Kendall Card 2.0 » Friends

Please Sir, May I Have Some More?

kendall — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:05:08 +0000

A few years ago when it came to backcountry skiing, life didn’t exist outside the Cottonwood Canyons, or to be more precise, life didn’t exist outside of Little Cottonwood Canyon. But with the move to Kamas, my discovery of the Uintas, the dream of “built the skin track and they will come” that was my Mount Aire project to name a few spots and I’ve discovered that life is well lived outside the epicenter of the Wasatch. That’s not to say I haven’t fondly reminisced of my days there and the lines, both big and small, that I’ve ticked off the list. Let’s just say I’ve not made it a priority to get to LCC.

That is, until last week.

Wednesday the report was 2-3″ in the surrounding areas and 6-9″ in the epicenter. I could no longer deny it’s pull so I resisted the tractor beam of upper Little Cottonwood and happily set my sights for the epicenter for my first voyage of the season. My few text messages to generally willing partners yielded a shut out so I would be going solo. As such I chose the simple route – Days Fork via the Flagstaff directisima. I was well rewarded with 3 laps of stellar pow that on occasion got all over my face.

A LITTLE COTTONWOOD CLASSIC – Sunrise lighting up Cardiff and Superior

It was while soaking it in Wednesday afternoon that I booked my return flight to LCC for Thursday morning with a timely text to Daren hoping that I might have company…and company is what I got. 4 others to be exact, including a split boarder named Aaron that graciously endured my rants about my last experience with a split boarder. Thankfully, he would redeem split boarders for me.

I was surprised that we were first up the skin track on Flagstaff with another 3-4″ of fresh. Then again, it was a prime day to tag Superior and a number of guys were headed in that general direction. I knew Days would deliver and didn’t hesitate to keep to the plan. The skin track was extra slippery and most of us toiled a bit. The sunrise and views were a great diversion from the toil and anguish of the skinning.

(CLICK THE IMAGES TO SEE THEM LARGER)

After cresting Flagstaff and looking into Days Fork I knew it would be another classic Happy Days kind of day – 2-3″ of new on the south side with 6-10″ of new on the north side. The best part? We had it to ourselves. We all stood there with the uneasy elevator style “after you”, “no, please, after you” courtesy gestures to which I gladly offered up a “May I?” and dove in.

I’m not sure if it was Aaron or Adam who started to speak first, but when everyone had arrived at the bottom of Days I said something to the effect of “I think I’m gonna need more of that” to which they both cited, in unison the famous line from Oliver Twist: “Please sir, may I have some more?”.

And more we got…and were filled. Evidence:

Yes, even splitboarders can rip it.

Finishing the Year

kendall — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:27:47 +0000

My friend Daren and I set out to finish the year off right – with a ski tour into Beartrap where we had gone immediately following Christmas day. Skies were blue, powder was plentiful and the only tracks we managed to find were the ones we put in.

It was one of those days where the snow was plastered to all the trees, leaving them blanketed in a beautiful white flocking. I got a little artsy with the photos.

(CLICK THE IMAGES TO SEE THEM LARGER)

Daren is a new comer to the world of backcountry skiing but I knew that with his bike racing background and all around stoke for fitness and nature’s beauty that it wouldn’t take much for him to be hooked. This sort of thing can be contagious and my hunch was right – he was grinning from ear to ear all day. Wouldn’t you be if this were you?

Dinner for Mason

kendall — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:46:24 +0000

Please if you have the means or the heart to attend this event, I and my good friend and business partner Mark Strickland would be appreciative. Mason is a cute little boy with a lot of spunk for a boy with a broken heart.

In case you want more info about Mason, his condition, his family and the fundraiser dinner, check out the blog that his mom Summer keeps about Mason

Another Day on the Bike

kendall — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:25:17 +0000

I went out for my usual bike ride yesterday morning. The only thing that wasn’t usual about this ride was the companionship of my friend Derek.

The thing is, he wasn’t biking but instead brought along his video camera. He was looking to shoot something fun and had wanted to add cycling to his demo reel.

To get all these shots, he drove his car with the camera hanging out the driver side window, rode in the back of my wife’s car, used a tripod as well as his signature remote control helicopter. I’ve worked with him controlling the camera while he flies the heli. This time he just flew and from the looks of it he may do just as well without my help.

Someone on a message board said this of the video – I still can’t believe this is your “hobby”. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve got a feeling that it won’t be a hobby for too much longer.

–More video edits from Derek at Piton Productions

Going to the Park City Art’s Festival?

kendall — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:57:28 +0000

If you’re headed to the Park City Art’s Festival that is quickly approaching on August 2-3, be sure to swing by my buddy’s booth and check out his photography.

Click on the picture below to read the details.

Congrats Adam!

–Check out AdamBarkerPhotography.com

Aspen Arial Images

kendall — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:18:12 +0000

This is my friend Derek. He likes to ski pow. A few of my winter adventures each year include him.

He also likes to shoot video using his remote control heli. I’ve had the chance to be his camera operator from time to time which really means that we argue and shout at each other like a married couple in controversy. But, things work out and we capture some great shots.

He just got back from Colorado where he was shooting for a documentary in Aspen about water conservation. I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealously knowing someone else was operating the camera. But these images are so clean and amazing I’m more stoked than anything else for the success he’s having with his trade. Congrats Derek, this is just the start!

Aspen Aerials from piton productions on Vimeo.