Growing up in Switzerland at the Lake of Thun, surrounded by beautiful peaks like the Eiger, I fell in love with the mountains at an early age. Besides skiing, I was skateboarding and windsurfing as a kid. So when I saw the first snowboarders I knew this was my sport.

From my first steps on a snowboard to being a two-time ISF-World champion, Olympic Medalist, as well as a two-time X-Games winner in BoarderX, things went very quickly. Although I did all the competitions, freeriding to me was, and is the real-deal in snowboarding. Since my first Alaska-Experience back in 1996, I always got dragged back to the fantastic terrain of the Chugach-Mountains.

But also my home mountains in Switzerland have a lot to offer: a thinner and different snowpack, but huge and technical faces. A dream came true when I finally managed to ride the 2000-Meter vertical of the northwest face of the Eiger. I now decided to stop racing BoarderX to focus 100% on Big Mountain Freeriding. Besides a couple of freeriding competitions this year, I will be involved in some European film productions as well as my own projects and trips.

After a great summer with time to enjoy my hobbies (surfing, skydiving, mountainbiking and Kiteboarding), I’m looking forward to a great season with (hopefully) lots of snow and good rides. I’m happy to be riding the steeps in the finest apparel out there!

www.kestenholz.com

Emily's life on skis began at the age of 3 years thanks to a family full of enthusiastic race coaches and ski instructors back in the Laurentians of Quebec.

Since then, her ski career has taken her all over the world from South America and New Zealand to various resorts across Canada and the U.S. During this time she has played an assortment of roles as: an instructor, Ski School Director, avid free skier, gear tester, backcountry ski touring fiend, avalanche course instructor, ski guide, and instructor course evaluator.

Emily now lives, works and plays in Kootenays and is committing most of her winter hours to working towards becoming a certified ski guide with the ACMG, instructing telemark and alpine skiing programs, and exploring the various mountain ranges of B.C. on skis. She has also started a guiding business with her husband, Scott, called Cold Smoke Guiding Services (www.coldsmokeguiding.com) and to mark the inauguration of their business, Emily has put together a women's intro to ski touring program. This program addresses the needs of women in a mountain environment and provides an opportunity for the ladies to learn the skills necessary to make solid decisions in the backcountry.

Emily has also been involved with program development for the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) assistant ski guides program, instructing with the Canadian Ski Quest program out of Red Mountain Resort, teaching for the Kirsty Exner Women's Freeski Camps, conducting instructor-level courses for alpine and telemark skiers, and putting on Ski Improvement Clinics at cat-skiing and ski touring operations in the Kootenays.

When not immersed in the ski world, Emily spends her time seeking out new rock climbing experiences, trail running, hiking guiding, and spending quality time with her partner-in-crime, Scott.

Born: 28.04.71 in Starnberg, Germany
Height: 188cm (6' 3")
Weight: 80-90 Kg

Born in southern Germany I started going to the mountains with my family at the age of 4. Together with my Dad, we climbed several 4,000-meter peaks in Switzerland in the early 80's. After a "short" alpine climbing career at the age of 14, I began looking for a new challenge and finally discovered "real" climbing. During the following years I became a "climbing-junkie"; I dreamed, thought and lived climbing every day (bouldering, sport or alpine). I wanted to collect ascents of hard sport routes all over Europe, make first ascents and tick off some of the important limestone alpine routes on the northern rim of the alps.

After another "short" career as a competition climber on the German National Team, I established my first sport-climbing highlight in 1990 with the first ascent of "Baby Basher", 8b+ (5.14a) in my home area Kochel. In 1992, a trip around the world changed my focus on climbing for numbers, ratings and competitions to adventure; basically seeking the experience of one's personal limits and the forces of our own nature. My climbing trips led me through many climbing areas in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. I immersed myself into the different cultures I visited, including Africa and Asia.

At the same time I began working with handicapped children and discovered that learning from other people would give my life a completely new source of motivation. Therefore, while I was still addicted to climbing, I focused on studying to become a teacher for handicapped children and later finished my degree in 1999.

And what happened climbing-wise? After realizing another grade-push in 1996 with "Ramayana" 8c+ (5.14c) and a few hard alpine routes, I went to the Bugaboos in Canada with a friend and we established "Power of Lard", an 8-pitch route along a beautiful granite pillar that went free in the 5.13 range.

The following six-month trip led us through many historical climbing areas in North America, ultimately ending up in Hueco Tanks, Texas where we met the Bouldering Guru Fred Nicole. For the following two years a crashpad was my main climbing partner... and I established a lot of really satisfying boulder problems over the following years. My personal bouldering highlights include: "The Dagger-Sit-Start" and "Bokassa's Fridge" (Fb 8c/V15). In 1999 I went on a long road trip with Klem Loskot and a bunch of other German-Austrian-bouldering freaks to Australia, where we established a lot of world class boulder problems up to Fb 8b+ (V14).

In the same year I released my first book, "Climbing with Mentally Retarded People," and began working as a teacher in Munich, Germany.

What else? Ah the bands - I played in 3 bands: "Dead Clintons" (Punk-Hardcore), "Analstahl" (Old School Punk) and "G.Rag y los Hermanos Patchekos" (From Cuban to Folk music). ANALSTAHL is an old-school-punk rock band, 3 (vinyl-)records: "ANALSTAHL, Daneben, LIVE". There are still a few climbers at the concerts, though they get rare these days because of the strict diet and their hard evening endurance workouts- the most famous climber ever seen at such a concert was Fred Nicole. "G.Rag y los hermanos patchekos" is a musical mixture from Cuban and Latin over Tom Waits to traditional Bavarian songs, there is a lot for everybody (especially the girls). 4 CDs, biggest fans are female between 25 and 35 years old.

Adventure Climbing: In 2001 the lust for adventure climbing surfaced again and after a bunch of "bolted on lead sport-routes" up to 5.13 in the alps, I went with some friends went on my first expedition to Greenland, where we did two lines up a 1200 meter big-wall: "Aquasky", 7a (5.11) and "Easy or Squeezy" 7b+ (5.12) A4+, which marked a personal new step forward by not using a single bolt and leading nearly every pitch on-sight.

The same year I realized another long-standing project with "Die Welle (The wave)", 9a (5.14d). A year later I discovered a new game for the hot summer conditions with "Psicobloc", or Deep Water Soloing (DWS) in Mallorca, Spain. Psicobloc is route climbing in its simplest form: no rope, no top-rope or yo-yo work sessions, just pure climbing above the sea. I plan on heading back there for all the unclimbed projects in the area!

In 2003, I turned my attentions to bolting on lead once again with the multi-pitch "Rock the Casbah," 8c (5.14b) with Julian Heidinger.

At the end of 2004, I was part of a 7-member team of strong Swiss and German climbers that began a 6-week expedition to southern Greenland. The expedition was situated in the Fjords around the islands Tornarssuk and Quvernit near the Cape Farvel in the very South of Greenland, home of unexplored, exposed and 1400m high Granite-towers. Together with the brothers Michi and Ivan Tresch, Tom Holzhauser, Michi Wyser, Caro Morel and Wanja Reichel we established 9 new routes up to 5.12d (7c) and 7 first summit-ascents up to 1100m tall. The routes were steep with vertical walls and a bunch of hard off-width pitches in the upper 5.10 and 5.12 range. On our new routes we avoided placing bolts and tried to climb the lines in "one-day" pushes.

Since 2004, I have lived together with my girl-friend in Munich, where I work four days a week with "problem-kids". Besides my job and the daily climbing performances I still maintain the desire and motivation for travelling and a few of my planned forays include the USA, the Himalayas and Africa.

For example, in August-September of 2007 I went to the Tsaranoro Valley in the middle of Madagascar. We were a gang of four: Felix Frieder, Sandra Wielebnowski, Benno Wagner, and myself. Besides repeating a bunch of existing routes, we also managed to do an incredibly beautiful first ascent on the east face of Tsaranoro that beat all of our expectations: "Manara-Potsiny", 8a (5.13b), 600m, 17 pitches.

My targets for the future (besides health and my personal development) are still focused on travelling with friends, chasing my personal limits in all the climbing disciplines and having fun on the rocks with the help of the people I'm hanging out with.

YouTube page: www.youtube.com/user/tonelli71

Check out this article about Toni's climb of "The Old Man and the Sea" on Climbing Magazine

Visit Toni's blog at antonator.blogspot.com

Climbing came to Scott by shear luck after seeing a brochure for a climbing school in Canmore, Alberta. On a whim, he signed up for a weeklong course. It was a moment of awakening for him, and it was instantly clear what he wanted to do with his life. One year later, Scott realized that to progress any further as a climber he would have to travel to other climbing areas. He simplified his life by giving away all of his possessions that were not climbing or camping gear, and hit the road. It's been 14 years now, and Scott has climbed in 17 countries on 6 continents.

We could list the thousands of routes he has done around the world, but it is easier to say that Scott has redpointed many 5.14s on three continents, and regularly onsights 5.13s. Scott strives to be a multi-faceted rock climber, frequently changing between bouldering, sport, and traditional climbing. In northern Vietnam Scott, Lynn Hill, Paul Piana, and Todd Skinner lived in a boat on the South China Sea for a month. There they sailed from one island to another putting up new routes on amazing karst limestone. In the Sahel desert of Mali, Scott, Paul, and Todd, along with South Africans Andy DeKlerk and Ed February, established "Harmattan Rodeo", an all-free route on the tower formation known as the Hand of Fatima. With 1400 feet of difficult climbing up to 5.13, they fought sandstorms, disease, infections, and poor nutrition for one month to finish the route.

Flying into the very remote Ndoto Mountains of Northern Kenya, Scott was part of a team that established another all-free route on the 2000-foot SE face of Mt. Poi, the largest wall in Africa. Again, it would require 5.13 climbing to reach the summit. Scott enjoys sharing his adventures with others through his slideshow presentations and film projects. Scott's writings have been featured in many international climbing publications, and he writes a regular column for Gripped Magazine, entitled "The Ramblings of Milton". He also needs to eat twice his own body weight in pastry a day, simply in order to survive.

Check out Scott's blog at: scottmilton.blogspot.com

Sandra Studer is better known for her work behind the camera rather than in front of it, but she is a motivated climber with a beautiful style who has been traveling the world and discreetly climbing 5.13's and bouldering up to V10. Originally from Switzerland, Sandra decided to put her business degree and banking career on hold for a year to travel to the USA and climb. It didn't take her long to cast off the designer clothing and settle into a more relaxed climbing lifestyle, with photography taking a lead role.

After living in Southern France for several years she eventually moved to Canada, and spends the winter months in the deserts of the American Southwest or any number of other warm spots around the world. Sandra's photos have been featured in many international publications, industry catalogs, advertisements, and calendars. In front of the camera she has been a featured climber in the videos: "Master's of Stone", "Diamonds in the Rough", and the upcoming South African film "Rocklands-the movie".

After playing competitive ice hockey for nearly 20 years, Rob was introduced to rock climbing by local Cleveland sheet metal workers. After some top roping and first road trips to the New River Gorge, he was addicted to the problem solving, physical challenge and the climbing life style. Since then his passion has brought him around the world to New Zealand, Europe, Canada, and Mexico for traditional, sport and big wall free climbs. Currently, he is inspired by the big stone and enjoys the challenges of new routing.

Rob Pizem: A Look Back at 2010

It was another busy year for me and my family. I was fortunate enough to stay safe and healthy for most of it. The year began knowing that my wife was going to be completing her teaching degree and that we would be looking for work where ever we could find it. Jane, who is always ready for an adventure, was excited for a possible move from Denver to anyplace USA.

By late March, we had each secured jobs teaching high school in Grand Junction, Colorado. The excitement grew as our house went up for sale and we had to plan the move. To make things complicated, I had a trip planned to Squamish to speak at the Squamish Mountain Festival, which Arcteryx hosts, squamishmountainfestival.com and another trip to California to attempt to establish a new route on a huge granite monolith called Tehipite Dome. After the successful climbing trip opening up a brand new big wall route called the Tehipite Sanction, it was back to Denver to rent a U-Haul truck for the move the following day.

Grand Junction was hot at the beginning of August and since we didn’t really know too many people, we spent the time getting to know the town and doing some hiking and backpacking trips in the local San Juan Mountains.

Once school began it was time to start new routing and exploring the nearby Colorado National Monument, Unaweep Canyon, the Grand Mesa, and every other wall that I could find along the way. I spent hours hiking cliff lines until I finally met some local climbers and found some pieces of stone to play on. I was able to establish numerous crack pitches in the area. Some were overhanging off widths, others chimney and off-width multipitch climbs and others that were perfect splitter crack and face test pieces. At one point in time I had fixed lines up on four different walls!

After biking to my teaching job, I would either get in a bouldering or trail running session in with my wife or be out cleaning and prepping new climbs on the endless cliffs near the house.

Eventually, the weather changed and I had to be indoors training. I began setting routes and boulder problems at the Grand Junction Climbing Center. The owners Randall and Terry were so great about creating a climbing community that it was hard to resist their friendship. So, I began training and route setting seriously and as winter crept in had found a great home away from home at the gym.

The best news of the year though came right around New Year’s, when Jane and I found out that we were expecting a baby in August 2011! Cheers to the New Year and to new life!

Rikar is from Ordizia, in the Basque Country of Spain. He began climbing as a mountaineer, but the first time he climbed an easy arête he discovered rock climbing and it changed his life. He poured all of his passion and energy into it and soon became one of Spain’s best climbers. He has made many first ascents, several at the 8c (5.14b) and 8c+ (5.14c) level. In 2002, Rikar made the first ascent of his best, and hardest route: "Ini Ameriketan" 9a (5.14d) in Balzola´s Cave, Spain. He has on-sighted several routes of 8b (5.13d), as well as 8b+ (5.14a). He is very dedicated to climbing and has visited many different crags around the world.

Lately, multi-pitch routes in the Pyrenees have grabbed his attention and he has made the first free ascents of old aid routes such as: "Divina Comedia" (300 meters), 7c/5.12d max. (On-sight) and "Super Weissmuller" (300 meters), 8a+/5.13c max. Together with his wife Josune Bereziartu, they did the first ascent of "Yeah Man" (300meters), 8b+/5.14a in Switzerland’s Gastlosen range.

Once again partnering with Josune, they opened a new route in Spain's Ordesa National Park called "El Ojo Critico" (400 meters), 8a/5.13b max.). This route was done in a very clean traditional style, using cams and nuts with no bolts and very few pitons. Recently, Rikar has made an on-sight ascent of the crux pitch of "Zaratrusta", 8a/a+ (400 meters), a traditional line in the Ordesa Valley of Spain.

Rikar has been expanding his horizons with winter climbing, and opened "Frenesi" M8 (450m), a multi-pitch mixed route in the Spanish Pyrenees. Traveling to Canada last winter, he made an ascent of the classic Rockies sport-mixed route "Phyllis Dillar", M11 at the Stanley Headwall.

Photography is one of his great passions as well, and has published photos in several magazines. In 2004, Rikar presented an exhibition of his photographic work under the title of "Hatz Puntak" (Finger Tips). He has also published a book of the same name.

Michi grew up in Uri, Switzerland, right in the middle of the Alps. His father was a mountaineer and climber, thus he got into climbing at age 10. He improved quickly and began competing, later becoming a three-time Swiss Junior National champion. Michi retired from competing and became fascinated with bouldering and sport climbing.

He has made many first ascents of boulder problems up to Fb 8b (V13), and has completed a couple of routes up to 8c (5.14b). In the last few years Michi has become an accomplished multi-pitch trad climber and has established some multi-pitch 8a’s. He also recently made the 4th ascent of "Golden Gate", a 41-pitch 5.13b (8a) on El Cap in Yosemite and completed several first ascents in Greenland (up to 7c/ 5.12d) and Wadi Rum, Jordan. Currently, Michi is working as a climbing instructor in Luzern, Switzerland and climbing as much as possible...

My first days at the crag were spent confined between a barricade of backpacks that my Dad and his climber friends would set up a sort of make-shift crib, ensuring that I wouldn't wander off while they were busy climbing. As I outgrew the crag-pack crib my Dad decided to bring me along up the cliffs. I enjoyed these father-son climbing days that taught me the value of a good adventure in the mountains, but I climbed sporadically and never took it that seriously. However, when I was around 18-years-old I started bouldering at Flagstaff Mountain as a form of cross-training for downhill mountain bike racing. It wasn't long before I was hooked on the movement and challenge of rock climbing and soon found myself setting long-term goals and climbing as much as my skin could handle.

Since then, rock climbing has become a driving passion that I have traveled through the United States, Europe, South East Asia and South America to pursue. I have skipped class, cancelled dates, spent thousands of dollars and trained tirelessly. Every so often I am rewarded with a strong feeling of accomplishment, but nearly every time I go out, I enjoy the company of friends and another day in the mountains.

In 2011 I sought to explore a list of America's remaining test-piece sport climbs and also continue my search for new routes across the country. I started the year with an extended stay in sunny Las Vegas, NV. In and around Las Vegas I managed to complete a long term goal of mine, the beautiful and beastly 'Necessary Evil' 14c along with a number of classic 5.14s at the area. Later in the Spring I fired the third ascent of the mega cave route, 'Golden Direct' 14d at the Cathedral in South West Utah. In June I got lucky with cool temps and completed another big goal by sending 'Just Do It' 14c at Smith Rocks before moving on to Washington. Around Seattle I established two awesome new routes, 'New World Order' 14c at Little Si and another rad pitch, 'Voodoo' 14b in the North Cascades. During the summer I dropped by Tensleep and ticked a 14a flash and onsight, 'F'd in the A' and 'Doomsday' respectively, before hosting the always kick ass, Lander International Climbers Festival. Afterwards I spent almost a month touring Canada for the first time and got to climb at Horne Lake, Squamish and in the Canadian Rockies. I spent a few short days at an awesome summer limestone area, The Hoop, in August, completing a rare ascent of 'Moose Licks' 14b before heading back to Colorado. Almost my entire month of September was spent in Rifle Canyon, where I repeated 'Bad Girls Club' 14+, 'The Crew' 14c, 'Waka Flocka Flame' 14c and 'Girl Talk' 14b/c among others, before establishing my own route, 'Shadowboxing' 14c. I spent the fall in the Red RIver Gorge exploring new areas, bolting routes and hanging with friends. It was a whirlwind year: tons of traveling, meeting great new people, new areas and unique adventures.

Most of all, 2011 was a breakthrough year for me in the sense that I finally cut my ties and moved into my truck-- to be on the road non-stop. Traveling has long been a passion of mine, and now my pursuit of rock climbing has led me to travel year 'round.

For 2012 I'm planning another extended stay in Las Vegas during the winter and looking forward to an international trip over the summer. New routes and new areas have become my primary goal, and are driving most of my decisions, and keeping me psyched for adventure after adventure! Stay in touch with what I'm up to on my website (www.jstarinorbit.com) or follow me on Twitter (@jstarinorbit). Cheers!

Fred has been climbing and bouldering for 20 years. He is fascinated with discovering new playgrounds everywhere in the world.

Personal Goals for the year: South Africa 2004, many projects in the Rocklands and a hard route this fall/winter in Switzerland at Billitscher.

Some of the milestones...

• Black Eagle 8c/V15 sitdown in South Africa 2003
• Massif attack V13 flash 2003 Switzerland
• Le poinçonneur des lilas 8c/V15 Switzerland
• Dipende 8c/V15 2004 in Switzerland
• Madiba 8b+/V14 2003 in South Africa
• Dreamtime V15 2000 in Switzerland (the boulder was chipped by some crazy guy in the meantime...) but it was still the first boulder rated that hard in the world!
• Eve Rêve V14 2000 in Australia
• Slashface V14 1997 in Hueco Tanks
• La danse des balrogs 8b bolder 1992 in Switzerland
• Radja 8b+ boulder (the first boulder rated that hard in the world) in Switzerland
• Bain de sang 9a in 1993 in Switzerland
• Le toit d'Auguste 8b+ (5.14) in 1997 (it was the first repeat of this mythical route from the unforgettable Patrick Berhault who died recently) in France

Just in May during a trip to California he managed to repeat all the hardest boulders everywhere he went and right now he is still in the Rocklands/South Africa. The hardest one two weeks ago was "Golden Shadow" an 8b+ boulder in the Rocklands and he repeated a boulder from Jerry Moffat rated 8b at the Top Side in Cape Town... But he stopped competing I think 1996! He is also invited in Japan this october and in november in Spain for some slide shows.

Just for you to know: he loves the Gamma MX Jacket and he wears it all the time - since it's winter in South Africa he is also using the Fission SV and of course the backpacks, harness, etc...

When seeing Martin ski, one would never believe that he has grown up in a part of Sweden that is absolutely flat. With no snow or mountains within reach he left his hometown after graduating high school to pursue the white gold, starting with a short career as a ski instructor. After several winters with the european Alps as his playground, he has become a powerful big mountain skier and progressed into riding as a pro ski-model. His clean style and big turns in front of the camera has given him numerous photos published in major ski magazines throughout the world.

Markus has been playing in the mountains for over 25 years. It all started with climbing when his parents sent him to a climbing camp for kids in the Alps. From there on it was only climbing that stood to his mind. Later he discovered the fascination of learning other sports. Today he spends lots of time discovering new playgrounds where he can develop his skills in these activities. When not in the mountains playing, he works there. Markus is UIAGM Mountain Guide and teacher at an outdoor school. He is more interested in snow than most of us, which is why he has written a book about avalanches. His main motivation for being a teacher and guide is to help people master different activities in nature.

For the last eight years he has been living in the mountain region of Hallingdal, Norway. For Markus this is the perfect place to live, since he can go out and climb rock and ice, ski, kite and mtb within short distance from home. Like the rest of us he finds it motivating to go and climb walls far away, but for him it is important to remember that there is always something to discover at home to. Having global warming in mind, this is something to think of.

Laura's life really began at age 4 on the ski school rope tow at Whistler Mountain in 1984. By the end of that first day, she hated skiing with a passion and turned to soccer which she played until her second year at Colorado College. With the help of the guys at Igneous Skis in Jackson, WY, she entered her first contest at Snowbird in 2001 (in between semesters) on rental ski bindings. Although she crashed after qualifying, the seed was planted.

After trying Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and even Maui, Laura fell in love with Pemberton BC. She shreds Whistler/Blackcomb and loves to explore the wild terrain of the Coastal Range north of Pemberton with her blue Yamaha Mountain Max 700 snowmobile named Le Bleu. Laura climbed Mount Rainier and Mount Adams this spring, and will continue to find skiable volcanoes inthe world. In 2005 she won the North American Freeskiing Tour, and in 2006 she won the World Freeskiing Tour in a clean sweep.

You can see her in Team 13's film, Echo, and Two PLank Production's upcoming ski movie this year.She spends her summers painting houses and canvases, riding mountain bikes with fat tires, fishing and baking. She owes her charmed life to the mountains, and her parents, Pam and Bryan – both have opened her heart.

Jacob Slot's telemarking exploits have taken him to some of the most remote spots on the planet, from 8000 meter peaks in Tibet, to the Wakon region in Afghanistan. He has skied major mountains in Peru, Columbia, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Greenland, Spitzbergen, Japan and has numerous first descents throughout the Alps. He aims to keep pushing the boundaries of ski-mountaineering and continue exploring the world's most isolated mountain regions.

Using the Austrian ski resort St.Anton am Arlberg as his base, Jacob's big dream is to settle in Patagonia, somewhere between Rio las Vueltas and the Patagonian ice cap, fly fishing those rivers he seen from the summits. His extensive knowledge of these areas is nearly unsurpassed. Each year finds him searching out new areas in Patagonia and testing new lines in the Arlberg area. A talented film maker and story teller. Jacob has shared his adventures with through internationally shown films and published articles.

WWW.PILTRIQUITRON.COM

I live in Pemberton, BC on a small farm with my family. I have my own sawmill which I used to build our log home. In the summer I own and operate a whitewater jetboat company, Whistler Jet Boating. It is a family run operation, with my wife Parveen and two sons, Logan and Dalton helping out. We offer tours on the Green River which has grade 3 & 4 rapids whistlerjetboating.com.
We work hard all summer so we can fit a surf vacation before ski season starts. My boys and I hunt in the fall for elk, moose and deer to fill our freezers. This year I have built my own rally car and competed in the Canadian Rally Championship, and will compete in the series next year as well. Skiing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I have had many first ski descents in the Coastal Mountains of BC and around the world and continue to ski over 100 days a year. I now share my passion and love of skiing with my sons on Whistler Blackcomb and in the backcountry.

Q & A's

Full Name: Eric Pehota

Home Mountain? Whistler Blackcomb, Canada

How long have you been skiing? Since 3 years old

What are three things you can not live with out? Skiis, boots & poles

If you were not a pro Skier what would you be? Race car driver

What is the coolest thing you’ve done on the snow? Huge 1st ski descents

How do you stay in shape during the off season? Biking, hunting, hiking

Favorite Food Item? Elk burgers

Who are your other sponsors? Rossignol, Oakley, LEKI, Whistler/Blackcomb, Giro

Growing up in Jackson, WY gave Crystal an opportunity to start skiing steeps and playing in the mountains at an early age. Her parents, both former ski bums who settled in Jackson in the late seventies, helped kick start her competitive skiing career by getting Crystal into ski racing at an early age. Once into her young teen years Crystal was consistently beating the older girls and was addicted to the downhill event. Soon she was a member of the Western Region Elite Ski Team and continued to dominate at most of her events.

These great performances lead to Crystal traveling with the US ski team for two years. During this time Crystal foreran the 2002 Olympic Women’s Downhill. After putting her college on hold she decided to keep skiing but also purse her educational interests in the health field as well. She skied NCAA for Montana State University, and was on the rodeo team while obtaining her B. S. in Health Promotion.

Upon graduation from college, Crystal decided to give the big mountain comp scene a try. After a successful first year on the circuit, she has not looked back and is well on her way to a top finish in this years overall title. When she isn’t skiing, Crystal can be found mountain biking, alpine rock climbing in the Tetons or Wind River mountains, racing her barrel horse in the Jackson rodeo, guiding whitewater on the Snake River, or personal training clients and friends.

Check out Crystal's blog at crystalbwright.blogspot.com.

Telemark and ski alpinism has been Conny's primary focus for more than 10 years. Her extensive telemark related trips to the worlds most remote areas and many classic steep skiing descents throughout the alps, has turned what started as a hobby, into a way of life. Her true passion belongs to the winter days in her home village of St.Anton am Arlberg, where almost every day she can be found in the mountains.

Conny is famous for her smooth soulful skiing style (alpine equal telemark) and her ability to haul packs and pulks more than twice her size during the various expeditions she has experienced. With focus on real big mountain skiing she did visit Peru, Columbia, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Tibet, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Greenland, Spitzbergen and Japan. Most of her climbing projects are influenced by her skills as an extreme skier and alpinist always looking for the ultimate steep couloir.

WWW.PILTRIQUITRON.COM

Chad Sayers - 12/12/78, 5'7, 147 pounds, blond hair, green eyes.

Sponsors - Arc'teryx, Adidas eyewear, Leki, Hestra, G3, Black Diamond, Peak Performance Physio, Whistler Core, Silver Star Mtn.

This unique lifestyle manifested itself organically, when I started skiing professionally 10 years ago. The challenges and injuries presented by my skiing have given me a chance to embrace life for the true gift it is and grow as an individual. As my ski career evolved, it afforded me the chance to travel year around ~ skiing, climbing, surfing, etc... Admiring the far corners of the world and exploring my creative passion for photography.

I feel extremely blessed that I can live my dreams and do what I love....

In the past 10 years I have travelled to South-East Asia, Nepal, India, all throughout Europe, Canada and the US, multiple trips to Central America, South America, Greece, Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. In my heart I felt there was so much of the world to admire so I chose to see as much of it as possible threw a young mans eyes. I have experience so many beautiful moments of stillness and in spiritual solitude which allowed me to truely feel the simplicity of life.

Most defenitly the hardships of my travels have given me the chance to embrace life for what it is and open myself to grow as an individual. This unique lifestyle was defenitly something that just manifested as I became more passionate about seeing the world and doing my own photography. As the years went by and my ski career blossemed, it also gave me the chance to be travelling year around skiing mountains, climbing mountains, and enjoying life by the sea with my family, surfboard in hand!. I like to believe this journey was meant to be and to inspire...

Chad Sayers...

Check out Chad's blog for more photos and stories