Rossi Team sessions at SnoH20 from rossignol on Vimeo.

On Monday morning Paddy Kaye picked me up in Pemberton as the snowflakes accumulated outside my door. It was the first real snow storm since the dreaded arctic outflow which caused a high pressure system in Whistler and left us with really cold temperatures and no precipitation. Fortunately luck was on our side as we had no problem driving over the Duffey Lake road (which closes when conditions are too dangerous for drivers).

This year Jason Newell and Paddy Kaye combined forces with Jim Bolser and Bob Legasa at Peak Video Productions and brought their team to the Kootenays for some pictures, video, and sessions. This time around we’re lucky enough to be guests at Snowwater catskiing lodge just outside of Nelson, BC. Paddy and I arrived Monday evening just in time for dinner. Ian Mcintosh, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Kye Petersen and Mike Hopkins had pulled in a few hours earlier and were already settled in.

Our first day started at 7:30am with a breakfast buffet in the main lodge. I had a hefty helping of my favourite breakfast foods along with a tall glass of juice. After eating we were introduced to our guides, and given a refresher on the use of our transievers to search for victims of an avalanche. Next we met Paul our pilot who showed us the proper protocol for moving safely around helicopters. The avalanche danger is extremely high around British Columbia right now so it is very important for us to listen to the guides and do our best to keep everyone in our group safe. The first ski day was a success! We did multiple heli drops and got some good footage and some darn good turns. To top it all off we had an amazing four course dinner.

At around midnight Patrick (the lodge owner) was kind enough to show us one of his favourite spots in the area, an old mine shaft. Our whole crew piled into the cat and we adventured down the snowy road. When the cat stopped we had to make our way through chest deep snow to the opening of the mine. Inside was spectacular. There were snow crystals everywhere! They grew from the floor and the ceiling; we had to walk through them like ninjas being careful not to knock any over. In the back of the cave we met bushy tailed pack rat that had an beautiful greay and white winter coat. This is not the kind of dirty rat you’d see in the city streets. This particular rat was living like a king deep in the forest. Check the video:

 
Mine Tour from rossignol on Vimeo.

 

Our second day on snow we did laps of the low angle, low elevation tree runs in the snow cat. Unfortunately the temperature dropped in the early hours of the morning after a night of snowfall which made for some heavy turns. In the afternoon we built and shaped a big kicker next to the main lodge. Patrick (owner/operator of the lodge) towed us in on his sled complete with his scottish cap/wig. Despite having troubles keeping speed on the inrun we were able to each get some tricks in before our landing was completely bombed out. The giant flag pole was left over from the Expo in 83, we used it as a height-o-meter.

My third and final day skiing at Snowwater Lodge was a day I will remember for years to come. Macintosh described it as a “full out huck fest,” I couldn’t have put it better myself. After a couple days of tree skiing we were all itching for something a little more, I guess it’s just in our nature. It wasn’t long before we found the perfect spot along the cat road to step out and build some jumps into the cut block. Kye, Mike and Sage found their own lips and stepped them out while Ian and I piled snow for our kicker that would send us through two trees, goal post style. Ian and I sent backflips first and both stomped with huge smiles on our face. We ski’d down the cut block and waited for our sled to take us up for more.

 I went back to the top and tossed a double back, but it’s the third jump of the afternoon that shook me up. Having already landed my double back flip clean I decided to try a new trick I’ve been visualizing. Essentially it would be a double cork 1080. I completed my first rotation clean but hit the tree mid way and got sent plummeting towards the snow without finishing my trick. When I landed I plugged myself in the deep snow and was left with only my feet sticking out. I struggled to free myself but couldn’t move anywhere, I was helpless. With snow lodged in my throat and my air supply running out I felt myself start to panic and reassured myself someone would come to my rescue. Just as I was about to pass out I felt snow moving above my face, it was the best sound in the world. Soon our guide Scott had my arm and pulled me from my snowy mold. Mike Hopkins said he couldn’t believe how big my eyes were as I cleared my airway and regained my senses. It was the closest I’ve ever been to being buried and I now know from experience how important it is to be aware of the snowpack at all times when playing in the mountains.

After the landings were all ski’d out at this area we headed down the cat track to a jump that Sage had scoped and set up the day before. The jump was shaped perfectly and made for a great session before the end of our trip. All sorts of tricks were thrown. Sage had some very clean cork 3 tail grabs, Ian floated his back flips, Hopkins spun cork 7s and a couple of awesome flatspins, Kye was the only one to hit it switch and stomped 5’s and 9’s, I tossed a couple flatspins and a d spin for good measure. Kye and Sage had some great tree taps to spins (getting all ”T Rice”) and Ian even bonked the tree and did a lincoln loop out!

An avalanche had blocked the access road to the lodge so we were forced to ride the heli out to the road (much to my delight). It was awesome to get a better view of the surrounding area before saying goodbye to the Snowwater lodge.

Thanks to Pat and Mariah, the rest of the staff at Snowwater including Johnny the chef, Alex the bartender, Paul the pilot and our guides Scott and Sean. Despite the dangerous snowpack I still had a great time skiing some new terrain and sessioning with some best bros. Anyone interested in visiting Snowwater should visit their website at www.snowwater.com