Loving Life

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Summer 2015 at Windells

Being a part of Mt. Hood in the summertime is one of my favorite things in the world. The sunshine, soft snow, and all around stoke you feel through the community is one that cannot be easily mimicked. I've had the pleasure of being a part of Windells the past few years, and was thrilled to be asked back to help out with the adult campers this year. Everyday on the glacier is a blessing, and the fact that we are able to snowboard during June-August is so incredible, despite the low snow year. This summer was especially low on snow and i'm blown away at how well the diggers at Windells, as well as the rest of the staff handled the situation and in my mind, came out on top. Thanks again for another memorable summer Windells, Mt. Hood, and Timberline! Pray for snow this season!

Alaska Dreams... My trip to Haines and Heli Skiing with SEABA

For the most part, all of the stories you hear about Alaska are true. Its cold, wet, theres wildlife everywhere, its absolutely stunning and its mostly run by men. The terrain is unbelievable and it is a place many people in the outdoorsy world dream about going. I was fortunate enough to make it up there this April for some heli skiing, and it was everything I could have imagined.
Other than the ample amount of down time sitting inside due to weather, the trip was an experience I will never forget. There is something very humbling about being in those mountains, getting dropped off on top of knife edge ridges from a helicopter, and descending thousands of feet to basically sea level again. Alaska left me with an indescribable feeling of longing for more time in the mountains, but also a huge respect those pioneers who first started exploring around them, where one small mistake will cost you your life. You can bet that I will find a way to get back there every year from now on.. I suggest you do too.

Viking Surfs Alaska from erika Vikander on Vimeo.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

SFS BIG Sky 2015

Mother nature has been extremely fussy all year, with unusual snow patterns, or lack there of, we have all been at the mercy of a nearly snowless year here in the lower 48. Due to the nature of our sport, we have absolutely no control over whether or not it will snow, or if we will end up having to compete on less than ideal conditions. Unfortunately for the Subaru Freeride Series and Big Sky, mother nature just couldn't provide the snow needed at the proper time to warrant sending 100 plus competitors down one of the most treacherous zones on the mountain, the Headwaters.
Given the fact I grew up in Montana I was looking forward to going to this event a little bit more than than the rest of the stops, and was committed to go either way. We showed up two days early in Big Sky and were greeted with less than optimal conditions on the course (which was closed) and the mountain all around. Later that day we received an email from the event coordinators saying that the event had been cancelled, and regrettably there was nothing that could be said or done.
Determined to make the most of our time there, we decided to tough it out and go ride and keep our spirits up regardless. Lamentably, for the Freeride series coordinators mother nature had a little surprise up her sleeve and the skies opened up and dumped about 2 feet of snow in a 36 hour period of time, and I got to enjoy one of the best powder days of my life.
The terrain there is unbeatable, and with access to some really steep open bowls, cliff drops, and chutes directly from the tram, we got "free refills" and I was literally getting faceshots on every turn on every run all day long. That made up for the lack of the event in itself, and although SFS did their very best to make the event happen, sometimes things just happen don't work out as planned. I was privileged to be asked by the SFS to participate in a promotional video for the Sony Action Camera while I was up there and had an absolute blast being a part of that. Everything happens for a reason, and I would have loved to compete and bump myself up the overall rankings, however, I am very pleased to say I still ended up in 4th place overall in the series, my debut year. I am looking forward to many more Freeride events next year, and positioning myself to try to qualify for the Freeride World Tour. Thanks to everyone at the SFS for all of their hard work, my sponsors, family, supporters, and all of the new friends I've made on this exquisite journey into a new realm of competitive snowboarding. I'm looking forward to heading up to Haines, AK next week to get my fill of powder for the season- stay tuned for the next set of adventures!