What season is it? Festival season. That is right. I got back from Japan and immediately hit the festival tour. I started at Telepalooza in Seven Springs, PA and then worked my way back over to MidWest Telefest with the guys from Downwind Sports in the U.P. of Michigan. Festivals are always a really good time with plenty of like-minded folks that want to get down.
I flew into Pittsburgh, PA.
^These folks throw down the Telepalooza Festival at Seven Springs each year. A great group of folks that get together to learn, rip, and celebrate the telemark turn. The folks of the Appalachian Telemark Association have a deep and profound love for the sport, and it shows in their festival.
^The view of a small piece of Seven Springs from my hotel room slope side. Very nice place.
^Good beer too. Utah beer sucks. It was good to get a real good one.
^A friend of Telemark Skier Mag, Mike Cordaro, and his lovely girlfriend Elyse(excuse name spellings). These folks were super cool to me, and showed me a great time. I am stoked to have met them along with all of the folks that were involved with Telepalooza.
^Especially these young studs. These guys were a blast to ski with. My favorite thing to do is get a chance to rip with a bunch of stoked young kids on telemark skis. I was very surprised to see how well they had taken to telemark skiing at such young ages. These kids make me proud and hopeful for the future of this great sport. I was so stoked to be able to be a part of a great weekend with all the people of Telepalooza and Seven Springs.
^Then I was wheels up again. To the U.P. of Michigan.
^I hooked up with photoman, Joey Wallis, and we rallied up to Mt. Bohemia. This photo shows the rowdy little wooded gem from the shores of Lac La Belle. We crashed for the night at Lac La Belle Lodge right on the beach and minutes from Mt. Bohemia.
^Joey and I met up with our local friend, Steve Rowe. Steve does the clearing here in the summer and hops around the place all winter. Steve is hopping from cliff to pad in this photo as Joey captures the action of the legendary local.
^Mt. Bohemia is a gem to be viewed. It really is like nothing else you can find east of the Mississippi.
^After a big day a Mt. Bohemia we drove down south to the Porkies in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. This bridge in Houghton, Michigan is about halfway in between the two resorts, and home to Michigan Tech University. It is a really cool old mining town with reminisces of all the old mining and logging money that used to flow through here in a big way.
^Telefest is a good tradition for Joey and I by now. We have made it a mission of ours for quite a few years. It is always just such a good time.
^I was super stoked to be able to meet up with my old buddy, Tor Stetson-Lee. Tor and I used to rip the extreme comps together. We worked on a good amount of film and photo projects together too. It is weird to say, but him and I kind of go back a while now. He was among my first friends on the competition scene all those years ago. He is living in Madison, Wisconsin right now. I was super pumped when he contacted me to tell me he'd be going up to the U.P. for Telefest.
^Some festival action from the wonderful folks from Duluth, Minnesota. These folks are a part of group from Duluth that always makes it over for Telefest. They know how to have a good time, and are always a lot of fun to party and ski with.
^Joey in a field of teles.
^Joey and Tor trekking to the radio towers at Porkies for some tree skiing in the soft lake effect snow.
^Kick off your boots and dance.
^Telefest always throws down a really good party on Saturday night. They hire a killer bluegrass band and get after it. Dragon Wagon played the tunes this year, and they brought the house down. This group loves to dance. Telemark skiers are usually a strong enough bunch to ski all day and then dance the rest of the night away. Great times, with great folks, as always.
^After all the festival action I was toast. I flew back to my Utah home, and was relieved to fly over the Wasatch Mountains. I love festivals, but I was tired. I had been on the road for nearly a month straight. I was missing my wife and our dog.
^Touchdown in Salt Lake City was a deep sigh of relief. Being on the road is a blessing. The wisdom and experiences of the traveling are so dear to me. The new friends and plentiful adventures always enrich my journey through this wild ride of another pro skier's winter. I am grateful for every last bit of it. As the saga continues, I am just happy to be home alive and healthy with a chance to settle back down for just a moment. At least until it all gets rowdy again. Just hanging on.