Speed & Style in Hintertux.

MIKE PERLE CRANKS A METHOD













MARION LOBELL IN THE BX COURSE





















KAREN GETS ON EDGE


The Speed & Style Team has been enjoying Austria and riding hard at Hintertux. We've been spending our time on the park jumps and in the sbx course. Everyone has been working on new tricks on the jumps and moves in the sbx course. Mike Perle nailed the sbx bmx jumps second try and landed a backside 900 off a jump. Chip Linton has been riding hard on everything. Stomping backside 540's and going for back 720's. Josh Cohen has been styling some airs in the park and gaining speed in the sbx. He also made it through the tech bmx jumps. All the Speed & Style girls have been pushing each other all over the mountain. Marian Lobell, Karen Kobayashi and Noelle Edwards have been locking in frontside and cab 180's and working on their frontside 360's. The have also been working the berms in the sbx and cleaning up their lines. I've been very happy with the training in AUT and very happy with the riding of all the SMS athletes over here. I'm looking forward to the next three days on the mountain. I'm sorry it took me so long to get up a blog. My computer quit working on day #2 and is still down. Thank you to Ian and his computer for making this blog happen.






MIKE PERLE BRINGS STYLE TO BX














CHIP LINTON BLASTS THE POLEJAM





















JOSH COHEN KICKS IT OUT















WHEN NOT TAKING KILLER PHOTOS, CHIP IS CORKING BACK 540S

















NOELLE EDWARDS GETS CREATIVE

AUSTRIA TEASER!!!

The Team Reconvenes

The entire crew is back together at Hintertux, which is nice. The Horsefeathers crew was received warmly and were happy to shred with their team mates again.
The Elite girls worked on backside 180s (a must-have trick that they passed by for 360s). Dan Landy and Connor Callen developed their switch frontside spins and Ezra is getting his frontside spins corked out. Progression for all came quick, which signals a bountiful year.
As the T-Bar passes the BX Course I was able to witness some of the work Ross' crew was gettin' done. Josh easily ran the line of 4 BMX style kickers and Mike Perle easily runs the entire course. I came across Noelle Edwards in the slope course and saw some smoothly grabbed 180s get stomped. This young lady is enamored with Austria and making the most of her time.
One thing I did not witness but heard plenty about was CHIP LINTON'S backside 720 in the jump line. I am going to make sure I see it tomorrow.
With all the work getting done I was not able to shoot many new shots, so I am sharing some of my unused shots. Enjoy!


EZRA RACINE STALEFISH AT HORSEFEATHERS (MAKE SENSE?)








BIBA MEETS THE FAMOUS LICHA






PHOEBE NOVELLO SENDS A BACKSIDE 180 OVER LUNCH LAND

Special Guest Bloggers Biba, Quincy and Phoebe Give the Austrian Low-Down

Oh hey! Didn't see you over there!
So0o0ooo, here's the down low of the Horsefeathers Pleasure Jam. In short, everyone killed it, no finals, but the vibe was über positive and happy.







Ezra had a killer run consisting of a back 540 maneuver, to a cab 900 degree rotation, to a stellar frontside 720, leading into some wallride thing, which looked cool, although not totally sure what it was. This beautiful run placed him in 8th which is just one spot out of finals. YAY! Great job, Ez-brahhh!

TEEN CRIBS


The girls...tried really hard. solid effort. Biba just coming off of her third broken collar bone killed it and landed a run. YEWwWW, as the aussies would say. Quincy had a fantastic run and held on tightly on her second run to keep it together and make it look STEEEZyy. Way to go team Canada!! Phoebe landed but forgot about the second jump all together. woops! But she stayed very positive by dancing with Quincy at the top. Everyone at the start got to hear them belting out their favourite songs. Nicely done females!





THE ICE QUEEN







Austria has been amazing thus far and Dachstein has truly delivered the goods with blue bird days, sweet shred, and great hospitality. Tomorrow we return to Hintertux where we will reunite with fellow elite team members and speed and style cr3w. We have really been missing Dan and Connor out here and are pumped to meet back up with them and see what new tricks they've got to show us.


Getting caught in the tourist traps......or tourist crevasses.....of Dachstein





Watch your step!

















The view from the top of the course














Ezra Corking out a back 540 manoeuvre

Elite SWAT Team Touches Down in Schladming for Horsefeathers

After an amazing, sunny day at Hintertux, Ezra, Quincy, Phoebe, Biba, India and myself jumped in our van for a 3 hour drive across Austria. Our destination: Schladming and Dachstien for our third trip to the Horsefeathers Pleasurejam. This 4-Star TTR event has always been a fun and legitimate way to start our competitive year.
The drive was a treat. Livestock, architecture, waterfalls and a full moon made for much discussion (dominated by Phoebe). We arrived at Pension Tiefenbach where Veronika welcomed us back for our third stay. She had not seen Phoebe or India in three years and the reunion was heartfelt.
Sun greeted us again today and the course at Dachstien was perfect. I had some apprehension letting the girls loose on a 4-Star Slope course so early in the year, but they made me proud and rode with confidence. The girls quickly decided that the big line was just fine for them and by the end of the day Quincy and Biba had full lines with front 360s. Phoebe landed her 360 early and moved onto Cab 540s on jump one.


QUINCY JUST ABOUT CORKING A FS 360










PHOEBE RELAXES ON AIR, 3000ft ABOVE AUSTRIA

Ezra is a quiet, contemplative ripper and I enjoyed helping him as he adjusted his line, mixing up back 540s, cab 900s (almost cab 10), frontside 900s and disgusting straight airs on the hip. Keep in mind this is day 3 on snow.
We also met up with SMS alum Eric Beauchemin and his girlfriend Anna Gasser who assaulted the course as a couple. Eric landed a lovely cab 10 in front of me and nearly landed a backside double-cork 1080. I love seeing graduates come up, and India and Eric made me happy today.
Qualifiers are tomorrow and my young crew is set to make a splash in the International Pro pool of riders here. We expect no podiums but I can see that they will make me proud and land stylish runs. Wish us luck.

ERIC B SIGHTING

SMS Elite Fall Camp in Austria off To a Great Start

The Elite and Speed and Style Teams arrived safely in Austria after extensive travel. I'm talkin' bout Trains Planes and Automobiles here. The scenery, food and shredding are all above par and the kids are so happy to be here. I have not had much time to blog. After two days at Hintertux I drove Phoebe, Ezra, Quincy, Biba and India halfway across Austria to meet our old friends in Schladming. That crew will be competing at the Horsefeathers Jam over the next few days. As soon as we arrived in our Pension, Eric Beauchemin showed up to say hello. He has been living and riding in Aus with his girlfriend for the past two months. India has also been here for a few months and she is SHREDDING. Such a good influence and example for the other girls. India also guided me across the country, no easy task with the crazy road signs and language barriers. I am so proud of Indy and Eric. It is amazing to see how far they have come, and they are both on the DC Team. Alumni extraordinare indeed (not sure I spelt that one right!)
Brief Highlights (aside from today's India Show)
-Dan Landy is quickly cementing his place on the Elite Team. Switch back 540 to reg back 540 in the jump line and nasty rail moves on his first day on snow.
-We all witnessed a few of Ross Power's legendary methods today, and they are as pleasant to watch as ever.
-Ezra Racine is terrorizing quiet towns all over Austria on his skateboard and is taking to European life quite well.

We would all like to thank all the family and staff that made this trip possible. It is so much bigger than snowboarding.....