WCSN Blogs

As the spring slowly takes over and the snow starts to melt, we all change our frame-of-mind to things like sandals and other warm activities. This year is unique however. Despite the closing of the resorts weeks ago, we have continued to film in the backcountry trying to enjoy every last day of the winter we have been so fortunate to experience.

Yesterday, after hiking up to the top of a line I took out my avalanche probe, which is eight feet long, to test the snow pack - I did not touch the bottom. This was an epic season and it’s far from over with storms on the radar for the next few days. We could be out skiing powder again here very soon and with the best snow pack in decades we could be skiing well into the summer.

For now here are a few pictures from the last few days, but I hope you are able to check out this seasons video from Two Plank Productions called “Set In Motion.” It has been an epic season and I hope we are able to share some of the experiences from our endeavors with you.

Tamok, Norway – After many cups of coffee and some Finish style oatmeal for breakfast the anticipation started building. Outside the window the pilot is taking off the bird (Polly’s) pajamas as we got our gear together, change radio batteries, check beacons, pack a lunch and prepared for the day. With three or four languages being spoken all around me, I tune out most of the gibberish and concentrate on my elation. With Bob Marley playing on the stereo, the leader of the group reads off group orders for take off and pick up. Our group was first today, so I knew it was time to get outside as I could see the pilot topping off Polly’s tanks with Jet-A silhouetted against a pristine blue sky.

My excitement was hard to contain as I ponder the reality of this situation. All around me people from different nations prepare and ponder, but everyone here has a different goal. Some are new to the big mountains riding scene and are here to gain some fruitful experience, while others have already set first descent lines off peaks like Denali, Robson, and other in Russia and Alaska. It did not matter what I was there for, but the fact that I was putting on my ski boots 6000 miles from home was enough to give me goose bumps. Knowing that we are flying a helicopter in an area of the world that helicopters have never been flown in before is special, but the area itself is beautiful enough to make you confess your sins.

However, the conditions were an encumbrance for concern with no way to describe it aside from dust on crust. As you may have read in my first post from this trip, the weather in this is very extreme and I was wrong about the warm temperatures. While we were in Oslo and Tromso for the days before we came to meet the group the weather was mild. Light snow and rain, but warm considering our geographic location. However, after the bad weather we had experienced the first few days the skies cleared and the heat left. Today it was -28C with a wind chill of about -34C. Therefore, all the warm weather and new snow that had fallen was more than frozen and the wind effected many slopes into a hard crust. However, this morning the wind died and left us with a few cm of fresh snow on top of the bullet proof crust. This was not the conditions any of us were hoping for, but the stability in the snowpack allowed us to ski some steeper and usually un-skiable lines. However, as I got ready I put on layer after layer to prepare for the landing at the top of a peak after not working to get there which is enough to shock your senses. With all my skin covered and gear locked down we walked out to the copter where the pilot Andreas was waiting with a smile on his face.

We loaded our gear into the ski box mounted on the side of the skid as the turbine engine fired up. The blowers pushed hot air into the gears as the rotors started to spin. Ever so slowly the rotors gained speed as the turbine engine hits fire speed and the roar of the jet engine was drowned out by the spinning blades just above our heads. As we pensively climbed into the chopper the sound, vibration, and thunder of the displaced air above us created an eerie or almost supernatural ambiance in the cockpit. The pilot poked and adjusted buttons and levers as the blades built speed. Packed like desperate refugees into the back seat we struggle to buckle seatbelts and situate ourselves as the cockpit starts to bounce from the force of the spinning blades above. The door shuts and with an unspoken nod from the pilot we despite the physics of gravity lifted from the ground.

Tamok, Norway, - March 19th, 2008- Due to adverse conditions, the helicopter arrived yesterday a day late and came with more bad weather. For those of you who know how a helicopter works, then you understand they do not work when there is bad visibility, high winds, or any other adverse factors. Therefore, much of the helicopter skiing experience is spent waiting for the optimum conditions to appear like kids waiting for Santa Clause on Christmas Eve. Many of us have spent our mornings glued to the windows watching the clouds pass and others have just sat and drank coffee talking about the weather.

Anyway, the week here in Norway has been anything but uneventful. With the amazing local crew ready for adventures on snowmobiles or ready to go skinning anywhere, there has been a lot of activity to say the least. The typical day has started with breakfast around 7:30, although I got up around 8:30 because there has been plenty of food and the coffee has been flowing all day. When people were done studying maps of the area and coming up with speculated answers on where we are allowed to go and where we all thought snow would be best, people have been splitting into groups to go on adventures looking for the best snow, ice climbing, building jumps, or whatever else our child-like imaginations could muster. My brother Onie and I made friends with the right crew, so the locals have been bringing us on small missions to explore areas far beyond the distance accessible with only the use of skins. Therefore we have had the local tour of an area that has never been explored from a freeskier’s perspective. With so many unknown variables in such large terrain it is very comforting to have a gentleman who has lived and played in these mountains as a hunter and explorer for his whole life. “Thank you Leif-Arne and the whole HUAS crew.”

Yesterday we did have the opportunity to pop Onie’s cherry in the helicopter. Yesterday we were able to get lifted to the top of one of the mountains above our camp and ski something that took us five hours of skinning the other day took six minutes in the heli. I have concluded, “Walking is over rated.” The best part of the day however was watching Onie’s face as the helicopter took off and the nose dropped forward. It was his first time in a helicopter so smiles full of effervescent elation filled his n use face. The feeling of taking off in a helicopter is rather unexplainable, but Onie’s face would be a good marketing took to any helicopter company.

Otherwise we are expecting great weather the next few days so things are looking great. The crew we are here with are all amazing people, although the Finish language is impossible to understand or even harder to try and speak. Therefore we do not know what is being said around us most of the time, but none-the-less we are having a great time and the next few days should be all time.

Tamok Dalen, Norway – It took us four days of traveling in order to get to this remote location about 440 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. We are in an area called the Tomok, Valley to meet an international group from nine different nations to compete in the second Arctix event. Last year I was here with people from seventeen different nations, as the only North American, for the first event ever to take place in this area. The event is unique in many ways give the people involved, however the format of the event is what makes it special.

Using a helicopter to access mountains in an area where helicopters have never been flown due to government regulations, we are not only competing in an area that has never seen helicopter activity, aside from herding reindeer, but most the lines have never been skied. This year however things are different, with a few circumstances last year leading to the loss of a few major sponsors, organizer (Jarkko Hinttonin, from Finland) has been forced to slim the group to a select few.

The adventure is just now beginning, but for my brother Onie and I, getting here was half the battle. After flying from Denver to New Jersey and then N.J. to Oslo, we took a pit stop after flying for a crazy fun filled night. It was a Wednesday so our expectations for entertainment were low, but we managed to have a great time and experience the best of Oslo. Aside from the late night walking sex buffet, as we came to find out Oslo has a slightly uncontrolled prostitution problem, we experienced Oslo after meeting a group of locals while sitting at a coffee shop having a twelve dollar beer. Other than the small bureaucratic issues of high costs and prostitution, Oslo is a city with a lot to offer and we found it to be very beautiful. The locals say it’s a bad representation of what Norway has to offer, however if you’re looking for a plethora of 7-Eleven corner stores and a Burger King on every block then this is your place.

Meanwhile, the art and history mixed in with modern architecture makes it very unique city even from a yanks perspective. Complacently set against a water front location and filled with parks displaying elaborate nude statues, Oslo is a place I would recommend to anyone in the summer, but with the rainy weather we encountered it was a challenge to our optimism. From Oslo we flew to the northern town of Tromso. To put it into perspective the northern most banks of Alaska are around 60˚ north, where Tromso at around 71˚ north. One would assume being this far north it would entail extremely low temperatures, however much like last year, the weather is seemingly extreme but consistently above freezing. This is due to strong ocean currents that carry worm water from the Gulf, as well as a jet stream convergence above its coastal range location. Some call it the Paris of the north with ample shopping and more pubs, bars, and coffee shops then a frat could crawl to even on the best of weekend benders. After spending the night and catching up on some sleep and re-acclimating ourselves to the time change, we met Aadne who was our local guide for the week. We drove east with him and his wife to the Tamok Valley. Located far above Iceland and most of Greenland, we knew we were in a unique place after meeting Aadne’s father who has lived here his whole life. The 73-year-old man took our pictures and had us sign them, as we are the first Americans he has seen in the Valley. He told us stories of his childhood in the valley having to make laps skiing from one side to the other picking up mail. He made the 18-hour trip twice a week until the 1940’s when a road was added in order to access trade routes previously only accessible by water way. It was a surreal experience to hear him say we were the first Americans to this area, as I had been here last year which means I was the first American ever. However, this year, to be pioneering a location like this with a great group and having my brother here made it pretty cool. After going for a hike with Aadne, his son Jusi, and a couple local guys from the army, we found the conditions to be a lot like getting kicked in the balls. The views made up for variable snow, but it was great to be outside and enjoying this uncharted territory. As the group started to arrive throughout the evening we congregated in the local community building where we were all staying. All 24 of us in this large rec room/community center looked like it would be a junk show at first, but with Christmas carols playing in the background as we cooked our first meal my worries were alleviated. Tomorrow the helicopter arrives in the morning and the fun begins…

Tamok, Norway, - March 19th, 2008- Due to adverse conditions, the helicopter arrived yesterday a day late and brought the bad weather with it. For those of you who know how a helicopter works, then you understand they do not work when there is bad visibility, high winds, or any other adverse factors. Therefore, much of the helicopter skiing experience is spent waiting for the optimum conditions to appear like kids waiting for Santa Clause on Christmas Eve. Many of us have spent our mornings glued to the windows watching the clouds pass and others have just sat and drank coffee talking about the weather.

Anyway, the week here in Norway has been anything but uneventful. With the amazing local crew ready for adventures on snowmobiles or ready to go skinning anywhere, there has been a lot of activity to say the least. The typical day has started with breakfast around 7:30, although I got up around 8:30 because there has been plenty of food and the coffee has been flowing all day. When people were done studying maps of the area and coming up with speculated answers on where we are allowed to go and where we all thought snow would be best, people have been splitting into groups to go on adventures looking for the best snow, ice climbing, building jumps, or whatever else our child-like imaginations could muster. My brother Onie and I made friends with the right crew, so the locals have been bringing us on small missions to explore areas far beyond the distance accessible with only the use of skins. Therefore we have had the local tour of an area that has never been explored from a freeskiers perspective. With so many unknown variables in such large terrain it is very comforting to have a gentleman who has lived and played in these mountains as a hunter and snowmobiler for his whole life. “Thank you Leif-Arne and the whole HUAS crew.”

Yesterday we did have the opportunity to pop Onie’s cherry in the helicopter. Yesterday we were able to get lifted to the top of one of the mountains above our camp and ski something that took us five hours of skinning the other day took six minutes in the heli. I have concluded, “Walking is over rated.” The best part of the day however was watching Onie’s face as the helicopter took off and the nose dropped forward. It was his first time in a helicopter so smiles full of effervescent elation filled his n use face. The feeling of taking off in a helicopter is rather unexplainable, but Onie’s face would be a good marketing took to any helicopter company. Otherwise we are expecting great weather the next few days so things are looking great. The crew we are here with are all amazing people, although the Finish language is impossible to understand or even harder to try and speak. Therefore we do not know what is being said around us most of the time, but none-the-less we are having a great time and the next few days should be all time.

The U.S. Extremes that take place in Crested Butte, CO are renowned for many reasons. Not only is the resort of Crested Butte one of the steepest and most advanced resorts in North America, but the even more extreme terrain the ski patrol opens for this event makes it even more gnarly. The start list this year was stacked with a world class field of skiers of whom the winners of the last three years of the events (Aaron Estrada, Griff Post, and Jesse Hall) we’re all in attendance. I mention these people in particular because they have tamed these hills before, but the rest of the filed was equally as skilled and eager to win.

The first day took place on a zone called High Life and SpellBound. The amphitheater like bowl made for a great venue with many options for the athletes as well as incredible entertainment for the spectators. Athletes threw down in gallant fashion (as always) despite variable conditions and the eminent risks of extreme skiing. I however did not advance to the next day due to a small fall I endured after launching the last cliff in my line, but I am happy to have skied what I did. The last rock area I jumped was a 60-foot on a permanently closed part of the mountain that had never been jumped before. In the 17 years that Crested Butte has been doing the competition the cliff area I skied has only had enough snow on it to make it ski-able a few times, yet no other competitor has dared the non-shear cliff ban in years past. Furthermore, ski patrollers I spoke with afterwards say they have never even seen a skier in that area in the history of the resort. While I did not advance to the next day of competition, due to the strict judging criteria of a fall, I can walk away knowing that I pioneered a line on Crested Butte.

At the same time, I was happy to sit and watch my friends ski the next day on an area called Hourglass or Triangle Rock. These areas are also permanently closed zones on the resort due to the high consequence nature of their topography. Each line is typically littered with more rocks then snow as the steep terrain does not offer any type of harness for the snow to bond with causing it to slide to the bottom. However, the remaining athletes skied incredible lines, however like the day before many of the top contenders eliminated themselves by falling. In this sport falling is the easiest way to loose points, but from an athletes perspective sometimes it can’t be avoided. Nonetheless the show was incredible and I encourage you all to check out some photos as well as video on USFREESKIING.COM. Each event throughout the season will be broadcast on this webpage the day of the event. Spread the word because when you see what people can do on a raw mountain with skis attached to their feet it will blow you mind.

Till next time,
~T

Everyone sets goals and for some this is what motivates them to succeed or push themselves through life. Personally I have many goals, but when you attain one the feeling is tantamount to life itself. No matter if you set a goal for personal vindication, or to try something new, the idea of setting the goal and trying everything you can to attain it is admirable.

I mention this because the other day I concurred a goal of my own. This is an example of personal vindication that some may call conceded or crazy, but none-the-less I was desirous of reaching it. A year ago I was asked in an interview for Freeskier magazine what I thought about big cliff drops on skis. I followed up by stating there are some who have taken it to a ludicrous level, yet I would like to join the imaginary “Century Club” by jumping off a 100-foot cliff at some point. Well, yesterday in the backcountry of Colorado I became a member. The conditions were not optimal for such a feat, but I felt I was ready after launching about 85-foot the day before. Given the conditions I was not able to land on my feet, but instead took the brunt of the impact to my side to disperse the pressure excerpted on my body. However, I was able to pop right up and ski away with nothing but a smile and a little shock on my face.

Happy times, and I am glad I got that out of my system…

Salt Lake City, UT - - Snow has been pounding the Cottonwood Canyons for the past few weeks, but a few wind events and some days with high temperatures created some less then stellar conditions. However, yesterday while skiing at Solitude for the Freeskier Magazine the snow started to fall once more and over night left us with 10-14 inches. It was a good relief after a few days of hard pack skiing with the memories of skiing in nipple deep powder just a few days before.

Last week was very successful as well as I was shooting with local photographers Mike Schrif and Will Wissman at the Snowbird and Alta resorts while the conditions were near epic. With my state of mind nearly emphatic after skiing days of powder, to say I was living the life an understatement. Then my friend Corey Tibljas from Two Plank Productions came into town so it was time to step it up. Expecting sunny weather, and waking up to clouds and wind, we decided to go to the base of (location anonymous) and build a jump. We found a wind lip along the side of a building and built the kicker that cleared over a road about 55 feet and down about 15 feet to the landing. This was the first large, non-park jump that I have played on in a few years, so it was a great experience for me to get back at it. I started out slow and hit the jump straight to be safe, however, I over shot the landing by about ten to fifteen feet. Using our makeshift helicopter (Toyota Tacoma) to take us back to the top, we looped around to hit the jump again. With the camera rolling, and friends watching out for the local public safety officers, I rolled into the jump again and stepped it up to try out a “rodeo.” A rodeo is an off-access back flip with a full 360 degree rotation of sorts. The first time I landed on my feet, but under rotated a little. The next few attempts got better and better, although with fresh snow on the track leading into the jump it was hard to gage our speed. At the end of the day I was desirous of doing a trick I could stick, as the guys watching had maneuvered a few cars into position below the gap on the road. It was the end of the day so people were poring off the mountain to their cars and had taken notice to our antics. With a crowd watching, I was taunted by my friends to hit the jump this one last time so I threw a large Lincoln Loop, which is a sideways flip. It was a great way to end a very fun day.

Anyway, I tell you this not to gloat, but to give you an inside perspective as to what a Freeskier thrives on. After digging in the snow for hours and playing out all the risks and consequences in our heads over and over again, it’s a great feeling to walk away from a session like this happy and fulfilled. For many, reward does not out-weigh the risk, but for me the experience and the time shared outside with my friends is all the reward I need. Personal vindication and goal-oriented battles are what thrill seekers live for, and this day was a perfect example of such an experience.

The next day my friend Ryan and I took off into the backcountry to ski a line, but after skinning for a few hours the sun had cooked the snow on the face we were going to ski to the point of dangerous avalanche conditions. What we call roller balls were starting to build as they built down the hill into the size of basketballs before they broke apart, and caused wet slide avalanches. Given the conditions we decided not to ski the lines we had been looking at from the bottom, as the snow would be too dense and would cause serious bodily harm if landed incorrectly. Therefore we started across a slope that from our perspective looked like it went to another area of the mountain that would have better snow given its aspect or exposure to the intense sun. When we started our traverse we thought nothing of the eminent danger below and found ourselves perched precariously on a hanging snowfield that sat above a 200-foot cliff. Many would say we should not have been there, and I’ll have to agree, but given our entrance angel it was easier to continue across rather then hike back. To make a long and imprudent story short, we made it across but only after frolicking above the eminence of death while our cinematographer Corey tried to direct us to a safe exit from the valley below. Needless to say it was a situation all of us would have rather done without, but looking back up at the area where we were it is hard to even ponder the consequences had the snow had ripped out and taken us down in an avalanche over the rocks.

The next day we took a more mellow approach and went to an area called Brighton. Corey and I had never skied here before, but we had local Heath Ordway to show us around. We found some great lines out one of the backcountry gates and then rebuilt a huge jump that had been left over and played around on that for the afternoon. It was a lot less stressful then the previous afternoon, but needless to day my confidence was a little shaken after the previous experience.

Live and learn.

Las Vegas, Nevada — Las Vegas is something many people in the world never get to experience, and far less understand. Add a few thousand of the ski and snowboard industries’ most fun and personable people, and you are in for a good time. The Las Vegas ski show, in short “SIA,” is a gearhead’s dreamland. With what may seem like miles in every direction are thousands of booths and elaborate displays filled with the finest ski and snowboard equipment for next season. With prototype skis proudly on display and the new garments and threads of next years’ ski fashions hanging in orchestrated perfection, SIA is a place to lose yourself in an influx of sensory perceptions. While some are in Vegas to experience “Vegas,” at the same time there are thousands of business transactions taking place all around you as the buyers and sellers prepare for the 08-09 season and work to keep the ski industry remarkable.

Each booth carries a personality that attracts buyers’ attention through demographic assumptions. Some booths carry themes to attract attention, while some attract attention through antics and games. However, there are those that rely on laurels and relationships due to budget constraints and the high costs of attending the show. Nonetheless, there is always someone ready to talk and assist with inquiries or de-sobering activities. Needless to say, each person in attendance is there for the love of an industry that is notorious for partying, so when the beer starts to flow and the late evening business slows to a halt the music is turned up.

My experience was unique in so many ways. After leaving the X-games on a bus rented by Spyder, Freeskier, Skull Candy, Red Bull, RSN, Tripple Eight Vodka, and Coors Light, my trip was a party from the start. Watching satellite TV on the plasma screen(s) while sitting on leather couches surrounded by mirrored ceilings and remote operated luxury was a cool way to role into Vegas. The bus was filled with a gold-star group as well. With the Freeskier Magazine crew, as well as a select group of some of the industries’ top athletes, we arrived in the morning slightly intoxicated but eager “boys.”

My first day was spent in the middle of the organized chaos of SIA preparation. Everything on the floor is shipped in and therefore the crates, display cases, lights, product, etc. are all shuffled around the showroom floor by forklifts, dollies, or any other means available. As the hours tick by, the small village of products and personal expression pops into place like a giant erector set. The next day, however, when I walked into the glamour, elegance, and atmosphere of the show, my efforts no longer seemed trivial.

Throughout the day, I was able to walk around and talk with friends and meet new people from all aspects of the industry. As the day passed, plans for the evening start to take priority as companies and industry cohorts throw parties to entertain guests, business associates, and staff. My evenings were spent at the Discrete house where we played pool, foosball, ping-pong, and practiced our poker faces playing “Bullsh*t” on the card table.

Late night however was spent in the Freeskier party at The Palms, but trumped later by the opulent function thrown by the crew over at Spyder. Spyder’s booth at the show was enough to create an industry buzz, but with a VIP open bar, Lil John as the DJ, and the industries’ biggest in attendance, the Spyder party was one for the history books of intoxicated manuscripts.

I would like to thank all of those who shared their experiences with me and made my SIA experience truly memorable.

Living on with remembrance of Billy Poole.

~Tyson

I would like to introduce myself as a new member of the WCSN athlete blog community. My name is Tyson Bolduc, and I am a professional Big Mountain skier from Vail, Colorado. I have been skiing for many years on different levels, but only recently attained a level where travel and unique opportunities are presenting themselves. I would love to share these experiences with you as I pursue my goals and explore the freeskiing world.

I grew up as a ski racer where I met some noteworthy success, but I found myself more interested in exploring the mountains above. “I stopped chasing the arbitrary clock” and started to compete in Freeskiing Events around the world. Three years ago, I was a college graduate fresh out of the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business and wondered what to pursue. After rolling the dice more times then I want to remember, today I have skied in fifteen states, and eleven different countries on three continents yet have only begun to explore the splendor of skiing. This sport is a lifestyle where priorities take a step aside as the temporary euphoria and atmosphere surrounding the community can make you forget the date twice in the same day. Through my travels and experiences, I have developed a love and vigor for life as I have been so fortunate to gather some truly unique memories and meet some truly unique people on the way.

The other day I had the unfortunate experience however of losing a great friend to the sport that I love and live. The last few days have been a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows, but it has made me think a lot about the reality of life. Billy Poole not only left me with truly unique memories, but has left me with a circle of friends as well as goals to live on with and to enjoy in his memory. I am not one to mope, but when reality hits you in the face like an irascible convict without medication it makes you think.

As you read my stories and I share my experiences with you, I want you to understand that I do what I do for the joy it brings me and for the community that surrounds my sport. I am a professional athlete for the unique opportunities created by what I do and not for the opulence, lavishness, and callow that the label and sport come with. Skiing is not a sport of fabricated high salaries or built on a foundation for ancillary benefits, but a sport for those who love the canorous yet sylvan lifestyle. Furthermore, Billy died doing something that thirty of my friends and I could have been doing on any given day. What we are doing is truly dangerous, but carries an allure beyond explanation. The wilderness in which we call our office carries a harsh veracity with no remorse but at the same time rewards the soul with unprecedented validity.

Far from resort base lodges and hot cocoa, in order to play at an elevated level we use tools like skins, snowmobiles, snow cats, and helicopters to access our terrain. Cliffs, trees, rocks, and the silent and unpredictable killer avalanches are all eminent factors to ponder while we play in the euphoria of nature. As I embark on adventures I will do my best to explain what I am doing and share the laughter, thrills, and endeavors with you.

Tyson

Check out more from Tyson at Tysonbolduc.com