Super Secret Alterna Shoot
Alterna Films had a private shoot this past week on Grouse Mountain. Taking full advantage of the slushy spring conditions, the crew invaded the Quicksilver park, set up some highly photogenic features, and threw down.
Stepover. 65 feet to the knuckle. Take 'er deeeep.
Riders in attendance included Craig Bealieu, Beau Bishop, Wiley Tesseo, Barry Hartman, Matt Belzile, Tadej Valentan, and many more. Even Grouse Mountain local Liam Casey was invited in on the fun. You can check out the Alterna blog for some behind scenes shots of the action but the only place to see the real goods will be in Alterna’s 08/09 film.
Big enough for ya?
Big thanks to Carlo for letting me in on the session!
-cj
We Like Facebook
Latest from Twitter
Countdown: 6 days left!
All good things must come to an end.
Only 6 shred-days left this season. Hopefully everyone has taken full advantage of the spring riding extension Grouse Mountain was kind enough to hook up.
If you haven’t been riding lately, make sure you get some while you still can! The park is slushy, the sun is out, and the sessions are on.
Last day of riding on Grouse Mountain is Sunday April 26th!
Cam Harris and Spencer Watson gettin (upside)down with the spring sessions . Photo: Sean Fenton
So, go ride.
Now.
-cj
Alterna Shoot…1 more
Seems I missed posting this shot from the Alterna/Showdown shoot. This one comes from Brian Choi. Big thanks to Brian for the shots!
Liam Casey and I having some fun.
This week is looking like we should see some sun! Keep your fingers crossed for nice weather.
Get out there and shred!
-cj
Random Goodies: Ski Industry Happenings.
Right, time for an update on some happenings in the ski industry.
Here we go!
Dumont Cup
The Dumont Cup course. Click me!
The first ever Dumont Cup is going down this Saturday April 11th at Sunday River, Maine. Hosted by the man himself, Simon Dumont, the competition is open to anyone who thinks they have what it takes to shred with the big boys (big as in ski ability, not necessarily stature, sorry Simon). TJ Schiller, Jossi Wells, Tom Wallisch, Laurent Favre, amongst other super pros, are said to be competing.
The course looks like it will be HUGE. Loaded with everything you would expect from a RedBull/Dumont collaboration; a 70 foot tabletop, 80 foot step down and a few rails for good measure, this looks to be one of the biggest set ups for an open competition to date. The Dumont Cup will undoubtedly be a good show.
Nine Knights
Last years winner Henrik Harlaut (red and white) and Oscar Sherlin slaying the 2008 setup. Photo: newschoolers.com
If Maine is a little too far for you to go to compete, you may want to nix this next competition too. The Nine Knights, hosted by Nico Zacek, will be taking place April 13 – 18 in Nebelhorn, Germany. Last year, the Nine Knights had one of the coolest set-ups (read: wicked cool snow sculpture) ever built.
This years setup looks to be a pretty large step above last years. The snow castle comes complete with its headline feature, a massive step over jump, two quarter pipes (with a channel gap inbetween), a hip jump, a rail feature, and what looks to be a spine. Ohh…and a loop. A Loop? Like JP Auclair circa Propaganda? Yep a loop! This one should be very cool. Options galore! Check out an interview with Nico Zacek about the up comming event.
Superunknown VI Winner
Superunknown VI winner Niklas Eriksson. Photo: level1productions.com
Level 1 Productions have finally reached a decision on this years Superunknown winner. Much to the dismay of the 100 or so other entrants, Niklas Eriksson took this years title. Niklas’ smooth style, technical prowess, and most notabily his performance at this years JOI, helped him to land the title. Big things are expected for the up and commer. Word is he has some pretty nast double flips. Check his latest edit, Superunknown entry video, and what John Symms had to say about the win over at ESPN.
Chris Benchetler Interview
Mr. Benchetler. Photo: downdays.eu
Atomic pro and Nimbus rider, Chris Benchetler recently participated in a rather interesting interview with the folks at downdays.eu. Benchetler spoke (or didn’t) about his new skis, injuries, his season and more. If only more interviews were done like this…what a refreshing change from the ordinary. If you liked the Benchetler interview, check out these interviews with Euro freeskier, Tobi Reindl, and Banana Man!
Remember to check out Benchetler in all the Nimbus webisodes as they continue to drop over the season.
Well, that’s all for now. Get out on your shred machines while Grouse Mountain is still truckin!
-cj
Brian Choi Alterna Shoot Shots
Brian Choi was up Grouse Mountain on March 29th to shoot the Alterna/Showdown session. He got some killer shots! See for yourself.
Showdown winner Sebastien Toutant keeping the sponsors happy!
...did I mention he is only 16 years old?
Ugh, clouds...
I must admit, I do love me some backflips.
Who said shooting into the sun was a bad thing?
Liam Casey with a flat 540.
Liam spotting transition on another flat 540.
Aint nobody grabbin like Liam Casey grabbin. - Flat 540
Liam getting all corked out on a 900. He landed this one like Wallisch.
So bright, so poppin, so clean.
Ouch.
Bonus shot!
Grouse Mountain Pro Team rider Spencer Watson slaying the wallride!
So that’s all the Showdown shots for now folks. A huge thanks to Graham Dalik, Jason Macfarlane and Brian Choi for sharing their shots with us!
Temperatures are rising and the snow is softening up. Session are going off in the Quiksilver and Rookie parks. Get up Grouse Mountain, get your goggle tan on, shred some slush, and have some fun! Only 2 weeks of riding left.
Don’t forget your sunscreen!
-cj
Jason Macfarlane Alterna Shoot Shots
Sunny skies, pro riders, and a jump bigger than anything the North Shore has seen before… March 29th was a pretty darn good day for a photo shoot. Grouse local, Jason Macfarlane was up Grouse Mountain to shoot the Alterna/Showdown Over the City after session. Here are some of his shots.
Check the goggle shot at the end…damn!
No grab. Huge.
When the takeoff is taller than the scaffolding, you know the jump is good.
Liam Casey corking out.
Timed perfectly...
I got a shot! Jason said he tried this shot about 30 times and these two were the olny ones that worked out. Click the image and head over to newschoolers.com to vote for it!
Beauty.
More shots to come later in the week. Keep checking back!
Word is Grouse Mountain is in top form right now. Get up there before the season is over!
-cj
Alterna Shoot – Through the lense of Graham Dalik
Sunday March 29th was a beautiful day. Blue skies, warm temperatures, and a 70 foot stepdown manicured to perfection. The Showdown Over the City was a thing of the past but that beast of a jump used for the competition still remained, begging to be hit. Jeff Silcock, the Grouse Mountain Events Manager, invited the Alterna Films crew to come up and do a shoot on the monstrous jump. Mr Silcock also invited a small group of skiers: pro team rider Spencer Watson, local shredder and all around good guy Liam Casey, and yours truly. The jump was meticulously perfected by the park staff (and a few of the riders), and by noon, the session was on.
Unfortunately Spencer Watson was injured early on after overshooting the jump and landing nose heavy, on his left side, near the flat bottom. He went absolutely, unfathomably, HUGE. Spencer decided to call off the rest of the session. But don’t worry, he’s fine now.
I invited my good friend Graham Dalik to come up and shoot some photos. As promised, here are a few of his shots:
Waiting for the session to start.
Beau Bishop rocking the Westbeach tall jacket.
Huge.
Spotting some transition.
In living colour.
Backflip or BASE jump? CJ loves hangtime.
Liam Casey and CJ. Front flip and back flip.
Dan Jonas. Grousepark.com. Legit.
Gettin tail.
CJ corkin a 540.
Goin huge. Gettin corked. Grabbin tail.
Liam showing Grouse Mountain why he is the man. - Flat Spin 540.
You can check more shots from the session and some of Graham’s other work on his flickr page.
Grouse locals Jason Macfarlane and Brian Choi were also in attendance snapping shots. As this post is already getting a little photo heavy, I will save their shots for another time.
Hope you enjoyed. I sure did.
-cj
JOSS: The sceret goods.
A good friend of mine, Andreas Amble, is attending JOSS right now. He is working with Friflyt Magazine, a Norwegian ski and snowboard magazine. Andreas is a very smart man. He knows that people want to see what’s going on at JOSS. If you’ve been checking Jon Olsson’s videoblog, josupersessions.com, Jacob Wester’s blog, or the Newschoolers.com blog, you would know that everyone at JOSS seems to be a little hush hush on showing the goods.
This is were Andreas comes in. Check out his edit from Trysil, Norway and the Sweet Rumble. It may not be the most professional video but it gives you a great idea of what is going down.
While you’re at it, check out Andreas’ blog…try to be forgiving of his English, it’s his second language.
PK Hunder... Photo: Newschoolers.com
Wish I was there.
-cj
Showdown and an Alterna Tease!
The Quiksilver Showdown Over the City invaded Grouse Mountain this past weekend and I was lucky enough to land a spot in the judges booth as the event tabulator. Fortunately for me this made for an amazing place to watch the madness but, unfortunately left little time to get the shot. So bear with me on the action photos for this one.
MC's getting it done.
Anyways, as you all know by now, the jump was huge, the riders were stoked and the weather was…well, crap. But that’s how contests seem to go. The fog would roll in just as fast as it rolled out leaving precious windows of opportunity for the riders to drop. Taking full advantage of the few moments of clarity on Friday during the qualifiers were Wiley Tesseo, Warren Williams, Jason Wexler, Jesse Millen, Gordon Emery, Nathan Ramler, Tim Barker and Max Ritchie, all of whom advanced to the semi-finals on Saturday.
Someone getting a better shot than I...
Along with the semi-finals came the invited riders and the same blanket of fog as the day before. Regardless of the weather, the riders threw down. Making their way through the semis and on to the finals were Jesmond Dubeau, Sebastien Toutant, Dave Fortin, Immanuel Anderson, Chris Collard, Matt Munn (who also won the rail jam on Friday night, and a cool $3000, despite the six stitches in his forehead thanks to an edge to the face earlier that day…that’s $500 per stitch if anyone’s counting!), Atsushi Ishikawa, and the only qualifier to make it all the way, Warren Williams.
The pros.
Impromptu dance 3-6-0 battle while waiting for the fog to clear...
Just when you thought the fog couldnt get any worse, for a change, it didn’t! The sun almost came out (in patches) for the finals and allowed the final 8 to put on a show. As you may already know, Sebastien Toutant took the win and $10,000 with a beautiful double cork 1080, Jesmond Dubeau scored $4000 in a well deserved second, and Atsushi Ishikawa, who came all the way from Japan, took home $2000 with third place.
Judge Duff giving the people what they want.
What you may not know is Chris Collard took fourth, Warren Williams fifth, Dave Fortin sixth, Immanuel Anderson seventh, and Matt Munn eighth (for a full list of results check the Showdown website). These guys definitely deserved the top spots. It’s hard to imagine hitting a jump of that size in less than perfect conditions.
Speaking of perfect conditions…anyone check the Alterna shoot that went down Sunday? Here’s a little tease for now. Check back in the next few days for copious amounts of uber banger shots courtesy of my good friend Graham Dalik and a few others.
Beautiful... Photo: Graham Dalik
Ok, here’s one more…
Best session ever. Photo: Graham Dalik
Mmmhmm it was gooooood,
-cj
p.s. I heard they let some skiers hit the jump…
Showdown going down…Get up there!
The Quiksilver Showdown Over the City is set to go off this Friday and Saturday, and the course is looking sick! Make sure you get up Grouse Mountain both days to support the riders and check out the event. A full rundown of the goings on can be found on the Showdown website.
The course is shaping up to look like it will be just about as fun to watch as it will be to ride. A large step down, followed by a gap to snow-box, followed by a choice between a down-flat-down rail or a down rail is what competitors will be playing with. Here’s a couple of shots of the course in progress…just to get the stoke up.
View from the drop in.
Step down...
...man sized!
Gap to snow-box to down rail options...in progress...use your imagination.
Shaw hard at work.
EVENT SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
11:00am-9:00pm
Rusty Rail Outdoor BBQ
Watch the action on the big screen!
12:00pm – 4:00pm
Qualifying
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Friday Night Session Practice
6:00pm – 9:00pm
DJ MARVEL spinning on-course
7:30pm – 8:30pm
Friday Night Jib Session Main event
9:00pm – Close
Awards in the Peak Chalet
Coors Light Apres in Lupins Cafe
Featuring DJs SEKO + MARVEL
SATURDAY
11:00am-close
Rusty Rail Outdoor BBQ
Watch the action on the big screen!
11:00am-3:30pm
DJ MARVEL spinning on-course
10:30am – 12:15pm
HEAT 1 Practice and Semi-Final
12:30pm – 2:00pm
HEAT 2 Practice and Semi-Final
2:30-3:30pm
Head-to-Head FINALS
3:45pm
Awards in front of Peak Chalet
9:00pm – Late
Coors Light Afterparty at Tonic
Get up there…it’s going to be sick!
-cj