This is a complicated question to answer. Of course, the U.S. and Canada have freakin’ amazing ski areas that can certainly rival anything in the Alps. Whistler, Jackson, Baker, everything in Utah, Colorado, and British Columbia… do I really need to even make this list?

At any rate, most Europeans seem convinced of the superiority of skiing in North America, which, interestingly enough, is the exact same opinion that many North American skiers have about the Alps. There appears to be a “Grass is greener on the other side” thing going on here, or perhaps the promoters of international ski tourism are just doing a really good job of selling people on ski vacations abroad.

For me, perhaps the best selling point for the Alps is the sheer number of ski resorts available. For a good example, let’s compare my home state Oregon with the country of Austria.

Oregon has an area of 98,380 square miles or 254,805 square kilometers, and boasts a total of 13 ski resorts as depicted on this nifty map:

A map of Oregon ski areas that I found on Oregon.com

The country of Austria, in comparison, has an area of 83,871 square kilometers — that’s around a third the size of Oregon. In Austria there are AT LEAST 361 ski areas, that’s the unofficial number I pulled from bergfex.at — who knows how many there really are. Here’s a map:

Each of these little squares marks a ski resort in Austria.

This brings me to the main point I want to make in the whole America vs. Europe discussion. Yes, North America has incredible ski resorts, but they’re spread far and wide, and Europeans who haven’t experienced this for themselves have a hard time grasping the concept. For example, from my home base at Mt. Hood, if I want to go skiing at…

• Mt. Bachelor, Oregon = 128 miles, 2.5 hr drive
• Mt. Baker, Washington = 335 miles, 6 hr drive
• Jackson Hole, WY: 775 miles, 13 hr drive
• Lake Tahoe: 530 miles, 10 hr drive
• Salt Lake City: 745 miles, 12 hr drive
• Summit County, Colorado: 1,200 miles, 20 hr drive
• Whistler, BC Canada: 440 miles, 8 hr drive

Yeah, that’s a stacked list of ski resorts, and a LOT of driving hours. Now let’s compare that to driving distances in Europe, using my home base here of Innsbruck, Austria and driving to a few well-known ski areas:

• Mayrhofen, Austria: 70km, 50 minute drive
• Kitzbühel, Austria: 100 km, 1 hr drive
• St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria: 100 km, 1 hr drive
• Davos, Switzerland: 200 km, 3 hr drive
• Verbier, Switzerland: 6oo km, 6 hr drive
• Chamonix, France: 600 km, 6 hr drive

I believe the point is made. Both Europe and North America have great skiing, but in the Alps EVERYTHING IS CLOSER. Hell, I couldn’t even count how many good resorts I can access within an hour drive from my home here in Austria. I can count at least 10 within a half-hour drive…

This discussion will be continued with a comparison of Europe vs. North America average ski area elevations, vertical drop, square kilometers, and lifts…

Well it’s been a month to remember over here in the Austrian Alps. The new year brought in a monster storm system that pounded along the entire length of the Alps, bringing as much as 5 meters (15 feet) of snowfall in some areas.

Here at the Stubai Glacier we got about 2 meters from the storm, which is more than enough to officially kick off this winter after a very dry fall season!

The sign at the top of the park was a good measure of snowfall...

I started off 2012 by digging out the Stubai Zoo terrain park for four hours on January 1. At least I got to watch an amazing sunset at the end of the day!

The next day I drove over to Kitzbühel to meet Anja and friends at the Fritzhütte on the backside of Kitzbüheler Horn in the Raintal, which I’ve already “blown up” in an earlier blog communiqué. Let me summarize by saying “sick freeride terrain” and we’ll leave it at that! The one day I got to ride at Kitzbühel got me real stoked to ski some powder and fun terrain this winter!

Anja drops in to a nice line underneath the Raintal lift.

Fun lines, Kitzbühel is full of them!

Just a few days after the trip to Kitzbühel, the heart of the monster storm came blasting in. The ski area where I work, Stubai Glacier, is very exposed and often has problems with wind. This storm was good enough to keep the lifts at Stubai closed for four days straight, and the road to the glacier closed because of avalanche danger for two days afterward.

While higher-elevation slopes were swept bare by the wind, an incredible amount of light-n-fluffy was falling in the valleys, prompting a nationwide full-scale powder assault on Austrian tree runs. Anja and I did our part on the slopes of Schlick 2000, which is the second-closest ski area to my apartment. (The first is the Elferlifte, which is a 10-minute walk away; Schlick is just a 10-minute drive!)

I can’t rant and rave enough about how awesome Schlick’s terrain is. Its prominent feature is a long, steep, treed and gullied mountain flank upon which the adventurous freerider can test his mettle and/or whet his whittle on lines ranging from gentle tree runs to high-alpine rock-chute straighline drop-ins to endless powder bowls. I love it!

Steep deep and untouched, that's how I like my trees, and that's what Schlick has to offer.

Anja and I bagged this run on January 7, definitely one of the highlights of the year so far!

During another one of the storm days while the glacier was closed, I decided to find some terrain to ski in the immediate vicinity of my apartment. I walked out out the front door of the building, shouldered my skis, and walked about 10 minutes until I found a little cliff to drop on what had been a grassy hillside just a week before. Not bad ski terrain for a backyard!

Practicing some 180s in the backyard

Dropping some cliff in the backyard

When the storm madness finally subsided, it was time to rebuild my half-buried terrain park on the glacier. We took a few days to enlarge the rollers in the park with the near-endless supply of building resources at hand, and added a three-jump beginner kicker line. For a one-man park I think it looks pretty good!

The rebuilt Stubai Zoo winter terrain park

Testing out the medium jump line

A bit later in the month Anja and I paid a visit to an enticing-looking pillow zone that’s an easy hike from the road the the glacier. We had a great time bouncing down pillow lines, and since then I’ve realized that this little zone is just the tip of the iceberg, there are some massive, gnarly pillow lines hidden up in these woods. Expect to see more…

Pillow fight #1

Pillow fight #2

Pillow fight #3!

At the end of the month I spent a few days down in Innsbruck helping a Schneestern crew build the kicker for the Air & Style snowboard big air held in the Bergisel ski jumping stadium above the city. Working on a city big-air project like this is always interesting, it’s unbelievable how much time and work goes into just a few hours of top-level snowboard competition.

The structure for the Air & Style kicker, before we covered it with snow!

Bulee carves out a perfect 36-degree takeoff

For the past few weeks it’s been perfect conditions to start exploring lines higher on the mountain. I’m starting to get a feel for some of the better terrain at Stubai, but there’s still so much to see and to ski!

Thanks to Bruno and Tim for a fantastic start to the 2011-12 ski season, to our trusty Opel for blasting up the notorious Kaunertal glacier road every day, to Pizza Rustica for the great spinocoli, to the Bauer Mark in Haus Karlspitze for broadening my understanding of completely incomprehensible backwoods Tyrol dialect, to the Dorf Bäckerei for the great croissants and coffee, to the guys from Schneestern who helped us build a fantastic fall setup, and to everybody who came up to check out the park!

To my American and/or English-speaking viewers, I hope you enjoy a taste of some classic German tunes:
“Schön ist es auf der Welt zu sein” by Roy Black and Anita (“It’s beautiful to be in the world”)
“Schöner fremder Mann” by Conny Francis (“Beautiful strange man”)

The Raintal double chairlift. Nasty-looking avalanche on the left side that slid on the grass underneath.

The spot I’m talking about is the Raintal chairlift on the backside of Kitzbüheler Horn, one of the smaller resorts in the Kitzbühel valley ski complex. Kitzbühel, perhaps better known for its “lifestyles of the rich and famous” image (Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana stores downtown; the wifes of Russian oil magnates sipping champagne on a slopeside balcony; prominent use of the word “elegant” in marketing material) also happens to be a well-known freeriding destination.

An untouched bowl of freshies? Matthias and Anja say, "Yes please."

I assume that the main side of Kitzbühel gets a lot of freeriding traffic, but I wouldn’t know for sure because I’ve never been there. Instead I’m at the “small family resort” of Kitzbüheler Horn across the way, where moms & dads chase after their youngsters down the pistes, and vast expanses of pristine freeride terrain go practically untouched in the Raintal valley on the backside of the mountain, serviced by one creaky old double chairlift.

A few lonely tracks on some vast terrain. This is just a fraction of the terrain accessible by lift off the backside of Kitzbüheler Horn.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to catch a near-perfect day on the Horn. It had snowed the night before on top of a good base layer, and the sun dawned in the morning on a mountain full of untouched opportunities. Me and the Landshuter crew—who had been holed up in the Raintal all week in a rented mountain hut, the Fritzhütte, for the New Year—made the most of the day.

No need to fight over fresh tracks here. Anja, Roman and Matthias enjoy the goods together.

The Fritzhütte sits conveniently located in the middle of the Raintal, where you can step right out of the front door and drop into a nice powder line. Here's Matthias doing just that (with the hut in the background).

Anja and I nabbed first tracks underneath the chairlift.

More untouched lines, no big deal.

On the second-to-last day of the last month of the year 2011, I came up with a funny idea. I’m always skiing around with my tripod strapped onto the back of my camera backpack – so why not just mount the darn camera on the tripod and shoot photos while I’m skiing to wherever I’m going to be shooting photos!

I tested out the idea on the very last day of the very last month of 2011 in close to a meter of fluffy fresh pow on the Stubai Glacier. For a first try with this technique, I’m actually really excited how they came out! Looking forward to trying more of this on a day where I can see where the hell I’m going.

face shot!

]]> http://www.stone-snow.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=192 0 http://www.stone-snow.com/blog/?p=116 http://www.stone-snow.com/blog/?p=116#comments Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:01:10 +0000 admin http://www.stone-snow.com/blog/?p=116 Continue reading →]]> This November I finally got a piece of camera gear I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. New lens? New DSLR body? Nah, what I needed was a point-and-shoot camera. Preferably a cheap one that I can keep in my pocket all the time. Anja found a great deal on the “Tevion SZ7″ which is a 14-megapixel camera you can buy for less than 100 euros in discount supermarkets in Germany and Austria.

Armed with my SZ7 I’m now ready to point-and-shoot at anything that crosses my path. Here’s a few snapshots from the new camera.

This is my co-worker Bruno from Südtirol after I blasted him with the snowblower.

In late November the Alps were really hurting for snow…

one for the “keeping it real” files

keeping it real #2

not keeping it real: the ASS ski school

another “only in Austria” sighting: chocolate slalom skis

half-frozen waterfall

wacky snow formations created by wind and sun

a ski-in crevasse

after a few months of waiting, Bruno and I got to shred this chute on my second-to-last day in Kaunertal

the chute from above

this is the disgusting-smelling, weird-looking chew tobacco-like substance called “Maka Ifrikia” that Bruno shoves under his lip at every opportunity

the view over the border into Italy from the top of Kaunertal

nice view from the office

There aren’t many skiers who, after a ridiculously successful winter film and contest season, would choose to take on a film project in the summertime. Sammy did it, and he did it as only Sammy C could: with 100% dedication, up early on the hill every day, building huge jumps in the backcountry and then hiking and utterly slaying them.

If you haven’t seen the film already, you can scope “On Top of the Hood” on the Nimbus Independent website.

Now that's a jump.

In late June I took advantage of a few days off work to check out the massive step-up Sammy & crew had built on the far side of Mississippi Head. This spot has been used before by Nimbus Independent, but the kicker Sammy & Crew stacked for “On Top of the Hood” was definitely the largest that this jump had ever been built!

On June 21 I took the traverse west from Palmer Snowfield across the mountain to see what the boys were getting into. Dropping down the far side of the Head, I found Sammy, Tommy Ellingson and John Spriggs getting ready for a session on the step-up, with filmers Brandon Kelly, Justin Wiegand and Brian Dalrymple and photog Darcy Bacha tucking themselves into their favorite angles.

Ja Rastaman John Spriggs

Tommy E talking. As usual.

Sammy C getting his hike on

Watching these guys drop in to this step-up was unreal. The inrun was a straight shot down the opposite side of the canyon. Checking speed would mean slamming straight into the canyon wall.

Since they’d already been sessioning this booter for days on end, the boys were focused on dialing in a few last tricks. Spriggs sent some huge doubles, Tommy bagged a beautiful cork 7 blunt, and Sammy was boosting giant rodeos and dub cork 10s. When I commented on how clean Sammy’s doubles were, Spriggs said, “Man, doubles are the last thing on Sammy’s mind. He’s thinking about the triple.”

Tommy cork 720 blunt like a boss!

Sammy floats a beaut of a flatspin 360

Spriggs with a clean 720

After a great session lasting late into the afternoon, I made the long hike up out of Zigzag Canyon with Spriggs, during which we got to enjoy a classic Mt. Hood sunset.

The next day, June 22, I headed back out with the hopes of capturing another epic session. However after a long week of hiking this jump, everybody was just about tired out – everybody except Sammy Carlson, that is, who was back for one more go-round, and ready to go bigger than ever.

With the triple in mind Sammy added some extra pop to the kicker, which sent him more or less straight up!

After a warm-up straight air and a cork 7, Sammy started into the dubs, and it was obvious what he was warming up for.

Enough hangtime for a triple? Yeah, I think so.

After a few huge double cork 10s to warm up, Sammy sent an even bigger dub – check the sequence above – that definitely could have been the triple. Sam knew it and was PISSED that he hadn’t committed to the third flip! He hiked back up and sat above the inrun for a long time, while us camera guys checked and re-checked our angles, knowing that the next hit was going to be the one.

Sammy Carlson doin' work.

For that quarter-hour waiting for Sammy to drop, the canyon was filled with some really weird energy. A cloud layer had risen up to right below the level of the jump, and as the clouds rose over the side of the canyon, they hit an invisible wall of air and spiraled apart into mind-boggling patterns I’d never seen before. The tension in the air was palpable – I get goosebumps just thinking about it now! No doubt about it: there were some cosmic forces at work on Mt. Hood that day.

Finally the moment came, and then everything happened in an instant: Sammy called drop – I scrambled for the camera, checked my framing, depressed the shutter, and counted the flips: one – two – THREE!

The triple cork attempt.

It was a committed attempt, but Sammy didn’t have the speed that he’d had on the hit before, and there wasn’t enough time to bring the third rotation around. Sammy gave it one more go, overrotated a double 12, and called it quits on the jump. I thought he might be disappointed, but Sammy, as usual, was all smiles. “Hey, I gave it a try, but it wasn’t meant to be!”

That Sammy would even think of trying a triple on this jump is pretty nuts. While triple flips and corks are now being landed on perfectly sculpted park jumps (with sleds for quick laps, helicopters filming, medical personnel on scene, etc), Sammy’s the only one yet to try a triple cork on a backcountry jump that he built himself with a few friends, in the wilderness, miles and hours away from the nearest medical responders, with nothing to get him to the top of the inrun – not to mention out of the backcountry – except his own two legs. That’s just a whole ‘nother level: the Sammy C level.

Darcy, Sammy, and Brandon

The hike out of Zigzag canyon.

Huge thanks to Sammy and the rest of the “On Top Of the Hood” crew for letting me participate in their session!

Edit #1: June 9 in the Otto Lang park, with Mike Hornbeck and Nick Goepper.
Music:
Various Artists “Get Me Back On Time” from “Ultimate Breaks and Beats: Vol. 2″
MF Doom “Sarsaparilla” from “Metal Fingers Presents: Special Herbs Vol. 7 & 8″.

Edit #2: June 16-17 in Otto Lang park and the Mile Halfpipe, with Jon Marks, JP Solberg, Max Peters, Reed Lewis, Timberline park crew (Morgan Bowcock, Max McIndoe, Chris Newett, Joel Baxter), Anders Fornelius, Trevor from Park City, Tim Sargent, and cameo by Abe Barnett.
Music:
Budos Band “T.I.B.W.F” from the album “The Budos Band” 2005 Daptone Records

Edit #3: Late July in the Mile Park and Otto Lang jump line, with Drew Stewart, Abraham Barnett, Shea Flynn, Chris Bolduc, Andy Farrell, Tim Sargent, Tyler Wike, LINE Skis cameo featuring Josh Malczyk, Will Wesson & Erik Olson, Sean Jordan, Maks Gorham, Joel Baxter, Chris “Topher” Newett, Max McIndoe, and the “Gangsta” closer with Michael Briggs, McRae Willams and Max Peters.
Music:
Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women” from “Ultimate Breaks and Beats: Vol. 2″
NaS “One Time 4 Your Mind” from “Illmatic”

Edit #4: “LDOH (Last Day On Hill)” from the Palmer public park on Sept. 5, the last day of ski area operations for the summer! Featuring Ethan Stone, Tyler Wike, Morgan Bowcock, Joel Baxter, Kyle Bradley, Tim Sargent, Charles “Chow” Hess, Gabe Lang, snowboard homie Brian, Abe Barnett, Dude on Skiblades, Jeff Curry, Jesse Fischer, Stu Halverson, and the Old Shredder Dude.
Music:
Skee-Lo “I Wish”
Loverboy “Working For the Weekend”
Led Zeppelin “White Summer/Black Mountain Side”

Getting the jib line ready.

Schneestern’s crack team of cat drivers and park shapers put together what people are calling the best Kaunertal Opening park in years. It’s a super-fun jib line with 14 features, plus the pro line, two jumps measuring in at around 35 and 50 feet with big, steep landings. We also installed a beautiful down-flat roundbar right off the deck of the restaurant for the KTO rail jam on Friday.

Wide, round down-flat = heaven on earth

Alpenglow and cats on the Kaunertal glacier above the park.

A tasty down rail

The opening weekend came and went in a blur. When I didn’t have a shovel, rake or camera in my hands, I was testing skis from the few ski manufacturers who had stuff available for demo at the “Testival” tent village set up at the base area. I was especially stoked on the Mr. Pollard’s Opus from Line – skied super playfully just like my EP Pros from a few years ago, but with a bit more stiffness that adds the stability that the EP Pro lacks at high speeds or on groomers. Also two big thumbs up for the Line Chronic, I was amazed at its responsiveness and all-mountain charging capability! And finally a shout-out to the Amplid Rockwell, which is a funky hybrid of different ski shapes that manages to be an on-piste carver, rocker pow ski, and poppy jib ski all at once.

On Saturday I took a break from working and shredding to snap some photos of the pro contest in the jump line.

switch 9 stinkiness in the jump line during Saturday morning training

Jump 2

More jump 2, with a view down the Kaunertal Valley

A STINKY rodeo 9 bro-safety poke during the pro competition

Jump 1 in the pro line with the cannon rail option

We put Anja to work shaping for us on Sunday

Now the shape crew is settling in for the fall here in K-Tal and it look like some early season-snow is on the way!