Freeride World Tour

[TahoeJ]

Bummer there's still only one venue in North America, but I get that it's difficult to arrange currently. I'm hoping to make it to the Kicking Horse event this year - would love to watch in person.

[meter-man]

I missed it before but the video says athlete cut after third stop (KH), then Fieberbrunn will be best of two runs. Rad

[twat]

fwt finals in fieberbrunn with 2 runs (crowning of the worldchampions)

extreme verbier as a separate event? did i get it right?

[twat]

and the big question will the SKIBOSS be back?

[gaijin]

I hope so.

And—

I hope not.

Funny how both statements feel right.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[gramboh]

and the big question will the SKIBOSS be back?

Queued up the vids for later, but I hope he comes back just cuz of how crazy it is for him to ski the way he does at his age after all his injuries. Despite the goofy shit he says and does sometimes, the dude is resilient if nothing else.

[Long duc dong]

I'm really curious to see Baqueria-Beret. We see lots of about the Swiss, Italian and French Alps, but much less about the Pyrenees. I've seen great Andorra footage, both in TGR videos and in contests, but I've seen very little of Baqueria-Beret and I've always been curious.

I've always figured that if I wanted to live in Europe and do the live at the beach and surf but still ski about 40 days a year lifestyle I've got here than it would be the Atlantic coast of France, spending weekends in Andorra or Baqueria-Beret. I've always figured Baqueria-Beret must be quite a bit better than Mammoth, but I've never really seen the footage of it the way I have with Verbier or Cham or any of the famous places. The Pyrenees seem more mysterious and interesting to me.

[TahoeJ]

I've always figured Baqueria-Beret must be quite a bit better than Mammoth

How so? I mean... Mammoth and the adjacent backcountry is pretty world class. Quite a bit better?

[Skeeze]

The locals of Baqueira Beret speak very highly of it and there’s no doubt the lift-accessed terrain (with a little hiking added) is significantly more impressive than Mammoth (let’s exclude the true backcountry skiing in the Eastern Sierra—Mammoth lifts don’t help to access that). The downside is that snowfall and surface conditions are inconsistent.

I’ve never been, but it strikes me as the type of place that would be awesome to live near when you can pick and choose your days.

Check out Aymar’s videos and Adria Millan for more from Baqueira Beret.

[stealurface831]

Queued up the vids for later, but I hope he comes back just cuz of how crazy it is for him to ski the way he does at his age after all his injuries. Despite the goofy shit he says and does sometimes, the dude is resilient if nothing else.

Resilient as fuck. He is a good follow on Instagram. Dude has been grinding since his most recent surgery.
Speaking of old guys (relative) doing insane shit, are any more impressive than Tabke and Barkered? I really hope to see both of those guys in the field this season.

[subtle plague]

How so? I mean... Mammoth and the adjacent backcountry is pretty world class. Quite a bit better?

Sarcasm Meter broken on my side? I mean I've only seen pictures of mammoth, but honestly......

And even if you include some remote california wilderness, do you have any idea how Vast and wild AND accessible the pyrenees are?

Baqueira is one of the few places I've actually considered going to in the pyrenees. Really nice Terrain.

Edit: this is lift accessed.(mostly ..I played around with some maps and found nearly everything in the ski area)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BYZ7NSj_6m0

They still have the snow issue of the pyrenees. And it must be one of the rare Winters when the Alps get much less snow.

And longduc: The (good) waves are abdurdly crowded there...But coming from California that would be a none issue for you and summer can be REALLY slow wave wise. that'swhy I tend to hang out on the emerald Isle.

[Long duc dong]

Sarcasm Meter broken on my side? I mean I've only seen pictures of mammoth, but honestly......

And even if you include some remote california wilderness, do you have any idea how Vast and wild AND accessible the pyrenees are?

Baqueira is one of the few places I've actually considered going to in the pyrenees. Really nice Terrain.

Edit: this is lift accessed.(mostly ..I played around with some maps and found nearly everything in the ski area)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BYZ7NSj_6m0

They still have the snow issue of the pyrenees. And it must be one of the rare Winters when the Alps get much less snow.

And longduc: The (good) waves are abdurdly crowded there...But coming from California that would be a none issue for you and summer can be REALLY slow wave wise. that'swhy I tend to hang out on the emerald Isle.

Nice video!!

That makes it look really fun.

The faces around 2 minutes in are nuts. I wonder how accessible that zone is from the resort.

I have heard the snow in Europe can be very hit or miss. I have never skied there, which is sad, and I don't really have an idea of how it compares to the Sierra. My ski bum years were done in Squaw, so the vast majority of the ski days I have had in my life have been at either Mammoth or Squaw. I guess it is hard for me to know about consistency in Europe and how it compares. I always assume the pistes were icy, but the off-piste had coverage that was similar to the Sierra. My Squaw years were late 90s/early 2000s, and that period was very consistent. There were a couple of very good seasons, and then some average to slightly above average years. Squaw is really fun in an average season.

[bobinch]

Let’s hope they get some decent snow in the Pyrenees this season. 2 rounds over that way and nothing in Chamonix, Japan or the US is a shame but I guess it’s hard for them to get resorts to sign up

[subtle plague]

Pyrenees are really fickle. Even more so than the fickle southern alps. If they get snow it can get warm quickly.

And precip is lower in general than in the alps. It's actually similar to the Sierra latitude wise and snow wise. If it dumps, it dumps. They rarely have those 20/30cm refreshs like the Northern alps.

[twat]

Pyrenees are really fickle. Even more so than the fickle southern alps. If they get snow it can get warm quickly.

And precip is lower in general than in the alps. It's actually similar to the Sierra latitude wise and snow wise. If it dumps, it dumps. They rarely have those 20/30cm refreshs like the Northern alps.

Will the vulcano ashes from las palmas have an impact on the european winter? Or is all the dust blown over to south america?

[powdork]

Sarcasm Meter broken on my side? I mean I've only seen pictures of mammoth, but honestly......
And even if you include some remote california wilderness, do you have any idea how Vast and wild AND accessible the pyrenees are?
Baqueira is one of the few places I've actually considered going to in the pyrenees. Really nice Terrain.

Yes. Honestly.
I'd give Mammoth the nod in every category except adjacent sidecountry. Also, you do the know the Sierra is roughly 4 times the size of the vast and wild Pyrenees. And it is also extremely accessible. Also, Mammoth's base is above Baqueira's summit.

[uglymoney]

I'd love to ski the Pyrenees. Spent 3 days day hiking around Formigal in Oct 2019. Twas hot but nobody around and beautiful.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk

[subtle plague]

Yes. Honestly.
I'd give Mammoth the nod in every category except adjacent sidecountry. Also, you do the know the Sierra is roughly 4 times the size of the vast and wild Pyrenees. And it is also extremely accessible. Also, Mammoth's base is above Baqueira's summit.

Uh huh. You have seen the video? 80+% is basically inbounds.(as in European reachable by lifts)

And the back country in the val daran alone is well huge. If you start in including all of california I counter with the alps because you know..equal distance. You'll lose

Unless you've been to baqueira and I misjudge the maps I highly doubt mammoth can even remotely compete.

https://www.bergfex.at/baqueira-beret/
Click on the blue "karte "(or map if bergfex changes to an English version?)and play around with the osm bergfex map. You see really cool stuff right from the lifts.


And concerning the base area altitude: you know that baqueira is basically at the same latitude as Oregon?

so I don't really see the point of comparing them

[twat]

ignoring me hurts even more than a fucking snobbish yes or no

[powdork]

Uh huh. You have seen the video? 80+% is basically inbounds.(as in European reachable by lifts)

And the back country in the val daran alone is well huge. If you start in including all of california I counter with the alps because you know..equal distance. You'll lose

Unless you've been to baqueira and I misjudge the maps I highly doubt mammoth can even remotely compete.

https://www.bergfex.at/baqueira-beret/
Click on the blue "karte "(or map if bergfex changes to an English version?)and play around with the osm bergfex map. You see really cool stuff right from the lifts.


And concerning the base area altitude: you know that baqueira is basically at the same latitude as Oregon?

so I don't really see the point of comparing them

Southern Oregon. Yes I watched the movie. I'm willing to bet from how long the powder lasted on the large faces (2:00) that the best scenes in there were the OB scenes. Do you think there aren't powder day movies from mammoth?
Baquiera gets the edge in size 4700 vs 3500+ acres.
Baquiera gets the slight edge in vertical (extra 300')
Mammoth gets a huge advantage in altitude.
Mammoth gets more than double the average snowfall.
Mammoth's season regularly runs from the beginning of November thru memorial Day and often beyond
Mammoth gets a huge advantage for their parks.
Can't be sure but the idea I get from the maps is that Mammoth has much more in the way of tree skiing.
Mammoth has a vastly superior lift system
So while I'm not gonna say one is better than the other, to say Mammoth isn't in the same league just isn't true.


Mammoth Powder Day (all lower mountain)


Recap of the 9 month 16/17 season


And since this is the FWT thread, this is the precursor to the FWT at Mammoth. Due to huge storms they had to hold the contest on this limited vertical ridge. This one's mine. Sorry about the quality but it was 2008. Alkasquawlik (in purple) won the abbreviated event

[powdork]

ignoring me hurts even more than a fucking snobbish yes or no

i wouldn't think so unless it's still ashing when the storms come. if ash falls on powder it will melt much faster i would assume and could have a similar effect as sandstorms. and snow generally forms more readily when there are tiny particulates in the air. So if the volcano is still erupting it could have an effect but who knows

[altacoup]

^^^
Despite being part of Spain the Canary Islands are very far away from Spain. Especially the Pyrenees and winter storm systems generally come from the northern Atlantic into the Pyrenees. Not from the west coast of Africa. Volcano certainly has the potential to give some hurricanes as almost all Atlantic hurricanes originate near the Canary Islands due to Saharan and blowing off the continent colliding with Atlantic moisture around the islands. I’d love to see more comps in NA but the fact is the resorts are hesitant to host.

[muted reborn]

man check this episode out...
it is a rainy day today and i just watched this : ) super fun
even better then the verbier episode
had to share it with you... (i know complete wrong thread) but the video is so worth it

the tent scene is uberfunny

That was different! Ha.

[powdork]

^^^
Despite being part of Spain the Canary Islands are very far away from Spain. Especially the Pyrenees and winter storm systems generally come from the northern Atlantic into the Pyrenees. Not from the west coast of Africa. Volcano certainly has the potential to give some hurricanes as almost all Atlantic hurricanes originate near the Canary Islands due to Saharan and blowing off the continent colliding with Atlantic moisture around the islands. I’d love to see more comps in NA but the fact is the resorts are hesitant to host.

When I was covering the Nissan Quest events it seemed like Hale Woods wanted more than the resorts wanted to give, and had a hard time dealing with the FS to have events outside resorts. And they had a horrible string of luck with storms and some poor decision making that ended up with all events at least moved to lesser venues and abbreviated. I think their experience with US events just left a bad taste in their mouths.

[powdork]

Old school (poor quality) from some of their other freeskiing comp venues There are 4 different venues on the mountain, the one I posted earlier is on the mountain in a permanently closed area, 'Oh Shit Ridge'.
Kiwi Flats. First run is Guerlain Chicherit, second two are Shane. The Gravity Games


'Top of the World' from I don't know



But the best freeskiing face inbounds in California is at Kirkwood, and that's Vail.