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I thought I had experienced Mission Peaks.  I had made the “hike” and skied its incredible terrain.  It wasn’t until filming EMISSION 2.5 with Justin O’Hara and Kyle McIntyre that I realized how far the Mission Peaks terrain actually went.  I truly had no idea.

Our mission was to find the perfect location to build a massive jump.  I imagined I’d be shoveling and drenched in sweat before 10 am, as usual.  I put Justin in charge of choosing the jump site.  We made the usual hike and then proceeded to pass up what I thought were 50 or 60 perfect places to build a jump.  But Justin kept trekking on.

As I finally grew short of breath and ready for a Snickers, we finally came upon it.  A perfect windlip larger than most of the largest terrain park jumps.  I should’ve known that Justin would keep trekking his healthy heart until we finally found a site that required literally not one scoop with a shovel.  Well done, well done indeed.

After clicking into his skis and sideslipping the face of the jump, Justin and the jump were both ready to go.  He proceeded to do every trick he knew and even a brand new rodeo 720 with a style that was incredible to watch.  My focus was filming, Justin’s focus was landing pretty much everything he tried, and Kyle’s focus must have been getting some epic hiking shots, because when I looked later than night over my footage, wow.

What I saw and experienced when I hiked out further than I ever had before was an incredible ridgeline that went on for days.  It offered unbelievable cliffs, chutes, and spires that climbed starkly into the blue skies.  There were eagles soaring around and sunshine that illuminated the sunny cities and roads below.  I couldn’t believe that I didn’t know this terrain was easily accessed by Chair 2 at Mission Ridge.

I will be back to this area and you should go to.  The scenery alone is worth the hike and the face shots are just the fudge icing on an already delectable brownie.  Of course we are talking backcountry terrain, so get prepared before you go.  We are talking beacons, shovels, probes, and most importantly, knowledge.  It is well worth the price of admission (your choice of a short, medium, or long hike from Chair 2).  Enjoy!

Emission 2.5 – “Mission Peaks”

Athletes:  Justin O’Hara, Kyle McIntyre, and Jared Eygabroad

Filmed/Edited:  Jared Eygabroad/Mission Ridge Media

EMISSION 2.6 - "Dropping Bombs"

The NCAA's March Madness had nothing on Mission's March Madness.  I'm sure there are a few of you "basketeers" out there who disagree, but that's ok because I'd rather have you watching the basketball games than stealing my face shots and bomb-holing my landings.  March saw INCREDIBLE conditions at Mission and there were many who gladly gave up watching a Final 4 game to drop some raucous cliffs and play in the great snow.  EMISSION 2.6 features these athletes throwing down at Mission during this amazing stretch of snow.

It was MARCH... the best month of skiing at Mission Ridge.  The snow came in blankets and the landings in front of Mission's trademark cliffs got loaded with soft pillowy powder.  I for one couldn't wait to launch the drops that were finally ready to hit into some cushiony white smoke.

Kyle Davis, Jusin O'Hara, Shae Logsdon, Chad Douglas, and Kyle McIntyre joined me for the ride and gave me something interesting to point my camera at.  It was difficult to film at times due to the dumping snow, but it never deterred us from filming, and most of all, HAVING FUN.

Take Justin O'Hara's staircase gap.  We went to sleep in his RV after a perfect sunny day and woke up to a blizzard and 6 inches of new that kept us from getting any speed to clear a high consequence rail gap in Mission's base area.  As we packed up our gear and were about to leave after 3 hours of repeated attempts, Mission's Race Team coach offered a tow in.  The snowmobile assist gave Justin the speed he needed and all our work paid off.  It was hard work that we were glad to do.

I hope you enjoy the last EMISSION episode of the season, and I hope to see you all again next year.  I'll be the one in blue (sometimes a yellow coat)  and full face helmet wearing that crazy GoPro backpack-mount contraption.  Feel free to say hello and tell me I look ridiculous.  I know.

Enjoy the off-season!  I know I won't.

Video and Blog By:  Jared Eygabroad/Mission Ridge Media