Porters Sports

Some low angle pow

2010-02-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

Over the past couple days we've gotten a bit of new snow. Just enough to freshen things up a bit and make some of my favorite lines in the backcountry nice and fresh again. And everyone knows that I love to ski low angle pow. Today we headed out to one of my favorite zones and found exactly what we were looking for, fresh turns. We battled with some difficult visibility and waited for a while to get this "window". This short video clip is from one of the runs I took today, Sunday 2/7/10. HOTG. Notice, when I pull up in the middle, the freight train of sluff that flies by, good thing I wasn't in its way...

Halls 2/7/10 from Jeremy Benson on Vimeo.

Skiing in Jan/Feb

2010-02-07T20:36:00.000-08:00

It was a big congregation out at the Buttes in Tahoe after the big storm broke in late January. There was the TGR crew, a snowboard film crew in addition to me and my pals.

The last few weeks I've been doing lots of snowmobiling, skiing, searching for snow and a little bit of filming. This winter I am working on the female film ski project called "Say My Name" and have found myself in Utah for the past week to meet up with the crew. Utah is definitely hurting for snow this year and still has some pretty bad avalanche conditions, but we still managed to get some work done. It's a unique experience- rarely is there another female involved when doing a film or photo shoot. This week it was Lynsey Dyer and I in front of the cameras. It's been great fun! I'm heading to Austria in a few days but I can't wait to get back and really get after it for this project.

We found this hut in the middle of nowhere and decided to take a break from the cold. Next to me is Wiley Miller and Greg Lindsay

Lynsey Dyer skiing into an air, the zone we were skiing was really small due to the high avy conditions

Lynsey getting shacked in typical Utah pow

Alpine Demo after Party!!! $2 PBR, $5 Burgers!!!

2010-02-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

Come out and join Porters and EasyLoungin in Truckee for the Alpine Demo after party. Food, Fun, Beer and product giveaways!
Date: Monday February 8th
Time: 6pm-9pm
Where: Jax at the Trax in Truckee

Line Skis Preview for 2011

2010-02-06T15:39:00.001-08:00

So the past few weeks I tried out a few different pairs of next years Line Skis. The new Eric Pollard pro model which is stiffer and has what Line calls “thin tip” (get your head out of the gutter). I skied them in the morning while everything was still super fresh. They were sick I thought the stiffer flex helped with stomping bigger cliffs. The thin tip for sure reduced swing weight, made it a little easier to swing them around to ride switch (aka jailhouse). They are still that same style EP that is heavily surf inspired in my opinion. Laying down monster slashes and buttering off stuff is not a problem with the EP’s once again.

Once things started to get chopped out a little I switched up to the new Sir Francis Bacon’s. Next year they have early rise in the tip and tail which I am super stoked on. They killed it and they were one of the most fun and versatile skis I have been on .They would make a great backcountry ski for someone who is more of a newschooler. Since they are stiffer then the EP’s and skinnier, they are a little less of a pow specific ski and handled the chop really well. They also brought back the black and white striped bases which makes them ideal for all you steeze bots trying to get on the cover of the Sierra Sun.

Last but never least I tried the new Blends, this year they added early rise and a softer flex. This is the ultimate everyday ski; it’s able to handle pretty much any type of snow conditions. Which you will see in this video, I hit the park, send some chutes, and even find some week old powder stashes. If you are looking for a one quiver ski then the blend would be a wise choice. The softer flex and early rise makes it more playful and really fun to ski. It also helps with keeping them on top of softer snow. I highly recommend all three of these skis depending on your ability and style of skier.

Tahoe Dangerzone on CBS 13 Sacramento!

2010-02-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

Thats right. CBS 13 News in Sacramento will be airing a segment on Tahoe Dangerzone directly following the Super Bowl post-game show. Here are some stills from our shoot at Boreal Mountain Resort. MAKE SURE TO TUNE IN!

The segment features Porters team rider Nick Visconti, Joshua Parker, Brent Oftedal, Danyale Patterson, Brett Butcher and Tim Bradley. This last photo happened when the CBS filmer got a little to close to the action. Brett underflipped the hip and landed directly on his legs. Fortunately, they are both ok.

FWT Highlights From UnofficialSquaw

2010-02-06T01:49:00.001-08:00

World Freeride Tour highlights from UnofficialSquaw on Vimeo.

Tight Trees

2010-02-06T00:17:00.000-08:00

Grey skies came in early on day two of Oxbow: Back to Powder, so the organizers opted to have us hit their “wood jibs”. These consisted of a bunch of rails, with plastic tops and metal coping made of wood. Feeling that I had come all this way, even I hit a few. I hadn’t hit a rail in at least 3 years, and have never enjoyed them.

Luckily, after 3 runs through the park, we were given the go ahead to take off and see what we could find. Christoph Weber and I opted for some long thin avalanche chutes through thick woods we had seen the day before. The snow was deep, and the trees turned out to be THICK!!!

Final Stop of Winter Dew Tour 2010

2010-02-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

Well every stop of the Dew Tour has been nothing but crazy action, Lots of insane stunts and tricks that has never been seen in competition history... The last stop went down with a bang, a podium with 2 fresh new faces on it and young gun Sage Kotsenburg taking the over title for most points... DC rider Torstien Horgmo has had three 4th place finishes this year but decide he needed to step his game up for todays 1st place finish showing everyone that he deserves that number 1 spot with a dew tour slope record high score of a 96.55 his run included a front 10, switch back 12 to a double dip back 10... Second place went to overall Dew tour winner Sage Kotsenburg who had back to back 10's and some solid style on the rails, Third place was a new face on the podium Ian Thornley who got his spot by doing a backside rodeo 9 to switch double backside rodeo 9. It was definitely a new season with a new level of riding. Stoked to see whats next in snowboarding. -Zak Shelhamer

The Truth About Powder Skiing

2010-02-05T13:21:00.001-08:00

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Do Not Ski After Seeing Avatar!!!!

2010-02-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, Avatar will make you feel like your life is so boring that you'll do dumb shit to liven it up! On my first run after seeing Avatar I decided that I'd ski Eagle's Next making turns right down the gut....well........it wasn't pretty. But I went back up and skied it again, albeit sketchily. Needless to say, I lost the Avatar inspiration and felt much more like a wussy human being after this!

Russian Adventure de Chamonix Comp Run

2010-02-04T14:08:00.001-08:00

Comp Run Russian Adventure de Chamonix from Tim Dutton on Vimeo.

Tahoe Dangerzone Season 2 Episode 11 - "SIA Hair"

2010-02-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Dangerzone Season 2 Episode 11 - "SIA Hair" from Nick Visconti on Vimeo.

Tahoe Dangerzone travels to Denver to take on the SIA Tradeshow! Featuring Nick Visconti, Joshua Parker and Brent Oftedal, with special appearances by many of snowboarding's greats.

Filming and Editing by Tim Bradley.

www.tahoedangerzone.com

A History Lesson in Freeskiing

2010-02-03T17:43:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love this new episode of Salomon Freeski TV. We all could use a little brushing up on our freeskiing history and remember our roots...

Some West Shore BC

2010-02-03T15:48:00.000-08:00

Adam Ruscitto and friends of the Porters crew hit up some Backcountry and not only got some POV. They also got some alternate angles that is really nice to see. I mean you know me I love me some GoPro, although even I want to see some other shots besides the ones I already saw while skiing. check it out

New Think Thank Teaser

2010-02-03T14:19:00.000-08:00

The new Think Thank teaser is out. Looks like it's going to be an amazing boarding film. Think Thank "Right Brain Left Brain(A Think Thank Double Feature)" trailer

A night at the Benson hut

2010-02-03T13:40:00.001-08:00

The Benson hut is located on the Pacific Crest just north of the summit of Anderson Peak and roughly three miles south of Sugar Bowl ski resort. One of four sierra club huts in the area, the Benson hut coincidentally shares my last name. Spending a few nights in one of the huts is a great way to spend time with friends and access terrain that is otherwise a long day hike to get to. Some friends of mine reserved the hut for Sunday and Monday nights which just so happened to coincide with the full moon... Since I was busy skiing some crazy lines in the backcountry on Sunday I didn't arrive to the hut until Monday morning.The inside of the hut is quite rustic but the wood stove heats the small space up quite nicely. There is easily room to sleep 15 people, and our group of twelve was quite comfortable. A two burner stove, pots and pans, and firewood are already in the hut, so all you really need is clothing, food, and something to sleep in. Notice in the photo below that the snow completely covers the back windows....There is a ladder from the downstairs to the main sleeping area upstairs, or you can walk to the upstairs window on the backside of the hut and enter through the window.

There is some really incredible ski terrain very close to the Benson hut. The most interesting terrain lies a little ways below the ridge. One of nicest things about the hut is that when you go for a ski you don't have to throw on your climbing skins until after you've already taken a lap. There is an impressive cirque of really gnarly lines that sits just below the hut. The photo below shows only about half of the "gnar zone". The lines in this area are only about 500 vertical feet but they are impressively steep with lots of really interesting rock and ice features. I'm excited to go back out there once we've got a bit more snow and some more of this terrain is filled in and skiable...

After two days of skiing and one night at the hut we packed, cleaned the place up, and headed north on the ridge back to Sugar Bowl. Since you're on the ridge the entire way you can skate and sidestep a lot of the way. The last little bit before you hit the ski area is uphill, and with heavy packs can really take it out of you.

If you've never spent the night in one of the huts I'd highly recommend it. To find out more about the Sierra Club huts around Lake Tahoe click on this link: http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/lodges/huts/

Brad Holmes Pow seg 2010

2010-02-03T12:25:00.000-08:00

From Chainsaw Productions check out Brad Holmes slaying some pow.

Oxbow: Back to Powder

2010-02-02T23:56:00.000-08:00

Hello from France. It is incredible over here. On the 29th of January I boarded a flight into the new and unknown. The purpose was to come to the Oxbow: Back to Powder event. It is an event with the purpose of pushing freestyle in the backcountry. 6 snowboarders and 6 skiiers invited to an all expense paid trip to ride powder.

The concept is amazing, a day of freeriding, with a choice of 5 different faces; a day of hitting a line of backcountry kickers into powder; a day of hitting a big air/ "perfect jump"; and a day jibbing funny wooden rails.

I arrived to Blue skies and over a foot of blower powder. temperatures must have been hovering around 0 degrees F and the pow was puffing up in buckets. We cruised the mountain and scoped the terrain. This mountain is sick!!! I have to agree with fellow event rider David Benedek when he said, " Isn't it great when your decisions turn out to be the right one." referring to the fact that conditions are perfect for an event like this. Wow, life is good.

FWT Comp. Run Chamonix Mont Blanc

2010-02-02T09:27:00.000-08:00

Chamonix Comp Run from Tim Dutton on Vimeo.

Billy Mann Goes To Whistler

2010-02-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

So I gave Billy Mann a GoPro to take up to Whistler with him. The snow ended up not being the greatest but he managed to have a great time. I knew Billy was really energetic but after editing his footage I realize how crazy and off the wall he is. Check it super funny

Halldor, Eiki Helgason & Chuck G Extras

2010-01-31T18:49:00.000-08:00

X Games Slopstyle Men's Elimination from www.helgasons.com on Vimeo.

staying loose!

Timy Dutton Takes 3rd in Chamonix's FWT Stop

2010-01-31T12:06:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Porters Ski Team member Timy Dutton for holding it down in France and representing Tahoe. Checkout this POV from his 3rd place run courtesy of Unofficialsquaw.com

Tim Dutton Third Place Run in Chamonix from UnofficialSquaw on Vimeo.

Nate Holland Wins Winter XGames 14

2010-01-30T23:17:00.001-08:00

Nate Holland is a Bad Ass! Once again Nate takes gold at Winter X Games 14 for the 5th consecutive year. Nate got a good start out of the gate where it became a battle between good friend & defending Olympic Gold Medalist Seth Wescott. Seth took the early lead as Nate followed closely behind watching every move Seth made. Nate made a pass and started to pull away just a bit, but Wescott made a pass attempt after the "Butter Box" feature but couldn't make the pass stick. Nate pulled away to victory once again! It was quite possibly the most exciting race to watch in Winter X history. Congratulations Mr. Nate Holland!

Winter XGames 14 Jan 29, 2009

2010-01-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a full day of competition at Winter X 14. Mens slopestyle, skiercross, boardercross qualifiers, Skiing big air and the main event Mens Snowboard Halfpipe finals. Mens slopestyle qualys was packed full of talent as the young gun Halldor Hellgason won the qualy's and took TWSnowboardings rookie of the year award last night at SIA. PortersTahoe.com Team rider Chas Guldemond qualified on his last run with some uncharacteristic falls in his 1st two runs. A little drama builds a nice story right? Chas was happy to get in and relieve his stress level. Boardercrosser Nate Holland qualified in 2nd during time trials just behind Seth Wescott as they take the course today going into finals. Errol Kerr took 8th in his time trial setting him up for the run into the finals. The big news of the night was Shaun Whites total domination of the Mens Halfpipe finals. Shaun went bigger than everyone else with the most difficult run. A 23ft first hit Method into a series of double corks that was at a level no one else could touch. Not to mention he almost knocked himself out in practice with his double McTwist to face smack on the deck! Way to overcome the hit & good luck into the O's.
Photos all taken bay yours truly & Mr. Zak Shelhamer. We'll be bringing you more content today as Nate Holland goes for a 5 peat in Boardercross!

Plake Show in Chamonix for FWT

2010-01-30T01:13:00.000-08:00