West Coast Session wrap-up!

Three weeks ago Newschoolers held its first major event on the West Coast at Timberline Lodge, Oregon. The idea for the West Coast Session was two-fold, but simple: invite a bunch of sick young riders we've seen in the pictures, videos and forums on NS to come film for a Newschoolers video—then end the shoot with an open park jam session and Newschoolers member gathering, complete with $500 cash fresh from the Newschoolers bank account to give out to our loyal West Coast members.

Unfortunately the invite park shoot concept once represented by Powder magazine's Superpark and Freeze (RIP) magazine's Parkasaurus has been largely abandoned in North America. The loss of those two events has left a hole in the ski scene here that's tragic for everyone who likes to watch people ski who are better than them. True, many ski film companies still hold major park shoots, but the question of who gets to ski there is often determined by which sponsor's riders have been lazy all season and now desperately need those spring park shots.

But the riders at our shoot were determined by much more rigorous and demanding standards: the personal opinion of the event organizer. Just kidding... what really determined it were the efforts made by anyone on or off the invite list to come out for the Session. The rider's list ended up being pretty much a broadside of some of the best young talent in North American skiing, with some skiers you've probably heard of, some you're hearing now for the first time, and Mike Wilson on board as the resident "old man" and instigator.

With Timberline's help in hosting the event and building a number of features for the West Coast Session crew to ride, major support from helmet company Sweet Protection, and the generosity of Windell's Camp by allowing us stay on their campus, "the funnest place on earth," the West Coast Session didn't have much choice but to be a total success. I don't think our little session was too groundbreaking, but I do think it was a step in the right direction.

We already updated you on some of the happenings from Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 of the WCS shoot, but for occasions such as these, a final wrap-up article is in order. And who knows... maybe even more West Coast Session footie will be coming out soon!

But enough blather, let's get to the ski action.




Blake Nyman and fellow Surface rider Jordan Seldin had arrived for the Session with Justin Loeloff from Off Trail (that's two words) Productions, filming for what appears to be the last OTP film unless someone can entice Justin away from the lure of a living wage outside of skiing. People with money, lend me your ears, and go give Justin your money to shoot skiing for you.

Blake's first switch 7 on this jump ended roughly at the bottom of the transition, but he stomped this one clean with a subtle japan.


Another rider with the Off Trail crowd arrived at the West Coast Session almost completely unknown, but he sure didn't leave that way.






Hey, see that cliff line in the background? I like, totally dropped the biggest point on that shit into a bathtub of champagne, brah. Oh wait. We're still supposed to be looking at Max Hill. More shifty.







Fear not, the West Coast Session was not just jumps. Timberline's Paintbrush park offered us the formidable triple-S line of doom: an S-box, into an S-rail... into a rollercoaster box shaped into the form of that spectacular specimen of semantic significance: the letter S.



Witt stomped the roller-S, then drove down into Government Camp and got his last name legally changed to Fosster, so he could keep the memory of that S with him forever.






Then there was the everpopular gap rail. Are you sure you want to spin on? The Goblin says: yes.



JP "that guy you thought was just a pipe skier" Solberg brings out the switch two-sev, 270 out.




And if we're going to talk good on jumps, we should talk Adam Battersby. He's coming up strong and if he skis next year like he did at the WCS, we might see some solid comp results out of the younger Battersby. Adam missed the first week of school in Park City to come ride with us. What powerful decisions the younger generation is making!