

Enjoy a few photos from the day out:

Brian Gavin capturing B roll off 410

Brian Gavin on the hike

Ruggiero crew

Erik and Aaron

Austin Stromme dropping a 20' vert cliff

Nick Rinaldi dropping a 20' vert cliff

Chinook Pass is now closed for the winter season and the snow is dumping. See you at Crystal very soon!

Andy

Session 5, Springfree Trampolines

2010-11-11T08:51:00.000-08:00

Last night in Issaquah, NWF wrapped up the 5th fall night Springfree session. The night was good with high flying trickery, alley oop dunking, hand plants, and several attempted double cork/underflip/rodeo variations.

Enjoy a few photos from the night.

Thanks to Springfree, the world's safest trampolines. To learn more about their products, visit www.springfreetrampolines.com.

Prodigy

2010-11-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the sweet edit below from Lucas and crew showing what a little trampoline practice can produce. Can't wait to see these skills on the hill.

Drewdus Priest...

2010-10-30T00:26:00.000-07:00

Your very own Drew Tabke

Drew would never tell you or me so I had to figure this one out for myself. Besides being featured in the current Powder magazine skiing Washington's remote Cascade peaks and spending winter nights in old fire lookouts on gnarly summits, Drew is currently ranked #2 on the Freeskiing World Tour and recently picked up his 2nd Sick Bird buckle.

That is some durty work. Congrats Drew!

Photo credit:
www.christatsuno.com

It's fall, start snowing already!!

2010-10-14T12:27:00.001-07:00

It is fall and we all are ready to throw out a comment about La Nina, when are we going to start riding, oh I can't wait, it's gonna be good, bla bla bla...

Well, here is a little off season motivation for those of us that want to hit the big lines and stick cliffs like Ian Mac this winter:

A Saturday at Dave Valenti's

2010-10-01T05:09:00.000-07:00

The crew from NWFreeride Team took advantage of the generous hospitality of Dave Valenti. Dave is founder, president, and head coach of the Big Air and Bumps program here in Washington. With a multitude of trampolines and airbags in his back yard the Freeride crew got their bounce on. Thanks Dave

NW Freeride Tramp Session from MiH INC. on Vimeo.

Kick Off to Freeride World Tour

2010-08-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

This is the time for many of you to start thinking about your tour season and coming up with a game plan on competitions you want to attend. This year, in early Fall, we will get together to coordinate travel, coaching, rider registration, etc...

Take a look at what's going down in Chile. I think we should do a group trip down there one of these summers....

Hope everyone is continuing to jump rope! No one lagging on the hill this year! - Wayne

Powder Mag Article On World Tour

To ACL or Not To ACL?

2010-08-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

Thursday I went into knee surgery not knowing until I woke up whether I’d be in for 4 weeks of recovery time or 5 months. I knew my meniscus was torn and I had developed a lesion on an ACL I had replaced 16 years ago. Yet, my surgeon was concerned that the ACL would need to be replaced again, unfortunately he wouldn’t know until he got inside…

Well, I woke up to discover that it did indeed need to be replaced. The graft had weakened and there was a partial tear. I had two huge meniscus chunks clogging my joint. My wife described them as about the size of “two shriveled pinkies.” I am at home now with my ice machine running and my leg strapped into a Continuous Passive Movement (CPM) machine which is designed to get my range of motion back as quickly as possible.

What does this mean for the upcoming season? First off, our final trip to Mount Hood is still set for Friday, August 27^th through Sunday, August 29^th. Ande DeVore will lead the NWF crew down to Timberline in my place. We also were not able to get the water ramp set up for this summer. I believe I went through 5 contractors without getting anyone to completely commit and follow through on the project. We still have funding for the ramp and I want to make this happen and so I am pushing forward to get it in place for Summer 2011. We will also continue our fall focus through NWFP which will include conditioning, planning for competitions, and team get-togethers (i.e. movie outings, tramp work).

As for the Crystal Mountain Freeride Program, I will play as active of a role as I possibly can. It is 5 months until January and so I should be able to be back on the hill by that point and will have the support of my coaching staff to keep things intense and challenging for our riders.

I will also have extra time on my hands to negotiate and develop stronger relationships with sponsors. Interest in partnerships has been growing each and every year with more and more companies intrigued by what we are doing. We should have a lot of great opportunities in place for this season, not to mention the great conditions that are forecasted for this winter.

I will be homebound for awhile. Feel free to keep in touch. - Wayne

Mt. Shuksan

2010-08-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I climbed Mt. Shuksan with a group to raise money for a charity. Our route was up the Fisher Chimneys which is named for a series of chimney style rock pitches that you climb in a mixed snow and rock area in the middle of the route. Unfortunately we did not ski/board this route but I can imagine it is not done very often, and if it were it would be the middle of winter or very early spring.

Somewhat unlike resort skiing, backcountry skiing and wilderness climbing creates a scenario where you must rely on your team and always be in tune with your teams condition and strength. We assess this on a very regular basis and depending on your current fitness level, fuel intake, water intake, proper rest, acclimatization, etc. anyone can become fatigued. When travelling in the mountains, be sure to pay attention to your team and make the call.

Watch our video to see more on our Shuksan climb:

-Andy

GoPro Edit

2010-08-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

Check out team members', Austin Stromme and Will Greenwood's NWF editing debut of our Fly In July session at Chinook Pass. http://www.vimeo.com/13887582

NWFP edit from Austin Stromme on Vimeo.

Latest Hood Session

2010-07-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

Caleb Cole (aka The Gambler) and Josh Wirta led the NWF crew last weekend.

We just had another super fun trip to Mount Hood to ski, skate, and even bungee jump. We ran into Mob Steep on the hill and a handful of other Crystal locals. Mob Steep hung out and threw down. Later in the parking lot we caught them sock fishing.

Josh Wirta once again with the trick of the trip - a Cork 10 and Cork 12, as well as others dialing in Switch 3's and 540's for the first time. Our token snowboarder, Brennan, hung with the crew no problem. Calling all boarders - you need to report to next session.

We have one more Hood session on the books for the last weekend in August (8/27-8/29). Check out our Facebook page for more pics.

Upcoming Event at Mount Hood

2010-07-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is another opportunity to dial in your skills, escape the summer heat, and hang out with friends. Our June trip was a huge success. The public park was the best we've seen it. We've lined up two additional trips this summer. Our next one is fast approaching. We'll be heading out on Sunday, July 25th at 3:00 pm and returning Tuesday, July 27th at 7:00 pm. Josh Wirta and Caleb Cole will be our coaches for this session. We're keeping prices low - cost includes lift tickets (which are 54 bucks a day), lodging, food, travel, and coaching - FULL MEAL DEAL. Check out the website for details and registration form. Everyone needs to RSVP by Tuesday, July 20th. This is the best way to keep your skills strong and possibly cross paths with some of the best pro skiers in the world.

Fly In July

2010-07-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the colder temperatures this Spring, NWF was able to pull off another jump and rail session on the top of Chinook Pass. We skied hard all day and then took it to the court for some b-ball. The team's basketball skills were "amazing" with Air Josh leading the way. Thanks again to NWF coaches, Josh Wirta and Caleb Cole. Check out our Facebook Page for more pics.

Chinook Jam Session 6.18 - 6.20

2010-06-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

Three more days on the snow for the NWF crew. We saw riders dialing in new tricks and charging rails on the top of Chinook Pass. We gave the sledders a run for their money. Shane McConkey would have been proud of our "Saucer Boy" imitators. I'm always stoked on the commitment everyone brings. From those who are trying their first three to those mastering cork 7's. Everyone feeds off of each other and it was great to see you all stepping up your game. - Wayne

Join us for "Fly in July" on Chinook Pass. We'll be running another booter session Friday, July 9th through Sunday, July 11th.

Hood recap by MIH

2010-06-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

1,000 words per frame.... need I say more? New video from Gavin's MIH INC. from our weekend at Mt. Hood. Enjoy!

Mt. Hood 6.11-13.10 Session

2010-06-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

How can you go wrong with perfect weather, a perfect terrain park, a righteous mountain, and a bunch of fired up riders? Well, you can't. Since a picture is worth 1,000 words, I will give you the equivalent of 10,000 words in 10 rad telling photos from the weekend.

The rest will be posted to the NWF Face page later today.

Arne Backstrom Tribute

2010-06-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

As I reflect on the loss of local family member Arne Backstrom, I consider the value of what we have been given. The fresh air, the beauty of nature, the experiences, the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, and the relationships are what make this worthwhile for me.

May we all make many a turn in Arne's name.

-Andy

Crystal Mountain: Arne Backstrom

Session 2: Chinook Pass by mih inc.

2010-06-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Chinook Pass 5.29.10

2010-05-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

Snow turned slush, turned spit, turned fog, turned back to spit doesn't stop those that want to ride. The weather wasn't perfect, but the NWF Chinook Opener Session was all time.

Friday night Andy and Mario set up at Chinook Pass Base Camp to scope out conditions and terrain options. Word is...it's almost June and snow is falling:

Saturday morning the crew shows up to slush and fog but high on Red Bull and ready to ride. We start out hiking the Southwestern shoulder of Naches for a road lap 1,500' vertical down to Hwy 123. This line came with mixed conditions... and reviews for that matter. It started out on snow, then snow covered with moss, then snow mixed with logs, and finally just dirt to a tree swinging exit to the road.

Nathan and Kevin making turns off the south end of Naches Peak:

Hwy 123 pickup. Big thanks to our drivers, it was truly appreciated!

After the Naches to 123 run, word from Sir Greenwood was that there was another road lap option cutting off 410 for another easy 6-700' vert. We loaded up and headed to the drop point.

Right off the road was a nice big snow cliff that we sessioned for a bit. Highlights were Wirta's front flip , Jake's jib tap, and Kevin's butter 3.

Kevin getting corked off the side of Hwy 410:

Nick takes a spin through the woods:

Zach crossing through the woods:

Wirta flipping out again:

Topo of bc lines (Red for ascent and green for descent):

After lunch and a quick ice climbing session, we headed up on Yakima Peak for some afternoon booter fun. This time we went with a small step down to a slightly kicked up second step down airing over trees. More solid riding ensued with highlights being Lucas' nollie front flips on the setup jump and Kevin's front flip off the mid sized step down.

JD giving homage to the godfather, dropping a d-spin:

Nick catching air:

All in all, it was another great time riding the mountains. Thank you to everyone involved. The community of riders, families, and supporting sponsors make it all possible.

Next stop is Timberline on June 11-13. We hope to see you there.

Photos by Paul Moseley and Andy DeVore

Chinook Opener Mug Shots

2010-05-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Paul Moseley, one of our freeride parents, we have a ton of pictures of the group from Saturday. Check them out by following this link to Smugmug.

MIH Productions presents

2010-05-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

Cayuse Pass Session

Countdown to Chinook Pass

2010-05-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

T-5 days until the NWF crew heads up to Chinook for opening weekend. Chinook Pass, elevation 5,430', sits close to 800' vertical higher than Cayuse, which means that much more of the white snowy goodness.

See you all on Saturday!

WSDOT during snow clearing and avalanche control work:

Chinook Pass, WSDOT
photo credit: www.flickr.com/wsdot

Riding with The Snow Troopers

2010-05-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

This last week brough just enough snow coverage to give a smooth fresh layer of creamy goodness. Enjoy a few pics from my day out with The Snow Troopers: Karter, Cole, and Tim(godfather of The Snow Troopers).

Karter sticking a 360:

Cole makes the turn:

Karter sticking a 180:

Karter dropping in:

Success dropping a 3 off the cornice:

...and if you enjoy the scenic shots, here are a couple:

Nash Promo

2010-05-19T16:12:00.001-07:00

Washington native, Thompson bred, Nash Grimm given'r in his promo video:

If you make it and I find it, you will get posted... ha, I hope you didn't mind, Nash. Tis a sweet video.

-Andy

Cayuse Pass 05.15.10

2010-05-17T21:20:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday's Cayuse Pass session was about as good as it gets with a huge group of hungry booter huckers. The entire crew worked super hard to build a real nice jump, complete with a gnarly in-run crevasse gap. The gap in-run kept things interesting with a little distraction on the way down. Why do it any other way?

Next time we're filling the gap with water and sharks with lazers on their heads....

Exclamation points of the day included:
1. Josh Wirta taking the in-run gap switch... totally nuts!
2. Will refusing to give up on his huge mute 3, even the crows gave props, "WILLL!"
3. The classic old school rat pack, complete with Bill Hansen pulling groin on a twister spread!

Here are a few good pics:

Photo montage:

Cold Front?

2010-05-14T22:43:00.000-07:00

Yep, who knew that there was a big air snowboard and ski jam in downtown Seattle this afternoon. I got notice from Wayne late last night that the event existed and figured out I could ride in it by this afternoon. I showed up an hour late, signed my waiver, and skied for about 3 hours in the city. I was happy.

The event, called the Coors Light Cold Front, was pretty sick for a city setup on a pier in Seattle and was basically a big air jam with live music, ski/board entertainment, and free food and drinks. The jump was maybe 20' with a gap. Some of the riders were pushin 7's and maybe 1-2 9's. Lot's of backflip variations were thrown as the jump was small and the relatively untrained bystanders were stoked on seeing dudes go upside down.

Here are a few photos. My camera battery was dead and I took like 5 pics, so sorry they aren't the best. Enjoy:

East Peak, Norse Peak, & Basin Lake

2010-05-11T10:48:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday I headed out from the Crystal Mt parking lot to East Peak, Norse Peak, and Basin Lake for a bit of ski touring with friends, Shane and Reed. I have been using an alpine touring binding but decided to make a change and use the Alpine Trekker for this day trip.

Check out my short video on the Alpine Trekker here:

After using Trekkers, this is how I rank my BC gear essentials list:
1. Shovel - saves lives, build jumps
2. Probe - saves lives
3. Beacon - saves lives
4. Light backpack - carry your essentials, fuel, and camera
5. Skins - to take you to untracked terrain
6. Alpine Trekkers - to take you to untracked terrain
6. Split board - if you board, to take you to untracked terrain

While out at Norse Peak we saw a huge part of Rock Face avalanche off and launch over the snow cat tracks below. While amazing to see, this was a huge reminder of what rocky faces tend to do in the spring as the rocks warm up; the snow rots and separates from the face and eventually falls off.

After Norse Peak we headed down to Basin Lake and across the valley to ski a large coulior that dropped us back into Basin Lake. This was a sweet line and the highlight of the day.

From there we headed back up the ridge towards East Peak for a very fun ski, launching off wind drifts as we headed back to the resort completing another great day skiing in the Cascades.

I am looking forward to Saturday at Cayuse. See you there,
-Andy

photos by Andy DeVore and Shane Treat

Ski to Sea

2010-05-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

Started out Thursday morning by heading up Cayuse Pass. Plan was to scout out terrain for our upcoming NWFP event on the 15th. There is more snow than I've seen in years for this time in May. This was the last day of the cold front and maybe my last chance to enjoy Spring pow. It looks like it should stay warm for the next week so the snow should settle and we could possibly be set up for a good corn cycle.

Headed up SW from the parking lot and summitted the first ridge. I took a shot of where we will be when we hit up Chinook Pass on the 29th.

Below is one of my favorite features on my skin up. After two quick laps, I called it a day and packed up for Seattle to attend a meeting with OR. Afterward, hooked up with a friend. We took advantage of the nice weather by going paddle boarding out in the Sound. Great views of the Olympics. Looking forward to getting the crew out in the water with us June 5th.

Rock Face in May

2010-05-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

May skiing equals front row parking. Not a bad way to start the day. Spring's storm brought through winter conditions. I was expecting a bigger turn out, but ended up not seeing a single person on my way up or down. Wasn't sure exactly where I'd ski today so I checked out Exterminator on my skin up through Kelly's Gap. After evaluating the snow and wind, I decided to ski Rock Face. The coverage looked great and felt stable. I skinned to the bottom of Green Valley chair. Once there, skinned up the left side which led me to the back of Rock Face. No ropes this time of the year. Rock Face is officially open. A few cautious turns at the top, boot top powder all the way down to the base. This is the latest in the year that I've ever skied Rock Face. Memorable Monday. Looking forward to everyone picking up touring gear so you can enjoy days like this. - Wayne

Ian Coble featured at ESPN.com

2010-05-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

Washington's own Ian Coble is currently being featured at ESPN.com displaying some of his best work of the season. Besides travelling the world, Ian regularly shoots local athletes at Crystal Mt, Alpental, etc. Click on the ESPN link to check out some of Ian's work from this season.

Upcoming Cayuse Hike & Ski

2010-05-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

May 15th is approaching and we're already scouting out terrain. New coach, Josh Wirta, took pics during his last session at Cayuse. Josh is one of Crystal's up and coming riders who will be throwing down with NW Freeride Programs. Josh has built several kickers, a tree tap setup, and has been shaping some natural features. We'll definitely be enjoying his hard work on Saturday, May 15th for our hike and ski at Cayuse.

To resort or not to resort?

2010-05-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

...Well that answer has been simplified by the recent closure of all Washington ski resorts as of last Sunday, April 25th. I am a firm believer in resort riding for the quantity of laps and ease of side country access. Unless you have other means for high lap time, there is no other way to become a great skier/boarder. Practice makes perfect.

The snow season, however, is far from over. We are still getting dumped on and Washington's Cascade Passes offer some great access.

Cayuse Pass is now open
Snoqualmie Pass I saw jibbers hitting features at West yesterday
Steven's Pass
Mt Loop Hwy
Hwy 20(Loup Loup Pass)
Hwy 542 (Mt. Baker Hwy)

Yesterday, in tow during a white out:

Teton Gravity Research is calling you!

2010-04-27T17:19:00.000-07:00

TGR Grom Contest

Must be 17 years old or younger to enter.
WANT TO BE A SKI MOVIE STAR?

Submit your video and win a chance to film with TGR for their 2011 movie!

GRAND PRIZE:The winner of the contest will be invited on a film shoot with TGR during the winter of 2010/2011. Yes, YOU can be in a movie with Seth, Sage, Ian Mac, Sammy and others. If the film from the shoot looks good, your footage will be used in the 2011 TGR movie.

Cayuse and Chinook Pass Update

2010-04-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

Reopening efforts on Chinook Pass began on April 12 and the goal is to have Chinook opened on May 28. Cayuse Pass is scheduled to open this Friday.

Chinook Pass, WSDOT

Cayuse Pass, WSDOT

photo credit: www.flickr.com/wsdot

Park style?

2010-04-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

So Philip makes fun of my categorization of "park style"... So I will further categorize. This time with some of the world's best "newschool-influenced mountain skiing" from about a month ago at the Red Bull Cold Rush, Retallack. Enjoy:

JOSS Edits

2010-04-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

Be sure to scope the videos of the best park-style freeskiing in the world that just happened in Are, Sweden at the Jon Olsson Super Sessions. A new video is being uploaded daily by Jon Olsson.

Here are the first two posted:

Lookout Freeriders...

2010-04-19T20:53:00.001-07:00

Jones getting after it, at 15 months old.

Paul Moseley Photos

2010-04-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

Paul has taken quite a few pictures throughout the year. Feel free to jump over to his SmugMug site to check them out. Here are some of my favorites:

Candide Kamera (part 2)

2010-04-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

French skier Candide Thovex is a godfather in taking park skiing to the backcountry. The music is a little dramatic but the video work and skiing are awesome. Enjoy:

Crystal Freeride Team takes the top 2 spots!

2010-04-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Nash and Austin for taking the top 2 spots for 12-14 boys at the North American Jr. Freeskiing Championships!

IFSA NA Jr. Freeskiing Championships

2010-04-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

Patrick

Austin

Corey

Nick

Nate

Above are a few of the pics we got Saturday on the Elk Chutes. Congrats to the team members that competeted. You all did great!

Big congrats to top 10 finishes: (12-14) Austin Stromme 1st, Nash Grimm 2nd, Nate Mondou 6th, Austin Scarff 9th, (15-17) Jake Sivinski 10th.

A short edit by devo tivo

2010-04-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

To Sleep... from devo tivo on Vimeo.

Solid work for a Saturday!

2010-03-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday and Sunday the Freeride team took time to scope out and finalize lines for the upcoming Crystal Mountain Jr. Freeskiing Championships. The light was great for photos on Saturday so I managed to capture a few. Enjoy!

Northway

2010-03-29T18:13:00.001-07:00

Here is Northway. For this and the other venue pics, click on them for larger versions. The King was posted a few weeks ago so be sure to study that venue as well. See you this week on the mountain.

Best of luck to you all!

Snorting Elk Chutes

2010-03-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

Alright, we are down to the final week before the big event. A lot of snow is falling so hopefully the venues will be in top shape. The event venues have yet to be chosen and will be on Elk Chutes, Northway, or The King. This will be determined Friday and can still change based on weather and snow conditions.

This is the Elk Chutes this past Saturday which should give you a good perspective as to what is under the new snow. Study hard and best of luck on the Elk Chutes!

IFSA Junior Championships Crystal Mountain

2010-03-17T19:50:00.001-07:00

Backcountry Safety

2010-03-16T22:04:00.001-07:00

Backcountry safety is always something to consider and with the variable warming and freezing over the last few weeks it is good practice to pay attention to each layer as they stack on different facing aspects. Today I was checking snow reports and different WA resorts perspective on accessing the backcountry and I came across Mt. Baker's policy. I really liked it and thought I would share it here.

Enjoy:

If you leave the ski area boundary into the backcountry or re-enter the ski area from the backcountry, you must have all of the following or you will lose your ski area privileges:

1. Avalanche transceiver and demonstrated ability to use it
2. A partner
3. Shovel
4. Knowledge of the terrain and your ability
5. Avalanche knowledge
6. Knowledge of local avalanche conditions;
• know this winter’s snowpack layers
• know the recent snowfall & type
• know current NW Avalanche Center forecast
• know today’s weather forecast (snowfall temperature & visibility)

Prep for JR IFSA Champ Finals CONTINUED

2010-03-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

If you can't tell, we're trying to get you mentally prep'd for skiing at the Crystal Mt Junior Freeride Championships. Keep thinking about your lines and scroll through some of last years pics (by G Miller) for some inspiration.

JR IFSA Champ Final Venue

2010-03-04T17:52:00.001-08:00

It's time to start thinking about your line on the King. This picture is one I had from a few seasons back but the snow coverage isn't too much different. Start memorizing line options and get mentally prepared so we can be efficient with our scouting runs over the next few weeks.

Ride on!

Park Night!

2010-03-03T17:22:00.000-08:00

Although a bit rainy, team park night went off last night with the biggest crew we have had yet. I was pumped to see strong continued progression from resident snowboarder, David, and all the dual plankers, especially Anna one of the only team riders hitting the big set. 5 coaches made appearances including Jamie, making us jealous with his cab 5 mute.

Jamie and friends recently posted a parkstyle video on youtube. Here it is embedded for your enjoyment:

Best links for Weather and Avalanche Reports

2010-03-01T16:28:00.000-08:00

The following three sites help me determine where and what we ski for our sessions and I would recommend that you all make a practice of checking these sites before skiing so you can be the most prepared going into your day in the mountains.

Avalanche Forecast

Crystal Mt Weather Forecast

Crystal Mt Weather Data

This last one is hot. Pay close attention to two columns. First, temp at 6,870 feet. That will tell you if the snow has turned to slush and will later freeze. Which today it appears is the case... Second, check 24 hr snow at 4,480 feet. This will tell you how much accumulation has occured at mid mountain. This is the most accurate snow report I have found by far. Do not rely on the Crystal home page or Kiro TV. These are the inside scoop. If you find better, send em my way and I will update this post.

Thanks and hope to see you at the Summit for some terrain park training.

-Andy

Andy goes backcountry off the Mt. Loop Highway

2010-02-28T21:50:00.000-08:00

Vesper 2.20.10 from devo tivo on Vimeo.

2010-02-26T14:28:00.000-08:00

FIrst Post

2010-02-22T16:48:00.000-08:00

Here is our first post. We are not sure how this whole blog things works but, we hope it will become a portal of connection for our team and pnw ski community. We will try to update this as frequently as we can, with posts of tips, stories, info, stoke, etc. What would you like to see? Any ideas or suggestions are encouraged so send em' our way.
The pic is from the top of the king today right before we took a sick run right down the gut. And we didn't see one other person out there! Love midweek at Crystal.