We drove past the actual turn off to the staging area, and got a little tour of Baker lake, we then saw another RV with sled trailer that also did the same, so we figured that the one left turn we passed must have been the correct turn off.  As we headed back we saw another sledder heading up that road, so we were getting close.  The snow level was much higher than the road in because all we saw were trees and dirt.  The north west has some of the most beautiful forest and growth.  As we made the last turn we saw the trail head with snow only on the trail, which was nice, then the RV camp.  There must have been over 100 RV’s there and all of them had open arms to us.  The vibe was awesome and people were stoked to be there for the shoot out.  The riders that came off the hill on Friday said it was soft and sunny up there.  The weather we saw before we lost reception was for a sunny weekend, we were excited for some good conditions to get some jumps going.   So we settled in, met some locals, and enjoyed the first night of the Mt Baker Shoot Out.

With what felt like a knife to the heart, I awoke to the loud spatter of rain hitting the roof of the RV.  We were in disbelief!  No way was it raining, we had thought we were going to have an epic day of sun, soft snow and hucking…… but this morning was not that.  The event people headed up to set up, while most of the rv campers were making breakfast and getting ready for a wet day on the hill.  After some food and stretching, we decided to not let the weather get us down, so we geared up and headed out.  The road up the mtn was long and bumpy, but not too bad yet.  As I rode up the trail I was getting more excited to ride as we went.  The amount of snow that has fallen on Baker this year is amazing, and you could tell it was a big year as we got higher.  When we got to the event area it was almost snowing, but socked in and very low vizibility.  The clouds were all around and no break in sight……  It seemed like about 400 sleds were in attendance, which is amazing given the weather.  It made for a fun day with all the people young and old, new and seasoned, out on sleds riding and together.  The hardest thing was telling all the locals, that wanted to see us hit some big jumps, that the conditions were not what we needed.  A big part of going big is the out come.  We are a very calculated safe crew and if its not right then we have no problem stepping aside, which we had to do at the shoot out…….  We were bummin that we couldn’t put on a show because there are a lot of possibilities there, but when you cant define the snow 2 feet in front of you then flying thru the air is not the best idea.  We hung out for a while, then went for a ride around the mtn to see what Baker had to offer.

As we rode around the mountain we found all kinds of goods, from open bowls, rollers, cornices and such, to tight treed rivenes, and epic boondocking.  Even though the weather was rainy, wet and hard to see, we still made the best of the weekend.  Both days we rode were the same in conditions but fun in the afternoon as the temps rose and snow got softer.  Around 3pm on day 2 Ken found a spot to sesh a lil hip jump.  It was fun and we got a few good shots that made us feel better about the cloudy weekend.  All in all we had a great time at the Mt Baker shoot out.  Thanks to Lifecycles Ski Doo, The Glacier Cruizers, and Stevo and Lizzy for the sunday tour.  We will be back on a pow day to ride what Baker has to offer!  If you have not been to the Baker Shoot Out, I suggest that you put it on your calendar for next year.  We will probably be there again, and fingers will be crossed for sun!

Ride on!

After a 16 hr drive and 3hr layover at HMK we made it to Kens familys house just north of Seattle,  we stayed the night so we could finish the journey to Pemberton the next day with clear eyes and good light.  Our call to Kenny and John in Pemby was a great motivator due to the confirmation of epic riding to be had.  John and Kenny had hooked up with a local rider, Tyler Kushbaurer, who they were having a blast with, riding some killer terrain and getting the whole experiance.  Ken and myself couldnt wait  to get there.  Upon arriving at the Canadian boarder we did not expect a one hour layover, but all in all it was no big deal,  I think they were just courious of all the sponsor logos, wraped sleds, fresh new gear and two handsome athletes coming into their country.  Just remember your papers on your sled, truck, and anything you might need to show proof of when you go.  So we rallyed thru Vancuver, up the valley to Whistler and past, the roads changed, less traffic, more snow, and it was storming a little.  We were like kids on xmas eve.  We pulled into the Poney to meet up with Kenny, John, and Tyler for some dinner.  Bomb food, good laughs, and a great intro to the epic town of Pemberton.  We stayed at the Pemberton Lodge that night and got ready to ride “the Hurly” the next day.

When you drive north ish out of Pemby you can see up the valley quite a ways.  Not always can you see the top of the mountains up there, but you know that they are lurking above the tree line covered with fresh pow and wanting you to rip them up. The Hurly is some of the only peaks you can see from the valley when on the approach.  The best thing about the riding areas in BC are that you turn off of a rual road onto what looks like a farm road, then drive up it over ice, snow, tracks, and all kinds of things until you think your lost in the woods.  Then you park next to ten or more other cars trucks and sled trailers, so you know its gotta be good.  After parking you ride up a grommer, then farther up the groomer, then up more on the groomer that is cut into the  valley wall, then your altimiter reads 4,000 and your only half way.  The snow level starts to change, the trees start to become diffrent and more and more snow seems to be available to ride off trail.  Your still not to the zone……  after what seems like a forever trail ride you then notice a few key places that tracks veir off the groomer, choose one and follow it up through the trees above some gnarly drainages, keep going up and then you pop out on top of epic glades, glaicers, peaks, windlips, rollers and everything you can think of.  We rode an epic first day in 4 feet of fresh pow, partly sunny skys and super fun terrain.  The everlasting storm came in so we dropped into some epic gullies that Tyler knew of and had an afternoon filled with boondockin our way around.  My new 2012 freeride was amazing, an untamed animal clawing its way around the forest, climbing, sidehilling, pow turning, all over……. After a our fist day of the season in deep pow and plenty of interesting tree lines, we were spent.

We stayed at premby lodge again and DTroy met us that night.  He got there just as we were passing out and we got ready for our second day.  Tyler was unable to ride because one of his rental sleds took a beating and he had to repair it that day to try and get it back out on the rent.  So it was just Ken D Troy and myself.  We decided to ride what we knew since there was a storm and it wasn’t going to let up.  We had another epic day of riding trees, gullies, and boondocking our way around what we could see.  That night we found a little lodge cabin called green water resort that an old snowboard pro mike michaelchuk built.  Actually a friend of mine in Tahoe, James Cole, told me to call Mike to see about where we should stay.  Just so happens we got lucky that Tyler knew him and turned us on to his place.   It was an epic house, with a pond and looked like a great wedding location in the summer.  We stayed in a 2 bedroom pull out couch suite with kitchen and stove.  It was a guest building with two of the same suites above and below, we stayed there rest of the week.  It was perfect.  We rode another day at the hurly with Ken and D Troy, the storm had subsided and it was partly cloudy, we decided to ride out past a cat ski op that was way out.  When I say way out, I mean we put in 70 miles that day and I bet only 10- 20 were off trail…….. the terrain was worth it!   The next day we went to a place called rainbow, a storm came in that morning and it was deep and fresh.  We were still riding without Tyler, but found our way around pretty good given it was another epic storm boondock day.  We could only see the trees as the light was flat, but man did we shred some pow!  We ripped up an area all day and got back to the truck at night fall, it was a great trip and still snowing.  The net morning D Troy had to leave to go back to work.  Since the storm was still pounding Ken and myself took a day off to rest and grabbed lunch in Pemberton.  This is a town that has a great vibe, and a place I hope to visit much more.

Tyler called us in the morning and we were ready to go after plenty of sleep.  After explaining what we rode at Rainbow he said we didn’t even hit half of it, so we were heading back to get the real deal.  With partly cloudy skies and more pow we were killing it once again.  The only other riders out there turned out to be Nadia Samer and some photogs working on her segment for the year.  It was a great day.  We all hung rode and then went into Whistler for a brew after riding.  Checking the weather and listening to Tyler and Nadia it sounded like we were going to get that epic blue bird day with dope snow, so we headed back to the cabin so we could be ready for the next day.  We were going to ride the Rutherford.  The Rutherford is access to glacier riding all above tree line with big peaks, and amazing views.  It couldn’t have been a better day.  With blue skies and fresh pow we were eating it up! I couldn’t believe it that we got this lucky, all this snow, killer crew, and now big peaks blue bird!!  We rode 6 days and each one was off the hook!  What a great way to end our Canadian adventure.  Our friends Tyler and Nadia were a blast to ride with and stoked to know them.  We will see them again soon.

Once Ken and I were on the road back to North Bend WA to put on our film premier, we heard that Seattle and the entire area was getting pounded by a big winter storm, which can rock the city and shut everything down with only a few inches of snow……  Well it was true, they had snow, and ice storms, then big winds that knocked down trees all over the area.  This rendered many of the towns powerless, including North Bend with out power for 3 days.  The venue had to cancel our premier, which was kind of a blessing in disguise because the mountains out side of the Seattle area had just gotten over 6 feet of snow and it was still coming down.  We were stoked!  So we headed to Kenny Wrens cabin in Cle Elum to stay and ride a few days.  D Troy met us on the way, and we were back in winter.  Our first day was another storm day which was deep and awesome.  Kenny Wren took us around showing us all kinds of epic trees and routes.  We rode a huge loop in the storm and we were whooped, but fired up to ride the next day.  We stayed in Kenny Wrens guest apartment above his garage which was super nice  of him to put us up.  Especially in a place like that!  We hung out and got ready for yet another blue bird epic pow day.  When we got up, the skies were crystal clear, the temps were going to stay in the upper 20’s and the snow was deep!  We headed out and got to ride all the peaks that we couldn’t see the day before.  It was beyond perfect.  In fact Kenny Wren said it was the best conditions he has had up there in Washington in about 7 years.  The snow was stable, light and cold.  We had a great day, rode until dark and only saw about 8 other riders.  Our day was filled with everything and the sunset from the mountain was one I will remember for a long time.  With Mt Rainier in the back ground, and fresh pow everywhere.  Thank you Kenny Wren.  John Helmer, and big thanks to D Troy for running the Pacific North West AA style!  Ken and I had to head back to Tahoe the next day where winter was still on hold.   But our first days of the season couldn’t have been better and what a way to sign out with deep fresh blue conditions.  Great times, thats what its all about!

Ride on!