Ski Utah in 6 Days

Earlier this winter I was contacted by a good friend to help with a project for Ski Utah. The plan was to shoot some commercials for their Internet advertising and the set date was the first week of April. April can be hit or miss for good snow especially if you want to show the “best snow on earth” to the rest of the global Internet community.

The first day we started shooting we got a few inches of snow in the mountains were pretty socked in. The next day it rained. Odds of getting decent shots were pretty dismal. We only had a few more days to shoot all of these resorts in the Ogden, Park City and Cottonwood Canyons. Yet there was a gleam of hope with a few inches of snow predicted for the next few days. Forecasts had been between 3 to 6 inches and up to 20. We didn’t know what to expect but we just kept our fingers crossed.

We got the snow and we got the shots. Thank you Utah!

And thank you to these individuals who helped make it all happen.
Tommy Joyce
Kalen Thorien
Ski Utah
Active Junky

Sam Hurst

20130412-111403.jpg

backies for the camera!

20130412-111431.jpg

20130412-111504.jpg

20130412-111541.jpg

20130412-111610.jpg

20130412-111632.jpg

20130412-111655.jpg

20130412-111710.jpg

Grand Targhee with 4FRNT Media

Two years ago I had a chance to get up to Grand Targhee on the border of Idaho and Wyoming. It had snowed over 2 feet the day prior and was crystal clear blue skies over the weekend when I was there. Shit was sick.

When I heard that my friends at 4FRNT skis we’re heading up there to shoot for next year’s movie, this was an opportunity I could not miss. On day one conditions were pretty much the same as the last time I was there. Fresh snow and plenty of blue sky. This time around we had a crew of a half-dozen and a cameraman to capture the action. The team consisted of Austin Ramaley, Thayne Rich, Max Mackenzie, Gary McKenzie, Nick Greener, Cody Barnhill and myself. Shit went off.

Mad props to Thayne for throwing down some of the biggest tricks off cliffs I’ve seen with my own eyes. He was easily taking some 720s and flat spins 50 to 60 feet deep. Nick crushed an air to straight line double and Gary sent a pretty diesel sized air as well. Cody always getting extra sideways on his 3 and then we capped the day with a hot tub session and watched the full moon rise over the Grand Teton.

Day two we ventured out on snowmobiles into the backcountry. The mountains had gotten socked in with clouds and light snow so pillow lines were ideal. We found a couple of great untouched shots after about an hour or two getting higher in the Alpine. It wasn’t exactly perfect but still a ton of fun. Big shout out to Max and Gary for showing us around and giving us a place to crash. Thanks again

20130401-140012.jpg

20130401-140150.jpg

20130401-140217.jpg

20130401-140319.jpg

20130401-140405.jpg

20130401-140431.jpg

20130401-140457.jpg

20130401-140538.jpg

20130401-140608.jpg

20130401-140638.jpg

20130401-140715.jpg

20130401-140744.jpg

20130401-140814.jpg

20130401-140935.jpg

Roadside Attractions

When I quit my job this winter it turns out a friend of mine named Kyle also had some free time on his hands. Kyle has done a bunch of film work in the past so we teamed up together to shoot a bunch of features after a storm in early February. What was originally supposed to be just a small pillow line shoot Alongside the road in big Cottonwood turned out to be a full day of event slaying some of the most prominent features I have been eyeing over the last few years.

The larger hit which consisted of a carving right hundred foot in run, a short take off to a 20 foot drop over some scraggly bushes to completely flat got the best of me. I came to my feet but just didn’t have the speed to power through the flat deep landing. After two failed attempts my shins felt nearly broken in my boot so I called it. Which was a good idea because I had pretty much the worst shin-bang for almost two weeks following.

In the end, these roadside features and this shoot was one of my favorite days of the season. Thanks Kyle!

20130401-123045.jpg

20130401-123119.jpg

20130401-123159.jpg