Our local ski area, Alpental, wound up right in the crosshairs of a big snowstorm last weekend. With local convergence centered right over Snoqualmie Pass, it started snowing hard on Friday night, and didn’t let off until well into Sunday. By the time the storm ended, our hill had received almost 40 inches in 36 hours.
The Sunday timing was perfect for a ski photography clinic that I’d signed up for as part of Outdoor Research‘s VertFest. While Lulu spent the morning working on steep skiing techniques, I went out with professional photographer Grant Gunderson and Outdoor Research ski athletes Zack Giffin and Molly Baker to get tips and techniques from the pros. Hearing Grant’s input on metering and composition was awesome, and the perfect conditions let Zack and Molly go after just about every feature in sight, putting on a show for us.
Here are a few of the highlights from the day:
Zack Giffin boosts a small pillow in the old growth trees outside Alpental.
Zack sends the pillow for a tree-tap backflip on his second attempt of the morning.
Molly Baker busting through the deep trees.
Zack finds a nice spine on the lower mountain.
Smooth, floaty 360 over classic Alpental terrain.
Molly reaping the rewards of the weekend.
Zack launches through the snowy pines.
More snow on tap for this weekend. Now time to get a little more practice in and maybe tune up the gear before we take our ski trips to Jackson and Europe this spring. In the meantime, enjoy…
Beautiful shots Graham. Sharp, nice composition and dynamic. Now if only you could hire those guys out on a regular basis to keep working those shots.
FYI – love the composition on the last shot.
Ohhhh My! Amazing Amazing shots!! You guys are too much!!!! So talented, in so many ways. The world is yours!
NICE!!! Great pic’s and beauuuuuuutiful pow. Thanks for sharing!