Snowboard Freeride Co-op

01-2011 Not sure of the exact date, but it was right before SIA in Denver.

Greybird day but the stoke was skyhigh! It was the day before the first ever Back country BBQ and with dedicated riders coming in from all over the country everyone is excited and eager to familiarize themselves with the mountain chosen to host this epic event . A two mile snowmobile ride through fairly dense old growth forest and a giant panoramic view of Deer Creek basin slaps you in the face. What a sick place to gather a bunch of skilled riders for a good ole’ fashioned throw down.
The white fluffy stuff that falls from the sky and is more commonly known as snow accumulated 8-10 inches a day ago, and It was obvious to see that the winds have generated some snow loading on certain aspects of the venue. Triggering fresh wind slabs was our main concern and a quick pit analysis gave us a more sophisticated look at the snow and provoking deeper avalanches didn’t seem to be as big of a threat... Awesome!
At the top of the Basin more snowboarders are harnessed into each other ski-cutting parts of the slope and rope-cutting cornices. Throwing the middle of the rope over the cornice with one or two people at either end working the rope like a saw. Slowly cutting back and forth until Wham, roughly one-thousand pounds of cornice is amputated slamming onto the slope below, breaking into pieces, and tomahawking down the side of the mountain until it rests peacefully at the bottom of the basin. After cutting a few more cornice’s we were comfortable feeling that nothing was really moving except the top 8-10 inches of accumulation. Granted it may not be a deep slide, we still want to be conscious of the consequences of small-sized avalanche.
When the sun was beginning to set and after a long day spent in the mountains, throwing high fives to new and old friends, checking the snowpack, and scoping out different lines for tomorrow we finally make our much anticipated first powder turns into the basin. One at a time we drop in and it is nothing but absolutely shredtastic. It fired me up! Back to back to back face shots of blower powder to straight line, perfect for our back country BBQ tomorrow morning. At the bottom of the run I looked back up at the gorgeous mountainside and shot a huge grin. Enjoying the quietness of these mountains, but also trying to envision the picture that is about to be painted when 30+ like minded freeriders gather in the morning to do what they truly love, Snowboard!

Check back soon for a video of the BBQ