Alex O'Brien Photography

Andy’s sled took a serious hit and is now down for the count along with Wiegands.  We will see if the machines can recover from their injuries before the end of the the season.

Some angry grouse tried to bite my thumb off on the way out one morning.

This Ptarmigan had a friend with him and seemed much nicer.

Its been real deep.

After braving some rough storm days the sun finally broke which let us access some amazing areas.  This spot was one of the holes in the K2 Back 9 contest 6 or 7 years ago.

Andy eyed a line on the face in the distance and spent an hour skinning to the top while the rest of the crew had a quick morning kicker session.

Our afternoon zone.

Endless alpine feels like a different planet.

I ran into Big Air Dan early one morning.   He saved me from blowing my engine and in the repair process I got a nice waterproof coating on my hands.

An accidental airbag deployment is usually funny.  In this instance Pollard accidentally diffused a tense situation that involved dragging a dead sled back to the trailhead.

I made the trip up north to meet with Eric Pollard, Andy Mahre Christian Sirianni, Chris Benchetler and Kimmy Fasani.  So far we have been blessed with snow and plagued with snowmobile problems.  That kind of goes with the territory on these types of missions.

I made a quick trip to Silverton to shoot the Red Bull Cold Rush.  This years event was somewhat cursed with sketchy snow conditions but it was still great to watch in real life.  Thanks to Red Bull for organizing something that brings together so many friends that I never see in the same place.

Andy Mahre

Sean Pettit didn’t quite connect with the grab on this one but he got close enough for a blog post.

Pep put in a lot of time as course designer on this one.

This was Anna Segals game face on comp day.

Sean was going for it.

Collin Collins really going for it.

Pep seemed real happy when someone else volunteered to guinea pig this thing.

There were a few firm landings.

I linked up with the Stept crew in CO to take advantage of some recent snowfall in the city.  These guys habitually find spots that make me seriously worried for their safety but my fears are generally unwarranted.

No one will ever replace Sarah but hopefully more people like her will bless us with their presence in the future.

Park City UT 2011

SLC UT 2003

At the end of what I thought was going to be my final road trip of the year Sammy Carlson hit me up to fill me in on his summer plans.  He came up with the idea to film a movie on Mt Hood in 6 weeks.  Not a totally new concept but the difference was that he wanted to film the entire thing in the backcountry.  After speaking to him I decided to jump on board with the project but I first had to head home for a few weeks to get after my photo submissions.  Fast forward too many hours in front of a computer and I am now back in Hood for my first real attempt to shoot on the glacier.  Conditions are amazing and the movie is currently looking really good.  With all the snow that fell last winter the mountain is as filled in as I have ever seen.  The movie should show a new perspective on Mount Hood summer skiing when it is released in a couple months.  Here is a sneak peek at the first feature we shot.

UPDATE:  You can see the final movie here.  http://ontopofthehood.com/

I just got the now familiar call to tell me that another friend has passed away from an accident in the mountains.  For the first time I am starting to feel like this blog is an obituary page to friends that I have lost.  I met Kip on a photoshoot in Mammoth about 5 years ago.  Within the first lift ride I felt like we had known each other since high school.  He was from the east coast and grew up skateboarding with a bunch of my friends back in Vermont and New Hampshire.  Kip was the type of person that could make friends easily because he was so damn likeable and real.  A skate rat turned mountain man.  We had planned on working together this winter but our schedules never matched up when the snow was good.  The last time Kip and I went skiing together was with Shane McConkey in Tahoe.  We had a good time even though the snow was awful mostly because those guys were both just fun to be around. Both Shane and Kip were the type of friends that you were proud to be associated with in any crowd.  After Shanes death Kip called me and asked for a few shots from that day just to have for memories.  Now I find myself looking at the same set of photos with twice the grief.

Im gonna miss you Kip.

The Mahre has been telling me about White Pass WA for as long as I have known him.  If Andy had his way he would rarely leave home.  After seeing how empty the place was on a powder day I am starting to understand his enthusiasm.

Andy truly loves this place.

The Mahre family has a been involved with White Pass for a very long time.  Its good to see this family tradition continue.

I got the opportunity to shoot JT for a few days at Squaw Valley.  Its always fun to go out with pro skiers on their home turf.

The next big thing?

JT, seconds away from jumping into a broken nose.

This time of year is when I travel the most.  I pack everything I need for 2 months just in case a trip needs to go longer than I planned for.  I left Utah to meet Chris Benchetler, Gabe Taylor and Ike Smith in Tahoe on a trip that could last a while.

Long story short, someone snaked the jump we built and pussed  out on the first hit.  This sight was a real morale breaker.