4FRNT Blog
Swiss Ready Labor
Life carries on over here… One day we build the next we hit. It’s been a jump building marathon over here. With the blue skies, and cold temps the snow has remained light and fluffy in spots, even with the lack of fresh, it hasn’t snowed here in over 10 days…
This one I built myself…
Our approach included some chuted Couloir skiing… here parker gets deep and dirty under the cavernas granite wall in the Col de Cou.
We happened to run into a few Level 1 fans in the tram line the other morning. After some high fives, some broken english, and work with a sharpie we parted ways.
As it turned out the two swiss locals found us building yet another massive wedge… As Berman approached them to make sure their plans did not include making turns within the vicinity of the landing, they quickly busted out their shovels and called over “can we help?” (the two in the red, pictured above)
The finished product… shots had, another cow slaughtered, next please?
My first edit of the season by Carl Fortin
Here's my first edit of the season after recovering from my knee surgery.
http://vimeo.com/36219125
Stay tune, more coming out soon!
Carl
January
Wow what a Month…
At the Beginning of the month the whole Canadian team headed to whistler for a training camp before the back to back competitions of Dew Tour and X Games. Conveniently the North Face Open changed venues to Whistler, which would take place while we were there. So bonus why not a little more practice at competing.
In whistler we had a sweet air bag set up. A huge quarter pipe into a bag at the bottom of Blackcomb Park.
-----> me standing beside the quarter pipe with no bag set up yet. HUGE
At the End of the week most of the team competed in The Northface Open. The competition went pretty well and i got third :)
The next competition I competed in was the X Games. Which I was pretty excited about. This year they only invited 8 girls that all went straight to finals.
Here is the link for my 2nd and 3rd runs! Did not quite pull the run I wanted. But I was glad I went for it. Also Congrats to Roz for winning!!
http://watch.tsn.ca/action-sports/clip609184#clip609184
How to mount 4FRNT skis with telemark bindings
Here is a "tech talk" on how to mount ANY 4FRNT ski with telemark binding.
In an attempt to standardize the process, make it less confusing on everyone and get the most out of the ski you should use the 4FRNT recommended Boot Sole Center (BSC) mark. For the 196 Renegade that was 92cm back from the tail. A template will be made shortly that lists, in one place, all the recommended BSC marks measured from the tail of the skis.
Hope this helps some peeps out
-Weston
Introducing the HOJI - All New for 2012/13
What you see above you is the HOJI, an all new ski for 2012/13. As the name suggests, this is the latest in the line of skis designed by the evil genius of Eric Hjorleifson. The HOJI is basically the culmination of what Eric has learned about ski building through the EHP and the Renegade. The HOJI uses the same Reflect Technology as the Renegade, meaning the rocker radius matches the side-cut radius, but it comes in at 112mm underfoot, making this ski lighter and more versatile in variable conditions.
With Eric's focus in recent years on doing more touring, and more long approaches, having a lighter, skinnier Renegade became almost a necessity. It is also a very friendly resort ski. The Reflect Technology, and the 30m turn radius make the HOJI quick and nimble, while still providing the same stable launch pad of the Renegade.
Here is what Eric has to say about it: “Based off of the performance qualities developed, tested and proven by the Renegade, the HOJI incorporates Reflect Tech, matching the rocker profile with the sidecut radius. This gives the HOJI an unparalleled powder carving sensation that I have yet to experience on any other ski (except for the Renegade of course). With a 112 mm waist it is designed to also be a versatile ski in firmer snow conditions for ski touring. I am extremely excited about the HOJI and I will have them on my feet for a good portion of the season.”
Here is a short edit we made last June about the HOJI prototyping process, back when it was still under it's working name, the Hoj.
Feeling good again by Carl Fortin
Last year on May 1st I unfortunately ended my season with a torn ACL and meniscus. It’s something I never expected to happen. It was probably a combination of not listening to my body, skiing too much and not resting enough.
After I got injured, at first I was misdiagnosed; the doctor told me that my MCL was torn at the first degree and I would be back on my skis after six weeks. I looked forward to working and riding at Camp of champions. When Camp of champions started, I still wasn’t in good shape and I decided to go see a specialist. After spending 15 minutes with Whistler’s knee-expert Dr. McConkey, my surgery was set for July 25th.
After my surgery, I waited two weeks and then started going to the physiotherapist twice a week. From there it was a question of time - doing as much rehab as possible, trying to control inflammation (definitely use a Aircast Cryo / cuff) and trying to keep myself sane! I think it took ten weeks to make my knee fully flexible again. After getting back my full range of motion, my goal was to stabilize my knee and to start building all the muscle lost.
It has been six months since surgery and now I am back on my skis. I try to listen to my body more and I use my BREG knee brace every time I go on the mountain. It feels good to be riding again. The reason I am sharing my story is to pass on what I’ve learned over the past few months. You can save yourself injury by listening to your body, resting properly as well as exercising. Also, if you’re hurt - seeing the right specialist can save you a lot of time and get you on the fast track to recovery.
Stay tuned for a park edit coming out soon !
Carl Fortin
Urban Guideline
I filmed a lot of urban skiing during december in Quebec, and I was about to go crazy, so I moved in Breck, Colorado. Now that I am here, I asked myself, how could it be easier to get some good shots and most of all, how to shoot a lot of urban without having a mental breakdown at some point.
The five golden rules of urban (by myself)
#1 Don't call your tricks…
…especially if you never hit the feature before. Some urban looks small and easy, but are much more harder in reality. So many time you will end up doing 270 out on a rail you were imagining yourself doing a 450 on tailpress pretzel 6 out. You are juste going to end up angry and disappointed.
#2 Be kind
to your filmer, photographer, wincher… Urban is a team sport.
#3 Choose your spot/comrade
You have to be realistic… some people are better then you in some kind of setup and vice-versa.
#4 Have a plan B, C, D, E, etc…
There is so many things that can go wrong in urban, that you should always prepare many plans to be productive, have more then one idea in mind.
#5 Not rely solely on mechanics
Winch, generator, spotlights… all those things can broke at any moment, so you should always carry a good ol banshee bungee/starter along with contingency plan.
I am riding mostly in Breck for the next 2 months and it will be really fun, but I feel like urban skiing will miss me a bit, this part of our sport is my favourite one to do after all I think, and it's definitely the funniest one to watch for me. Anyway, all I want to do now is a bit of park skiing and I am at the best location right now. Stay tuned, I should post a park edit soon enough.
Yan.
Silverton
Winter has been sucking hard here in UT so we took it upon ourselves to try and go find some snow. We packed up the truck, dog, sleds, skis and camera and headed east. We heard Silverton had gotten more snow than we did however if it wasn't for the storm in the middle of the trip it wouldn't have been nearly as good. I took my CRJ's and finally got to run them in some soft snow, they crushed it as per usual. Be sure to head over to The Life Unbound to keep up to date with our travels and some behind the scenes stories.
~Weston D.
Copper Mountain Grand Prix
We went out to Copper Mountain last week for the Grand Prix. Kalle Leinonen and Keltie Hansen both competed in Super Pipe.
We also had Will Berman, Brock Paddock and Ethan Swadburg on hand to shred the Woodward Park. Check out the edit from the weekend.
Early Season East
We are still patiently waiting for winter, the temps are beginging to drop and Ski Wentworth has had a few snow making days.
In New Brunswick last weekend they were able to host their annual Roast Beef and Rails event.
Heres a little look at that.
http://vimeo.com/33678116
Been enjoying the backyard with the fellas as well,
Patrick and I enjoying an evening in the backyard.
http://vimeo.com/33634715
With the long term forecast having cold temps and snow on the horizon, it's only a matter of time!
Thanks
Charlie
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