UP TOP 10 Danny Davis, Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing, BC. Photo: Aaron Blatt COVER “I had gotten home late the night before and was planning on just laying low this day, but Benny Milam hit me up saying they were setting up this redirect spot. Joey Peterson had previously popped over the rail into the bank and Phil Hansen had hit the rail into the bank. When I got there, the crew (Jed Sky, Kyle Murray, Demetri Bales, CJ Culligan and Drayden Gardner) had it pretty well dialed. I felt like I had to rush and find an angle. While the landing of the spot is out of site, the top sits on a main bridge that leads into downtown St. Paul, MN, so one never knows how long we’d have before possibly getting kicked out. Jed Sky helped me get the strobe in the right zone up top and then the session was on. Benny laced this stylish nollie off the pad into the bank second or third try.” Photo: Stephan Jende 06 UP TOP 01 “It was the day in Hakuba, Japan backcountry—snowing and sunny in February. However, as the temperature rose, the snow began to get worse, but Kazushige ‘Shige’ Fujita chose a slope with good snow that was less exposed to the sun and gave a good spray, as he usually does.” Photo: Niki Ayako “After finally figuring out the day of the week that the mining company wasn’t in full production, I ignored all the no-trespassing signs and climbed my way onto this old structure to see how one could ascend onto its metal roof. Telling her it wouldn’t be ‘that bad,’ I convinced my friend Siobhan Coughlan to come shoot this spot the following week. With snowboard in hand, she climbed her way to the spine of the roof and gingerly strapped in. I was across the way posted up on the road while keeping an eye out for anyone who might notice her. We barely had audible contact and decided silence would be the best method, as to not get discovered. Von 50-50’d down the sharp rusty edge of the roof (from far right in the image) until the end where she popped off the drop to make the landing, which was old firm snow beneath a thin blanket of fresh. That spot had been on my list for three years.” Photo: Lauren Powers 07 02 “One of the deepest days of the year was one of our first at Eagle Pass Heli, BC. Avy danger was about as high as it gets, so most stuff was straight up irresponsible to try—this zone was safe enough and a good pick for the Brown Cinema crew. About five different clips were all filmed here, including Gabe Ferguson’s hero air to end his part. Nik Baden lingered a bit, looking at options as he does, then went full attack, knocking out a bunch of different airs and drops into deep pillows—this being one of them.” Photo: Ian Boll Wolfgang Nyvelt, aka Wolle, ripping under the lights at Rusutsu Resort, Japan while working on Salomon Snowboard’s latest Hillside Project film, RIZUMU . Photo: Julien “Perly” Petry 08 03 “John Jackson and I would like to thank our snow ponies, Black Nasty and Crystal Business, for helping us get this frontside 540 in the Nevada side of the Lake Tahoe backcountry.” Photo: Sean Kerrick Sullivan “Have you ever pet a wolverine? Neither had I, until we visited the Kroschel Wildlife Center on a down day outside of Haines, AK. Steve Kroschel, the proprietor, is a character. He made his nest egg building camera boxes to film avalanches for Hollywood productions. His wildlife center/Airbnb is home to many different species of endemic Alaskan creatures—which were rescued as orphans—from a bobcat, a wolf and a grizzly bear to arctic foxes, a snowy owl, moose, elk and more. He leads tours with enthusiasm and a bevy of unique language. Here, he’s cuddling a wolverine. Shortly thereafter, he encouraged us to ‘touch it’s arse.’” Photo: Colin Wiseman 04 09 “The Wine Glass Couloir is a classic in the Eastern Sierra because it’s a big bowl up top that quickly turns into a tight, long chute resembling a wine glass. This was a kind of misty day with constant weather changes up top. Marcus [Cassidy] and I could barely see each other from 50 feet apart. We regrouped at the stem of the glass and with a clearing in the clouds we decided to party shred it the rest of the way down.”–James Goodman Photo: Andrew Miller “Jeff DeForge has to be one of my favorite humans. A comedian, a relentless spot finder, an optimistic beacon, and a phenomenal talent on the board, his love for shredding knows no bounds. What makes him truly exceptional? He does it all on his own terms, fueled purely by his unwavering love for the craft, with little to no sponsors. Thank you for all you do J—this front cork off the stump in Minnesota was jaw-dropping to watch in person.” Photo: Mike Yoshida 05 10 “I know that graffiti beneath Corinne Pasela doesn’t say ‘T. Hawk,’ but I like pretending it does. The thought of the Birdman creeping around the streets of Salt Lake City leaving his mark while the general public gets their beauty rest really brings a little joy into my heart.” Photo: Benjamin Littler “We were at Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing in Blue River, BC, with Burton Snowboards. We had tried the Caribou Range side of the tenure a bunch before skipping down to the Monashees. It wasn’t super deep, but the jagged mountains and angular lines made for interesting features and compositions. Danny Davis knew what to do with it.” Photo: Aaron Blatt
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 21.4: Page 14
