Top Snowboarders Face Off in Travis Rice's Supernatural at Baldface, B.C. (Video)

By Samantha Cook

Starting today, 18 of the world’s top snowboarders will face off in the inaugural Red Bull Supernatural Contest, a competition unlike any before. Snowboarder Travis Rice, one of our 2012 Adventurers of the Year, has created his dream playground designed to determine the best snowboarder on the planet.

Located in the backcountry of Canada’s Baldface Lodge, the heli-access-only 2,200-vertical-foot “Scary Cherry” run has been enhanced with more than 80 man-made features that took Rice and his crew five months to build. The course is designed to test a wide range of skills such as navigation and the ability to ride natural terrain as well as overcome challenging man-made obstacles. The daylong competition will run sometime between today and February 8 to ensure the event takes place under the best possible weather conditions.

“Inspiration for the course design came from nature, straight up, and the crazy features that I’ve seen people ride,” said Rice. “Also, some inspiration came from what they are able to do with mountain biking courses, like building stuff through the trees. There’s no limit to what is possible with a little creativity and some will.”

Rice himself is known for his creative moves. In his film The Art of Flight, he and his friends performed breathtaking snowboard feats in previously uncharted terrain. Now with a course of his own design, Rice seeks to inspire competitors to show off their own ingenuity. His ultimate goal for the competition? “To crown the best, most well rounded snowboarder in the world.”

Ski Touring the Tetons (Photos): Hiking Up, Shredding Down Teewinot, the Grand, Cloudveil Dome

Text and photos by Kim Havell, Salomon Freeski International Team

It was a slow start to winter for resorts in the U.S. In order to find snow in the early season, for many passionate skiers, it meant getting creative.

Based out of the Wasatch this season, due to drier conditions, I decided to drive north for four to Jackson, Wyoming, to poke around the Tetons for a few days. Jackson temporarily offered more promise with snow depths that prevailed over many other locations in the West. After some great days skiing at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, it was time to go exploring for some fresh snow in Grand Teton National Park.

With soaring peaks, protected canyons, and endless terrain possibilities, the park holds great promise for adventure. The 40-mile-long Teton Range is the youngest mountain chain in the Rocky Mountains with beautiful, jagged summits and long, aesthetic runs. This is a bountiful area for backcountry skiers.

Luckily, I was able to meet up with some expert local friends who accompanied me on a few fun backcountry ski tours. Steve Romeo, professional skier and www.TetonAt.com honcho, and Greg von Doersten, professional adventure photographer, both had time for some missions in the park.

Our team encountered a variety of conditions on our adventures with cold temps (-20F), big winds (50 mph+ gusts), and changing visibility, but we did find great snow on each excursion and that made the journey worthwhile. We skied lines off of three different high peaks: Teewinot, the Grand Teton, and Cloudveil Dome. Averaging roughly six to eight hours per route, we invested good energy in getting up high to scout out the best options for descent.

The first adventure took us to Teewinot Peak, which at 12,325 feet is the sixth highest peak in the range. The name of the mountain is derived from the Shoshone Native American word that means "many pinnacles." With a 6 a.m. start, after climbing close to 5,500 feet, we dropped into its southeast couloir for some soft, silky turns down to the lower apron. The remainder of the ski we were gliding through fresh powder to the valley floor.

Skiing Video: Trust in the Guardian - Salomon Freeski TV - “Selkirks Touring”

By Kim Havell

When you are skiing powder in Canada’s Selkirk mountain range, Research and Development is a very good job. Companies often want to see how their prototype product works in the field, so somebody’s got to do it.

In the sports realm, team athletes are often called upon to use and critique their gear for feedback, improvement, and development. This was the case for skiers Chris Rubens, Elyse Saugstad and I in the Selkirks this past March 2011. Our mission was to put Salomon Freeski’s new ski binding with touring capability to the test. After two weeks of hammering it in the big mountains, we were thrilled with the performance of “the Guardian."

Videos: Stuff Outdoors People Say, Bro - Which is Your Favorite?

We gotta give these guys points for creativity and keep a straight face—all in good fun and great for a laugh. Which is your favorite? It's a tie between the skiing and climbing for us.

Skiing


Climbing

Shit Climbers Say from Louder Than 11 on Vimeo.

Kayaking


Snowboarding

Your Adventure Civic Duty: Vote for the People's Choice Adventurer of the Year (Last Call)

We are down to just a few days left to vote once a day for your favorite Adventurer of the Year. On January 18 at midnight, we will have a new People's Choice Adventurer of the Year. We'd be thrilled if any of the twelve nominees won. So far the race has been tight! It's possible that the standings could change over the weekend, if people really come out and rock the vote every day. As a member of the greater adventure community, it really is your civic duty to thrown down your ballot (once a day) until the voting is done.

As a brief refresher, here's a look at each adventurers' video clips. Hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis, who set a new overall record on the Appalachian Trail, and kayakers Jon Turn and Erik Boomer, who completed the first circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island, were so consumed by their challenges that they did not shoot video. That in itself is pretty bad ass. Mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner's footage will be shown in conjuction with an upcoming article in National Geographic magazine.

Who will be the People's Choice? You decide.

Vote Here

Microadventure 8: River Swim from Alastair Humphreys on Vimeo.

COLD - TRAILER from Forge Motion Pictures on Vimeo.

Danny Macaskill: Industrial Revolutions from Cut Media on Vimeo.

Brain Farm - The Art of Flight Trailer from Brain Farm on Vimeo.

SOLITAIRE: A Backcountry Skiing, Snowboarding, and Telemark Film from Sweetgrass Productions on Vimeo.

Ten Days Left to Vote For the People's Choice Adventurer of the Year! VIDEO

Here's to living adventurously. And voting for the People's Choice Adventurer of the Year. There are just ten days left to cast your vote once a day. Voting ends January 18, 2012, at midnight.

Vote Now!
http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/adventurers-of-the-year/2012/vote/

You can also read interviews and see photos of each candidate.

We'd like to give special thanks to our Adventurers of the Year Advisory Board. They helped us stay on top of the year's brightest adventure accomplishments. We hope you will check out their respective work and organizations.

National Geographic Adventurers of the Year Advisory Board

Colin Angus and Julie Wafaei Angus, adventurers-authors, Angus Adventures (2007 Adventurers of the Year)

Kraig Becker, Editor, The Adventure Blog

Fitz Cahall, Editor, The Dirtbag Diaries

Natalie Cash, Senior Producer, Wildlife Conservation Society

Steve Casimiro, Editor, Adventure Journal

Ted Endo, Surf Editor, The Inertia

Alex Honnold, Rock Climber (2011 Adventurer of the Year)

Trip Jennings, Kayaker/Filmmaker, Epicocity Films (2008 Adventurer of the Year)

Lorie Karnath, President, The Explorers Club

Pete Mortimer, President, Sender Films

Rebecca Martin, Executive Director, National Geographic Expeditions Council

Andrew Skurka, Hiker/Expeditioner (2008 Adventurer of the Year)

Bryan Smith, Kayaker/Filmmaker, Reel Water Productions

Gregg Trennish, Adventurer/Biologist, Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation (2009 Adventurer of the Year)

Sadie Quarrier, Senior Photo Editor, National Geographic magazine

 

Gear Review: Anon M1 Snow Goggles's Magnetic Changeable Lens

By Contributing Editor Steve Casimiro, editor of Adventure Journal

This goggle doesn’t exist yet. It’s new for the 2012-13 season, but Red/Anon (a Burton brand) released the above YouTube vid to give the world an idea of what’s to come, and we have to admit it looks intriguing. Smith already has their Outrigger I/O-I/OS lock/unlock system that allows lens changes much more quickly, but Anon is promising something mas rapido, with magnets holding the lenses in place and small levers at the bottom of the lens and goggle frame junction facilitating a quick swap even while you’re still wearing the goggles.

Pitfalls? Well the lack of a mechanical latch to hold the lens in place might mean that it could detach inadvertently — say, during a face plant in a few feet of powder. And what we’d really love is for someone to invent a light adaptive and tint-adaptive lens to make swapping a thing of the past.

$199 – $220, depending on the style. LINK

 

Snowboarder Jeremy Jones on Protect Our Winters

"Jeremy Jones is an alien. He's just inhumanly good at snowboarding." So lives the legend of this pioneering big-mountain rider. We heard this comment this week from an Alaska-based ski/snowboarding operator, but the sentiment is one that rings throughout the snowboarding world.

Once a pro rider hitting a different big-mountain location every week, Jones's ethos have evolved over the years. Instead of heli-assisted first descents, he now prefers to go the old-fashioned way—on foot or splitboard. "The reality with going on foot is that it can take days to go do one run. It’s definitely a quality over quantity deal," he says. His film trilogy Deeper is aimed to show that you can do world-class freeriding without a helicopter. Further, part two due out September 2012, shows some of the best riders exploring the backcountry the slow way, which makes for a more a richer, more personal snowboarding film.

This falls right in line with Protect Our Winters (POW), a foundation Jones started in 2007 to unite the snow-sports industry and fans to fight climate change. With 30,000 members and some of our favorite athletes as ambassadors, Protect Our Winters is taking their message to the classroom and to Congress.

To kick off skiing and snowboarding season, we caught up with Jones to find out the latest on POW, what it's like to talk to Congress about climate change, and his favorite places to ride. —Mary Anne Potts

Become a Protect Our Winters Member:
This year, Alamos Wines is spreading the love by gifting 1,000 people with yearlong POW memberships. The winery is getting involved because it relies heavily on the snowmelt from the Andes to irrigate its vineyards. Simply register on protectourwinters.org. Your fee will be waived by entering the codeword ALAMOS.

Adventure: What’s going on with Protect Our Winters right now?
Jeremy Jones: The foundation continues to strengthen and grow. We're becoming more educated in doing our job better and making sure that each dollar raised goes as far as possible.

This fall we have been busy with a Hot Planet, Cool Athlete tour, where we take professional athletes into high schools with a scientist. We have this really hip, upbeat presentation on the state of the planet and climate change. We break it down for them and explain ways that they can help. The in-school stuff is the most rewarding, uplifting thing we do at Protect Our Winters because it gives us a level of hope to see the next generation really rise to the challenge of climate change. They really want to make a difference—and they are not accepting defeat like some of the older generations.

A: What's it like to talk to Congress about climate change? Are there any skiers or snowboarders among our elected officials?
Jeremy: Well, there aren’t any snowboarders in Congress. But I have met some die-hard skiers...and general mountain climbers and outdoor enthusiasts. When we go to Congress, sometimes we meet with full champions on climate change who are really excited that we are there. They realize that they need our help, really. Although I would say the discussion on climate has gone the wrong way on Capitol Hill over the last couple years. But there’s hope on Capitol Hill that the ship will be righted and we can start feeling positively.

Video: Watch the Amazing JP Auclair Street Skiing Scene From All.I.Can.

JP Auclair Street Segment (from All.I.Can.) from Sherpas Cinema on Vimeo.

This scene from the award-winning Sherpas Cinema ski film All.I.Can. may have been our favorite at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Set to LCD Soundsystem's "Dance Yourself Clean," it features freeskier JP Auclair jibbing his way through three towns in British Columbia, Canada. "We asked people if we could 'play' in their front yards before we'd start jumping over their cars, etc.," says Auclair, who seems to effortlessly ski across snowless roads (causing sparks), down staircases, and flipping through intersections. "We had spotters at each intersection to make sure there were no cars coming ... usually our spotters were kids walking back from school and people living in the neighborhood." Amid all the fun of this scene is a serious message: "Showing skiing where most might not have expected it, making turns beyond the ski resort, beyond the snow was a simple way to illustrate human's capability for imagination and creativity—which are just a few of the qualities we need to solve crisis like global warming," says Auclair, who answered some of our questions about the scene below. —Mary Anne Potts

Adventure: All.I.Can. has a strong environmental message. How does this scene play into that? 

JP Auclair: Global warming is a serious issue. People have to act. We believe we need to go beyond the traditional "consume less, travel less, live less" mentality. We believe a shift in the approach to a sustainable world is also needed. The parallel drawn with the piece is basically to show we can think outside the box. Showing skiing where most might have not expected it, making turns beyond the ski resort, beyond the snow was a simple way to illustrate human's capability for imagination and creativity—which are just a few of the qualities we need to solve crisis like global warming.

A: Is it legal to ski like this? Did you have to ask people to stay out of the way? 
JP: This was shot in Trail, Nelson, and Rossland—all in B.C., Canada. Not sure if this was entirely legal to ski like that. I can say, however, that you're less likely to run into trouble in whatever you are doing if you respect the wellbeing of others around you. We asked people if we could "play" in their front yard before we'd start jumping over their cars, etc. We had spotters at each intersections to make sure there were no cars coming ... usually our spotters were kids walking back from school and people living in the neighborhood. Lots of "standbyers" participated!

Adventurers of the Year 2012: Skier Nick Waggoner

Over the next two weeks we will introduce each of the new Adventurers of the Year here on our blog. Be sure to cast your vote every day for the People's Choice Award.

See photos of all the Adventurers of the Year!

“In the moment, it felt like we were failing every day. We weren’t good enough. We weren’t strong enough. It’s part of the artistic process,” says ski filmmaker Nick Waggoner, director of Sweetgrass Productions. Twenty seconds into Solitaire, his South American ski odyssey, it’s clear that the 25-year-old Waggoner has disproved the idea that the only way to make a better adventure film is with a bigger budget.

SOLITAIRE: A Backcountry Skiing, Snowboarding, and Telemark Film from Sweetgrass Productions on Vimeo.

Shot on foot, horseback, riverboat, skis, and paragliders over the course of two years, Solitaire explores South America from the Amazon jungles to the Cordillera Blanca and from the Altiplano all the way to wind-raked Patagonia. Waggoner and his co-producers Michael Brown, Zac Ramras, and Ben Sturgulewski chose the Andes for its extreme conditions—fickle snow, horrible winds, and powerful landscapes. No helicopters. No chalets or ski lodges. Shooting the film required living and working out of tents in relentless rain and snow sometimes for weeks in a row, traversing broken glaciers just to see the peaks they would then climb and shoot, and flying paragliders from 17,000-foot mountains while filming. Each shot was earned by hiking thousands of feet in predawn darkness.

“This was complete immersion in the environment,” says Waggoner. The enormity and risk of what they were about to attempt hit home on the very first day of filming on location. The New York City native and Ramras arrived in South America to the news that their friend and the film’s intended star, extreme skier Arne Backstrom, had fallen to his death from 18,897-foot Nevado Pisco.

“This was no longer a cute little ski film,” says Waggoner. “This movie became about the dark place between failure and success.”

Fortunately for us, that uncertainty makes a beautiful, intriguing film through the focus of Waggoner’s lens. When it comes to the art of adventure, heart, resolve, and imagination trump a million dollars every time.

—Fitz Cahall

 

Now read the interview with Nick Waggoner and be sure to vote everyday for your favorite adventurer