Magic March in Utah

Winter is back in Utah, it has snowed like 4 foot in the last  week since returning back from Europe. I was able to take out next years dynastar Legend Big Dumps the last few days, their new monster rocker big mountain ski. All it have to say is that it is sick, so stoked on it. Check out the POV video of the spring time shredding at the bird  

Forrest's POV Dynastar Big Dump Test from Forrest Coots on Vimeo.

Back to Dry Fork

Morning blower powder, 
Drew Setting up for the shot, 
"A rock and a hard place" 
The cliff 
The pack: Rock 1, pack 0

You know that old saying "between a rock and a hard place"? Well, I've been to that exact place. And it's in the Dry Fork area in the Alta backcountry. Let me explain. Friday, the first bluebird day after Utah's latest storm, I went out shooting with photographer Drew Stoecklein. We were making good powder turns all day and hitting small cliff bands. At about 2 pm, we decided to hit a 40-foot cliff that I'd hit once before. I stood on top, lobbing snowballs to estimate my trajectory. Drew probed the landing. I tightened my spine protector just to be safe and launched off the edge. Usually, I'd hottub the landing and lay it out on my side, but at the last minute, I decided to try to stomp it and land on my feet. It turned out that decision might have saved me. When I hit ground, I heard a solid bang and felt rock beneath me. A shock shot through my heels and into my lower back. I double ejected and ragdolled about 20 feet below. When I looked up at my bombhole, I saw that I'd landed on an extended rock shelf below the cliff. If I'd been one foot in either direction, I would have hit bottomless powder. I ripped my Ogio pack apart, broke the zipper on my Helly Hansen Odin jacket, but miraculously, my Dynastar Big Dumps (which I'm currently testing) were unscratched. 

As Drew and I hiked out of Dry Fork, we talked about the air, and how lucky I was, and of the beer we would be drinking down at the Goldminer's Daughter. It was a successful day of shooting, with a little added spice to it. 

Back in Utah, Snowing again

So, I've been back in Utah for several days and have yet to do anything productive, like unpack, or do laundry or even eat. With twenty plus of new snow and a twenty more forecasted the night I got back into town, laundry would have to wait. With my  sister and her boyfriend also just arriving into Salt Lake the same night  on her way to Moab, it was even more of a reason to go shredding and unpack later. We ended up heading up to big cottonwood canyon to the resort of Solitude. Still feeling a little jet lagged in  the morning I quickly came back to life as I made my first turn in the 30 plus inches of fresh utah powder. 

A afternoon in Geneva

best pastry shop in Verbier, a must stop for me. 
Are those rockered? 
A quick shoe shine before hitting the town, Maybe ?
Do I need to say anything? 
sexual predators that way,
Lake Geneva, 
The ancient buildings of Geneva 
Well,

made it back to the good old USA, yesterday afternoon I was a tourist wondering the streets of Geneva checking out the city. Found a hotel near the train station while it was in the red light district of all places, it was a clean room, I can't say that about the streets, sex shops and hookers everywhere. Classic swiss charm.  Looks like Utah is getting it, so bring on the magic March of snows. 

Verbier Xtreme

The bib draw, fake snow, a giant TV, and Swatch GoGo dances

Standard European hat
Athletes signing posters 
The Swatch girls 
The biggest show in freeskiing. 2000 people come watch 
The crowd, with the venue in the back 800 m. of the sickness 
The men's podium, all Dynastars
Yesterday in  Verbier was the Nissan Xtreme the largest big mountain freeride contest on the planet, as well the grand finale to this year's Freeride World Tour. The freeride world champion was also crowned. Dynastar killed the event by sweeping the men's podium, and the overall world title. Here are several photos from the weekend event. 

Got into  Geneva tonight, flying home to Utah in the morning, checking the NOAA weather page, it looks like Utah is getting snow. 

A trip to the Dynastar Factory Chamonix

The wall of fame 

some of the first skis
In the race room.

more race room, 

Getting the new XXL mounted, Sweet!
Mount Blanc, racing back to Verbier for Apre at the Mount Fort Pub 

While yesterday was a rest I still made the best of it, and took the oppurunity to make a run back to Chamonix to the Dynastar factory to  replace a pair of my XXLs I  cracked the edge in the Nendaz Comp a few days before. Thinking to myself, when would be the next time I could just swing over to the factory a few valleys away and make a quick exchange? And  after talking with some of the fellow French Dynastar athletes in Nendaz, and sending a few emails to the French team manager, I was set. I could meet up at the factory and make the swap, and maybe as I hoped, get a little tour of the factory.  The coolest part of the factory is Mount Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe, looming on the sky line forming.  In the factory, check out Dynastar wall of fame ski collection, seeing the first pair of skis Dynastar ever made to the skis past Dynastar World Cup athletes have used to win  Olympic medals  and World Cup Globes. Very cool.  

Lunch in France, Dinner in Switzerland, and some skiing

Partying Switzerland Style
Jess getting ready to drop into 3000 of swiss powder
Cool Dam, Huh ?
A lifetime of lines to ski in one valley.
Cham. This place of extreme. or lunch for me.
hello
so, in the last few days I traveled over to France for lunch twice while stayed the nights in Switzerland. Team American made the call to head over to Chamonix two hours away in France after the Nendaz comp. The plan was to ski there for a few days before having to come back over to Verbier. But after arriving in Cham. and wandering the streets for a few hours and with no real goal, no place to stay, the team made the call to return back to Verbier and get some serious shredding before the weekend. Oh, we also went pretty big on saint Patrick's day partying, photos to follow.

Chamonix and beyond

Brightly colored freeriders 
Nap time after the qualifier day
Team America !!! Apre style 
Sunset over Nendaz, 
Loading up for a trip to to Chamonix
The crew loaded up and ready to hit the road
On the road, 
Coming into the Valley, of Extreme; Chamonix
In Chamonix, 
So, 

After not making the cut, after skiing two strong runs. (A little bitter at judging skiing) but life goes on. While I met up with the rest of team Nor Am,  Jess McMillian, Jen Aston, Griffen Post, and Drew tabke during the event, we make the call to pack up Jess's little rental and rally it to Chamonix for  a few days, before the four of them have to be back in Verbier for the extreme. 

With the high pressure settled over the European Alps, Chamonix seemed like as good place as anywhere else to be for a few days.  Here are some photos from the little road trip over here. 

Qualifying Video

So, Didn't make the cut, off to Chamonix today. If you have a sec. check out my run

more freeskiing videos to come

Nendaz Switzerland Video from Forrest Coots on Vimeo.

Day 3 in Nendaz, Verbier and beyond

My first tram of the day, with the swiss wine country below in the valley 

Trams aren't they fun !, 
 
Top of the Mount Fort Tram, 
My view in front of me
My view behind me, So much skiing to be had, what will I do? 
Future of Swiss ski racing/freeride, learning the art of straightlining at a young age 
This image never gets old to me, 

Today I skied around verbier, one of the other four valley resorts, I was searching for powder and cliffs to drop. With the soundtrack of MGMT, Zion I, and the Arctic Monkeys, playing on my Ipod, as I tried to work the tram lines. If you think the bird has some lines come over to Verbier, it's full of Italian Tourists, boozed up Brits, and dorky horned hat wear Austrians, oh and the worst of all, a shastafarian hippy kid from the northern most part of California, trying to scam his way through the line. 

Then Alps are like no place else, I'm able to ride trams for like a hour before putting on my skis and dropping into 5,000 feet of north facing powder. Often away from the crowds, also a short ten minute hike will get you such rewards you will have to come over here and experience yourself, but I promise it's good.  Often without battling for lines like in the states, on the tram I was often the only one with big mountain skis, carving skis are the ticket over here. 

But as I sit on my balcony sipping my second Carlsberg tall boy, flipping through the pages of the latest Surfer Journal, (thinking of the Ocean, baja and the spring) with my shirt off and in my flip flops trying to get a little of the spring sun  and MGMT's Time to Pretend plays on my computer in the room, I have to think to myself that this isn't that bad, life is good.  With a lifetime of lines to ski in front of me across the valley in alpine glow, Europe is the place to be, I think. Where else can you ski thousands of feet of skiing from a tram still find north facing powder days after the storm, with the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc keeping eye off in the distance, and sip beers in alpin glow. 

WIth the first day of the comp. tomorrow it's time, to get serious and click in and give'r as Deaner would say from one of my favorite filmer Fubar. So until then cheers, I hope you all are having a great day where ever you are in this world.