It's still summer. Bored. Video.

[damian 0]

Messing around with some old camcorder footage tonight. Here's some nice entry chutes and a helicopter dive over a big vertical drop, a long way down. But sorry, no riding as obvioulsy the camera gets packed away before we tip the nose over the edge. I really have to get a helmet cam. You can see the bowl we dropped into as the heli approaches and swings right. Check out the old ruins on the ridge! What a place to spend the summer. It's in Italy.

 

Check out the last three letters of the url.

 

 

Any one else got any home movies? Snow is better, but it doesnt matter. Surfing, skydiving, childbirth. We need entertainment.

[damian 0]

I really want to go to Alaska and do this before all the world's snow melts. This is from 1995.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hteTAMBTNXs

[damian 0]

Dont ask me what I would do in exchange for the chance to ride this. Just look at it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ANQJh9JpJg

[SerreChe 2]

Nice and fluffy but requires mucho dinaro $$$

[Thunderpants 0]

Spud, just maybe you should not worry about the snow. chances are that we are heading for another ice age (and much bigger problems than a warmer planet)

 

Nice videos btw.

[mattlucas 0]

Well I wouldn't rely on that theory

Words I am hearing from people out in the trenches is that things are getting thin. Glaciers once on maps are no longer there. Bergshrunds (sp) are huge in the summer blocking access to climbing routes. And this in the BC coast mountains where snow is big. Not in the states.

 

It you are right which you might be. It's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. And when it does get better we are probably going to be either long dead or very old.

[Thunderpants 0]

I have absolutely NO idea what is going to happen, and neither has anyone else.

 

Just to make my stance clear on oil CO2 and "global Warming" I am not too worried right now, but i think it is absolutely madness to take the chance that no harm is being done by burning fossil fuel.

 

By the way Toque, what is "worse" and what is "better"?

 

really depends if you want to ski or grow food

[mattlucas 0]

Better is what it was like 100 years ago

Worse is what it's going to be like in 20 years

 

I want to ski

[Thunderpants 0]

only two things are for sure:

it is either going to get colder or warmer.

..skiing while hungry is no fun btw.

[mattlucas 0]

Well I can be happy in the fact that I live in a country that is rich enough to provide me with food even if I can't afford it

[Thunderpants 0]

Alberta is rich on oil, right?

[mattlucas 0]

As far as I know it's the only province that is dept free.

Albertans are the Canadian version of Texans

 

So yes lots of oil but saddly in recent decades it's becomig drier and drier making getting a worthwhile crop more and more difficult.

[gerard 6]

But there's no money in food anyway. Much more profitable to mine oil and import food for CHEAP.

[Thunderpants 0]

hmm the issue of food was brought up because of the ice age that may or may nor occur.

 

With an ice age, all the money in the world cannot buy food for the entire population, there will not be enough to go around.

The same thing may (or may not) be true with a very warm planet, but that is another story

[gerard 6]

food, climate change and oil are all related. At the moment oil is much more valuable than food to us. There seems to be a bit of irony, assuming that oil production leads to climate change, which leads to lack of food.

 

But maybe this should be off topic. Nice vids. Steep and deep.

[damian 0]

It isn't totally off topic because I did mention 'the melt'. This week I have sensed the greatest potency of the global warming awakening that I can lazily recall. Something seems to have changed, a pivot point.

 

And I really want to visit Alaska. I think it has everything I want, although I might try using my leg muscle and not a heli. Why cant I do back country tours using dog sleds and snow shoes and climbing equipment?

[Thunderpants 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by le spud:
This week I have sensed the greatest potency of the global warming awakening that I can lazily recall. Something seems to have changed, a pivot point.

Al Gore

[damian 0]

Good god I live under a rock! I just put Al Gore into a Google news search and… wow. When did all this happen? What would make a man who won the US Presidential elections but lost the end game on a dodgy technicality do such a good thing? Who would have thought such a man existed. What is his motive? Is he upfront and all that he appears to be? Initially I want to be inspired by his leadership and fortitude, but as usual I am hesitant, am I jumping in ignorant exuberance? How could a person that almost saved us from GW Bush be so chronically different to him, not just on policy but in qualities of humanity? It is like two utterly different styles of athletes competing in the same race. Oh Nadar, you really cost the world a lot, and ironically, the Green cause. Politics yet again wins and society loses.

[Thunderpants 0]

To be fair to Al Gore, he was already on global warming in the early 80's but back then the green movement was not interested in fighting that battle, they were busy fighting the ice age caused by sulfur, saving the whales and local pollution problems.

 

Today he has wisely chosen to ride the wave everybody else rides, global warming. other ride the terrorist wave.

 

the bizarre thing about global warming is that the worlds population faces other and much more deadly problems that could be solved for a fraction of what the Kyoto protocol would cost.

 

Kyoto estimated costs: US$150 billion a year.

 

In comparison, the UN estimates that half that amount could buy clean drinking water, sanitation, basic health care, and education for every single person in the world. Which is better?

 

But then again, i'm all for reducing CO2 if that is the only swell we can surf right now

[wendy-cake 0]

Al Gores presentation flick is very interesting.

[damian 0]

I have no problems with tangent yet relevant discussions of the environmental and its campaigners. But doesn't anyone here actually like snowboarding/skiing or the mountains beyond a weekend or two each season? Is there no one with an extreme fascination out there? I like this forum, but I struggle top get my methadone hit. I feel like I am pissing in the air and trying to catch it in my mouth: its not much fun and everyone stands around wondering what the hell you are doing it for.

[bushpig 0]

no one here is wondering what you are doing it for spud! We are probably all quite envious, but for whatever reasons can't/don't choose to get out and do it to the extent that you do. Mate, your enthusiasm gets me amped to get out and do more stuff I want to though!

[damian 0]

Regarding "wonder why I am doing it"...

 

'it' being talking about the stuff on the forum, not actually doing the stuff. I know why I do it. I just want to talk about it with people. Anything: the concept, the doing, the dreaming.

 

Do you have a nice video to show me?

[damian 0]

Never have I seen such an unresponsive bunch of snowfans when it comes to footage of people flying across powder. Did I log onto the TennisJapan.com forum by mistake?

 

Perhaps a short sequence from Japan itself would be more interesting. The beauty of this is in a few months you will be riding exactly the same stuff.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ-6wm97Sq8

[mattlucas 0]

I know what you are talking about Spud

This is a slow time for most though and today is a Saturday for those in Japan. Just Friday for me and I even have school tomorrow.

 

I for one am not researching about gear so don't need to ask questions. SJ isn't really known for it's wealth of information on any gear I am interested in anyways.

 

I don't ask questions about snow or mountains as again SJ isn't really such a knowledgable forum.

 

I am getting excited about the coming season but this is also a season of depression for me as the ski season is still a ways off. With the coming of fall comes unreliable weather which also makes it so that I can't get into the mountains as much. But I am hoping to get out on the sticks in 3 or 4 weeks if things work out. If they don't then I will be out skiing in November.