GALLERY OPENING: Tom Tomkinson launches new website

AK SYNDIKATE: October Dispatch

As the sun came around and shined on my line, I rolled in off the summit with confidence and dropped into light, blower pow turns. After my top line, I skied out to the flats with the feeling of pure satisfaction- gave a couple stoked hoots, which sounds cheezy typing it, but for some reason can't help it after skiing that kind of snow. I quickly grabbed my radio and told Josh it was filled in and blower, and to go just skier's left of my tracks. Watching him ski an effortless, fun line also gave me that satisfied feeling. We traversed back to ridge and skied the lower slope back to the pass. The only rock I hit was my last turn, I couldn't complain- what a day! -Jason Scheben

POWDER TO THE PEOPLE: Sled accessed threatened in Aspen

LAS LENAS GALLERY: Jackson crew scores one last stash

If Valle Nevado was groomer paradise, then Las Lenas was a paradise of couloirs. And the secret is out. It's why Americans fly down to this resort in the Andes. And it's why there's a run named "Los Gringos."

The Santa Rosa storm never hit the Andes this September, but spending a week in Argentina skiing pockets of powder left from the last storm wasn't too tough. We skied the major backcountry peaks like Ponce, Rios, Torrecillas and Martin. On those days we had to flash our green wristbands to ski patrol, which signified that we understood that a rescue would cost U.S. $1,000. Some days we hiked for four hours trying to find the powder, other times, as Jes McMillan called it, we "be-bopped" around the inbounds, bumping it up on the moguls or doing laps on Marte. As the week wore on, warm conditions caused the snow to deteriorate quickly and Lenas became much ado about the apres-ski and Lynsey Dyer's Betty Crocker conconctions.

Lenas has closed for the winter, but luckily we have the Tetons. Until next summer in South America, the Jackson crew is signing out… -Vanessa Pierce

laslenas.com

SEATTLE SKI HUCKS: MSP rocks out at Evo ski shop

How do you thank a band for rocking the house all night? Why you sneak back into their dressing room and drink their contract rider, of course.

Ok, maybe not. But with the night not nearly over, I realized this is exactly what we had done. Vancouver hip-hop band Sweatshop Union was still jammin’ on the balcony of Seattle’s Evo ski shop, I ducked back stage (which does day-time duty as my friends Ian and Ryan’s office) to find gin gone, the tonic waning, and the multiple cases of green bottled beer requested by the band empty. Good time to duck back into the party.

This was Friday night, and the occasion was the showing of MSP’s Push in possibly the most ski-centric metropolis in the U.S. About 1,000 people assembled in front of the Freemont Studios massive HD screen. (CLICK HERE FOR A REVIEW OF PUSH ) After the show, the over-21 crowd made the short stumble back to the Evo headquarters (evogear.com), where the merchandise had been stowed in a container parked out back, and Sweatshop Union had set up shot on the upper balcony.

Few cities get stoked for the ski season like Seattle. The show was packed with all kinds—from local college kids to film stars (such as Seattle-bred Ingrid Backstrom) to heavy hitters from Washington-based companies such as K2, Helly Hansen and POW gloves. But while this was the highlight of the week for the ski crowd, for the folks at Evo, it was just another night in the retail/party business. The shop hosted a wakeboard premiere on Thursday and a showing of the snowboard flick on Saturday. -Derek Taylor

This region is explosively entertaining. In one day at Termas de Chillan, Lynsey Dyer and Jess McMillan launched front flips off a cornice, photographer Gabe Rogel shot the best backcountry skiing of his life and we almost blew up our rental house...CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY.

SOUTH AMERICA TOUR: Gabe Rogel captures September in Chile

ANOMALY SHOOT: Photos from the intro

BIENVENIDO A LAS LENAS: The chronicles of Re Wikstrom's bag

"Touch down. Conveyer belt. Quit pulling on me Mister. Why’s the Misses in such a rush! I’m Re’s. Why you taking me through customs. Please, someone, help!” What’s that sign say? "Las Condes, Chile" Wait this can’t be right. Re and I were heading to Las Leñas, Argentina.

Curva 1…Curva 12…Curva 20. I’m going to puke. Check-in Hotel Valle Nevado. Nice ski runs. Up to the room. Ziiiiiip. Why are these people YELLING! I’m the hostage!! Quit pulling on my green tag, hey that’s my tag, where you going with that! Back in the shuttle van. Curva 20….Curva 12….Curva 1. Airport, another airport! Why am I at the airport? I thought I was going skiing. Take off, touch down. Mendoza? Where am I? Where’s Re? She’s never left me for 2 days straight before. Another dark room. Whose this guy? Van says "Talavera." More corners, we must be headed to the mountains. Air’s getting thin, I can’t breathe. Wow, those mountains are big! Las Leñas, the sign says Las Leñas! Re, Re! Where are you? We’re passing the hotels and into the ghetto. I see Re! She’s paying the Talavera guy. That’s a lot of cash Re! Why you staying in the gringo ghetto?

Ziiiiip. Socks, jacket, pants, fleece, long johns, Pieps, shovel, probe, poles, skis. Where you going Re? Skiing without me! I just got here. I feel so empty…"-Holly Walker

NZ DISPATCH: POWDER crew heads South

After Lucy and the crew chugged up to the parking lot, we loaded the gear onto the Goods lift while Porter freakishly became obsessed with New Zealand’s alpine parrot known as a Kea. Once the gear was sent off on the dodgy lift, we tramped up a mountainside for over an hour to Temple’s lodge. At one point, my sorry ass had to grab onto Hamish’s backpack strap to maintain balance as I constantly slipped on my Wallaby boots resembling a first-time figure skater. Eventually we all made it intact, including our gear, and stared up at the towering moonlit peaks that we would call home for the next week. High-fives were thrown as the AK-style lines streaming down Temple’s surrounding white faces induced feelings of pure joy.

The boys hiked and shredded hard all week with Reddick capturing both the awesome display of skill from Sterbenz, McKitterick, and Hamish and sheer beauty that is New Zealand. Without giving too much of the upcoming magazine story away, the week was a big hit, despite Porter’s loss to McKitterick in a grueling, deuce-filled championship match of ping-pong. -John Stifter

NZ FREESKI OPEN: Kiwi takes Slopestyle

NEW ZEALAND FREESKI OPEN: Frenchman defends Superpipe crown

SESSION 5: Pep, Tanner and Dylan wrap it up at Hood

A coaching staff stacked with pros spent the session teaching the campers new tricks and showing off their own style a bit in between. Tommy Ellingson was coaching for his fourth session of the summer and can be seen this September in Rage Film’s new movie, Corduroy. During the week he got his switch cork sevens dialed and was throwing switch tens. .

Also appearing in Corduroy this fall is coach Tim Durtschi. This was his last coaching gig for the summer and he wound up with the little guys. While his campers were off sliding down the dragon rail on their stomachs, Tim was practicing his new favorite trick, the nose wheelie.

Teton Gravity Research’s Dylan Hood was in the park coaching when he wasn’t throwing backside 540s on his snowboard. Line’s Brandon Becker was also coaching, but finished up his skiing for the summer and returned home to McCall, Idaho. For the rest of the summer he can be found playing pirates on the lake. .

The hefty list of guest pros in town included Tanner Hall, Pep Fujas, Sean Fields, Roxy’s Sally Butler, and Rossignol’s Taylor Felton. Eleven-year-old Salomon newcomer “Moo” Eakin tore it up at the mountain and on roller blades in the street course at Windells. .

Session 6 is well underway right now with Ellingson, Hood, and Austin Stevens coaching. Head Coach Travis Erdmann is bringing in Phil Belanger to coach Session 7. Campers attending Session 7 can expect to have a hip built into the pipe by the talented crew of diggers. Right now their pride and joy is the perfectly built 50-foot jump at the end of the park that campers, coaches, and pros have been sessioning late into the afternoon. Campers: don’t forget to get your digger dogs at the top of the park to support their daily trip to Volcano Cones. -Courtney Vermaas

SHASTA: Escaping the heat

It was game on when we left the Brewer Creek trailhead on the east side of the mountain at 7,200 feet and started hiking with heavily loaded packs. We broke out of the tree line at 8,000 feet to plainly see the entire route, in excess of a vertical mile, awaiting us. The skins went on at 8,500 feet, easing the strain on the back during the push to camp at 10,400 feet. There, we saw two other parties of two. All told, ten of us were on the route, which was a definite minority to dozens on the popular Avalanche Gulch route on the south face.

Sleep came and went before we put on the crampons and booted higher on the textured snow that firmed during the night. A beautiful sunrise and sprawling vistas served to distract us from our task. Before we knew it, it was time for our descent. The corn did have some corduroy type texture and the sun cups weren’t too bad. There was a runnel or two from 13,800 to 13,000 feet where the slope steepened and sun baked. Otherwise, the snow was surprisingly good and the 3,000 foot vertical descent back to camp was well worth the climb. When the skis finally came off, we had all logged descents in excess of 5,100 vertical feet. No better way to beat a heat wave in July. - Matt Tarka

CAMP OF CHAMPIONS

HOOD GOSSIP: The weekly round-up

HOODLYMS: Summer camp happenings