Bellingham, WA - With a limited guest list and little advertising, Bellingham's newest snowboard shop, In8 Snow & Skate, hosted Seattle hip-hop standout Common Market last Saturday. Collecting warm clothing donations for the local mission, it was a semi-private show in front of a crowd of only 125 and the first of what we hope will be many gatherings for the Bellingham snow and skate community at the new establishment. Having only opened their doors for business a few days prior, In8 is well on its way to providing a venue for local shreds to congregate. With a concept that goes beyond a shop to a venue for music, art, and more, we are stoked that they are a part of our community. Thanks to Dylan and Corey, and see you at the next show.

Photo: Joe Briggs

SEATTLE, WA - In what is becoming the premier pre-season event this side of the Rockies, Snowboy Productions put on another banger edition of the Downtown Throwdown this past Sunday. The event was held on the front porch of the Seahawks' Qwest field and the assembled cast of 20 or so of the top jibbers around put on a performance that might have been more impressive than the Hawks' shellacking of the 49ers the next day. With MC Jesse Burtner of Think Thank handling the mic and Krush and his crew keeping things smooth, early season stoke was flying through the air warm October air while judges Sean Genovese, Jon Kooley, Austin Smith and Darrell Mathes took upon the admirable task of determining a winner. In the end it was Calgarian Jed Anderson taking down first place followed by Jonas Micholot and Ben Biloqc, with Jake Olson-Elm dialing in the best trick. Thanks to everyone involved for spreading the stoke to the masses as winter approaches.

FOOTHILL RANCH, CA - Oakley, Inc., in conjunction with 1242 Productions, premiers their all woman's film Uniquely today at their Foothills Ranch offices. A 35-minute high def film made by 1242 Productions, Uniquely features snowboarders Gretchen Bleiler, Marie-France Roy, Elena Hight, Anne-Flore Marxer, Chanelle Sladics and Etsuko Tominaga, alongside Oakley athletes from the skate, surf, ski and wake teams. A travel based piece, segments from Japan to Russia, Colorado, California, Indonesia, Australia and beyond document both the action and behind the scenes moments as the women travel the globe, giving insight into the lives of the riders and friendships that are formed along the way.

The best part? Uniquely will be available free through select magazines, online as a free download, and at Oakley retailers.

Two days: that's long enough to go to Vegas, get married, divorced, and come back. You can lose 10 pounds in two days according to the infomercials. Two planes, two buses, two sleeping pills and too many beers. Two days to get there, 15 to ride. Destination? Bariloche, Argentina.

After two days of travel I've now been in Bariloche for three days of riding at Cerro Catedral with South America Snow Sessions. The riding is varied to say the least: windblown powder and 60 miles-per-hour gusts in the alpine on day one, while day two was all about knee deep fresh in jib-friendly trees followed by pow turns through a thick bamboo forest and a few stream crossings to get out.

From a four-person gondola to old double chairs and a high speed, bubble-domed six-pack, Catedral is full of contrasts. The local shreds are sparse but there is a small crew of dedicated heads who know their mountain well and are happy to ride with a gringo or two. The fact that very few Argentinians are serious riders means that even the easy-access pow stashes stay fresh into the afternoon, a luxury often not available at North American Resorts, and the SASS crew knows where to get the goods.

Day three looked like we were getting skunked after two mellow tree runs led to half-hour lift lines because the top of the mountain was shut down due to high winds. The day was salvaged, however, when our small group spied the female contingent of camp pushing up a wall ride on the back of the administration building. Within an hour there were two separate wall rides going off and two dozen riders and skiers feeding off each other's stoke when less committed riders would have bagged it hours before.

Three days in and 12 to go. There's snow in the forecast and with a strong crew of shreds looking to make the most of every day I'm looking forward to seeing what else Cerro Catedral has to offer.

Viva Bariloche!

Riders: Dustin Linker (left) and Adam Yost (right) of the Weber State Snowboard Team.

Mount Hood in the sumertime is kind of a fantasy camp for the snow sliding children of North America. Walking through Government Camp and High Cascade Snowboard Camp or taking a stroll through Windell's, kids flip and spin through the air, skating, bouncing, screaming and yelling in an environment filled with skate ramps, trampolines, tacos and ice cream. The highlight of the experience, though, is morning sessions in the slush up on Timberline’s Palmer Snowfield, equipped with two camps, a nicely maintained public park featuring booters in the 40-50 foot range and a superpipe, boardercross course, and enough rocks and trees to keep those inclined to tap a few inanimate objects satisfied.

I visited Timberline this weekend to shred a few laps in a heat wave, which saw temperatures topping 80 degrees on hill, and take in Bonfire’s 11th annual Pipe to Pipe competition. Giving groms the chance to compete alongside shreds like Leanne Pelosi, Lucas Magoon, Molly Aguirre, Bode Merrill, and more, the snow half of the event ran Saturday morning. The diggers had put together five jibs, including rails, boxes, and a little wallride, low consequence features that encouraged progression and allowed the diverse array of competitors to get their jib on in a safe environment. After an am qualifier, the top finishers were able to join the pros in the final and watch riders get techy with multiple switch ups and a steady stream of one-upmanship until the last seconds of the competition. It was fun to watch a couple riders, including Jarad Hadi, who turned the wallride into a spine transfer to death cookie transition, bonking the Bonfire banners on the way by.

After the digger dog bbq was packed up and tents torn down, the scene shifted to Windell's indoor skate park (or "Bob" as it's known) for an hour of competition on wheels. Despite the crowded street course and high-level skating, injuries were minimal as dozens of skaters exhausted their bodies in the oppressive heat. I pity the judges because at any given moment a half dozen hammers were being dropped all over the course.

When it was time to hand out the cash, Johnny Lazzareschi took home $800 for the pro men on snow and Molly Aguirre's consistent riding earned her the same amount. Danny Tumia's endless bag of tricks won the skate session with Lindsea Lumpkin taking the women's division.

Following up a good contest with a few t-shirt laps on Sunday, I was glad to be up in the mountains on the hottest days of summer. Slushy conditions made it easy to make like Kelly Slater and lay down a layback or two and mellow airs in a smooth halfpipe is hard to beat at the end of June.

Thanks go out to the folks at Timberline and Bonfire for a weekend of good riding, good people, and a down-to-earth contest. Now if only we could incorporate a swimming pool into the competition next year...

Josh Thompson is an accomplished snowboard photographer who has had his images throughout frequency: TSJ, including the cover of issue 2.3 and a section in the 2005 photobook. Although shooting snowboarding has its perks, he recently went on a two-year hiatus to pursue other forms of photography via formal education. This is his story.
The only class I had ever taken in photography was a beginner level intro to darkroom technique back in 1995 at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, which didn't really teach me much about shooting. After that one semester, I took my camera to the slopes and never went back to school. Picking the brains of other snowboard photographers along the way, I was able to learn enough to get by and get shots published around the globe. Shooting snowboarding has been an amazing journey and has taken me on some truly unforgettable adventures.

As fun as it's been freezing my ass off, living in wet boots, and dealing with never ending weather days, I always had a longing for something more. I mean, I'd never trade the gamey smell of 10 dudes packed in a one bedroom cabin for anything, but there just seemed to be something missing in my life. I'd wake up giving one of my homies a full leg wrap while dreaming of being some big time, high fashion photographer rolling deep with beautiful girls and celebrities. This dream popped to the forefront of my mind every time I got home and looked at my (empty) bank account.

Finally, I took a long hard look at where my life was going and I realized I really needed to make a change. It's all fine and dandy to fantasize, but I didn't want to dream my life away. Becoming a highly sought after fashion photographer may be a little far fetched but making some real money with photography is not.

I knew my photography skills where limited and with the transition of film to digital came a whole new world of technology that I knew very little about. I'd already read many "how-to" books and looked through photography mags to check out the latest tips and gear but there was always so much information and it was constantly changing. That's when I really started to think that maybe I should go back to school.

I researched schools around the country for a couple years before deciding on Seattle Central. It turns out that it is rated one of the top three programs in the nation and it is right here in Washington where I was already living. I knew I'd have to sacrifice two years but that in the end it would be worth it.

On June 14th 2008, I graduated with an Associate of Applied Science in Commercial Photography. I walked away from the program with two entirely different portfolios, one sports and one fashion. One of the biggest benefits I took from the program was learning all the technical lighting skills. I now have the confidence and knowledge to step into any situation and shoot it. As a class, we learned the newest software available and in some cases actually helped test and improve beta versions that hadn't yet been released to the public. This last year I've been shooting everything from fashion to sports to product and I'm now ready and available to rejoin the workforce as a full time photographer who still shoots snowboarding, but can also work in other venues.

I'd like to thank my instructors, Robbie and Tomas for never letting me give up and Karli who has been there for me through thick and thin. I'd also like to thank all the editors out there who encouraged me to do this and assured me that it would benefit me greatly. Last but not least, thanks to all my friends and family who supported me along my journey. It was well worth the effort.

Josh Thompson

Wilson, WY: On the tails of a freak juneuary storm, Lib Tech artist Mike Parillo dusted off the sled and got out for a few turns with shred icon Bryan Iguchi. Photographic evidence that strange things happen on friday the 13th... like pow days in the middle of June.