BENCHETLER BETA: Chris's Excellent Adventures

Going for a heli ride

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It all started with opening weekend on the death strip up here at Mammoth Mountain. I unfortunately ended up breaking my clavicle the second day and needed surgery. Not the best start I've ever had, but I stayed determined and rehabbed until late December.

January 1st, Jp Auclair and I headed over seas to the wonderful land of crouching tigers and hidden powder- Niseko, Japan. To sum up the trip; it was the deepest, most consistent, and best powder skiing I've ever encountered. I think it's safe to say Jp and I will be going back every year.

After nearly a month of skiing in heaven, I met up with my film crew, Pollard, Pep, and Mahre, for "Hunting Yeti" produced by Nimbus Independent. We went straight to Whistler, BC where all was looking great, until the second day of sun when I decided to send a big cliff and re-broke my clavicle.. I wasn't to happy about that one. (You can check out our webisodes every 2 months documenting our travels)

The next couple months consisted of constant shoulder rehab to try and avoid the three-peat. And now, 2 months after my second break, I headed up to Valdez, Alaska with the whole Atomic family. We went to film for the Atomic movie and test new ski products. The snow conditions were quite variable, but the sun shined the entire time. Literally! It got dark around 10:30 pm.

The crew was Daron Rahlves, Myself, Eric Guay, Loris and Nico Falguet, and all the boys behind the scenes that are driving the brand.

The crews were split due to the size of the heli capacity, so Daron and I were in the same crew. I tried to show Daron what it's really like to go fast, but he's just such a scaredy cat... Ha. Yeah right. With a mix of those mountains, and seeing someone like Daron charge big lines was very humbling.

So yeah.. There's the end of my Excellent Adventures thus far, but stay tuned in because my clavicle is feeling great and the filming for "Hunting Yeti" will continue long into the summer...

Cheers, CB

For a gallery of images that goes with this story click HERE.