Last week was not normal. I shredded deep pow in may (no big surprise this year), surfed some really fun waves, and spent hours skating the mini pipe. In fact, I was able to do all of these things in a 24 hour period which I considered to be the ultimate shredding trifecta. more on that later.
Aaaaah. Deep, dry, untracked powder snow at the end of May. This makes me about as happy as a pig in a giant shit house. 40 inches of snow fell over the wasatch mountains around May 20th, which would have been a great storm in january, its now almost june however. My brothers and I found ourselves at the now closed Brighton ski resort, which has been deserted for over a month despite one of the deepest snowpacks ever. Essentially all of the ski resorts (except snowbird) turn into "country club" backcountry skiing in the spring offering up cat track access to all of the forbidden fruits.
^Ty on Fantasy ridge May 20, 2011
^photo: neil provo
After two amazing runs down Millicent at Brighton, I had to make a quick transition in order to make an afternoon flight to Orange County, California. A quick break from the mountains to visit the new Armada Skis headquarters in Costa Mesa. It was a great weekend with the whole team going over new products and directions as well as providing feed back that goes into making things better. It was a great success on many levels.
^arrived just in time to see the wedge going off. It was pretty cool to see such a big wave breaking on shore 40 feet away. People were getting served as usual.
^ The mini pipe zone at the Armada HQ was such a solid setup. Everybody was jamming. The ramp played a big part in the 24 hour shred mission
On my last day in the OC, and right after an excellent morning surf out on Newport beach, I got a call from my brother Neil. He asked if I wanted to go for a charge up Lone Peak the following morning with him and Jim Harris. Thats when I realized the potential for my first 24 hour shred-a-thon. I would ride waves by the newport pier in the morning, skate Armada's mini pipe in the afternoon, and go for a savage alpine assault of Lone Peak at night. With sand in my ears and my board shorts still slightly damp, I stepped off the plane in Utah and gazed up at the magnificent Lone Peak wilderness and pondered how I would survive the brutal night ahead. The ocean had sucked out all my energy in the morning and I'd have no time to sleep before the climb. I would call on the natural powers of superfoods such as Maca, cacao, and hemp to carry me up the mountain. After a 12 am departure, Jim and Neil lead the way.
^ Hiking out of the valley during the first few hours of the day was a complete blur. I think we were all wondering what the hell we were doing, but those thoughts were quickly drowned out by images of a majestic apline peak. Forward.
After the charge up and down Lone Peak, my 24 hour shredding marathon was complete. It was time to make up for some much needed sleep and lack of food. Going from the ocean to the mountains on this level was something that I have always wanted to do.
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