Continue reading »]]> Headed over to NH for a day to explore around and see how things were looking up high. The wind had been really strong for sometime so we didn’t know what we were going to find. Happy to find that the base was pretty good all the way to the parking lot and we wouldn’t be hiking out. We took to the skinner and found a couple lines to boot up. The sun was in and out and the wind were still cranking on the ridge. The conditions were extremely firm, windboard, chalky like snow, but just enough to hold an edge on so we could make turns.

Continue reading »]]> After a fun day of splitboarding and surfing my friend Nick and I decided to take a day off. Only to prepare for a backpacking trip on Catalina Island. We did some research and planned out a 30 mile hike over 3 three days and 2 nights. We took a ferry into Two Harbors from San Pedro and left Catalina from Avalon into Dana Point. The pink on the map below is where we hiked. And bright yellow spots are where we camped along the way.

Leaving San Pedro

When the island got real close, I knew right then this was going to be an epic trip.

Two Harbors

After setting foot in Two Harbors we quickly found the $13.99 breakfast buffet right off the dock where we decided to drink coffee and fill our bellies before our long hike to Ben Weston beach.

Go Time

Spotted this Bison in the distance within the first hour of the hike.

Along the way……

Little Harbor and Shark Harbor was pretty awesome, we took in some views, filled our water bottles, took some pictures and headed off since we still had a couple hours of hiking left before we got to our final destination. Here is what Little/Shark Harbor looked like.

Eventually we made it to Cottonwood Beach, but didn’t stay to hang out. We were anxious to get to our camp beach.

Our first look at Ben Weston Beach…. WOW just WOW!

Before we made the scramble down, we checked out a bunker from WW2.

It appeared someone was down at the beach already. Turned out to be a couple older guys surfing the nice swell. They were super nice, filled us in on some local secrets, gave us some pre-made breakfast burritos, then took off. Burritos were much better than my oatmeal.

The place was amazing. I was super stoked to be able to get to spend the night there.

Nick hunting for crystals.

Crushing it!

Dinner Time!

Doesn’t get much better then this.

Some shots in the morning.

It was really hard to leave this special place, but we had a ferry to catch in Avalon in two days. This is a spot I hope to return to someday.

We left the Trans Catalina Trail back in little harbor, so we could hit our detour at Ben Weston, now we had to take another detour to get back to the main trail. This alternate route brought us by a really cool vineyard, which I was glad we didn’t miss.

Covering some ground

Lunch stop

BBQ Tri-tip sandwiches and DBL IPA for lunch, can’t complain..

Now we had to stumble our way to BlackJack campground.

Soap stone along the way.

Cool Tree

Nice campground, with our own water, two picnic tables, firepits, toilets.. That’s all nice, but I almost wish I was still at the beach spot..

Got a good nights sleep and we were up early and ready to go.

Then there was this guy. He was pretty close, so I didn’t want to hang out to long. Just enough time to say hello and snap a few pics.

Finally we could see Avalon where we were headed and where our adventure would come to an end.

Things were a little strange when we made it to town. We felt very out of place..

THE END!

Continue reading »]]> After a rapid warm up and bad avalanche conditions, I decided to try some fly fishing near Mammoth. My options near by were Hot Creek and The Upper Owens River. Both are remarkable places to fish, with breath taking views of the Eastern Sierra Mtns.

I am very new to fly fishing and have lots to learn, but did manage to land a few in the net. I used barbless hooks, and released all the fish I caught.

My first ever Brown Trout

Continue reading »]]> After looking at this line several times in the past I was very eager to get to ride it with powder. Josh, Nick, Leb, & myself set off on this mission during the second day of Tailgating June. We had to venture a bit further for this one.

Over 3000′ vert of climbing and it was time to drop in…

Josh, aka Jbaysurfer

Snow looking good.

Nick dropping last with plenty of good snow left.

Leb pointing it.

Nick finding the deep.

When it doubt, point it out.

Jbay

Nick’s turn

Farming on the way out of the chute.

Lucky for us we still had 2000′ of turns to get back to the car.

Another great day touring around June with a solid crew of splitters. Thanks Guys!

Continue reading »]]> I was greeted with some snow when I returned to the Eastern Sierra in early March. After a few days of storm riding at Mammoth we spent a couple days in June to take advantage of the new snow and empty ski area. We packed up the splitboards, grills, and coolers and met up with the crew for some fun. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

SDMarkus getting some laps in.

The view from Carson Ridge never gets old.

Sara Elia dropping into the goods.

Nick Elia painting clouds.

SDMarkus & Willard getting it done.

Some great turns were had by all.

Leb charging.

Bill joined in for the final lap.

Good snow, good beer, good people, and good times…

Continue reading »]]> The Eastern Sierra Mountains pull me in like a magnet. Every year I go back and every year I become more & more addicted. I want to see whats behind every bend, climb as many peaks as I can, and shred everyline on my list..haha! Its somewhere I plan to return to for the rest of my life. Having good friends and touring partners to bag peaks, ride new lines and share these epic times with out in these mountains is just the best therapy I could ever get or want. I believe I got in 14 days touring on my splitboard and did 2 days storm riding at Mammoth Mountain. It was a good run indeed. I even got two days surfing down at Trestles.

Here is some video of my snowboarding adventures on the Eastside. It contains GoPro, 7D footage, and stills.

The first day we went out surfing, I stayed on the beach and filmed a few video clips with My friends point and shoot camera before I paddled out. Although my arms were out of shape, I had a blast and really enjoyed the 9′ longboard I borrowed. I only filmed for 5 or 10 mins, but put together this 1.5min clip for fun.

Continue reading »]]> After my birthday over night on the ridge I went to the hot springs to soak my sore body as I watched the next storm roll into the mountains.

Expecting a storm riding kind of day, but it turned out to be deep, blower snow, and bluebird. Can’t complain one bit.. What it’s all about.

I’ll let the pics do the talking.

Nick Chomping on some snow.

Joe getting after it.

Love this shot!

An amazing day at Mammoth Mountain. Thanks for sharing it with me guys.