KingNyman

Wha'SUP

2011-07-11T12:09:00.003-06:00

Video recap of a trip I took in early June to the Teva Mountain Games with my brothers. Super good time out there and definitely recommend joining the festivities at the games next year. Enjoy.

Back to Summer

2011-07-09T15:33:00.002-06:00

Switching gears back into summer mode from that last post. Spent last weekend in Zion being a desert rat with a couple buddies. I'll let one of them do the talking, since they already did a good post on their channels, so click here for the full read or just enjoy the video below...

Torn

2011-07-05T21:41:00.004-06:00

I've really been enjoying my summer over the past weeks. Been super nice to feel the heat again and get into some summer adventures. But there comes a time every season that is special for all skiers and that's teaser time. So far TGR, Level 1 and MSP have released their teasers and I hate to say it, but as much as I've been enjoying my summer, these teasers are definitely shifting my sights to the coming winter. Pumped to see what sort of content my friends and fellow skiers were able to accomplish and by the looks of it, they put in some real good work. Nice job boys! Here's to the next winter...

*update: go to www.skimovie.com to view MSP's latest offering...

Sur'calog '11

2011-05-31T18:36:00.002-06:00

What Julia Child is to the kitchen, Adam is to snow photography and he's now decided to double up on his duties over the past couple seasons by shooting video while still pulling the trigger with the stills. Mr. vagabond photog champ himself, aka Adam Clark, made this edit at the beginning of this past season. I just stumbled across it again and thought since the snow won't leave Utah, I may as well start getting pumped for next season. Here's to you AC!

Three Seasons

2011-05-23T14:53:00.005-06:00

Over the past eight or nine months I've slowly been stacking up some panoramic photos on my phone. The ol' iPhone isn't the most high quality medium for taking those types of shots, but it's been there in those moments when you can't quite fit all the beauty of your surroundings into one little frame. So, thanks to that little app, here's some snaps I want share from my travels over the past three seasons.
Enjoy...
Crater Lake, OR

Crater Lake sunset, OR

City skyline from Brooklyn Bridge, NY

City skyline from Central Park, NY

Utah Valley from Dry Canyon, UT

Wasatch Range from top of Days Fork, UT

Southern Wasatch Range, UT

Red Bull Cold Rush venue, Silverton, CO

Timpanogos from Guardsman Pass, UT

Zion Nat'l Park, UT

Zion Nat'l Park, UT

Alpine City from Lone Peak approach, UT

The Lone Peak Haul

2011-05-17T15:27:00.006-06:00

Created this post for my friends over at Surface, but hey, it's my original content, so I'm going to use it here as well. I went for a nice long walk last week and here's my recap of the day adventure...

I've found myself running around the desert recently, so when my buddy Parker Cross gave me a ring to join a crew to climb Lone Peak, I thought it was a good time to get back in the saddle with my skis. Lone Peak is one of the more notorious mountains along the Wasatch Front and has a reputation for being one of the harder peaks to access. With a summit of 11,253' and all the various approaches being quite removed, there's a minimum required elevation gain of 5,500' no matter where you start your approach. We started in Alpine City at 3:00 am, at 5,700' elevation and approached Lone Peak from the south. The crew consisted of myself, Chris Coulter, Tony Pavlantos and Parker Cross behind the lens. Our first leg of the journey consisted of us trudging through the frozen, muddy foothills and working our way to a little glade called known as the 2nd Hamangog. The snow line was higher than expected and had to continue a little further to reach our first transition point. We calculated a gain of about 2,700' in elevation from the trail head before being able to swap from hike to tour mode. Not sure about the other guys, but the combo of skis, boots, skins, ice axe, crampons, harness, belay device, carabiners, webbing, shovel, probe, jacket, helmet, gloves, googles, food and water on my backpack had my pretty amped to be able to be at the transition to distribute that weight more evenly over my body. The touring at first was pretty mellow, following a BLM access road a little ways before making a left and heading up a ridge line for a more direct approach. Eventually the ridge line tapered and we dropped into a gully that looked like a fairly mellow climb. Coulter and Tony took the lead and I followed their trail. Drawing a straight line up the center seemed like the most obvious route, but it turned out to be much more grueling than expected. But with the sun rising and the end seeming deceivingly near, we powered through. After making our way through the crux and into a saddle, all that was left was a bit of a sidehill and one last mellow climb to the summit. Coulter and Tony arrived a bit earlier than myself and were concerned about the warming temps making our objective unsafe. So without our filmer in place and only a small window to be able to ride the NE couloir, we made a quick transition and decided to drop in. The line itself was a solid 2,000' vert and involved variable snow conditions, exposure, sluff management and all that sort of fun stuff. Coulter knew the line and has extensive experience in similar terrain so he dropped first and gave us some play by play beta of what to expect. I hadn't skied much in the past weeks and the haul up the mountain had my legs pretty spent only a few turns in, but I was pumped to be back in the mountains and was having a great time making my way down the couloir. The three of us linked back up at the bottom and kicked back for our first relaxing moment of the day, all pumped that we just tackled the NE couloir of Lone Peak. After a much needed break, we transitioned back into tour mode and started our ascent toward the exit saddle. As happy as I was to have just ridden the couloir, the 3,000' vertical descent back toward the valley was a highlight. The snow wasn't quite a spring corn or a hot pow, but it was super surfy and perfect for the ride out. We cruised down a ways, linked back up with Parker, took one last break to enjoy our surroundings and the top notch view, then headed back to our last transition point. The home stretch was brutal, but we eventually made it back to the cars and were all smiles. After a 2 am wake up, 10 hour adventure, big exposed riding and 13,000' + of traveled elevation, I'd say it was a pretty good day.

Photos by: Chris Coulter, Parker Cross, Blake Nyman

Alpine City mid way up the approach.

Coulter and Tony working their way into the belly.

Tom's Thumb.

Entrance to the NE couloir.

Coulter and Tony post NE couloir.

Lunch break on our way back to the valley.

Summertime view of Lone Peak from the Salt Lake Valley.

Approach

2011-04-04T02:25:00.002-06:00

Today's a good day. It's 2:36 am, so I'm not quite sure which day I'm referring to yet, but the newest offering from Nimbus Independent was just released. I don't have the most solid showing in this webisode, but you can't win 'em all. As always, super pumped to be a part of this crew and can't wait for the many adventures ahead.
So, sit back, kick your feet up and enjoy the next 39 minutes you spend with Nimbus. Thanks for checking in and hope you enjoy!

Red Bull Cold Rush

2011-03-08T19:06:00.003-07:00

I've had my eye on this event ever since it's inception a few years back. It's always stood out as one of the most appealing contests in terms of participation, creativeness and, cliche but true, progressiveness. If unfamiliar with the Red Bull Cold Rush, pretty much what they do is take a handful of skiers, put them in a big mountain setting and have them ski the terrain, cliffs and jumps as well as possible. Then all the participants decide who they think skied it the best and to the victor go the spoils. Thanks to Daron Rahlves, Michael Spencer and few others, I was one of the lucky 14 to get an invite this year. This Sunday I'll be hopping in my car and motoring on over to Silverton, CO. I'll try to keep the updates coming next week throughout the event, so check back or head on over to the official Red Bull Cold Rush site to get all the nitty gritty.

http://www.redbullusa.com/coldrush

Yeehaw!

The Little Movie That Could

2011-03-01T19:46:00.006-07:00

There have been talks of the Surface film, Walks of Life, floating around for a couple years now. I think a teaser was even made at some point a few years back. But, last fall I started getting little glimpses of the aloof final product from Surface's buddy, Paul Braunstein. After a few weeks of chatter around the Surface office, a premier was decidedly organized for the movie to be shown to the masses (a.k.a. whomever happened to be around one frosty night in SLC) and now after another few months of waiting (luckily 3 months is much easier to handle than 3 years), it's finally available to watch on the intertubes.

Good work Paul! And here's to hoping we don't have to wait another few years to see the next edition from Surface...

Enjoy!

Powder Panic

2011-02-09T17:42:00.001-07:00

January in Utah was a little slow. Not many storms came through and the couple that did brought some warm temps and rain (something us skiers absolutely love in the middle of winter...). February has been more promising thus far. The nice rain-crust layer seems to be sinking beneath our feet and replaced by it's softer, gentler and more welcomed brother, powder.

So here's to powder's return. Thanks for coming back and please kick up your feet, have some nachos and stay awhile.

NVC 10.7

2011-02-01T21:20:00.001-07:00

Mecca x Utah x Wasatch Front

NVC 10.6

2011-01-26T18:35:00.001-07:00

Salt Lake City - Denver

NVC 10.5

2011-01-21T23:36:00.001-07:00

Salt Lake City to Lake Tahoe - Fool's Gold

Summit Project

2011-01-18T09:28:00.003-07:00

The Wasatch Mountain Podcast has been around for a few seasons now and I couldn't be more pumped to see how it's emerged over those years. Long time friend, Parker Cross, has been working chipping away at this project on his own time and dime and working hard to get it on it's feet. I've been in a few of his episodes in the past and he's been a big help for me and Nimbus by filming me and contributing footage, but this year I'm looking to become a bit more involved in his series. On that note, Parker just released the opener for this seasons project, The Wasatch Summit Project. The goal this year is to summit the 22 peaks in the Wasatch over 11,000'. Superior, Monte Cristo, Box Elder, Timpanogos to name a few.
We've been out a decent amount this year, touring, hiking, exploring and the like. It's not that far into the season and I've already done more touring than I think I've ever done in the past, with plenty more ahead. It's super rad to hike around in any mountains, but fortunately I'm in the Wasatch and this place has so much to offer. It's been amazing to do the little exploring that we have and be able to find terrain I never knew was there.
I was unable to join Parker and crew on a couple of their bigger missions this year, but planning on making it happen with some future summits. So for now, here's the first episode introducing this years project. Hope you enjoy.

http://www.crossroadstudios.com/

And here's a little bonus panoramic photo from our last tour in the Southern Wasatch.

Próspero Año y Felicidad

2011-01-16T10:02:00.002-07:00

Another Nimbus Point & Shoot. This one from my backyard resort with mi dos hombres. Can't complain about that.

New Years Eve, Sundance from NIMBUS INDEPENDENT on Vimeo.

Blake Nyman enjoys the last day of 2010 at his childhood resort, Sundance, with his brothers in tow. Super good way to end the year!

Point & Shoot

2011-01-11T18:33:00.002-07:00

Sitting down finishing another edit for Nimbus. Realized that I have yet to post any of my past few Point & Shoots on here. So, if you haven't already seen them, take a look. Hope you enjoy.

This was my first day out for the 2010/2011 season. Good times with the Surface fam in the sidecountry of Alta.

First Day Fivers from NIMBUS INDEPENDENT on Vimeo.

Blake Nyman makes his first runs of the 2010/2011 season.

Not much to do with snow shredding, but made a P&S out of it anyway.

P&S-Runnin'andRappin from NIMBUS INDEPENDENT on Vimeo.

My buddy Bryan and I were bored one Sunday and took a walk up nearby Dry Fork canyon in Utah to do some rappeling. We weren't too sure how big the rappel was and both of us were pretty rusty. Sketchy knots, forgotten gloves, minimal/borrowed equipment. We soon measured it to be about 230' and went for it anyway. Good practice for some upcoming ski mountaineering...

Another non-snow P&S, but got some surf time in, so maybe it relates...

East Onions from NIMBUS INDEPENDENT on Vimeo.

Blake Nyman gets some last minute East Coast surf time and a small taste of New York's Village Halloween parade before the ski season gets started.

November was a good month in Utah. Here's a few days proof.

November Meow Mix from NIMBUS INDEPENDENT on Vimeo.

Blake Nyman gets some early season November shredding in on Alta's Wildcat lift. Pep Fujas, Wiley Miller & Hayden Price join in for some hot laps too!

Curtain Call

2010-12-02T18:44:00.001-07:00

To whom it may concern,

Any winter enthusiast in the Western portion of the United States and Canada is going to remember November 2010. I've never been a part of this many consistent and fun powder days, this early in the year. Thanks for an amazing early season Ms. La Ninã. Please stay as long as you'd like, you're welcome here whenever and however long you want.

Thank you.
Sincerely,

Blake

Seasons

2010-10-26T11:43:00.003-06:00

It's been a tough couple of months, trying to keep the reins on that feeling that you know will eventually break through. It's inevitable. It has to come out. Premiers, new ski movies, the seasonal circulation of the magazines starting again, news of first snow, news of the first resorts opening, etc. None of those help. It starts small, but builds steadily, then it hits a tipping point and you know you can't resist the temptation anymore. It's a hard battle trying to resit the urge to ski. Those first runs are never glorious ones. They always seem to be on a mountain with more dirt exposed than snow and what is there can hardly be classified as that. And if you are lucky enough to get more than a few inches on the ground, don't even think about skiing it. You know it will result in your brand new pair of skis getting a nice new scar (your parents told you so). But if that is the case, you don't care. That day, no matter how terrible the conditions, it marks the first day of the season for you. It's the official start of what you've been waiting for for the past seven months. It's finally winter. It's finally time to ski.

I've yet to have that first day this year. I'm still fighting the urge. First day edits are already showing up, stories of first chair are already circulating. And I'm envying every image I see and every word I read. Hopefully my turn comes soon.

I'm off to New York tonight. Feels counter intuitive with all the snow that the Rockies and many other regions are getting, but alas, I will survive. New York holds it's own allure with exorbitant culture, great family, great friends, great sights and even a bit of East Coast surfing. Hopefully that will help appease my need to slide down mountains covered in frozen water. But don't wait for me, go and get yours and don't be afraid to tell me all about it. I can't wait.

Until then...

B.

Look

2010-10-05T13:31:00.002-06:00

Here's a variety of videos I've come across over the past couple weeks that have struck me in different ways. Some scary, some amazing, some beautiful or a combination of the like. A few of them have been popping up all over the place, but here they are if you haven't seen them already.

Off the Grid

2010-09-28T09:45:00.003-06:00

To say it's been a busy summer is a huge understatement. Lets rewind back to April. After Nine Knights, I took some time off to stay with my fiancee and future in-laws in New York, ejoying the city and doing some work for my now father in-law. Late May I headed back west to finish off filming with Nimbus in Oregon, but soon returning to New York to prepare for the July wedding. July 3rd, married Alexandra, the love of my life. The following few months were pretty packed; honeymoon in Barbados, reception in Utah, photoshoot in LA, triathlon in Idaho, family trip to Costa Rica, photoshoot in Montreal, six state NW roadtrip and now I've got a week back home before we head off on another roadtrip.
Content on the blog has definitely seen a huge decline, but I'm going to be turning that around here in the coming weeks. I have a ton of photo, video and stories from the previous trips, so expect some of that to be regurgitated. But for now I just wanted to give a little explanation. So thanks if you're still around and for you visiual fiends here's two photos I took at Crater Lake last week. Thanks and enjoy.

POC Mag 2.0

2010-09-28T09:43:00.001-06:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More ski

NVC 10.4

2010-09-10T09:04:00.001-06:00

Salt City

NVC 10.3 - The Roof Top

2010-07-02T18:42:00.001-06:00

In 24 hours from now I will be married to the love of my life and enjoying this view once again with her.

Bethesda Bubbles

2010-07-01T08:00:00.001-06:00

G20

2010-06-27T08:29:00.004-06:00

Lot's going on in New York. Will have some photos and updates on that in the near future.

In the meantime, here are some great photos of the G20 protests going on in Toronto.

http://thestar.blogs.com/photoblog/2010/06/peaceful-beginings-violent-ending-as-g20-protests-grip-toronto.html

And some info on the G20 itself and it's background.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-20_major_economies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_G-20_Toronto_summit

NVC 10.2

2010-06-20T11:38:00.001-06:00

Tourist

NVC 10.1

2010-06-16T08:52:00.001-06:00

SLC to JFK

NVC 10.0

2010-06-14T12:35:00.001-06:00

They Will Hit Everything

2010-06-13T01:29:00.002-06:00

When I first saw these two photos they struck me with a really eerie feeling. For some reason I put them on my desktop and there they've sat for the past month or more. I could easily go off on some rant about war and how a chain of non-sequitur events leads to such a doomsday event, or plenty of other scenarios of that nature, but I won't (even though I just kind of did). Simply, I found these images haunting and sobering. Maybe they'll have the same effect on you.

NVC 9.9

2010-06-13T01:25:00.001-06:00

Solid delivery.

Do You Have a Golf Ball?

2010-06-10T13:34:00.001-06:00

Pretty funny stuff.

NVC 9.8

2010-06-09T15:22:00.001-06:00

Mt. Hood, Oregon to Heber City, Utah.

The Lottery

2010-06-05T21:28:00.001-06:00

One night Alex and I were talking books and some interesting reads we'd had. She told me about a short story called "The Lottery". We ended up finding it on the interweb during the conversation and read it right then. It's a quick read and more importantly a great story presenting an unorthodox "government". Since then I've read it a couple times and figured it's something I wouldn't mind sharing on here.
Here's what wikipedia has to say about it and then the story follows. Enjoy.

"The Lottery" is a classic short story by Shirley Jackson, first published in the June 26, 1948, issue of The New Yorker.
The magazine and Jackson herself were surprised by the highly negative reader response. Many readers cancelled their subscriptions, and hate mail continued to arrive throughout the summer. The story was banned in the Union of South Africa. Since then, it has been accepted as a classic American short story, subject to many critical interpretations and media adaptations, and it has been taught in schools for decades.

The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 2th. but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner.

The children assembled first, of course. School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them; they tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play. and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands. Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix-- the villagers pronounced this name "Dellacroy"--eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys. The girls stood aside, talking among themselves, looking over their shoulders at rolled in the dust or clung to the hands of their older brothers or sisters.

Soon the men began to gather. surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes. They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed. The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their menfolk. They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they went to join their husbands. Soon the women, standing by their husbands, began to call to their children, and the children came reluctantly, having to be called four or five times. Bobby Martin ducked under his mother's grasping hand and ran, laughing, back to the pile of stones. His father spoke up sharply, and Bobby came quickly and took his place between his father and his oldest brother.

The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program--by Mr. Summers. who had time and energy to devote to civic activities. He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him. because he had no children and his wife was a scold. When he arrived in the square, carrying the black wooden box, there was a murmur of conversation among the villagers, and he waved and called. "Little late today, folks." The postmaster, Mr. Graves, followed him, carrying a three- legged stool, and the stool was put in the center of the square and Mr. Summers set the black box down on it. The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool. and when Mr. Summers said, "Some of you fellows want to give me a hand?" there was a hesitation before two men. Mr. Martin and his oldest son, Baxter. came forward to hold the box steady on the stool while Mr. Summers stirred up the papers inside it.

The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born. Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box. There was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to make a village here. Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything's being done. The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.

Mr. Martin and his oldest son, Baxter, held the black box securely on the stool until Mr. Summers had stirred the papers thoroughly with his hand. Because so much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded, Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood that had been used for generations. Chips of wood, Mr. Summers had argued. had been all very well when the village was tiny, but now that the population was more than three hundred and likely to keep on growing, it was necessary to use something that would fit more easily into he black box. The night before the lottery, Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves made up the slips of paper and put them in the box, and it was then taken to the safe of Mr. Summers' coal company and locked up until Mr. Summers was ready to take it to the square next morning. The rest of the year, the box was put way, sometimes one place, sometimes another; it had spent one year in Mr. Graves's barn and another year underfoot in the post office. and sometimes it was set on a shelf in the Martin grocery and left there.
There was a great deal of fussing to be done before Mr. Summers declared the lottery open. There were the lists to make up--of heads of families. heads of households in each family. members of each household in each family. There was the proper swearing-in of Mr. Summers by the postmaster, as the official of the lottery; at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory. tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year; some people believed that the official of the lottery used to stand just so when he said or sang it, others believed that he was supposed to walk among the people, but years and years ago this p3rt of the ritual had been allowed to lapse. There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, until now it was felt necessary only for the official to speak to each person approaching. Mr. Summers was very good at all this; in his clean white shirt and blue jeans. with one hand resting carelessly on the black box. he seemed very proper and important as he talked interminably to Mr. Graves and the Martins.

Just as Mr. Summers finally left off talking and turned to the assembled villagers, Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place in the back of the crowd. "Clean forgot what day it was," she said to Mrs. Delacroix, who stood next to her, and they both laughed softly. "Thought my old man was out back stacking wood," Mrs. Hutchinson went on. "and then I looked out the window and the kids was gone, and then I remembered it was the twenty-seventh and came a-running." She dried her hands on her apron, and Mrs. Delacroix said, "You're in time, though. They're still talking away up there."
Mrs. Hutchinson craned her neck to see through the crowd and found her husband and children standing near the front. She tapped Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as a farewell and began to make her way through the crowd. The people separated good-humoredly to let her through: two or three people said. in voices just loud enough to be heard across the crowd, "Here comes your, Missus, Hutchinson," and "Bill, she made it after all." Mrs. Hutchinson reached her husband, and Mr. Summers, who had been waiting, said cheerfully. "Thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie." Mrs. Hutchinson said. grinning, "Wouldn't have me leave m'dishes in the sink, now, would you. Joe?," and soft laughter ran through the crowd as the people stirred back into position after Mrs. Hutchinson's arrival.

"Well, now." Mr. Summers said soberly, "guess we better get started, get this over with, so's we can go back to work. Anybody ain't here?"

"Dunbar." several people said. "Dunbar. Dunbar."

Mr. Summers consulted his list. "Clyde Dunbar." he said. "That's right. He's broke his leg, hasn't he? Who's drawing for him?"

"Me. I guess," a woman said. and Mr. Summers turned to look at her. "Wife draws for her husband." Mr. Summers said. "Don't you have a grown boy to do it for you, Janey?" Although Mr. Summers and everyone else in the village knew the answer perfectly well, it was the business of the official of the lottery to ask such questions formally. Mr. Summers waited with an expression of polite interest while Mrs. Dunbar answered.
"Horace's not but sixteen vet." Mrs. Dunbar said regretfully. "Guess I gotta fill in for the old man this year."

"Right." Sr. Summers said. He made a note on the list he was holding. Then he asked, "Watson boy drawing this year?"

A tall boy in the crowd raised his hand. "Here," he said. "I m drawing for my mother and me." He blinked his eyes nervously and ducked his head as several voices in the crowd said thin#s like "Good fellow, lack." and "Glad to see your mother's got a man to do it."

"Well," Mr. Summers said, "guess that's everyone. Old Man Warner make it?"

"Here," a voice said. and Mr. Summers nodded.

A sudden hush fell on the crowd as Mr. Summers cleared his throat and looked at the list. "All ready?" he called. "Now, I'll read the names--heads of families first--and the men come up and take a paper out of the box. Keep the paper folded in your hand without looking at it until everyone has had a turn. Everything clear?"

The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions: most of them were quiet. wetting their lips. not looking around. Then Mr. Summers raised one hand high and said, "Adams." A man disengaged himself from the crowd and came forward. "Hi. Steve." Mr. Summers said. and Mr. Adams said. "Hi. Joe." They grinned at one another humorlessly and nervously. Then Mr. Adams reached into the black box and took out a folded paper. He held it firmly by one corner as he turned and went hastily back to his place in the crowd. where he stood a little apart from his family. not looking down at his hand.
"Allen." Mr. Summers said. "Anderson.... Bentham."

"Seems like there's no time at all between lotteries any more." Mrs. Delacroix said to Mrs. Graves in the back row.

"Seems like we got through with the last one only last week."

"Time sure goes fast.-- Mrs. Graves said.

"Clark.... Delacroix"

"There goes my old man." Mrs. Delacroix said. She held her breath while her husband went forward.

"Dunbar," Mr. Summers said, and Mrs. Dunbar went steadily to the box while one of the women said. "Go on. Janey," and another said, "There she goes."

"We're next." Mrs. Graves said. She watched while Mr. Graves came around from the side of the box, greeted Mr. Summers gravely and selected a slip of paper from the box. By now, all through the crowd there were men holding the small folded papers in their large hand. turning them over and over nervously Mrs. Dunbar and her two sons stood together, Mrs. Dunbar holding the slip of paper.

"Harburt.... Hutchinson."

"Get up there, Bill," Mrs. Hutchinson said. and the people near her laughed.

"Jones."

"They do say," Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, "that over in the north village they're talking of giving up the lottery."

Old Man Warner snorted. "Pack of crazy fools," he said. "Listening to the young folks, nothing's good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live hat way for a while. Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery," he added petulantly. "Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody."

"Some places have already quit lotteries." Mrs. Adams said.

"Nothing but trouble in that," Old Man Warner said stoutly. "Pack of young fools."

"Martin." And Bobby Martin watched his father go forward. "Overdyke.... Percy."

"I wish they'd hurry," Mrs. Dunbar said to her older son. "I wish they'd hurry."

"They're almost through," her son said.

"You get ready to run tell Dad," Mrs. Dunbar said.

Mr. Summers called his own name and then stepped forward precisely and selected a slip from the box. Then he called, "Warner."

"Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery," Old Man Warner said as he went through the crowd. "Seventy-seventh time."

"Watson" The tall boy came awkwardly through the crowd. Someone said, "Don't be nervous, Jack," and Mr. Summers said, "Take your time, son."

"Zanini."

After that, there was a long pause, a breathless pause, until Mr. Summers. holding his slip of paper in the air, said, "All right, fellows." For a minute, no one moved, and then all the slips of paper were opened. Suddenly, all the women began to speak at once, saving. "Who is it?," "Who's got it?," "Is it the Dunbars?," "Is it the Watsons?" Then the voices began to say, "It's Hutchinson. It's Bill," "Bill Hutchinson's got it."

"Go tell your father," Mrs. Dunbar said to her older son.

People began to look around to see the Hutchinsons. Bill Hutchinson was standing quiet, staring down at the paper in his hand. Suddenly. Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers. "You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!"

"Be a good sport, Tessie." Mrs. Delacroix called, and Mrs. Graves said, "All of us took the same chance."

"Shut up, Tessie," Bill Hutchinson said.

"Well, everyone," Mr. Summers said, "that was done pretty fast, and now we've got to be hurrying a little more to get done in time." He consulted his next list. "Bill," he said, "you draw for the Hutchinson family. You got any other households in the Hutchinsons?"

"There's Don and Eva," Mrs. Hutchinson yelled. "Make them take their chance!"

"Daughters draw with their husbands' families, Tessie," Mr. Summers said gently. "You know that as well as anyone else."

"It wasn't fair," Tessie said.

"I guess not, Joe." Bill Hutchinson said regretfully. "My daughter draws with her husband's family; that's only fair. And I've got no other family except the kids."

"Then, as far as drawing for families is concerned, it's you," Mr. Summers said in explanation, "and as far as drawing for households is concerned, that's you, too. Right?"

"Right," Bill Hutchinson said.

"How many kids, Bill?" Mr. Summers asked formally.

"Three," Bill Hutchinson said.

"There's Bill, Jr., and Nancy, and little Dave. And Tessie and me."

"All right, then," Mr. Summers said. "Harry, you got their tickets back?"

Mr. Graves nodded and held up the slips of paper. "Put them in the box, then," Mr. Summers directed. "Take Bill's and put it in."

"I think we ought to start over," Mrs. Hutchinson said, as quietly as she could. "I tell you it wasn't fair. You didn't give him time enough to choose. Everybody saw that."

Mr. Graves had selected the five slips and put them in the box. and he dropped all the papers but those onto the ground. where the breeze caught them and lifted them off.

"Listen, everybody," Mrs. Hutchinson was saying to the people around her.

"Ready, Bill?" Mr. Summers asked. and Bill Hutchinson, with one quick glance around at his wife and children. nodded.

"Remember," Mr. Summers said. "take the slips and keep them folded until each person has taken one. Harry, you help little Dave." Mr. Graves took the hand of the little boy, who came willingly with him up to the box. "Take a paper out of the box, Davy." Mr. Summers said. Davy put his hand into the box and laughed. "Take just one paper." Mr. Summers said. "Harry, you hold it for him." Mr. Graves took the child's hand and removed the folded paper from the tight fist and held it while little Dave stood next to him and looked up at him wonderingly.

"Nancy next," Mr. Summers said. Nancy was twelve, and her school friends breathed heavily as she went forward switching her skirt, and took a slip daintily from the box "Bill, Jr.," Mr. Summers said, and Billy, his face red and his feet overlarge, near knocked the box over as he got a paper out. "Tessie," Mr. Summers said. She hesitated for a minute, looking around defiantly. and then set her lips and went up to the box. She snatched a paper out and held it behind her.

"Bill," Mr. Summers said, and Bill Hutchinson reached into the box and felt around, bringing his hand out at last with the slip of paper in it.

The crowd was quiet. A girl whispered, "I hope it's not Nancy," and the sound of the whisper reached the edges of the crowd.

"It's not the way it used to be." Old Man Warner said clearly. "People ain't the way they used to be."

"All right," Mr. Summers said. "Open the papers. Harry, you open little Dave's."

Mr. Graves opened the slip of paper and there was a general sigh through the crowd as he held it up and everyone could see that it was blank. Nancy and Bill. Jr.. opened theirs at the same time. and both beamed and laughed. turning around to the crowd and holding their slips of paper above their heads.

"Tessie," Mr. Summers said. There was a pause, and then Mr. Summers looked at Bill Hutchinson, and Bill unfolded his paper and showed it. It was blank.

"It's Tessie," Mr. Summers said, and his voice was hushed. "Show us her paper. Bill."

Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office. Bill Hutchinson held it up, and there was a stir in the crowd.

"All right, folks." Mr. Summers said. "Let's finish quickly."

Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones. The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready; there were stones on the ground with the blowing scraps of paper that had come out of the box Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. "Come on," she said. "Hurry up."

Mr. Dunbar had small stones in both hands, and she said. gasping for breath. "I can't run at all. You'll have to go ahead and I'll catch up with you."

The children had stones already. And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles.

Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. "It isn't fair," she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, "Come on, come on, everyone." Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him.

"It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.

NVC 9.7

2010-06-03T11:07:00.001-06:00

Brains

2010-06-02T21:15:00.003-06:00

Malcolm Gladwell, RadioLab, Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner, Waking Life and This American Life are a handful of examples of people, pieces or programs that consistently draw me in. I find it fascinating to learn about who we are and how we work. All of those examples have taught me many things about myself. I don't always agree with what they have to say or the perspective they're sharing, but what I do always admire is that they've helped me look at things differently than I normally would.
I first stumbled upon these videos on my brother Steven's blog and they had the same effect on me as the others listed above. After digging a bit more I found a whole series of videos by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce. Unfortunately my internet connection right now is as slow as they come, so I've been unable to view them all. The first two below are the one's I've seen, but all the others after that are queued up to watch when ready. Hope you like them as much as I did and walk away from them with a bit more knowledge in that brain of yours.

Go Away

2010-06-02T00:33:00.002-06:00

Posted up in not-so-sunny Mt. Hood, Oregon right now. Mr. Banks Gilberti and I are waiting out the weather so we can finish things off for the season with Nimbus.
Rainy days make for perusing the internet. Here's two videos I came across, both amazing in two completely different aspects.
This new ad campaign from Nike (Wieden+Kennedy) has been getting a lot of buzz, rightfully so. Conceptualizing the difference paths your life can take depending on your actions.

Write The Future from Nalden on Vimeo.

And this bear, doing things most bears don't.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Reading with BroBomb

2010-05-31T12:12:00.002-06:00

Jon Hartley and the good people at BroBomb.com started an interview series called "Literate Skiers". First one out of the gate was Mike Rogge, followed by myself this past weekend. It was nice to answer some questions that strayed from the ski literature norm. Good things coming from that corner of the internet. I wonder who's next...?

Click link to read the piece. Thanks y'all.

http://brobomb.com/2010/05/literate-nyman/#more-1803

NVC 9.6

2010-05-28T12:55:00.001-06:00

En route to Mt. Hood, OR. Stormward bound. Photo by www.banksgilberti.com.

NVC 9.5

2010-05-24T18:31:00.001-06:00

Skyline

NVC 9.4

2010-05-23T15:36:00.001-06:00

Bryant Park.

NVC 9.3

2010-05-22T09:27:00.001-06:00

Old school Japanese game at an old school Japanese restaurant.

California Dreamin'

2010-05-20T14:00:00.004-06:00

I know summer is right around the corner and skiing isn't on too many peoples minds (including mine), but Newschoolers.com is hosting all the segments from Nimbus' Contrast...and for free! We're pretty sure some internet savvy, little brat of a kid was going to upload our movie to YouTube and show it for free anyway, completely disregarding all the rad powder skiing, awesome jumping, super fun snowmobiling and great times we had putting into this little gem...and the little bit of hard work. So, we decided to beat that brat at his own game and allow you to watch and even download the segments, for free. We won't send our money hungry, backstabbing, mega-corporate lawyers to your house with a subpoena so we can have your money. Promise. So go right ahead, download it, guilty free. And you're welcome.

Love,

Blake

Clickity click that link to watch and download any of them (as well as other Nimbus content) on Newschoolers.com.
http://newschoolers.com/web/content/tvchannel/id/4905/t/Nimbus/

Here is the direct link to view/download my segment...
http://newschoolers.com/web/content/viewvideo/id/351980/

Point & Shoot - Hot Laps at Central Park

2010-05-19T13:04:00.002-06:00

New Point & Shoot up by yours truly, courtesy of Nimbus Independent!

"Been posted up in New York for a little bit. Wanted to get out on my first bike ride of the year, so I ventured out to the jungle within a jungle and took some laps around Central Park. It's pretty rad to be in the thick of The City, then a few blocks later feel like you're Robinson Crusoe-ing around some wild woods. Some indigenous species include; New York eagles (aka pigeons), junkies and Yellow Cab demon drivers. Also, contrary to popular belief, rollerblading is alive and well in the Big Apple. Skateboarders thought that species was extinct, but they just packed their bags and decided to assimilate solely to the little island called Manhattan. So glad you can spend a few minutes of your day, enjoying the scenery of this six mile lap in Central Park, New York, New York. Thanks friends."

Cancer to Capricorn...

2010-05-18T08:18:00.000-06:00

...the path of the modern gypsy.

K-Strass

2010-05-18T07:49:00.002-06:00

Meet Kenny Strasser, a new hero of mine. He's a professional yo-yo imposter. He tricks Midwestern news channels into thinking he's a professional yo-yo-er so he can get on the air.

"A strange, strange man has been showing up on morning shows throughout the Midwest, claiming to be a yo-yo trick champion. He is not. He is actually terrible at yo-yo. Yet he keeps getting on the air.

Little is known about "K-Strass," who goes by Kenny Strasser, or sometimes Karl Strassburg. He claims to be from Wisconsin (except when he doesn't). He claims to be from a broken home, with his own addiction issues (except when he isn't).

All we know is that K-Strass has shown up on television six times in the past month, showing off his yo-yo "skills" and generally embarrassing the hosts."

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

To see more K-Strass videos click here.

NVC 9.2

2010-05-16T09:25:00.001-06:00

NVC 9.1

2010-05-15T11:20:00.001-06:00

What's in the Fridge?

2010-05-14T06:32:00.005-06:00

That is a great question asked by Mr. Joel "Jah Raven" Whalen. What is in the fridge? Apparently this is what is lurking in his fridge...
"Get ready to get that gold sticker blown off your New Era hat and that check ripped right off your new, unscuffed Nike sneaks because here comes a teaser of biblical proportion! Displaying the talent of the raddest, most real shredders, sledders, and fresh soy cheddar in jah Kootenays mon. So turn up jah volume to max and hold onto you keyboard because you're about to get slapped...right in the face!"

Whats in the Fridge? A Teaser. from Jah Raven Creation on Vimeo.

The Notorious xx

2010-05-13T08:57:00.000-06:00

Always love a good mash up...

juicy-r [the notorious b.i.g.'s juicy vs. the xx's vcr] - wait what (mashup) from wait what on Vimeo.

NVC 9.0

2010-05-13T06:33:00.001-06:00

A whole bunch o' wedding announcements went out in the mail yesterday!

アホな走り集

2010-05-10T07:14:00.001-06:00

Beat Down

2010-05-09T21:00:00.002-06:00

Who doesn't love watching people wreck? I think as humans, especially the humans born in the grand ol' US of A, we're probably born with some gland in our brain, that releases some chemical, that causes some reaction, that makes us love watch bad things happen. Pain, accidents, explosions, cat fights, people falling down, etc. Anything from two bimbo girls freaking out on a reality tv show, to some old guy losing control of his motorized cart, we can't help but stare. So on that note, here is some Nimbus carnage from the past couple months squeezed into a few minutes.

Revlon Run Walk & Riders Against Cancer

2010-05-07T09:26:00.006-06:00

Last weekend I ran the Revlon Run/Walk for Women. It's a big fundraiser charity event to help aid the fight against breast cancer. There were over 30,000 participants who helped raise millions (I think $6ix mil) along side Revlon, who's the worlds largest contributor in the fight against breast cancer. The 5k race course started in Times Square, proceeded up 6th Ave, then into Central Park and up the West Side Drive, eventually splitting off the 102nd St. Transverse and ending on the East Side of Central Park. Vehicles were restricted in Times Square, up 6th Avenue and along the course, so it was pretty cool to be one of the first runners out, along side my fiancee and her mom, running through the emptied streets of New York. Weather was perfect and the run was all-time. My fiancee's mom is a runner and set the pace, which almost killed me since I haven't ran yet this year and am not a runner to begin with. We were among the top 20-30 finishers with a time right under 27 minutes. I'm pretty psyched on that...hence the boasting. Here's a bit of photo and video from the start. Doesn't do the event justice, but a glimpse into it nonetheless...

Also recently got involved with an anti-cancer non-profit called Riders Against Cancer. Their mission is to help people in the action sports community who have had to deal with cancer on a personal level. Super good people over there and I'm excited to be involved and help push their efforts. So please check out their organization and if possible donate to a great cause. If unable to donate and/or are wanting to help out, they're in the running to win $100,000 from a local Utah business who's looking to donate some of their earnings. So click the links and cast a vote friends! More good things to come from that front.

NVC 8.9

2010-05-06T13:26:00.001-06:00

Point & Shoot - Cats, Blades & Birds

2010-05-05T07:14:00.002-06:00

Put together another Nimbus Point & Shoot the other day...

"A few weeks back I went on my first official team shoot with Spyder. Our first day out we went on a nice little cat-skiing adventure. Wasn't too much skiing happening since we were trying to shoot product shots, but we had a sweet lunch coupled with some hungry buzzards and throwing blades. Psyched to be a part of the Spyder family and call guys like Josh Bibby, Colby West, Chris Davenport, my brother Steven, Daron Rahlves, among a handful of others, my teammates! Plenty more to come from this crew in the future..."

NVC 8.8

2010-05-03T18:56:00.001-06:00

Squid & the Whale

Point & Shoot - Nine Knights

2010-04-30T09:53:00.002-06:00

Here's another Point & Shoot edit for Nimbus of my trip to Nine Knights in Germany. Copy and paste of the movie description...
"There was this impressive little volcano in Iceland that decided to thwart Nimbus' plans with the Nine Knights event in Germany. Eric, Chris and Wiegand all pulled the plug, but I (Blake) decided to hold strong. I eventually made it, three days later than expected, but it was well worth the trip. Got to hit one of the funnest jumps I've ever hit, meet some good friends and fellow Nimbus shred, Bene Mayr. Learned some new tricks and got some great shots for the upcoming En Route webisode. This little edit gives more of a quick athlete's glimpse of what we were up to. For more in depth coverage and better videos, go to www.nineknights.com. Thanks for letting me come be a part of your rad event Nico!"

NVC 8.7

2010-04-29T06:18:00.001-06:00

St. John the Divine

Legs of Steel

2010-04-25T16:14:00.001-06:00

We all know who the real winners of the Nine Knights dodge ball tournament were. Austria and the Downdays Legends only wish they had the stature and finesse of this team. We'll get you next time!!

Europt

2010-04-22T05:43:00.002-06:00

Blake vs. the volcano. I scored a point and finally made it to Germany. Going to take a quick nap so I can find some energy because we're leaving in an hour and I'm excited to go hit this...

Almdudler Nine Knights presented by Fiat 2010- Action part 1 from Nico Zacek on Vimeo.

NVC 8.6

2010-04-21T10:36:00.001-06:00

Slack Jawed

2010-04-20T07:05:00.002-06:00

Hit the redial button 50+ times to get past the busy tone, once I conquered that feat, I had to wait 2+ hours to actually talk to someone at Lufthansa. I'm sure they're just as unhappy as all the angry passengers that are calling them! Anyway, looks like I should be flying out of New York Wednesday evening. Hopefully I make it! If you want to see some crazy photos of the volcano, click mmmeeeee! If you want to see something else, watch this girl make a fool of herself...

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

All Stuck Up

2010-04-17T19:29:00.003-06:00

This little volcano is having quite the dramatic effect on a lot of peoples lives right now, mine included. I don't have much to complain about though, especially in comparison to those people who are indefinitely sleeping in airport terminals or waiting out massive lines to get somewhere. I would love to get to Germany because that Nine Knights setup is looking mighty fine, but being cooped up in Manhattan, at my future in-laws house with my fiancee, is not a bad place to weather this storm. Good luck to everyone else who's waiting this one out.

NVC 8.5

2010-04-15T09:13:00.001-06:00

Lucky number 13.

Ze' Germans

2010-04-14T12:29:00.003-06:00

April 15-18: NYC with the fiancee and future in-laws to plan July wedding.
April 19-25: Oberstdorf, Germany for the Nine Knights event.
April 26-28: back to NYC.
April 29: Home or wherever the Nimbus gents are posted up.

Real pumped to leave tonight. The travel bug has been biting lately. I love New York and to follow that up with Nine Knights in Germany is making me pretty happy. Haven't been across the pond in a couple years and never been to Germany, but the jumps they're making for Nine Knights are looking pretty primo! Plenty of content to come from there. Here's some video of the awaiting features being built...

Nine Knights - Building the castle, part 1 from Nico Zacek on Vimeo.

Nine Knights building the castle - part 2 from Nico Zacek on Vimeo.

On the Hill

2010-04-14T10:52:00.002-06:00

Mr. Eric put this one up the other day. Had some appearances in it, so thought I would show it on here. Hollering.

All-Time @ Brighton

2010-04-13T14:17:00.002-06:00

Pretty much going to copy & paste this post from my buddy Parker's blog. I've called Parker up a few times this season to help out filming me for Nimbus. From my previous post about all the snowfall Utah just received, I had to make the most of it and get some shots. Here is Parker's perspective of the day...

-----------------

It's funny to me how spring storms operate in Utah. Most of the time it'll be calm and peaceful in the valley, and raging up at the resorts, less than nine miles away. I understand the science (at least, I understand it as much as I plan to understand it, or care to investigate it), but it's just really interesting to me how I can meet Blake Nyman as Causwell at 8:30 with partly cloudy skies, and a temperature around 45º, and within 25 minutes be wrapped in the core a wild blizzard, with howling winds and lighting (yes, I said lighting). It wasn't anything unexpected though, because I read the storm forecast, so we went to work. J. Eichhorst and Hayden Price accompanied us and we headed out to the slackcountry. Some of us a lot more slowly than the others. It took me like 25 minutes to boot pack across Millicent Bowl due to the fact that I was post-holing every step up to my knees and often to my thighs. All in all, it was worth it. We were able to get three solid shots, and then take a couple laps on one of the most epic pow days of the season. The snow pack was really sketchy, and I honestly felt like I was tiptoeing around up there to keep slabs from breaking off onto my friends. No wonder Tuesday morning's avalanche forecast was HIGH. Anyway, enjoy these images. Most are screenshots from the video, and I recommend clicking on the images to see larger versions.

Blake looking very satisfied after stomping a decent sized drop.

Before

And after. Fully buried.

Hayden sending it into oblivion.

Blake; half-cab on the fun gap.

Once Upon a Time...

2010-04-12T17:41:00.006-06:00

My fianceé Alex sent this email to me the other day. Its a photo series titled, "How Fairy Tales Really End". Thought it was pretty funny. Enjoy...

Little Red Riding Hood

Belle (Beauty & the Beast)

Jasmine (Aladdin)

Cinderella

Sleeping Beauty

Snow White

The Little Mermaid

NVC 8.4

2010-04-12T12:32:00.001-06:00

This ones from a few days ago. Better now than never.

Bomb holes by Pep & Blake.

Clocked In

2010-04-09T16:46:00.002-06:00

Been putting in some on snow hours the past few days. Utah was the recipient of 7' of snow in 7 days, due to a really good, consistent storm cycle. So, we've been getting our share. Pep came home from a long stint in Alaska and Wiegand came down from OR to shoot the two of us for Nimbus. It's been a good few days. Footage and photos to come soon!

Two Days in Big Fork

2010-04-03T09:11:00.003-06:00

Point & Shoot time! Here's another one...

"I tried this line three weeks ago, but didn't get it as planned, so I wanted to come back and get it as planned. My friend Parker Cross came to film me this time. Parker is a good guy that runs the Wasatch Official Production Podcast. Google that and you'll know what I'm talking about or click here for his Vimeo channel. Tally hoe!"

Candide Kamera pt. 2

2010-04-01T11:10:00.003-06:00

Not as good as the first, but definitely some rad skiing and super impressive camera work. Candide is still the boss.

Here's the first for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about...

Yum

2010-03-31T22:22:00.001-06:00

Bear Grylis is the man, but this is almost too much.

P&S - PC Lightning Strike!

2010-03-31T10:24:00.001-06:00

NVC 8.3

2010-03-29T19:57:00.001-06:00

"Red Skies" - The Fixx

NVC 8.2

2010-03-27T19:51:00.001-06:00

Changing seasons...

Vancouver Nonsense

2010-03-25T17:01:00.002-06:00

Just finished up this little edit for the Nimbus Point & Shoot series. My week long Olympic trip compressed into less than four minutes. Enjoy.

Nimbus Independent's - En Route: Departure

2010-03-24T12:59:00.003-06:00

Yeah, yeah, slacking with this...came out last Friday, but if you haven't seen it yet, see it now! Official press release below, with a bit of extras...
Nimbus is back. Our first webisode of three for the year; En Route Departure takes viewers on a two month adventure. Skiing everywhere from a North American military base, to Mammoth California, the matterhorn, Rome and finally Monte Bianco in Italy.

En Route Departure is a full length 40 minute ski movie featuring the original Nimbus crew: Pep Fujas, Eric Pollard, Chris Benchetler, Andy Mahre and Blake Nyman. The movie also features Anthony Boronowski, Bene Mayr, Dylan Hood, Christian Sirianni, and friends. The full length version will be available for download starting on March 15th 2010
only at: www.nimbusstore.mobilerider.com/store/index.php. The trailer version; En Route Short will be a 5 minute edit available on all of our affiliate sites.

Point and Shoot is a new video blog series available only at www.nimbusindependent.com. Point and Shoot explores the perspectives of each Nimbus crew member throughout the entire year. Each movie is skier filmed and edited.
Some crew photos from a trip or two and the En Route Short - teaser for the 40 minute feature...

Nimbus Crew in Sonora

Eric and I, thumbs up ferrr shurrrr

Pep and I, jump prep before sendin'er!

Wheels

2010-03-24T12:55:00.002-06:00

It's easy to get past the lame dialogue at the beginning since the filming/riding is pretty amazing. Makes biking look that much more appealing...

Noise

2010-03-23T09:45:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Alex and Ian for introducinge me to Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. Haven't heard a band that gets me yelling their lyrics at the top of my lungs in awhile, especially with their song "40 Day Dream". Highly suggest a listen. If Arcade Fire got you, then this surely will.

Familia

2010-03-22T10:07:00.001-06:00

Just returned home from a week long stint in Aspen, CO, with my semi-recent new outerwear sponsor, Spyder. It was a super fun time being a part of such a rad team backed by a rad company. Met lots of new people, had some great meetings and shot some quality cat skiing and park shredding photos. Psyched to have a hand in what they're doing and looks like there is some top notch stuff in order for the future.
We had the largest company gathering to date for the company. Almost all the staff and all but two of the athletes were present. In the above photo we got Joss Christenson, Josh Bibby, myself, Julia Mancuso, Jake Zamansky, Daron Rhalves, TJ Lanning, Alex Schlopy, Mitch Gilman, Jess McMillan, Colby West, Ted Davenport, Chris Davenport, Roz Groenewoud and Duncan Adams. Missing a few others in there like my brother Steven, Julian Carr and Tommy Moe. I think we've got a pretty solid roster...
Putting together a Nimbus Point & Shoot edit of the trip so keep your eyes peeled for that.
Thanks Spyder for letting me be a part of the company!!

Evan Hecox (for incase)...[bite]

2010-03-21T15:57:00.002-06:00

Ripped this one off of the Surface blog-o-sphere, but that's okay (I know them!!). Haven't been doing much wave catching on the www, but seems as if they have, so thanks for that. Here is a solid little video from the realm outside of skiing. It's good to catch some fresh air...

Evan Hecox from Arkitip, Inc. on Vimeo.

Wild Rumpus

2010-03-21T15:28:00.002-06:00

Here's my man, Big Tone, showing everyone how its truly done. Good work Crook Kid. Ski soon??

Nimbus Independent's - En Route teaser

2010-03-18T09:02:00.000-06:00

Eric released this beast earlier this week. Getting me so pumped to ski! A second wind is what I'm needing while skiing 60 degree weather in Aspen right now. The full length version will be released tomorrow (Friday, March 19) and is available at www.nimbusindependent.com. I'm psyched to see it...hopefully you are too!

Under the Rug

2010-03-14T16:53:00.001-06:00

Been hammering out some time on my skis the past couple of weeks. It's been good in the Wasatch and we've been working hard to get our share. Nimbus Independent's first webisode of the season will be coming out in less than a week and I'm pumped to see what Eric has put together.
Just got in from another day of snowmoskiing with Joel "Jah Raven" Whalen. It was a decent day as things regularly go, but not quite par in comparison to our current standard.

Anyway friends, this post is more a quick update than anything interesting. Some good content is right around the corner...

And that is a photo of my bathroom rug made out of plastic bags. I like it.

NVC 8.1

2010-03-08T17:35:00.001-07:00

"I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?" - CCR

Nimbus Independent's Point & Shoot series

2010-03-03T19:31:00.002-07:00

Been editing non-stop the past two days for Nimbus' new series called Point & Shoot. There should be an official release about the series in the coming weeks, but as for now, stay tuned to www.nimbusindependent.com for almost daily videos of our happenings.
Back to editing. Rendering sucks and is extremely boring...

Here's thinking of you Jordan Seldin...

2010-03-03T19:29:00.001-07:00

Here's thinking of you Paco...

2010-03-01T23:03:00.002-07:00

NVC 8.0

2010-02-26T18:09:00.001-07:00

Shallow

2010-02-20T12:03:00.001-07:00

It's almost March and none of the consistent Utah resorts have broke a 100" base. Kind of sad. I'm sick and not happy right now so I'm going to perpetuate my grumpy attitude onto here.
Here's to good health and deep snow!

Gonna Fly Now Jonny...

2010-02-18T23:16:00.000-07:00

NVC 7.9

2010-02-17T02:24:00.001-07:00

Mt. Rainier fly over.

NVC 7.8

2010-02-15T22:16:00.001-07:00

That firey blob of light is the Olympic flame in Whistler.

NVC 7.7

2010-02-08T19:09:00.001-07:00

West Yellowstone

NVC 7.6

2010-02-03T21:14:00.001-07:00

NVC 7.5

2010-02-01T21:23:00.001-07:00

Brothers

NVC 7.4

2010-01-30T16:30:00.001-07:00

Talk about International diplomacy!

NVC 7.3

2010-01-25T14:37:00.001-07:00

Getting the Worm

2010-01-23T06:45:00.001-07:00

It's currently 6:13 am. I've been up since 5:05 am. Utah has been getting some long awaited snow fall and the people are hungry. Were in the midst of a series of storms and the good people up Little Cottonwood Canyon are needing to do some avalanche maintenance. When this happens they have scheduled road closures that can keep you out of the canyon for hours and hours, unless you're already up there. I like the idea of being stuck where you want to be, as opposed to being stuck outside of where you're wanting to go. So here I am, with a good deal of other early bird locals, ready to get our worm. You can hear Pink Floyd playing in the background, the room is filled with ski stories, any of which you can eavesdrop. I'm surrounded by all sorts of different people, but we're all here with one common goal, to go home at the end of the day with a good story to share with our friends. It's infectious. And I guess that is the reason I'm here.