THERE MIGHT BE BETTER BIG MOUNTAIN SKIERS AND BETTER ENDURANCE ATHLETES, BUT PONDELLA IS AS STRONG AS ANYONE IN THE MOUNTAINS. HE’S BASICALLY JUST TENDONS AND A CARDIOPULMONARY SYSTEM WITH A PREDATOR’S INSTINCT AND A CAMERA. 12 2009 with Ryan Boyer in the Sierra Pali-sades at 14,000 feet. I had first envisioned skiing next to ice in Chamonix in 2008, but it never materialized. When our friend went up this couloir and sent me a pic of the ice the following winter, I knew this was my chance. Ryan is skiing on telemarks and I’m in some pre-AT conversion with minimal walk mode. The foot was not part of the original vision, but happened to lend some perspective. 13 Robbie Madison on New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas. We did these Red Bull projects for three years in a row. 14 Sergio Gonzalez and Morgan Sjogren trail running in Mammoth Lakes, CA. 15 The aurora borealis firing above camp with Will Gadd in Greenland. 16 Will Gadd climbing the walls of a moulin near Ilulissat, Greenland. 17 Dave Rosenbarger steep and remote, Bolivia. This shot ended up as a poster for Patagonia. 18 Babe Ruth aka Dave Rosenbarger calling his shot in Bolivia. 19 Jim Morrison, David Llama and Hilaree Nelson heading up outside of Innsbruck, Austria. 20 Chris Davenport high above Laguna del Inca in Portillo, Chile. This was a Patagonia catalog cover. 21 The right place and right time for Eastern Sierra astrology. Lonnie Kauk at the Aeolian Buttes near June Lake, CA. 22 Miles Dasher in Moab, UT, recording his 5000th BASE jump. 23 Blaise Pondella winter fishing on the Ow-ens River near Bishop, CA. 24 Late light and a giraffe in Tanzania. 25 In Tanzania on a safari for iFit with a mem-ber of the Maasai people, an indigenous group located near the game parks of the African Great Lakes. 26 Members of the nomadic Hadza indig-enous group in Tanzania, cooking a goat on the open fire. The Hazda are hunter-gatherers that have spoken the same native language for thousands of years. 27 Hole in the Wall, a classic run outside of Mammoth Lakes, CA, with Bernie Roost in the limelight. It was dumping snow during our evening shoot, making each turn just a little bit sweeter than the last. 28 Michelle Parker in Denali National Park, AK. Yes, it’s as steep as it looks. 29 The ski area was shut down during COVID and it was dumping snow, so what’s a kid to do? Blaise Pondella off the back porch of our Mammoth Lakes, CA, home. 30 Blaise, dropping. Mammoth Lakes, CA. 31 Jim Morrison, Michelle Parker and Chris Davenport take the plunge in Denali Na-tional Park, AK. 06 Classic Mammoth, CA, wind buff with Ber-nie Rosow, my go-to local for making magic. 07 Passing the locals on the way back to base camp in Bolivia. 08 Jim Morrison on Mount St. Elias, AK,back in 2001. We spent a good 10 days on the moun-tain and went home with our tails between our legs. 09 Lonnie Kauk on an evening send of Too Big to Flail in the Buttermilks. Bishop, CA. 10 Andy Mahre going huge to a landing out of sight in Silverton, CO. 11 Max Hammer keeps it tight in a no-name couloir. We had camped at about 12,000 feet seeking various objectives in the high coun-try of California. If you blinked at the wrong time, you might not have even seen this shot because it was so narrow and tucked in the mountainside. It didn’t exactly top out, but it faced due east and though I wasn’t sure when the sun would rise, I thought there could be a chance it would light up. It’s quite possible that that only happens eight days of the year, and only for a few moments at a time. A rare find. Christian Pondella Gallerie 085
The Ski Journal Volume 17, Issue 2: Page 85
