It's always seemed a bit odd to us that so many good skiers can come from a country that is very flat and spends much of the winter consumed by darkness. AJ Kemppainen gives us a glimpse into his world as he trains for the competition season.
On March 8, 2004, aspiring freeskier and coach, Josh Dueck, awoke from a ski crash to realize life would never be the same. Paralyzed from the waist down, Josh made a decision to make the best of a horrible situation. The result is one of the most inspiring stories we've ever seen.
Back in 2004, a flip on skis gone tragically wrong broke Josh Dueck's back and left him as a T11 - full paraplegic. For the past 8 years one of his dreams has been to do a flip on snow again. On February 3, 2012, Josh became the first person to perform a backflip on snow in a Sit Ski.
Over the past three years he's logged first descents in a half-dozen countries, battled back to life from an accident that nearly killed him, and become the most talked about skier in the epicenter of all things extreme - Chamonix, France. What makes Andreas most intriguing, however, are his thoughtful musings on meaning from a life on the edge - a willingness to enter mental spaces that few have ever experienced. In Tempting Fear, Sweden's soft-spoken Adventurer of the Year explores a place in which fear overwhelms all emotions, playing both friend and enemy in a pas de deux where death lies just one misstep away. Awards: "Best Action Film" at the 2012 Adventure Film Festival & "Best Story" at X-Dance 2013. Follow @ndreasfransson on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ndreasfransson & peruse through his thoughts on his personal website at http://andreasfransson.blogspot.fr/. Also be sure to Like Salomon Freeski TV on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/salomonfreeski/ on Follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/salomonfreeski/. And to listen to Season 6 of Salomon Freeski TV's soundtrack, visit http://open.spotify.com/user/salomonfreeski/playlist/1a8kjK7viZ0ruFKe7x7U1I
It seems everyone these days has a GoPro camera. You've probably seen hundreds of POV edits over the past few years, but we bet you've never seen one quite like this. Featuring Chris Rubens, Mark Abma, Mike Douglas, Cody Townsend and Bobby Brown.
Antoine Boisselier has stared across at the Belledonne Mountains his whole life. He's always dreamed of laying ski tracks on their difficult-to-access slopes. Two years ago, he and a group of close friends launched their paragliders from across the valley and took a chance.
Every summer, forest fires burn wildly across the temperate mountain regions of the world. As destructive as they are, they have a purpose and beauty that often goes unappreciated. As winter arrives in the burned forest, so do the skiers. They have come to celebrate new lines opened up by the previous summer's fires that have now burned themselves out - or have they?
Alta, Utah has almost a cult-like following of devoted powder skiers. Leo Ahrens, Jamey Parks, and the many generations of Alta shredders show us the soul of skiing is alive and well in one of the best powder skiing spots on earth.
Under twinkle of stars and light of moon spirits roam the world at night emerging cold and frozen from shadows left and right more richly colored than the day they'll play 'til dawn's first light set your clocks, the fun begins at quarter past midnight.
Salomon Freeski TV is back for it's 6th season! Twelve short films will be released online bi-weekly starting October 9, 2012. This year the Salomon team chased powder and stories through Russia, Japan, Chile, Austria, France, Sicily, Canada, USA and more in what promises to be the best season yet.
We skiers are a strange breed. When most of society is running for cover, we find ourselves rejoicing at the sight of a cold low pressure system circling on the Satellite loop. We yearn for the feeling of cold powder snow blowing in our faces. Inside a swirling maelstrom of snowflakes, we feel most free.
La Niña (the 'little girl' in Spanish) is an oceanic phenomenon that delivered western North America the coldest and snowiest winter anyone can remember. It also makes this episode of Salomon Freeski TV the deepest one yet. According to all climate predictions, she's back for the 2011/12 season. We hope you like your powder deep!
Back in October 2009, Salomon and Freeskier magazine launched a contest asking skiers to submit video of their backyard jib set-ups. The prize: Having the Salomon Team move into your house and session your set-up for the weekend. Hilden, Nova Scotia will never be the same!
Deep in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia Chris Rubens, Elyse Saugstad and Kim Havell put the new Salomon Guardian binding to the test.
If you think Freeskiing is a new sport, think again. Mike Douglas sounds off in a Rick Mercer-style rant about the History of Freeskiing, proving that the recent rise of boardsports has a lot less to do with skiing’s popularity than most people think. This is a must-see episode for every skier. http://www.salomonfreeski.com
Over the past decade, Mark Abma has become one of the most celebrated freeskiers in the sport. This week he takes us on a trip inside his mind.
Holding the world record for snowfall, the bountiful Pacific Northwest of North America is the ideal location for a two-week, no fixed itinerary, powder adventure. Cody Townsend, Elyse Saugstad and Leo Ahrens indulge themselves in the snowiest month of the snowiest year in a decade.
It's unlikely there is any place on earth with as rich of ski history as Norway. Skiing is woven through every part of Norwegian culture and there is nowhere more beautiful to illustrate this than along the snowy Fjords of the Sogndal region.
Nick Martini, Alexis Godbout, and Matt Walker meet up in Boston, USA for an urban road-trip through New England. Over the course of ten days these guys slay and destroy 12 rails, update their tall tee wardrobe, try true east coast lobster, and make friends with local law enforcement.
Our Northwest adventure continues with the arrival of Mark Abma, and one of the deepest days on record at Stevens Pass, Washington.
Marking America's only unguarded border, the Portland Canal is the 4th longest fjord in the world. At the head of it, lay the towns of Stewart, BC and Hyder, Alaska - and the base for Last Frontier Heliskiing. Cody Townsend & Chris Rubens use a helicopter and their skis to explore one of the last great wilderness areas left on earth.
On this episode we take a look behind three of our favorite photos of the season. Matt Walker turns video games into real life, sliding a chairlift cable at Ski Bowl, Oregon. Elyse Saugstad charges a huge line in the Utah Backcountry, and Christopher Frankum and Mattias Fredriksson combine forces in Lofoton, Norway to create our favorite photo of the year.
As editor of Bravoski Magazine, Tatsuya Tayagaki's job is to keep his finger on the pulse of freeskiing in Japan. He travels the country in his home-on-wheels in search of passionate skiers and hope after the nation was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
"By the time we landed we had an armed guard escorting us back to the military base." Chris Rubens and Tristan Knoertzer discover the challenges but also witness the triumphs of opening a heli ski operation in the war torn mountain ranges of Kashmir, India.
A Chimaera is a multi-part dream or creature created by the mind. This Chimaera is made up of the sounds and images that cue the memories of winter in a skier’s mind. Just plug in your headphones and let your senses take over.
Kaj Zackrisson, Mark Abma, and Mike Douglas go to Monterosa, Italy in the middle of the snowiest winter in 25 years. While the locals were kept busy trying to keep their roofs from collapsing, the crew shredded uncrowded and untracked powder for two weeks straight.
http://www.salomonfreeski.com
Cody Townsend and Chris Rubens meet up in the BC interior to spend a week chasing each other through the powder-filled gulches of Revelstoke. This episode is filmed entirely from the perspective of two helmet cams.
Just when Mark Abma, Mike Douglas and Dane Tudor think it can't get any better at CPG Girdwood -- it does. Blue skies, epic spines, and huge booters cap off an all-time trip to Alaska. Part 2 of 2.
Bobby Brown and Alexi Godbout meet up with AJ Kempainen in New Zealand to heli ski and work on new tricks for the upcoming season.
When the weather warms and the contest season ends, the pros focus on building the best jumps and jibs possible. In this episode the Salomon Team takes things to the next level at Mt. Bachelor and Timberline, Oregon and Whistler, BC.
For ski bum Jeremy McLure, living in Whistler is a childhood dream come true. We follow Jeremy through a Whistler winter to see what it takes to ski powder everyday in North America's most notorious ski town. Along the way you'll learn why Whistler's Peak Chair is the most entertaining place in the world on a bluebird powder day.
A year in the making, Mike Douglas and Cody Townsend fulfill a dream of towing into big waves on skis in Hawaii. After 4 weeks, 5 broken skis, and 1 big scare, they proved that it is, in fact, possible. Is it cool, or is there a future for skiing on waves?
Decide for yourself.
A sneak preview of Season 5 - Salomon Freeski TV. The first episode drops October 11th. Make sure to mark it down.
Powder is guaranteed!
http://www.salomonfreeski.com
Who’s the next park and pipe superstar? There’s a good chance they’re in this episode. These very best shots from the Jib Academy Euro final in Sweden and the global final in Mammoth, California. Oh y...and watch Bobby Brown get served in one of the funniest shots of the year!
We check in with the Salomon team for one last time this season and take a look forward at what is coming up in season 4 of Salomon Freeski TV. It’s been a winter of ups and downs, but one thing is sure… we’ve had a lot of fun along the way. Rapper, AllStar, lays down another original track for the final episode of season 3.
As the youngest land mass on earth, Iceland is an ever-evolving paradise for skiers. Littered with volcanoes, the ski lines here plunge straight to the ocean's edge. Andreas Fransson, Chris Rubens, and Mark Abma visit Arctic Heli Sking on the Troll Peninsula.
Charles Gagnier and Kaya Turski meet up with Marek Doniec in his homeland of Poland. Their arrival was timed perfectly with the worst streak of weather Poland saw all winter. Forced to the streets, they spent 10 days searching for urban features while being chased by the Polish police. One of our best shows of the year.
On this week's episode we drop by the Salomon Team house in Breckenridge, Colorado to see how they livin' and how they skiin', as they prep for the 2010 competition season.
http://www.salomonfreeski.com
Kaj Zackrisson, Mike Douglas and Chris Rubens are back in the Alps chasing powder. For the second year in a row, they find the deepest snow of the year.
John Symms heads to Asia to take a look into the emerging freeski scene in South Korea. X-Dragon and his X-Crew show off their outfits, cuisine, and passion for the sport at a ski area that's open 24/7. If this episode doesn't make you smile, you need a new sport.
