So I'm sitting here in the Meathead Films office in Williston, VT and realized it's been a little too long since I've updated my blog. My last two weeks were spent in the eastern region of the "dirty south," driving around with the meatsticks hitting urban rails and features. Needless to say, everyone is stoked to be done skiing for a couple days as it was a ridiculous 2 weeks.

The first few days after arriving in the nation's capital was spent carousing through the streets of Washington D.C. in hopes of good features to hit where monuments and memorials would be seen in the background.

Our nightly down time was spent at College Park where we refused to sleep, staying up regularly either going to frat parties or hanging with a crazy group of Stauble's girlfriends. After spending almost a week at the University of Maryland, Andy, Stauble and myself started to relapse on the fun college nights that we had been drifting away from due to our skiing and filming schedule. Shout out to PIKE president Matt Simon for hooking us up and showing us around town as well as Ariel, Lauren, Lindsay and Michelle for providing us with a sick place to chill at while we soiled the apartment air with dirty ski socks. Once we were done ducking and dodging numerous security guards and police officers in D.C., the crew and I headed to downtown Baltimore Maryland where we explored the streets of Oriole territory.

After getting work done in Baltimore, we kept heading north, stopping in York Pennsylvania where we hit a plethora of cool and unique looking features. Shout out to our guide Mike as well as head grounds manager Brandon! When we arrived in York, Andy and myself (who were the only athletes still skiing, due to Will leaving on injury) didn't think we were going to hold out for too long. To our surprise, we had a great group of people who helped us set up some really cool features inside a professional baseball stadium! A week and a half into our trip, we stumbled upon the Sovereign Bank Stadium, home of the York Revolution baseball team. It was here where we met up with Brandon Putman who not only allowed us to have free range in the stadium, but also turned on the mondo stadium lights so that we could film in a private-type setting! Ballerrr.

When we got done at the stadium, we finished out our trip skiing in York where our nights were spent jumping from Super 8's and Comfort Inn's that seemed glorious at the time, but in all reality were all pretty shady. Now the dirty south tour is officially over! Enough said, spread the word about this blog because I only have 3 followers, and 1 is my mom haha!

editor's note: this story originally appeared on Shea Flynn's blog. Follow all of the cheesin' at Cheesin' with Shea Flynn

http://snowtographers.com/2010/featured/featured-cinematographer-shane-mcfalls

Powder Video Awards

Nominated: "Best Jib" - for Will Wesson's bike rack switch-up follow cam

Nominated: "Movie Of The Year" - for the entertainment value, creativity, diversity and general awesomeness of Wild Stallions


Coldsmoke Awards

Winner: "Best Jib Movie" - for all the wierd urban and jib skiing done by Stallions



Meathead Films would like to thank Powder Magazine and the Coldsmoke organizers for their recognition and consideration.  Also, we want to thank all the athletes for the blood and sweat they put into the project and cinematographers (Ben Cormier, Shane McFalls) who put in a ton of effort to make Wild Stallions our best film to date!

Check out our pre-recorded acceptance speech for the Coldsmoke Awards:

For years Shea has been bugging me to come film urban in his hometown(s) of Lewiston/ Auburn, Maine.  These "twin cities" are seperated by the Adroscoggin River and located about a 45 minute drive north of Portland.  Shea was boasting about all the cool jibs to be had but we all blew it off as typical Shea speak.

So this season we gave in and right after Sugarloaf, I headed over to meet up with Sheamus and see what the city had to offer.  To say the least it was really sick.  The blue collar community, old mills, ample snow, and good topography made for a productive week of filming. The cops didn't bother us, Shea got a front-page picture in the local paper and with the help of Dan Marion, Cedric TF, his brother Devin and friend Joe, Shea is going to have a nice hometown segment in our new movie.  We even got to spend a day filming and skiing Shea & Family's epic backyard setup!  Filming urban for a whole week takes a major toll on the body but everyone manned up and Shea was an animal the whole time getting some truly epic and unique features banged out.  Check out the pics:

City of Dreams...

Up, up, and away!

Getting towed into to some radical features

This jib was a tight sqeeuze between oncoming traffic and the wall of an old mill

Marion back at shredding urban after a 3 yr. hiatus

Devin sessioning his epic private terrain park

Devin and Joe look on as Shea lays out a backyard lawndart

Shea looking out over his hometown after a long day

The mega New Years storm brought 2010 in with a bang and helped Meathead Films kick off the new decade with some rad powder footage.  With a hunch that central Maine would be the epicenter of snowfall, we headed towards Sugarloaf for a three day mission to ski whatever was filled in enough to shred.

Picked up Stacey in New Hampshire and met up with Dan Marion up at The Loaf on January 1st.  A quick stop at infamous watering hole, The Rack, and we teamed up with Silas Miller and the McDermott brothers: Ryan and Andy.  Also talked to the legendary Seth Wescott and worked out our early cat access to get an hour or two in before the masses. 

liftlines on a powder day

Day 1: Up at 4:45am, up at the top by 6:30, still dark, windy as all hell, at first light went into the woods and cliff areas, got a few shots, things were surprisingly filled in, skied and explored the terrain the rest of the day

Day 2: Early lift ride with patrol 7:45am, ducked into the glades - pretty chewed up, found a few staches, pioneered out into the sidecountry (Maine woods are thick as hell!), got momentarily lost, bushwhacking, few more shots, dinner, Wild Stallions premiere and party at the Widowmaker - lots of bone saw shots

Marion skies off a few pillows

Stacey drops into some deepness

Dan Marion tastes the good life

Overall a productive 3 days, learned all about local legend, lore and stashes by longtime Sugarloaf local and CVA graduate: Marion himself.  We'll be back to Sugarloaf again this season to try and put together a nice segment for the new movie.  Thanks to Ethan for all his help organizing the trip! 

Stacey working it...

Stacey in a sweet little Sugarloaf chute

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9584570

When an opportunity presents itself, go for it.  That's basically what we learned from our so called "dirty south" urban trip to the Maryland/ Virginia area before Christmas. 

With a once-every-20-year storm hitting the central Appalachians, the Meat crew of Will, Andy, and Shea (skiing), Geoff and Ross (camera 1 & 2) and Matt Stauble (photos) headed into the unknown.  On December 18 the Weather Channel was making some epic predictions and our incredibly long drive down from VT took about 2 full days, dealing with busted tires, traffic, snow and crazy hillbillies.  Some areas received over 22" of snow (and this in spots where the average annual snowfall is just 2"!)

All the lug nuts fell off the wheel on the way down... almost died. Going to have to talk to the shop I brought it to the night before!!!

Loading up the Subie with the drop ramp

Shea and his new rims

Unfortunately, considering the long haul to get there, we only had about 2 days to shoot (everyone had to be back home by Christmas) and we definitely made the best of it we could.  Our first location was a banger and we had 4 different features getting set up when the campus cops came and rained on our parade.  Bummer!  We didn't even think they would know what skiing WAS down there and certaintly with the college closed for the semester, we didn't think we would be bothered.  Everyone began to think this trip might be trickier than we thought.

The Subaru headed through the heart of Appalachia

hiking up the drop ramp: Willy

Interview with a local trucker

Luckily at the end of our first day we found a pretty fun "kinky" rail that Will and Andy got some shots on.  Next stop was a spooky old insane asylum where in one of the towns that was absolutely inundated with snow (about 2 feet).  Set up the generator and got some night shots on a drop rail with a knob in the middle that you had to switch up around, plus Andy did some VERY wierd tricks off of it. See pictures.

Will hitting the first feature of the trip - a little fun kinky rail

WTF?

Shea is going Back To The Future

Next day was a bit of a crapshoot driving around the same town and finding not much, so we drove onward towards our original "final" destination of Lynchburg, VA.  Lynchburg is home to Liberty University that owns the year-round ski resort featured in Season 2 of the LINE Traveling Circus episodes.  The resort, having only been open for two years was experiencing it's first powder day ever!  The city is hilly, chock full of rails and had snow!  Perfect right?  Well kind of, lots of the rails we either not-doable or too small.  We did find a nice double rail line and built a fun late night butter pad right out in front of Liberty's museum.

The group in front of Liberty University's museum

Probably the biggest rail Shea has ever done. Actually this was part of a line...

Will makes friends with the police

Andy next to his ride of choice: The Meat Mobile

With time dwindling the next day, we banged out a few more sweet shots, filmed some epic local interviews and got the hell out of dodge just in time for Christmas.  The Dirty South tour was defintely an adventure and we'll be back just as soon as they get snow again in another 20 years!  Seriously though, hopefully not too long...

Shea saying stupid stuff to the camera

Shea, Will and Andy hiding inside an incredibly creepy section of the abandoned insane asylum

Merry Christmas and Wild Stallions,

Meathead Films

When you first meat, I mean, meet, the Meatheads you'll learn three things very quickly about us:

1. We're an all East Coast ski film company

2. We're based in Burlington, VT

3. Rooster's from Maine.

 

So when the first full week of Wild Stallions tour dates showed we were making our way through Maine, I couldn't resist to hop on board and experience a week in Maine with two of the state's fiercest and intense ambassadors, Chris James and Wild Stallions athlete, Dan Marion.

Our trip began with a hometown premiere for Mr. James. Many of his longtime friends and family showed up for the premiere in Brunswick, ME on the Bowdoin College campus. Next we were off to Bates but not before Rooster and Marion got me in the frigid Atlantic for some surf. I have never surfed a day in my life before this experience and paddling out looked like the poster to the popular fishing epic, The Perfect Storm. Needless to say, I got thrashed and bashed around and became well aquainted with the ocean floor as we smashed into one another quite often during the rough sesh (that's Maine speak for, "surfing outing with friends"). 

Rogge paddling out

We arrived in Bates and the crowd came out in full force in the Carnegie Science Building including Shea Flynn's parents. Shea's dad commented, "I didn't know Shea could ski powder!" after watching his son slay pow during Jay Peak's epic storm last March. Trust us Mr. Flynn, we didn't know either!

After Bates, it was onto Orono, don't you know! Neville Hall was packed to the max and the U Maine crowd enjoyed the all-Maine segment featured in Wild Stallions. We partied till the early morn and had a grea hula hoop session. Yep, the hula hoop is back, folks and you heard it here first! Last but not least, we arrived at, what some may say was, the crown jewel of our Maine tour stops, Farmington. The large Farmington crowd loved the shots from Sugarloaf and Saddleback, screaming along with every massive trick shown on film. The party continued afterwards and many epic gas station shirts were found on party goers. 

 Rogge and Rooster, rocking and rolling

Maine was a wild ride. If this article seems a little fuzzy on details, it's because that's what happens in Maine. You get fuzzy on details and spot whoopie pies in the cornah of a fridge with them young eyes. We also made a little video while I tour. I hope you enjoy it.

Chances are if you've emailed us in the last 3 days you haven't gotten a response. Not to worry! We're not dead. We're just moving our offices into a bigger, more lucious space that Rogge is calling, "The Wanderland Ranch." Given that Thursday is Thanksgiving, we'll be completely settled and back in order Monday, November 30. Sorry for the confusion and delays AND thank you for your understanding! 

Love Always, Forever, Winter, Spring, Fall, and Summer,

The Meatheads

Check em out... and then VOTE FOR THEM ON YOUTUBE!

• These Official Wild Stallions 2009 Movie Tour T-shirts are KICK ASS
• Like cowboys say, "Fast is good, but accurate is better"- these tees are right on point
• Features:

           FRONT: Intergalactic stallion, rider, lightning and movie title
           BACK: Listing of all the Wild Stallions tour stops and movie sponsors
           INSIDE: Stallion musk smell

• Guaranteed to make you incredibly sexy - ain't nothing sexier than a mounted steed
• Increase you strength/swagger by 33%

Be a stallion and order up the DVD/ T-shirt/ Sticker pack combo for $29.95

Well that price just about beats anything I've ever helt, felt or smelt...

 

Wild Stallions Package

The Meatheads are Wild Stallions!!!

6:00pm – Crowds begin gathering outside the CC Theatre and are greeted by none other than Missy, the “somewhat miniature” horse courtesy of Breakaway Farms.  Although a mare, Missy played the part of our Wild Stallion for the night and gave out loud whinnies to the delight of all.  She also looked breathtakingly gorgeous in her photo ops with the fans

6:30pm – Scheduled showtime is pushed back to 7:00 because of long lines and too much storytelling by Radio Ron.  DJ Disco Phantom rocks a mix of Meathead movie songs and his own selections inside the theatre.

7:00pm – 1st official premiere of Wild Stallions begins with roars from the crowd, throughouts from the sponsors and cheers for the dedicated Meathead athletes stoking the crowd up front

The Meatheads stoke out the crowd

 

Dan Marion is definitely a Wild Stallion

watch yer heads

7:45pm – The crowd now realizes why skiing the East Coast is so ridiculously awesome.  The last tears of joy are shed by the cheering crowd during the end credits.

8:00 pm – Raffle prizes galore and more freebies on the way out

8:15pm – the late show crowd begins to enter theatre.  DJ Disco Phantom continues his blazing beats

9:15pm – late show crowd has now reached capacity and aisle stairs are filling up with people

9:25pm – last remaining attendees squeeze into standing room only in the back as the Meathead athletes once again throw out prizes and psych the crowd up.  The late show audience is LOUD AND ROWDY!

Radio Ron, Hammer and other athletes signing Wild Stallions posters... Do It Up!

New sponsor, Madhouse Munchies handing out loads of potato chips

Stoked to see such a huge crowd! About to start the movie...

11:00pm – Metronome 90’s night afterparty begins.  Many Wild Stallions Tour T-Shirts are seen throughout the club.  Drinks, cheers and dancing all night long

2:30am – Late night pizza.  The Stallions disperse into the darkness…

Special Thanks to all the Sponsors and people who made this years movie and Burlington show!
Subaru of New England
Kombi
GORE-TEX
LINE skis
Clif Bar
vitaminwater
SkiRack.com
Madhouse Munchies
SkiTheEast.net
Skiing Magazine
Stowe Mountain Resort
Orage
Marker
DJ Disco Phantom
Dave Tepper
Breakaway Farms and Missy!
UVM Ski and Snowboard Club

Rooster, Rogge and Geoff - the men behind the Meat

This little kid is gonna be sippin' orange juice from that beer stein

This lucky dude won a $300 gift certificate to Orage!

the crowd in awe of the majestic Stallion

CC Theater
Two screenings: 6:30 & 9:00

Burlington, VT

TWO SCREENINGS!  6:30pm & 9pm

As always Burlington will be the big kick off to our Wild Stallions world tour! Come meet the Meatheads, let them sign everything under the sun, and watch Wild Stallions with the entire crew!

Special Meathead Appearances by: The Hammer, Radio Ron, Will Wesson, Andy Parry, Dan Marion, Stacey Rachdorf, Tony Rossi, Ben Leoni, Jay Bowen, Asia Magriby and many more!!

$5 at the door

$1000's in raffle prizes to be won including SKIS

Loads of FREE schwag

Live DJ spinning beats before the show

Afterparty at Metronome starting at 11pm.  90's music, Meathead lounge, drink specials, contests on stage, and general rowdiness. 

 
The IF3 festival brings together athletes, filmmakers, industry leader and fans for a long weekend of movies screenings and parties. We offer exclusive world premieres from the top ski and freeski movies and have been hailed as the “Cannes Film Festival” of skiing!

IF3 2009 Movie Schedule:

Thursday sept 17th & Sunday sept 20th

The North Face Outdoor screenings @ 7:30pm
In association with Red Bull, SBC Skier and Mirror
FREE / Old Montreal, Notre-Dame street corner of St Jean

We invite you to enjoy the finest of the latest and greatest ski movie! Held in the fabulous Old Montreal, The North Face Screening are free and are IF3’s way of saying thank you for all your continued support.

september 17th
World premiere of “Transitions”, a film on Simon Dumont by Riley Poor. A Red Carpet event featuring one of the most acclaimed skiers on the planet.
september 20th  
Presentation of the Edge of Never, a film inspired from a nonfiction book that follows the story of a young man, Kye Petersen, who travels to Chamonix, France, to ski the route that killed his famous, big-mountain skiing father, Trevor Petersen.

friday september 18th

screening 01 / am @ 3:30pm
Hands Up - Secondhand (SWE)
Reflections - Mighty Jamming Filming Production (JAP)
Brand New Day - NSF Production (CAN)

screening 02 / Pro @ 5:30pm
Mad In France / SVP (France)
Pretty Good / Rage Films (USA)
Wild Stalions / Meathead Films (USA)

screening 03 / Pro @ 8:30pm
Can’t Stop / RTP (France)
Refresh / Level 1 (USA)

Saturday september 19th

screening 04 / am @ 12:00pm
The Affiliates - ESK Prod (CAN)
Shoot Me - Chaoz Production (NOR
How We Livin - Stept Production (USA)

screening 05 / Pro @ 2:30pm
!What Else? / Invert Prod (France)
Signatures / Sweetgrass Prod (USA)
So Far so Hood / 4Bi9 Media (USA)

screening 06 / Pro @ 5:30pm
Contrast / Nimbus Ind. (USA)
Eyes Wide Open / Field Productions (NOR)

screening 07 / Pro @ 7:45pm
Every Day is a Saturday / Poor Boyz (USA)
In Deep / Match Stick (USA)
IF3 2009 Parties Schedule:

Thursday september 17th  

The NSX Party @ 10:00pm
Presented by CoreUPT
Club Lamouche, 1284 St-Denis

That’s right…Newschoolers.com is 10 year old! Celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the most popular freeskiing website in the world at the NSX Party. There’ll be no finer and wilder way to kick off the third annual IF3 than with the newschoolers crew, and all the staff will be on hand along with a host of nostalgia, surprises and special guests to celerate 10 good years of good time on Newschoolers.com. Be there!

Friday september 18th  

Reebok classics party @ 9:30pm
Presented by Nightlife Magazine et Dose.ca
Imposs / Rahzel feat DJ JS-1 / DJ Premier
Telus Theatre, 1280 St-Denis

Reebok presents the Reebok Classics Party featuring artists that witnessed the debut of the Classics to those that represent its continuity. The Reebok Classics Party promises to be an immaculate mix of experiences that only Reebok and IF3 can bring together. The exciting list of artists performing at the party include Imposs, formerly from Muzion,  Rahzel featuring DJ JS-1, Beatbox godfather and formerly from The Roots and none other than  DJ Premier, member of Gang Starr and one of the greatest producers in hip-hop history.

Saturday september 20th  

Newschoolers Awards @ 10:00pm
Presented by Skullcandy
Mikey Dangerous / Payz Play (DJ Set)
Telus Theatre, 1280 St-Denis

“The Newschoolers Awards… We put the NS in infamous.”
The third annual highly acclaimed "Newschoolers Awards" will honor the best of the best of this year's crop of freeski films. After the awards, Juno Award Reggae artist of year, Mikey Dangerous, will kick off the party followed by Montreal’s DJ set of local heroes Payz Play.

Mike Rogge: How's your summer been, Sean?
Sean Jordan: my summer has been awesome. I spent a majority of it at Mt Hood and got to ski a bunch with homies.

That sounds great. Were you involved in any of the Mt Hood summer website/hip hop battles that were going down and if so, which crew/website would you say you were most associated with?
Haha i lived in DaHoodCondo so thats my creww. But all we got is love for the DaHoodHouse. There were so many crazy times between both.

Learn any new tricks this summer?
Yeah for sure. Im really stoked on it too.

haha, care to elaborate?
haha well ive just been working a bunch on my unnatural spins and learning new grabs with them. As for natural spins ive just been working on the big tricks.

Cool. Tell me how you became involved with the Meatheads this year.
Well meatheads actually got in contact with my boy brogan first. They wanted to come down to Big Boulder and film with him so i just tagged along haha

Are you stoked on a PA segment in a ski flick?
Soo stoked. Meatheads is everywhere.

What are your plans for today?
Im not even sure yet. Ive been up for like 15 minutes so i havent even eaten breakfast yet. Well i guess lunch considering its 1:17

Late night?
Late weekend haha

haha. Anything you'd like to say to your adoring public?
dont be a pussy, ski the east, go skiing, and check out Meatheads new movie Wild Stallions.

Nice plug
haha thank you

Sean Jordan: From Boulder with Love from Kyle Alexander on Vimeo.

Out on the frozen peaks and gritty streets of the East Coast, roams a mighty and majestic creature. Renowned for their endurance and aggressive behavior, Wild Stallions are notoriously elusive and rarely captured on film. Meathead Films dedicated the 2009 season to tracking stampedes all over the Eastern U.S. and Canada range. In this never-before-seen footage, watch as stallions gallop across the countryside, navigating treacherously deep snow and bewildering urban terrain. Learn about this misunderstood animal and what drives them to perform tremendous athletic feats in such a hostile environment. Shot in High Definition, 16mm and Super 8 film, Wild Stallions will prove once and for all, that some animals just can’t be tamed…

Wild Stallions Athletes: Will Wesson, Andy Parry, Dan Marion, Cedric TF, Clayton Vila, Shea Flynn, Justin Perry, Garrett Russell, Stacey Rachdorf, Ben Leoni, LJ Strenio, Sean Jordan, Nick Martini, Giray Dadali, The Hammer, Radio Ron, Jay Bowen, Asia Magriby, Tony Rossi, Alexis Godbout, Jon Brogan, JD Zicat, Erik Olson, Zeph Hallowell, Maude Raymond, Ross Imburgia, Ian Compton

Sponsored By: Subaru of New England, LINE Skis, Kombi gloves, GORE-TEX, Vitamin Water, Clif Bar, SkiRack.com, Skiing Magazine, Ski The East, Madhouse Munchies

Filmed On Location:

Stowe, VT
Mt. Bohemia, MI
Jay Peak, VT
Cannon, NH
Chic Choc Mountains, QC
White Mountains, NH
Tug Hill Plateau, NY
Sugarloaf, ME
Sugarbush, VT
Sunday River, ME
Big Boulder, PA
Blue Mountain, PA
Killington, VT
Mount Snow, VT
Various urban locales
 

Order your limited-edition Wild Stallions package today!

Package includes: 

• Wild Stallions DVD + two sided Wild Stallions poster insert! 
• Limited Edition Wild Stallions Movie Tour T-Shirt 
  
• Ski The East sticker pack! 
  

A few weeks back, some of the Meats headed to Stowe Country Club for a relaxing day of golf. While I would love to fill in you in on all the juicy details, I'll let the photos do the talking instead. Stay tuned for a hilarious video, coming to a podcast near you!

 

Geoff and Shane cruising in the Meatwagon! Shane McFalls loves shorty shorts and putting greens   Geoff making the putt?   Mike Rogge puts like a champion if by "champion" you mean "4 year old girl" Compton makes the shot while Geoff gets the shot Erme's excellent backswing Compton knows how to dress for success Andy Parry... yep. He's someone you want to be like when you grow up! Erme Catino, Skier, Italian, and a Golfer.

Click below to listen!

Thanks for an epic day East Coast. We'll see you this fall on the "Wild Stallions" tour!

-Rogge

Ian Compton is one of our newest additions to the Meathead family. Straight-outta-Compton's got the rail skills to pay the bills and recently signed with Line Skis. Check out his end-of-the-season edit below and look for Ian and the rest of the Meats this fall in "Wild Stallions!"

interview by Mike Rogge

                                           The Gnarbarian himself

Where are you from?

I’m originally from Windham, Maine. Born in Maine, been a Maine-ah my whole (beeeeep'n) life.

"Too many kids listen to hip

hop... Where’d the metal go?" 

Who are your sponsors?

Ugh…that’s a good question (laughs). My sponsors are Ski The East, they pay me the most (laughs), Electric, Poc Helmets, kind of Dynastar, and the Bag and Kettle Brew Pub.

What have you been up to the last few years?

I’ve been competing a lot to keep my sponsors happy and I still have the competitive drive so I’ve been skiing a lot of halfpipe. I’ve done well. Lots of top 10’s, top 5’s, couple podiums at maybe not the biggest events. I’ve just been trying to ski hard and whenever I’m not competing, I’ve found a love for hitting natural features and skiing a lot of powder. I’ve been living out in Utah the last couple years… well, this year in Utah, last year in Summit County. Again, I’ve just been trying to ski hard.

                                           Gettin the skrilla

Tell me about the Meathead trip to Bohemia?

Mount BROhemia! Well, I was at X Games and Rooster came up to me, well, we had a couple of drinks and I was blabbering my mouth to Rooster and he was telling me about a couple trips they had planned. One of them was this Mount Bohemia trip and at first I was like, “What?! Michigan? What’s going to go on there? It can’t be that sick.” I went home that night and checked out their snowfall totals and they were just getting slammed! I became interested in the trip and kept calling Rooster and was like, “I want to be on this trip! I want to be on this trip!” We ended up heading out there this past March. I went with Geoff McDonald and Giray Dadali. We got…not powder but just really nice spring conditions and the terrain was way above my expectations. The terrain around the resort and the backcountry were just phenomenal. It was a really cool trip and I think the footage turned out really well and it should turn some heads, especially because it’s East Coast Michigan stuff. We snagged a lot of shots and it was really productive. It was a good trip.

                            Michigan what what!?!  Bohemia backcountry

Happy to be back on the East Coast filming with Meathead?

Yeah, it’s fun. As I said, I grew up in Maine skiing the ‘Loaf and you know, the east is where it’s at. This is where the best skiers come from. I’m stoked to be here and giving props to the East Coast but I do miss out West. It’s sick to be here though, hanging out with the crew.

You’ve been telling us for weeks now to “keep the shred alive.” What does that mean exactly?

What does it mean to keep the shred alive? I’m glad you asked me that. Keeping the shred alive is just all about skiing hard all day and skiing because you love it. It’s not about things like getting hooked up by sponsors or the corporate side of things. It’s about skiing for yourself, having fun, and constantly pushing yourself. To me, shredding is when I’m scaring myself, feeling the adrenaline, and it keeps me pushing it and wanting to be a better skier than I was before.

You’ve said that some of the skiers today are “soft.” Care to elaborate?

Yeah…(laughs). Some skiers are soft and I feel like they’re in it for the wrong reasons. They’re not keeping the shred alive. For me, it’s first chair, last chair, last call. You gotta go hard all the time. There’s some people getting soft out there. Too many kids listen to hip hop... Where’d the metal go? Where’s the Gnarbarians? Let’s get that back. In the end, it’s going to boil down to, “Who’s keeping the shred alive?” That’s just what it comes down to. Just ski hard and have fun.

                               Holdin it down with the URI gals

Tell me about your relationship with The Hammer.

My relationship with The Hammer is recent. I met him about three weeks ago at Ski Sundown, which is a great resort. I really liked it. We were skiing a bump comp down there. It was called the Ski Sundown Spectacular something…(laughs) I don’t know, something like that. I met him down there and got to hang out with him and (Radio) Ron. I’ve seen Hammer ski in the videos and I knew he ripped and it was just really cool. I have some mogul background and once I started skiing the bumps, he was like, “Yeah, this kid can ski.” He had told me he thought I was just a park rat and I kind of pride myself on being an all around skier and skiing hard. I got to hang out with him and I’ve actual developed a big interest in old style skiing so he’s hooked me up with a couple pairs of straight skis, all 200 cm . It’s been cool. I’ve been to his house, met his wife, went on a trip to the Chic Chocs with him, just lots of bro-ing out. Great guy!

"For me, it’s first chair, last chair, last call."

How’s it been balancing college with skiing?

Balancing college and skiing is difficult. It’s becoming progressively more difficult. I probably won’t be in school next fall. Missing that late November, early December training in Summit County is, with the way the level of skiing has gotten, you just can’t get away with it anymore. I figured before, “Why not get 15 credits under my belt?” but I went into X Games this year and the Mount Snow stop of the Dew Tour not as prepared as I would have liked to have been. It was cool though because it forced me to really dial into my tricks early on because I didn’t have a buffer time to get ready. The way my life is, I’m at school in the Fall which is cool from a social standpoint because I’ve made friends in so many different places. This year though, something’s got to give and I’ll probably end up taking summer classes and just skiing hard in the fall and preparing myself for the comp season.

                                                          Be like water

What is Marionating?

Marionating doesn’t exist. It happens when you get a stupid injury filming with a stupid company like Meathead Films… (laughs) Just kidding. Let me clear the record here: I will never be able to pay Meathead back for all they’ve done for me over the last month. Geoff, Rogge, and Rooster have just hooked it up. I’m in a tough time right now with my foot. I fractured my second metatarsal…

How’d you get injured?

(laughs) …Well we were up in the Chic Chocs and I had this idea that I really wanted to jump off an iceberg into the ocean. It was a really really sick sunset shot, and the time was right. We walked way out, like a 150 yards out. The tide was high and we had some locals take a look at it and they determined it was deep enough. Actually, they thought it was too deep and if something happened they might have to dive in and get me. Anyways, I just busted a FATTY cannonball into knee deep water… (laughs) …and broke my second metatarsal in my foot. Not my proudest moment but if you’re going hard, things are gonna happen.

What do you enjoy doing in the summer?

Going to school in Rhode Island and growing up in Maine, I’ve always been around the coast. When I was about 12, one of my dad’s friends took me surfing and I kind of fell in love with it. Ever since then I’ve been surfing hard. I started shaping my own boards and the University of Rhode Island has got some good waves close by and a good crew of local surfers down there. Whenever I’m not skiing or going to school, I’m surfing and skating as much as possible. Shaping boards has been a really cool experience. I’ve probably shaped about 10 boards now and they’ve come along way. The entire process has been really fun and riding them is great too.

  Testing out one of the boards in Costa Rica and successfully throwing some buckets

Can you explain the dynamic between people from Maine?

Oh yea, oh yea. I’ll tell you what, when yugh bourn in Maaine, it’s in yah blood forevah and you can tell one Maine-ah from the next, I’ll tell you that. There’s two kinds of Maine-ahs actually. There’s the coastal Maine-ahs and then you get up to the Northern woodsmen and that’s a little bit more Canadian. I’ll tell you what, one Maine-ah will nevah leave anotha Maine-ah hangin’ that’s for suure. Roostah’s got that in his blood, he’s got that goin’ for ‘em at least.

"Your best skiing comes out when you’re having fun and keeping the shred alive."

Words of advice for the young Meats out there?

You know, I’ve been reading this book by Bruce Lee recently called The Warrior Within and he really focuses on water being a metaphor and not trying to be constant but always trying to change shape and I relate it to skiing in that you should try to not get stuck in a rut and always try new things when you’re skiing or on your feet. That’s one thing I’ve really taken from his literature that’s influenced me in a positive way. Another thing is, with social interactions, you need the three ingredients:

1) Be Genuine

2) Be Positive

3) Just have that sparkle in your eye

That’s really it. Being positive just goes so far. If you go into a (video) shoot positive, things will come out positive. Your best skiing comes out when you’re having fun and keeping the shred alive.

                      Halloween in RI. Garth with that sparkle in his eye

Shout outs?

I’d like to thank my family, my mom Vicki, my dad Peter, my sister Sarah for always supporting and putting up with me. My sponsors over the years, Dynastar has been such a big help, Electric, Poc, and DNA. I’m not sponsored by DNA now but they were really instrumental in getting me to where I am today. The Meathead guys, Level 1, and all my friends that have pushed me.

Early March brough warm temps to the East Coast and the powder skiing was put on hold until further notice.  With Will, Andy and LJ in town we knew something out-of-the-ordinary had to be done.

After much research by our marketing and sales guru: Mike Rogge (as well as his father) it was decided to gamble on filming at a amusement park near Lake George, NY.  Closed in the winter, The Magic Forest, is a child's wonderland of animals, storybook characters, and fantasy creatures.  Perfect for jibbing!

the crew planning the attack on magic forest


found this little guy just growing in the woods


Andy Parry: an innovator of skiing.  Also jobless and homeless

Warm temps and light precip kept us in the clouds for some of the time but after much hard work and a little sun the skiers managed to jump, handplant, bonk and flip over most everything we could find at the park.  We spent a total of 4 exhausting days building jumps and shaping takeoffs to perfection.  Wanna know what to expect in the new Wild Stallions movie?  Take a look at the pictures and use your imagination!    

Riding high on our own personal giraffe!


Even though Will is in the Traveling Circus webisodes he's still scared of clowns at night


LJ helps run the winch on a foggy and spooky night in the magic forest


Andy makes new friends

However my house/cave dwelling friends, Ski The East is here to help. Perhaps we've gone a little mad with cabin fever but we've completely SLASHED the prices on ALL Ski The East gear in our store. That's right. We took a knife to it like the weather God's took a slashing to our season. Prices on hoodies, long sleeves, hats, and tshirts are now like the snow pack in the Green Mountains, lower than they were in February!

As an added bonus, we're now offering the official "RAINY DAY - EAST COAST SURVIVAL KIT." This kit includes all the necessary essentials to keep the Eastern skier alive and well during these tough times.

The R.D.E.S.K. includes:

-The Six Pack - For the first time EVER, all six of Meatheads featured films in one epic package. Grab your favorites including Schooled, Epoch, Born From Ice, Snow Gods, Wanderland, and the award-winning Head For The Hills

-Ski The East pint glass - for those other six packs you may want to purchase elsewhere.

-Ski The East Wall Calendar - so you can mark off your time spent in weather induced solitary confinement!

-a personally signed Head For The Hills poster (signatures will vary)

-a FREE Ski The East sticker pack.

All for the nice price of $59.99! That's over $70 in savings! I know what you're saying, "These guys have lost their flippin' minds!"

Nope! The truth is, we know our customers are the toughest hardcore east coast shredders and in their time of need, Ski The East will be there to lend a helping hand with great deals and this once in a lifetime survival kit.

Stay strong kiddies and never let the shred die!

-Ski The East

struggling to stay warm on the triple chair

Shea's first powder day with the Meatheads (he slayed)

Even the trails were deep!
 

The storm did not disappoint.  After raging winds on the 23rd of February, the storm ended up bringing about 70" to the Jay area over the course of 5 days.  It was some of the lightest snow we had the pleasure of skiing (and filming) all year.

Working for the shot

Sometimes the snow can be just too deep

Ridiculous liftline at the triple

Our final day brought some struggles in the Jay sidecountry as the snow was too deep to move through.  This hasn't happened since the valentines day storm of 2007 so it was both fun to witness and frustrating for film.  The athletes struggled to hike up even a couple feet to film a line since the snow was pretty much 4-5 ft. deep with no bottom.  Areas that were usually great for shooting simply did not have enough pitch to get up to speed.  But we made the best of it anyway and got lots of epically (is that a word even?) deep images.

I said no mayo on my sandwich Geoff!

Late night card game with Asia's mom and friends

Shea catching a few more minutes of sleep before the tram opens
 

Got a call from Caleb Hamilton of SnowGrind in early February.  Caleb helped build and design Blue Mtn's newest rails, boxes, and general park layout for 2009.  He quickly directed me to his blog site which feature pics of all the unique stuff they had up in their park this season and it definitely sparked our interest.

 

Since we had three LINE athletes flying in to film from the west coast and looking for cheap flights, we scheduled it out to meet everyone in Philly and session Blue Mtn. for a few days before heading back up north.

Tagging along for the trip down would be myself, Rooster, our new filmer: Ben Cormier, and a new female addition to the Meat roster: Jen Crichton.  An 8 hr. drive brought us down to the greatery Philadelphia area just after Valentines day to pick up Will Wesson, Andy Parry, and newbie to East Coast skiing - Garrett Russell. 

 

Another 1.5 hrs. got us to our hotel near Blue Mtn. around 1 a.m.  A long day of traveling for everyone to say the least.  Our two days filming and skiing at Blue were more than we expected.  For one, the park was sick!  Top to bottom, UNIQUE rails and boxes, fun layout and it was sunny both days so the riding was spring corn.  The Meatheads got creative with railslides, wormturns, noseblocks, tappity taps, handplants and wallrides while skiing with some rad local rippers and enjoying the Pennsylvania mountain air!

The final night we celebrated our dirty south tour (and Garrett's birthday) with some world class tubing on Blue Mtn's celebrated hills.  Scope the new movie WILD STALLIONS for the Blue Mtn. segment: rad park tricks, tubing, and lots of one piece suits...

Special Thanks to Caleb Hamilton, Jason Rice, Danny Shupe, Jim Daily and the whole Blue Mtn. crew for helping us out!

Many things can be said about Jen Crichton (yes, her brother is Dave Crichton) but make no mistake; she's not just a pretty face or a younger sibling. She's a wearer of many hats, attending university playing soccer at a the collegiate level, and filming with Meathead Films for our upcoming flick, "Wild Stallions." Recently she embarked on a trip to PA with her fellow Meatheads Andy Parry and Will Wesson. Upon her return, I caught up with Jen and asked her these five questions. Enjoy!

Where are you from?
Manotick, Ontario. It’s a cute little town close to Ottawa.

How long have you been skiing?

What’s in been like filming with Andy Parry?
It’s really been a dream come true. He’s an amazing, amazing person. I’m trying to ski a lot more like him. (laughs) I think he’s really cute but I don’t think he thinks that about me…(Andy’s in the room blushing)…but Will Wesson’s probably cuter. (laughs)

Do you like hitting handrails?
It’s kind of a love/hate relationship with handrails and I. Before you start hitting it, sometimes you’re like, “Why am I doing this?” and during it, if you’re not getting your tricks it can be like, “Oh my god. All this work and I might not get a single shot?” but for those times you do get the shot… it’s an awesome feeling and that makes it worth while.

Aside from what you’ve already filmed, what would you like to film for your segment this year in “Wild Stallions?”
I’d really like to hit some more handrails. We haven’t done a bunch but hopefully some cool tricks…some REAL tricks on handrails… not just sliding them!

Hitting a jump at Cannon Mountain, shooting for "Wild Stallions," introducing our new cine, and swinging from trees... in under a minute and a half!

Click Here To Watch The Cannon Video!

   

 

Here’s what Powder Magazine had to say: “Will Wesson was Mr. Creativity in 2009.  In fact, Wesson broke the Powder Video Award record for most nominations in one category in one year.  From underslides, to innovative playground lines, the East Coast kid takes home Best Jib with his skillful and completely comedic playground line.”  

Unfortunately during the awards, Will was in Finland filming for Level 1 Productions (who also received a nomination for “Best Jib” thanks to Will’s segment in their movie “Turbo”), so Meathead Pres Geoff McDonald, partner in crime - Chris James, new Meathead employee Mike Rogge, and Will’s right hand man Andy Parry, all honorably accepted the award on Will’s behalf.

Besides the awards show, we tacked on a few extra days in Aspen to reward ourselves for the big accomplishment.  Mike Flood (Dexter Rutecki), Geoff (Bryce Kellogg), Chris (T.J. Burke), and Fatty (Karl Stall) attacked the Rockies with fury.  It snowed over 30 inches during our stay, and as much as we wanted to ski for glory, we couldn’t resist busting out the cameras to share our experience with the world.  Indulge in the photo gallery and new Aspen Extreme video below.    

 

Special Thanks to the Powder Awards for not forgetting the East Coast.  Mike Flood for transportation and accompaniment on and off the hill.  Aspen Highlands ski patroller and x-roommate Fatty Areson for safety consultation, chef skills, and being downright fat.  Troy and Chris Miller for lodging, "Ski School" viewing, and exceptional hospitality.  And Aspen Snowmass Resorts for an all-access pass to the goods.

www.aspensnowmass.com    

WATCH THE ASPEN EXTREME VIDEO!

Actually our first morning at Snowridge was moderately productive, considering the low 24 hr. snowfall.  The resort had already received 13ft. for the season so coverage was great.  A few runs through the woods with the locals and much of the steeps were played out.  

Driving to the west (closer to the lake) we found really nice snow at some old secret stomping grounds and everyone got some shots.  Back to the sledneck hotel... there must have been 200 snowmobiles in the parking lot... and a good nights rest after some ridiculously cheesy pizza. 

Next day was a exploratory mission into the unknown in a river bed up north of Turin.  Only took about 4 hours but we managed to find a way from the trail down into the river basin where all the skiing was.  Luckily we had some rope with us and a short rappel down gave us access to the goods.  With light fading fast we filmed as much of the steep river banks as we could and vowed to return again soon.

Our third and last day was a short drive down to Pixley Falls State Park where we did some roadside scouting for lines.  Without seeing too much we decided to just wing it, parked the cars, and started hiking up a ridge.  As luck would have it there was some really steep terrain up there and the skiers got some unique shots with film vantage points from opposing river gulleys.

 

After a brief hiatus out in Colorado for the Powder Video Awards (congrats to Will Wesson for "Best Jib" winner in Head For the Hills!) our first business upon returning was another quick trip back to the Tug Hill region...

Slightly different crew this time of Rooster, Erik, Pat Colbourn, and myself.  Early Saturday morning drive (left at 5 a.m.) got us to the Tug around 11.  We immediately went back to some familiar spots to reshoot a few lines.  40 more inches had fallen since 2 weeks before so the snow was fresh and deep and got some back flips and pillow hoppin down.

Found a much cheaper hotel than the first trip, Scottish Inns in case you're interested, and grabbed grub at a local Italian joint.  2nd day was calling for warming temps so we made it back into the river basin north of Turin early and knew right where to go for the rappel.  Spent the whole day along the river shooting lots of lines that we had seen on the previous trip.  The snow was super stable in most of the open areas but the woods were mad sketchy.  Rooster and Pat set off a 3 ft. crown avy in the middle of one steep woods section.  Pretty crazy, but the slide didn't touch anyone, and we were all wearing our beacons (shovel/ probe) for safety.  Just a testament to how much snow the Tug Hill receives!

Temps rose into the 40's by the end of the day, the snow was beginning to really thicken.  We banged out a few more shots in the fading sunlight and bounced back to Burlington while listening to the Superbowl on AM radio.  The Tug Hill never fails to deliver an adventurous trip and insane amounts of snow.  Huge thanks to JohnF from SkiTheEast.net and Snowridge Resort for helping us out!

Shooting on Meathead Film's new East Coast ski flick, "Wild Stallions" began the two weeks before Christmas with a early season jibbin' trip to Quebec.  With Shea "Fleezy", Ross "Ambrosia", and Cedric "The Pirate" as our Canadian tour guide, we spent a productive few days up near Trois Riviere slaying lots of non-rail features and bangin' out shots in seriously sub-zero weather.  Ced was kind enough to let us crash at his palace-under-the-sea apartment complete with fish breeding tanks, and beer drinking cat and the requisite guitar hero.

A very merry Christmas came and went and it was back to the streets and metal for a quick session before new years.  The crew of Will Wesson, LJ Strenio, cinema legend: Hennie VJ, and myself met up with the enthusiastic Ian Compton in his hometown of Brattleboro, VT.  LJ got some gnar shots on a long down rail and William slayed a wierd rail to stair butter.

Happy 2009!  We celebrated New Years with the gang back at homebase in Burlington and then headed out for our most ambitious mission yet: infiltrate a high security military academy while the school was still on break.  With gorgeous sunny weather LJ showed why he is THE MAN by getting an awkward C-rail to bonk on 2nd try!  A subway lunch energized the crew enough for LJ to continue his domination of urban terrain with some very ballsy and truly insane shots that afternoon and night (must be seen to be believed!)  The guards at the academy were really chill by the way...

 

 

Next day was off to Manchester, NH were we met up with East Coast rail extrodinaire: Richie Paradise.  Got some shots at a really long quad kink and then Willy wanted to try his hand at "the wave" rail.  After trying every concievable way to get enough speed into the rail (long downhill run in, LONGER downhill run in, reverse car tow, car push, and finally mini forward car tow-in) we managed to get Wesson up to speed in order for him to complete his dance of switch ups on the unique feature.

Finally, after a 2 day break, we took off on 1 more urban trip this time down to the Albany, NY area.  It was a Will solofest for 2 days but the man was unfazed and worked hard to complete some sick lines and innovative manuevers.  I was working pretty hard myself doing followcams on almost every feature (that's a claim).  Anywho, met up with JP Perry out of Whiteface on the last day and the two guys collaborated on some nasty footage.  Urban shots for the season are off to a shweet start 

Thanks to everyone who helped us on these trips: Cedric and his girl, The Comptons, Nate Andrews, Richie, Ben Zucker and his family, Dylan Tucker and his family, and Hennie VJ

• Dartmouth College Outing Club - Marki Grimsley and the Dartmouth Programming Board
• Plymouth State University Outing Club and PSU Student Activities - Rodney Ekstrom & all the OC officers
• University of New Hampshire Ski & Snowboard Club - Brian Hussey and Elisa Giangiulio
• UNH Campus TV and Epic TV - Alex Knuuttunen and crew for the live interview
• Wildcat Mountain - Thomas Prindle, Wildcat Marketing Dept., and Stacey Rachdorf
• The Rossi farmhouse co-op - Tony Rossi, Alex MacLean, Fielder the dog, the horses, the cows, and a broken down Chevy
• Bavneesh at the India Queen for the tasty eats and beverages
• And of course.... the hundreds of fans who love east coast skiing

Having screened the film at IF3 just weeks before, there was a mad rush to edit all the bonus features, finish cover art, and make a few final tweaks to the movie before showing it at our annual Burlington event.

It was decided to start the movie tour a week earlier than usual this year (the Burlington show has been the first week of Oct. in the past) in order to get on the road and start firing off more premieres before the holidays.

DJ Cre-8 spun beats as the first 6:30 crowd piled in. Usually our first showing is a bit thinner in attendance and our later showing the most busy. However, this year, BOTH showings were packed to the gills in the 350 seat CC theatre at UVM. Hundreds of prizes were thrown out to stoke the crowd, Geoff hit the mic to thank sponsors and let everyone know about the Magic Hat afterparty at Nectars, and then the show began!

UVM is always rowdy and loud and this year was no different. Both showings had lots of applause, gasps and laughter as the movie took viewers through an East Coast season with the Meatheads. Andy Parry and Will Wesson's (UVM Grad) finale segment had the crowd roaring with astonishment as the two put on a creative display of urban trickery.

A raffle was held after each show with a limited edition pair of LINE Anthem's being given away to a lucky winner at the 9pm show. Then it was off to downtown Burlington to the afterparty at Nectars, where the Meatheads and friends partied the night away in celebration of their most stellar movie and season ever!

Thanks to all our sponsors:

Subaru of New England
Kombi
Gore-Tex
LINE
Clif Bar
FUR Headwear
Ben and Jerry's
Eastern Mountain Sports
Skiing Magazine
Stowe Mountain Resort
Marker

And Special Thanks to the UVM Ski and Snowboard Club as well as Magic Hat for making the event possible!

A crew of Geoff, Rooster, Hammer, Radio Ron, Andy Parry, Will Wesson, and various other friends from the region headed up to present the new film, Head For The Hills, on the big screen for the first time ever. Having only completed the editing of the intro a mere 12 hours before leaving Burlington for Montreal, it was a welcome relief to finally have the project complete and be ready to celebrate.

The new movie premiered in a time-block with Alliance (European) as well as Journal (Theory-3 Media, and produced by long time friend, Jeff Thomas). Both movies were sick, but the Meathead athletes were most stoked to see what had become of all that footage shot last season...

Needless to say, the crowd was not disappointed (and neither were the athletes) as Head For The Hills received roaring applause and a standing ovation at the end! Many in the audience commented that it was our most polished, entertaining and unique work to date...

On to Tanner's MASSIVE afterparty, minus Cali P who got deported. Even without Cali P, the party went off, the Meatheads were cuttin' rugs for hours, and it was nearly impossible to get a drink. And, true to form, Tanner spit some words of wisdom from the mic...

Watching the weather is essential for the powder craved skier. During the winter months it’s pretty typical for me to be checking the various weather service websites multiple times a day in hopes of finding some clues to where and when those heavy snowfalls are predicted to take place. In mid March a large system was full of moisture and tracking into Ontario and Quebec. This system would be missing New England as it headed too far north.

As I came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t be skiing anything fresh that weekend my phone is rang and it was Geoff. Now from experience, when Geoff is calling and there is a major snow storm barreling down somewhere on the east, I usually know what I’m in store for… The oh so familiar, flying by the seat of your pants, last minute, adventure into the unknown.

The group consisted of the meatboss/Geoff, photographer Dan Brown, fellow Line shredder Jeff Curry and myself. On the drive up it was clear that this region had been getting pounded with snow. Quebec City was pretty much buried and as we continued on the snow banks that lined the highway seemed to only get larger along the way.

When we arrived to Le Massif, we had just enough time to get a few runs in and learn our way around the mountain. The staff at Le Massif was very receptive to us and offered early access the next morning. On top of early access, we were going to be guided around the mountain by Jean-Luc Brassard (Olympic medalist/mogul champion).

That afternoon we retreated to the nearby port village of Baie St- Paul which would provide our shelter for the brewing storm. We awoke pre-sunrise the next morning and were met at the door with a chest high snow drift blocking the exit.

As we drove out of the Baie St-Paul, we came upon a local highway worker who communicated to us via hand signals and broken English(about as poor as our French) that the highway was closed and he didn’t think it was opening anytime soon.  The fast thinking leader of the group and pilot of our Subaru told the worker that we would just go up ahead to turn around. Without a second of hesitation, Geoff gunned the meatwagon and made a run for Le Massif! After all, we had fresh snow and early access waiting for us. We didn’t come all this way to let fresh pow get cut up while we waited the storm out in town.

Well, it turns out we were pretty much the first and only people at the resort for quite some time. When we finally met up with Jean-Luc he gave us the low down on the situation. Due to the blizzards conditions most of the employees hadn’t made it to the mountain yet and the lifts were on hold. Instead of waiting around, the Le Massif team arranged for some laps with snowmobile tows until they officially got the chairs running.

Over the next couple of days, Jean-luc and another local guided our crew around the mountain and showed us what the mountain had to offer. Le Massif is definitely one of the most unique mountains on the east. The trails practically run right down to the Saint Lawrence River and start about 2,500ft. above.

This creates amazing views of the seaway from anywhere on the mountain. A considerable amount of terrain is devoted to glades and natural bump runs. Over all, I was really impressed with Le Massif and highly recommend it to anyone who gets the opportunity to shred with the Quebecois.

Will you accept this honorary Meat badge?
With pride. The Rooster and Geoff show is unmatched!


More history of AK can be found in this story from Dec. of 2007 by Mike Rogge.
http://www.newschoolers.com/web/content/news/news_id/1754/

Don’t miss Meathead Films upcoming release "Head for the Hills" with exclusive action from Sunday River’s Heat Harvest 3 - the Eastern Superpark. Trailer coming soon to www.meatheadfilms.com (we swear!).

The last lift serviced skiing in Vermont this year was available at Jay Peak and Sugarbush. After a great snow year, the most dedicated skiers made it out for one last wet, foggy weekend of skiing. Radio Ron and the Hammer were obviously in attendance... Andy, Geoff and myself joined them for some fun at the Bush.

Check out the video I edited:

With a few trails to play on, the group split in two: bumps and jumps. The bump crew no doubt consisted of Radio Ron, the Hammer and friends. The jumpers were Geoff, Andy, and myself... all skiboarding.

There were no big jumps to play on, so we had no choice but to scale down everything including our skis. Skiboards were the perfect answer to our problem. Suddenly a bump became equivalent to a 10 ft table and a log on the ground was a rail. When we got bored with skiboarding on snow, we picked out lines in the grass between snow patches.

On Sunday, we came prepared. With shovels and salt, we built jump after jump going down on the side of the trail until we had our own personal slopestyle course. It started with a 3 pack of jumps followed by a flat section for buttering into two log grinds and a couple more jumps. Backflips, frontflips, side flips and many, many crashes went down over the course of the day.

The mogul diehards lapped Stein over and over. Rain and low visibility only momentarily slowed the 20 or so bumpers. The end of the day brought epic mogul runs with the Hammer and Radio Ron, both in top form, laying down perfect lines to finish up the season.

April greeted New England with warm temperatures and abundant sunshine, perfect for a spring park shoot. After some quick organizing by the meatboss, Ski Sundown was ready to offer its services and build some custom park features for our own private shoot. Leaving from the Meathead HQ in Burlington, Geoff, Andy Parry “with an A”, Shea Flynn, and myself gathered our gear and headed down to Connecticut for a few days of filming.

Day 1

Even though Sundown was technically closed for the season they decide to run a chair for us which was pretty awesome to say the least. The first feature was an eight pack of mini booters that was built the night before. This kept us busy while the park crew was working on setting up the infamous Ski Sundown U rail, which had a pretty good sized gap to the landing. After Shea owned the mini line with his every variation of a flip run, we moved to the up rail. This was the kind of feature that you either landed or you ate tons of shit on. With that being said, it wasn’t too long until almost everyone had called it quits. Shea, who was determined to land his trick, took about 10 more laps than anyone else.

Day2

On the second day our goal was to transform the rail feature into a super poppy table. After a few hours with the cat and shovels, the transformation had taken place. We successfully recycled a feature, Meatheads go Green! We were even able to get this crazy old boom crane on the deck, allowing Geoff to be perched in a bucket 20 feet up getting shots. Everyone was psyched on the jump and even the sore Andy Parry couldn’t resist after he had declared that he was sitting this feature out.

After several hours and a few minor modifications the session then began to fizzle out. As the light faded away it was time to position the boom crane and for Andy to perform the world’s largest Treecrest! Personally, I thought the idea was kind of crazy but it worked out and the session end with a bang. Huge thanks to Jarrod for his accommodations and everyone at Sundown for all their efforts in putting on a successful shoot!

K2: The ultimate high altitude mountain

Watson has appeared in a host of Meathead movies, including Epoch, Born from Ice, and Wanderland. Dave was also a ski patroller at Smuggler's Notch, VT for several winters.

While thousands of people have climbed Mt. Everest (Dave has done it TWICE), fewer than three hundred have successfully summited K2. Watson plans to bring his tele skis along to ski portions of the K2 descent. Without a doubt this will be one of the gnarliest things ever done by any member of Meathead crew.

Dave’s team also includes Chuck Boyd, a ski patroller and AMGA member from Connecticut. Chuck helped supervise the park shoot we set up this April at Ski Sundown in New Hartford, CT. The remaining members of the expedition include Dr. Paul Alberti, Andy Selters, Brian Block, and Dan McCann. They will first climb Broad Peak (the 12th highest peak in the world) as a "warm up" and to get acclimatized.

Dave graciously took the time for a quick interview with us while he finished up last minute trip preparations:

Dave: We leave the US on June 11 and come home September 4. We'll be at the mountains from June 22 untill the end of August.

What modes of transportation will you use to reach the base of the peaks? How long will that take and how far will you travel after you arrive in Islamabad?

Dave: From Islamabad we drive 24 hours on the Karakoram Highway to reach the trailhead. From there it is 80 kilometers to walk to base camp.

Why is the weather on Everest better to summit with in May and K2 better in July/ August?

Dave: The weather on Everest is very stable and predictable so there is consistantly a window that opens mid May to June. K2's weather is crap all of the time and there are no predictable windows. So you go there to climb during the warmest months, June, July and August.

What are you most excited about on this expedition?

Dave: Skiing! I am so excited to be going to K2 to ski. The shoulder looks like an amazing slope perched high on K2. I think that I have now over taken McConkey as the "Most stoked person to ever have lived."

What are you most scared of?

Dave: Bin Laden's crew f***ing it up for us. Seriously, the Taliban. The mountain will be fine.

How sketchy is traveling in Pakistan?

Dave: I think it will be fine. It is always hard to get a hold of the true details from the American media.

What makes K2 more difficult than Everest?

Dave: The weather. The route I climbed on Everest was more tech than this route that I plan to ski.

Will you use oxygen to climb and ski? How is high altitude skiing different than normal?

Dave: I am bringing O2. I won't use it on Broad but will most likely use it on K2. High Altitude skiing is difficult because of fatigue and the fact that you can't breathe. Try doing a trampoline workout while drunk and holding your breath, then add in some no-fall ski terrain. It's a bitch, but incredibly rewarding.

Has anyone skied K2 before?

Dave: There have been a couple of guys that have skied lower parts of the mountain, but Hans Kammerlander is the only person to have skied up high. There is controversy about where he skied down from. Being the first doesn't matter to me, I just want to ski around on K2. The upper mountain looks so sweet!

What attracts you to the Himalayas?

Dave: The culture, the vibe, the raddest mountains on Earth.



We want to wish Dave and the whole crew the best of luck and a safe trip! Make some turns for us.

Learn more and show your support for the K2 Tall Mountain Expedition at: http://www.k2tallmountain.com/

Make sure to follow along all summer on the their blog: http://www.k2tallmountain.com/blog/K2%20Tall%20Mountain/Welcome.html

So it was mid March, my senior year of college and only a few months left till the dreaded "real world." Woooooo... Spring Break! Partyyyyyyy! Beaches, girls, alcohol, party like there's no tomorrow.... right?

Wrong. Instead of spending my last school break ever in Cancun, Jamaica or Panama City, I chose a slightly less glamorous and far more affordable setting: Western New York. Home, sweet home. Andy "the wizard" Parry, Tyler "treecrest" Secrest, and myself decided to drive from Burlington, VT to home in New York after hearing of decent snow levels on the urban frontier.

After meeting up with our good buddies Giray "boner jams" Dadali and Geoff "Meathead" McDonald, we were off. For the first couple days, Andy, Tyler and I sessioned some trees in odd ways. Then it happened. The jump of poop. Hours and hours using pitchforks and shovels yielded one of if not the world's first real pooper park booter. Literally a 45ft table of rotting leaves, garbage and mulch. It smelled fantastic! Tyler and I hit it a couple times each and that was enough for us.

Luckily, the courageous Andy and lionhearted Giray triumphed over adversity and slayed the beast like it was nothing. Keep and eye out for the Giray Dadali Invitational next year in Rochester, NY on the Cobbs Hill Park poop pile.

Next up was a little trip west to Buffalo, NY, birth place of the chicken wing and home to a few very kinky rails. Giray shook off some somersaults in the stairs and cleaned the rail first. Unfortunately during the second rail we hit, Andy had a run-in with some concrete and had to sit the rest of the night out.

That was it for New York. You know it was a good trip when you drive home sore, bruised, and exhausted. Until next time, keep it crazy real.

Cannon Mtn. is the hardest of the hardcore backcountry skiing resorts in New Hampshire. The mountain is huge, the runs are steep, the trees are tight (compared to many Vermont resorts) and the weather can be brutal. If you time it right though, it can be amazing. With some snow in the forecast and having had success filming for “Wanderland” there last year, we were lured back in early February to explore the terrain with Stacey Rachdorf, Erik Olson and a few knowledgeable locals.

Arriving mid morning on a grey day, we talked it over with Stacey and decided to drive about 1/2 hour further to Crawford Notch and ski a chute that he’d been eyeing in the fall. A couple ice climbers had the same idea and had already started a boot pack so it was easy ascending up the twisting riverbed.

This was my first day shooting with 16mm film and it was difficult getting used to the weight of the all-metal Bolex camera. Our plastic Sony HD cameras are like a feather compared to that thing!

So after breaking my back to reach the top Stacey and Erik shredded some beautiful turns for the 2,000 lb. camera. The chute narrowed and turned towards the bottom and we got some good shots airing off the boulders in the riverbed.

Day 2 was a full on assault on Cannon. With the help of about 10 in. of new snow and Stacey’s local buddy we found lots of nice terrain. Much of the mountain has a consistent steep pitch and made for some crazy shots of skiing the narrow trees. Both Stacey and Erik layed down some sweet lines through the woods…

Apparently a lot of other people were out enjoying the backwoods of Cannon like we were because by our third day, untouched pow was getting hard to find. The well known areas like Mittersill had been totally played out so Stacey took us to some secret spots where we schralped some cliffs and bushy tree lines.

All in all a productive three day trip. Stacey and Erik hammered out some more backcountry footage for "Head for the Hills," I eventually adjusted to the new camera, and Cannon once again proved it’s gnarliness.

The Powder Video Awards ceremony was a raucous good time with open bar for the first hour or so and pretty much everyone in the ski movie industry was there. We didn’t win our categories but it was sweet to partake in the event and know that Eastern skiers and terrain can hold it down with the best in the world! As a bonus, we were graced with the presence of Meathead athletes Stacey Rachdorf and Shea Flynn who added to our East Coast representation and level of rowdiness. Thanks to Powder Mag for throwing an event to celebrate all the hard work the ski movie producers and athletes put in every sesason.

The next day was spent at Snowmass, which was a flat mountain for the most part. There were sections of super gnarly terrain and some dope pillow lines but accessing them was difficult since we had no idea where to go. We did find some cool mini lines to ski though and spent most of the day in anticipation for the forecasted overnight storm coming…

Monday was the day. It had snowed 20" in 24 hours and kept dumping all day. Rooster, Shea (out there for the Aspen Open and U.S. Open), my buddy Mike Flood (from Superior, CO) and myself shredded the steep and deep at Highlands from open to close. Check out the pics.

Tuesday was sunny and more of the same deep powder. So in celebration, Mike and I busted out the one-pieces for some Aspen Extreme flavor. Mule kicks and Zutnicks were highlight tricks off the cat tracks. I think we passed tryouts for the Ashpin Ski School, reminiscent of TJ Burke and Dexter Rutecki.

Overall, it was a sick trip but we had to scramble back on Wednesday in order to continue production on our new East Coast Ski Thriller. With record snowfall this year and more in the forecast, we can’t wait to show the world once again that the East Coast is where it’s at!

The only predictable part about the East Coast is that it’s unpredictable. With a great winter thus far and an outstanding base around the Burlington area, fog, rain and unseasonably warm weather for multiple days killed all of our local jibbing aspirations.

However not all the east was feeling the crunch and in true Meatheads fashion we packed up the Subaru and headed out in search for snow. Geoff and I left warm and sunny Burlington on Thursday morning to meet up with Richie Paradise and “The Illusive” Joe Joe in Manchester. After some car trouble, a close brush with the 5-0 and a few wrong turns we reached Manchester, and to our surprise, a plentiful amount of snow.

Being on top of their urban game, Richie and Joe Joe already had numerous rails all set up and ready to slay. With only a few hours of sun light we headed to a park near Richie's house that had a disconnected C-rail with a bridge at the end. After multiple crashes and all of us smashing our nuts, we walked away satisfied and eager for more jibbing.

Do you think it was from too much freestyle walking?

Didn’t you do a solo skydive this summer?

Do you actually “hate” Will Wesson, or is it a joke in order to create buzz and media attention?

What was the most fun you had with skis on your feet this past winter?

Burlington, VT is consistently voted one of the best places to live in the country. What makes it so great?

Where are you working this summer?

Your “Extreme Summer Training” bonus feature in “Snow Gods” was voted best bonus feature of the year by an independent international council. Was that fun to make and why do you think it was popular?

You and Will Wesson both have some amazing urban skiing stunts on film for Wanderland. Tell us a story behind one of them…

You like to ski for the fun of it and for no other reason. Discuss…

How’s your dog, Snowy, doing?

What makes Smuggler’s Notch your favorite place to ski in the East?

How many times have you jumped off the Winooski river bridge this summer?

Any shout outs?

The Fam, (Mom Dad Jacki Theresa), Burlington kids who I've shredded with since I was 10, all the Meatheads I skied with this year, we had some REALLY good times, I hate NY kids, 4bi9 out in Utah, and everyone I lived with and skied with out in Utah. And Especially Geoff and Rooster for showing me places I've never seen before and letting me ski there. Thanks everyone! -LJ

That was a sick jump you built at your high school this past winter. What was the deal with that and what did it take to make that happen

Who is the crew that you mainly ride with?

Where do you ski mostly?

What’s a weakness in your skiing that you hope to dial in this season?

What did you think of Heat Harvest II at Sunday River? Did you learn anything new?

What have you been up to this summer?

Don’t you have a brother that rips too?

Powder day in the glades or sunny spring park… which is better?

Name three skiers that influence your style of skiing…

Best comedy movie(s) every made?

Best horror movie every made?

Goals for the upcoming winter?

Any shoutouts?

You are involved in a wide variety of sports: skiing, rollerblading, and tennis. How do they strengthen your physique and improve balance?

What did you think of the trip to the Tug Hill region in Central NY?

You claim to have the cork 3 dialed on the tramp but I’ve seen evidence otherwise…

You’re not afraid to try landing switch in sketchy snow conditions (sometimes at the expense of your health). What gives you the courage?

How did you manage to get along without a cell phone for the winter? I had to call your neighbors to find you! Thoughts…

Favorite freestyle rolling (rollerblading) movie off all time?

Favorite freestyler roller?

What do you think of the term “fruitbooting”?

Name a grab you can’t do that you want to learn this winter…

You skied more powder this past winter than probably ever before. Do you like the backcountry or are you still a park loyalist?

How long have you been skiing?

What’s the plan for this winter?

Shout outs?

2) If your beginning your Meathead Films collection, pick up the new 4-pack that includes - Epoch (2005), Born From Ice (2005), Snow Gods (2006) and Wanderland (2007). Also being sold by EMS, you can get the 4-pack for $49.95 (about $30 less than if you bought them all seperately)

3) Our online store, The Meat Shop, is back up and featuring all the DVD's and info about the Ski The East clothing. Click on the "shop" button on the top menu of our website to check it out

Grab your gear, jump in the car and take the road less traveled. Join the infamous Meathead crew as they roam windswept backcountry summits and grimy city streets from Ohio to Newfoundland in search of the finest Eastern skiing. Filmed in High Definition and Super 8mm, Wanderland is an unforgettable ski odyssey through the winter of 2007. The Meatheads had to pour over dozens of maps, endure record-breaking blizzards and brave 30 foot Atlantic swells in their quest for the best.
Welcome to the real East Coast. Welcome to Wanderland…

Over 2 Hours of Bonus Features: 40 minute Bonus Movie, 50 Minute Behind-the-scenes in Newfoundland, Radio Ron Uncut, Radio Ron House Tour, Summer skiing in NY, Crashes and more!

Remember, you can join our Podcast through iTunes to have the videos downloaded automatically when they go live.  Just go into the "podcast" area of the iTunes Store and search for Meathead Films.  You can join the Fresh Meat Podcast on the page that comes up...

The last (7th) Podcast in the series will be posted on Dec. 14. Stay tuned each week as we post another segment!

Describe your unique approach to rails and urban terrain…

What are some of the names you've given to your tricks?

Every time I watch your segment in I Hate NY Productions' ski film, "Bogart," I get mild depression from the music. I like the emo effect but was it pushed too far or was "Bogart" just ahead of its time?

What's the Killington park scene like?

How do you think the new owners of Killington are going to change the mountain?

Is Pico over or under rated?

What are you doing this summer?

You ski during the summer? How?

Who is "the red knight?"

How much of the year do you spend in VT vs. NY?

What is the sickest thing you've almost, but not quite, stomped?

What Meathead do you know the least about and how do you plan to get acquainted?

You're locked in a windowless room via padlock on the outside and have only 3 ping pong balls, a clothing hanger, 8oz. of Gatorade and a matchbook. How do you pull a MacGyver and escape?

What is the best band that has ever existed on planet earth?

How are you going to further shock the ski world this coming season?

Any Shoutouts?

The movie received an amazing response with a standing ovation at the end. After the raffle, which included the giveaway of a pair of LINE Prophet 100’s, everyone headed downtown to Nectar’s for the afterparty. Much merriment and drink was had before continuing on to the after-after party where Radio Ron was spotted throwing Beirut (not very well) into the wee hours of the morning.

Big Thanks to the UVM Ski and Snowboard Club for hosting the event and to all our sponsors that make the movie and tour possible: Subaru of New England, Eastern Mountain Sports, Kombi, Gore-Tex, LINE Skis, Clif Bar, FUR Headwear, Stowe Mountain Resort, Skiing Magazine and N’East Magazine

Check out our tour page for more details on the rest of our 60 stop tour!

Pregnant and ripping BC lines, that's hardcore, when are you due?

What’s your home mountain and why?

Talk about what it was like hiking, skiing pow and tight trees while pregnant this past season. Was that a little nerve-racking?

You have a history with the IFSA Freeskiing Tour. Discuss….

I competed on the World Tour for a couple of years and I believe I was raked # 2 in North America and 6th in the World after my second season for the big mountain skiing and then top ten for the skier-x. I really loved the big mountain comps it really got the blood pumping at the top and it always made me push my limits with cliff jumping, you learn every run you get on that tour from skiing and watching the other girls and guys competing, and you drop bigger and bigger cliffs every time as well, very scary! The aggressive line skiing part of the comps felt more natural to me due to my ski racing background. Now the skier-x's they were not my favorite. It was way too serious and too much like the stale competitiveness of ski racing that I was so over with at that point, but the crazy gap jumps we had to do three girls across sometimes was definitely good training going into the big mountain comps.

How are you involved in the world of skiing and action sports?

Who else do you shoot with in the ski film world?

Tell us about your family…

How do you balance being a mother, wife, and skiing superstar?

Didn’t you just move from Canada to the U.S.? How was that whole process?

What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever skied in the East…

Who are some local legends at Jay Peak?

What are you up to this summer?

Any shoutouts?

What do you do for work?

How do you balance your skiing time with your job and family?

You’re a living legend in Stowe. What makes the mountain special to you?

When we were filming over St. Patty’s day weekend you said that it was possibly the best snow you’d ever skied at Stowe. Do you still stand by that statement?

How many days a year do you think you’re either hiking or skiing on Mt. Mansfield?

You’re a solid dude. Do you do any fitness or training stuff for skiing?

Who is your favorite person to ski with?

How often do you ski solo and what’s that like?

Best place to grab a bite to eat and drink in Stowe after a powder day?

Do you ever venture into the terrain park?

Have you ever slid a rail?

What makes skiing Eastern trees difficult?

Didn’t you just spend a ton on a new car for that?

What was it like being sponsored by Floyd’s Carpeting?

Where have you been that past two years since viewers last saw you in “Born From Ice?”

How was your experience in Newfoundland this past winter?

What was Jackladders and what was the deal with the “Ugly stick?”

Who are your biggest inspirations?

You’ve taken some involvement in the development of LINE skis ’08 models. Which is your favorite and why?

Are there hot chicks in Barre, VT or is it desolate?

There are wicked hot chicks in Barre and they all go to T-Road. I'll show ya when you come down. They are all rednecks, but that's not a bad thing. I've been trying to get Rooster to come down so I could fix him up, but he's too scared. I mean they might have a kid or two, but who cares if they don't look like it...Right!

Who is your favorite Meathead jibber and why?

Baxter is the sickest Jibber outta all of them fools.

Who is the greatest living big mountain skier in your mind?

I'll tell you who I look up to...but all you skiers out there might hate me. Terje Hakkonson is the sickest big mountain rider, hands down. Check out his huge decent last year. Nobody can step that up...nobody. OK, if you need a skier I'd go for Hugo Harrison. He puts the hammer down big time.

Are you going to be in the East this winter?

Any Shoutouts?

I'd like to thank my friends and family for always being there for me. Special thanks to Everyone at Line Skis, Scott Goggles, Asterisk Kneebraces, Eider, Alta Ski Lifts, Bern Helmets and Vist Bindings.

Thanks for coming back to the East to film with us twice. Why did you decide to do that?

You’re taking urban skiing to new levels. Why is it fun for you?

Where do you see urban going in the future? Longer rails, more technical, more creative?

How do you stay balanced when you’re doing multiple switch ups on rails?

If you believe in yourself you can do anything! Right?

What are the unwritten rules of urban skiing and why?

There really are no rules and that's what makes it fun, but some personal preferences can make things more challenging and better looking. These might include and are not limited to: smallest jump possible, better yet no jump at all, jump on the inside of the stair set, dig out the stairs so the majority of steps are visible, and clean up after yourself so people who hit the rail in the future won't get sent to jail.

What’s your major at UVM and why?

Your dad loves old films and your mom is a notorious coupon cutter. You have a unique and supportive family, how have they helped you over the years?

Didn’t you snowlerblade in the past? What experience did you gain from that if any?

Why is LJ always joking, “I hate Will Wesson?”

Describe Andy Parry’s “spelunking” and your opinion on it…

What are the most spins you’ve ever done off a feature?

Favorite thing that LJ always says…

You’re a real penny pincher and verge on malnutrition so that you don’t spend money on good food. Why?

Name a skier and snowboarder that has influenced you…

You should do more jumps this year; you’re good at it. Thoughts…

Funniest moment from this past season…

Any shout outs?

Did you have the season you wanted this past year?

You are the king of bomb drops to flat. Is it bravery or stupidity?

Having mastered the switch misty 9, you moved on to 10 and 12 at Heat Harvest 2. What is the limit?

You have an Olympic style trampoline in your backyard. What are some epic tricks you’ve thrown on that?

Have you ever landed on your cat?

Describe some of the frustrations of living in central NY and trying to ski…

Wow, I guess I really strucka chord there Ross, you must be glad you're coming to Vermont to ski now.

You were the master editor behind the "Bogart" movie. Was the "Pterodactyl Blood" movie ever finished?

Hey man, let off. If I didn't spend so long doing these damn interviews maybe I would have time to do some editing... ahh no really I'm ready to post an edit up right now. Will and I have been working hard all day on something new. I can't give details but it involves Andy Parry and picnic tables.

Which one of your friends inspires you the most and why?

Andy Parry is a true innovator. His mindblowing rail tricks should be embraced by anyone who calls themself a skier. I'm talking about the Beowolf, the grendall, the jackknife, and the bindsoul. And you can't forget his other revolutionary moves: the jabberwalker, the p-dog, spelunking... the list goes on and on. No one pushes jibbing more then Parry wit an A.

You pulled out some amazing urban snowlerblading moves this past season. What inspired you?

Well, this kid I know named Bryce... I rode the lift with him once at Bristol. He always wears a pink suit and rips hard on the 'blades everyday. He also bears a striking similarity to fellow meathead Giray Dadali, this is pure speculation but they MAY have been separated at birth. But I'm no genealogist. Will Wesson also did some wicked skiboarding back in the day, he is a true role model to any aspiring blader.

What did you do this summer?

Chilled back sipped some ice cold diet caffeine-free cola and enjoyed rehabilitation while there's no snow. And I skateboarded a little bit.

Aren't you going to UVM next year? Are you pumped?

Heck yeah I'm pumped. The weather is good, the women are fine, and you guys are headquartered right down the street. And I get to pursue a higher education and hopefully build a foundation for the remainder of my life. What could be better?

Any shoutouts?

My boiz Bogart an Lil' B, my homies J MAKE, Z Weezy, and the Ntrain, you still got it yo, my cats Snowbell, Molly, and The Ghost, and anyone who ever amounted to nuttin, this is for you.

Thanks for your time, bounce on, trampoline master.

Give us some ski history of yourself in New Hampshire…

Are you a lucky charm? It seemed like you were always there for the deepest snow of this past season…

What’s the story behind that girl who handed you the note up in Newfoundland?

Aside from crazy girls, how'd your first trip up to Newfoundland work out for you?

Skiing in Newfoundland was an experience I will never forget. The terrain is amazing and the snow seems to stick to any degree slope. Talking with other meatheads we theorized that the salt from the ocean and the overall humidity was why the snow maintained itself on these ultra steep pitches. It was extremely technical skiing as the wind brought layers of fresh snow in between hard pack and crust layers from rain. Sometimes in one descent I experienced three or four different types of snow pack. I can only think of one run where it was consistent top to bottom. I can't wait to return during the spring or mid winter and tour in the Tablelands and Gros Morne National Park. Some of these mountains have never been descended on skis and there are tens of thousands of acres to discover.

How often do you get out to ski during a typical winter week?

Tell us about your cool new surveying job…

Your cat was shaved like Mr. Bigelsworth last time we saw it. What’s the deal?

Do you have a mini terrain park in your yard?

What’s so great about Cannon Mountain?

What was the scariest moment this past season?

Whammy! That must have hurt, what's the happiest?

Is New Hampshire cooler than Vermont?

What are some goals for the upcoming winter?

Any shout outs?

Huge props to Karl Stone at SKINH for working so damn hard for the love of skiing. Thanks to Tom at High Intensity Bike Shop for hooking me up with a sweet ride. Thanks to my boss Gardener for making hard work fun.

What else have you been doing this summer?

What is the greatest thing about living in LA? (Lewiston/ Auburn, Maine)

The worst thing?

Is it true that your older brother is your coach?

How many brothers do you have?

Describe the merits of the full zip hoodie…

You have style for miles. How do you do that?

Do you like jumps or urban better?

You had a hectic season this past year as far as traveling. Discuss…

What was your experience in Newfoundland?

Tell us about shreddin’ at Whaleback… is that place chill?

Are you popular with the ladies? I’ve heard stories…

What’s makes you angry in the ski world?

What trick do you want to add to your arsenal this winter?

What skier makes you laugh every time you see them?

Are you even going to make it to the Meathead premiere this year in Burlington? You jonesed out last year!

Any Shoutouts?

What's the most amazing story you have from cutting grass?

When was the last time you ate at Goody Cole’s Smoked BBQ, is that place good?

Tell us about your frustrating winter, we know you need to rant…

Wow, when it rains it pours buddy, much regards. How did you bite the bullet and keep skiing for most of the season, even when you had a broken leg?!

How epic is the Killington mini skirt party?

Aren’t you going to your family reunion down in the Carolinas or something? What’s the deal with that?

Being dog lovers ourselves, we felt terrible when Tazz passed away this year. What’s her story and how great was she?

A lot of Meatheads look up to you as a personal hero. How do you handle that pressure responsibly?

What do you want to do more of this winter that you didn’t get to do last winter?

Favorite place to eat on the Killington access road and why?

Craziest thing you’ve ever seen at Bike Week in Laconia, NH?

What was it like meeting Radio Ron this spring?

How’s your finger that you broke in Newfoundland?

Describe your egg eating ritual everyday before skiing…

Name something you miss about 1987 that doesn’t exist in 2007…

Any Shoutouts?

What’s your theory on grabs? You hold them in your tricks longer than anyone

What’s your favorite grab?

What’s going to be the hot new grab this upcoming season?

What grab is played out?

You’re a great all-around skier, not just a park rat. How did you learn how to make real turns living in central New York?

Describe your experience on our trip to the Tug Hill region this past winter

Are you going to grow out another beard? That was cool

What’s the deal with working at the can factory? How was that? Is it over for good?

Do you like dogs? I get the feeling you have a beef with Baxter

How did you like Newfoundland?

What do you think of Hammer?

He’s the man, he followed his passion in life and you have got to respect that.

Do you think Hammer respects your bump skills?

I don’t know but he did compliment me on my style after skiing a line in Newfoundland then asked me if I skied bumps.. I’ve only been skiing bumps for like 3 years or so, didn’t really have them back in NY where I skied. I guess its just another aspect of skiing that I want to improve on and I feel like it helps you become well rounded.

Moguls: good, great, amazing?

Urban skiing: good, bad or ugly?

You’ve been making some music lately. What’s your process and inspiration?

For me, music is about creating. If you were an artist would you want to paint another artists work? Or would you want to create your own paintings? I use some pattern-based programs for most of my creations but also I like to incorporate a lot of stuff I come up with on my guitar and or other instruments. I don’t really take myself that serious it’s more of an outlet and a thing I do to relax and zone out of the world.

(http://myspace.com/wiglafmusic is Erik's music if you're interested)

Name two things you like about skiing and one thing you hate

Where are some places in the East you want to go this winter but haven’t gone before?

It seemed like no one had a good pipe in the East last year, what’s the deal?

Will anyone have a good pipe this year?

Any shout outs?

How is it that you always land on your feet?

Which one of Andy Parry’s weird rail maneuvers is your favorite?

Can you beat up your brother, Ahmet, now that you’re bigger?

Who’s better on the tramp, you or Ross?

Describe the perils of being a diehard skier and living in central New York…

What was your greatest accomplishment this past season?

Favorite moment of the past season in which Erik Olson was also there…

Word is you’re a wicked good student. Are you the smartest guy in school?

You spun an 810 off a rail this year. That was pretty extraordinary. Discuss…

What is an easy trick that you’re not good at?

What is the best movie you saw in a theater this past year?

Is B. Jams ‘07 your favorite DVD movie?

What is the last book you finished? Was it good?

How much do you think Rooster can bench press?

Plans for the upcoming season?

Any Shoutouts?

· Mt. Mansfield, VT
· Mt. Washington, NH
· Mt. Marcy, NY
· Mt. Greylock, MA
· Katahdin, ME

In addition to our release of Snow Gods, Meathead Films has had the opportunity to film, edit, and produce the first ever Stowe Team Movie, entitled Stowked. This short film will showcase the talents of skiers and snowboarders, (guys and gals, ages 9-18) who represent the mountain and absolutely rip! Meathead Films documented all the action over this past winter, and filmed interviews this summer to compile a comprehensive overview of the Stowe Team's radness.

We won't tell you all the details, but the movie is going to show you a new side to all the terrain Stowe has to offer, with an emphasis on their park and the Stowe Team members who tear it up. The following is an alphabetical list of the 2006 team members Meathead Films worked with:

Duncan Adams
Colby Adams
Conner Arnot
Keith Bennett
Ted Carrick
Maks Gorham
Jasper Goss
Hans Mindnich
Nils Mindnich
Maggie Newman
Riley Nickerson
Zach Skedzuhn
Tucker Spear
Kelsey Van Patten
Chloe Van Patten

Filmed primarily in High Definition, the movie will also include Super 8mm film footage. Stowked will have a unique soundtrack and some bonus features such as interview outtakes, b-roll footage, and the Meatheads in the Stowe terrain parks.

We are pumped to be creating this project for Stowe, and can't wait for the DVD to reach the public. The movie will be used for promotional purposes by the mountain and given away for free, so if you want to get your dirty little hands on a copy, stay tuned to this website and we'll let you know how. As an added bonus for anyone who purchases Snow Gods, the Stowked movie will be included in the DVD extras!

If you want to ride the best mountain in the East this season, get your pass at Stowe and we'll see you up there.

1st Prize: Two day/ Two person lift and lodging package to Stowe
Provided by Stowe Mountain Resort


2nd Prize: All-day rock or ice climbing lesson for two people
Provided by Acadia Mountain Guides


3rd Prize: Pair of Naxo NX 01 alpine touring bindings
Provided by Backcountry Access


So now, we are stoked to announce the following names. Drum roll please.... And the winners are:

Grand Prize: Asa Mease, Williston, VT
1st Prize: Joann Robichaud, Sundown, NH
2nd Prize: Paul Capone, Vermontville, NY
3rd Prize: Rikki Ramsden, Thornton, NH

Congrats to you all! You will be contacted soon by Meathead Films with information on how to collect your prize.

To everyone that didn't win, don't cry, there will be another sweepstakes for the Snow Gods tour, and it's going to be even bigger and better than last year's if you can believe it. The Snow Gods tour sweepstakes prizes will be announced soon!