|
 |
FOUR DAYS AT BALDFACE LODGE IN BC, CANADA!
3/11/2008 |
|
How does one explain in words how mind-bending a trip to Baldface is?
One doesn’t! Certain things in life have to be experienced in order to be understood. Just
as scoring the hottest chick would only be half as fun if you couldn’t tell your mates about
it afterwards, just as fun it is to repeatedly smear “Yes, it was THAT DEEP” all over the
sorry and miserable faces of your friends that missed out on the pow when YOU scored.
So, lean back, pop a coldie and picture yourself self in a chopper whisking you and a select
crew of your mates to a winter dreamland covered so deep in the white gold that trees, as
we know them, are hardly recognizable.
That’s exactly what Volcom did when they needed to find a location for their Snow Team
09/10 Snow meeting. Volcom trips to Baldface deep in the B.C Selkirk mountains, have
slowly but surely become an annual pilgrimage of mythical proportions, much alike the
surf trips to Tavarua.
The Volcom Crew in a special place.
The terrain of Baldface is endless, with new runs constantly being opened, the snow is is
as good as it gets, and the entire staff does it utmost to provide a laid-back and safe
atmosphere, from the cat drivers to the guides to the massage ladies and all the way to
the gourmet chefs.
An average day starts with you waking up in your luxury cabin by someone delivering
fresh coffee at the door. Then you put your gear on and walk down to the main lodge for a
gourmet breakfast before jumping into one of the 3 cats and taking off to some powder-
covered peak. Of course the cats are filled with drinks, snacks and connoisseur
sandwiches.
Then, once the cat reaches the summit you get out, listen to the guide instructions, strap
in and the rest is history… Only problem is that the terrain is so vast and varied that
having to choose between pointing it and going for big pow sprays or taking it a little
more mellow and scoping for pillows and cliffs could easily turn into a nightmare and turn
normally sane people into Cuckoo’s nest candidates.
Guch, throws another timeless method.
It’s like sending a bunch of 12-year olds into a candy store and telling them that they can
have everything they can manage to carry with their own hands. Or saving a boatload full
of Swedish Bikini Team girls from their shipwreck in the middle of the ocean, only to have
to deal with all of them personally wanting to express their gratitude, all at the same time.
That too, just like the Baldface terrain plethora, can make a sane man burst into tears, and
fall deep down into a psychosis he never resurfaces from. Perhaps communists and
muslim extremists have been smarter than us all along, promoting freedom from choice,
rather than freedom OF choice… Or is it just me getting sidetracked again?
Key to happiness here is loading up a cat with riders of similar level. I had the exclusive
privilege sharing a cat with Volcom riders Zac Marben, Bryan Iguchi, Wille Luoma, Bjorn
Leines, Curtiz Czisek, Janna Meyen, Seth Huot and Eero Niemela. Need I say more?
Watching these guys was a trip, let alone seeing how liberated they felt by the rare
opportunity to ride without the constraints of the normally ever-present camera and just
being able to shred with friends and team mates they barely see throughout the whole
season due to various filming and contests obligations. Priceless.
The new and improved "EEROBED" or at least that's what Eero was seeing as his final night came to an end. Not sure if the resident hound was all that excited.
Then, around 4 pm we made our way back to the lodge for some coldies, warm soup and
some hours of “so-called” work, checking out next years line, before a gourmet dinner,
where once again one has to face the dilemma of choice while choosing between Merlot,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Zinfandel, Beaujolais and many many more
types of wine as accompaniment to your steak of choice. Aaaargh!
Then it’s time for beer pong, guitar hero, pool, a massage perhaps, or coldies in the
sauna? Your call! Some of the stronger brethren hung in and around the bar into the wee
hours, while the weaker ones like myself went to bed early and for once did neither count
breasts to fall asleep nor dreamt of naked women but of the powder yet to come…
And so the story went for 3 days on. Ride all day, work after riding, then lounge in the
lodge and the bar. Some individuals lounged harder then others, with one of them waking
up on the floor, face down in the dogbed, completely oblivious to one pissed of terrier
barking at him for taking his spot hours on end, while another one was slightly smarter
and went straight from the bar at 5am to the massage parlor, passing out there, not
wanting to miss out on his 7am massage appointment.
Bjorn clean ollie, big drop.
Just as all good things must not come to an end, we had to leave but we made sure to
track the hell out of the place before “The Program” arrived directly after us.
Big ups to Jeff and his entire crew for creating and running the ideal adult playground.
Thanks to everyone at from Volcom that was there and a very special thanks to whomever
it was that put my name on the list.
Volcom was proud to put down first decents and appropriately name this zone "Stoney Baloney".
Wille Yli-Luoma kept everyone entertained on and off the hill!
Definitely not a square table?
Have no fear Janna is here! Actualy if your going to try and follow Janna, fear shortly awaits you. Janna never looks for the easy way down.
Seth, indy shortly after a minor head wound.
Young buck, Curtis pre-liver experiment.
Cheers! Nothing taste better than ice cold Kokane at the end of the day!
Check out www.baldface.net
WORDS_jp
PHOTOS_yuskeson and rkb
|
|
