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CORDOVA, AK
Athletes: Seth Wescott, Marco Sullivan, Kevin Quinn, and Jessica Sobolowski-Quinn
Equipment: Helicopter, 98 Foot Ship, Skis, Snowboard
Olympians Seth Wescott and Marco Sullivan escape from their coaches and
head for Alaska to rendezvous with co-owners of Points North Heli Adventures,
Kevin and Jessica Quinn. The Alaskan scene is vastly different from the slick
boardercross and ski racing courses that these competitors are accustomed
to. Seth and Marco are inspired by Cordova’s immense terrain and magnificent
landscape as they tour the Alaskan shoreline aboard the 98-foot Maritime Maiden
in search for, “classic, maritime, AK powder.” The Maid’s
helicopter landing pad acts as a liaison between man and mountain, allowing
this intrepid crew to access Cordova’s most remote and steepest lines.
OKEMO, VT - YUKON KORNELIUS
Athletes: Stefan Lessard, Ed Robertson, Adam Gardner, Eric Fawcett, Jason
Biggs, and Ross Powers (with special guest Dee Snider)
Equipment: Snowboards, Skis, Guitars, Cowbell
Superband Yukon Kornelius (Stefan Lessard of The Dave Matthews Band, Eric
Fawcett of N.E.R.D, Adam Gardner of Guster, and Ed Robertson of The Barenaked
Ladies) and Olympic Gold Medalist Ross Powers meet up with actor Jason Biggs
at his Vermont farmstead. All are passionate snowriders and they all learned
to rip at Vermont’s Okemo Mountain Resort. This talented group sessions
Okemo’s park by day and jams for a rowdy crowd of Vermonters by night.
A Vermont winter wouldn’t be complete without snowboarding, some ice
hockey, twilight campfires, a snowball fight, a few chickens, and a whole
lot of cowbell.
AUSTRIA
Athletes: Daron Rahlves
Equipment: Skis
Daron Rahlves knows Austria from his years racing there on the World Cup.
Two years after his retirement from the World Cup race circuit, Rahlves heads
back to Austria to explore the mountains wearing, “something other than
a one piece suit.” His European gate chasing days behind him, Rahlves
rediscovers the Austrian Alps as a big mountain skier. These days, insanely
steep lines serve as Daron’s primary competition, and he lets ‘em
have it.
UTAH
Athletes: Jenn Berg, Julian Carr, Jamie Pierre, and Jeremy Nobis
Equipment: Skis
Utah set records for snowfall last year. Some Utah ski areas entertained
more than 700 inches worth, and Utah locals took full advantage of each and
every inch. Although Utah’s ski community is eternally bonded and extremely
tight, Jenn Berg proves here that there truly aren’t friends on a powder
day... by hiking past Jamie Pierre’s helicopter crew and pinching first
tracks in some of the deepest snow ever captured on film. As Julian Carr would
say, “Utah Powder – the world is a better place because of it.”
SUN VALLEY - 48 STRAIGHT
Athletes: Colby West, Casey Puckett, Daron Rahlves, Seth Wescott, and Peter
Olenick
Equipment: Skis, Snowboards
48STRAIGHT is a multi-media competition series designed to empower individuals
who aspire to connect to the outdoor lifestyle through sport, music, and ‘green’ awareness.
Hit up the 48Straight in Sun Valley, Idaho and discover why Sun Valley is
considered, “The Birthplace of the American Ski Resort and the birthplace
of the American Ski Resort party.” Competitive skiing is a celebration
of mountain life, and those on the winter sports competition circuit have
justly defined the adage, Work hard…Play hard. 48Straight athletes
Colby West, Peter Olenick, and Seth Wescott throw down on Sun Valley’s
massive halfpipe and demanding courses, while Michael Franti and Spearheaddeliver
the off-snow après ski entertainment.
STEAMBOAT, CO
Athletes: Andreas Hatveit, Jon Hatveit, Jonny Moseley, Joe Discoe, Zak Watkins,
Bradley Wilson, Bryon Wilson, Mike Morse, and John Eden
Equipment: Skis
Norwegian skier Carl Howelsen brought the ski jump to Steamboat, Colorado
in 1913. Nearly 100 years later, fellow countrymen and fervent ski jumpers,
Andreas and Jon Hatveit, take on Steamboat’s legendary powder…and
give the resort’s terrain park a makeover. A trip to Steamboat wouldn’t
be complete without charging a mogul run with freestyle legend and Olympic
gold medalist, Jonny Moseley, who shows a group of newschool mogulites that
he can still bring it!
NEWSCHOOLER JIB
Athletes: Simon Dumont, Sammy Carlson, Andreas Hatveit, Peter Olenick, Jossi
Wells, Colby West, Jon Olsson, Charles Gagnier, and Mike Henituk
Equipment: Skis
The next generation of progressive freestyle skiing is showcased in this
circus of colossal cliff drops and historical park jibs. Newschool athletes
execute big air jumps and seamless rail slides, putting an entirely new twist
on urban jibbing. This exciting assortment of jaw dropping rails, inverts,
gaps, and spins will get even the most obstinate snowboarder wound up.
LEADVILLE, CO – SKIJORING
Athletes: Chris Anthony
Equipment: Skis
Veteran Warren Miller athlete Chris Anthony was sure he had seen it all,
from climbing and skiing the world’s steepest snow-covered peaks to
flying a jetpack over his avant-garde mountain residence. That was until Chris
discovered the world’s largest equestrian skijoring event in Leadville,
Colorado. Think slalom waterskiing, but with horses instead of boats and icy
jumps instead of forgiving buoys. High speeds, big air, and epic crashes craft
skijoring as a leading extreme sport on the stage of modern contest.
BEND, OR – MT. BACHELOR
Athletes: Gerry Lopez, Ben Watts, and Josh Dirksen
Equipment: Snowboards, Surfboards
Surf legend Gerry Lopez, snowboard legend Josh Dirksen, and up-and-comer
Ben Watts take us on a hometown tour of Bend, OR and charge lines over Mt.
Bachelor’s infamous frozen waves. Generations of Children of Winter
have been raised in Bend, but Gerry Lopez is just now learning the tricks
of surfing on Oregon powder. Lopez explains, “I’d spend all winter
waiting for those storms to kick-up the surf. Now, here I am in Central Oregon
waiting for those same winter storms.” Join snowboarder Josh Dirksen
as he explores the outermost corners of the Oregon backcountry with the help
of a homemade split-board, and follow Ben Watts as he puts a new age twist
on the ever-changing narrative of Board Sports.
CRESTED BUTTE, CO
Athletes: Wendy Fischer, Rachael Burks, Lynsey Dyer, and Greta Eliassen
Equipment: Skis
All across the globe, groups of big-name skiers come together to celebrate
the snow. But the ladies that belong to these elite skiing fraternities
usually get stuck riding with bunches of boys. Not anymore. We connect
with the Queen of Crested Butte, Wendy Fisher, as she rips through endless
powder with skiing’s
top female athletes. “It was really refreshing to ski with a bunch of
women that not only shred, but they’re really fun to be around too,” said
Rachel Burks. Giant back flips, engulfing powder lines, and matchless laughter
enthuse these women as they experience one of the best seasons in Crested
Butte history.
HAKUBA, JAPAN
Athletes: Jonny Moseley and Takehiro Sakamoto
Equipment: Skis
Ten years after winning the Olympic Gold Medal for moguls at the 1998 Winter
Games, freeskiing legend Jonny Moseley travels back to Japan with his family.
As they drop themselves back into the “carefully orchestrated confusion” of
Japanese culture, the wild sake-fuelled dinners take some getting used
to; however, Jonny makes himself right at home in the Japanese Alps. After
skiing against fellow Olympians for so many years, Moseley is finally able
to share the snow with former opponent Takehiro Sakamoto and learn how
Sakamoto became the Japanese skiing hero of his time.
BACKCOUNTRY SNOWBOARDING
Athletes: Eric Jackson, Mads Johnson, Mark Landvik, Torstein Horgmo, Kazu
Kokubo, and JJ Thomas
Equipment: Snowboards
This medley of big air inverts and rag doll wrecks is set against bluebird
skies and glistening fluffy stuff. Snowboarders take on steep shoots and wide-open
powder fields, surfing through untouched mantles of snow. If insane drops
and bottomless fresh get you pumping, this stylish mix of soaring spins and
flawless turns is for you!
SILVERTON, CO – BACKCOUNTRY SKI RESORT
Athletes: Pep Fujas and Andy Mahre
Equipment: Skis
At first sight, one might not assume Silverton Mountain to be a very seriousski
resort. This home-grown operation is based in an authentically aged mining
town and the resort consists of exactly one chairlift, a recycled bus full
of rental gear, and a lodge set under a sprawling yurt. But above it all is
a 3,000-foot vertical drop of pristine backcountry coated in over 400 inches
of annual snowfall. This undiscovered, backwoods playground is strategically
set within the steepest and most avalanche prone range in the Rockies, the
San Juan Mountains. Freeskiing stars Pep Fujas and Andy Mahre cowboy through
some of the sickest steeps in the country.
VANCOUVER, B.C. – MOUNTAIN BIKE
Athletes: Andrew Shandro, Cam McCaul, Steve Smith, Matt Hunter, Darren Berrecloth,
Thomas Vanderham, and Steve Peat
Equipment: Mountain Bikes
A Warren Miller film would not be complete without an off-the-hook action
segment that inspires us beyond the realm of snow. This year, rewind to summer
with an exhilarating arrangement of extreme mountain biking with riders from
the North Shore of Vancouver. These bikers showcase impressive spins, gnarly
ramps, and some of the most technical riding available on a non-motorized
set of two wheels.
ICELAND
Athletes: Jeff Annetts, Drew Stoecklein, Derek Foose
Equipment: Sailboat, Skis
Skiing and sailing don’t really go together. But if you’re in
Iceland, it makes perfect sense. Jeff Annetts, Drew Stoecklein, and Derek
Foose explore Iceland’s humbling wilderness on board the 60-foot Aurora.
This sailboat effectively works as “a mobile backcountry hut,” granting
them access to otherwise unreachable mountains, spines, and chutes, that all
end at the ocean. A land that is called “a photographer’s dream” acts
as a gateway to the unimaginable and offers these newly bonded athletes the
adventure of a lifetime.
IN MEMORY OF BILLY POOLE
“His commitment to the day, the line, or just the single powder turn… is
really what Billy is about. He is 110%... He gives his all and nails it with
true passion because his love is there, and it is genuine. [His] true appreciation
and delight for everyday, knowing that everyday is special… That’s
what I remember about Billy.” - Jenn Berg, 2008
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