Middle Teton

Erin Corbett and Jess McMillan - Summit of the Middle Teton

It seems to be a theme. Every time a birthday rolls around, I find myself on the summit of a peak in the Tetons. I absolutely love it! Erin Corbett was hoping to climb the Grand for her birthday, but due to conditions the Middle Teton seemed like a better choice.

Summer started late in Jackson Hole and the mountains were stilled caked with snow by the time Erin’s birthday arrived. The Middle Teton gets a bad rap. The rumor on the street is that it a really easy mountain to climb and should be reserved for hiking with your grandma. Well my grandma is pretty incredible, but I’m not sure she would’ve made it to the summit. No offense Grandma.

Ten More Steps to the Summit

The Middle can be considered a day hike, a really long day hike. Typically, I climb it in my running shoes and day pack. This time we decided to bring crampons, ice-axes, and a short rope just in case. We used everything, but the rope. Had we not brought crampons and an axe, we would not have made it to the summit.

Ready to go! Crampons, axe, and rope!

The meadows looked nothing like the meadows, filled to the brim with snow.

Entering the Meadows - No Wild Flowers Here

The climb to saddle was quick with the extra snow, but the south west couloir was a little spicy. The snow was extremely hard and definitely caught our attention.

Erin Corbett Kicking in Steps Up the South West Couloir

It was all worth it for Erin Corbett. There is nothing like eating your birthday cake on top of a 12,804ft tall peak.

No Knife, No Problem!

Cover of the Jackson Hole Phone Book 2010

Jackson Hole Phone Book 2010

I never thought I would be on the cover of the phonebook, but I have to admit, it’s pretty cool. I am overwhelmed by the support of the community. Jackson is one of the truly amazing places in the world. I am proud to be a part of such a wonderful community.

2nd – 15th Annual Verbier X-Treme

It has been a crazy couple of days. My flight from the US was unexpectedly turned around and I arrived late to Verbier. Luckily, I had an hour to look at the face of the Bec De Rose the day before the competition.

The afternoon was filled with autographs signing.

The bib draw followed the autograph session.

It felt like had been awake for days when I finally crawled in bed at 11:00 p.m. My alarm went off at 5:30 the next morning. The day was not exactly what I was hoping for. The sky was cloudy and it was raining at the bottom of the mountain. It didn’t look like we would compete. Dutifully, all of the competitors loaded the lifts and headed to the top of the Mont Fort. As we approached the top, it looked less likely that we would compete because we could barely see the face of the Bec De Rosas.

Almost convinced that the competition would be postponed, all of the competitors headed inside the lodge for a coffee.

One hour later it was announced that there would be a window of blue sky from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It was hard to believe considering the wind was blowing hard and it was snowing out. Yet, the man predicting the weather from Chamonix (who also predicts weather for Everest expeditions) assured us that it would magically turn blue. With little hope, all of the girls started the hour hike to the top. I couldn’t believe it. As I crested over the ridge at the top, the sky almost instantly turned blue and the sun was bright. We would be skiing.

I was disappointed with my run. The line I had chosen was a winning line, but I skied with a lot of hesitation. I don’t know if it was the lack of sleep or the jet-lag, regardless I wasn’t charging down the mountain as I had hoped.

Waiting for Results with Julia Mancuso

The final results for the women: 1st – Ane Enderud, 2nd – Jess McMillan, 3rd – Julia Mancuso. It is the fourth year in a row that I have finished 2nd in Verbier. Not a bad record, but I would really like to win this event one year!

Overall Tour: 2nd - Jess McMillan, 1st - Ane Enderud, 3rd - Jacqlyn Passo

Bird Brain – Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Side Country

It is that time of year in Jackson, time to start exploring. The powder stashes have been blown up and the side country has been skied. It is that time of year when skiers go further, looking for new lines and undiscovered zones.

I didn’t have to go far to ski a line that I had never skied before. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was prepared for anything.

Entrance to Bird Brain

In years past, there has been enough snow to ski into the very tight entrance of Bird Brain. The team: Eric Seymour, Griffin Post, and Tanner Flanagan decided it would be safer to rope into the entrance. The exit of Brain Brain is a mandatory repel. We wanted to make sure that there was a safe anchor for the bottom rapel before all of us descended into the couloir.

Gearing Up - Entrance of Bird Brain

Eric Seymour dropped in first.

Eric Seymour Dropping In

Belay ON!

The snow was great in the couloir. We decided to keep Eric on belay until he found the second belay station. Or at least a safe rapel zone. The snow was sluffing hard and we didn’t want to watch Eric fall off the bottom cliff.

Eric Seymour Looking for a Safe Belay Station

Once Eric located a safe belay station, we all skied down to him. The turns in the couloir were really good! And there is nothing like heavy exposure and sluff to get your heart pounding.

Look Closely into Griff's Goggles and You Will See the Team

The second rapel was super fun!

Dropping Into the Second Rapel

Griffin Post Existing Bird Brain

At the bottom of the rapel there were some really nice powder turns.

Pow Turns!

I have to admit, “Bird Brain” is more of a novelty couloir. Even so, it is a testament to how diverse Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is. Depending on my mood, I can spend the day ripping slush or get out the ropes and go for a little adventure!

Bird Brain

La Grave, France

Ski La Grave with Jess McMillan POV from Eric Seymour on Vimeo.

Feeling Good in Chamonix! I Won!

What a crazy day. Chamonix received 40 cm, which felt like three feet, of new snow the day before the competition. I was so excited about the new snow, but was also a little nervous that the it did not have enough time to set up. The week before the competition the weather was really warm and then the temperature dropped to -1 degrees farenhiet creating bullet proof conditions. The new snow was really light and I was pretty sure I would still feel the hard layer underneath. I was also worried that the new snow didn’t have enough time to bond to the hard surface creating a potential for avalanches.

Left Side of the Competition Face with Two Feet of Fresh Snow. Beautiful!!!

The face was controlled the night before the competition with little movement. The guides assured the riders that the snow was very good. We were told that when the guides skied the face, they did not feel the hard surface underneath. Great news. I chose a line that would push my limits and be a ton of fun. I was ready for the competition.

Sunrise on the Competition Face in Chamonix

The men started first. As the first male competitor dropped into the face, the riders watching realized that the information we were given was not accurate for all aspects of the venue. The first five riders broke off big slabs which exposed the bullet proof layer that was there from the week before. The line that I wanted ski had a fracture of one foot above my first air and the landing looked like ice in my binoculars. I was really bummed to see that the conditions were exactly as I thought they would be, not great. I was forced to find another line with only an hour to my start time. As I was scouting, I was also watching a lot of the men really struggle to ski the face. The snow looked inconsistent and many of the men were falling. I found a line that I liked until I watched Seb Mitchaud ski. Seb skied the ramp I was planning on going down. He is one of the best skiers in the world and made the skiing look really difficult. I was pretty sure if Seb was struggling that I would be in trouble. I was sick about it. I kept searching for a line on the left side of the venue. As I was observing, I noticed the general public ripping down the powder field next to the right side of the venue, which is north facing and protected from the sun. The snow looked amazing! I knew the snow would be really good on the skiers right side of the venue, but I was having a hard time finding a line that would flow well.

Skier's Right Side of the Venue, North Facing, and Covered in two Feet of Powder.

I couldn’t make a decision. The snow would be excellent on the right side of the face, but lines on left side were more impressive. I was convinced that the winning line would be on the skiers left side of the venue. I kept going back and fourth on where to ski. I talked to many of the girls, who all seemed to want to ski the exact same line as I did on the right side. Finally, I decided that my skiing would look more impressive in good conditions. I decided to go for the good snow! The only problem was that if I was going to go to the good snow, and not the most impressive zone, I would have to find something big to jump off of. I found the biggest feature with the softest snow and decided to go for it.

Looking for the Biggest Feature with the Softest Snow.

I headed up to the top of the mountain and started the hour boot pack to start #1. The boot pack was super gnarly. When I arrived to the top, I realized I wouldn’t be able to access my line from start one. I asked the starter if I could start further down the ridge. He said absolutely not. I would have to leave from the starting gate. The problem was that if I left from the starting gate, I would have to ski uphill to get to the line I had chosen. I was freaking out. I hadn’t inspected anything else from the starting gate. I didn’t really know what was below start gate 1. All I knew was that the snow was terrible and the starting gate was over huge exposure. I didn’t know what to do. I could’ve cried. The rescue team at the top saw how worried I was and came up with a plan. They stomped out a ramp for me and with enough speed out of the starting gate I would be able to ski uphill and make it to the ridge I needed to be on to access my line. It was so nice of them. I was psyched.

I had two minutes to get ready. Before I had my boots buckles the starter told me to go. I pushed out of the gate and skied right up the packed out ramp. It worked! I headed over to far right side of the venue to find the entrance to my line. As soon as I got to the ridge, I knew I had made the right choice. The soft snow was billowing around my waist and felt bottomless. I traversed the ridge to my first air, approximately 25 feet, and sent it. The landing was unreal. It felt like landing on feathers. The snow flew over my head as I skied to my next air. There was so much snow on top of my second air that I lost all of my speed before I reached the take off. I was forced to jump off the right side of the drop. It was still a good size air, but not what I had planned on. By this time I was having a lot of fun. I ripped huge pow turns, face shots and all, to my last air. It was a small drop. I knew that to make it look impressive, I would have to hit it with a lot of speed. I sent it, maybe with too much speed. It was the only firm landing I had my entire run. My back slap was quick and I was up ripping powder turns again. I skied into the finish covered in snow with a huge smile on my face. My run was so much fun!!!!

Ok so this isn't me, it's Matt Annets, but this is how I felt in the finish arena.

The awards ceremony was held on the mountain right after all the riders finished competing. The announcer started with 7th place Jaclyn Paaso, 6th Crystal Wright, 5th Janette Harigin, 4th Lorainne Huber, 3rd Janina Kuzma. I was going to be on the podium. Next the announcer called both myself and Eva Walkner to the podium. We joined Janina and with a drum roll he announced, ” And in first place, from the United States of America……..Jess McMillan.” I screamed! I had just won in Chamonix! The best part of it all was that I had a ton of fun while skiing my line. All in all a fantastic day!

Bib Draw – Contest Sunday

Chamonix Bib Draw

As people filled the main square of Chamonix, a band played, and blankets of snow fell from the sky. The scene was beautiful and just what we needed two nights before the competition. The snow forecasters are predicting upwards of 40 cm which might be enough to heel the south facing competition venue.

Chamonix Festivities

I spent the day inspecting the face and trying to guess where the best snow might be. As I said before the venue is south facing and has been heated many times over creating an almost bullet proof crust. In my opinion, not the best conditions for a competition. There is an east facing side to the venue that holds much softer conditions. The issue is that it is almost impossible to find a line that flows on the east face. The best features are on the true south face of the venue.

East Face of the Chamonix Competiton Venue

South Face of the Chamonix Compeition Venue

Much of the snow on the south face has rotted out around the rocks and it is hard to tell if it has crusted over. Many of the competitors are hopeful that because the venue has not been skied in the last month that the snow will still be good. I am undecided. “It’s hard saying, not knowing.”

I was hoping for a late start and that is exactly what I got. I will be starting bib 48, second to last female skier. With the conditions as they are, I have not found a line I am totally in love with. I would like to ski the south facing side of the venue, but am worried that the snow is just too funky. I could play it safe and ski the east face, hitting small features, a guarantee to stay on my feet. I think it is too early to decide. I will sleep well tonight and see what mother nature brings us in the morning.

Revelstoke Freeskiing Champions

Lots of High Fives with Arnie Backstrom After Hearing that We Won the Revelstoke Freeskiing Championships

It was a spur of the moment decision. I had been working a lot and just barely survived the holidays. The only problem was that I hadn’t been doing a lot of skiing. I wasn’t planning on heading to Revelstoke, but it seemed like a good idea to drive up there and ski some powder and get a competition under my belt before heading to Europe. So on tuesday I picked up Griffin Post at 5 am and embarqued on the 17 hour drive to Revelstoke. We probably should have checked the weather, “winter strom warning for Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.” After driving 7 hours through the eye of the storm, we arrived in Missoula. At this point Griff and I were convinced we were making a huge mistake. Jackson has been a bit dry this year and we decided to leave during the biggest storm to hit the Tetons all winter. We pulled over for a sandwhich and contemplated turning around. “If we drive home now, we can still make first Tram in the morning,” Griff said. I was almost convinved to turn around. I decided it would be beneficial to get a competition under my belt before heading to Chamonix for the first stop of the Freeride World Tour. Apparently, is has been dumping in Chamonix and all my compeitors have been shredding pow for the last couple of months. So we got back in the car and finally arrived in Revelstoke 16.5 hours later.

The View From the Top of Revelstoke.

I have to admit I wasn’t planning on winning Revelstoke. I was convinced the Canadians would dominant the competition because Whistler opened this year with record snow. I decided to challenge myself in the competition instead of trying to “play the game” for the win. I chose a line that in my mind was a 50/50. I am typically a very smart/conservative competitor; skiing a line I know I can flash and not crash. The line I chose had some of the biggest airs I have ever hit in a competition and considering my feet had not left the ground yet this year, I wasn’t sure I would stick the landings.

Day 1 Venue - Revelstoke BC

in Choosing Bigger airs, I made sure all of my airs were not over exposure so if I were to crash I wouldn’t get hurt. I was so stoked after my first run. I stomped all of my airs and skied into second place behind Janina Kuzman, 4.5 points ahead of the next female competitor, Jacqui Edgerly. It was a great confidence booster for me and I couldn’t wait to ski the Mac Face for day 2.

Mac Face - Day 2 Venue Revelstoke, BC

After a weather day, I loaded the lift for one last look at Mac Face before the finals of the competition. As I watched Patrol control the face, I also watched the clouds move in. By the time Patrol reached the bottom of the face, the visibility had turned to pea soup and it wasn’t looking good for the competition. All of the competitors tried to keep their stoke up and game faces on, but as the hours went by it seemed more than likely that the competition would be cancelled.

Drew Tabke and Griff Post Providing a Little Entertainment for the Crowd While We Waited for the Clouds to Clear.

The clouds were relentless and it was impossible for the helicopter to land at the top LZ (landing zone). A decision was made that all of the competitors would ski a different face with a lower LZ.

Option 2 Venue for Day 2 - Lower LZ

I was really nervous about moving the venue. The women were given ten minutes to inspect before loading into the helicopter. I didn’t feel like that was enough time to choose a line wisely and was worried about getting lost or getting hurt. As we loaded the helicopter, the pilot changed his mind and decided to try one last time to land at LZ 1. All of the girls unloaded the helicopter pilot tried one last time to land at LZ 1. Within minutes we saw the pilot land and the competition was back on the MAC Face. I couldn’t believe it.

Everything happened really fast at this point. It was hard to get your mind around it all. Next thing I knew, I was standing on a knife ridge at the top of Mac Face with 5 minutes before game time. I chose a line that would be challenging for me. It included one the biggest doubles I would have ever skied in a competition. That is…….if really were a double.

Don

At the top of venue, it was impossible to see the face. I was super nervous. I traversed out on to the face looking for my marker, a tree, so that I knew where to enter into my line. I reached my first air and was stoked. The snow was perfect and I found the tree marking my “double.” The snow changed a bit as I made my way to my big air. It was really faceted and skied like moving water. I remember going into avi mode, thinking okay that one tree is my only safety zone. Luckily, the snow didn’t rip and I skied to my marker, the lone tree. As I approached the tree, I discovered that the cliff I had chosen wasn’t a double at all. It was definitely a single hit of approximately 50 feet. I remember thinking that I should just send it. The snow was perfect for an air that size, but I also was thinking that if I were to get hurt, the competition would be over. There was not enough time to rescue me, if I were to get hurt, and finish the competition. Luckily, I did inspect a escape route to the right of my “double”, a 20 foot cliff that I could easily get to. I decided to take the escape route.

Plan B - The Escape Route

It turned out to be a good decision. I finished my line with another 20 foot air and then enjoyed the powder skiing down to the bottom. I finished in third for the day, but due to my 4.5 from the day before lead the day before I won the competition by a point.

Defenseless on the Podium and Covered in Corona

Revelstoke was the best competition I have ever been to. The Revelstoke community was amazing; Mayor David Raven wrote each competitor a letter welcoming them to the town. The Patrol of Revelstoke and MSI truly made this competition happen and I can’t thank them enough for their hard work. It was a privledge and an experience I will never forget.

Revelstoke Freeskiing Competition – Day 1

Day 1 Venue - Revelstoke

I am currently in Revelstoke competing in the 2nd stop of the Freeskiing World Tour. If you have never been to Revelstoke, it is a must. Revelstoke is a small town with big mountains along side the columbia River. The people of Revelstoke are extremely friendly and the skiing is even better.

Columbia River from the Chairlift of Revelstoke

I am really psyched after Day 1. I chose a different strategy for this competition. I usually ski to win; playing the point game and erroring on the side of caution not to fall. This year it is my goal to challenge myself every day skiing. Believe it or not I am a relatively conservative skier. I rarely fall. This year I would like to challenge myself and see what happens. My line consisted of three large airs (some of the biggest for the women). I was really nervous because I have not had a lot practice in the air this season. My only practice was a ten foot air the day before. I figured I had a 50/50 chance of sticking my line. Not the best odds, but I also knew I would be stoked if I did stick it. So I went for it and stuck it, finishing second for the day.

Mac Face, Revelstoke - Day 2 Venue

The finals of the competition will be held on Mac Face (above). I am so stoked. The venue is untouched and will be a privilege to ski. Check it out live on www.freeskiingworldtour.com.

Blue Skys and Soft Snow in La Parva, Chile

I Didn't Know My Line Would Be This Much Fun

I have to admit I was bummed not to ski the second day of the La Parva Freeskiing Competition. The second day of competition was cancelled due to weather; the wind was nuking and there was no visibility. The storm lasted three days and we were all trapped due to avalanches closing down the only road up to the mountain. After three days of skiing in white out conditions, the skies turned blue and it was well worth the wait.

Hoping for a Ride

Once the competition was over, all of the athletes were forced to move to a smaller more affordable town. The only problem was trying to get to La Parva in the morning. There are a couple of options hitching or hiking. I was lucky enough to catch a ride after 15 minutes, just in time for opening.

The Last Freeskiers in La Parva

La Parva had turned into a ghost town. There were only a few freeskiers who waited around to shred the day 2 venue. We all hooked up and had a sick pow day. I’ll let the photos tell the story!

Edward Dujardin

William Dujardin

Cliff Bennett

Cliff Bennett

Clare Burns

William Dujardin

La Parva was Good!

William Dujardin