Christmas Eve Shred!

So today was pretty damn awesome! I'm really getting used to my new snowboard and I absolutely LOVE it! The Lipstick was definitely a good choice for this mountain. My friend and fellow instructor Lisa helped me explore some more of the ridge today. The sun was shining and oh my gawwwd was it beautiful! I think my heart literally skipped a beat when those mountains and water came into view. We even found a little powder stash that was so fun! :) Eaglecrest has such amazing terrain, and Juneau in general is just incredible. 

After some freaking AWEsome shredding, we helped with some of the Christmas Eve celebration at Eaglecrest. I helped the kiddies make owl ornaments and we watched the torchlight parade which was super cool, then Santa came and gave out presents to all the good little girls and boys :) What Eaglecrest does for the community here is just amazing.

Anyways, here are some pics from today!

Power to the Powder

Today we hiked up Eaglecrest and got some turns in again. This time, on actual POWDER boards. Dustin was on a Capita Charlie Slasher 158 and I was on the same board but in a 154. Thanks to Spenser for letting us borrow these boards, we got some amazing turns in! 

We hiked to the top of the ridge and the view was more than amazing. Snow covered mountain ranges in all directions, and birds eye view of the Inside Passage around us, not to mention a few ravens that kept making an appearance. Although the sun wasn't completely out, we could see that strange ball of energy through the overcast and a lovely 'halo' was surrounding it. I've seen this several times back home, but being on top of a mountain with these views, deep snow, and a sun halo to top it off was just epic. 

The hike was pretty tiring. It snowed a significant amount since the last time we hiked up, and without snowshoes or splits, it was quite a workout. Not that I'm complaining... it's well worth the sweat and burning legs to get to the top of that ridge and see what we saw today. 

Oh yeah, the ride down was pretty fun too! The snow was still nice and fluffy from the past snowfall and since we were on bigger boards, staying afloat and making awesome turns was effortless. I'm still a little weary of attempting any significant drop since I'm not used to riding actual powder, plus being on a board I wasn't really used to riding. I certainly don't want to attempt a drop with my Smokin' board, mainly because it's just too damn short for that kind of riding. Park boards and powder drops don't mix very well :)

Next time I'm going to give my Burton Feelgood a try. It's only a 149, but it's a bit stiffer and has more of a nose so hopefully it will be powder friendly. After today, I've decided I want to stick around a 154 or slightly smaller for my next board purchase... and hopefully that purchase will be a split! 

Here are a few photos (and a video!)

Looking up towards the top of Black Bear chair

The sun halo was so beautiful

Looking back on Douglas and a view of part of Juneau through the valley

Awesome trees :)

Once we got closer to the top, we were easily sinking knee deep

Looking towards Admiralty Island 

Mountains, snow, water... what could be more beautiful?!

Note: This video was still 'processing' when I posted this, so if it's still not ready to view, please check back later! :)

Oh, Alaska, How You Continue To Amaze Me

So today we went on a hike and ride mission. 

What an EPIC day it was! 

I got my first taste of REAL powder. Finally. I know there will be lots more where that came from, but it is still blowing my mind as I type. The snow is just so different than back home. Different, in an AMAZING way. I love Alaska. I mean, I freaking LOVE Alaska! I could ride what I rode today all winter and be the happiest girl in the world. Thanks to our friend Spenser, we got to explore a lot more terrain than what we have previously seen and ridden. I still can't get over how awesome the snow was. For me, that amount of snow is way more than the best pow day I've ever experienced. If you've ever seen me super excited after a run down some amazing Southern Star snow drifts at Beech, then multiply that by a bazillion. That's how stoked I am right now. 

I knew Alaska would be amazing. But if it's this amazing already, and the resort hasn't even OPENED yet, then I can't even imagine on how even more in love with these beautiful mountains I will be after the winter is over. 

I'm wondering why the hell didn't we decide to move up here sooner! 

Here are a few shots from today.

^Nope, of course that's not me on my ass haha.

Photo Credit: Spenser Johnson

^Haha sorry Dustin, I had to post this one :)

^LOVE this photo of us!

Photo Credit: Spenser Johnson

^This guy (or gal?) was chillin in a tree as we rode by. 

Porcupines are so cute!

Powdery Wonderland

The film premiere we went to last night was epic! Absinthe Films 'Resonance' has successfully made my top 3 favorite snowboard flicks of all time. The parts that really impressed me were Bode Merrill and Nicolas Muller's parts. The whole film was amazing. The music. The riding. Everything! Definitely gonna have to buy this one for the collection. 

Here's a peek at Bode Merrill's part...

Here's Nicolas Muller's full part...

We had a blast after the film with some new friends, too! I know I've used this saying before, but it's too funny not to say it. Last night, we drank some Alaskan, at the Alaskan, with other Alaskans! haha. Yeah I know, it's corny, but just deal with it :) 

We also got some shrimpy friends for our aquarium. Our six black tetras ate our four neon tetras :( Rest in peace, little ones. The four ghost shrimp hold their own though and they seem to be getting along just fine. We plan on adding a couple angel fish in the near future as well. 

Annnnd, I went snowboarding today! 

The snow was SO deep. Seriously, this was the most snow I've ever seen in my life. Not even joking. Even the big dumps we got on Beech doesn't compare to how much snow was up there today. In-freaking-SANE! 

I now know that I need a longer board. My little park set up I'm working with is not very effective in the powder, at least this AK powder! I actually stopped about halfway down, took out my tool, and moved my front binding back quite a bit. It felt weird at first having a more narrow stance, but I guess I'll just have to get used to it! 

The only reason I had my stance so wide anyways was for riding park features. Rails and boxes were much easier with that setup. We won't have too many rails and boxes to play on here, so I better get used to all those awesome natural features! I'm looking forward to getting more experience riding backcountry and natural features. I guess I'm in the right place for that! :)

^ I just gazed at this and imagined the possibilities :)