COVER “A 4:30 a.m. start and done by 2:30 a.m. the next morning. It’s those short nights and long days that etch adventures into the memory bank forever. Domi Rhyner, Sämi Ortlieb, and Janic Cathomen had these triplet couloirs near Gassenstock, Switzerland in mind for a long time, but conditions were never right. Riding them simultaneously was the plan and, after years of waiting, it finally lined up last season. As a photographer, this instantly became one of those unforgettable shots, and a dreamy day that helped carry us through a nightmare year.” From left to right: Domi Rhyner, Sämi Ortlieb and Janic Cathomen. Photo: Ruedi Flück TIPS UP 01 • “Hank Bates loves all aspects of skiing. Some days Hank rips fresh corduroy and others he zippers through the bumps. But when it snows, it’s almost a guarantee that Hank will spend his time in the air. On a snowy day last February, Hank stepped up to this cliff at Utah’s Snowbird Resort knowing he would have to take it big to nail the transition. Hank wasted little time, floating through the air at just the right speed and catching the perfect line out.” Photo: Jay Dash 02 • “World-famous dairy cows graze all over these lush mountains in summer. Little do they know, or perhaps care, about what their pastures turn into come wintertime. Laurent De Martin breaks from the herd to float out a blindside air in the Switzerland’s Région Dents du Midi.” Photo: François Marclay 03 • “At the top of this line in British Columbia’s remote Cathedral Range, Jordy Kidner and Chris Rubens cut out a large piece of cornice with a cordelette to remove some of the danger of skiing the steep and narrow Storybook Couloir. After cleaning out a pocket of windslab in the main part of the couloir, a few of us skied an adjacent line to line ourselves up to shoot this aesthetic piece of limestone. Following a short discussion, Kidner dropped in and made short work of this very intimidating line as Ian Morrison looked on from above, waiting for his turn to write his own story about this seldom-skied chute.” Photo: Bruno Long 04 • Henry David Thoreau likely wasn’t skiing when he first wrote that “the world is but a canvas to our imagination,” but nearly 200 years later, skier Logan Pehota takes his message to heart in the Coast Moun-tains of British Columbia. Photo: Blake Jorgenson 05 • Getting in that last turn is always worth it, even when you just miss the bus. Todd Ligare giving everyone at Alta another reason to use public transportation —a cheap ride and a free afternoon show. Photo: Chris Whitaker 06 • “I first saw Martina Müller on the cover of Swedish ski magazine Åka Skidor, and kept an eye on her for some time afterwards. When we finally shot together this winter, I was stunned. Martina is the best skier I’ve seen when it comes to technique on skis. This is the last shot from our first day together, snuck in between Freeride World Qualifier competitions in Engelberg, Switzerland.” Photo: Axel Adolfsson 07 • “I have always loved the Wildcat lift as a photo subject. With every-thing else in the world changing, it’s good when some things remain the same.” With the Wildcat crowd looking on, Todd Ligare taps into another Little Cottonwood Canyon classic: Utah blower. Photo: Chris Whitaker 08 • “Tof Henry is the most stoked skier I’ve ever worked with. Here he is at 6 a.m. on a trip to Val Maighels in Switzerland. A true skier that loves what he’s doing.” He’s pretty darn good at it too. Photo: Axel Adolfsson 09 • “Cole Richardson wanted to get in the air this entire trip in Whistler, BC, trying to find every little thing possible to jump off. On the last day, he built this hit and proceeded to put down a bunch of styled-out tricks, including this 720 screamin’ seaman.” Photo: Ben Girardi 10 • A solitary Carl Kohnstamm breaks trail towards the couloirs off Ledge Mountain in the Sea to Sky area above Squamish, BC. This cirque feels like it’s straight out of the Dolomites, offering a high concentration of steep ski line options and more than a little visual drama. Photo: Chris Christie 11 • An aerial shot from Snowwater Heli during one of their first heli-assisted ski-touring trips into the Valhalla Ranges. The mountains are a subrange of the Selkirks in southeastern British Columbia and are named after the vaunted hall of immortality where Norse heroes went after death in battle. Todd Avison, Adam Benson, John Holman, and guide Christian Bak Jensen find their own heaven on Earth on a sunny day in the backcountry. Photo: Geoff Holman 018 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume 15, Issue 1: Page 18
