The mountains have always been calling and always will, there is far more to explore out there even if the wind is ripping over a ridge, your legs and lungs are burning from the climb and there is more to come before the summit.


Explore Alex Brook, Mt Olympus

As with anytime your running around the mountains things are going to get complicated, especially when you introduce helicopters and competition, 2013 WHC was no exception with only one of the two days completed the video competition was changed dramatically, I was honoured to receive the prize for best freestyle day, the only day completed, by the judges and bring on 2014 with hopefully a better snowpack and better weather.


Explore World Heli Challenge 2013 – Winner Freestyle Day

During the 2011 winter, I produced a series of snowboarding videos “The Clubbies” about the lifestyle and riding that goes on in a number of small and obscure ski fields in the South Island of New Zealand, great places with very interesting stories and some awesome snow. The series was three episodes long with each episode three to five minutes long. The series was designed to break the mind set of the club ski fields or as they are affectionately known as a place you might take a trip to once a season and that it was this big thing to go there to a place where you can ride everyday and make a season with a group of other like minded snowboarders.

The clubbies can be an intimidating place, deeper in the mountains where skiing is still the norm and many of the occupants having been there since they were young if not multiple generations and lifts technical to ride many snowboarders feel uneasy before getting to the day lodge, we opened the series up in this way with one of the opening comments having an old time skier referring to us as “gays on trays” before we build into why we are there.

Since this series snowboarding has grown and evolved and continues to become more common place at the clubbies.

The Featured Video above is the first episode.


Explore The Clubbies

After a long day of sitting on the shore of a competition the mind has hours of wandering, in this case we found a little something different with the ski ramp lying on the edge of the lake.


Explore Brad Smeele Nollie

The photos and the memories sometimes tell a different story, if you asked me about this ride the days after we got back all I would say is it was hot and dry but there was water somewhere along the way.


Explore St James Walkway

While shooting the Whistler nightlife scene you meet a different set of people than you do during the daylight hours.


Explore Madi

Simoun Courtney won the Stienlarger Pure Futures competition with the idea of hand building unique bikes in his garage, a little kiwi ingenuity and some metal and you can create art.


Explore Deflux Build