"Hmmm, looks like a pair of lycra shorts wrapped around the drive train. What was that you said about hearing a strange thump while you were texting a few miles back?"
Now there’s few things I love more than a good old fashioned waffle, and nobody serves it up better than the notorious waffle king himself, Dan ‘The Man’ Milner. And as luck would have it, you can join me at 8pm on Thursday (7 Jan) at Chamonix’s best freeride hotel, Le Vert, for Dan’s annual Year of the Bike slide show.
This year’s performance will not only feature Dan’s amazing images from Mallorca, Chamonix, Lake Tahoe, and Nepal but in addition, those lucky enough to attend will be treated to Dan’s infamous waffle which historically leaves most of us in tears … one way or another.
So whether you’re a mountain biker or not, this is a great night out that really shouldn’t be missed. And for those who might not have the stomach for Dan’s waffle, fear not. Le Vert will be doing what they do best with great food and drink all night long.
Charlie Sarragalet (RIP) – 'Instant' by Perfect Moment / Nuit de la Glisse
Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ve been a bit slack lately getting the posts up and the backlog is building. Anyway, in this installment of the Ski Porn Smackdown you’re getting two different vids and they’re both tied to Chamonix. First up is Thierry Donard’s Perfect Moment / Nuit de la Glisse film, Instant.
Now, I’ve always wondered why a filmmaker who lives in Chamonix would travel to the far corners of the earth when the best lines are certainly here. I mean that’s why we live here, right? Well, the epic season of ’08/09 was just too amazing to neglect and Thierry stayed home to shoot local hellmen like Mic Devor, Karsten Gefle, Mike Lamy and Fred Syversen shredding their home turf where they charge hardest.
Now for the benefit of those who live outside the valley I should stop right here and mention that conditions are never like this in Chamonix. In fact most of this film was shot either on bulletproof blue ice with Thierry’s battalion of special FX logging some serious overtime to magically create the untracked, deep powder imagery that appears on the screen. Either that or it was shot in the Arlberg where they have waaaay more powder and much smaller lift queues and complimentary weiss beer served by flirtatious young fräuleins at the bottom of every lift. Man if I wasn’t stuck here in this dump that’s where I’d be for sure.
Anyway, there’s also some amazing base jump, wingsuit, proximity flying, and speed riding courtesy of Chamonix’s resident lunatics Jean-Noël Itzst, Robert Pecnik, Alex Aimard and recently deceased Charlie Sarragallet that is simply not to be missed. The progression of these … erm … leisure activities is mind-blowing.
There’s a free preview in Annecy at the Pop Plage on 30 October at 23:00 and a premiere in Chamonix on 31 October. These nights are not to be missed.
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Edge of Never
And our next entry in today’s Ski Porn Smackdown is Edge of Never. “A documentary feature film set in the world of big mountain skiing, The Edge of Never is a real life coming of age saga about the tribe of skiers who challenge the biggest, most dangerous mountains…”
[Cue scary music] … “In the World’s MOST DANGEROUS Mountains. No one rides ALONE.”
Oh my.
Anyway don’t let the spray put you off this vid because it looks like it’s a great story. Extreme skier Trevor Peterson died back in the day while filming in Chamonix leaving behind a wife and a few children. His son Kye grows up and turns out to be what looks like a pretty solid little ripper. He bravely decides to follow in his father’s footsteps and travels to Chamonix. With Glen Plake, Mike Hattrup and others (rare cameo appearance by Nate Wallace!) as his mentors, he prepares to ski the line that killed his father, the Glacier Rond.
Reviews on the net are super positive. There’s evidently a book about the story as well and Steve McQueen gives it two thumbs up. Or was that the conversation about Steve House’s new book? What the heck, read ‘em both and cover all the bases.
You find the craziest things on YouTube these days. Like this vid from the killer Poc event held on main street this summer. Now that was a party.
And if you’re into that then you might as well check this one out too. The first double front flip ever on a BMX. OK, OK, it doesn’t have anything to do with Chamonix but hey, you gotta respect the skills, eh?
Danny MacAskill has made quite a name for himself lately with his mad freestyle mountain bike skills. He pedaled past Col du Montets on his way through Chamonix recently and, fortunately for us, alert reader Michael Devor recorded the action.
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After the warmup he started in with the upside down tricks. I mean this guy is seriously good, eh? OK, OK, I couldn’t figure out how to get these right side up and I finally gave up. They’re good enough to put in upside down though so if you’re on a lappy just hold the thing upside down and watch and hopefully I’ll get this figured out before the next one. Any and all ideas on the fix are more than welcome.
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When there aren’t big boulders around to bounce around on, Danny makes the most out of fences, trees, staircases, traffic barriers and basically any other architectural feature he spots. Check out more of Danny’s skills in this remarkable vid.
Hell yeah, Chamonix is a two-wheeled town. A quick spin through the streets and you’ll see everything from mountain bikes worth more than any car I’ve ever owned to punk BMXers to super-tech road racers to an eclectic array of coffee bikes (not to be confused with cafe racers). So when I say the CHX Massif is rollin large, yo, it really has nothing to do with any sort of gangsta activity at all (we could use a lot less o’ that actually), it’s all about the bikes, man.
So it’s nothing but hearts and flowers from our end when we hear about a new bike event in town. Seems as though new kids on the block, POC – the brand who not only brought high design to our high street but who also share our fanatical enthusiasm for bikes – have decided to throw a bit of a freewheelin’ fiesta in front of the shop.
This Thursday, 30 July, is going to be Magic. Magic as in, they’ll be building a big, magical ramp in front of the store that pro riders Remy Meugnier, Florian Gabit and the silky smooth Martin Söderström will use to magically change themselves from surly, angst-ridden, disaffected youth into super-talented, high-flying stuntmen. Spoonbread and DJ Blo are going to be spinning their own kinda funkytown magic and there’s going to be wheelie and ollie competitions open to anyone with the self-perceived skills to enter. If all that doesn’t blow your hair back then you can watch the latest and greatest action sports vids on the big magic screen. Man, the POC crew have thought of everything (except, tragically, a ping pong table).
But for sure the best thing about this whole phat tire fandango is how local retailers have rallied around the event by donating prizes to be raffled off with all proceeds going to Wheels 4 Life, a non-profit organization set up by legendary rider Hans Rey that provides bikes for people in developing countries.
So big ol’ high-flyin’ doubkle shakas to POC’s Toya and Malin from the valley’s two-wheeled tribe. We’ll be hosing off the mud and polishing up the chrome in preparation for Thursday.
Martin Söderström
