For all of you Euros that missed the chance to meet Eric Pollard, or
ride with him, really did miss out on an amazing experience! EP was
gracious enough to do a quick unannounced 3 day whirlwind tour which
took him from the Hofbräuhaus in Munich, Germany, through Innsbruck and
St. Anton, Austria on to Crans Montana in Switzerland.
Eric overshadows Innsbruck
First stop, directly off the plane and into the beer hall!
And of course, we were flaunting the legend!
As we enjoyed our Bavarian meal and liters of beer (thanks
Wolfie!), it was fun to show Eric how the beer swilling Germans party,
even though the Hofbräuhaus was mostly made up of tourists. LINE MC
Martin Bauer even demonstrated how the puke toilet worked...
Martin showing us how it's done
Then we were off to the first shop on the schedule, Good Stuff
in Munich. Great to see that even after a few brewskis, Eric was still
able to sign his name.
Eric signing the house pants at Good Stuff
Next, we were off to Innsbrooklyn, to ride on the Hungerburg.
Even the weather was not the greatest, we still had a great time
testing the new skis.
Korbi shows us a little bit of the Afterbang base on a box on the Nord Park
Hangover, what stinking hangover??
So after a little shredding, we were off to do more signings at Die Boerse, the legendary shop in Innsbruck.
Eric signs some lucky kid's new skis
Bet he could shred that 222 as well!!
Now we were on our way to the LINE team house in St. Anton.
Once we got there, we were greeted by the Sport Jenenwien team at their
freestyle shop, Surfer's Paradise. Beers and a DJ were awaiting us, and
good times were had by all.
Korbi showing the new Anthems
Surfer's Paradise in St. Anton
Beers flowed from the Canandian fridge!
So after a great night and some well deserved sleep (except for
the swede hunters Korbi and Martin), we were off to meet some shop
riders and other skiers to rip up Anton.
Everybody was stoked to ride with Pollard
Even the boarders were stoked!!
Martin and Peter showing what LINE skis can do
It was also my first day on my new Anthems, so sick!!!
Even the snowboarders loved the new Anthem graphics
And of course, no day would not be complete without beers at the Krazy Kanagaruh!!
So now we were left with our longest trek, to Crans Montana in
Switzerland. Crans was hosting the Champs Open, which LINE MC's Patrick
Hollaus, Nils Lauper, and Jussi Mononen were competing. After a brief
sleep, we were on the hill once again, and this time with some new snow
and a bunch of crazy swiss dudes!
These boys were fired up!!
Maybe a little too fired up!!
A lift full of EP Pro Models, life is good!
And everybody wanted to be on the EP's!
So after another great day on the mountain, we were off to the
local shop, The Crans Mountain, for a few signings and yes, you guessed
it... more beers!
Eric decided to do some improve artwork on some lucky kid's skis. Bet he will only buy LINE in the future...
After a wonderful cheese fondue, and some tasty Swiss wine, we
got a chance to kick back and reflect on what a great three days the
last ones were. Well I did anyway, unfortunately, the boys had to get
Eric back to Munich to meet the rest of his crew, Nimbus, at the
airport the next day early. Bummer! But it was wonderful to have such a
great guy, and one of the legends of skiing come hang out with us for a
while! If you ever get a chance to meet him, please don't hesitate, you
won't regret it!!
Thanks to all the people who had made this wonderful time happen,
and of course to the legend himself... thank you Eric for coming and
being a true inspiration to our sport and our lives!
L8r, Skye
A few pics and words from Eric
Sorry this has taken me so long. I've been going non-stop since the LINE trip ended, not much email access and way too much driving.
here are some pics and words:
My euro trip guides; Korbi, Martin and Skye, I had so much fun with these guys. LINE is holding it down in Europe with a great team, an awesome team manager and rad sales force.
Below is my chariot for the trip, Skye's LINE car and Martin's parent's transporter van. We got this ride up to a good click on the Autobaun, so much driving in three days but i had a lot of fun skiing.
Get used to this view if you come to the Alps.
This view is not to shabby either. I'm still in Europe now filming for En Route Webisode 2. I love europe! I'm about to leave in a couple days and i cant wait to come back.
later,
-Eric
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