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

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

While I was busy winning honors for best fall and oldest competitor at the Mission Ridge sponsored “Chelan Trax Rail Jam,” Justin O’Hara was busy winning.  Having never met him before, I was happily surprised to find out that his skiing skills were accompanied closely by his friendly attitude and positive demeanor.

In between my barely remembered moments of flailing down the rails and climbing a ridiculously small ladder back to the top to do it again, I had the opportunity to watch Justin’s skiing.  Not only did he look solid on the rails, but he had the technical skills to make hard tricks look easy.  While I was impressed with the tricks, the element that impressed me above all else was that he made everything look FUN.

It was the “FUN” element that helped me decide that Justin O’Hara would be the perfect skier for the upcoming EMISSION episode, “Mountain Playground.”  I have long awaited the opportunity to film someone ripping Mission’s natural elements and turning the mountain into their own personal playground.  Playgrounds are fun, and big playgrounds are funner (we will let funner be a word today).  Mission Ridge is the biggest playground around these parts and there are countless slides, jumps, monkey bars, and swings to play on… metaphorically speaking.

Thankfully, when I asked Justin to be featured in this episode, he said yes.

When the day came to film, I didn’t check the snow report.  That’s probably why I didn’t realize we were about to find a freshly dropped 13 inches of powder and sunshine to go with it.  I guess you could say I was surprised.  And you could also say I was jealous.  I made sure Justin knew that he better make my day of filming worth it with RIDICULOUS SKIING because instead of poles, I had cameras, and instead of face shots, I had video shots.  Just like the rails, Justin O’Hara made everything he skied look fun.  Groomers, powder fields, mogul courses, chutes, cliffs, backcountry kickers were swung from and jumped off in a fashion that left me impressed and inspired.

If you’ve already watched the video, you know that Justin made sure to make my day worth it.  Just this once, I was VERY happy to watch someone else get first tracks and basically manhandle every feature that the mountain offered… all while making it look FUN.

Thanks Justin.

Written by Jared Eygabroad

Video By Mission Ridge Media/Jared Eygabroad

There's nothing better than a perfect powder turn, unless it's a perfect powder turn done in sunshine. As I was searching for a theme while watching footage I had captured over the course of two weeks, I realized EVERY shot I had featured the sun. That was enough, I knew I had to showcase Mission Ridge's most frequent and loyal local, that blazing ball of burning gas hanging in the ski that frequents our slopes more regularly than any other.

Mission gets over 300 days of sunshine each year, so enjoying your time here is not difficult. What makes Mission even more unique is that this sunshine is accompanied by ample amounts of incredibly light and dry snow.

During the filming of this video, I knew I had to ski a couple new lines to keep things interesting, and not just for the viewer's sake, but for my sanity as well. At 28 years old, I feel fortunate to be improving and pushing my limits every day while at the mountain. I need this constantly in my life to feel normal, to feel calm. If you get the chance, just ask my wife, she'll tell you that if I go a week without doing something that makes me scared, I begin to get rude and unruly.

There had been a line through Chute 2B in the Bomber Cliffs that I really wanted to try. After this line stared me down for the 100th time while riding the Liberator, I knew the anxiety I felt wasn't going to leave until I skied it. Finally the day came where everything looked good. To make a long story short, I'll just say I had trouble accessing that part of the mountain that I badly wanted to be in. That's when the ski patrollers stepped in and drug me to the top by snowmobile.

I couldn't believe my luck, and not only my luck, but the luck of all the others who requested that same ride up the mountain. Patrollers (who are freaking awesome by the way) spent hours shuttling people up to the best conditions I've had so far this year. The snow was untouched and the rocks I'm so used to massaging with my skis, were covered by a deep snowfall.

Standing on top of my line, with the sun and Bob (my GoPro) as my only friends to share in the moment, I dropped into my line for the first time. Enjoy the footage.

If you've never experienced "Powder Thursdays" at Mission Ridge, then I would say you've never experienced Mission Ridge.

Powder Thursdays set Mission Ridge apart from any other mountain. They are so amazing, in fact, that people arrange their work schedules around them. And those who aren't lucky enough to make their own schedules are seen dodging their bosses after calling in sick, because their bosses are at the mountain too.

Closing the mountain Tuesday and Wednesday allows storms to dump amazing amounts of snow and keep it untouched for two full days. When the time comes to open on Thursday, the entire mountain is ready to give out plentiful face shots and soft landings.

There is such a unique feeling from being there on these days that can't be explained or described. It's a mix of fulfillment and excitement that fills your soul while waiting for the chairs to move. And it's a mix of anxiety and impatience while planning strategic attacks to gain as many powder turns as possible before anyone else.

At the end of the day, all I know is I feel happy when thinking about waiting for lifts to start in the early morning while bombs are blowing left and right... and also that my legs have turned to Jello.

Emission 2.2 "Powdergeddon – A Tale of Powder Thursdays" (link to video) is a video that gives you a taste of what it's like to be there on these incredible Thursdays. Enjoy.

Video Made By: Mission Ridge Media

Skier/Filmer/Editor: Jared Eygabroad

Music: Collective Influence

THE VID 

SNAPS