personal | winter reflection

If you haven't guessed by my endless stream of snowy photos on Instagram already, I love winter. Honestly this comes as a bit of surprise to me. Born and raised in the Arizona sunshine, I don't think anyone could have predicted that I would have an undying love for playing in the snow in my adult years. But alas, it's true. It's not that I don't enjoy summer, it's just that I'm really really busy in the summer. When winter comes around, it's like this cold breath of fresh air and freedom. My weekends are free, my evenings are relaxing, and I have time to give back to myself. This past Saturday, I spent my 25th day on the slopes this season. Not bad for a city dweller right? Some may call us crazy and complain about the commute, but to me, every minute is worth it. Snowboarding is where I feel the most free. Floating down the side of a mountain in fresh powder on my board is a feeling I get nowhere else and it completely balances out all of the other madness that I find in life. The peaceful pockets between the trees where everything is quiet and snow falls all around keep me calm. The steep faces I somehow get down when I was standing at the top feeling nervous give me an immense sense of accomplishment. And it's all followed by the high fives with friends at the end of the day with smiles pinned on our faces from ear to ear. Snowboarding makes me want to be better, to challenge myself, and improve. I fully believe that those values are transferred over into the business side of my life. As the temperatures rise and the summer approaches, I know that I can go into the busy season with a refreshed mind and strong body. Without snowboarding, I just wouldn't be me.

personal | splitboard adventures at paradise on mt rainier

I know, I know. Winter is over. On sunny days like this though, I can't seem to stop thinking about winter adventures. See for me, summer is my working season. I can barely find the time to leave my computer screen, let alone go on a hike or make it to a happy hour with friends. With that season rapidly approaching, I've been trying to savor every last bit of free time I have. Taking a walk through the neighborhood, going on a weekend bike ride, whatever I can fit in before my time is taken up by editing, shooting, traveling, answering emails, uploading photos, writing blogs, connecting with vendors, and all of the other wonderful things that my job entails. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but like everyone else, I do savor my days off.

This winter, in fact, was terrible. And winter the time that I usually look forward to the most. It's pretty depressing to see snow levels the way they are. Cherry blossoms were blooming in February, it was raining instead of snowing in January at Crystal Mountain, and I can only imagine how it's going to impact the wildfires this summer. That being said, I do think it's funny when people look at me cross-eyed after I tell them I went snowboarding in April. Yes, it was bad, but it doesn't mean there was NO snow! When you spent five years of your life living in a ski town, sliding down snow simply becomes a way of life. With ski resorts having sub-par conditions for most of the end of winter this year, I found that it was absolutely necessary to go hunting for powder in other ways. Enter Jeff and Kelly Steele. Basically I met these two through Instagram. Sounds crazy, but a mutual friend commented on some of Jeff's photos and I realized he had a wife that was a splitboarder. I've been desperately hoping to find a lady friend to splitboard with in Washington. Not that I don't like going with only boys, or girl skiers for that matter, it's just different to have another female around that is doing the same thing you are. I recognized Jeff on a particularly poor weather day up at Crystal this year. We were all lamenting the bad weather over beers at the Snorting Elk. It seemed like the best way to spend the day at the time. We got to talking and planned our first trip up to Paradise on Mt. Rainier.

Our first experience was probably one of the best days I've EVER had snowboarding. We only took a couple of lines but the powder was totally incredible that day. It had snowed about a foot and the trees looked like tasty marshmallow-ice cream cones against a brilliant blue sky. Really I couldn't think of anywhere else I wanted to be at the time! The next time we went up was just a few weeks ago in April. Visibility was nearly nothing with the fog and clouds as we were skinning up. Barely being able to see, we decided to stay low on the mountain and dropped into a skinny little chute that Jeff and Kelly named "Happy New Year Chute". All of us were completely shocked that the snow was so good. And it was April! After that it warmed up into some pretty sticky snow but the companionship and the feeling of being out in the mountains made for a pretty amazing day. 

I have to say, I'm pretty stoked to have met these two. I love having Kelly around to tell me "You can do it!" as I'm struggling up a slippery kick-turn or to high five after an amazing line. There's just something different about the energy that girls bring to the table when they snowboard together and I have really missed is since leaving Jackson Hole. I can't wait to see what other memories and stories we can all create together, no matter what Mother Nature decides to hand us next season. Cheers to wonderful days in the mountains.

gaper day 2012

It's back! The annual celebration of neon, eighties, mullets, scrunchies, and one-piece ski outfits. For those who don't know what a "gaper" is, see last year's post. It was a bit cloudy this year, so for once I was thankful to be wearing a horribly ventilated jumpsuit. We spent the day cruising the slushy mountain and showing off our sweet moves. Enjoy the photos!

thinking dinosaur.

riding the gondola.

gapers on thunder bumps.

halina.

kelly, halina & me.

halina, tyler & kelly jumping for joy!

halina, normally a snowboarder, tries to figure out her skis.

here's my boyfriend. i'm so proud!

halina loses her ski.

david practicing his jump turns.

david spread eagles off of a jump on croaky point.

tyler's sweet outfit.

david continues to show off.

tyler, normally a skier. the snowboard doesn't phase him.

olivia, the mountain princess.

gapers at the top of the gondola.

david and the stash park.

big moves off of the platform.

i finally get to show off my skills.

fun with sparklers.

mountain fest

I love spring on the hill in Jackson Hole. There's live music every weekend, the sun is shining, the slopes are slushy and soft, and people are living up the last few weeks of winter. Yesterday, G Love and Special Sauce played a big concert out in the parking lot. It was 60 degrees, and I had the best time cruising around the hill with my friends and then hanging out at the concert. This warm weather has me super excited for summer, and we still have a whole week of snowboarding left! More spring festivities to come...Happy Gaper Day!

i love snowboarding

All I can say is...I love snowboarding. It's the weeks like this that keep me going back for more, and make me realize why I chose to live in a place like this. Oh, beautiful Jackson Hole.

a very snowy sublette chairlift ride.

dreamy alpenglow at teton village.

Teton Pow

It's been snowing here in Jackson quite a bit over the last few weeks. The bleak, dry, sub-zero sunny days seem to be transitioning into more of the fluffy white stuff. Ninety-mile-per-hour winds scoured our mountain over the past couple of days and left us with some really powder-filled zones. Here's a shot of David hitting one of his new favorite lines. Keep it coming, Mother Nature!

The Power of Mother Nature

I would definitely call myself a backcountry enthusiast. Nearly every day I'm dragging my snowboard out of the safety gates of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. I've taken an avalanche course. I know how it works. I've probably spent hundreds of days out of bounds. With that said, I have never seen an avalanche. It's a common fact that women are more conservative in the backcountry...less willing to take big risks. I'm definitely one that fits into that category, and I'm totally fine with it. My life will not be any less desirable if I don't do "Twice is Nice," a "no fall zone" just south of Cody Peak. I don't look longingly up at "Talk is Cheap" or "Breakneck" and wonder when I'm going to get the chance to hit them. I play it safe.

Nevertheless, I lugged my backcountry/camera bag out of the gates on a sunny Sunday morning, March 29, 2011 -- a date I don't think I'll forget. I was planning to go shoot photos of David Duffy dropping a 40-foot cliff called Smart Bastard. He was planning on entering the slope in an area called "Cowboys and Indians" and then traverse over to hit the big drop. Nothing unusual, just a big line, that many people have hit before. The avalanche danger was "moderate," that being only one step up from "low". We thought we were good to go.

Smart Bastard is on the right. You drop it diagonally into the little couloir.

I posted up just north of the drop so I would have a perfect view of the entire slope. There were tons of people out, as it was a beautiful day with a fresh coating of our world famous champagne powder...not to mention we've received over 500 inches of snow this year so stuff is pretty filled in. A pretty good year to check off some boxes on your backcountry hit list, if you feel the need to do so. I saw David peak over the top of the face, just as I saw two guys about to drop Smart Bastard. They were on a much lower entrance and they set off a pretty good amount of sluff, which was to be expected. The slope is, after all, 55+ degrees steep. I still wasn't worried at this point.

I got on the phone with David to help him navigate underneath a little patch of rocks so that he could easily traverse over to the cliff. Just as he was inching down the last part of the open snow field to his left, the whole slope ripped out. A thundering noise rattled the valley below, with waves of snow pouring over the cliff band. David was lucky enough to be able to make a quick turn and grab onto the nearby rocks for dear life. He was able to withstand the falling snow boulders and stayed safe and uninjured through the whole event. This guy was lucky.

After the avalanche, David climbed his way slowly back up the steep slope and rode to safety. He never did get to drop Smart Bastard, but it didn't really matter seeing as he could have died in an avalanche that day. We are all so thankful for his life.

Before and after shots of the slope.

David next to the massive crown.

I write this blog mainly because I have plenty of friends out there who take big risks on a daily basis. This was a moderate avalanche danger day, and David was able to release a size 2 avalanche with a 55 inch crown with the weight of just one person. Pretty scary. I know it's the end of the season and it's time to ski the lines you've been drooling over all year, but please be careful. I love my friends out here and I would never want anything to happen to them.

With that said, let's throw on some neon onezies this weekend and get our shred on!