Moab, Utah if you were unaware is billed and the “Mountain Biking Mecca” however unlike the Saudi version is not nearly as exclusive. Mountain bikers from across the globe make the Hajj, and once you are there it is easy to understand why. If brake modulation, bunny hopping, track standing and manualing are the first four pillars of mountain biking, then I would certainly have to say Moab’s marketing department got this one right.
The Switchskier Team decided it was time, as all able bodied mountain bikers are required to do, to make the trip out to Moab and leave a rubber mark on a piece of slickrock for ourselves. Ben and Nick, were ambitious enough to leave Wednesday evening and stack up four full days of riding, Danny and myself were not quite so ambitious and only put in one and two days respectively.
As you know capturing great moments is key to any successful ski day. Here is a little quote I thought make a lot of sense.
Q: Do you need a $10,000 camera system to shoot like a pro? A: No, I don’t think you do. A camera is essentially a tool, just like a hammer. You can take pictures whether it’s just a simple point-and-shoot or a serious professional camera. It’s just a matter of knowing what to shoot, when to shoot and how to shoot it…Having better equipment can give you better control over how to take the photo, but I don’t think it necessarily makes you a better photographer. Someone who’s a good photographer can take a photo with their telephone nearly as good as they could with a professional camera.
Paul Mitchell World Series of Moguls, Vail, CO, 1995: This was Shane McConkey’s coming out. Earlier in the day, he was banned from the competition for throwing a backflip, so he convinced a patroller to let him go back to the start to get his bag. Instead of picking up his things, he took off all his clothes, did a spread eagle, and was once again banned from Vail.
Freeskier had a cool article on Shane McConkey through the years. Can you imagine hitting the bumps completely nude and throwing a giant spread eagle like that?
Hermann Maier decided to end his ski racing career today after a knee injury last season, and subsequent surgery prompted him to make a long term health decision. Maier entered the ski racing world at age 23 in 1996 and has won four Olympic medals (two Gold) and six world championship medals (three Gold). Maier was an amazing skier, but most probably remember him from “the” crash in Nagano which he walked away from to return two days later and snag his first Gold.
I have always taken inspiration from snowboard videos, this was mostly due to the fact that snowboarders’ style was far more mature then that of the freeskiing world. In present day that statement no longer holds water, skiing has matured into many different things and the style I craved and found in snowboarding has come to flourish in skiing. This trailer for an upcoming video that TGR is working on with Jermey Jones, looks to upset that balance once again and pioneer another stepping stone for the world of snow sliding enthusiasts. More from the TGR site here
You’ve all seen it before but in light of the recent activity from Papa J here it is again, the ultimate throwback to what we know as “the good ol’ days” (really… some of this footage dates back to 2002 when I first arrived in CO). Let’r buffer up and sit back and get stoked for this season!
Hermann Maier decided to end his ski racing career today after a knee injury last season, and subsequent surgery prompted him to make a long term health decision. Maier entered the ski racing world at age 23 in 1996 and has won four Olympic medals (two Gold) and six world championship medals (three Gold). Maier was an amazing skier, but most probably remember him from “the” crash in Nagano which he walked away from to return two days later and snag his first Gold.