Words, photos & video by Corey Stanton

This past March, an unlikely crew of JP Auclair, Torin Yater-Wallace and Ahmet Dadali embarked on a journey to Turkey, an area not necessarily known for its skiing. No one had ever been to Turkey in the crew aside from Ahmet, who is of Turkish descent and had a handful of relatives in the Istanbul area, where the journey began. After a 13+ hour flight from the States, the crew found themselves in the thick of Istanbul, a mega-city between the European and Asian continental borders that had a population of over 13 million people with a wildly diverse range of cultures and backgrounds.

The Blue Mosque at midnight, one of Istanbul's most famous pieces of architecture.

After a ferry ride and a few hour drive the crew went from the city into the Turkish mountain ranges, where they were surprised to find ample amounts of snow and a very friendly and curious people to the freeskiing culture. No one had ever seen this kind of skiing before, so the reactions were more or less hilarious. The crew spent a little over a week touring Uludag and Kartal Kaya, finding the occasional powder stash, with the freedom to set up any kind of jib or jump anywhere on the hill.

JP Auclair and Torin Yater-Wallace enjoying a morning tea before shredding the terrain park at Kartal Kaya, Turkey.

No one would bother us, unless it was to offer a cup of tea or some food while building the features. Waiters and chefs from outlying restaurants even went as far as offering there help in shoveling snow to build out rails just outside of their

entrance.

Ahmet Dadali with our lifty friend, who was playing a flute crafted out of a ski pole.

With a crew ranging from all spectrums of skiing in a place that was foreign to most of us, it made for a very entertaining journey. This is ARtrip Turkey...enjoy!

ARtrip Turkey