TR: 2 Days/3 Nights in the Valley of the Sun (Helis, Ian Mac, Smith Secrets)

[meatdrink9]

If there were one unifying theme to tie this whole story together it would be the sun or light. We're all made of a previously deceased sun. Hydrogen and Helium are the only two naturally occurring elements of any quantity in space. The rest of the periodic table of elements and thus the requisite pieces to make our bodies aren't formed until a sun has lived and died (super nova). There's something really empowering and freeing about that. That we were made of something as great as a sun and the time it took to make something like us. But also the thought that even something as great as a sun eventually dies, but it wasn't the end of it's life... just a conversion to different lives. We, like everything else that has lived before will eventually die... Which makes appreciating every moment to the fullest that much more important. As well as having a genuine appreciation for the absolute miracle every single thing we are able to see, think, feel, hear and perceive is. We were headed to the Valley of the Sun to make the most of some of our limited time and to enjoy the light that lived on in so many of its residents.

Through an obsession and some hard work my brother Meats of Evil was able to win the Smith "We make the great days better" contest here on TGR. I have the good fortune of working and skiing with my brother on a daily basis and every single day he would talk about the contest and brainstorm ways to bring stoke to the contest and try to win it. He won 1 of the 5 photo contests and was then included for the grand prize which included a heli ski trip for 2 to Sun Valley to ski with Ian McIntosh. After winning the one category he went on to post more and more photos in the thread and even jumped from behind the lens into the athlete slot to try and make his entry more versatile. The contest was close and came down to what I assume was a very close call, but in the end he won and I was lucky enough to be dragged along on the adventure.

The day he was notified of the win we had just come out of a disheartening meeting with the Utah's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in which we were not awarded a liquor license for a bar project we've been working on for roughly 18 months... that's a bit of a tangent. The call from Smith didn't make a great day better, but it certainly made a shitty day better.

As the date of the trip drew near it was obvious Sun Valley hadn't had anything resembling measurable snowfall in close to a month. Skiing expectations were low, but we knew we'd also be skiing with SuperG. He has a way of making Grey Goose out of lemons. I honestly don't think there is a person alive who loves skiing more than SuperG and can find ways to make any conditions more fun. Due to cloud cover we spent the first day skiing on the mountain instead of in the heli. He told us all we were training for AK and told us would be skiing "spines". I was a little confused, but followed along. Before I knew it we were in the air between every turn as we jumped from side-to-side off groomers to off-piste and back again. Our group began to grow as other residents were attracted to the energy and positivity of SuperG. Several of the residents were on the mountain to celebrate the lives of friends who had passed that same day just the year before, Jim Jack, Chris Rudolph, and John Brenan.

After a few "spine" sessions SuperG took us on a tour of the burned forests of the Sun Valley side country. MOE had been itching to shoot the burned out forest of Sun Valley in great conditions. The snow wasn't on our side, but he grabbed his camera anyway.

Giant scorched pines loomed everywhere as we skied through a black and white world:


A view of one such forest from the heli the following day:


Jacqui Edgerly manages to make a turn look great in some pretty challenging snow:


We made several laps through the trees just to explore despite the challenging snow. We made it back to the resort just in time for one more lap before the lifts shut down. All of us in the group get to ski quite a bit… and conditions were lackluster… but the decision was unanimous to head back to the “spines” before the lifts shut down.

After skiing we ran into yet more locals with the same sunny disposition we were finding everywhere. Before we knew it there were three vehicles filled with people headed to a natural hot springs. Beyond the group we’d already been skiing with (SuperG, MOE, Ian Mac, Jacqui Edgerly, etc…) there were others I’m sure you’ve heard of… Zach Christ, Lexi Dupont, Collin Collins, etc… Days like these I stay home from skiing and get work done, but everyone was a having a blast and making the most out of everything. I left Sun Valley with a greater appreciation for skiing and a fond place in my heart for the vibe the entire community exudes.

[meatdrink9]

The skies were thick and gray and there were fears we may not be able to heli-ski at all on the trip. We decided to try and drink it blue and hit the town for dinner and drinks. I don’t think the town has a single chain restaurant in it. Every place we stopped though the course of the trip was a mom and pop business. The town had a real sense of community. Everyone knew each other and the businesses owners were friends and neighbors instead of corporate conglomerates from distant places. I think I finally understand the allure of ski towns. I guess I’ve lived a mullet life of business in the front and party in the back, but I can certainly hear the sirens of a ski town calling.

MD9, Jacqui Edgerly, SuperG, and Ian McIntosh slurping away braincells as shot by MOE's phone:


MD9 getting weird after drinks:


Ian McIntosh showing his tough sensitive side:


MOE at the inappropriately nice hotel entrance:

[meatdrink9]

After sacrificing a sufficient number of brain cells to the heli-ski gods our phones rang earlier in the morning than one would normally find acceptable after such a night.

SuperG applies sunscreen to his face the same way he does orange juice to his burrito:


We were taking off before we knew it. Again, we kept our expectations pretty low due to the lack of recent snowfall, but when you’ve got a helicopter and hundreds of square miles on your side the odds are stacked in your favor.


Sun Valley in the distance as we flew west into the Smokies:


The shooting was run and gun as we had to finish quickly to stay on pace with the other group, but MOE did a great job considering he couldn’t change lenses for any shots and we only got one real set-up per run.

MD9 just a few feet into the first run of the day:


Ian McIntosh with a powerful turn even though he's just coming back from a broken ankle:


Next up we found a little pillow to hop off. Ian:


MD9 that colorful bastard:


SuperG getting super floaty:

[meatdrink9]

MD9 can't take his eyes off the heli:


Ian Mac and the rest of the crew reflecting on lunch:


Back into action:


Then we got to hit a fun little rocky zone with some chutes. The guide mentioned that there were still rocks around and suggested we "ski fast and lite". Ian took that to mean straightlining the thing. He came out of the chute at mach looney speeds, but the snow looked good and his line did too. I stepped up for seconds:


MOE managed to snap a shot of me making a turn after the chute:


SuperG went third, but after 2 sets of tracks options were limited and SuperG met a pointy shark at high speeds. Easily the biggest core shot I've ever seen. It almost went all the way through the ski. Luckily SuperG was OK, but the ski may have met its end:


After SuperG uncovered the rock MOE was able to score first tracks down another chute. Here he is after the first pitch. SuperG can be seen above him.

[meatdrink9]

One other cool aspect of the trip is that we got a tour of the Smith offices. We got to see product being developed that's still 2 years out. Sketches for eyewear, helmets still in clay, etc... Really cool to see the art behind the process. We weren't allowed to take pics in that area. However SuperG's office was fair game.

Here's a letter from Sage Cattibriga-Alosa that was included with his signed contract:


There were numerous memorials to fallen friends and heros. There's a lot of life and light and death in this sport. I waited for today post this image of CR:


The last thing we did on the trip was get trashed and go bowling. I wasn't really blown away with the idea at first, but ended up having a blast. Jacqui throws bowling balls and backflips:


It was actually kind of hard to leave Sun Valley and the people there. There was definitely a gravity to the place, but we had a big storm waiting for us at home at Snowbasin (the other Sun Valley resort)...

Here are a few pics from today, again courtesy of MOE:

[Shredhead]

Very nice! Sun Valley's a great place!

[up an down]

space held for part 5

You two keep filling space with your light energy. Grazie for this and all past TRs

[Mike Pow]

Lovely start to a Sunday. Thanks.

[yogachik]

10 years of reading this board, and MOE and MD9 continue with the best TRs of all.

[Zeedashbo]

Keep it coming!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using TGR Forums

[huckbucket]

Saw the name
Had to click
Thread delivered as expected

[meatdrink9]

OK. The TR is now complete. Sorry to build it so slow and in pieces. Somehow I got busy in the last 10 years.

Here are a couple of photos from the SLC ShootOut last week to keep my post to photo ratio in check. Photos by Erlend Haugen:

Solitude:


Snowbird:

[Ripzalot]

top notch tr!

[Binky]

FUCK YEA!!!!!!!

[toast2266]

sweeeeet pictures.

[Shorty_J]

Nice work!

[butterscotch]

Awesome. This thread is inspiring in every way. Thanks for sharing.

[Poop~Ghost]

Sorry about the liquor license - is there any hope left in that pursuit?

Fucking all-star photos!! That last one with sun poking through is my new desktop bg.

Interesting to see ian's tuck is the lowest by far... hands almost in front of the top of his boots!

[Arno]

call me old fashioned but I much prefer these to almost any POV vid. thanks for posting!

[Edgnar]

Excellent photos. I really like the Heli shot where its tilting down the mountain, and the shot with the sunstar under the skier's arm pit. Pretty incredible timing on that one.

[Buster Highmen]

The cortex lube that my visits bookended. TR to come.

[Conundrum]

Here here

[raisingarizona13]

Oh Hells Yeah! Top Notch pics!

[kokomas]

you guys rock. nice work and great pics MOE!

[SterlingSpikeDancer]

Awesome all the way around. Thanks!