Siberia

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” -Mark Twain

Just spent ten days working in Siberia.  Temps reached an incredibly cold 40 below zero.  On shoots like this you have to have an amazing local crew to get you where you need to be and keep you alive. Thankfully our fixer and local team was the best.  You can follow his adventures here: http://askyakutia.com

This was one of those amazing experiences that I will remember for a lifetime.  One of those experiences that reminds you that even a world away people are just people.  Living life, trying to survive, and they'd rather laugh than fight.  They dressed like hunters and we looked like astronauts but at the end of the day we all drank tea and were happy to have a warm hut and a roof over our heads.

It Clicks

Sometimes it just clicks.  Unfortunately it seems to happen less and less these days.  Our busy lives crammed with to do lists and deadlines seem to get in the way more than I'd like to admit.  But it still happens, and last weekend was one of those times.  The perfect combination of a great friend, a bit of space, and the stillness and freedom to go with the flow.

A couple of California dreamers.

We strapped our surfboards to the roof and pointed the car north.  We wanted to go somewhere with less people, not more, and on Labor Day weekend that can be tough.  So we headed towards a stretch of coastline that is known for sharks, frigid water, fog and generally harsh conditions.  If we could squeeze in one mediocre session we thought we would have scored.

'69 Ranger and a few great peaks.  We're in the right place.

Starting from the first morning we got clean session after clean session.  Sunny days, warm water, it was truly unprecedented.  We talked to one local after a session who said he had lived in the area for 45 years and never seen such great weather, warm water, and clean surf.  We continued north, searching the map for points, driving to random pullouts and scrambling down rocks and cliffs to empty beaches.  Paddling out into the unknown and catching the best surf I've had in a long time.

Another empty cove.

It was amazing how fast we folded back into the rhythm of of the road, the rhythm of a surf trip, and the rhythm of nature.  Wake up early, drink a bit of caffeine, paddle out for a few hours, breakfast, move camp to a different beach, surf some more, eat, repeat.  Simple.

That's Oregon in the distance.

Between surf meal.  No time to stop.

By our last session we barely even said a word to each other.  The surf was just gorgeous.  An a-frame peak with a slow left and and punchy quick right.  There was no time to wait on the outside.  I'd catch one and while I was paddling back out to the takeoff zone Chris would catch another.  We just passed in the middle, watching each other get theirs.  Over and over and over again.

No filter or camera tricks.  This is what we woke up to.

Chris and Ruby meditate on the day ahead.

During that last session I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time.  That click.  I can catch anything, make any drop, power through any section, overcome any stumble.  It didn't matter if I was late or early I could make it work.  I feel very lucky to know that feeling and to have experienced it many times before.  Some people call it flow, others say it's Zen, and some just say you're present.  Some discover it through meditation, others hunt for it with drugs, I found it in the cold waters off northern California riding ocean pulses with my best bud.

I Don't Want a Pickle

A few weeks ago Paul cracked open his piggy bank, put all his pennies on the counter and got himself one helluva mountain bike.  It's an all black Turner made even radder after Paul cleared the decks, removing every sticker on the thing.  What's left are a few white logos and a lot of engineering.  He's been logging the miles hard since he picked up the steed and I've joined him for a few rides.  Also, got Ruby out for few laps and she's loving it too.

Arlo Guthrie's classic Motercycle Song popped into my head the other day while we were riding.  It used to be on heavy rotation at our house growing up and I can remember singing it to myself during grueling hockey practices.  I guess it's just got the right cadence to keep you moving when you're running out of gas.  So I tossed it on this video and now you can really get inside my head.  Enjoy!

I Don't Want a Pickle from JonnyB on Vimeo.

Let Go of It

Generally I use this blog to share stories of adventure in its more traditional form.  Mountains, oceans, bikes and boys.  Today I saw a video that inspired me and I had to share it with the crew.  And remind us all about that other kind of adventure...art.

When I saw this one I thought of mom.  A different perspective, a different way to think of art, something to be experienced while making it and discarded when completed.  Take from it what you will but I think it's definitely worth 3 minutes.  Let's try to take something we are trying to control the outcome of and just enjoy the process.  As he says in the video.  Let go of it.

Pardon My Dust from SnowGlobe Studios on Vimeo.

Sunset Session

Got out for a nice mellow sunset session on Saturday night.  Waves were a small but consistent knee to waist high, nearly no wind and warm (relatively) water.  Sweet, simple, classic norcal longboarding.  AND dogger chilled on the beach with no leash.  I think she had a better time than me!

Night Mission

Our pal Yu is always up for an adventure.  Recently he hatched a plan to ride the entire 35-mile East Bay section of Bay Area Ridge Trail afterwork.  It will be a fun little mission taking the gang through El Cerrito, Berkeley, Oakland and ending late night in San Leandro.  Tuesday night Yu and I hit about 15 miles of the proposed route.  We cruised through some tight single track with poison oak nipping at our legs and arms.  By the end of the night I was pretty well spent and we hadn't even ridden halfway! Fun times as always and no rash afterwards.

Summer

It's here and it's in full swing.  Even in the Bay it's hot and sunny with a few warm nights sprinkled in to keep us all guessing.  We've been doing some riding, a bit of surfing and lots of walking and running with the new dogger.  El Bloggo has fallen down the priority ladder a few rungs so I thought it was time to update with two videos I've been pretty stoked about.  Hope these inspire you to get out and enjoy the planet.

Adrift from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

Restless from Leo Zuckerman on Vimeo.

Ruby

I should be working but I'd rather be home hanging out with our NEW DOG!!  Sara and I drove down to Clovis, CA on Saturday to meet Ruby at an adoption event.  She's a two year old Shar Pei /Boxer that was rescued from a "high kill" shelter in Kings County.

Adoption day.

It's hot out here in this black coat!

We think she must have ben happy to get out of the 108 degree heat that afternoon and arrive at our house three hours later where it was 66 degrees.   She's taking to the house nicely and getting very comfortable in our bed.  It's great to have the new addition to the family and we are excited to include her in all of our adventures.

More later, but for now a few pics.

Getting acquainted to her new yard.

Lassen Two Point Oh

Climbed Lassen with Paul last weekend.  It was my second trip up that lovely volcano.  After a pretty smooth trip last year I was pretty lax about this one.

There she blows!

Paul and I had a leisurely drive up on Saturday.  Rolled out the sleeping bags and had an unseasonably warm night sleeping under the stars.

Did I mention it was HOT?

We were rolling just a little after 7AM Sunday morning.  Paul found a great route through the trees and up onto the snow line.  We made great time up the snow taking turns putting in a bootpack.  About three quarters up we had a few options.  I decided we should take the route I went last time.  Unfortunately I was a bit off and soon we found ourselves on a 45 degree slope with rotten snow.  Not an ideal place to be.  Paul charged ahead and we made it to the summit.  Not sure what the lesson is on that one but it's a reminder that the last 300 feet are STEEP.  Just climb it and don't look down.

Spring skiing in California.

Skiing off the summit was tricky again.  Another micro ledge for putting on your skis like last year.  Fun stuff as always.  Here's a short video.

Lassen with Pablo from JonnyB on Vimeo.

Night Rider

Met up with Yu and Paul around sunset for a mountain bike ride into the night.  After a few weeks of eating ham and drinking wine I was hurting, at one point I got a cramp in my leg so bad I thought I was giving birth to a cantaloupe through my calf.

But even with burnt lungs and tired legs I had a blast.  Super fun times snaking through the woods with 900 lumens strapped to your handle bars.  Should be a fun new summertime activity.

Chamonix

One word, Chamonix.  Very few things in life live up to the hype, Chamonix does.  Arguably the epicenter of ski culture, from ski mountaineering to apres ski, it can all be traced back to Cham.  Everywhere you go you can see it, feel it and smell it.  An intoxicating mix of testosterone and fondue.

My job takes me all over the world.  But rarely do I have time to actually see the place that I have traveled so far to get to.  Usually a deadline has me back on the plane with a backpack full of harddrives.  Racing back to the office to process the footage.  For once it was different.  I was asked to go back to Switzerland for a project I worked on last year.  Sara would be off for spring break so we decided to cash in all my, hers and Sara's mom's miles on an extra ticket to Europe.  We sent an email to our partner in crime and he rearranged his schedule.  The plan, meet in Chamonix and ski for four days. That's about it.  Seriously, the three of us aren't big planners.  Don't forget your ski socks and the rest will fall into place.  It always does.

I'll let Bernard fill you in on the ins and outs of the 'ski resorts' in Cham over at Snowy Photos.  The weird thing is nothing is ever really closed.  Basically there are lifts to the top of mountains and a few groomed areas, a few bombed areas, and well, the rest of the mountain.  Ski it if you dare, but don't sue us if you kill yourself.  We found ourselves stepping off of trams with an English family on holiday to our left and three chargers complete with harness, ropes, ice axes and biglines in mind to our right.  It's not the kind of place where you can just follow some tracks because you might find yourself at a mandatory rappel.  All that said we found some amazing powder and scouted the area for next time when we bring all the avy gear.

 

After a day of skiing you can work your way into the town of Chamonix with your skis on your shoulder for a beer at the bar.  A beautiful French village at the base of huge gnarly mountains.  I finally understand what places like Squaw and Vail are trying to do.  They're cute but they're replicas of the original.

The trip was short and with an 8-hour time difference from home it was a bit of a blur. I have a feeling Cham will be an amazing little dream for the three of us.  Without much prep we made it happen, we skied, ate, and drank for four days then and everyone went their separate ways.  Sara to Cali, Bernard to the Chi, and I hoped a train up here to Switzerland and put my head down for two weeks of shooting.  One thing is for sure, the crew is solid and we will be back.