Bombs Away, Upper Salmon and Lower Salmon of The Kern River

Austin Nickell, Evan Moore, Johnny Chase and Andrew Matthews ran the giants of the Kern River! The photo above is of Austin running Upper Salmon Falls. Also check out the video we made! Thanks to GoPro for making this video of the day, you guys rock.


The Giants of the Upper Kern, Class V from Austin Nickell on Vimeo.

Traverse Creek Falls

There has been plenty of snow in Tahoe this winter. Which means that there has been plenty of water running down into the rivers and creeks at lower elevations around Tahoe. For the last few months Austin has been wanting to check out a beautiful 30 foot waterfall, Traverse Creek Falls. This great little waterfall is near Placerville, California just a couple hours from Tahoe.

This past weekend we met up with a crew of people to take the hike, repel and wade to the falls. Click on visit gallery or the slideshow below to view all the photos!

The North Face Masters of Snowboarding at Kirkwood, Ca

During the week of February 14 Kirkwood received the most snowfall in the world, almost 10 feet. In the two weeks following, the mountain saw another five feet. All the athletes seemed to have so much fun in the fresh powder at The North Face Masters of Snowboarding. Typical Kirkwood comp!

Feel free to check out the full story on ESPN here.

Brita Sigourney Interview

We went to Davis, Ca to hang out with Brita Sigourney a couple weeks ago. We talked to her about the X-Games in Aspen, the Dew Tour and her plans for the rest of the season. As I write this, she is in France getting ready to compete in the European X-Games. Good luck, Brita!

Check out the full interview on ESPN here.

Rainbows and Waterfalls

Austin, Benny and I went down to the Bear River Falls a couple weeks ago. We've been told this is also called Banana Falls. The Bear River runs between Tahoe and Grass Valley just a few minutes off I80. There are two beautilful waterfalls at the spillway where the Bear is released from the dam. We parked by the dam and made the short hike and rope rapel down to the falls. The conditions were perfect for photos! The water was a little higher than usual so the spray coming off of the falls made amazing rainbows for Austin to paddle straight into. The photo above is my favorite shot. Also check out Austin's blog post at http://www.whitewaterassault.com/?p=578

The 2011 North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood, Ca

The Freeride World Tour and the Freeskiing World Tour met for the North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood last weekend. After two weather delays the finals went down in great conditions. A huge storm passed over the Sierras and left feet, on top of feet, of powder.

Big mountain competitions can be exciting yet nerve wrecking. The athletes are pushing themselves to a level never seen before. Granted they are doing the most amazing things ever seen on skis, Mother Nature just always seems to have the last say with her jagged rock and cascading snow.

Check out the full story at ESPN, and a nice little recap at Skiing Magazine.

Winter X-Games 2011

Over 100,000 people attended the winter X-Games in Aspen this year. I was lucky to be one of those, shooting for the Tahoe Daily Tribune. It was, to say the least, a great experience. Though it was cold and hard at times, I was camping in my 4Runner and may I mention again that it was in Aspen in the winter, it was sunny during the days and I came away with some amazing images.

This was my first time attending the X-Games and it was definitely an event to remember. The athletes went bigger than ever and the huge crowd couldn't get enough action. My favorite part was when I would sit on the side of the Superpipe and take photos of the athletes flying high over me, just a foot away. I could literally feel the spray of the snow as they went by.

Photo featured in Aire catalog

The new Aire catalog recently came out and it featured a photo I took of Austin Nickell and Paul Doyle running the Cataracts of the Kern in a Super Puma raft. It was definietly an awesome paddle session to take photos of! I have not seen or heard of anyone else rafting this section of water ever, though it's probably been done. The other paddlers from that day were in kayaks. Check out the story here!

Face Time Interview with JT Holmes

JT Holmes is a professional skier and BASE jumper. He is constantly traveling around the world for competitions, film projects and fun adventures. We interviewed JT at the beginning of the season, right in the middle of a shoot with Warren Miller, Tom Day, Keoki Flagg, Timy Dutton and Michelle Parker. Obviously he gets to work with some amazing people! In the interview he talks about the Freeride World Tour, Shane McConkey and why he's lucky to live the life he does. He almost achieved his first Freeride World Tour medal recently at the St. Moritz, Switzerland stop.

Check out the video!
http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/blog/_/post/6071618/jt-holmes

First stop of Rahlves Banzai, at Alpine Meadows

The Rahvles Banzai Series made it's first stop at Alpine Meadows this past weekend. The second stop will be held at Kirkwood on Feb. 5th and 6th, the final will be held at Sugar Bowl on March 12th and 13th.

It was a great event even though the conditions were not ideal, to say the least. Though it took place on two beautiful blue bird days the course was very tough and the snow even tougher. The below freezing temps at night made for an icy course with many moguls. There were a few crashes and the competitors that finsihed showed how strong they really are.

Errol Kerr easily won every round he participated in, up until the final round. In the above image he tucks up and goes through the last couple gates during one of the semi-final rounds.

Shannon Rahlves lead the female skiiers during every round in the finals. She showed off her style and speed just like her brother Daron has during the previous Banzai events. Shannon took first place this year, winning the event for the third straight year in a row.

During the finals Marcus Caston blew past Errol Kerr and won first place overall. Above image, Marcus Caston, Errol Kerr and Daron Rahlves are all smiles after the race

Errol Kerr took 2nd place at the first stop of the Banzai series at Alpine, and Marcus Caston took the win.

Check out the story on ESPN
http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/blog/_/post/6054375/rahlves-banzai-goes-alpine

Face Time Interview with Erik Roner

Tahoe resident Erik Roner knows how to have fun. He's a world class skier, BASE jumper and member of the Nitro Circus crew. He jumps off bridges, towers, mountains, canyon walls, cliffs, whatever gives him enough time to throw his shoot.

We caught up with him for a little interview at Squaw Valley USA for ESPN. Video edited by Seth Naugle.

Elyse Saugstad Face Time Interview for ESPN

Elyse Saugstad rips! She spends a lot of time in Tahoe skiing and having fun. I caught up with her at Squaw Valley for a little interview for the ESPN freeskiing blog.

Tahoe Ski Season Has Officially Started

A huge snow storm hit Tahoe this weekend, it's been amazing! Northstar-At-Tahoe is reporting 79 inches since Friday, which is 3 days ago. As I look out the window right now, it is still dumping!

We got the pleasure of doing a photoshoot for ESPN.com over the weekend. We went to two great ski restorts- Squaw Valley and Northstar-At-Tahoe, and worked with 4 amazing skiers- Elyse Saugstad, Cody Townsend, Michelle Parker, and Timy Dutton.

Check out the full story at
http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/blog/_/post/5839904/squaw-northstar-open-season

Named as one of the Top Female Photographers by ESPN

When Freeskiing editor at ESPN, Megan M, asked me for a photo for a story she was doing on women in the ski world, I of course gladly supplied her with one. The article was on females that are showing their amazing talent in the adventure lifestyle they are apart of. From skiiers such as Anna Segal and Rachel Burke to photographers such as Krystle Wright and Re Wikstrom, it showcased how females are a part of this adventure lifestyle that is dominated by males.

I was so excited to be included in this article, and I am so proud of the other females that were also included. I took the photo below of Julien Lopez at Kirkwood last year. It's the one that was chosen for the article.

Check out the full article at
http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/news/story?id=5704422&a

Dry Meadow Creek

Dry Meadow Creek is an amazing creek that flows into the Kern River. Locals call it the Teacups because there are great waterfalls, one after the other. Not many people run it though, due to the long hike and class 5 consequences. I took the two hour hike in (plus the ferry across the river on the back of a kayak with my camera floating behind me in a dry bag, then another 4 mile hike out) with Trevor Sheehan, Austin Nickell, Jeremy Mansbridge, and Jeremy's friend Dan. Props to all these guys for hiking with their heavy kayaks. There are six teacup waterfalls ranging from 12 feet to 22 feet. After these six waterfalls kayakers must take out due to the 60 foot water slide into a garden of boulders. The teacups are also enclosed by large slabs of granite rock making it impossible to get out once you get in. It was an awesome adventure to be a part of, and beautiful creek to see. Enjoy the photos, I sure enjoyed taking them!

The hike in

Trevor Sheehan on the 2nd drop

Austin Nickell on the 4th drop

Dan on the 3rd drop

Trevor Sheehan on the 4th drop

Check out all the photos by clicking on the gallery below!

First R4 Descent of Brush Creek

This year the Kern River saw more water than in the past two decades. The peak flow was 8662cfs. Many epic events occurred in The Kern Valley because of all this water and I was fortunate to be a part of a few. I can't say too much, I was just there documenting the fun, maybe a little crazy, sequence of events. I would have to say though that all the credit goes out to my amazing friends that do what they do. The following photos are of the first R4 (four people in a raft) descent of Brush Creek, which included running both portages cleanly. Amazing! Enjoy :)

Dave Krog, BJ Cosgrove, Austin Nickell, and Ethan Monk in the Super Puma on June 9, 2010

Want to check out all the photos? Click on the slideshow below!

About to go down the last falls of Triple Drop

Portage #2, aka Spear Chucker

Going down the last slide after Triple Drop

Peton Rock

Old writings I found while packing...

Let the cool breeze carry your thoughts away
Let the warmth of the sun reside within your heart forever
Let the flowing waters always remind you of how beautiful you are

The cold water undulates over the ancient ground
It carries the history of us all
When its energy collides with the shells and the sand an opening forms so perfectly
That we have the chance to view this rapidly changing world
While being surrounded and engulfed
By our own history and creation

How To Fall In Love
Have a drink
Have two drinks
Pick flowers
Be true to yourself
Take showers
Look at the clouds
Make shapes out of the clouds
Listen to your mother
Don't listen to your mother
Just listen
Keep your own self-identity
Play games
Bet on something
Go to a museum
Sleep under the stars
Learn the constellations
Drive out of your way
Tell funny jokes
Cook healthy meals
Work hard
Go dancing
Talk about your dreams
Ask questions at the right time
Bake cookies
Exercise
Use your hands
Brush your teeth
Listen to good music
Relax
Believe
Be silent
Give compliments
Acknowledge and work on problems
Climb a rock
Climb a tree
Laugh
Take time for yourself
Remember your past
Forget the past
Set an animal free
Read between the lines
Have patience
Open your mind
Don't play it safe

Bishop, California

It's a place where we do things for no reason, except our own satisfaction. It's a place where we try our hardest and put our hearts on the line. It's a place where we face our fears, have fun, and just go for it.

Julie Otis sticks the crux on Go Granny Go (V5) in The Buttermilks. 

Dain Charette works The Hulk (V6) in The Tablelands.

Check out more photos, click on the slide show below!

Refrigerator Magnet Poetry

The 2010 Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood

The 2010 Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships were held at Kirkwood this past weekend. The event was held on the normally forbidden terrain of The Cirque. The Cirque is an incredible face of the biggest peak in Kirkwood, Thimble Peak. Sean and I hiked around getting some great images.

Yet again, the California weather amazed me. The first day of the finals was grey and terribly windy. Towards the end of the day it started snowing heavily enough to where the still images weren't coming out as pleasing as I would have liked them to. When we got to the Cirque the second day they sky was as blue as it could be without a cloud in the sky. The event, the skiers, and the photos were looking great. Then when it came down to the Men's Super Finals the snow rolled in yet again and from the bottom of Thimble Peak the Cirque wasn't even visible.

All the athletes showed what they were made of despite the crazy weather. Airs off cliffs and stylish tricks were a part of the winning skiers' runs. The young gun award went to Caleb Brown of Canada, who also got fifth place overall. Caleb is eighteen years old, but skis far beyond his years. Janina Kuzma ran two solid runs to bring home first place, and Dylan Crossman showed everyone his skills to win first place in the men's division.

You can also see a gallery of the photos Sean and I took on ESPN's website:
http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/gallery?id=4979033



Men's Finals
1. Dylan Crossman
2. Aaron Schmidt
3. Mark Welgos

Women's Finals
1. Janina Kuzma
2. Angel Collinson
3. Crystal-Rose Lee

2010 Nissan Freeride World Tour at Squaw Valley

Growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania gave me this idea of California. It was this idea full of beaches, sun, surfing, and fun. Living in California for the past four years has given me a different, and very satisfying, experience then what I imagined though. Specifically, I am speaking of the mountains and the snow.

Last weekend Sean and I shot the Nissan Freeride World Tour at Squaw Valley. The world's best skiiers and snowboarders, including many talented Tahoe locals, gathered at the famous, normally forbidden terrain of the Tram Face. While waiting for the clearance to start the event snow started to slide from the top of the face and caused an avalanche that many said, was the biggest, naturally occuring avalanche they have ever seen. The event was postponed and took place on Silverado the next day.

Here's a gallery of my favorite shots. All images were shot with the Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM AF lens.

You can also see a gallery of the photos on ESPN's website:
http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/gallery?id=4960036

Holiday Portraits

Some nice holiday portraits of Lindsay and her mom Laurie. It was cold outside, but it was beautiful! All images were shot with the Canon 5D Mark II, the Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM, 580EX II Flash, and a 5 in 1 reflector.

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Squares

Okay, I must share this recipe. Made it a couple days ago... absolutely delicious! How can you go wrong with chocolate, pumpkin, and oreos when you put them in cheesecake? I don't think you can!
Link to Recipe!

And check out the photo Sean took of me at the beach in Tahoe City.
See more from this day on his blog http://blackowlmedia.blogspot.com/