Powder Photo Archives
It was all business at the 2006 Snowsports Industry Tradeshow in Las Vegas this week. In between very important meetings, Powder staffers managed to set aside time for bull rides, keggers and blackjack.
In the lobby of the convention center, David Reddick, Powder's photo editor, displayed the year's best ski photography. On Tuesday evening Aspen/Snowmass threw down with kegs of Budweiser while their Polaroid toting ski bunnies made sure everyone had evidence of a good time in Sin City. Not surprisingly, a large mob of industry peeps came by to check out the impressive display.
Tired, hungover and reeking of Vegas, the crew headed to Aspen for the POWDER VIDEO AWARDS Saturday night. Check back Sunday for complete results and photos from the event.
Complete results for the nighttime Big Air invitational at the 2006 Jeep U.S. Freeskiing Open: 1st Place
TJ Schiller
2nd Place
Charles Gagnier
3rd Place
Andreas Haveit
4th Place
Sammy Carlson
*Hall & Burke win Superpipe, Schiller claims Big Air for second consecutive year with switch 1440
Vail, CO—The Jeep U.S. Freeskiing Open, the largest and most respected contest in freeskiing, completed competition in Vail, Colorado, yesterday with the men’s and women’s Halfpipe competition and the exciting nighttime Big Air invitational, coming on the heels of Friday’s Slopestyle finals. The largest cash prize of the contest, $10,000, went to TJ Schiller of Vernon, BC for his first place finish in the nighttime Big Air invitational. Schiller beat out last year’s Slopestyle winner Charles Gagnier with a huge switch 1440—the first ever seen at the Open. Tanner Hall of Park City, UT took first in men’s Halfpipe, claiming the $7,000 prize, while Sarah Burke of Whistler, B.C. placed first in the women’s division carrying a $2,500 prize.
On Friday the 13th Clint Butler, Triston Buchanan, and I headed for Turnagain Pass. Finally things have calmed down here and conditions are shaping up nicely. Girdwood and Turnagain Pass has received substantial snow in the last couple weeks. With a couple clear days for snow to settle, minimal wind, and consistent temps it was time to go BIG!
The avalanche report has been consistent the last few days--the weak layer is near the bottom of the snowpack, so the recommendation is to avoid aspects with shallow snowpack and find deeper, more stable snow. In the Turnagain area, south facing aspects were holding a deeper snowpack--exactly what I wanted to hear!
Our plan was to ski my favorite shot in the pass- "The Shower Curtain" (hippies have a different name for it). It's a south facing aspect with uninterrupted spines at a sustained 45-50 degree pitch for approximately 2,500' vert. From the parking area it takes about 2hr 45 min to summit for a descent you'd be stoked to get even on a epic heli day. The skiing was incredible!The combination of good weather, new snow, and a healing snowpack made Friday the 13th arguably the best day in Turnagain Pass this season. -Jason Scheben