25 days in Alaska

The first day I fell in love with Valdez was when I walked around town and took in the breathtaking harbor in the middle of the peaks that surround the town. The next day I fell more in love when I was standing on the top of my first run at Thompson Pass by myself thinking about how I got there, how my entire riding experience has led to this moment and how it was up to me to make it down.

I was in Alaska for 25 days over the past couple weeks, I flew in early to help get ready for Tailgate AK and left a couple days after the event ended. My role with Tailgate AK was to make sure the media and VIP’s were taken care of for the 12 days of the event. I drove the shuttle with contest winners, pros, photographers, filmers, writers and whoever else jumped in. We had some early mornings, a good amount of late nights and lots of funny moments to add to the occasion.

This was my first time at Thompson Pass and I didn’t push it. I rode stuff that didn’t scare me other than the thought in the back of my mind that I still need to be aware of my surroundings. My favorite days were sled laps with Tony thanks to Gilly and the two snowcat days I had. For the limited amount of riding during my time in AK, I actually got quite a few runs and good powder turns.

Probably the scariest moment came on a down day when a group of us went to explore the abandoned train tunnel outside of Valdez. To get into the tunnel meant crawling headfirst, legs up in the air, through a tiny hole under concrete. I honestly didn’t think I would fit through it but somehow managed to get in. It was worth it to explore and Reid and Merth from Bomb Snow Magazine captured it perfectly. Of course on the way out, I got stuck when you don’t want to be stuck and ended up in a bit of a panic but luckily I did make it out.

The best part about Alaska was crossing paths with amazing people. So many people from so many different parts of the world of snowboarding came to be part of the experience. When I first arrived, I rode a snowcat with a crew from around Alaska and by the end of the day, we were getting drinks, having dinner and just having a good time outside of snowboarding. Later on in the trip, I was able to spend time with many of the media and photographers that I’ve come to admire. There were days where a familiar face like Mark Carter, Scotty Lago or Kevin Jones would be sitting next to me. It really opened up this whole world of snowboarding and made it real. The people in Alaska made Alaska everything for me.

I wish I could say I dropped in the steepest runs or rode the gnarliest terrain of my life but I didn’t…I did however have a good time with a great crew of people that I now consider friends.

 If you have the opportunity to be part of the experience, go for it. It’s a whirlwind of snowboarding, sledding, parties and mountains but it’s worth it to meet the people that share the same love you do.