In its sixth year now, Freq Week makes good on an original promise to Craig Kelly to come visit interior BC and ride with friends, minus industry pressures or chatter. Deep, deep snow, an appearance from Jamie Lynn, and fireworks ensue...

With another LBS come and gone, it feels a bit like Santa Claus has packed up and headed to Belize until next year. The recollections of this particular LBS will remain, however, for some time. This is, I believe, the 20^th LBS I have attended in the 25 years I’ve been riding at Baker, and would put this year’s performances, course quality and snow conditions in the top five of these. By opening up the course a bit, and with a perfect snow depth, the banked course rode like a flawless 70’s concrete skate snake run and the speed of the riders was notched up a bit....

Mt. Baker, WA – With an early opener/November powder pounding and mid-season warming lull, April 2010 proved to as legendary as other legendary winters in the North Cascades. Deep, deep sessions well after the spring equinox reminded all that it ain’t over ‘til the Howat’s power that last lift down. And the closer proved to be the icing on the slush.

With the rain hammering, it was hard not to wonder what kind of condition the nearby Cypress Bowl Olympic Halfpipe venue was in, but with enough gratis rye and ginger ale’s, amazing appetizers and NBC cameras, anything is possible. In a pre-lympics recon mission, Wibby and I headed up to Grouse Mt. and Oakley’s Global Media Event. With visions of throngs of northbound visitors and massive customs lines, we slid directly up to the Truck Crossing guard station without a single car in front of us and crossed into Gretzkyland. Being a good Washingtonians, we made a beeline for the espressos and fought back the chill of the coastal rainstorm while mingling amongst the beautiful-people press from CBC, NBC, BBC and a host of other acronyms. There was one particularly energetic lady who was as glued to her textberry like a 13 year-old girl, from www.missmanifesto.com a liquor company-subsidized blog geared for young female professionals about travel, sex, food, and cheap deals; she seemed to have done an excellent job of not overthinking her product. But Wibby and I were pretty much the only shred media on hand, which was fine. More canapés and microbrews for us.

After a brief presentation by their Global Brand Communication Director, we toured an Oakley history display from early Factory Pilots to the most recent goggle incarnation, followed by a couple food-and-drinks fueled press conferences with several CDN Olympic team members including halfpipe rider Jeff Batchelor, who declined on any predicted upsets of The Flying One. Speaking of whom… another press conference went down outside in rather lashing conditions following a full-on fashion show of O’s 2011 outerwear. Props to longtime O head Matty Swanson who gamely and professionally spoke with Gretchen Bleiler about her career and design influences as they endured the Cascade’s finest liquid snow. Later, The Flying One himself made an appearance in official garb and touring cap, looking like a red-headed Jackie Stewart (not sure if the full on hobnail boots were official footwear or not) and speaking, relaxed and cool cucumber about the Project X endeavor and “secret tricks” he’s holding in the bag for the Games. Wiggling between Esquire.com staffers and aggro NBC camerdudes, several more rum-and-ciders were secured along with smores upon exit. Eat your chocolate heart out Brooke Geary.

Now if they could just tent the Cypress pipe and start blowing cold air, it’ll all be cool. No pun intended.

The prelympic foray was entirely successful; the border proved to be mellow enough that even without a current valid passport on the US return, Wibby did not get us hauled off to Guantanamo.

I’m not always into the mega press events, but if you are going to throw it down, few do like the big O. Even with perfect-storm conditions, Swanson, VP of Marketing Pat Mcilvain and the rest of the Oakley crew pulled off one of the more impressive events I have ever attended.

After a full day of working on the organic media farm, Jessie Lu, Wibby and I, put down the plows, unhitched the horses and rolled down the 5, to visit some good friends we hadn't seen in a bit at the Lib Tech and Sno Con pre party for Standard Film's latest "Black Winter". Entry into the new (it will always be the new Sno Con to me, I had just gotten to the point where Alaska Way had usurped S. Main as the actual location) is always an amazing experience.

Party Party photo by Stan Tech

With the heavy grief and sadness from the recent loss of two of the NW's finest snow/skate/music cultural icons, Sean "Donnkie" Mansfield and Gunther Frank in a tragic boating accident several weeks ago, this last weekend's three day celebration -- culminating at the city skate park in Bellilngham, WA -- was a positive blessing for all.

Mt. Baker, WA – It is with great sadness that we must report a tragic accident on Washington State’s Bellingham, Bay and missing local rider Sean "Donkey" Mansfield, as well as local photographer Gunther Frank.