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Posts Tagged ‘Powder Highway’

It’s almost over… Friday, March 26th, 2010

It’s easy to tell that the last few weeks have been a bit crazy when you look at the date, and it’s been one whole month since the last blog post.  I’ll admit, I’ve been bad, and this blog hasn’t seen enough ski bumming action from the Powder Highway.  February 26th had me in Whitewater, where the snow was good enough to stomp some big airs below Ymir Peak.  Since then, I’ve shredded some powder with Monashee Powdercats, skied a mini-big mtn comp with some mini-shredders back at Whitewater, relaxed at Fairmont Hot Springs with my girlfriend, skied high alpine at Fernie, wiggled through some gladed trees at Red Mtn, skied more powder with Big Red Cats, and finally made it back to Revelstoke to wrap up the whole trip.  Now, it is March 26th, and after a few weeks of sunny skies, powder is the name of the game.  Winter isn’t quite over yet!

Yet, if you can forgive my tardiness, I am now back on track with stories and pictures piled up from the last month’s shenanigans. Oh, and there was some skiing too! I’ll be sure to start posting some of the choice bits here, so check back soon.

In the mean time, keep your appetite whetted with these video gems produced by my good friend Justin over at One5 Media.

-Tats

Ultimate Ski Bum on Freeskier.com! Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Here’s the first of four podcasts about the Powder Highway Ultimate Ski Bum to be played on a dedicated player at Freeskier.com.  The first one is about Revelstoke and captures the vibe of the mountain during the Canadian Freeskiing Championships, which are part of the Freeskiing World Tour.   Big thanks to POC and General for sending a good buddy of mine to come and document the whole experience.  Enjoy!

Click here to watch the video

(more…)

Ski Bum’s Take: Great Canadian Heli-Skiing Monday, February 15th, 2010

A happy ski bum

Only 40 short minutes outside of Golden, BC lay the answer to any ski bum’s vertical challenge:  Great Canadian Heli-Skiing.  I chose to drive in, but flights arrive daily into Calgary, AB or Cranbrook, BC.  Easily accessible off of Highway 1 near Roger’s Pass, GC’s tenure claims terrain in both the Purcell and Selkirk ranges.  This means lots of options to find good snow, even weeks after a storm.

I checked in and dumped my gear in the comfortable hotel style room located in a separate building.  It’s only twenty yards from the main lodge and dining hall, and in this day and age, it was a pleasure holding a real room key again. Accommodations were more than this ski bum would ever need, with two queen beds and a great view of the terrain to be skied the next day. (more…)

Going up to get down. Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Where's Tats going next? Check back here at PowderHighway.com/Blog to find out!

Just arrived in Panorama Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Tats with Katy and Ben, Ultimate Lifties on the Powder Highway

Awoke this morning to a few cm of freshies outside, on the car.  After a quick email session to catch up on friends across the open road, I grabbed my gear and followed my buddy Justin up to the hill here at Panorama Mountain Village. Our car was a little emptier than when we arrived last night, as we moved a bunch of our gear into the new pad at Windermere Pointe.  This place has three beds, couches, flat-screen TVs, full kitchen and laundry in as many rooms; certainly not ski bumming, more like riding the wave.  Needless to say, the little Nitro had some get-up as we trekked up to the resort, laughing all the way.

The ski hill is about a 20 min drive from the junction at Hwy 93 where our pad is located, and it’s an easy trip.  (more…)

The Local’s Line: Red Mountain Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Ready for another pow run.

I had a late start to the day this morning thanks in part to all the festivities that were in town this weekend.  Rossland was going off with all kinds of rail jams, ice garden beer tents, and bar parties.  With the Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships here at Red Mountain Resort in its 9th season, the resort was bustling with armored and helmeted athletes mingling with the families on vacation.  The athletes let a little steam out at the afterparty held at Rafters last night, and after joining them for a hearty pasta meal and some beers, Justin and I headed back to our hotel to party with our neighbors at the Rossland Motel.

Needless to say, the eggs and bacon brought to me in bed didn’t help me start moving around any quicker.  The kitchenette in our two bedroom pad here at the Rossland Motel has been a godsend on our trip; finally we have a full refrigerator and a oven/stove to cook some meals.  Such a slow start to the day had me worrying that I wasn’t going to make it to the hill, but then something just clicked.  It must have been the 70’s figure skating movie that was on TV that finally provided just the right push to get out the door.  In all seriousness, I watched a highlights edit of the Freeskiing World Tour stop in Revelstoke, and that got me pumped for the day. (more…)

Just Pulled Into Red Mountain Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Skiing makes me thirsty.

I piloted the little red Dodge Nitro up through layers of fog and snow into Rossland, BC in the early evening yesterday. We rolled directly into the Rossland Motel stoked on an epic mini-road trip through the Columbia River Valley.

Upon our approach to Creston, BC, we happened upon a stunning view of the sun as it crept its way down the backside of the mountain pass ahead. We stopped for a bit, and Justin pulled out the 7D to capture some the of the event while Julie and I hung out in the TatsVan. Yup, that’s right, the TatsVan hit the road to Rossland with Julie at the helm and now with her departure we have two vehicles to deal with. I’m thinking about renting out the TatsVan to a Canadian Freeskiing Open competitor-in-need up at the resort…heh heh. Oh the life of a ski bum!

More to come soon…I’ll be blasting out a picture album of the tour thus far on my blog (christatsuno.com). Follow me @christatsuno on Twitter to catch up on that and other ski bum news.

Checkin’ In from Revelstoke Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Hey all,

It’s been raining down in the valley here in Revelstoke, but the skiing up high has been spectacular. Some parts of the day the sun will peek out from the clouds all the way at the top of the mountain well above fog level. In those moments, one truly realizes the beauty of the surrounding Kootnay range and its unending views.

I have been blogging a bit on my own blog at ChrisTatsuno.com, so check it out if you need a ski bum fix. There will be some updates on my Twitter, Facebook, or what the latest happenings and musings are for this simple ski bum. I even wrote a few blogs on the Freeskiing World Tour stop that just wrapped up last weekend here in Revy.

Cheers!
Tats

Freeskiing World Tour Stop #2: Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Revelstoke Mountain Resort

photo: Blake Jorgenson

REVELSTOKE MOUNTAIN RESORT TO HOST THE CANADIAN FREESKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER

Stop two on the 2010 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour, the Canadian Freeskiing Championships returns Jan 6-10, with a stacked athlete field, including 2009 Subaru FWT overall champion Julien Lopez and South American Freeskiing Championships winners Chopo Diaz and Jacqui Edgerly (more…)

Hello, Powder Highway! …the Ultimate Ski Bum checks in. Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Winter is on and the electric vibe here in Revelstoke is riding high as athletes, organizers, and locals alike load into town and prepare for the show. I have enjoyed my time driving the wrapped Powder Highway Dodge Nitro up Hwy 93/95 towards Golden and Revy, and the views were spectacular. I still can’t believe I’ll get to enjoy these massive mountains for three months. I’m sure it’ll go by fast, so I hope to share some turns with some stoked folks.

Say hi if you see us; my buddy Justin and I are bouncing through every town looking for good food, good suds, and great stories.

Feel free to follow along with the FWT stop in Revy and future updates @christatsuno on Twitter // The more followers we get the more videos we’ll be able to put out, so be proud BC and let’s shred the Powder Highway in style!

Tats