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EP3: Red & White

April 3rd, 2013

We have been striking out left and right recently. The storms diverged/don’t even develop, the sun comes out and it is 60 degrees, or ,and this is my favorite, it dumps 2ft right after we leave. But hey, that is life and thats why we love skiing, it ain’t easy but when you get it good, you appreciate it all the more.

Well we finally hit it good, down in Moab of all places. We took bikes, a sled, skis, skins and camping gear to the desert. Some of you may remember a post several years ago about the ‘Helen Keller couloir’, I had touted it as one of the most committing and scary things I have ever done. Well this past trip it managed to be even spicier…and scarier. This time I hiked up a different route, so I had no idea what the snow or the width of the couloir was like. I also (stupidly) skied it all by myself, meaning there was no one within an hour of getting to me should anything go wrong, think soloing a big rock climb.

Once at the top I was exhausted and was staring down a REALLY narrow slot. The first turns in are the most committing and were solid wind buff. My skis chattered around like crazy and it was difficult to set an edge, however it all went smooth and then I was into the gut of the beast. The first time I skied it the crux was about 180cm wide, exactly as wide as my skis. This time, due to a low snow year, the crux was about 90cm wide. There was no way my Hoji 187cm were going to fit. This is also not the kind of line you can just point, because there is no slowing down and there is no falling.

After taking off my skis in what seemed like the steepest part of the couloir, down-climbing and then putting my skis back on I was ready to make some more turns. Usually putting my skis on is the scariest part of any climb/ski, I feel MUCH more comfortable with them on. But having to do so in the middle of this line oddly did not phase me at the time, I think I was so hypersensitive to not screw up that it all went smoothly.

With my skis back on I made some more tight turns and slowly made my way down. I have never sat down in the middle of a line, usually they are over pretty quickly, but this one took more out of me than I could have imagined. After skiing the couloir in its entirety, I peaked around the corner right above the apron and had to give my legs a break. I was breathing so hard I couldn’t even get on the radio. Even on the apron, the snow was extremely variable and took just as much concentration to ski as did the couloir.

So now that you have a little bit more ‘behind the scenes’ info, watch as it all got captured on film.

Red & White: Life Unbound EP3 [S2] from The Life Unbound on Vimeo.

Cheers!

Weston

Pow day with the Powderwhores

February 3rd, 2013

It had been a long time since I had been in front of camera. Holidays, the flu, bad snow, all had contributed to me not getting out too much. That all changed when I had the opportunity to go out with the Powderwhores.  What was even better for me was I was not the one lugging the camera and tripod around, Noah had that pleasure.

We got out with the Grants, an awesome couple/team that splitboard and shred.  The snow was funky and up side down, each time we did a lap a layer of ice covered our goggles and gear.

I also had a personal first which I have learned much from: an avalanche.  A pocket released about a 1.5 to 2ft crown and followed me down the mountain.  Noah calmly proclaimed “avalanche” and I was able to cut off to the side unscathed.

I had my trusty Drift Ghost HD and caught some of the days action from my point of view.

 

60 seconds of Powder skiing with the Powderwhores from The Life Unbound on Vimeo.

EP2, SE2

January 4th, 2013

Well December proved to be a very difficult month.  We had approx. 4 days to shoot between holidays, work, out of townees and bad weather.

Transitions: Life Unbound EP2 [SE2] from The Life Unbound on Vimeo.

When we did make it out, the wind played a major role in what we did. From where we could ski to where we could film and not get blown off the mountain.

Until next time…..

MOUNTING…..continued

December 8th, 2012

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is where to mount Telemark bindings on Alpine skis.  People from all over the world get in touch with me to try and decipher the mysterious formula that is mounting.

Last year I went ahead and made an edit trying to demystify the process.

How to mount telemark skis from The Life Unbound on Vimeo.

I followed the same formula that I have been using to mount bindings for years, and it is pretty simple:  Mount your boot sole center where the ski manufacturer recommends.  I tend to mount a lot of skis in a year, from my own to Shaun’s, to friends to entire demo fleets for companies.  Without being overly boisterous, I have the opportunity to mount and SKI more skis than almost anyone out there.

That being said, there are always exceptions to the rules, and all of us eat our words at some point or another.  Case in point, 196 Renegades from 4FRNT, 137.122.131, with a recommended mount point of 92cm from tail.  When I first got my hand on this coveted ski I was beyond excited and mounted them up on no sleep and as soon as possible. Following my formula that has been working for years, I mounted them up. The mount point is mathematically 6cm behind true center, which makes sense as the ski is designed around a fully rockered profile, therefore the entire purpose of the ski is to sit dead center at the sidecut.  In alpine turns the ski preformed beyond my wildest dreams, nimble yet stable with a shape that allowed the operator to fine tune each turn.

Telemark turns were a whole other bag of worms.  The relatively narrow nose caused tip dive and because the design of the ski was so exacting, it placed the force of the uphill foot far in front of the center of the sidecut. Also in alpine turns, skiing on a a single balance point (think of the skis rocker as skiing on a half-moon) allowed for quick changes in snow quality, steepness or variability.  When dropping a knee you had to find the balance between two half moons and make adjustments simultaneously.  Also because there is no camber in this ski one cannot pressure the tail (a huge part of how I ski) of the ski until after they have used all the rocker.  Thus making me ski in a lower stance and using up my “spring” travel (my legs are like springs, if the spring is bottomed out, it cannot be used to make adjustments or absorb bumps, by skiing in a higher stance it allows me to ski with more control).

My first thought turned to the ski, make a Renegade with camber underfoot.  It would alleviate the problem of not having to overcome the rocker to achieve a stable platform in the turn as well as it would inherently move the mount point further back and aid in stopping tip dive.  The boys over at 4FRNT have been working beyond overdrive to fill quotas, make samples and generally working their asses off, so no prototyping for at least another few months.  In lei of that I took a pair of Renegades and pulled the mount point back substantially, to 85cm from the tail.  While it has not totally fixed the problem, it has made the ski perform much better for my personal use.  I have skied it several days now, but have not gotten it out on a truly deep day, which will be the ultimate test.  My thoughts at the moment is that it is a touch too far back because it is difficult to drive the shovel. Any time you take a ski lesson or watch an amazing skier-no matter the conditions- from hardpack to over head blower- they ski from the tip of the ski and initiate their turn from there (which is why I am adamant about mounting at recommended boot sole center). I still have hopes of prototyping a Renegade with camber under foot and a slightly pulled back boot sole center point (maybe 87cm) so that the telemark turn can be maximized by this ski.

 

BOTTOM LINE:  When mounting a FULLY reversed camber ski, with stiff bindings and boots, some experimentation is required.

Season 2 Episode 1

November 28th, 2012

Stoked to bring you guys round 1 for season 2. With all this high pressure it is making ME really jealous. Oh well, it will come when its good and ready to.

Foosteps: Life Unbound EP1 [S2] from The Life Unbound on Vimeo.

EP4: The Sorcerer

April 11th, 2012

Here it is, the last episode of the year!

 

 

 

 

 

We had a great time doing these edits and can’t wait for next year’s antics! Next we head off to Santa Cruz for some surfing/biking and overall decompression. Happy Summer!

EP3: Sleeping Dragon

February 24th, 2012

Episode 3 is finally here! Following along with our travels from Oregon to Utah and trying to stay sane thru one of the most dangerous avalanche season’s in years.

 

Hope you enjoy!!

 

Weston

The Life Unbound partners with MyPOV360.com

February 3rd, 2012

 

 

The Life Unbound partners with MyPOV360.com, industry leader in POV cameras.

 

Park City, UT February 3, 2012.  The Life Unbound is extremely excited to be working with the Drift HD provided by MyPOV360.com.  The Drift’s unique features such as external mic, remote control activation, playback features and more will help take their filming/documenting to new heights.

 

By partnering up with MyPOV360.com, The Life Unbound (LUB) will now have access to the finest POV cameras on the market.  By using the Drift HD they will now have better capabilities for interviews, unique angles and better story telling tools.

 

MyPOV360.com is an industry leader who distributes all makes and models of Point of View (POV) cameras.  “MyPOV360.com meets the needs of sports enthusiasts by providing the highest quality, best value point of view video cameras on the market.”

 

LUB is a chronicle of athletes Weston D and Shaun Raskin as they hunt for snow, travel and live the lifestyle we all dream of.  LUB is a webisodes series and blog, which can be followed at thelifeunbound.com.

 

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How to mount telemark skis

February 1st, 2012

In my time as a telemark skier I have seen some of the most absurd, stupid and impractical mounts than I care to admit. In an attempt to remedy that and hopefully standardize it I created a How-to for mounting telemark bindings to alpine skis.

Leave a comment or chime in on the discussion!

 

One real day

January 31st, 2012

This past Friday I had an unexpectedly amazing day.  The elements of high avy danger, little new snow and mid November depth don’t normally equal an all time day.

As per usual the road up LCC was closed, adding an extra 30 min onto the already long commute.  When we finally got to the Alta parking lot what greeted us, had us frothing:  Clearing sky’s and cold temps.

We got a bit of a head start to beat the crowds and after a few freezing lift ride’s we made it over to Dry Fork.  While the rest of the crew dug a quick pit to asses the snow conditions I stayed watch on top of the ridge should anything happen.

After we discussed how we felt about the snow and the aspect we were on we took a few turns.  WOW!  Cold smoke, blinding, over the head turns where what followed.

pit in the forefrontWe all let out cries of joy at the luck we were having. Even a few short turns and being out with the boys totally reaffirmed why we do what we do.  After about an hour we packed up shop and moved over to Rocky Point (where infamous A Frame cliff is located).  Once over there we noticed another group that was also out taking pictures, so we stayed far skiers right to avoid them.  We all were able to link up more than two turns at a time and couldn’t believe how good the snow was.

Oh, hello winter

Oh, hello winter

 

After two laps and the shadows quickly marching in we called it a day.  The crowds had caught up to us, the light was dying and the temperature was quickly rising.  Below is a picture from Adam Barker that really summed up the day for me:  cold light snow that blew up in some great sunshine.  While I didn’t ski my best it was great to get out there and enjoy the company and some great snow.

Wow, I need that

Wow, I needed that

 

Here is to hoping we get more days like this….many more…..and soon!