Jan 5: Big Day

Today was one of my best ski days ever. And I only rode 1 lap.

Sometimes the quality of the one lap makes it all worth it.

Starting at 7am, we toured to a cliff that I have been eyeing for 10 months. I have previsualized the line and the photo for most of a year, and it's finally time to send it.

We spent an hour probing the landing, scouting the take off, getting everything dialed in and ensuring it was all safe.

Nate acted as sherpa, assistant, safety manager, belayer, photo assistant, and most importantly, guinea pig.

Here's Nate sending the corner of the cliff, ~25', as a 'small' test.

Nate saved the glory shot for me. We set up the shot and I stuck it.

We used a rope to measure the drop. 40' is our estimate.

Next time, when the snow is right, we'll start at 4am, set it up pre-dawn and hit it right as the sun rises. That's the shot I've envisioned for a year.

The day continued. In the afternoon, we set up a huge poppy booter in the woods, hoping to frame up a sunset shoot.

The sunset never happened. We regretfully missed the good one last night. We still practiced the shot, so that when the time is right, we'll have it dialed in.

Justin, a photog's ideal athlete, does exactly what I ask of him: huge, I mean gigantic, straight air with a tight grab.

After sunset, we sent it a few more times. Mr. Dependable nails tricks in the dark.
Trying to let the background fill in, I brighten the image, but Pete's huge back flip turns ghosty.

Hazen stomps a 3 in the dark.