A collaborative story in SBC Skier last year… the of the top most hilarious and fun days of my life.

viva la ski bum!

http://www.sbcskier.com/features_article?news_id=938

We got super lucky with fresh snow in Revy this past weekend, and the coaches (Sarah Frood, Tessa Treadway, Jill Young and I) were all blown away by the amazingly positive response from the girls we spent the weekend instructing and coaching. Coordinator and good friend Leah Evans did a great job keeping everything rolling smooth, RMR was super accomodating and the support from the community of Revelstoke was THE BEST! With our token boy- Alex from Skookum out setting up all the campers with Rossignol Demo skis, and La Baguette catering apres with coffee and treats this Girls Day Out was my fave to date.

You might say I’m a little Revy -biased.. and to that I say.. check out the photos by Amy McDermid and the award winning video sister Zoya Lynch created and see how much fun we had for yourself:

Click here to view the embedded video.

check out my articles about the event on Biglines.com.

Day 1: http://biglines.com/articles/wrangle-chute-kicking-horse-resort-february-2011

Day 2: http://biglines.com/articles/wrangle-chute-finals-kicking-horse-mountain-resort-feb-6th-2011

chute & jump

Anyway if you are looking for  ski culture, terrain, apres, awesome community of hardcore people from all over St. Anton is a must visit. One of the cooolest things (besides the insanely huge ski resort and accesible backcountry terrain), was the rec centre in the heart of the small town complete with indoor and outdoor rock and ice climbing walls, a bowling alley and a delicious thai restaurant. No more shnitzel!

St. Anton marked the end of my trip to Austria.. but I’ll be back!  Cheers to Drew, Cory, and Ride Guide for a rad adventure.

I just had the privilege of participating in the Arcteryx Deep Winter Photo Challenge with photographer Robin O’Neill. My good friend Tessa Treadway and I were the subjects to half of Robin’s photo- story, that focused on the parallels that exist in our lives, our dedication and commitment to snow and the mountains, as well as home and family.

The rules of the Deep Winter Photo Challenge give invited photographers a three day limit to shooting within the Whistler/Blackcomb boundary with athletes of their choice. I had only worked with Robin for a short afternoon prior to the event and have never done a photo competition so before Wednesday morning I had no idea what to expect… but I was excited to be included and crossed my fingers for good weather and few fresh lines to get the job done and represent with the first ever female team to participate in this contest.

2nd place Deep Winter Photo Challenge

The end result of the three-day shooting extravaganza was so much more than I expected.

At the end of three exhausting days all I could think about was how great it was to have just spent three days working on a project with one of my best girl- ski buddies.  These are the opportunities we as female skiers strive for –  but rarely get the chance to do together—often the shoot or trip requires the attendance of one token female… These three days reiterated why girls should have a presence in the ski industry beyond just accessorizing the boys. We skied hard, we worked hard, we explored new territory and ultimately we surprised everyone with our ability to get shots that were more than filler to round out the demographic of the slideshow. They were good.  The fact that our team was able to accomplish this together was definitely a rewarding experience for all of us.

robin o'neill photo

The other amazing part of this event is was meeting and skiing with the other half of Robin’s story Darlene Douglas, a senior Blackcomb patroller, wife, mother and ripping skier, her husband Marty Gautyer and his best friend Pat Bougie. I can’t imagine three more enjoyable people to ski with.  Having just moved from Revelstoke to Whistler, These three long time Blackcomb employees and Whistlerites  represent what I believe is the true spirit of a mountain community, people who are down to earth, passionate about the mountains, hardworking and proud of where they live and what they do.

We all have Robin to thank for bringing this awesome team together and giving the girls the chance to shine. Her belief in our abilities and  desire to make our slideshow outstanding and not just “good for a girl” was all the motivation we needed, to do whatever we could to get our job done.  I’m proud to have been a part of this collective effort led by Robin, a woman overflowing with talent,  creative vision,  stamina, passion, and drive to perform to the absolute best of her ability.  Her persistence, composure when things went wrong, constant flow of energy, sense of humor and ability to stay true to what she believes in is exactly what made the incredible presentation possible and the three days fun and rewarding for everyone involved.

Before even seeing the final slide show I knew given the chance I would do this again in a second. The competition was fierce but Robins photography had much of the sold out show at the Fairmont in Whistler on Saturday night at their feet, and a second place finish was just the cherry on top of it all. Congrats  my friend Robin for  blowing the socks off everyone  and setting the bar high in every way possible.

Thanks Robin, Tessa, Darlene, Pat, Marty, James, Steve, Chris and  Jeff for making it all possible!

www.robinoneillphotography.com

www.deepwinterphoto.com

Deep Winter Photo Challenge Results:

1. Blake Jorgenson

2. Robin O’Neill

3. Andrew Strain

For anyone who appreciates playing outside, I hope you find a simple day in these two girls lives as beautifully inspiring as I do.

Enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.