Back to Haines America
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By ToddJones | November 16th, 2011
"How are things down in America?", was the first question I got when we landed in Juneau Alaska.
AK is its own world and country. It is bigger and more raw than the rest of the US. AK stands for freedom and independence. No matter how any times you have been here it never gets old.
**Haines Mystical Mountains await us**
"I wish I could be an action figure and packed away in a box at the end of winter and opened up and taken out in the spring for the Alaska season." said Seth Morrison in January as he was receiving one of his many awards for his standout performance in TGR's "Under the Influence".
**Seth Morrison gets the goods**
This is the time of year we all wait and live for as diehard skiers. I first came through Haines in 1992 on my way to Sitka Alaska after my first season skiing in Valdez. I was with my brother Steve and we had hitch hiked from Anchorage to Haines. It was May 1st and we were sitting on a bench in downtown Haines waiting for the ferry and staring at the mountains. We had spent our first season in Valdez and had a ton of stuff to learn, ride, and accomplish up there, but we were already looking to the future. We vowed to come back some day.
**Josh Nielsen Gets the shot**
Six years later we called our friends at Coastal Helicopters and had them bring us in a bird. The crew was Steve, myself, our other brother Jeremy, Gordy Pfiefer, Kent Kreitler, guides Jim Conway and Scott Sunberg. It took us a while to get it figured out, but we ended up scoring the goods and Haines quickly became one of the top riding locations in the world.
It has been a long time since those early days. Alot has changed, but one thing remains the same, the mountains. It seems as if they were built for what we do. Manicured and sculpted for skiers and boarders to ride lines beyond our wildest imagination.
**Eric Roner 1st turns of the trip**
We just arrived for a seven week trip that will take us from Haines, to Girdwood, to the Tordrillo Mountains. The early team is myself, Josh Nielsen, Seth Morrison, Eric Roner, Tanner Hall, Ian Macintosh, Jim Conway, and Mark Fisher. The snow is deep and good. We got out for a snow assessment and a few shots on our first day. It is waist deep and epic.
**Ian Macintosh score AK powder**
**Seth Morissson hits the first big line of the trip!**
**Seth taken out of his action figure box, laying a turn down in front of the wizards cap**
**Todd Jones stoked after a good day of filming**
In this post: Seth Morrison Ian McIntosh Erik Roner Josh Nielsen Location: Alaska Keywords: Teton Gravity Research Ski Athlete Blog