Hey hey yall-

In most recent news, Tahoe has been getting puked on. Usually around this time of the year im in CO training for competitions and shredding the epicness of Keystone, but this year has been entirely different. 

I first heard that this year was El Nino from my dad, back in the fall while i was still attending high school. He explained that it was a storm cycle that happened every once in a while, and basically it would mean that Tahoe and other Western states would get decimated by snow. I was stoked then, but not half as stoked as i am now. The past few weeks have been absolutely insane out here- by my estimation we got about 8 feet in a week and a half- endless pow days. For Sierra-At-Tahoe, it was a perfect opportunity to show off their pristine tree skiing that they have to offer, so i was stoked when my Team Manager Brooke gave me the call for a photoshoot in Huckleberry Bowl.

Huckleberry Bowl is a closed area directly east of the peak at Sierra, but is opened as a backcountry gate in the midseason for those who dont mind doing some hiking to earn their turns. Brooke explained to me that we were to be the first crew out there in the 09/10 season, as it hadn't been opened yet due to unstable conditions. For me, the crew that i went out with was perfect- 3 snowboarders, two skiers, and two filmers. I was stoked to be a minority to the snowboarders- to me shredding with boarders is a huge learning experience as they glide in an entirely different way and have a sick style i like to emulate. 

Heres a shot of the crew- a little foggy but my digi camera can't really handle the storms...

This here is Jeremy Witters- the only skier at the shoot besides myself. I'm totally stoked on Jeremy- hes the coach of the Sierra Freeride Team and a chief representative of all the hidden talent in South Lake- rips pow harder than anyone.

Heres Tele Dan getting the shot. Tele was the main filmer for the day, and is an all around great dude, besides an epic telemarker. Drop knees not bombs bro

For the shoot i decided to use my VCT Turbos- it seemed like a good choice- stiff, rockered, mounted a little closer to center than my CRJs. They turned out to be the perfect tool even in 4 feet of fresh...my first day with them in reaaallly deep snow. I was a little skeptical my first run with them, wondering if it was a better choice to use them rather than my CRJs, but that run turned out to be my favorite run of the day. I had a little line picked out- 5 or 6 steep and deep turns into a little double stager- probably a ten footer to another ten footer...i wasnt super hungry as it was my first run. As i dropped in, though, it was just too good to resist. I ended up only taking about 3 turns up top- all with totally blower face shots- and pointed it off the drop to make it a single stager. Pop, air, stomp, white room. So much fun, such a perfect breakfast. The rest of the day was just as fun... got a little stuck riding away from a small 180 but that was pretty much the only real stuckage. At least everyone got a good kick out of me struggling to get unsubmerged. 

As for the footage, hopefully its put to some good use. I havent seen an edit yet, but when it comes i'll be sure to post it. 

I also wanted to start doing a little music blog every month- just a list of the top five songs i've been listening to each month. I've always been extremely into music, and as a kid got most of my music from snowboard movies and Transworld, so i figure why not try to give back a little bit and post a music blog of my own. So here we go- Top Five songs ive been listening to for January 2010. 

1. The Unicorns- "Ghost Mountain"- pretty epic indie song with gnar slap...gets me stoked for the shred.

2.Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros- "Home"- just a great song...a new band that sounds like they're from the sixties. Actually the whole album is rad, but this song is the cheiftan.

3.David Bowie- "Moonage Daydream" Ethan Deiss' part in Think Positive...my favorite Bowie song.

4.Wu Tang Clan- "Reunited"- gotta have the Wu. RZA kills it.

5.Rush- "Spirit of the Radio" - i'm just discovering Rush. They're kinda hair metalish but not bad. The reggae beat in this song makes it siiicck.

Yeah, thats it for now. I'm headin out to Aspen next week...blogs all around for that trip. See ya next week yall.

finn