Snow Monkeys in Blizzards
What do you get if you combine some olympic-grade snowboarders, a world-class event and a really, really nasty blizzard?
A very cool, but cancelled event. With some unhappy snowboarders. And some serious fresh powder.
Such it was last Saturday at the Chevrolet US Snowboard Grand Prix. No less than 15 minutes after I arrived at the Superpipe (and *after* checking in at the media desk and then huffing and puffing my way up the steep and snowy hill for 10 minutes, mind you), the cool dude who had narrated the event with much gusto, informed all the other resident dudes and dudettes that - uhmm, so *totally* sorry, man - the event would be postponed until later, or at least the next day.
I fired off exactly 15 frames prior to that, obsessively trying to protect my rather water-sensitive camera from the driving snow and hoping Mother Nature would chill. No use.
I did see some rad moves by the snowboard kids, but documentation in the manner intended (with blue skies, sunshine, and actually being able to see out of my eyes) fell sadly short, to say the least. Hence, below pictures:
![[]](/blog/pics/Boarder_1.jpg)
![[]](/blog/pics/Boarder_2.jpg)
Yepp, they suck. I know.
Making my way back to the base then, I came to know what the term "snow blind" means. With snow crystals, sharp like tiny razors, coming at me with insane speeds, not even the combined efforts of my sunglasses, hood, and shawl were able to protect my eyes enough to actually be able to keep them open - I staggered down the hill blind, having faith in the fact that *other people* could (maybe) see me and get out of the way in time.
On Sunday, I contemplated a return to shoot the Superpipe and the Slope-style finals, but after checking the Mountain's Weather Page and Webcam and seeing nothing but snow, I ditched it in favor of another adrenaline sport - playing four solid hours of Baldur's Gate.
A very cool, but cancelled event. With some unhappy snowboarders. And some serious fresh powder.
Such it was last Saturday at the Chevrolet US Snowboard Grand Prix. No less than 15 minutes after I arrived at the Superpipe (and *after* checking in at the media desk and then huffing and puffing my way up the steep and snowy hill for 10 minutes, mind you), the cool dude who had narrated the event with much gusto, informed all the other resident dudes and dudettes that - uhmm, so *totally* sorry, man - the event would be postponed until later, or at least the next day.
I fired off exactly 15 frames prior to that, obsessively trying to protect my rather water-sensitive camera from the driving snow and hoping Mother Nature would chill. No use.
I did see some rad moves by the snowboard kids, but documentation in the manner intended (with blue skies, sunshine, and actually being able to see out of my eyes) fell sadly short, to say the least. Hence, below pictures:
Yepp, they suck. I know.
Making my way back to the base then, I came to know what the term "snow blind" means. With snow crystals, sharp like tiny razors, coming at me with insane speeds, not even the combined efforts of my sunglasses, hood, and shawl were able to protect my eyes enough to actually be able to keep them open - I staggered down the hill blind, having faith in the fact that *other people* could (maybe) see me and get out of the way in time.
On Sunday, I contemplated a return to shoot the Superpipe and the Slope-style finals, but after checking the Mountain's Weather Page and Webcam and seeing nothing but snow, I ditched it in favor of another adrenaline sport - playing four solid hours of Baldur's Gate.
Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, oregon stock photography, photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon
posted by Simone at 5:18 PM
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