Eye Of The Condor

After storms, sun, seminars and photo exhibits, La Parva’s Eye Of The Condor wrapped up with a raucous awards party that produced a surprising sweep of both the Photo and Video awards by a young Dubsatch Collective team. The People’s Choice award was taken by Discrete.

“I am speechless right now,” admitted Dubsatch team member Carston Oliver. “It hasn’t really sunken in.”

2011 Eye of the Condor Video from the Dubsatch Collective from Eye of the Condor on Vimeo.

Still, there’s little doubt that Oliver and his teammates, which included athletes Leo Ahrens and Zach Halverson, along with photographer Juan Luis de Heeckren and videographer Alvaro Zurita will find a way to wrap their brains around their $6,000 total winnings ($3,000 for photo and $3,000 for video) eventually.

The victory in both categories for Dubsatch was made all the sweeter by the fact that the Utah based team arrived in La Parva sans a photographer and videographer after last minute scheduling conflicts left the athletes scrambling for replacements. They found succor in the Chilean tandem of de Heeckren and Zurita, who proved that there’s a wealth of undiscovered artistic talent in Chile.

KLIИT team member Brian Kish spins high above La Parva, Chile, with Santiago in the background. Kish took home an individual honor, the flying condor, for his impressive airs.

“This is an amazing story,” says Rodrigo Medina, La Parva Director of Sales and Business. “This team arrived without some of their key members, but they were able to connect with some local talent. De Heeckren and Zurita aren’t big names like some of the other photographers we had here. But they’re not going to remain unknown for much longer. This is a huge success for them as well as for the guys from Utah.”

According to the judges, the competition was extremely tight, with all of the participating teams producing compelling work. This was particularly true for the effort made by Discrete. Thomas Grob, Eye Judge and General Manager of La Parva, was so impressed by that team’s effort that he tapped into his La Parva expense account to offer up the “Chilean Choice” award of $1,500 to Discrete. The cash prize will no doubt come in handy during the all expenses paid Chilean surf trip that Discrete claimed as the winners of the “People’s Choice” award that was given based upon votes during the award party by attendees, VIPs and other locals.

2011 Eye of the Condor Video from Discrete from Eye of the Condor on Vimeo.

“I am stoked,” an obviously elated Grob said as the awards were announced. “This has been an amazing event.”

2011 Eye of the Condor Video from K2 from Eye of the Condor on Vimeo.

2011 Eye of the Condor Video fro KLINT from Eye of the Condor on Vimeo.

Teams competing in La Parva at The Eye Of The Condor include K2, KLIИT, Discrete, Dubsatch, and Optimus Prime. The athletes worked with videographers and photographers to create the most impressive body of work over five days and claim the coveted “Eye Of The Condor” award. Already plans are being made for a second installment of this prestigious event, which is expected to occur during the first week of August in 2012. Please stay tuned to www.laparva.cl and www.eyeofthecondor.com for additional details.