I was fortunate enough to be able to squeeze one last Bishop trip out this season before it starts getting too hot. Bishop is one of my favorite places in the world and it always seems to leave me inspired after each visit. Our trip lasted 6 days, with only one rest day which we spent sport climbing at the Gorge, otherwise it was a bouldering spree. The crew for this trip consisted of friends who had at one time or another met in Hawaii and were all finally meeting up for some climbing in the Sierras. We flip flopped between climbing at the Buttermilks, Happys, Sads, The Gorge, and a new to me alpine area called Rock Creek. It was a great trip and I hope to climb again with this awesome crew, thanks guys!

~Sean

]]> http://blackowlmedia.com/blog/bishop-in-climbing-in-april/feed/ 0 http://blackowlmedia.com/blog/from-the-vault-forks-of-the-kern-trip-2010/ http://blackowlmedia.com/blog/from-the-vault-forks-of-the-kern-trip-2010/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:57:18 +0000 SeanNaugle http://blackowlmedia.com/blog/?p=121

I think most athletes can relate the feeling of right before something big is going to go down, your reality is as “in the moment” as it can get, your adrenaline is pumping, all senses are super focused, and nothing else matters. Rafting the Forks of the Kern will give you this feeling all day long as you paddle a twenty-mile stretch of some of the most continuous and dangerous white water North America has to offer. Paddling the Forks can be a life changing experience because of how many times you feel your life is being threatened. When the day is over and you finally get your raft to the take out, you feel like you just survived a war

This would be my fourth time visiting this remote and spectacular part of Sequoia National Forest. Previous trips on this section of river provided lots of carnage and I spent a good deal of time swimming for my life. I was praying this trip would be different because I was fortunate to be partnered with Mike Welch, who I had heard stories about being a “Jedi River Mystic.”  Also along for the ride was Mike’s pup Porter. Our other team members consisted of Katy from Alaska, and couple Ian and Stephanie who I can’t remember where from.

Part of what makes this trip so gnarly is the hike into the canyon. It’s about a 2-mile hike down steep switchbacks carrying at least 200 pounds of raft and camping gear. When we started our hike it was about 100 degrees out, but within 20 minutes threatening thunderclouds rolled in, the temperature started to drop, and we received a heavy downpour. What an epic way to start a journey, I felt like I was in a movie. The hike was brutally tough and exhausting, it took us an hour or two to get all our gear down to the put in. By the time we had the boats pumped up and ready to go it was almost 7 pm so we decided to camp out and run the entire 20-mile section the next day. We ended up getting a little carried away with a bottle of good old Jameson, margaritas, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Rafting expert level rapids while hung over is really fun as I found out….

Mike’s boat’s is rightly named “Smooth Like Butter.” This also became our mantra for the day. His response to just about every dangerous situation was to tell me, “Just be smooth like butter and we might make it through.” We ended up having one of the most stellar days of rafting I’ve ever had. Not once did we crash or fall out of the boat to my amazement.

I feel as though you grow as a person every time you go outside your comfort zone and overcome a fear. The Forks will definitely teach you something about your self because of how many emotions it will put you through. I recommend anyone who has a taste for adventure to add this trip to your bucket list, it’ll change your life. Thanks Mike, Ian, Katy, and Stephanie for the amazing trip.

~Sean

2012 North American Snowkite Tour, Jackson, WY from Black Owl Media on Vimeo.

Hang around the riders of the North American Snowkite Tour and you’ll quickly learn that every snowkiter is searching for a “sickbird.”  A day where the sky’s are blue (aka- a bluebird day) and the conditions are sick (aka- powder and steady winds all day).  This is exactly what happened in the back country of Bonderant, WY.  A little town just outside of Jackson Hole with a population of 100, although even that seems to be stretching it some.  Small town or not, the goods got delivered on Friday, with deep powder and steady winds and it was hard to find anyone who wasn’t absolutely killing it.  Saturday was just as sick, but with drifting clouds allowing the sun to poke through most of the day, and it does not get the coveted title of being a “sickbird.”  Brad Gordon said it best, when commenting later, “this is one of maybe only twelve days a year, when all the conditions line up perfectly enough to be called a “sickbird” and it’s what a snowkiter chases every season.”  I think a surfer would call it the “perfect wave” day and from my vantage point behind the camera, these guys were flat out “smacking the lip”, if you get my drift.

Speaking of drifts, there were plenty of them.  Snowdrifts that is, and this pumped up crew was only too happy to shred them all!  My favorite moment of the day was watching Luke Orton, blow up the powder on a cornice like it was the 4^th of July.  He wasn’t the only one either.  I could name kiter after kiter that laid it down with fresh tracks, pulling the trigger on power loops, and pushing each other to give even more.   I am so stoked that we are this early in the season and these guys are already setting such an aggressive pace.

Sunset on Saturday marked the end of this stop on the tour for both the snowkiters and the media team alike.  Cinematographer, Bryant Swanstrom and photographer, Sean Naugle  from Black Owl Media, were a pleasure for me to work with for our first time together and I look forward to continuing to film with these guys all season.   They not only put it out huge for these riders during production to capture the action but their tireless attention to detail in post are giving  this year’s media coverage a much needed    shot in the arm and leg and neck and,…. well you get the idea.  Look for Bryant to release a piece of the action later this week, but I must warn you.  If you’re not already on the tour with us this year, you may soon have to be.  Truly a lifestyle worth living as you will soon see.

The event ended Saturday night with everyone enjoying a little of that lifestyle in downtown Jackson Hole.  Beer, pizza, and a few laughs seem to have been a perfect ending to the week before moving on to the next leg of the tour.  Although, officially everyone is headed to Skyline, Utah for the next stop, don’t be surprised if you see these guys making tracks along the way.   I’ve heard talk in the wind of a day or two in Idaho.  Even on a scheduled day off, many kiters heading north of Jackson Hole today to enjoy a sunset session before heading out tomorrow.   No rest for the wicked.

Stuart Penny

Photos by: Sean Naugle

The wind gave the NAST snowkiters  a taste of  the Jackson Hole powder  on Wednesday keeping the stoke high as the next storm rolls in to clean up the tracks and set the stage for what looks to be a possible sickbird day on Friday.

The first stop on the North American Snowkite Tour in Jackson Hole, Wyoming has provided a great spring-board for what hopes to be a rocking season of snowkiting and exploration in the back country.   Pro riders continued to roll in day by day from all over the country, reconnecting with their friends and sharing the stoke of the sessions and season to come.

Our local host Will Taggert, Wayne Phillips, Pascal Joubert, and Charles Symons were also pleased to see the arrival of  international riders Remi Muem from Norway, Jenn Milton from Austrailia, and local US riders John McCabe and Ken Lucas who both recently returned from New Zealand. There’s nothing like getting to share your backyard with others and what an amazing back yard it is. Hats off to these guys for stepping up and being our local inside track to the best locations  Jackson Hole has to offer.  Not to mention their dial on the wind information.  We just couldn’t due Jackson Hole without these guys!

The deep snow proved a bit challenging at times for our media crew to navigate and set up.  With stuck snowmobiles, cold walkie talkies, and howling winds, these guys earned they weight in gold making it to the top of the hill to capture our kiters throwin’ it down. The air of camaraderie and everyone looking out for each other was great to see as the winds shifted a few degrees  to the south and became too gusty to kite, which eventually closed the session for the day. During which, every kiter on the mountain concerned themselves with making sure all were safely back at their vehicles before calling it a day.

Just to be in the parking lot of this crew feels, at times, like  coming home for the holidays.  With grandparents pulling their grandsons and everyone one enjoying the company of our youngest rider, 14 year old Frances Cronin, as her smiling face is always nice to see.   With or without the wind, this is a community of truly exceptional people and I feel lucky to get to spend the winter with them.

Stay tuned for our next update soon as the tour is shaping up to be one epic season.  I’ve gotta give big props to our sponsors this year, Best, Ozone and F-One, for giving us the solid support as well as crankin’ riders like Jake Buzianis, Tyler Brown and Chris Nester just to mention a few.  These guys along side of big power riders like Brad Gordan and new school talent like Luke Orton are gonna raise the bar this year, I have no doubt.  This is gonna get sick!

Stuart Penny

The past three weeks I’ve been coped up inside because of my cracked rib and the claustrophobia has been starting to get to me. When my friend Galo invited me to go climbing at Big Bear for the weekend I was determined I’d be up for it regardless of the pain in my side. It’s amazing how a little fresh air and open space can clear your mind.

I think the best part about climbing is that it doesn’t matter what your day job is, climbing is above and beyond all that. Just in my carpool we had a guy who works construction, a writer/tree trimmer, an occupational therapist, and myself a photographer. Two of the other guys we met, both Argentineans, were just getting back from an accent of Mount McKinley and were stopping to check out some California rock. Both of them work as mountain guides in Patagonia and were super interesting to talk to.

The weather was definitely pretty warm so we had to stick to climbs that were in the shade. Despite our large group we all had a chance to get our hands dirty on the rock. Big Bear offers quite a bit of moderate rated routes in the 5.10 to 5.11 range in addition to a some harder 5.12’s. The second day we setup a static line so that I could ascend up the rope to take photos of a sweet 5.12 climb called the “Incinerator.”

Another gorgeous day in San Diego, our crew decided it would be perfect to hit up the Santee boulders and see what we could do. For being a smaller climbing area, Santee offers around 130 boulder problems and some top rope climbing ranging from 5.1 to 5.12+. The rock is quality granite, but can be super slippery at times. Make sure you have some shoes with a lot of rubber left, mine wore through on this trip. Our crew consisted of myself,  brother Seth, best friend Ryan, Nicole, and Zion the Lion.

I had just met Nicole at the Bouldering and Brews competition held at the Mesa Rim climbing gym and asked her if she wanted to come along. Nicole was one of the route setters for the comp so I figured she would be a pretty strong climber. I was definitely right.

The warm up climb was all sorts of slippery, the rock had been baking in the sun all day. Micro crimps and feet were the name of the game. Good times, good times. Seth was bringing some style to the table with his bright red short shorts. Goofy shit, but so awesome, it had to make him climb a few grades harder.

As a photographer, the location could not have had better light. I was so stoked on it. The day just kept getting better and the climbs harder. The next thing we spotted was a sweet looking arete slabby problem that looked really interesting. Nicole hopped on it and made it look easy. And then we spotted an epic looking crack problem that was basking in golden light. I knew we didn’t have much time before we ran out of light so we quickly made our way over to it.

There’s not much else to say other than we had an awesome day of climbing in Santee. I will definitely be back for some more in the next few weeks. We only touched a small section of what the Santee boulders have to offer.