Holy Crap.

That has to be the scariest heli trip ever. I thought it was all over, for sure.

The first drop of the year was a bit spur of the moment. Sterling called me about doing one with some UK bike mag that wanted to do it all in a week. They were into a small group with a bit of talent and Sterl to do some pics. Then Wade got the Oakley crew in for a product shoot, which led to a spurious NWD IV presence. The final roll call? Get this list, a virtual who’s who of Freeride:

Sterling Lorence

Wade Simmons

Andrew Shandro

Derek Westerlund.

Richie Schley

Grant Allen

John Gibson

Sebastian Paradis

Gareth Dyer

Thomas Vanderham

Stokes, the Oakley Man

Axl, Overpaid Canadian Cinematographer

Four guys from the UK, only one of which is afraid of heights

Me

….and of course Harley, the hell-y dog.

Predictably the organization flailed. By the time we got our shit together there was some pretty substantial thermals rising out of the valley. On our first landing attempt, the chopper got bucked by a gust and we had to do an emergency power out. I thought for sure we were going to flip and get tossed over the edge. Luckily, our pilot was no chump but the ensuing power dive over the edge of the mountain had my appetite a bit off. And the bikes took a bit of a hit on the landing too.

Now look at the list again and think of the impact of that crash. Gnarly.

I could tell you more stories, but I’m waiting for pics (notice that I never have any). I should have some stuff for you next week. Until then, here’s the highlights.

The UK guy on the G-Spot did a flying starfish on a 50 degree snow slope at speed.

Seb almost took himself out with a 40 pound boulder.

Gibby gets lost easy.

Harley bit Richie in the balls.

Sterling takes a lot of photos.

It took us eight hours to get out.

……and Big Andy isn’t coming out from FreeRideSouth this year. What a bummer. Oh well. I get a little break before the next crew come in.

‘Till the next one.