ADRENALINE Episode 11 just aired live in France today and I just received the link from JG Charrier.
The episode includes the trailer of the movie Up and Down which is touring in Europe right now and has been getting thousands of spectators at every stop and will be featured at the Amsterdam Freeride Film Festival.
The trailer is followed by the back stage footage of the Eiger ski BASE (which is also in the movie).
Santa came early this year and dropped a box of brand new Leki products. This is my 6th season with Leki and I have to say that from one year to the other, I keep getting more and more impressed by the quality of the products.
This year, aside from outstanding quality, Leki has developed a new Freeride Collection with amazing graphics and new features.
I had the opportunity to ski the Rodeo Vario Speedlock for a month touring and heliskiing everyday at the end of the season in Iceland and Norway and I was really impress by the Speedlock system. This system does not lose tension and the pole stays in position. We have all experienced old locking system with a twist - not reliable. This is not an issue anymore. It is strong and easy to use.
I would also recommend checking out other models such as the Project 19 and Blast for more classical poles but still featuring the Trigger system.
So, open the link below, and have your credit card ready. It is worth every penny!
Early snow in the Tetons, San Juan and Wasatch… Yep, it’s that time of the year! Snow is right around the corner and ski movies are coming out.
So, here is the trailer of the lastest movie I am part of and put together by Greenhorn Films, Matthias Mayr, Matthias Haunholder, Sasha Schmid and a couple special guests including Sara Orrensjo and myself.
The movie tour is starting on October 7th in Vienna, Austria and will go through Germany, Holland, Dubai, France and will also be submitted to North American film festivals.
If you would like more information or want copies of the movie, please contact Greenhorn Films.
Oh, and I am the guy jumping the cliff at the end of the trailer
I hope you are all excited about winter being right around the corner and if not, this movie should get you fired up!
Posted on September 14th, 2010 by Matthias Giraud | No Comments
I would like to formally introduce Pokeware™ as my new sponsor - a unique software company that integrates video content and contextual advertising.
Pokeware™ creates an innovative way to monetize Internet video streams by connecting the point of purchase and consumption to facilitate and measure contextual product placements within streamed video content.
As consumers stream billions of videos each month over the Internet, Pokeware™ creates a new and more effective way for marketers to directly reach consumers. Pokeware generates revenue by dramatically increasing click-throughs and empowering consumers with quick and easy access to more products and information than they ever had.
This concept is a revolution in the advertising and marketing world and I am truly honored to be the new spokesperson of Pokeware™.
This opportunity has been offered to me by Maryse Thomas - founder and CEO of Pokeware. Maryse is an amazing lady, driven by passion and always ready to shake things up! As a pilot, and a forward thinking and creative individual, Maryse saw the potential of BASE jumping and how this incredible sport can be used for creative content and advertising in general.
If you would like to see Pokeware™ in action, please open the link below from the New Jersey Nets (pause the video to link to a product).
Today was the best last day of the season I have EVER had!
After landing in Geneva on the 21st to attempt a first descent ski BASE on Mt Blanc around the 23rd, 24th ,or 25th, we decided to abord the mission because of late snowfalls, HUGE avalanche danger and bad access roads. On top of that, the approach (due to conditions) would have taken 2 days for one side and 3 days for the other.
And, as great things are often unexpected, I got a call from Matthias Mayr (Elan team manager) and Matthias Haunholder (Atomic team pro skier and top 5 on the world freeskiing tour) to come ski the Eiger!
After doing a quick google map, we figured out that it is only a 3hrs from my place in Megeve.
Pointless to say I was on the road the next day…
As I arrived, Matthias and Hauni were skiing on the glacier which they accessed by plane so I drove to Lauterbrunnen, one of the best BASE jumping spots in the world, met with some local jumpers and did 2 jumps off a 500 m cliff (1500ft).
Matthias and Hauni came back from skiing at 6pm and the game plan for the next day that we came up with was a helicopter ride to the Eiger and do a ski BASE jump from the west wall straight into the North face!
Last thing I know, I am standing on the Eiger with a 50+ degree slope, icy snow, avalanche debris everywhere and cameras rolling in the helicopter. The skiing was tricky and not forgiving. This is the biggest NO FALL zone I have EVER experience but also one of the coolest runs. I ended up sending a pretty sizable frontflip off it and landed all the way back at the train station!
Our guide (Martin) who is also a BASE jumper decided to check out a cliff called La Mousse after the Eiger so we repacked our parachutes at the train station and jumped the 1500ft cliff to get back down in the valley. After a solid jump, Martin looks at me and says: “let’s go jump the High Ultimate, it is the biggest cliff here 2200 ft with a positive rock on top to jump from that you have to clear. A few people have died there but just give a good push when you jump to clear the ledge”.
So, we packed out rigs for jump #3 of the day and one of THE best cliff in Switzerland. 10 minutes later (by cable car) we are on top of the cliff and ready for 30seconds of freefall…
I am happy. That’s all I have to say. Life ROCKS. You can check out a little slideshow that the Austrians put together by using the link below.
Oh and yeah, we were of course shooting for a new ski movie/ documentary called Up and Down so make sure to get a copy when it comes out!
After heliskiing for a week in Iceland, we took off for the Lyngen Alps in Norway. We had issues leaving Reykjavik because of the volcano but we eventually got to Oslo a day later took a connecting flight to Tromso.
Since we had time to kill in Reykjavik, the Icelandic national news wanted to meet up and put a segment together. You can check it out at the following below.
We are now 70 degrees north and 600 km past the artic circle. As we arrived, the warm wind made everything slide and the avalanche danger is off the chart! We decided to ski some low angle stuff but even then, we would sink up to our chest in rotten snow…
Graham Austick, owner and operator of the Lyngen Lodge (www.lyngenlodge.com) took us by boat one hour north and we found the good stuff! 3000ft straight to the sea with the midnight sun… I have never seen a scenery like this and we skied amazing snow with a constant fall line straight to the boat.
We celebrated with a 4 am dive in the 5 degree water in the Fjord and drank some beer during the boat ride back.
This was the only day (or night I should say) we got here. The weather moved in and we cannot shoot or ski anymore. Rain, fog and wind ruined the conditions and mean no ski BASE jumping off the 1500 ft cliff 45 minutes from the lodge…
We are leaving on the 20th and I will be in Geneva on the 21st to prepare the last adventure of the season - ski BASE jumping on Mt Blanc. The weather is supposed to clear around St Gervais/ Megeve/ Chamonix on the 20th and I am hoping things will go according to plan.
This whole trip has been very challenging but also rewarding. We had to stay positive and optimistic but in the end, we got the shots.
The last few week have been hectic. A trip to the NW with bad weather partner from Montana to Oregon with no chance of shooting, back in Utah to try to get some BASE jumping but the wind wouldn’t stop blowing but finally, I got to Iceland with Grant Gunderson from The Ski Journal, professional skier Sven Brunso and ski journalist Dan K and we have been getting after it.
Over the last 3 days we have been skiing perfect untracked spring conditons (almost as nice as powder) and got to ski until pretty much 10pm everyday with the sun on the horizon.
We are very lucky to have such good weather. And to top it off, we had a full afternoon of heliskiing today with 6 drops and 5 first descents with Arctic Heliskiing and the help of our guide Jokull Bergmann.
We got to name all of them and got some great shots. Bad weather is moving tonight so since we have it all is the can, we are going to check out the local brewery and hang out at the hot springs!
This country is amazing and this is a one in a lifetime experience. From eating whale steak to skiing virgin peaks, this trip has been very intense and overwhelming.
We are going back to Reykjavik on the 13th to do an interview for the national news normaly and then we are off to Norway to tour the Lingen Alps and hopefully get some ski BASE action!
Check out a little update from a few days ago that just got posted on The Ski Journal’s website.
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to meet Jean-Guillaume Charrier -producer and host of the show Adrenaline on the French channel L’Equipe TV. JG is a very passionate journalist with a strong focus on extreme sports and wanted to air more ski BASE jumping footage.
As I have been playing around with my new GoPro Hero HD, I was able to get some sweet angles such as a ski POV of a ski BASE jump.
So if you would like to see what that looks like, just open the link below and check out the first segment!
Last week, the first ski BASE jump off Ingram Peak, in Telluride, CO went down! I was also being chased down by a speedflyer from New Zealand - Mark Simpson.
It took us 4 hours to skin up to the cliff and 1hr to scout out the edge. The snow was excellent around the exit point but quite shallow.
We tried to pack down a runway but the more we would pack it, the more rocks would poke out… So we decided to just ski it as it is and ski light to avoid catching an edge and tumbling down the face.
It wasn’t a sheer drop either so we had to “cheat” by carrying a lot of speed in order to get separation from the cliff and have enough room to open the parachute.
Plum TV was there to film the jump and we had 4 GoPro HD cameras. I had one on my ski tip which unfortunately came off right before hitting the cliff. Some lucky guy is about to find a brand new camera up Ingram peak once the snow melts…
I will be back on the road soon and will be in the NW most of April to film with Justin Wiegand from Nimbus Independent on Mt Hood and then head up to Rainier for a second attempt mid -April.
Then, it will be Iceland on May 4th, Norway on May 13th and Megeve (Chamonix) on May 21st for ESPN and The Ski Journal.
I also just got a new piece on the French show Adrenaline on l’Equipe TV and post the internet link as soon as it comes out so get your French dictionary ready!
Posted on March 24th, 2010 by Matthias Giraud | No Comments