Blue sky, bomb drops and big flakes. Hakuba day two.
Day two we went back to Happo resort and we were lucky enough to score some more tickets despite our reputation as outlaws from the previous day. Bryn and I did a tour of the resort (this time staying mostly on marked runs). Before lunch we scoped some water dams that were made of big pieces of stone. We made a trip back to the lodge to grab the lighting equipment and headed back one of the dams. I sessioned it as a bomb drop for awhile and after about to tries it started snowing big flakes. The anticipation of powder made my sesh much more enjoyable and the Bryn’s pictures are amazing.
Off to Japan
Hey all! I’m sitting in the Vancouver Airport waiting to load my flight to Tokyo! I’m going to be skiing some pow for the next week with Bryce Phillips and Bryn Hughes. We’re doing a story for Skiing Magazine and The New York Times. It’s been a goal of mine to ski in Japan for a few years. I remember seeing some amazing photos of Mike Douglas amidst the oriental trees and blower pow when I was just a young wipper snapper, and now I can finally get a taste of the goods. Check back soon for some photos and updates!
Baldface Lodge, Nelson BC
Baldface Lodge is a magical catskiing operation nestled in the heart of British Columbia’s Kootenay mountain range. After a ten minute heli ride from Nelson, BC and an elevation gain of 6700 feet, I arrived at the lodge. The energy level was high as our crew aticipated the next week’s powder extravaganza (we had heard you can shred lines all day and never hit another set of tracks). On hand shooting some epic stills was the one and only Bryn Hughes. Check out the “Photographers” links to visit his website. I can remember barely sleeping the first night as I imagined floating through the old growth trees in a cloud of the cold white stuff.
With the January snow light and fluffy and the weather on our side all week long, Mike Hopkins and I took full advantage of what Baldface had to offer.
Our hoots and hollers could be heard echoeing through the forest all afternoon as we played games of cat and mouse in front of the lens.
Soul riding amongst the trees gives me unrivalled feelings of peace. No matter what may be going on in the world, a seemingly endless maze of BC foilage keeps me smiling inside and out. However, there are some times I crave a boost of adrenaline that can only be satisfied by hurling my bones off the side of a cliff. Luckily Baldface has the best of both worlds.
When it comes to catching some good ol’ fashioned air time sometimes it’s fun to step out a take off for maximum pop. These jumps are perfect for doing the “grab” and “tweak.”
One of my many valuable lessons learned on this trip. If it gets tight, you better have your hand up front. No one likes a branch in the mouth!
One afternoon Rossignol Team Manager and all around Guru Paddy Kaye decided we should build a jump. Luckily for us our buddy from the Lodge used his cat skills to push a pile of snow on top of the heli pad. From there we continued to park a Suzuki with tracks on it under the jump. Hey, may as well make things a little more interesting right? The result was a good vibe session with some fun tricks.
After the sun sets and we fill up on a hearty meal it’s hard not to throw the sticks back on and get busy with some jibbing. With the help of some keen lodge workers, Mike and I set up a jump over the Lodge’s sauna. We got the session started with some 180s and 360s over the roof. The landing on the back was deep and things started to heat up. After a few hand drags it was time to call it quits for the night, after all we had to wake the next day early and do it all again. Tough stuff…
I’d like to send a huuuge shout out to everyone at Baldface Lodge! Thanks for making my stay so memorable. Also a big thanks to Paddy Kaye and Jason Newell at Rossignol, Bryn Hughes for his artistic endeavours and Mike Hopkins for being a bro brah. To those of you who haven’t been yet I suggest you get on it. Check out www.baldface.net to book your stay. Hopefully I’ll see you there for some turns this winter!
Austin Ross
Check out this video clip from a US TV Network that did a profile on Austin for their show. The host is none other than the “original hot dog,” Bob Legasa. Hope you like it! Thanks to Peak Video.
