Climber: Scott Bennett Location: Sinestra (5.11) in Indian Creek, UT Photo: Garrett Grove
Skier: Pete Lazar Location: Zinal, Switzerland Photo: Simon Peterson
Rider: Kevin Landry Location: Retallack, BC, Canada Photo: Garrett Grove
RIder: Yale Cousino Location: Stash Park, Killington, VT Photo: Justin Cash
Sky Diver: Kevin Quinn Location: Over Orca Inlet, Cordova, AK Photo: Jason Kelley
StokeVision 1.01
Eye-Popping Images
1.02
The Ingredients
1.03
Contributors
Features 2.01
Swiss Winter
2.02
Yosemite Canyoneering
2.03
72 Hours of Stoke in Whistler
Gear Scope 3.01
Some cool stuff we’re stoked on.
the ingredients We’re calling out 2012 as “The Year of Stoke.” To kick it off, our staff put together this Ingredients list to call out the things that fill our lives with good times. Mixing and matching
these recipes is encouraged, but we can’t be held responsible for excessive stokage or blisters from stinger high-fives.
Mike Horn, Co-founder & Editor 1 part hero powder 1 part desert ramble on knobby tires 1 Boston sports championship 1 Six pack of Ska Euphoria Lazy Sundays
Justin Cash, Co-founder & Photo Editor 1 part Flowing Rivers 1 part Green Grass & Humidity 1 part New England backcountry 1 part Icy Cold Martinis Palm Springs in a bathrobe
Randy Elles, Art Direction & Design 1 part powder 1 part sunshine 1 part hot apple cider 2 mini heaters (just in case)
Jeff Wainer, Art Direction & Design First chairs Faceshots Banked turns Best friends Tree runs *All of which in liberal doses, repeat as needed
Seth Mensing, Copy Editor Equal parts sophisticated sliding (on snowboard or skis) And sledding (on cheap plastic toboggan) 1 tank of gas wasted wandering Two worn soles Add Saturday morning cartoons with my son to taste Fluorocarbon garnish *Mix and let stand in sun until goggle/glass rings appear. Repeat often.
Kimberly Morse, Advertising & Sales 1 part good friends 1 part rockin’ music 1 part island vaca 1 part sick skiin’ 1 part playing with my dog
Lavada Bramlitt, Web Ninja 2 Feet Champagne Powder 7 Hours of Sunshine 3 Fast Friends *For best results mix all ingredients in a Phoenix Bowl and serve with perma-grin!
Adam Broderick, Contributor Several miles x high-alpine singletrack 1 part sunset spectacular 1 part 90 lb. yellow Labrador Retriever Enough snow to choke upon *During a full moon mix it all together in the Stokecauldron. Step back and observe greatness.
Luke Mehall, Contributor 1 part running shoes 1 part desert dirt with your dinner 1 VERY strong cup of good coffee 1 week (at least) away from cell phone, Internet 1 letter to your Grandma 1 dance party a month 365 days of climbing and planning to climb
suRF VeRmoNt PumP House Rates $35 Adults (15+) $25 Kids (4–14) FREE Kids 3 and under
Call 802.988.2611 for more information. jaypeakresort.com/PumpHouseSchedule for daily hours.
FOUNDERS + EDITORIAL DIRECTORS
Justin Cash Mike Horn ART DIRECTION + DESIGN
Randy Elles Jeff Wainer ADVERTISING & SALES
Kimberly Morse COPY EDITOR
Seth Mensing WEB NINJA
Lavada Bramlitt STOKE CONTRIBUTORS
Adam Broderick Garrett Grove Jason Kelley Seth Lightcap Luke Mehall Simon Peterson Tom Winter STOKELAB GRAPHICS
Jeff Wainer
CONTRIBUTE TO STOKELAB
If you are a photographer, film maker, writer, artist or Stoke enthusiast and you are interested in contributing to STOKELAB please email us at info@stokelab.com ADVERTISING WITH STOKELAB
For rates, advertising dimensions, and more information about advertiing with STOKELAB please contact Kimberly Morse at kimberly@stokelab.com. View Media Kit www.STOKELAB.com
THE WARMEST MITTS ON THE PLANET!
BURTON AK OVEN MITT
TESTED IN VERMONT, BY REAL VERMONTERS FIRST STOP BOARD BARN
FIRST STOP BOARD BARN
FIRST STOP BOARD BARN
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A SMALLER SLICE OF SWITZERLAND Words and Photos by Tom Winter
SWITZERLAND HAS A REPUTATION FOR FANTASTIC SKIING. RESORTS LIKE VERBIER, ENGLEBERG AND SAAS FEE ARE JUSTLY FAMOUS: HUGE AMOUNTS OF TERRAIN, MASSIVE VERTICAL AND HUNDREDS OF LIFTS TO GET YOU TO THE TOP. But after nearly a decade of traveling to this mountainous wonderland, I started to get tired of the big resorts. Sure, they had the classic Swiss ambience, with cozy chalets, wonderful restaurants and great skiing. But there were a lot of people there who weren’t Swiss. I wanted to see the Swiss Alps through local eyes, to experience skiing on a more intimate level. And I also wanted good terrain, places that were worth the time and the money spent to go from Colorado to Switzerland in the middle of the winter. Small-time hills wouldn’t be enough. I wanted a smaller slice of Switzerland but with the kind of big-time skiing found at places like Verbier. It turns out that in Switzerland, smaller can be better. You don’t need a mega lift system or huge tram to find challenging terrain in Switzerland. In fact, one or two chairlifts and a willingness to hike a bit will do the job. Best of all, these intimate hills don’t get the traffic that the bigger resorts do. Meaning that when you hit a place like Vals on a powder day, you’ll have it to yourself. A day like that is enough to make you realize that sometimes the smallest slices can also be the sweetest.
Athlete: Alex Applegate We were met with more than two feet of snow on our first run in Vals. We scoped this line directly out of Val’s gondola as we rode past it: totally untracked, big pillows, with the snow still coming down. Most
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Location: Vals, Switzerland of Vals is above treeline, with big open slopes that don’t lend themselves to storm-day skiing. This zone, however, was perfect. We hit it four or five times until we’d totally tracked it out.
Athlete: Alex Applegate More storm day skiing at Vals. This is one of my most memorable days skiing ever. The visibility was horrible and the snow was pounding down. We were the only ones lapping this T-bar. We’d get off the lift and follow it back down through the
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Location: Vals, Switzerland whiteout until we hit this tower, then we’d take a right and roll into steep pitch with a few trees. Here’s former Skiing Magazine editor Jake Bogoch about to drop in and get massive face shots all the way back down to the bottom of the lift.
Athlete: Forrest Coots & Will Spilo If I had to spend the rest of my life skiing only one area, it would be hard not to do it at ChampexLac. With two chairlifts, this small ski area is within easy striking distance of Zurich and punches well above its weight. Ride the main chairlift out of the humble base, hike up a ridge for 20 minutes
| Location: Champex-Lac, Switzerland and you’re looking at massive potential, most of which feeds back down to that same chairlift. On this day, we ended up skiing the large shaded couloir in the right of the photo. What you don’t see here is the steep gladed tree skiing right off of the lift. On storm days you’d be the only one lapping it.
Athlete: Forrest Coots
| Location: Champex-Lac, Switzerland
It’s hard to describe in words what a special place Champex-Lac is: the tiny village on the shores of a crystalline lake, the modest ski area with only two lifts, the terrain that’s beyond your wildest dreams. Don’t go to Champex-Lac for discos or late nights or sundecks filled
with tourists. Bring your avalanche and touring gear, be shocked at the fact that on any given day, you’ll probably be the only one skiing offpiste, and try to stay in a place with a view of the lake. Here’s Forrest Coots sampling some of the terrain on the backside of the ski area.
Location: La Fouly, Switzerland La Fouly has only one major lift, a basic double chair that goes straight up out of the valley. We visited last year, and conditions weren’t in form to tackle the steep tree skiing that makes this ski area
notable. That didn’t matter because we had a couple of great days there, one in the fog sliding around on creamy crud and another mindblowing day touring outside of the resort.
Athlete: Forrest Coots
| Location: La Fouly, Switzerland
The terrain that you can access from the tiny ski area of La Fouly is steep, exposed and as intense as you want it to be. We battled low tide conditions and tough weather
on this trip, but that just made certain moments all the sweeter. This one was one of them. Forrest Coots wrapping up an amazing day with a line I’ll never forget.
Athlete: Forrest Coots
| Location: Vicheres, Switzerland
Vicheres is a family-oriented resort with a double chair out of the base and some surface lifts higher up. Unlike La Fouly or Champex Lac, which have insanely steep tree skiing right off the lifts, Vicheres is open and rolling, playful even. It’s also the ideal jumping off point for touring to wilder terrain.
This line was a mere 10 minutes above the resort. It started with an open face and pillow drops (shown here) and then quickly steepened to a series of tight chutes ďŹ lled with powder. Despite the fact that the face was clearly visible from the lift we were the only people skiing it.
SWISS TRIP TIPS Your first stop should be My Switzerland myswitzerland.com a website that has a good overview of traveling to the country, as well as links to individual ski resort’s website sites, discount deals and more. Hill Explorer is a small freeriding guide to Champex-Lac, La Fouly and Viceres-Luddes. It has excellent aerial photos of the best terrain as well as some limited route descriptions. It’s available at the local tourist office in each village for free. If you don’t see it, ask. You can find information on all of these ski areas, as well as the rest of the Ski Saint Bernard region at saint-bernard.ch. The regional trail map available in a downloadable PDF gives a general overview of the entire area and complements the more detailed maps and aerial photography in the Hill Explorer guidebook (above). Vals is located in the Graubünden canton of Switzerland. This small resort is close to the larger resorts of Discentis and Laax, making the area worthy of an extended stay to sample these other mountains. Discentis in particular has excellent and highly accessible backcountry terrain. Touring in Vals accesses everything from steep pillow lines in the trees perfect for storm days to multivalley trips with train and bus connections back to the ski area. Individual resort websites are as follows: Champex Lac: champex.info La Fouly: telelafouly.ch Vals: vals.ch Vichères: vicheres.com
the beast DeclareD the Dew tour a national holiDay. Come see some of the world’s best skiers and riders Compete for the top of the podium when the winter dew tour Comes to killington January 19-22. witness styled triCks in our terrain parks and massive air in our 22-foot superpipe. find out more about the beast at killington.com.
killington.Com 800.621.mtns
Words by Mike Horn | Images by Justin Cash
WHISTLER, B.C.
EXTREMELY CANADIAN
MASTER THE GNAR Think you’re a big mountain badass with the potential to be even badder? Or maybe you just want to get off the groomers and cut your teeth in the steeps? Extremely Canadian is the only independent guide service that operates on Whistler Blackcomb, will take you to the goods, and school you in technique and form so you’re not throwing out the chicken wing or backseat driving. By school we speak literally, the guides take video of you shredding, and then take you back to the office to pick apart your approach piece by piece, before instructing you on how to improve. Nothing shows the hitch in your ride like video footage. Ouch.
They lead us around on a milky storm day, and more than once we creep close to the void, a cavernous drop just an edge-slip away. Good fun, we definitely found the best snow on the mountain, though we discovered we’re not the “best skiers on the mountain.” While the emphasis is primarily on skiing, they hope to expand the snowboard program when demand calls for it. If you’re looking to travel beyond Whistler, Extremely Canadian also offers guiding services around the globe. www.extremelycanadian.com
Skier: Peter Smart
Skier: Derek Foose
STRAIGHT TO THE VEIN
COAST RANGE HELI-SKIING The stokologists had never flown in a helicopter before. Sitting in the chopper before our first takeoff, at the Coast Range Heliski HQ in Pemberton, B.C., the anticipation of flying, propelled by spinning rotors, trumps even the promise of blower powder in the alpine. Slowly the RPM’s crank higher and higher, and we slowly begin to hover, higher and higher; everything below goes miniature except the mountains now literally in our face. Then, the drop off: the helicopter lands delicately on a loaf-shaped ridgeline and we pour out onto the snow, encapsulated in a thun-
derous swell. Then, the bird takes off and…silence. We look out at a clean white slate, no lines to be seen. One by one we follow our guide and drop in; snowy curtains draped after every turn. Following mountain contours and avoiding wind-loaded slopes, our guide leads us back to the LZ. Back to flying, and more riding. Eight glory laps later, the adrenaline cache is spent. As a good friend once said to me regarding heliskiing, “Straight to the vein.” That’s one way to mainline the stoke. www.coastrangeheliskiing.com
Skier: Deborah Marks Williams
PanamaThe CityLZ, after the sun goes down. Coast Range Heliskiing
Rider: Mike Horn
SHOOTS AND LADDERS ZIP THROUGH THE RAINFOREST; SHOOT & SKI AT THE TRACK
I gotta say, my palms were sweating as we climbed into the forest canopy with ZipTrek Ecotours. I’m not the biggest fan of heights, and we were, well, high off the forest floor. Look ahead, not down, I convince myself. Then before I know it, my harness is hitched to a zipline, which the guide assures me will carry me across this gorge and to the other side. “Just step off,” the guide says. Okay … in an instant I’m dangling by a steel thread in the void, buzzing down the line with the wind at my back. I reach the other side, stopping just shy of the next platform, where the next guide pulleys me onto solid ground. Throughout the day, our guides intertwine adrenaline and ecological education, and even gave us a brief freestyle zip lesson to close things out. It was a lot more fun than I ever expected.
Ski Callaghan’s Whistler Olympic Park hosted the Nordic events for the 2010 Winter Olympics. They also hosted one of the worst biathlon skiers of all time this April—yours truly. After we finished the zipline mission, our group traveled to Ski Callaghan for a quick biathlon lesson. Somehow, I’ve never fired a gun before. Let’s just say I was a little better at shooting than skate skiing, though I’d never tried that before either. Biathlon will take your breath away; when people collapse at the finish line, it’s for real. Outside biathlon, the Olympic Park features world-class cross country trails and an authentic Nordic vibe. If kicking, gliding, and shooting is your thing, don’t miss it. www.ziptrek.com www.whistlerolympicpark.com
Zipping Ryan Stuart
Skate Skier: Ryan Stuart
Target practice at Ski Callaghan
WHISTLER TRIP TIPS Get your passport dialed and be sure it doesn’t expire before or during your trip. Learned that one the hard way… Book a rental car or seat on the shuttle from Vancouver to the Whistler region. If you’re taking the shuttle sit on the driver’s side on the drive up for the best views along the Sea to Sky Highway. www.whistlerskylynx.com Enjoy the kind ketchup—no high fructose corn syrup. Give yourself at least five days on snow to really soak it all in, and you’ll still barely scratch the surface. From killer cruisers to gnarly steeps and vast backcountry, this area has massive acreage and vertical. www.whistler.com Killer Eats: From the low-key Creekbread (www.creekbread.com) to offthe-charts Araxi (www.araxi.com) there are a slew of great dining options around Whistler. Best Place to meet a local and dance like a fool: Buffalo Bills at Locals Night every Thursday (www.buffalobills.ca). Don’t be fooled by all of the British and Australian accents as Whistler Blackomb employs thousands of hard partying/powder chasing Aussies and Brits every year. Sure the line is long and the drinks are expensive but it was the only place we found a pool table, a good DJ and a cage in all of Whistler.
Dropping In Hot
YosemiteWordsValley Canyoneering & Photos By Seth Lightcap
Put on your bikini and slip into your harness. You’re about to explore two of Yosemite’s finest slot canyons.
No matter what your adventure agenda in Yosemite, the approach is always half the battle. From this heavenly vista we were two hours in and two hours away from our canyoneering destination.
Swimming in surreal water holes is what canyoneering is all about. This hole was our first dip of the day and the only sunny one. The water course dropped away into a dark slot about a mile ahead.
Negotiating the confines of the canyon proved to be a full-body affair. The route demanded lots of technical downclimbing on slippery water polished slabs and a handful of cold and wet rappels over chockstones.
Here we are 225 feet above the first dreamy water hole in another rarified Sierra slot canyon.
No dry bag, no problem. Rope tricks allowed us to keep our gear out of the water while hucking into the many pools.
Don’t try this at home kids. Nah, I’m not talking about rappelling in a bikini. That’s hot. It’s the doubles rappel that’s kinda sketchy. The technique can save you some time, just make sure you and your partner weigh the same.
Once again, what it’s all about—baptism by cold canyon water.
Seth Lightcap is an adventure journalist based out of Lake Tahoe, CA. His words, images and videos have appeared in magazines and websites around the world including Kronicle, Outside, GQ, ESPN, Transworld Snowboarding, Snowboarder, Snowboard Mag, Frequency, Onboard, Method Mag, Backcountry Mag, UnofficialSquaw.com and the Moonshine Ink. Check out his work at www.lightcap.bigcartel.com
SKULL CANDY FIX BUD $39.99 Music is a critical distraction for many painful situations, and the airport is a prime example. For me, stepping onto a flight without tunes to drown out the droning engines and hacking coughs is sheer torture. Sleep? Don’t even think about it. Fact is I’d rather be oblivious if I’m in a crash-landing situation or about to catch SARS. I don’t want to hear those creepy creaks and rattles, I want to listen to Bob Marley or Bob Dylan and pass in and out of consciousness. On a recent flight I used these buds to travel into Neverland and they provided a powerful sound that rivals over-ear noise-canceling models, with just a little less thump and a lot less bulk. Why we’re stoked: The new hook design is comfortable and stays put whether sleeping or snowboarding. A rear acoustic port adds extra bass boost. —Mike Horn
“A powerful sound that rivals over-ear noise-canceling models.”
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www.skullcandy.com
VON ZIPPER JOHN JACKSON SIGNATURE FISHBOWL GOGGLES $160 The lenses on these Fishbowls are so big, so shiny and mirrored that a person sitting next to me on the lift recently asked if he could take a photo of his reflection. John Jackson’s pro model goggles offer prairie-wide peripheral vision and fit snug with a helmet ie. no gaper gap. The fire chrome lenses perform best on sunny days but see through shady conditions just fine. Why we’re stoked: The oversized lenses mean you’ll see that runaway skier coming atcha out of the corner of your eye, and the JJ colorway is eye-of-the-tiger blingin’. —Mike Horn
“Prairie-wide peripheral vision.”
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www.vonzipper.com
COLUMBIA AERIAL ARSON SHELL $350 Columbia’s Thermal heat reflective lining looks futuristic and is no gimmick—think about marathon runners who wrap themselves in a reflective blanket after the race—same concept. It’s warm but not overbearing on lift-served bootpacks and traverses and I stayed desert dry on bell-tobell pow days thanks to fully seam-sealed waterproofing and a (removable) powder skirt. Why we’re stoked: The Aerial Arson is a highly functional shell styled for freeride; other key features include a media pocket, goggle pocket, articulated elbows and removable adjustable hood. —Mike Horn
“A highly functional shell styled for freeride.”
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www.columbia.com
DIAMONDBACK MISSION PRO $5,000 When the Diamondback Mission Pro arrived at the Rocky Mountain office for testing, it caught us by surprise. Back in the day Diamondback was known for making sick BMX bikes (they still are), and I remember always wishing I had one when I was a kid. In the meantime they’ve developed a mountain bike program that keeps upping the ante, and the new top-of-the-line Mission Pro is the culmination of those efforts. We tested this bike for several days in the desert (Fruita, Colo.) and mountains (Crested Butte, Colo.) from buffed out downhills to techy rooted uphill red liners. The Mission Pro rides lighter than it looks—and it looks like it’s capable of everything from lift-served DH to cross country epics. In this case looks weren’t deceiving. Some details: after riding with a seat dropper (Rock Shox Reverb) I don’t know how I’ll go back to a regular seat post. Up front the Fox Float 36 swallows up speed-ruts, rocks and rolls while negotiating tight switchbacks and techy moves with pinpoint control. Diamondback’s Knucklebox suspension effectively balances efficient climbing with a plush ride on the descent, and that’s not easy to do. This bike climbs with tenacity, especially when the rear Fox Float RP23 is locked out. The Sram XO 10-speed rear derailleur shifts buttery smooth and without hesitation; Hayes Prime Pro brakes are highly adjustable and inspired confidence on the steepest downhills I hit all season. Why we’re stoked: The Mission Pro climbs with cross-country efficiency and descends plush like a downhill bike. Every ride was more fun than the last, and persistent snow was the only thing that could get us to put it away for winter. —Mike Horn
“Balances efficient climbing with a plush ride on the descent.”
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www.diamondback.com
LINE SKIS MR. POLLARD’S OPUS $699.95 StokeLab hit up Gabe Martin of Colorado FreeSkier for his thoughts on the 2011-12 Mr. Pollard’s Opus from Line Skis: “This is an extremely versatile ski for all conditions, and with dimensions like 144-118-141 you know they’re going to float well in powder. The real test is to see how well this ski handles on everyday conditions like groomers, crud and choppy snow and the Mr. Pollard’s Opus excels! Many skis are using the rocker and camber technology to ski a fat ski every day and roll from edge to edge easier. What LINE and Eric Pollard have done here is add more effective edge on the snow for planing while using the rocker tip and tail and full camber under foot to roll the ski. This longer effective edge along with its massive sidecut (144 to 118 under foot) makes it ski like a much skinnier ski that what it really is. In the construction of the ski they have thinned out the thickness of the tip and tail to reduce swing weight and again make it feel smaller than it is in harder conditions. The tips and tails are also very responsive and poppy making it a playful ski.” Why we’re stoked: “In Crested Butte this is exactly what we look for as a one ski quiver.” —Gabe Martin
“A one ski quiver.”
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buy now
SALOMON RHYTHM BINDINGS $150 Aptly labeled the Rhythm, these bold (yellow) and ergonomic bindings are as loud as they are fluid. Freeframe high-backs bond beautifully with boots, and extra padding furnishes glorious comfort. The Lock-In toe-straps keep you secure yet provide ample flexibility for optimal freestyle control. Salomon’s Smoothcrank aluminumratchets and tool-less functionality offer on-the-fly modifications, and an IMS (Integrated Mounting System) minimizes fumbling by keeping your hardware intact during baseplate-adjustments and board-swaps. Why we’re stoked: They’re super-affordable, and come in yellow, red, purple or green so you don’t have to compromise your technicolor wardrobe. —Adam Broderick
“Extra padding furnishes glorious comfort.”
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www.salomonsnowboard.com
BURTON BARRACUDA $499.95 When I met with John “JG” Gerndt this fall, Burton’s legendary snowboard designer, he was stoked to tell us about all of the tech going into the brand new 2012 Burton Barracuda. The board was inspired by the ever so popular Burton Fish and now defunct Burton Malolo and classic Burton Supermodel. JG went on to say that the board wasn’t designed as a “powder board” but more so for shredding tight trees and ripping high speed groomers between them. He went on to say the board really excelled in mixed conditions (ice, powder, crud, corduroy, etc.) Once he told me that I was hooked. I consider myself an all-mountain rider and when I go snowboarding I am looking to make high-speed turns in ALL conditions. I’ve rode the Barracuda four days now in mixed conditons that ranged from bullet proof ice to soft pow and I couldn’t be happier. The Barracuda features a set-back stance, larger nose, tapered tail, and S-Rocker (the same camber/rocker profile featured on the Burton Fish) which floats like a surf board in deep snow and holds an edge at high speed on firm snow. Unlike the Fish the Barracuda has a rounded nose and tail similar to the Supermodel. Nug Raduction (also featured on Burton’s Nug and Fish models) make the board ride 3-5CMs longer than it’s actual length. Lucky for me (short and stout) I was able to ride a 157cm snowboard that had the effective surface of a 160 or 162cm board which made it much easier in tight trees and dreaded moguls. Why we’re stoked: If you don’t really ride park this could be the one board you ride all season. Nug Raduction gives you more float and stability at shorter lengths which make this board amazing in trees. —Randy Elles
“I don’t think I would need another board.”
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buy now
ISSUE NO7 COMING APRIL 3, 2012
Skiers: John Robinson & Joe Tomazin Location: Solitude Backcountry, UT Photo: Justin Cash