Warren Miller - No Turning Back

THE OFFICAL MAGAZINE OF THE WARREN MILLER SKI FILM TOUR 2014/2015

300 days of sunshin e. 400 inches of po wder. 500 epic runs.

And endless ways to have fun aft er the sun winds do wn. To sign up for exclusive deals, the latest snow up dates and more vis it SkiLakeTahoe.co.u k ALPINE MEADOWS

HEAVENLY KIRKWOOD MT. ROSE-SKI TAHO E NORTHSTAR CALIF ORNIA SIERRA-AT-TAHOE SQUAW VALLEY

WARREN MILLER’S NO TURNING BACK

NORWAY Photographed by SVERRE HJORNEVIK

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LET'S

NIGEB W with a few words from the editor Guy Chambers hen I first met Warren Miller on the slopes of Vail in February 1992 he had already produced and directed 40 annual ski films. His enthusiasm for the sport and passion for filming coupled with his no turning back mentality was infectious, especially to a young man in his early 20s.

He had the best job in the world! It was Warren’s dogged determination to make a living out of what he loved do that really attracted me to him and with his encouragement and adopting the no turning back gusto I set out to do what I love to do as well. 22 years on I have never looked back and continue to believe if you are passionate about what you do, no hurdle is big enough.

The annual Warren Miller ski movie became the cornerstone of my company, Black Diamond, and then video distribution followed by TV production, destination marketing, digital development, talent management, film festivals and now we are part of a global network of advertising agencies.

It is with great pleasure and excitement that for my 22nd time I am delighted to bring to you this year’s powder fix of Warren Miller’s No Turning Back. The skis are fatter, helmets are worn, air is bigger but in essence what Warren

Captured 22 years ago is the same today. The best skiers and boarders in the most amazing destinations, riding terrain to the max is the DNA of Warren’s films.

Each year audiences around the world kick start their ski season through the lens of Warren’s camera. Enjoy this year’s adrenalin rush from your cinema seat and remember if you don’t go this year you’ll be one year older when you do!

Ski hard, Guy

THE TEAM EDITOR: GUY CHAMBERS MAGAZINE DESIGNER: CRAIG JOHNSON TOUR DIRECTOR: JIM ODOIRE ADVERT MANAGER: CHARMAINE NEUWIRTH WEBSITE: ANTON MORRISON & ALEX KEMPTON

PUBLISHED BY BLACK DIAMOND 15 Bedford Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9HE. Telephone: 020 7240 4071 www.blackdiamond.co.uk ©2014 Black Diamond Films.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used, reproduced, stored in an information retrieval system or transmitted in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publishers. This Publication has been produced wholly upon information received from contributors and while the publishers trust their content will be of interest to readers, the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The publisher cannot accept, and hereby disclaims, any liability for the consequences of inaccuracies, errors, omissions or opinions in such information for publication or otherwise. No representations, whether within the meaning of the Misrepresentation Act 1967 or otherwise, warranties or endorsements of information contained herein are given or intended and full verification of all information must be sought from the respective contributors.

The publication of the articles herein does not necessarily imply that the opinions are those of the publishers.

PRINTED BY FOUR CORNERS PRINT on paper made from wood sourced from well-managed sustainable forests.

GUY CHAMBERS & WARREN MILLER Photographed in 1992

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NORWAY Photographed by SVERRE HJORNEVIK

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ON to an introduction from the tour director Jim Odoire

IN

the winter of 1947 a young man from Hollywood, California named Warren Miller jumped into his car and drove 850 miles north east to sun valley, Idaho with a friend. They had nowhere to stay except their old teardrop trailer in the parking lot and no jobs to go to, but as competent skiers they soon found work as part time ski instructors.

During that winter, one of their clients lent Warren an old 8mm film camera who used it to film his ski class, visiting them in the evening to show them the film of themselves skiing with a view to improving their skiing technique. As these ‘movies’ were silent he would narrate the action, throwing in one liners and as a means to keep his subjects amused even if their skiing wasn’t up to much.

This established a tradition synonymous with his name and Warren Miller’s long and illustrious career as a ski film maker was born.

His first feature movie ‘Deep and Light’ was produced for a budget of $500.

Warren took this film to theatres in the pre-season as a means to making a living by selling tickets to the shows and encouraging people to participate in the comparatively new sport of skiing.

Whilst the production budgets have changed significantly since the days of ‘Deep and Light’, the ethos of Warren Miller films is still the same - to provide an ignition to the ski season and an excuse to get together with skiing friends and get excited about the winter ahead.

Now 65 years later Warren has taken a back seat in the production business that bears his name, but his legend lives on with this year’s offering ‘No Turning Back’.

No Turning Back will tour cinemas around the UK from 10th November 2014 visiting over 30 towns and cities. It will feature the world’s best skiers and boarders in the world’s most exotic mountain locations – all wrapped into a feature length HD film

set to a soundtrack from bands such as Muse, Coldplay, The Grateful Dead and Maroon 5.

The film tour is brought to audiences nationwide thanks to Nissan Juke, ski Lake Tahoe, The Telegraph and Virgin Holidays with every show including an interval prize draw from a live compere.

So check the website for your nearest show warrenmiller.co.uk, call your skiing pals and come and enjoy a great evening of entertainment Warren Miller style.

JIM ODOIRE Tour Manager Photographed in EMERALD BAY, LAKE TAHOE

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to see what’s inside this year’s official tour ski film tour magazine

WARREN MILLER’S NO TURNING BACK

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WARREN MILLER’S NO TURNING BACK

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FAST DRAWROF

JENNY SENOJ

to all that’s going to be projected in front of your eyes

ALASKA Athletes: Ingrid Backstrom, Jess McMillan & Chris Anthony Equipment: Skis & helicopter The Chugach is a renowned range located in the heart of Alaska. An iconic boney ridgeline, steep faces sustained for 1,800 vertical feet and hairy terrain, it symbolizes the essence of bigmountain skiing. Ingrid Backstrom, Jess McMillan and Chris Anthony aren’t new to the game of charging extreme lines.

talks to us about winning medals and filming with Nissan

Few skiers can hold an edge like McMillan and Backstrom and freestyle skiing can thank gals like them for breaking trail and taking risks in the industry. These athletes and heli-skiing operator, Points North HeliAdventures, recognize the risk is real.

Some days, skiing “big lines with heavy consequences” is just not in the cards, but if you “keep showing up, you’ll be rewarded.” The progression of the sport has been proven on mountains like these by women like these, Backstrom and McMillan are just two of them.

WM: How did you first get into snowboarding?

JJ: I took a free 30 minute lesson at my local dry slope at the mendip centre just outside of Bristol with my brothers

What is the last thing that goes through your mind in the start gate?

If things are going to plan then a sense of calm and not fighting for thoughts just feeling my breath.

Did you realise you were going to be a slope styler from the outset or did you think you would end up in another discipline?

I simply enjoyed the sensation of blasting down a hill and hitting little jumps or natural features - I really didn’t think much further ahead than that.

Will anything be able to beat the Feeling you had when you knew you got bronze ?

Who knows! So many new things and experiences to come in life, i will keep you posted.

What are you up to right now?

I have been surfing a lot this summer but I’m still very average at it, I love it! I am back in the gym more these past few weeks and I’m getting myself prepared for riding and am planning to head out to Austria in Stubai.

What are your plans for next season?

This season I plan to do some more free riding with friends, hopefully go on a trip or two to new or different resorts.

Compete in a few contests and enjoy not having such a regimented plan.

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ALASKA

ALASKA

JESS MCMILLAN photographed by COURT LEVE

INGRID BACKSTROM photographed by COURT LEVE

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JENNY JONES photographed on location by TERO REPO

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EIGHTEEN listens to Jenny talk medals and shooting with Nissan Magazine Pages NTB.indd 18-19

NEW

EKAL

DVD

reveals a busy few years for the Ski Lake Tahoe resorts

rom new lifts to lodges to luxury hotels, the Ski Lake Tahoe resorts have invested over $100 million in improvements designed to make your ski and snowboard holiday even more memorable.

Not sure what you’re missing? Here’s a hint: free champagne.

In South Lake Tahoe, the Stateline casino corridor surrounding Heavenly’s gondola is undergoing a significant transformation, with the opening of The Chateau, boasting more than 30,000 square feet of new retail storefronts, restaurants and bars. Not far from there is Lake Tahoe’s only five star boutique hotel, The Landing Resort & Spa, which has already been named one of

VERBIER, SWITZERLAND

JENNY JONES photographed on location by TERO REPO

WARREN MILLER’S NO TURNING BACK

NEW AT THE

F

VERBIER, SWITZERLAND

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TripAdvisor’s top 10 lakeside hotels. In addition, a new Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is slated to open in December, and will include several new restaurants and bars, along a 25,000 square foot casino – all with Hard Rock’s signature attitude and energy.

New is the new black at the ski resorts as well. Look for two new zip line attractions at Heavenly’s Adventure Peak, the 3,300 foot Blue Streak and the 1,000 foot four line zip line center. For those who can’t get enough of Heavenly’s popular Unbuckle at Tamarack après parties, be sure to check out the new mid-day beach parties at East Peak Lodge.

TICKET TO RIDE Warren Miller Entertainment

Witness world-class action from athletes as diverse as the terrain including World Cup champions and Olympians Seth Wescott, Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso, plus legendary ski mountaineers like Chris Davenport and freeskiers Colby James West and Sean Pettit.

Park and pipe veteran Gretchen Bleiler throws down in Aspen proving “girls can look like girls and still rip”, whilst an all-female cast of Jess McMillan, Julia Mancuso and Sierra Quitiquit explore the expansive terrain that is Iceland’s Troll Peninsula. Discover athletes at their career-best and explore the paths that put them at the top of the globe’s steepest peaks, and experience the immense energy of the world’s most sought-after destinations from Alaska and Montana’s Big Sky Country to the exotic winter playgrounds of Kazakhstan, Iceland and Greenland.

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PURCHASE FROM WARRENMILLER.CO.UK DEMANDDVD.CO.UK

Photograph courtesy of HEAVENLY MOUNTAIN RESORT

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Get the UK’s biggest ski and snowboard magazine free, find last minute holiday deals, access premium ski content, exclusive competitions, unique ski hotel and chalet guides, and stay up to date with great snow reports

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22/10/2014 12:19

TWENTY TWO reveals a busy few years for Ski Lake Tahoe resorts

PAGE TEN

FREE APP FOR ALL DEVICES

Photograph courtesy of HEAVENLY MOUNTAIN RESORT

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TWENTY EIGHT can help you buy last year’s movie, this year

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REPEED

GNIDAEH

BEYOND

ASPEN

Whistler Blackcomb’s new web series goes outside the lines...

discovering more gems beneath the glittering surface

S

ay Aspen to any skier and you are likely to find that their perception is of a upscale Colorado resort with high end boutiques, 5 star hotels, private jets, real estate prices in the stratosphere and fur clad celebrities who strut aspen’s heated pavements rather than risk their Prada ski suits on the slopes.

But life and times in aspen can be as low-key as you like. Sure there are elements of the above - there are certainly some wonderful hotel and dining experiences to be had if money is no object and you might even catch a glimpse of Catherine Zeta-Jones or Jack Nicholson popping into the

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W

histler Blackcomb is renowned for its incredible size, extreme terrain, and reliable snowfall, but what runs mostly under the radar is the fact the Whistler community is a magnet for the ski and snowboard industry cultural innovators.

From the world’s best ski and snowboard athletes to the up-andcomers; from iconic action sport photographers to gifted filmmakers; from technology innovators to master

local Louis Vuitton store, but for more ‘normal’ folks aspen offers a multitude of far more reasonable holiday options.

Scratch the surface of aspen and you’ll easily find a local burger joint for every Nobu, a 3 star condo property for every St Regis and a Gap store for every Chanel Look even harder and visitors will find that, whilst it is certainly easy to spend money if you want to, there are also ways of saving, many of them entirely free of charge, Laid on by the resort as a courtesy and all of them leaving a welcome few extra dollars in your pocket so you can splash out elsewhere.

craftsman and so much more, this is the place they all flock to be a part of something that is defining the future of the sport.

The Beyond Series is a brand new four-part webisode series, produced

by Switchback Entertainment and supported by Telus, which focuses on some of the unique innovators who help to make up the Whistler community. With Whistler Blackcomb as the backdrop for their stories, each webisode takes an inside look into the lives of four unique personalities: D E U N ITNOC

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Photograph by David McColm

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THIRTY SIX is all about Whistler Blackcomb’s new web series

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25/10/2014 10:43

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HOVERING ON THE

REDROB

BULC

where British Columbia meets Alaska with James Morland

H

eli-skiing in Canada conjures up a few images. Vast quantities of deep, dry powder billowing over your head is probably one of them. Fancy, commercial heliski lodges and big groups crammed into fleets of oversized helicopters is perhaps another. If you like the sound of the former but the latter doesn’t strike a chord, then a little known corner of northern British Columbia could be just the place to investigate.

Last winter I was lucky enough to spend the better part of two months working as a heliski guide in one the wildest corners of northern BC. I first visited this part of the world in 1998,

and polish your skills with their Freshtracks holidays

you ever look at the skiers and s n o w b o a rd e r s on these films and think – just give me half a chance and I’d be out there with them? Well, you are in luck. To have this much fun you need a devoted club behind you, watching your back.

The club was created in 1903, and ever since then its members have been hurling themselves down mountains across the globe. Join in a noble tradition of bravery and madness and become a mountain conqueror this season.

We’ll help you be the best skier you can be, in a whole range of ways. We’ll help you polish your skills with our Freshtracks holidays - full-on tuition and highly respected instruction to take you to the next level, in off-piste skiing, touring technique, mountaincraft and more. We’ll help you make new ski buddies, as each Freshtracks holiday teams you up with a crew of the same ability.

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JOIN THE

DO

Photograph by Paul Morrison

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We’ll help you get kitted out for less, with hefty discounts in shops on the UK highstreet, online and in resort. We’ll help you get fit and healthy beforehand with discounts off fitness clubs, physiotherapy and training.

And since you never know what might happen, we’ve got specially tailored Ski Club insurance that includes – as standard – skiing and snowboarding off-piste without a guide. Anyone who has ever spent an afternoon calling around travel insurers will know how valuable that sort of peace of mind is.

Worrying about your policy is not what you need at the top of an epic pillowline.

And then there’s just the small matter of our snow reports (the BBC use our reports, so they must be well respected), resort information, and our team of online experts on hand for anything else you can think of that might stand between you and your part in the next Warren Miller film.

All you need to do is spot your landing, choose your soundtrack and pick your vintage ski suit.

driving a beaten up pickup truck – laden with skis, fishing rods and camping gear - some 2,000 miles over potholed, snow-covered roads to Valdez, Alaska but that’s another story…

To me there is something special about the north. It’s a no B-S kinda place where men cut down trees, drink beer, fight, shoot bears and catch fish.

Women do the same. Southern BC, with all its fancy ski resorts and big, commercial heliski operations seems like another country. Up here it’s big, it’s wild and it’s raw. And when it comes to snow there are industrial quantities of the stuff – 25 metres a year on average (at only 1,500 metres above sea level).

To put that in perspective, Val d’Isère in France and Verbier in Switzerland SE U N ITNOC

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FLAINE OFF-PISTE photograph courtesy of HEAD

Photograph by Cedric Bernardini

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Photograph by Cedric Bernardini

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23/10/2014 15:33

WIN! WIN A SKI HOLIDAY TO LAKE TAHOE FLIGHTS, ACCOMMODATION, AT BOTH THE RESORT AT SQUAW CREEK AND ASTON LAKELAND VILLAGE, & LIFT PASSES ENTER YOUR DETAILS AT

warrenmiller.co.uk/win FOR FULL TERMS & CONDITIONS SEE WEBSITE

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FIFTY THREE shows you the prize!

So now you know what’s inside, what are you waiting for? Turn the page and read on

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FAST DRAWROF to all that’s going to be projected in front of your eyes

ALASKA Athletes: Ingrid Backstrom, Jess McMillan & Chris Anthony Equipment: Skis & helicopter The Chugach is a renowned range located in the heart of Alaska. An iconic boney ridgeline, steep faces sustained for 1,800 vertical feet and hairy terrain, it symbolizes the essence of bigmountain skiing. Ingrid Backstrom, Jess McMillan and Chris Anthony aren’t new to the game of charging extreme lines.

Few skiers can hold an edge like McMillan and Backstrom and freestyle skiing can thank gals like them for breaking trail and taking risks in the industry. These athletes and heli-skiing operator, Points North HeliAdventures, recognize the risk is real.

Some days, skiing “big lines with heavy consequences” is just not in the cards, but if you “keep showing up, you’ll be rewarded.” The progression of the sport has been proven on mountains like these by women like these, Backstrom and McMillan are just two of them.

CONTINUES

ALASKA

ALASKA

JESS MCMILLAN photographed by COURT LEVE

INGRID BACKSTROM photographed by COURT LEVE

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NORWAY UELI KETSENHOLZ Photographed by SVERRE HJORNEVIK

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FAST DRAWROF FRANCE Athletes: Seth Morrison, Mike Hattrup, Tim Petrick, Heather Paul & Miles Smart - Guide Equipment: Skis, crampons, ice axes & climbing equipment Mountaineering is the ultimate ode to skiing’s European heritage compasses, harnesses, crampons, ice axes and sheer fear included. Industry veterans Mike Hattrup, Seth Morrison, Tim Petrick and Heather Paul know very well that the “whiteout world of touring is based on trust” and that it comes down to believing that your guide actually knows where he or she is going. In Chamonix, the Aiguille du Midi sits at nearly 13,000 feet above the valley floor in the Mont Blanc region of the French Alps. A well-known icon, it runs locals and tourists up and down the mountain to ski some of the most terrifying lines in the world - or to simply catch some sun and enjoy après-ski.

Miles Smart of Smart Mountain Guides, leads the team of self-described “aging athletes” on a carefully planned alpine expedition high above the tram. And thanks to modern advancements in equipment, each athlete is reminded that in skiing, you never really need to get old.

MONTANA Athletes: Sierra Quitiquit & Julian Carr Equipment: Skis & truck While skiing culture and resort life worldwide has become flashier, Montana’s ski towns have experienced a renaissance centered on staying the same - pushing the pause button and maintaining the simple pleasures

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of mountain living. For pro skiers and globetrotters Julian Carr and Sierra Quitiquit, “it’s nice to know these places still exist.” Snow-covered small towns, good company and mom-and-pop resorts are just what these two need to get in touch with skiing’s roots. Big Sky Country offers vast terrain, and solitude to Quitiquit and Carr - in Montana, you can “get lost and find yourself.”

There’s also something special about the connection a skier can have with the mountains they ride - an authentic, intimate closeness. The same can be said about the people skiing the mountain alongside you.

chasing it.”

JAPAN Athletes: Rob Kingwill, Seth Wescott & Nobuyoshi Chiba Equipment: Snowboards, helicopter & chopsticks “Japow” is a term coined to describe the legendary snowfall that embodies Japan’s skiing experience. The notorious duo Rob Kingwill and Seth Wescott set off to Niseko, located on Japan’s north island, Hokkaido, and find themselves riding waves of white with local pro Nobuyoshi Chiba. North islanders like Nobu ride the snow a bit differently - they take each turn and each storm as it comes and float in a surfer-like fashion. Heavy-snow conditions have lent to a modernization of shaping and pairing boards - the new powder-specific boards can handle everything that “Japow” delivers. The snowy conditions produce a face-shot utopia, leaving Wescott and Kingwill to reflect on their lifelong aspirations.

Although they may have achieved becoming professional snowboarders - as for the snow, they will “never stop CONTINUES

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FAST DRAWROF GREECE Athletes: Tyler Ceccanti & Josh Bibby Equipment: Skis, packhorses & helicopter Tyler Ceccanti and Josh Bibby never thought they’d find themselves in the ancient land of Greece, especially with the objective of skiing its highest and most mythical peak, Mount Olympus.

With 2,500-year-old ruins surrounding them, Ceccanti and Bibby wind through cobblestone villages to see what the Balkans can offer a couple of freeskiers.

BEAVER CREEK Athletes: Ted Ligety, Julia Mancuso, Bode Miller, Mikaela Shiffrin Equipment: Race skis, ski tuning equipment & racing gear Ski techs are the behind-the-scenes magicians who keep racers’ gear dialed-in so that these athletes can solely focus on nothing more than “hurtling their body down the hill.” But

SWITZERLAND UELI KETSENHOLZ Photographed by STEFAN HUNZIKER

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when “speed” means clocking over 70 mph while carving downhill, not every skier is game. Beaver Creek, Colorado, is home of the World Cup and holds a rich heritage of alpine ski racing.

The sport has evolved over time, and athletes like Ted Ligety, Julia Mancuso, Bode Miller and Mikaela Shiffrin rewrite the rules of speed daily, proving the sport requires more grit today than ever.

NORWAY Athletes: Kaylin Richardson & Øystein Aasheim Equipment: Skis & touring equipment Lofoten, Norway, is set on a far-off, dreamlike archipelago of snow-covered mountain ranges dispersed across many islands nearly 900 miles north of Olso. Few Norwegians have the opportunity to set their eyes on this panorama, let alone to carve down its sharp slopes on skis. When Norwegian native Øystein Aasheim arrives with Kaylin Richardson, even he feels as

though he is in an “entirely different country.”

SWITZERLAND Athletes: JT Holmes & Ueli Kestenholz Equipment: Skis, snowboard, speed-riding canopy & trains Switzerland native and Olympic snowboarder, Ueli Kestenholz, teams up with California local JT Holmes to show him just how convenient life can be for the Swiss. Holmes and Kestenholz are considered pioneers in speed-riding - both had mentors who died “innovating how we ride the mountain.” These pros prove the bounds are limitless in the Swiss Alps, as they guide and maneuver between features that collectively build the expansive scenery. Today, Switzerland is one of the only places in the world that allows for speed-riding on piste, highlighting the Swiss nature to grant room for innovation.

You’re this MOUNTAIN’S high point.

IN-STORE 0844 557 9272

VIRGINHOLIDAYS.CO.UK

WARREN MILLER’S NO TURNING BACK

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JENNY SENOJ talks to us about winning medals and filming with Nissan

WM: How did you first get into snowboarding?

JJ: I took a free 30 minute lesson at my local dry slope at the Mendip Centre just outside of Bristol with my brothers.

Did you realise you were going to be a slope styler from the outset or did you think you would end up in another discipline?

I simply enjoyed the sensation of blasting down a hill and hitting little jumps or natural features - I really didn’t think much further ahead than that.

What is the last thing that goes through your mind in the start gate?

If things are going to plan then a sense of calm and not fighting for thoughts just feeling my breath.

Will anything be able to beat the Feeling you had when you knew you got bronze ?

Who knows! So many new things and experiences to come in life, I will keep you posted.

What are you up to right now?

I have been surfing a lot this summer but I’m still very average at it, I love it! I am back in the gym more these past few weeks and I’m getting myself prepared for riding and am planning to head out to Austria in Stubai.

What are your plans for next season?

This season I plan to do some more free riding with friends, hopefully go on a trip or two to new or different resorts.

Compete in a few contests and enjoy not having such a regimented plan.

CONTINUES

VERBIER, SWITZERLAND

VERBIER, SWITZERLAND

JENNY JONES photographed on location by TERO REPO

JENNY JONES photographed on location by TERO REPO

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JENNY SENOJ

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What might you do after you retire from competitive snowboarding?

I am keeping all my doors open. I might travel, look at studying and I have a real passion for coaching so hopefully do some of this with my partner in crime Tammy who is based in Morzine and runs Mint snowboard school. You spent a couple of weeks in Verbier this summer shooting a film for Nissan - what was the biggest physical challenge you faced on the shoot?

I think having not ridden for six months due to a shoulder injury and then having to get straight back on it. Also some parts of the shoot were not my natural riding environment so this was a little challenging but exciting for example: sending it down a set of escalators with no snow and a big glass window at the bottom, haha.

What one item can you not live without?

Technically that would be food and water but also tea and a good pair of jeans.

If you could change one thing about British snowboarding - what would it be?

I would like South wales to have a snowy mountain with good off piste and a park to ride. Then my passion would be almost on my doorstep. Woohoo!

VERBIER, SWITZERLAND JENNY JONES photographed on location by TERO REPO

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Photograph courtesy of HEAVENLY MOUNTAIN RESORT

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NEW AT THE

EKAL reveals a busy few years for the Ski Lake Tahoe resorts

F

rom new lifts to lodges to luxury hotels, the Ski Lake Tahoe resorts have invested over $100 million in improvements designed to make your ski and snowboard holiday even more memorable.

Not sure what you’re missing? Here’s a hint: free champagne.

In South Lake Tahoe, the Stateline casino corridor surrounding Heavenly’s gondola is undergoing a significant transformation, with the opening of The Chateau, boasting more than 30,000 square feet of new retail storefronts, restaurants and bars. Not far from there is Lake Tahoe’s only five star boutique hotel, The Landing Resort & Spa, which has already been named one of

TripAdvisor’s top 10 lakeside hotels. In addition, a new Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is slated to open in December, and will include several new restaurants and bars, along a 25,000 square foot casino – all with Hard Rock’s signature attitude and energy.

New is the new black at the ski resorts as well. Look for two new zip line attractions at Heavenly’s Adventure Peak, the 3,300 foot Blue Streak and the 1,000 foot four line zip line center. For those who can’t get enough of Heavenly’s popular Unbuckle at Tamarack après parties, be sure to check out the new mid-day beach parties at East Peak Lodge.

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Photograph courtesy of HEAVENLY MOUNTAIN RESORT

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Opened last year, Sierra-at-Tahoe’s Solstice Plaza is a 30,000 square foot deck and 9,000 square foot base area facility that offers a vibrant après scene with a retail shop, demo center and restaurant. It’s an ideal venue for numerous new events, including the Equinox Spring Festival, which celebrates the three S’s - sunshine, springtime and snow - with free concerts, giveaways and more.

Kirkwood is known as a resort that receives a lot of snow. So its focus on snow removal and mountain ops capabilities, despite being not as sexy than a new chairlift or lodge, is great news for skiers and riders. Improvements include a new Howitzer avalauncher, a state‐of‐the‐art Zaugg snow blower and a completely renovated patrol top shack atop Chair 10. It’s also renovating the facilities for Expedition: Kirkwood, the resort’s instructional program, with new classroom space, a backcountry focused demo center, and door-todoor access for its snowcat powder tours.

Up on north shore, Squaw Valley has now invested over $50 million, entering year four of its five year, $70 million “Renaissance” that has included

Photograph courtesy of KIRKWOOD MOUNTAIN RESORT

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a ton of new developments. Think new chairlifts, major base area upgrades and the first ski-in, ski-out Starbucks on the planet, ensuring skiers and riders don’t suffer caffeine withdrawals.

Building on the success of its summer Wanderlust yoga and music festival, Squaw is unveiling a new music series, the WinterWonderGrass Tahoe during late March, combining bluegrass and roots music with craft beers and regional wines.

Squaw’s sister resort, Alpine Meadows, has recently renamed its upper terrain to the Pacific Crest Bowls in tribute to the famed Pacific Crest Trail which spans the entire length of Alpine’s ridgeline. Adventurous skiers and snowboarders can enlist in the new The North Face Mountain Guide program to gain priority lift-line access and explore these hike-to powder stashes with the resort’s most experienced guides.

Local’s favorite Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe not only boasts the closest skiing to the Reno‐Tahoe International Airport. It’s also got some of the best ski & stay values around, as it’s partnering with numerous Reno casino properties to offer unbeatable stay‐and‐ski packages starting as low as $79 person.

Photograph courtesy of KIRKWOOD MOUNTAIN RESORT

The nearby Cal Neva Resort, once owned by Frank Sinatra and frequented by the Hollywood elite, is getting a major makeover geared toward bringing back its glory days by an investment group that currently owns the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco and the Four Seasons in Dublin. Original plans were to open its doors on December 12th, Sinatra’s birthday; however, the reopening has now been pushed back until late spring.

Northstar California is celebrating this winter – in a big way. To commemorate its investments over the past five years ($30 million in new lifts and lodges), Northstar is instituting a new daily tōst complete with complimentary glasses of champagne on the slopes every day at 2:00 pm at which time guests are invited to relax, sit back and sip bubbly while enjoying the “California laid-back luxury” atmosphere for which it’s known. In addition, Olympic gold medalist David Wise has put his stamp of approval on a new family-focused Progression Park designed to ease the transition between beginner, intermediate and advanced features.

eenie, meanie, miney…whoa!

Introducing the newly remodeled Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel With all things Tahoe to our left, right, front and center, spending your Tahoe vacation with us is a no-brainer. A Plus, our My Tahoe Packages allow you to build your perfect Tahoe ski or board getaway with a multitude of world-renowned ski resorts to choose from. Book today for the best winter rates.

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ASTON LAKELAND VILLAGE BEACH & MOUNTAIN RESORT Enjoy spacious accommodations at the edge of South Lake Tahoe in the heart of ski country.

Choose from deluxe studios to 5-bedroom townhomes, all with fireplace, kitchen, daily maid service and shuttle service to nearby Heavenly Mountain Resort. +1 808.924.2924 | AstonLakelandVillage.com FINAL 870051 Warren Miller UK Film Tour Program 1/2 Pg, H, 133mm(h) x 190mm(w) 4C, Non-Bleed (2014) 870051_LLV_WarrenMillerUKFilmTourProgram_2014-Ć’.indd 1

10/9/14 8:18 AM

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NEW

DVD

TICKET TO RIDE Warren Miller Entertainment

Witness world-class action from athletes as diverse as the terrain including World Cup champions and Olympians Seth Wescott, Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso, plus legendary ski mountaineers like Chris Davenport and freeskiers Colby James West and Sean Pettit.

Park and pipe veteran Gretchen Bleiler throws down in Aspen proving “girls can look like girls and still rip”, whilst an all-female cast of Jess McMillan, Julia Mancuso and Sierra Quitiquit explore the expansive terrain that is Iceland’s Troll Peninsula. Discover athletes at their career-best and explore the paths that put them at the top of the globe’s steepest peaks, and experience the immense energy of the world’s most sought-after destinations from Alaska and Montana’s Big Sky Country to the exotic winter playgrounds of Kazakhstan, Iceland and Greenland.

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FREE APP FOR ALL DEVICES Get the UK’s biggest ski and snowboard magazine free, find last minute holiday deals, access premium ski content, exclusive competitions, unique ski hotel and chalet guides, and stay up to date with great snow reports

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ASPEN discovering more gems beneath the glittering surface

S

ay Aspen to any skier and you are likely to find that their perception is of a upscale Colorado resort with high end boutiques, 5 star hotels, private jets, real estate prices in the stratosphere and fur clad celebrities who strut aspen’s heated pavements rather than risk their Prada ski suits on the slopes.

But life and times in aspen can be as low-key as you like. Sure there are elements of the above - there are certainly some wonderful hotel and dining experiences to be had if money is no object and you might even catch a glimpse of Catherine Zeta-Jones or Jack Nicholson popping into the

local Louis Vuitton store, but for more ‘normal’ folks aspen offers a multitude of far more reasonable holiday options.

Scratch the surface of aspen and you’ll easily find a local burger joint for every Nobu, a 3 star condo property for every St Regis and a Gap store for every Chanel Look even harder and visitors will find that, whilst it is certainly easy to spend money if you want to, there are also ways of saving, many of them entirely free of charge, Laid on by the resort as a courtesy and all of them leaving a welcome few extra dollars in your pocket so you can splash out elsewhere.

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ASPEN Here are my picks: 1. First Tracks Experience first tracks in fresh powder or down the various groomed runs on Snowmass and Aspen Mountain for free with the excellent pros of the Ski & Snowboard Schools of Aspen Snowmass. First Tracks guests are granted access to the mountain before the lifts open.

This experience is free as long as you sign up the night before and have a lift ticket or season pass. (For First Tracks Snowmass call, 970-923-0560, for First Tracks Aspen Mountain call 9251220 x3543 to make a reservation.)

2. Mountain Tours Aspen Snowmass Ambassadors provide free mountain tours twice daily on all four mountains.

Tours depart from the on-mountain guest service centers at 10:30am and 1:30pm. The ambassadors share a wealth of knowledge on topics such as mountain history, nature and the

surrounding area.

3. Transportation Free skier shuttles transport guests between all four mountains throughout the day. Shuttles to all four mountains conveniently arrive at shuttle stops every 15 minutes.

Additionally, all busses between Aspen and Snowmass are free any time of day or night.

4. Coffee & Sunscreen At the base of all four mountains, free Green Mountain Coffee is provided to skiers and snowboarders. On-mountain, free cider, sunscreen, mini cliff bars (while supplies last) and water are also available 5. Mountain Events From the X Games to concerts, rail jams to ski racing, Aspen Snowmass offers free events for every audience throughout the season. Don’t miss the Audi FIS Ski World Cup, Bud Light Hi-Fi Concert Series, X Games Aspen, Bud Light Big

Air Fridays, Bud Light Spring Jam, helly hansen’s Battle of the Bowls and more.

For a full list of free events visit www. aspensnowmass.com/events.

6. Rental Gear Transfer to Any Aspen Snowmass Mountain If you rent skis or snowboards from Four Mountain Sports or D&E Ski and Snowboard shops, have your rental gear stored or transferred between the four mountains free of charge. Four Mountain Sports offers nine locations including at the base of each of the four mountains 7. Concierge Service Advice The Concierge Services Department will help with free vacation advice on everything from activities, events, lodging, dining and more, before arriving in Aspen Snowmass. Call 800525-6200 or 970-925-1220 for insider’s advice and holiday planning assistance.

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The greatest lessons come from where we find freedom. Far away from four walls, routine and repetition, our mind grows in the wild and wide open. Where we always return home sharper, smarter, inspired.

A : T J D AV I D P : MAT T PO WER

Watch how Aspen Mountain inspires the mind and get the best deals for your next trip at aspensnowmass.com/mindbodyspirit.

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ASPEN 8. Need a dose of culture? The brand new 30,000-square-foot Aspen Art Museum designed by Pritzkerprize winning architect Shigeru Ban is recognized for presenting outstanding exhibitions with a particular emphasis on contemporary art. Aspen Art Museum offers a reception and gallery tour every Thursday evening and free admission every day.

9. Aspen Snowmass Cross Country Ski Trails The Aspen Parks Department maintains one of the largest free cross country trail systems in the United States. The Nordic trails system consists

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of over 100 kilometers of groomed ski and snowshoe trails stretching from Aspen to Snowmass including both the Aspen Golf and Club and Snowmass Golf Club. For a complete guide to the Aspen Snowmass Nordic trail system and corresponding maps, visit www. aspennordic.com or call the Nordic hotline at 970-429-2039, ext 4. Classic Ski rentals start at $21.95 but if you have your own equipment, the trails are FREE! 10. Aspen Highlands Bowl Tours Every Wednesday at 11am (weather and conditions permitting) guests can

partake on a free Aspen Highlands Bowl tour. Lasting about 90 minutes, the tour is for guests who are confident skiers or riders on double black diamond terrain. Â Aspen is a truly magical place and should be on every skiers bucket list. No matter what your budget I hope you will find the above tips a useful way of making your holiday experience a better one and your holiday dollars stretch just that little bit further.

An AspEn OriGinAl

The Gant is Aspen’s premier condominium resort, providing the comforts of home with the services of a fine hotel, all within a world-class destination.

Elevate your Aspen experience, think The Gant.

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BEYOND Whistler Blackcomb’s new web series goes outside the lines...

W

histler Blackcomb is renowned for its incredible size, extreme terrain, and reliable snowfall, but what runs mostly under the radar is the fact the Whistler community is a magnet for the ski and snowboard industry cultural innovators.

From the world’s best ski and snowboard athletes to the up-andcomers; from iconic action sport photographers to gifted filmmakers; from technology innovators to master

craftsman and so much more, this is the place they all flock to be a part of something that is defining the future of the sport.

The Beyond Series is a brand new four-part webisode series, produced

by Switchback Entertainment and supported by Telus, which focuses on some of the unique innovators who help to make up the Whistler community. With Whistler Blackcomb as the backdrop for their stories, each webisode takes an inside look into the lives of four unique personalities: CONTINUES

Photograph by David McColm

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Photograph by Paul Morrison

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BEYOND Eric Hjorleifson and Jen Ashton Freeskiing couple Eric Hjorleifson and Jen Ashton have personal styles as unique to each other as Whistler is to Blackcomb. Individually, shaped by resolute characteristics and an extraordinary history in the progression of big mountain skiing. Together they operate as one, united by a mutual hub that embraces the values of Whistler culture, lifestyle, and heritage.

relationships are met with the same cyclical zeal, DCP forges into his own community and discovers the depth of the Whistler community is as vast as the surrounding terrain.

David Carrier-Porcheron (DCP) As a pioneer of snowboarding’s backcountry freestyle movement, DCP has spent a lifetime adapting to the unpredictable rhythm of Mother Nature.

When his personal and professional

David McColm David McColm is not your ordinary Whistler photographer. His masterpiece time lapse images forego the familiar hero shots of big mountain athletes and picture perfect ski models for a more inventive rendition of Whistler Blackcomb’s winter playground.

Inspired by spectacular skylines and mountainscapes, McColm’s quest to get the shot captures the microcosmic synergy that thrives in Whistler.

Photograph by David McColm

Photograph by Paul Morrison

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Mike Douglas Freeskiing innovator Mike Douglas has parlayed an illustrious career as an athlete into a second-coming as a writer, filmmaker, and emcee, giving a voice to the unsung stories of mountain adventures and adventurers. Whether he is wielding a ski pole or a camera lens, Douglas’s pursuit of poetic lines lends itself to a balance of Whistler dichotomy between action and solitude.

Watch the series now at whistlerblackcomb.com/beyond.

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BULC and polish your skills with their Freshtracks holidays

DO

you ever look at the skiers and s n o w b o a rd e r s on these films and think – just give me half a chance and I’d be out there with them? Well, you are in luck. To have this much fun you need a devoted club behind you, watching your back.

The club was created in 1903, and ever since then its members have been hurling themselves down mountains across the globe. Join in a noble tradition of bravery and madness and become a mountain conqueror this season.

We’ll help you be the best skier you can be, in a whole range of ways. We’ll help you polish your skills with our Freshtracks holidays - full-on tuition and highly respected instruction to take you to the next level, in off-piste skiing, touring technique, mountaincraft and more. We’ll help you make new ski buddies, as each Freshtracks holiday teams you up with a crew of the same ability.

We’ll help you get kitted out for less, with hefty discounts in shops on the UK highstreet, online and in resort. We’ll help you get fit and healthy beforehand with discounts off fitness clubs, physiotherapy and training.

And since you never know what might happen, we’ve got specially tailored Ski Club insurance that includes – as standard – skiing and snowboarding off-piste without a guide. Anyone who has ever spent an afternoon calling around travel insurers will know how valuable that sort of peace of mind is.

Worrying about your policy is not what you need at the top of an epic pillowline.

And then there’s just the small matter of our snow reports (the BBC use our reports, so they must be well respected), resort information, and our team of online experts on hand for anything else you can think of that might stand between you and your part in the next Warren Miller film.

All you need to do is spot your landing, choose your soundtrack and pick your vintage ski suit.

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FLAINE OFF-PISTE photograph courtesy of HEAD

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BULC n The ski holiday you’ll never forget “Knowledge is freedom,” said Miles Davis, and many other people. This is never more true than in the mountains.

Rather than follow the on-piste crowd round and round the chairlifts, a bit of mountain knowledge can open up a whole new snowy world for you.

The Ski Club is hopelessly addicted to the mountains – there are few places finer than the majestic natural amphitheater of the peaks, between the clear blue sky and the crisp white snow, away from all the human nuisances far below. With a little learning and some unforgettable experience, so much more of the mountains can be yours. n Push yourself ever higher The club’s Freshtracks holidays have been designed with a view to progression. Just because we cater for the Great British skier and snowboarder

for whom skiing is a winter holiday rather than a daily workout, but we don’t think that this should hamper your mountain ambition. We also believe that progress shouldn’t be confined to the lucky few who have the time and money to escape to the mountains fulltime. We make sure that the prices are reasonable, and the skills you’ll learn are second to none. n And a proper holiday too An enormous 80% of Freshtracks travellers rebook every year: we’ve clearly got something quite special going on. n What makes Freshtracks so good?

Over the years we’ve listened to our members to create a formula for the perfect holiday: take compatible skiers of a similar ability and use only the best instructors and mountain guides; choose world-class resorts and ensure

your host is an experienced, friendly Ski Club Leader. The result is a ski holiday you’ll never forget! n What course is for you?

Keep reading - the following five holidays are just a few of the scores of holidays we have on offer at www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclubfreshtracks or on 020 8410 2022

MOUNTAINCRAFT COURSE photograph by ROSS WOODHALL

photograph by ROSS WOODHALL

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n Get intimate with the mountain on the Mountaincraft course If you are already confident off-piste, maybe this is the season that your experience with the mountains moves on a step.

Spend six days in the company of two of the best off-piste mountain guides Europe has to offer and learn how to read a mountain safely. This course will instruct you on avalanche awareness, off-piste navigation and survival in the most hands-on way possible.

• Six full days with mountain guides • Includes lectures and mountaincraft techniques, on and off snow • Comprehensive learning experience for adventurous spirits • Learn about avalanche awareness, snow structure, transceivers, navigation and route choice, equipment emergencies, survival and weather conditions and, weather permitting, get an introduction to the technique and kit of ski touring too Chamonix, France: Sat 21 Feb 2015 - Sat 28 Feb 2015 Holiday price of £1,075 includes: seven nights half board, 3* hotel, twin share, six days with mountain guides, private minibus, Ski Club Leader

n Get off the piste “An amazing week in Flaine. I’ve never seen (or skied through) snow like it...

The instructors knew every inch of the mountain and exactly where we would get the best runs. I began to forget that there were any pistes to ski in Flaine at all...

I highly recommend you get yourself on this course if you have any aspirations to get yourself off piste.

Beware though - it’s an extremely addictive thing.” Alison, 2014 The French resort of Flaine is famous for its plentiful off-piste and impressive snowfall. If you are a confident piste skier with little or no off-piste experience, and you fancy taking your skills into the

deep snow, this is the course for you.

Expect five days of instruction that will leave you confident and comfortable taking on open powder fields and linking turns.

Flaine, France: Sat 03 Jan 2015 - Sat 10 Jan 2015 Holiday price of £899 includes: seven nights chalet board, chalet accommodation, twin share, set coach transfers, five days with instructors, Ski Club Leader

n Get touring Get off piste and off the beaten path.

This touring course is for people who really want to get away during their getaway. You’ll be coached in mountain awareness, ski techniques, and the techniques of using skins and touring bindings.

• Four days with a mountain guide • Three nights in the cosy hotel followed by a final night in a mountain hut • No prior touring experience required Holiday price of £670 includes: three nights half board 3* hotel / one night half board in a mountain hut; twin/ shared room, four days with mountain guides, group equipment Les Diablarets, Switzerland: Thu 15 Jan 2015 - Mon 19 Jan 2015 Argentière, France: Thu 05 Mar 2015 - Mon 09 Mar 2015

n Ski tour amongst the fjords Ski Touring in Norway, amongst the dramatic fjord landscape has to be high on most ski tourers lists. If you love to venture to remote areas with no one else in sight and enjoy amazing views of the high Artic fjords then this is the trip for you.

• Explore new mountains every day • There are no lifts here to help so you will be climbing 4 - 6 hours each day • Remote Arctic wilderness Finnmark lies 200km north of the Lyngen Alps. It is an area of wild mountains and no people - one of Europe’s last untouched wildernesses.

You will meet in Alta then move to the fjord side lodge where you will be based for the week. The lodge is newly built with amazing views, and is selfcatering – your instructor Bruce will put a menu together and you will all cook communally. This is a great opportunity to extend your season into May, ski touring a new and completely different area.

Finnmark, Norway: Sun 03 May 2015 - Sun 10 May 2015 Holiday price includes: seven nights self catering lodge (food budget included), twin share, six days with mountain guides, group equipment CONTINUES

MORWAY SKI TOURING photograph courtesy of Fisher Sports

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n La Grave – the off-piste heaven You know things are getting serious when your choice of ski resort has almost no lifts or pistes, but a worldclass reputation.

Welcome to off piste paradise! La Grave is famous for offering the world’s biggest lift-accessed off piste skiing.

Take the one and only lift from the village at 1400m up to mid stations at 1800m, 2400m, 3200m and finally to Dome de la Lauze at 3550m. Once at the top, the

mountain is your playground, and local guides Jean-Yves, Phillipe and Maxant will show you the incredible variety La Grave has to offer. They will lead you to open powder fields, narrow gullies, tree runs and even some drops if you’re feeling brave.

La Grave, France: Thu 22 Jan 2015 - Mon 26 Jan 2015 Holiday price of £799 includes: four nights half board, 3 * hotel, twin share, return scheduled flights, coach

transfers, three days with mountain guides, Ski Club Leader

Need more information?

Call a Ski Freshtracks expert on 020 8410 2022 or go to www.skiclub.co.uk/ skiclubfreshtracks

AlpineAnswers No one knows ski holidays like us!

With over twenty two years of holiday planning experience we offer the ultimate chalet and hotel collection.

We know the chalets, hotels and operators with the best deals, so next time you are thinking of booking a ski holiday think Alpine Answers.

Call: 020 7801 1080 www.alpineanswers.co.uk Alpine Answers 133 x 190.indd 1

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where British Columbia meets Alaska with James Morland

H

eli-skiing in Canada conjures up a few images. Vast quantities of deep, dry powder billowing over your head is probably one of them. Fancy, commercial heliski lodges and big groups crammed into fleets of oversized helicopters is perhaps another. If you like the sound of the former but the latter doesn’t strike a chord, then a little known corner of northern British Columbia could be just the place to investigate.

Last winter I was lucky enough to spend the better part of two months working as a heliski guide in one the wildest corners of northern BC. I first visited this part of the world in 1998,

driving a beaten up pickup truck – laden with skis, fishing rods and camping gear - some 2,000 miles over potholed, snow-covered roads to Valdez, Alaska but that’s another story…

To me there is something special about the north. It’s a no B-S kinda place where men cut down trees, drink beer, fight, shoot bears and catch fish.

Women do the same. Southern BC, with all its fancy ski resorts and big, commercial heliski operations seems like another country. Up here it’s big, it’s wild and it’s raw. And when it comes to snow there are industrial quantities of the stuff – 25 metres a year on average (at only 1,500 metres above sea level).

To put that in perspective, Val d’Isère in France and Verbier in Switzerland CONTINUES

Photograph by Cedric Bernardini

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REDROB average only four or five metres a year.

I’m not sure if that includes artificial snow or not but either way it sounds kind of pathetic in comparison.

Somewhere around my 40th day of work, four hundredth run and eight gazillionenth powder turn I still hadn’t made a single turn in anything but truly epic snow conditions. Every one of these runs was the kind that gets a normal ski resort buzzing for weeks the kind that slots into the ‘best run of my life’ category. Most people would be lucky enough to experience this once or twice in a lifetime and here we were doing it 10-15 times a day, day after day, week after week. Was it all a bit gluttonous? Oh yea. If I’d been eating I would have been on the liposuction long ago.

Without wishing to give our European resorts (which, incidentally I like very much) an inferiority complex, it’s not just the snow that doesn’t compare.

The Last Frontier Heliskiing tenure is a

staggering 25 times the size of Les Trois Vallées in France but here there are just two small lodges - three helicopters and thirty skiers at one, two helicopters and 15 skiers at the other. By contrast, Les Trois Vallées has 183 ski lifts and is capable of transporting 260,000 skiers per hour up the (often icy) mountain.

For much of the time I was working at Last Frontier Heliskiing I was at their Ripley Creek base in the frontier town of Stewart. Drive through town and in three minutes you cross the border into Hyder Alaska… and here the road ends. Originally the home of the Skama-Kounst Indians, the town of Stewart was first explored in 1793 by Captain George Vancouver. With the discovery of gold the town boomed and supported a pre-World War I population of around 12,000. Today it’s down to about 450.

Walking down the wooden board walk past the toaster (yup, the things you put bread in) museum to the Ripley Creek Inn, the bustling gold rush history of the

not too distant past is almost tangible.

Driving from Meziadin Junction, through the Bear Pass and down to Stewart you pass through some of the most rugged and spectacular scenery in British Columbia. Turquoise-blue icefalls hanging precariously above the road, huge trees snapped like match sticks by class 5 avalanches and snowfalls so intense they can bury a car overnight.

Needless to say this is not your regular kind of ski resort. In Courchevel, France you might expect to see a furclad Russian stepping from the door of a fancy, raised Lexus that pretends to know how to drive on snow. Here you are more likely to see a dead moose dripping blood from the back of a pickup truck that could eat the Lexus for breakfast.

The best way to describe this type of ski or snowboard experience is ‘no frills’. It’s about the quality of the skiing not the fancy lodge or waiters in bow

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go beyond.

Picture the largest single heliski area on the planet, 82 feet of annual snowfall, groups of just 4 or 5 guests, and two remote lodges to choose from. Now imagine yourself with four like minded enthusiasts cranking out turn after turn in zero-density-blower-fluffypow. Try wiping that smile off your face.

Visit our corner of northern British Columbia, Canada, and discover for yourself what makes Last Frontier a legend in its own right.

0203 059 8787 | uk@lastfrontierheli.com lastfrontierheli.com THIS IS P A G E 57

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REDROB ties. And when you compare it to other heliski operations in BC this is firmly reflected in the price with an average week being 20% less expensive. ‘No frills’ it may be but I ate like a king during my stay. Looking down the Portland Canal after a day of skiing in the lightest snow imaginable, muscles eased in the hot tub and cold beer in hand is my kind of luxury.

Needless to say I had a pretty good time here but one of the highlights was guiding a private group on a safari trip between Ripley Creek and Last Frontier’s other base at Bell 2 Lodge - a journey of 100km that takes in some of the most spectacular and seldom skied areas in the 9,500 km2 of exclusive ski

terrain. I was pleased to be working with Franz Fux – a fourth generation Swiss mountain guide and one of the founders of Last Frontier Heliskiing. To put it mildly, Franz has a bit of mileage behind him in this part of the world and as the new guy I was relying pretty heavily on him for some orientation.

The group was split into two. Franz took the four ‘older generation’ in the first heli-load and I took the two young rippers in the other. Looking back up the mountain at our tracks it wasn’t hard to tell who was who. On one side was the tightly grouped artistry of the heliski connoisseurs – laid with the precision of an Olympic synchronized swimming team. On the other was a random array

of high speed turns and straight lines.

In musical terms it was like comparing Mozart and Rage Against the Machine.

Somewhere in the vast wilderness between Stewart and Bell 2 Lodge, I’m flying up with my group when a call from Franz comes in on the radio: “Hey James you may as well take that one right down to valley bottom – looks good. We’ll be behind you next run.

Just keep heading down where our tracks stop”.

“Ok – sounds good Franz – thanks”.

At least someone knows where they are.

CONTINUES

Photograph by Cedric Bernardini

PAGE FIFTY

WARREN MILLER’S NO TURNING BACK

HOVERING ON THE

D E U N ITNOC

REDROB The top section of the run was superb.

Fast, big turns into a perfect alpine bowl followed by small, sparsely spaced trees and knee-deep, cold powder topped with 3cm of sparkling surface hoar (those beautiful crystals that sparkle in the sun). Within minutes we were standing on a little knoll staring down into the dense forest below. I radioed Franz for a bit of guidance.

“Oh yea James, just head left of my tracks. It’s pretty obvious” Off we went; down into the towering trees, popping off little pillows, faces blasted with snow. I found myself smiling uncontrollably. As we neared the valley floor I stopped more frequently making the odd traverse to try and figure out where the helicopter

Photograph by Cedric Bernardini

PAGE FIFTY TWO

might pick us up. Nowhere obvious stood out. Down on the flats at the bottom, sweating profusely and with Mattias the snowboarder up to his neck in snow - we tramped around under what can only be described as a jungle-like canopy of trees. Not really great helicopter landing terrain. The radio comes to life: “How is it down there James?”

“Can’t really see where we are going to get picked up – any ideas?”

“Ahhh…well…not too sure about that James, maybe to the right. Good luck.”

After a bit more sweating and tramping around we found a nice clearing, got picked up and flew straight over the

intended pickup – some 50 metres from our tracks and a bit higher up.

Throughout the course of the day it became more and more apparent that despite 20 years of guiding in the area Franz had still only scratched the surface. But his many years of experience had definitely taught him one thing - much better to send the new guy down first to test things out.

Trips to Last Frontier Heliskiing’s Ripley Creek start at CA $4,870 for four days heli-skiing, and four nights lodging.

See more at: http://www.eaheliskiing. com/heliski-blog/adventure-onthe-bc-alaska-border.htm#sthash. n95PxZfT.dpufw

WIN! WIN A SKI HOLIDAY TO LAKE TAHOE FLIGHTS, ACCOMMODATION, AT BOTH THE RESORT AT SQUAW CREEK AND ASTON LAKELAND VILLAGE, & LIFT PASSES ENTER YOUR DETAILS AT

warrenmiller.co.uk/win FOR FULL TERMS & CONDITIONS SEE WEBSITE

ALASKA INGRID BACKSTROM photographed by COURT LEVE

“If you don’t go this year, you’ll be one year older when you do.”

WARREN MILLER