Heli Skiing

Laughing at this the whole way. So true!

It took me three days to recover from this one: Ripping up Mount Baldy with a group of shredding sit-skiers, then nordic skiing out to a yurt in the backcountry, then an 11K x-country ski and then, of course, heli skiing powder all day! I was humbled to say the least, not nearly the skier i used to be, after taking last year off from a near death bought with an internal staph infection, but i managed to focus on my successes instead of giving into my propensity of jumping to the negative. Being surrounded by positive people helps with that and I'm overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for Higher Ground Sun Valley who put this trip together and Sun Valley Heli Ski who busted their asses to make it a reality.

My GoPro was put on the helmet of fellow sit-skier, David Poole, since i was too nervous to deal with anything other than myself at the moment and, luckily, i ended up with a couple shots, which i took a stab at editing into a little video for you. Here it is with some pics from the adventure. Enjoy!

In the heli (Lilly, Mose, Me and Dave)

Lunch...Whitney and Lilly photo bombing

Nordic selfie with Pat

There's a DVD

I arrived home a week ago, exhausted from three weeks, literally, living my dream on the road. I think it was the white-knuckling stormy drive from Jackson Hole to Denver that did me in. Trade shows, ski days, long drives, early mornings, late nights, TV shows, radio shows...and lots and lots of hugs.

That's the biggest thing i pulled from this experience. People are moved when they see this film and, every screening, i receive a score of teary-eyed hugs. I have new friends now and feel like i have family in places like Sun Valley, Idaho and Bozeman, Montana. That makes me happy.

It's good to be home though. I missed my dog and smell of the ocean. Its nice seeing all my neighbors at the market and my training for Molokai began this week too. Its no huge formula. In fact, it's quite simple: a regular routine of stretching, paddle or surf five days a week, cardio at the gym five days a week and a little step up in my nutrition, sticking mostly to whole live foods, paying more attention to food combining and minimizing caffeine, sugar and alcohol. That's it.

In a couple weeks, we head to the east coast to share the film with more people, but a few days ago, the DVD's arrived and i feel proud. Things have come a long way in a few years and my hope is that you are "provoked". That's the goal of this whole thing. It's for YOU! If you get a DVD, the proceeds go to getting this film in front of more people and to our next project. Thanks for being our friend!

A Dark Blue Minivan

We're as big as Robocop!

I arrived in Ketchum this afternoon, in a dark blue minivan, the sun sneaking behind the mountains and a Drop IN poster popped out from a cork bulletin board of a local snowboard shop. That's a good start. 

Sitting alone in my Best Western hotel room, feeling unsure, i decide to follow the warranted advice of a couple close friends and write...

Its Day 7 on tour and the beginning of traveling by myself, a moment i've felt anxiety about. The drive to Ketchum, up the 75, is surprising very similar to the drive up the 395, to Mammoth. A sense of familiarity settled my uneasiness wrought by dark clouds and a quiet lonely drive through a place i have never been.

Alan and me on the plane

Until today, the jubilant company of our Executive Producer, Alan, has kept my inner voices at bay. Rarely in my life have i traveled with another person and i enjoyed his company thoroughly. We laughed a lot since flying out from San Diego a week ago. We ripped up Snowmass and Aspen Highlands and enjoyed a home crowd at the Aspen screening. We got spoiled there, the Wheeler Opera house making sure we find disappointment with any other venue in the future. They set the bar high and we left Aspen feeling good.

The next two screenings would be very "intimate" and I'd be lying if i said i didn't feel disappointed. Eighteen people made it to Vail and after three tiring days of working the trade show floor in Salt Lake, conversation after conversation of how excited people were about the event, two thirds of the small theatre seats at Brewvies Cinema Pub sat unoccupied.

I'm learning to surrender. I'm learning to do all i can, but to trust that the people who are there are the right ones. Glen Plake, the biggest ski legend ever, showed up last night, even though he had an early flight to Europe this morning. He stuck around and chatted us up too. Moved by the film, he said, "A successful ski film makes you wish you were there. Well, I wish i was a part of this." That's pretty validating for me.

Some old industry friends, i know from my days as a sales rep, joined us last night too. I'm hoping a seed is planted and the movement blossoms with them. I'm hoping the tears shed don't fade away and they are "provoked" into action. (Avoiding the word inspire. Thank you, Molly!)

The Legend

Right now, our quest is just beginning. I must remember that we are breaking ground in unfamiliar turf and its ok to be nobody. You gotta start somewhere right?

I get to ski Sun Valley tomorrow and i'm excited. I'm going to ski hard, with all the emotions of this past week. I may cry, but i know it will feel good when my ski comes to a screeching halt at the bottom, my heart pounding from the adrenaline.

Two days of promoting here and then its showtime again! We'll see how it goes. I think i'll go find some locals to have a beer with right now though.