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Beating the Storm

AJ Linnell — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:49:15 +0000

One day I’m riding powder on Teton Pass; the next I’m picking my way through rocks on skis.

The conversation went something like this:

Me: “I know there’s a 100% chance of snow in the forecast, but it’s not suppose to roll in until afternoon. We’ll be fine! Let’s get up there early and get it done before the weather craps out.”

Scotty: (Brief pause…) “Okay. Can I borrow a pair of crampons?”

That’s how we ended up motoring over the pass in the wee hours, with starry skies above. Storm? What storm?

Whoa! A beacon checker at the Bradley-Taggart Parking Lot!

As it turned out, we hit it just about perfectly. A shallow coat of new powder covered the skintrack into Garnet Canyon, making route-finding in the dark extra challenging but adding to the ambience. Sunrise from the Platforms glowed pink across the eastern horizon, and gave us a good view of the summits overhead–no storm yet, just some spindrift blowing down from up high.

Sunrise from the mouth of Garnet Canyon.

Smooth skinning turned to rock-hopping once we gained the upper south fork of the canyon, working our way through scree-fields and linking together snow patches. Eventually we strapped our skis to our packs for good, finding bootpacking more efficient, and climbed a combination of last winter’s bulletproof snow and old avalanche debris to the base of the Southwest Couloir on the Middle Teton.

Cimbing out of the canyon toward the Middle Teton.

Being a generally windward-facing feature, the Southwest is often wind-hammered and scoured away, and this day was no exception. It looked as though there was almost more rock than snow in there, so we alternated between kicking steps into firm windbuff and dry-tool scrambling through rockbands. As it turned out, there was more snow available than we initially thought, although there would be no way to link up an uninterrupted ski descent.

Scotty "dry-tooling" up some rock in the Southwest Couloir. Not entirely skiable.

Taking the last few steps up the rimed summit formation.

Lenticular clouds were forming over the South Teton as we reached the summit, and the Grand stood eerily to the north, coming in and out of view as clouds streamed past. What an amazing hunk of rock that is, with a wonderfully snowy cleft right down the south face. It could use some more snow depth before becoming really skiable this season, but is a beauty nonetheless.

AJ on top of the world.

Scotty on top of the north ridge, with the Grand Teton in the background. Just doing a bit of reconnaissance.

The obligatory summit shot. Unfortunately the incoming clouds were obscuring the unreal view down into the Idaho side of the Tetons.

"Hey, is this thing working?" Scotty learns to use his camera.

We took a bunch of photos from the summit and then scrambled back down to the ledge where we had left our skis. The first few turns were actually pretty fun–chalky and firm, with plenty of exposure below to keep it exciting. Then it deteriorated into side-stepping through thinly-covered rocks and full-on downclimbing to get to more skiable snow. Skis on, skis off, skis on, skis off.

Now, how am I going to get through this?

Maybe a little side-step...

...And maybe I'll take a seat.

Finally on some continuously skiable snow.

The trip down into Garnet was surprisingly quick, given how long it took us to get up there, and once we hit the top of the Cave “Couloir” the snow magically turned into creamy, fast powder. It felt awesome to open up some GS turns after chop-turning through the rocks above.

Scotty opens it up in the Cave "Couloir".

Stoked on creamy pow turns!

Garnet Canyon flew past in a blur of powder crystals as the two of us popped off of wind-drifts–so fun. Somewhere around the Platforms we stopped to take a look back up-canyon and received the day’s first face-full of snowfall. The storm had arrived, after graciously giving us just enough time to do what we came to do.

Scotty, stoked to be rolling out of the canyon just as the storm hits.

We turned our skis down-canyon again for another hundred or so powder turns, and all of a sudden we were back at the lake, double-poling our way across to the moraines and our exit to the parking lot. Eight hours after setting out we sat back in the parking lot with beer in hand, watching the high peaks become enveloped in the storm. So thankful to live in this magical place.

Custom Forecasts

spar — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:07:56 +0000

About two weeks ago, the long awaited “jet stream pattern shift” occurred and ski areas across North America began receiving more consistent snowfall. This has been a much needed reprieve from a very dry early season.

Opensnow.com is a website run by meteorologist Joel Gratz. He offers regionally based snow forecasts tailor made for skiers and riders in search of fresh snow. His forecasts are comprehensive, updated daily, and let you know where and when to catch the best snow.

In this blog post from his site, he explains how “handcrafted” forecasts are more reliable and informative than computer generated forecasts and models. Thanks for all the hard work Joel!

Click here for his full post and check out this video from his “Don’t Eat Yellow Snow” video series.

Skiing Magazine Sweepstakes

spar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:49:58 +0000

Check out Skiing Magazine’s website and enter to win a pair of your very own Wagner Custom Skis through their sweepstakes. Good luck, click here to enter before January 26th.

After School Activities

spar — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:22:27 +0000

Cedar Palmer found some soft pillow lines in Telluride, check out his latest video installments.

Ski Base Repair

spar — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:54:53 +0000

Early season ski conditions exist across the Northern Hemisphere right now. Rocks, logs, snow snakes, and other uncovered or barely hidden obstacles can wreak havoc on the bases of your skis. Base damage and core shots not only reduce the gliding efficiency of your boards, but they can shorten the lifespan of skis by contributing to water damage and de-lamination that may compromise a ski’s structural integrity. If you happen to ding your skis, take them to your local shop for repair or acquire the necessary materials to patch up your skis. Here is a good instructional video from our friends at Sun Valley Ski Tools on how to repair a damaged ski base. Happy filling and scraping!

AK in the Spring

spar — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:12:54 +0000

A Day in AK from Chason Russell on Vimeo.

Chason Russell and friends made a trip to Southeast Alaska last spring, check out this edit of one of their days on the glacier.

Summer Living

spar — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:03:41 +0000

Chason Russell getting his summer stoke on while kayaking through the Black Canyon near Gunnison, Colorado. He pointed out the key to avoiding Poison Ivy is “all about coating exposed skin with dish soap and rinsing off at the end.” Right on Chason, thanks for the edit.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison from Chason Russell on Vimeo.

2011-2012 Skiing Mag Editors Pick

Pete Wagner — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:40:43 +0000

Queensland Walnut Topsheet

The editors at Skiing Magazine selected 33 pieces of the best gear for the 2011-2012 season. Wagner Custom skis made the list. See entry 3 of 33 at http://bit.ly/phP6OV

Sugar Magnolia

Brad Foley — Wed, 25 May 2011 23:46:09 +0000

Early to bed, early to rise makes man a hell of a nuisance. The sound of the pre dawn alarm was hard to accept with the lingering clouds hanging around the peaks. Off and on snow over the past two weeks and June approaching it was nice to have a sunny day to enjoy the new snow and blue sky.

: Chason Russell and Greg Hope pulling out skis

Spring in southern Colorado is fun time early morning skis, afternoons on the river or today enjoying the warm sun sitting in the sun. After a short hike with our skis over grass and fallen logs to snow line we made the ridge above the mountain hamlet of Ophir.

: Chason hiking to snow line

: Wagner Skis athlete Greg Hope

With May coming to an end corn snow is more the norm, but with a long winter thoughts of powder turns in the high San Juan’s ran through my mind.

: Chason getting some late May powder high on Magnolia

: Greg Hope

: 3000 feet down to the Ophir road

Wagner Custom recognized as ColoradoBiz Trendsetter

Blog Admin — Sun, 01 May 2011 18:03:52 +0000

Colorado Biz Magazine identified 10 Trendsetter companies in Colorado. Wagner Custom made the list. See the article here

Wagner Custom Junior Athlete Skis the San Joaquin Couloir

spar — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 21:39:09 +0000

Check out this edit of Wagner Custom Junior Athlete, Cedar Palmer, skiing the San Joaquin couloir in the Bear Creek Backcountry near Telluride, the kid is only 11 years old!

This map from Brett Shreckengost’s website, tellurideoffpiste.com, provides a clearer picture of what Cedar accomplished.

POV footage from Travis Wolfe

spar — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:32:16 +0000

Check out this video of Wagner Factory Team Athlete, Travis Wolfe, sending it during a Freeskiing World Tour Event in Kirkwood, CA.

You can see more footage of Travis by visiting his Contour Page.

Chickering-Ayers Wins Sick Bird Award at Freeskiing World Championship

spar — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:08:59 +0000

Last weekend at the Freeskiing World Tour Championships in Snowbird, UT, Wagner Factory Team Athlete, Silas Chickering-Ayers, took home the coveted backcountry.com Sick Bird Award. On his way to an impressive fifth place finish, the Tour rookie threw down a rowdy line with stylish airs that earned him the award which recognizes the “most spirited run of a Freeskiing World Tour Event.” Check out the video of his run below:

Backcountry.com Sickbird- Silas Chickering-Ayers: Snowbird 2011 from Subaru Freeskiing World Tour on Vimeo.

Sick Bird Silas shows off his award and his skis. Photo Courtesy of Keith Carlsen / MSI

Way to go Silas! We are so stoked for you and look forward to your continued success!

Wagner Groms Own Taos Podium

spar — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 23:38:25 +0000

Greg Hope (center) celebrates his Taos Freeride Victory. Photo Courtesy of Chason Russell

Wagner Athletes, Greg Hope and Xanthe Demas, claimed the top spots in their respective divisions in an event showcasing the future of competitive freeride skiing in Taos, New Mexico last weekend. Hope, 17, and Demas, 18, dominated their respective male and female junior categories at a cliff strewn and technically demanding venue hosting the 2011 Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships.

Xanthe Demas in action at the Taos Freeride Competition. Photo Courtesy of Chason Russell

Both athletes ski with the Telluride All Mountain Freeride team coached by Chason Russell and Zach Templin. When reached for comment, Russell exclaimed: “I am so proud of our kids! They handled the challenging snow conditions and tight chutes with fluidity and exercised smart line selection.” Greg Hope echoed his coach’s assessment, “I tried to find lines that would fit my style. Telluride has taught me how to ski fast, go big, but also be technical. Both my lines were technical no-fall-zones that got me into cool pillow cliffs and straight lines.” This resulted in Hope’s runs receiving the highest scores of the day, including the comparison to the standard men’s division. Wagner Factory Team Manager, Herb Manning, was “blown away with the results” and went on to add “with the solid fundamentals, endurance, and terrain savvy these athletes possess, it will be exciting to see how their young careers unfold.”

Greg Hope exiting a tight pillow line during the Taos Freeride Competition. Photo Courtesy of Chason Russell

Xanthe’s skis measure 171cm in length with a 110mm waist and are built around a light and snappy Sugar Maple and Aspen wood core. Greg went with similar dimensions (172cm length and 109mm waist), but incorporated a full Aspen wood core that gives him a playful and predictable flex pattern for charging technical lines.

Xanthe Demas contemplates her line. Photo Courtesy of Chason Russell

We are so stoked for Xanthe and Greg and wish them continued success!

See official press release here and learn more about the Taos competition here.

Pete Wagner Featured in Forbes Magazine

spar — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 23:45:39 +0000

Founder and CEO of Wagner Custom, Pete Wagner

Check out the recent issue of Forbes Magazine, which features an article chronicling the history of Wagner Custom founder, Pete Wagner, and his custom ski building process.

See the article in its entirety on the Forbes website or by clicking here.