It's Not Over

So, I know my last post was all about how the season is winding down, and everyone is in summer mode, etc etc etc. Fortunately for me (and maybe for all you?), Daryl is still in winter snowboarding mode, and it definitely stoked to be alive. We've been trying to get up to Grizzly Gulch the last few days but my schedule and the weather have been conspiring against all our efforts. Today we were lucky enough to make it to the feature for a sunset session, despite the fact that the rest of the crew was doing gay bike races and stuff (just kidding Andy, just had to rub it in).

I'm so stoked on how these images turned out. In addition to the photos, Daryl and I lugged my track/dolly up the mountain, and got some pretty amazing looking video footage. Big ups to D.Young for holding down the fort and stomping some heavy tricks. Even though it's winding down, the snow season is definitely not over yet.

Unpublished

I feel terribly negligent, and just realized that when I made the post about going hiking with Andy Earl and Forrest Shearer I forgot to include any high resolution images that weren't taken with my iPhone. Whoops! Here's just a few of the zone around the cornice that we were sessioning. Super cool day. Video of Andy will be in the new podcast episode, and the video of Forrest.......who knows. But he's sending it to his sponsors and to the TGR folks, so that's pretty cool. He got some pretty good looking drops.

Andy and Forrest atop the cornice after hiking back up.

Forrest Shearer hiking up for another drop.

First Time

You'd think that being in my family would entitle you to snowboard lessons very early on in life. You'd be wrong. I did, however, finally manage to take my sister Elanor, who just turned 9 this month, out for her first day of snowboarding at Park City Mountain Resort. My dad scored a super cheap complete setup for her, and the trouble was just dialing in some time when I wasn't coaching, shooting for the podcast, or traveling. I guess good things come to those that wait, because we had a killer time.

We got there and it was a bit firm, but after about 30 minutes of practicing one-foot stuff, the snow started to get really slushy. El was getting really bummed out because my mom has been telling her for months that she was just going to jump on a snowboard and be ripping up and down the mountain. Now, my mom has never snowboarded before, and doesn't really know that there's a very basic progression that needs to take place in order for a person to learn how to snowboard, and it's very different from strapping into your buddy's whip at the local city park. Elanor's expectations were somewhat different than the reality of snowboarding, and for a few minutes I thought maybe she was going to quit. She just couldn't figure out how to do a toe-side traverse. Finally, after quite a few tries, something clicked and we were able to do toe-side and heel-side, and then start linking those turns together.

We grabbed some lunch in the lodge and then rushed back out for some more ski-boardin' because she was so stoked to finally be able to go about 50 feet without falling down. The rest of the day was just working on gaining better edge control and ripping down the First Time slope. By the end of the day, she could ride the entire First Time area without falling once, and at a pretty decent speed making toe and heel-side turns. I was pretty proud.

Sadly it's the end of the season, and she'll have to wait until the '10/'11 season before she can get back on her board, but she was pumped and ready to keep doing some more. I got a few slashes in the slush, and did some 180's (for the awe and entertainment of those riding the chairlift), and El promptly fell asleep before we even got on the highway. Learning to snowboard is tiring!

Busy Week!

Ten consecutive days on snow as its way of taking a toll on your body and your mind, especially when those ten consecutive days mostly involved hiking for fresh snow. This most recent storm cycle dropped over seven feet of snow in the Cottonwoods, according to some data charts, and my body can only handle so much dawn-to-dusk shredding before it decides it's had enough. Fortunately, the last ten days have certainly been the best powder days of the season. I've already posted some images from Brighton and Park City on Monday and Tuesday, and here's just a few more pics from my days at The Canyons on Wednesday, Snowbird on Thursday, Davenport Hill/Days Fork and Brighton on Friday for the Red Bull Buttercup Contest, then back to Park City on Saturday. I certainly love living in the Wasatch. The photo above is my friend Todd Stay and I driving through Heber City, UT on our way to The Canyons. Nearly 3 feet of fresh that day. I initially had intended to shoot a lot of video with the GoPro, but that didn't really happen. Too much fun.

Todd and I on the lift with Justin Olsen and his buddy at The Canyons

About 3/4 of the way to the top of Davenport Hill in LCC. 10,092 ft.

Looking down at the upper Alta Resort parking lot and the Albion Basin from the top of Davenport Hill.

Forest Shearer scoping a line for next time. I'm squishing his head.

I didn't sleep at all on Thursday night for some reason. Just tossed and turned the whole night. After climbing Davenport Hill with no sleep and no breakfast I needed a rest, so I crashed for a couple hours in the Park and Ride off 6200 South and Wasatch Blvd

The drop-in tent for the Red Bull Buttercup at Brighton.

My buddy  Blake Stephenson nailing a super fast blunt slide.

The winners of the Open: 1st Parker Worthen, 2nd Ted Barland, 3rd Jason Heckle

Words to live by.

100th Post - Uncanny

My 67th day on snow yesterday was one of the best powder days I've ever had, and it's ironic that it's in April, and Park City was scheduled to close this coming Sunday. It was one of those fantastic days where you talk about it for years to come. It's a funny thing, because it seems like I have a lot of those days when I'm riding with my brother Kory. Maybe it's the fact that he doesn't get very many powder days, so I'm extra stoked to see him get some freshies, but he's just a good dude to ride with, as a general rule. He loves snowboarding and just wants to get out there on his board. Granted, he's a park rat, and I've been doing my best to break him of his evil ways, but, to be fair, everyone goes through their insane park rat stage. Some people just break out of it sooner than others. Anyway, I took the GoPro and through together a little edit to a Belle & Sebastian song that I really like. Hopefully you enjoy the deep snow, and Episode 5 of Wasatch: The Official Production Podcast will be coming very soon.

Red Bull 1976 Games

Working for Red Bull Energy Drink has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and occasionally I get to participate in really fun events, like last Saturday's Red Bull 1976 Games, held at The Canyons Resort in Park City, UT. I showed up early to help my boss and the infrastructure team get the gates and the venue fully setup, then took a few turns with my longtime friend Blake Stephenson. The event started at about noon, and 863 images later, it was over. The premise of the contest is to wear retro gear to celebrate the Olympics that should have been. In 1976, Denver, CO was awarded the winter Olympic games, but due to political maneuvering, the games were shifted to Austria, so we at Red Bull decided that it was high time that 1976 got the glory it deserves. The contest consisted of a Snowbladecross race, and an old school air contest, where teams were judged based on skill, showmanship, and overall team mojo. I had so much fun taking pictures, the time just flew by, and I came away with about 80 really solid images. Here's a few of my favorites of the bunch. Enjoy.

This guy was on point the whole time

Airing through the gap

Jason  Hindman on an all out sprint to the finish line

Lindsay Jacobellis should take some pointers from this homie

I think the X-Games would be better-off if it were like this.

In high-speed races like this, milliseconds count, so diving across the finish line was a commonly utilized tactic in order to shave a little time off your score.

Those of us who ride the terrain parks at either Park City or The Canyons are familiar with ski trains hitting jumps, but never quite like this.

Third place. The Shred Dogs of War

2nd place. Masterbladers? I think?

The defending champs: The Cream Team

Podium placement is something to truly be proud of.

'Twas An Adventure

Andy Earl and I have been discussing the prospects of doing an overnighter just to iron out any kinks we had in our gear/packing habits/oral hygiene, etc. We plan to do quite a bit of multi-day touring next season, so we wanted to get a feel for how things would go; a trial run, if you will. We opted to go up to Wolverine Cirque because the forecast was predicting that steep, north facing terrain would be the best for early saturday morning skiing and riding, and Twin Lakes pass is fairly sheltered from the wind, and totally sheltered from avalanche danger if you camp just near the pass.

Click on the photo to view a larger version, it looks neat. Taken about 1:30 am

Technically it's illegal to camp anywhere in Little Cottonwood Canyon because of Watershed restrictions, and you're also not allowed to do any overnight parking in the town of Alta without a permit (I'm not sure why. I would assume because of a lack of space). We pulled into the Grizzly Gulch trailhead parking lot and I thought we were sunk when an Alta police officer came over and rolled down his window. He asked us if we were going touring, and when we replied in the affirmative, he just reminded us that there was a scheduled UDOT canyon closure for avalanche control in the morning, and didn't harass us at all about parking in the "No Overnight Parking" zone. 

My snowshoes and Andy's splitboard on the way up.

Both my pack and Andy's pack together must've weighed in at about seven million kilograms, and by the time we reached the pass I was totally beat, but it was super cool to be able to get some rad photos along the way, and the just have the experience. 

My buddy David Kaplan met us up near the pass early the next morning and we went up and over Patsey Marley and did one drop on Mt. Wolverine. The snow was pretty variable, and lots of wind loading. Andy popped a decent size wind pocket that sluffed out pretty dramatically (albeit it wasn't very big or dangerous), but it was just an indicator that our chosen location wasn't the safest zone to be shredding in, so we called it a day. Epic knee deep turns down through the north facing slope of Grizzly Gulch ended the day with a bang. I definitely can't complain, and I also learned quite a bit about camping overnight in the backcountry, and expecting to shred the next day. I'll be doing it again very soon.

Twin Lakes Pass, with the BCC cabins and Guardsman Pass glaring in the background

The infamous Wolverine Cirque. Andy and David atop Mt. Wolverine at left.

Getting to the zone is certainly not for the faint at heart.

204 Determination + Giveaway

204 Determination - Wasatch: The Official Production Podcast from Parker Alec Cross on Vimeo.

In response to what viewers like you have asked for, the Wasatch Team put a whole lot of miles on their boots, snowmobiles, and chairlifts to generate the hardest hitting episode yet. With locations varying from the streets of Ogden, to the 11,000 foot faces, Episode Four will leave you wishing the season were longer.

Principle Cinematography shot on Canon 5D Mark II by Parker Alec Cross

Colorist: Parker Alec Cross

Featuring the talents of Parker Cross, Andy Earl, Daryl Young, JP Sokolowski, Uriel Ruvalcaba, Derek Olthuis, Stain Reichman, Cooper Hoffmeister, Ben Millsaps, Jason Hindman and Stosh Lemberes.

Well, it's time for another episode. Check it out above, and make sure to watch it in fullscreen mode for full effect. In order to qualify for the giveaway, you need to become a fan of Wasatch: The Official Production Podcast on Facebook. Since winter is winding down, we need to show the world how much we love the snow. Post a picture of yourself skiing or snowboarding on the wall of the Facebook page, and we'll choose the picture that is the raddest as the winner of this week's Nomis hoody giveaway. Thanks to John at Board of Provo for hooking up the giveaway.

Turning Up the Volume

In my screenwriting class, my teacher is always talking about ways for us as writers to "turn up the volume." My goal as a new media producer is to generate content that gets people stoked and makes them want to come back for more–in essence, my goal is to turn up the volume. The better my stuff is, and the cooler the content, the more hits we get and the better we look to potential sponsors, and the better my peanut butter sandwiches taste because I know that I can actually kind of afford it, instead of pilfering it from my mom's pantry when she's not home.

That being said, it is very tough being the sole camera man/director/producer/creative genius/editor/distributor to get super rad stuff. It's a lot of the supplementary stuff that really makes an episode cool, and it's very very tough to do it solo. We've been trying though, even if it means waking up at 3:30 in the morning to catch a sunrise session, or staying out all night and dodging the police to get a shot on an urban feature, and I think that this next episode will show just how far we've actually come with our progression. Below is a link to the new teaser, and you'll see just how much we've improved in a very short amount of time. I hope you like it.

Ep. 4 Teaser 2 - Wasatch: The Official Production Podcast from Parker Alec Cross on Vimeo.
You asked for it, we delivered. Due to all the feedback we've received on the blog, we decided to make our episodes even more rad than they've ever been. And we're doing it all for your enjoyment. Episode Four is coming at you in a matter of days, so tell all your friends and get rad.

Cameras:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
GoPro HD Hero

Lenses:
EF 24-70 ƒ/2.8L USM
EF 70-200 ƒ/2.8 IS USM
Sigma 15mm ƒ/2.8 Fisheye

Cinematography and Post-production by Parker Alec Cross
Additional camera operation by Andy Earl

http://crossroadstudios.com

Getting Deeper

I'm just now starting to go to the places I've been aching for all season, because we're starting to get a decent base in the Wasatch, and it's filling in all the bony scary sections that were too exposed to ski. I'm also pretty excited of the GoPro HD Hero helmet camera that Andy and I purchased last week. Took her on her maiden voyage today, and she performed wonderfully. The workflow is identical to the 5D Mark II, so it makes things pretty simple for me to work with. Anyway, check out the teaser trailer for the newest episode, which I haven't started editing yet, but I've been compiling the footage and I think it's going to be really good.

Episode Four Trailer - Wasatch: The Official Production Podcast from Parker Alec Cross on Vimeo.
Episode Four is ready to deliver on what everyone has been asking for. More of.......everything. More shredding, more rails, more jumps, more powder, and more intensity. Get pumped because it's coming at you in the next few days. Filmed on a GoPro HD Hero.

One Plus One Equals One

In terms of splitboarding, one plus one really does equal one. You take each half of your sliced-in-two board, put them together and get one snowboard. It's a pretty amazing process, and It's even more amazing that the bulk of the dudes out there on splitboards probably did it in their garage, just like Andy and I did a couple hours ago. Voile is probably considered the industry leader when it comes to backcountry accessories for snowboarders, and their DIY Split-Kit is a handy dandy little friend for any of you wanting to go deeper than the average snowboarder. Splitboarding is the ultimate way to get into the backcountry on those zones where you can't take a snowmobile (which is most of the Central Wasatch), and although it's not cheap to do it yourself, it's a whole lot cheaper than buying a splitboard from, say, Burton. The other thing that's rad is the fact that Voile-USA is located right in Salt Lake City, so you're getting homegrown products. 


If backcountry touring is your cup of tea, or you'd like it to be, make a stop at Wasatch Touring, a shop in SLC. It's definitely your destination location for everything backcountry, and then some.

Featured Write-Up

I got an email on Vimeo yesterday from Denver Riddle, who runs the Digital Cinema Foundry blog, and he asked me a few questions and if I'd be willing to be featured on the site. Of course, this is right up my alley, so jump on over to the website by clicking here, and check out the little write-up about Wasatch: The Official Production Podcast and what it takes to shoot in the backcountry.

Guardsman

It was my first day out on sleds for 2010, and it turned into a pretty amazing day. Daryl Young called me the night before and asked if I wanted to join him and Dallin and Tyson for a little trek out to Claytons and the backside of Pioneer peak. I said yes. We started with a quick small cliff drop and let the boys do a little warm up, then went and poached a jump that was built earlier in the season. Dallin and Daryl both landed shots, and the stuff looks good. Thanks to Tyson for the snowmobile, and let's do it again soon!

Daryl packing up all his avalanche gear

Daryl hiking up for another drop on the cliff

Freeze frame from the video of Daryl's drop