I’m excited to head to Banff Mountain Film Festival (@banffmountainfestival ) and link back up with the crew to premiere and share an impressive project we worked on earlier this year: an almost unfathomable ski line on the most impressive mountain of the Canadian Rockies in winter - The Great Couloir on the south face of Mt Robson.
I shot still images for the project so watching the premiere and all the work the talented Sherpas Cinema team put into it will be a treat.
Christina Lustenberger is an absolute force with vision, grit, and team building ability match.
⛷️: @christinalusti
⛷️: @geepierrel
🎥: @sherpascinema@joshu_wow@philipforsey@m_sangy
Many thanks to @thenorthface and @yeti for the support to be a part of this as well as the other sponsors for the film.
Pursuing lines that have never been skied, in zones where the map goes blank and the margin for error disappears.
Pulling that off takes relentless prep, early alpine starts, and the kind of recovery that lets you go back day after day.
From the way I train, explore, recover, and the way I show up before the sun even thinks about rising.
I trust the ritual of @drinkag1 through the chaos of life.
I’m proud to officially partner with AG1—my daily ritual for nutrition no matter where in the world I’m chasing new adventures.
☀️75+ vitamins, minerals, probiotics & adaptogens ☀️Supports energy, focus, immune resilience, and recovery ☀️One scoop, anywhere, every day, any timezone, any elevation.
📷 @_blakegordon_
We’re proud to support a screening of Papsura, the latest snowboarding epic film from @patagonia , on March 14 at @tacaw_org
After the film, local cinematographer @_blakegordon_ will share a special presentation and slideshow.
Tucked deep in the Indian Himalaya is a 21,100-foot behemoth called Papsura, the face of which is split by a line so perfect and massive it pushed the skills of even the most renowned ski mountaineers.
Papsura: Peak of Evil follows professional snowboarders Nick Russell and Jerry Mark from California’s Sierra Nevada to this remote corner of the world’s greatest mountain range, as they harness years of experience in pursuit of the biggest line of their lives.
Tickets on sale now by visiting link in our linktree or online at TACAW. Thank you to TACAW + Blake Gordon and Patagonia for collaborating on what will be a great evening celebrating adventure + film and storytelling.
PAPSURA: Peak of Evil
I’m honored and grateful for the opportunity to create a film with @patagonia and @mrgnshlds from our expedition to India this past year. Working on this project with the crew has been the wildest highlight of my life thus far and I can’t wait to share it with the world.
So many people to thank for bringing this to fruition, but especially Morgan, @jerryjmark and @_blakegordon_ for the adventure of a lifetime and @hilareenelson and @jimwmorrison for the inspiration. Endless gratitude to everyone @patagonia for trusting and believing ❤️
Hope to see you at these premieres. More details and screenings to come 🙏
Photos by @_blakegordon_
#Papsura
#PeakOfEvil
@patagonia_snow@backcountryaccess@anonoptics@pomocaskins@ibexexpeditions
12/30/2019 setting moon over the Rio Grande, looking SW over Mexico. A brief moment getting in touch with the cosmos on a recent @yeti shoot.
Happy New Year!
White (Sands) Christmas, 2006
I’ve been having a lot fun* pushing terabytes around and getting the archive/backups in order the past few days - so here’s one from way back.
In the middle of a cross country drive one December a long time ago, I hauled a fake plastic tree out into those southern NM gypsum sand dunes, hooked up some lights to an inverter and powered it by the car battery that I pulled from the truck I was driving and waited for dusk.
Merry Christmas! Happy holidays!
-
(*data management is never really that fun but necessary)
Himalaya 11: abstraction
One of the most amazing aspects of being in the alpine is the light and the space. Every time I go into that environment it amazes me. Snow is a unique medium in that it reflects nearly all of the light given to it - this is called albedo. There are few other environments, if any, that allow for such a delicate and ephemeral display of light.
Albedo is also a big reason why it’s so easy to get sunburned in that environment. In the Alaska Range where the terrain is caked with snow and glaciers a friend told me “you are the only thing in this environment that absorbs solar radiation”. I can’t help but being constantly aware of these subtle interactions of light and space. Even though there are times when it’s necessary to be completely focused on the task at hand, I am most often aware of what the light is doing - particularly when photographing. That puts me in a position to be prepared to make a photograph and was critical on this trip when keeping up with a strong team.
Again, I have to give thanks to the team I was with, both athletes and sherpas as their support and solid teamwork allowed a deeper exploration of those abstract elements. Sometimes I take pictures just to see how the light is working and sometimes that interesting light plays around in an interesting space. And occasionally there is person or story woven through that space as well.
@mikeyarno@griffpost@christinalusti@thenorthface #skinepal
Himalaya 10: ABC
2M dome tent life
We pushed back across the moraine with heavy packs and skis to establish advanced base camp and continue upward. I looked over at Griffin taking a killer selfie - but he wasn’t. He was checking sun angles to see what kind of usable hours we would have. Pushing out from camp or getting back to camp outside of daylight would take exponentially more energy.
Day 11, we were ahead of schedule with all efforts pointed toward our main objective and we hadn’t even been on the actual mountain. But that’s the way it goes. We checked weather, sent messages via satellite, managed gear, batteries, ate, talked about the mountain, talked about life outside the mountain, talked about nothing, did nothing. We tried to coax Christina into playing hearts, the critical 4th player that the card game depended on.
Now we were on our way up at the base of the mountain in our home away from home away from home. All that slowness and down time gives a chance for emotions (both excitement and apprehension) to swell beyond the low level acceptance of their merit. So we kept it tranquilo and continue onward.
@mikeyarno@griffpost@christinalusti@thenorthface #skinepal #buckminsterfuller
Himalaya 09: puja
PAUSE.
GIVE THANKS.
BE HUMBLE.
There are many things to do before climbing big mountains, and one of those is making damn sure you are paying attention to the great teacher that is reality. If you hadn’t done it yet, the puja ceremony was a ritualistic doorway to make sure you acknowledged those sometimes tangible, sometimes mystical forces. It’s a beautiful aspect of climbing in the Himalaya.
Our rock star lama arrived on horseback from Phu village and assumed we were climbing the 7000M trade route our base camp supported. When we explained our objective on the the face at the end of the valley he replied in broken english:
“oh - ice skating…”
He moved through a series of scripted devotions and we payed our respects to the place and people who brought us here through offerings of rice and flour as well as beer, soft drinks, and snack food. We blessed our gear and received blessings for a safe passage.
Afterwards he snapped a selfie and rode off down the valley.
@mikeyarno@griffpost@christinalusti@thenorthface #skinepal
