Mt. Tallac with Jason Abraham

A few days ago I headed up Mt. Tallac with Jason Abraham to see if we could find some good snow. At the time it hadn't snowed in probably 9 days or so, and the typical route down was so heavily skied it was almost moguls. The snow on south faces was perfect corn, and on the north and northeast faces we found some great shallow powder. We were hoping to snap a few photos, so we decided to head over to the south side of the mountain, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that side of the mountain almost completely untracked. Thanks to everyone out there who skis in everyone else's tracks....Coverage on Tallac is the best it has been a couple years, all of the really gnarly lines are filled in really well. While we didn't opt for the really aggressive skiing that day, the open powder slopes we found offered up some great snow conditions and worked well for getting a few pictures... It was Abro's first day on Tallac, and he just got a tiny taste of the possibilities that are up there.
We had another relaxed but successful photo day and it seems like we're on a roll. It is snowing lightly here in Tahoe again, and our weather looks unsettled for the next couple weeks. Bring it on!

A day in Ward Valley with Jason Abraham

Yesterday was one of the first truly sunny California days we've had in quite awhile here in Lake Tahoe. While I love the sunshine, I think I love powder even more, so I'm not really complaining. My friend Jason Abraham, Elevated Image Photography, and I headed up the road and into my big backyard of Ward Valley to see if there was any powder left out there... After a leisurely start we found good quality snow on east and northeast exposures above 8,000 feet. It was our first time shooting photos together and the clear skies and good snow helped us get some great shots. The best shots are being saved for publications, so here's a few of the rest.

This winter, it has been especially hard to shoot ski photos. While we've had tons of snow and great conditions, the light has been relatively non-existent. We all love good skiing, but people like me and photographers like Jason need to get shots to keep sponsorships and make a little money. Needless to say, getting out with good light and a great photographer really made my day, especially after taking the previous 5 days off to rest my ailing heel. We had a great time hiking around and skiing lines, and the laid back feel of the day made this one of the more enjoyable photo days I've ever had. I look forward to working with Jason more in the near future. The photo below is of the fun spine zone that we sessioned for a few runs before the light went away. I skied three new lines this day, and all of them heavily guarded by some massive cornices...