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The Carston Oliver Interview: Part II

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You have a reputation for hucking enormous cliffs with abandon.  When do you know it’s going to be okay to casually huck a cork 1080 off an enormous cliff?

I do my best to have a good idea of what the snowpack is doing, and when things are stacked up just right you can go pretty large as long as there’s a relatively steep landing.  The best situation is a bit of fluff on top of progressively denser layers, with no thick crusts or hard layers to smack as you blast into through the snowpack.  For the bigger airs I like to have a look at it from multiple angles to make sure the trajectory from the take-off will put you in a good place, as well as do some probing in the landing to make sure the snow is stacked up correctly and there aren’t any rocks lurking below the surface.

You ski smooth.  Name three skiers that inspire you to keep your hands from rolling down the windows.

Eric Pollard, Paul Kimbrough, Sage Cattabriga-alosa

Has anyone ever told you you’re weird?

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The Carston Oliver Interview Part I

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Ben Sturgulewski/Sweetgrass photo

Carston Oliver is weird.  On a four-hour road trip from Salt Lake to Jackson Hole, I think he spoke for a total of ten minutes, spending most of the ride chewing on strange Japanese snacks and insanely hot peppers instead.  Much quieter than the average GoPro-ing professional skier these days, Carston lets his skiing on film for Sweetgrass Productions do the talking (*overused analogy #1).  But as quiet as he can be, it’s been hard to keep a low profile when you throw cork 1080s off 70 foot cliffs and never roll the windows down no matter how big the cliff.  When he finally crawled out of his tent in Alaska and found his computer in a pile of fried squid snacks he left in Haines, he politely answered our pointed questions.

Everyone at the Powder Week (Powder Magazine’s ski testing week at Jackson Hole) closing party was pounding beers and you were in the corner tucking Thai chili peppers under your tongue.  Could you explain your unique nightlife strategy?

I don’t mind partying every now and then, but like to keep things from getting too sloppy, so the nonstop alcohol binge that is Powder week was a bit much for me at times. As a result, I would fall back to my default addiction to capsaicin (the chemical that makes your mouth feel like it’s on fire when you eat hot peppers).   A little dip of Thai chillis will keep energy levels up so you can stay out late and try to keep up with all the party people, but without having to deal with the pounding headache or regrettable decisions once the morning rolls around.  You can sometimes get into a pretty funny headspace after 6 hours or so of maintaining a nonstop, rolling burn.

Carston in Argentina with Sweetgrass in 2010 and 2011.

What seems like a better time to you: helping Kristi Leskinen get her bra on, or helping JP Auclair fix a flat of a 4×4 van in Japan?

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The TrashParty Interview Part II

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Part II of the interview with the TrashParty’s Magnus Støre, Chris Helberg and Henrik Nordviste.  Enjoy.  For Part I, click here.

Are people in general cool with you jibbing shit outside of the guy who said he’d “fuck your neck?”

We get everything from love to hate, appreciation to death threats. Quotes from randoms at street sessions: “OMG you guys are so cool can I suck your dizznicks?” “Do you know Tom Wallisch?” “Can you backflip?” “Are you guys in Field Productions?” “You suck, go home” “Chrischna? Chriiiischna? CHRISHNA!!!… ??”

Where are most of the street spots we see in the videos?

 Mostly in the streets.  Around corners and beyond the 5th dimension. We usually just walk around with our gear until we find something to hit.

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Happypro/TrashParty Interview Part 1

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Here’s a little something to help you get to know Oslo’s own Devin-the-Dude-loving 12 year olds–the HappyPro crew. The Scandos behind one of our favorite web series, the TrashParty, were kind enough to answer some questions (foreignisms left in tact). After all, “real gangsters hang out in Mogadishu. ‘Nuff said.”

All questions answered jointly by Magnus Støre, Chris Helberg and Henrik Nordviste.

Where did you get your start filming?

The Trashparty is just a descendant from HappyPro. A couple of friends just started filming in the local resort, it evolved over the years, and our last movie, Dio, came out in 2010. We had made 5 movies, and were keen to try something new. Trying to force a whole season of diverse shredding into 20 minutes is hard, and we wanted to switch things up. Making season 1 of TP was awesome, and we are superstoked on season 2.

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The Funk is Back

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The Garrett Russell Experience. G-Funk. Garrett. Even if we all call him by different names, we can all rejoice in the fact that Garrett Russell is BACK. After sitting out last season rehabbing a torn ACL, chopping carrots, and drinking whiskey in Telluride, Garrett is back on his feet with a clean bill of health. 

While Garrett got his ski legs back under him in Argentina this summer when he wasn’t throwing his GoPro snake at me, he was mostly ferrying around 15 year olds from Long Island and soul shredding.  Now with the first video evidence of Garrett’s park ninjaship on the internet, I figured it was time to check in.

Brobomb: How’s your knee feeling these days?

Garrett: The knee is feeling great!  It’s this damn collarbone that doesn’t feel so well.  Just broke it last week at Northstar.  I would tell you how, but can’t remember… guess it might be time to wear a helmet now. Concussions are a headache.

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Shane McFalls Full Interview

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I recently Skyped it out with TC filmer/proficient “pseudonymous” (credit: Jon Hartley) BroBomb commenter Shane McFalls.  The edited version showed up on TGR a bit ago.  Now for all you literates, the full 2,197 words of wisdom from one of skiing’s three hipster filmmakers and recent Yoke Collection co-founder.  Shane raps on homophobic Greek landlords, corn mazes, Inspired, and gas station food buying strategies.

Brobomb: How did you meet Will and Andy?

Shane: I meet Erik when I was still in high school and he was skiing at my home mountain in Central New York.  He introduced me to Will and Andy. Once in college, Erik and I transferred to the same school (where we lived in an attic) so we could be closer to skiing in Vermont. Erik was the bridge from the crew at my mountain to the Bristol Mountain crew of Ahmet, Will, Andy and everyone else.  New York mountains seemed to build these tiny groups of people, and meeting outsiders from other mountains was always some kind of a big deal. So if my parents brought me to the other mountain near our house, who knows what I would be doing now.

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The Sherpas’ Dave Mossop on Making Urban Skiing Gold

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By now you’ve seen the newly internet-famous urban segment from the Sherpa’s All.I.Can. And while popular web edits come and go, we here at Brobomb are fully convinced that this will live a long time as one of the most creative iterations of skiing on film. For that reason, among others, Dunfee sought out the Sherpa himself, Dave Mossop. Dave was kind enough to offer some behind-the-scenes insight into the build that produced the coolest urban segment we have ever seen.

Brobomb: How did it all come together between you and JP to do that segment? Were there other skiers you considered as well?

Dave: I came up with an extremely loose segment-concept dubbed “the creative seggy” and attempted to involve 3 of the most creative people I know: JP Auclair, Rory Bushfield and Andrew Hardingham. This was to be my first urban segment shoot…ever. I picked JP up at the airport and asked him “so what have you got buddy?” He replied “what have I got?!? What have YOU got!?!”

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Gabe Schroder: Smith TM, Good Skier, Deadpan Interviewee

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In our last “TM who skis well” interview, Josh Malczyk dropped Gabe’s name as a ski industry team manager/marketing dude whose skills haven’t melted away from desk-jockey atrophy. What he didn’t mention is that Gabe is a pretty serious, humble, straightforward person. So is the interview insightful? Sure. Is it the usual snarky, sarcastic Brobomb fare? Not at all. Enjoy.


Brobomb: How did you get your start at Smith?

Gabe: By taking advantage of opportunities and parlaying those opportunities to the next level. I started out as an intern at Powder Magazine which led to me running the Powder to the People Tour for 4 years.

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Josh Malczyk: Best Skiing TM… in skiing?

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Josh Malczyk, the Line/Full Tilt marketing dude and a frequent BroBomb comment contributor, is also one of the few TMs/marketing guys who can still hold it down on the mountain, and compared to his aging contemporaries, in the park.  While it wasn’t always Sleepless in Seattle, the keys to industry riches and desk jobs are the same as they’ve been for almost five years now– work for free for any ski company that will let you intern.

Brobomb: Where did you grow up skiing?

Josh: Mt Southington, CT on the weeknights (I grew up down the road) and Okemo Mtn in Ludlow, VT on the weekends.

So first of all, what do you have to say for yourself for your backwards-hat-at-an-angle-with-folded-bandana look?

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SPU or Spa at Squaw

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Jamie Schectman, a long-time Tahoe resident, has teamed up with Tim Konrad of Unofficial Squaw to form the Squaw Passholders United, a “group of passionate loyal skiers and riders dedicated to representing passholders’ interests through positive, pro-active, and professional communication with the management of Squaw Valley USA and their parent company, KSL.”  Their mission is to work with the new management, who bought Squaw Valley last November, to ensure that the mountain and community’s best values are upheld while KSL, a resort management company whose portfolio includes a variety of luxury spas and golf resorts, gears up for a $50 million renovation of the legendary freerider’s paradise.  SPU’s fear is that KSL, which will be managing a ski resort for the first time, will bring Squaw in line with the high-end luxury products it currently manages while destroying its original character and affordability. Continue reading this entry »