News
2009-06-23
Kristi Leskinen teams up with Maksim Chmerkovskiy on ABC Primetime's The Superstars
With years of competition and tons of magazine shots under her belt, Faction rider Kristi Leskinen has reached a new pinnacle. As one of the icons of the sport of freeskiing, Kristi was selected to join celebrity Maksim Chmerkovskiy in The Superstars competition filmed on location at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. The filming is complete and the first of 8 episodes will premiere Tuesday June 23rd at 8 pm EST.
When The Faction Collective brought Kristi Leskinen on board we were excited about her desire to be involved in product development and her potential as a great ambassador. Now she has her chance to shine in front of the biggest audience of her career. So while Kristi is back to the drawing board with the rest of The Faction Collective design house, enjoy seeing her and the other athletes and celebrities througout the summer on ABC's The Superstars.
Go Kristi and fellow skier Bode Miller........show those mainstream athletes who can give 'er!!!!!
For more info about the competition and schedule go to:
http://www.abc.go.com/primetime/thesuperstars/index?pn=index
or check out a detailed profile of Kristi in the comp:
http://www.espn.go.com/action/news/story?id=4228606
Faction sponsored Rage Films puts out a teaser for their new film "Pretty Good"
or
http://www.freeskier.com/videos/video.php?video_id=1661
The Faction Collective supports Rage Films again this year with their new film "Pretty Good". Building from the success of last year's film, "Such is Life", Faction is ready to head on tour this fall with the Bend, Oregon based production company. Two members of The Faction Collective, Mark Dvorak and Mike Mertion will be featured in "Pretty Good", after successful shoots in Utah, Oregon, California, France and Switzerland. These guys continue to lead the way on long rails, big backcountry kickers and any other natural obstacles they can find.
Keep an eye out for tour dates near you complete with Faction giveaways and prizes
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=6924015375
2009-06-12
Maria Sandner wins the 09 Faction Collective Design Contest
After a long voting process, Maria Sandner of Canada has pulled in front of the other finalists to win the 09 Faction Collective Design Contest. Her design called, "Bling Yo Fangs", collected 214 of the final 439 votes. In second place was Kim Collins with her "Houndstooth" design followed by Tim Christopher, Daichi Ishikawa and Hugh Makin respectively.
Maria will work together with Faction co-founder and lead designer Tony McWilliam, to finalize her design and fully adapt it to the topsheet of a limited edition Kennedy park ski for the 09/10 winter. The Faction Design House would like to send a big thanks again to all the competitors and those who participated in the voting process. Without their input and valued opinions this contest would not have been such a success. Please keep an eye out for more creative and challenging contests from Faction in the coming months. Become part of The Faction Collective!
Congratulations Maria for seeing the fruit of your labor harvested and put into action!
2009-05-13
Design Contest Voting ends Friday May 15th at 9:00 pm PST
Choose one of the five finalists below and send your vote to:
Stay tuned for the announcement of the winner.........
2009-05-06
The Faction Collective Team in Canada post some great results on the big mountain and in the park during April
The 08/09 winter started out slow in Western Canada. Home to many of the Faction Collective's strongest contenders, these guys would not be satisfied until the last lift was closed, all the competitions were over and every kicker had been reduced to a shining puddle of cold water.
Alex Wall, who had earlier in the season shown his grit and determination at the Smith Optics Freeski Competition in Fernie, stepped up again at another Smith sponsored event in Lake Louise. This time he made it through the field like a star, going from 4th on the first day to 3rd on the second and ending up 2nd on the final day. His run to qualify for the final was fast and fluid, with 3 back-to-back 360°s, making the judges sure he was worthy. Nice work Alex on a well deserved podium after a turbulent but very productive season.
for a full update of the comp go to: http://www.biglines.com/blarticles/4510/Video_-_Lake_Louise_BMC_2009
The following week The Faction Collective team showed similar form at the Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler. Mike Mertion went up against some of the best during the night time Big Air final in Whistler Village. Along with fellow Vernon Mountain local Ian Cosco, Mike stomped all of his patented double cork 12's to finish in a respectable 4th place just out of reach of a final podium for the 08/09 winter season.
Spring, being the time to look towards the bright future ahead, saw Simon D'Artois again reaching for success. Simon has a head for competition, qualifying at the Aspen Open in February and again in April at the Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival Superpipe qualifier. The weather was rough in the morning but as soon as the judges got things going, Simon made his way up the ranks and finished the day at 4th against some heavy competition.
For more updates about the big air go to:
http://www.newschoolers.com/web/content/news/news_id/2665/
Superpipe Qualifier:
http://www.newschoolers.com/web/content/news/news_id/2669/
The IFSA World Tour Finals in Alaska may have been the final Big Mtn. event of the season but its not the last time the Freeskiing World Tour will hear from Luke Nelson. Traditionally older than most freestylers, Big Mtn freeriders benefit from experience and well tuned skills. At 21 years old Luke is showing that he can have both, the explosive benefits of youth and the knowledge of the mountain gathered while growing up in Alaska. Luke finished just one point out of 2nd Place in Alaska in a very close competition where he ended up 4th. Overall he finished 5th in the season long Freeskiing World Tour during his first year of full on competition. We look forward to hearing and seeing more from him next year like this patented spread eagle on the competition face.
More info about Alaska and the tour at:
http://www.freeskiingworldtour.com
So a big shout to all the Faction Team skiing hard around the world during the 08/09 winter. Now that the white stuff has disappeared and the chairs have stopped turning, some will go South, some will go to Whistler and some will just stay home. Whatever they choose we know they will keep pushing their limits and improving for the next winter to come......over and out.
2009-04-30
Voting has finished and five finalists have been chosen in the 2009 Faction Skis topsheet design contest
After an amazing outpouring of support from their friends and families, five finalists have shone through the mist of the long voting process. The design contest was based on a theme of "Urban Jungle" in designing a limited edition topsheet for a model of the 09/10 Kennedy, Faction's newest freestyle/pipe specific ski. Contestants were asked to submit, any form of visual artwork onto a template of a topsheet, in an electronic format. Faction reserves the right to place and use, both the Faction icon and logo in whichever way fits but the design remains the copyright and property of the artist. The winner will receive $500 cash, a pair of the limited edition ski and of course all the recognition. The finalists are...........
The voting was so close between these designers that Faction would like to put their designs out for one more round of voting to help choose the ultimate winner!! We want to know what YOU the public thinks of these designs not just their friends and family. Please feel free to cast a vote and tell us what you think by dropping a mail to:
The design house at Faction Skis would like to send a special shout out to these two artists who, unfortunately did not generate enough votes for the final, but who obviously put alot of work into their designs. Their intricate shapes, dimensions, and color schemes represent the kind vision and creativity which The Faction Collective aims to encompass. Keep on doing what you do, we hope to provide you with new and fresh chances to show your work in the future.....
Thanks again to all the entrants and voters for your work and support of this exciting project............stay tuned for the winner!!!
For a final round vote mail to: design@factionskis.com
2009-04-29
Kristi Leskinen selected as one of the top athletes joining celebrities on ABC's Primetime "Superstars" Championship
Eight athletes and eight celebrities will team up to compete for the title of "The Superstars Champion" a new alternative series on ABC shot entirely on location at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. The show is a fresh take on an old favorite, ABC's "Wide World of Sports", which pitted athletes against eachother in different disciplines to determine who was the best athlete in the world. This time around celebrities will have a chance to show their skills or lack thereof.
The "Superstars" pairs athletes with celebrities to compete in various sports events. Partcipants found out only once they arrived at Atlantis resort in the Bahamas who they were going to partnered with throughout the competition. "Superstars" will air the first of six episodes on June 23rd primetime between 8:00 - 9:00 pm EST on ABC.
The team pairings for "Superstars" will be Terrell Owens & Joanna Krupa; Jeff Kent & Ali Landry; Robert Horry & Estella Warren; Bode Miller & Paige Hemmis; Kristi Leskinen & Maksim Chmerkovskiy; Lisa Leslie & Dan Cortese; Jennifer Capriati & David Charvet; and Brandi Chastain & Julio Iglesias, Jr.
Every week a team will be eliminated until one team standing is crowned the winner. Athletes prowess and strategy will be put to the test to excel in a variety of sports including swimming, biking, runnning, kayaking and a series of random head-to-head challenges all participants must try to complete. Past winners of the competition include Herschel Walker, Decathlete Dave Johnson, and returning athlete Bode Miller who won in 2002.
Kristi is excited to be part of this show and is honoured to be the sole representative from the world of Freeskiing. Sorry boys her looks and longevity in the sport have lined her up for this opportunity but don't worry, keep going big and changing your haircut and chances to do fun and exciting shows like this might come your way........
This is not the first time Kristi has been chosen by the media moguls to represent Women's Freeskiing, earlier this year ESPN chose her to be part of a similar format where celebrity athletes went to a race and were asked by ESPN to be comentators. Kristi said, " I know people are going to make fun of me for this but actually once you are there around all the action and incredible cars, its actually kind of cool". Let's face it as scary as it is NASCAR is huge and what a great opportunity for her to branch out and settle in as an ambassador for the sport.
So stay tuned to ABC on June 23rd at 8:00 pm EST and see how Kristi & Maksim do in the competition. It will be hot and competitive surely from fellow skier on the World Cup side of things, Bode Miller.
For more news and info check out:
http://omg.yahoo.com/news/stars-athletes-pair-up-for-abc-reality-competition-the-superstars/21556
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117998086.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
or
2009-04-21
The BRITS took place last week and UK team rider Andy Matthew went and fought for queen and country
Yes, thats right, The BRITS is the British ski and snowboard championships! Its not just a competition either, it's a full blown festival with bands and DJ's playing in various bars and clubs around Laax, switzerland. Ofcourse, being a British event it's all about the Apres ski! Team rider for the UK Andy Matthew went to represent and show us why he won last years 'step up' competition.
The slopestyle course was the same set-up as the European open, giving the Brits a chance to really up their game. After the qualifications, Andy found himself in a very Respectable 3rd place... then came the finals. All hell broke loose apparently with the final top three all having various double flips in thier run. Andy ended up in 4th overall and winning his age catagory. good work andy!
Later on in the week was the good old fashioned Big Air comp, words need not describe the style Andy has, check out the pics below. He finished with another 4th place. For a full list of results, video reviews and pictures of the Brits visit www.brits09.com
ALL ACTION SHOTS BY JOE WEBSTER
PODIUM BY JAMES MACHON
2009-04-10
The Faction Collective team update from three corners of the world
March has been a productive month for the Faction team spread around the globe. Recently young Faction rider Niklas Erikkson was awarded the "Superunknown" award at the Jon Olsson Invitational a multi-day event held in Sweden with some of the best established riders and emerging talent like Niklas. He pulled of tricks like his patented 900 and the all too sick double flip.
For more news about Niklas in Sweden and a short edit showing what he has up his sleeve go to:
http://www.level1productions.com/news.php?id=221
On the North American side of things Mark Dvorak and Mike Mertion have been hard at work with Rage Productions for next year's film to follow up on the success of "Such is Life" which had segments nominated for the 09 Powder Awards in Aspen. They have been building big jumps in the backcountry with all the spring dumps and throwing down for what should be some exciting segments for Rage.
Mike Mertion always stays busy and as soon as he got some solid footage with Rage he headed to Silver Mountain to join another Faction rider Alex Wall at the Idafail, an all expense paid superpark photoshoot organized by Eric Norman aka Tight Pants Eric. It was a great weekend and a cool opportunity for Mike and Alex to hang out with friends and see what cool things they could come up with like this tree smackdown that Mike set up for the cameras.
Photos by Mason Mashon, Brian Frost & Sam Nelson
Back on the Alps side of things the snow kept falling in late March and it was time for some big mountain glory. Canadian ex-pat in Switzerland and Faction big mountain charger Jonas Delogne stepped up to some pretty nice cliffs and handled them with style.
Photos courtesy of Tero Repo
And here in Marrecots...........
Laurent Belin got in the game during the deep snow and even scammed some chalet pillows
photo courtesy of Sergey
So what a winter so far now that its drawing to close. In Europe its been sick all season and now North America is enjoying a snow filled spring. Even after the late dumps its time to enjoy the sunshine and appreciate the great season we have all been fortunate enough to have. French team rider Bastien Brouqueyre has pushed his season by organizing the "Shooting Perfect Jump Flaine". He has invited friends and riders on the French scene to the park at Flaine, provided lodging and passes for what should be a weekend to remember at the French resort not far from Chamonix. Stay tuned for images after this weekend with the jump already under construction. For more info if your in the area go to:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=733640308#/event.php?eid=78284599828&ref=ts
2009-03-31
Design Comp Late Submissions and voting extension - April 12
We unfortunately mislaid some submissions so we have added them to the pdf link below, and extended the voting deadline to April 12 - so get voting! We've compiled a booklet of all the submissions and put them into a pdf you can download here:
Click here to view pdf - right/ctrl-click to download.
You can vote for your favourite design by sending an email to: designcomp@factionskis.com with the name/design of your favourite ski!
Voting closes soon so get your votes in!
2009-03-27
Faction teams up with a raging crew from Verbier to light up the 20th edition of the Boss des Bosses in Chamonix
All photos courtesy of Adam Johnston - Boss des Bosses organizer
Under blue skies and with plenty of spring snow still covering the Grand Montets in Chamonix, a team was formed to represent Verbier workers and The Faction Collective. The Boss des Bosses is the largest inter-resort event in the Alps taking place every year in Chamonix, providing seasonal workers and ski bums alike a chance to flash their skills at the long lost art of mogul skiing. Verbier dominated the event during the early 90's but had not partcipated in the event for 10 years until last year with a very poor showing, beating only Courcheval in the competition and not showing off the party culture, which the town is built on as much as skiing.
So matched up against a strong field of skiers from Meribel, Courcheval, Chamonix, Zermatt and Val d'Isere, including ski legends Glenn Plake and Bruno Compagnet, the Verbier team was first pitted against defending champions Zermatt who always seem to show up with a couple of silent ringers.
With the cheers of 220 Verbier fans who filled a record breaking 4 buses, the well dressed Verbier crew beat Zermatt and moved on to face the other teams. Along the way some of the boys from the Hotel Farinet Apres-Ski joined together in correctly spelled harmony to show what support on the snow is all about. After an early start on the booze it did take a while for them to actually figure out the shapes on their shirts could make a word!
So after the bumps cleared and with an injury to a poor guy from Val d'Isere the judges saw fit to place Verbier in third behind Zermatt and Chamonix. The distinguished panel included local Chamonix writer and member of The Faction Collective, Jon Trigell, author of Cham, a mystery thriller. As an MC, Jon always has some funny things to say and he certainly kept us all entertained even if the judges' opinions seemed a little too biased towards Zermatt and local favorites Chamonix......we just scared 'em......hehe
Regardless of the outcome, everyone had a great day with some eventually making calls of "historic". The night in Chamonix was not so pretty with the Verbier posse descending on the mountain city with a vengeance. After many festive shots with all the other teams at La Terrasse and Chambre Neuf, not all of the supporters made it back on the bus to Verbier. Some like Faction Collective advocate Tommy Sturges, woke up in random corners of Chamonix saying, "I lost everything."
Another ten years will not pass of the Boss des Bosses in Chamonix without a solid representation from all that is the pulse of Verbier. Skiing, drinking, dressing up in silly clothes and just having a laugh of a lifetime with friends will never get old here and Faction will support this 100%. Now we just have to find a way to bring all the others into the Pantheon........
Special thanks to Tom and co-organizer Adam Johnston for setting up the event, Jon Trigell for giving Faction plenty of time on the mic, Pub Mt Fort, InBetween, Farinet Apres-Ski, Atelier, T-Bar, and Wonderbar. Last but not least, the poor bus drivers who will never read this but put up with all our s#"t during this long and drunken adventure!! Yee haw!!
2009-03-23
Romain Cepi and crew team up with Rider Family to launch the Davey Crockett Memorial at Ax 3 Domaines
Faction rider Romain Cepi has been hard at work this season building and shaping the park at Ax 3 Domaines in the Pyrenees of France. He and his crew have teamed up with the great and colourful shop RiderFamily in Toulouse to launch a new event this weekend. The concept is original Canadian woodcutter spirit with contestants required to wear flannels, overalls and with the event organizers providing beards. There will be a bbq, with music, a first kicker session followed by a box jam session and finishing off with the best trick contest. This is the kind of event Faction is happy to support, all ages are welcome and skiers of all levels. Romain and his mates are seeking to create a fun and open event which attracts people to the fun and action of the snow park in Ax 3 Domaines, not just a spectator event where people are intimidated with what the expert riders are doing. Other Faction riders might be on hand to show some of the skills they have been polishing during this great snow year such as Cyril Reygnier pictured below and not in need of the loaner beard!
So good luck with show boys and watch out for more action from the Frenchie crew at Faction coming to a snowpark near you!!!
For more info on the event and Ax 3 Domaines Snowpark go to:
2009-03-20
Kristi Leskinen celebrates a podium at her successful first annual Homecoming Jam at Seven Springs
What a weekend, great skiing and lots of fun for the female skiers and snowboarders competing in the first annual Monster Homecoming at Seven Springs. Although the sun was not shining the event turned out to be more of a spring break with everyone enjoying themselves off the slopes as much as on. Amy Stanton summed up the event writing, "The event was created to build awareness around the sport and showcase the progressive riding of top female athletes." This didn't stop the ladies from showcasing some other skills as well during the weekend with some clay pigeon shooting for example.
Courtesy of Nicole Birkhold - Freeskier.com
Amy Stanton continued to describe the action on Saturday, "The late afternoon brought a serious headwind, yet the female skiers in the finals overcame the adversity and still took advantage of the spectacular competitive environment. The performances all around were outstanding, but the day belonged to Kaya Turski. Turski almost pulled out of the competition because of a separation to her shoulder that was induced during practice, but highlighted her final runs with corked 720s, switch 900s, and large switch-to-switch straight airs called zero spins. Grete Eliassen’s very aggressive skiing style handed her the runner up position. Landing in third place with a corked 720 mute grab, was the hometown superstar Kristi Leskinen."
Grete Eliassen flashing the tailgaters - Photo courtesy of Nicole Birkhold - Freeskier.com
No one lost any time after the competition to celebrate the event which Kristi described, "I have been dreaming of doing an event like this for years, and after all of the meticulous planning thanks to everyone’s participation and hard work, the contest went off without a hitch and could not have been any better,”
So congratulations to all the girls who competed and enjoyed the weekend without any aggressive and annoying boys to steal the show. Obviously these women have achieved a special balance between sport and femininity without any comprimises. Kristi Leskinen, the energy behind the event says, "Seven Springs pulled out all the stops to make this a first class event, and we look forward to making it even bigger and better in year two.” So take a bow in support of the true Homecoming Queen........
Faction rages it up at Da Fat Derby 2009 in Verbier
On a beautiful sunny Sunday the Faction HQ crew set up for a ski test day and in support of all the skiers and boarders taking part in the 3rd Annual Da Fat Derby in Verbier. The event has become part of the European Derby Circuit and real day out for the keen spectator. The format is a full on Chinese downhill with two runs and the winner selected from the best combined time. This year there was plenty of sun and snow making it a great day for the riders and the public alike.
Faction rider Yannick Odiet getting ready for a solid 4th place finish
In the end it was Sebastien Mayer winning for the second time on skis and Mike Aeschbach keeping his title as snowboard champion three years running.
On the women's side it was Isa Brzegowy taking the title on skis and Ludmilla Tchehlarova on snowboard. Ludmilla might just switch to skiing after she tries the Heroine 178 she won as a prize!!
So after many people came out to have a first try on the 09/10 lineof Faction skis there was still some sun left for more festivities. On hand were the Diktators, Verbier's favorite local rock band with Faction co-founder Tony McWilliam turning up the volume on the guitar and vocals.
So a big shout out to enky for organizing the event; www.enky.ch, Hardcore Ski and Board Shop Verbier, Big Ben from the Pub Mt Fort who cooked up some great food for everyone and all the spectators who made in another fun and great day in the Alps for Faction in our backyard of Verbier, Switzerland
2009-03-15
Japan! Beanie Milne-Home heads to the land of powder... and rain. PART 2.
following on from Beanies last story about japan, the rain and powder continues.....
After two days of rain, and the warmest night on record ever for February in Japan, it finally started to snow. We couldn’t wait for the morning and headed out into the night to shoot over 70cm of fresh powder. Just walking through it would give you face shots and it was hard not to lose skiers instantly as we dropped in and disappeared, this is why I came to Japan.
rain one day...
powder the next!
Warm temperatures through the night meant the snow had sunk to half by the morning but we found epic snow in the trees of Akakura to finally shoot and film. Following day, local legend, Bill, took us out touring into the backcountry where the conditions had deteriorated further, but it was good to get out into the peaks surrounding the resort.
Again Myoko came through with the goods, after a traditional Japanese dinner cooked by Bills friend we stepped outside to discover 50cm had fallen within a couple of hours and the following day was epic. Conditions changed instantly with it raining over night and all the pow gone by morning. We packed up ready to head to Tokyo the next morning, after a night of traditional Japanese drumming.
We left with another 50cm of fresh fallen over night, Japan likes to tease, but went to see the Snow Monkeys hanging out in the natural onsens and then headed for the bright lights of Tokyo. Ending up getting more filming done in the city as we recreated the fight seen with the crazy 88 in the Kill Bill Izakaya. Apparently having a bunch of fools charging about with plastic samurai swords in your restaurant is no problem in Japan.
Although the snow was not everything we hoped for, we had glimpses of what Japow is and our stay was amazing regardless of the conditions, thanks to the hospitality and kindness of the Japanese people.
2009-03-13
Martha Burley takes the podium again at the Italia Freeride Cup in Trentino
Martha Burley, an Australian native now living in Fernie, British Columbia has returned to the Alps where she has spent many seasons to compete in the Italia Freeride Cup in Trentino. The event organized by “Scufons del Cogo”, is a group of passionate free heel skiers from Moena. This event is dedicated to freeriding, free heel skiing, great food and entertainment.
http://www.tr3ntino.it/en/news/scufoneda-telemark-and-freeride-.html
The format of the event is a timed run which is evaluated by a panel of judges and your time is lowered according to the judges' score. Martha found herself again pitted against alpine skiers and in a timed freeride run, speed would definitely favor those with heels locked down.
As in the Fernie event last month Martha was not having it and she cruised into first place on her 183 3Zeros taking yet another podium this season. The 3Zero was not designed specifically for telemark skiing but its shape, camber and flex have proven to be very useful to skilled telemarkers like Martha.
This week Martha will tackle yet another event which will inevitably be filled with alpine skiers, the Nendaz Freeride in Nendaz, Valais, Switzerland, March 12 - 17.
This year the Nendaz Freeride will be the final stop on the qualifying tour for The Freeride World Tour by Nissan. We look forward to seeing her skills put to the test at the big event on the Bec des Rosses in Verbier as the final of the Freeride World Tour
2009-03-12
Design Competition submissions
We were overwhelmed by the amount of submissions we had for the design competiton so its taken longer than expected to sort through them. We've compiled a booklet of all the submissions and put them into a pdf you can download here:
Click here to view pdf - right/ctrl-click to download.
You can vote for your favourite design by sending an email to: designcomp@factionskis.com with the name/design of your favourite ski!
Voting closes April 1 so get your votes in! The winning ski artist will work with our designers to finalise his/her design and be produced as a topsheet option on our soon-to-be-launched new park ski so stay tuned...
Faction invited to the 09/10 Powder Magazine Powder Week ski test in Jackson
Josh Cohen, head of North American sales, was on call at the 09/10 Powder Magazine Powder Week in Jackson. The format for the week is more flexible than traditional tests and Josh had a chance to ski with a lot of great skiers, he said " I vowed to have fun no matter what and not take this whole ski test thing too seriously. It turns out that wasn’t going to be hard no one was taking the ski test seriously. In fact, it wasn’t about testing at all it was about the “experience” since most of us weren’t good at tests anyway which is why we ended up in the ski industry to begin with."
Everyone attending were great skiers and it was really cool experience to get some "genuine" feedback from people who know the industry well. Josh says "I got lots of genuinely positive feedback from all the people who put their feet on our boards. John Davies, freelance Powder writer; Corey Hennegan, Freelance Powder intern; Kevin Back, Powder advertising director; Sam Pope, Producer of KGB films; Hanna Horigan, Big Mountain skier, and Trevor Thomas another Jackson Hole Big Mountain skier were among some of the people who had the pleasure to try out our skis."
Photographer Greg Epstein charging on the Royale
A special shout out would have to go out to the local Faction retailer in Jackson, Teton Village Sports right at Jackson Hole. They have been fantastic to work with and a key to our success in the region. They kept the skis tuned and waxed throughout the week, keeping faces content. Also local Faction rep, Aaron Billota was on hand and gave some solidly funny commentary including the "dog lesson"???
John Davies schmoozing a couple of next years models, the Alias and the Royale
Last but not least the week was complete with a hardcore drinking game called "The Interplanetary Gelande Quaffing Championships". For a full explanation check out Cloudveil, but essentially there are teams and you drink alot of beer very quickly and there is a pretty technical motor skill element involved which of course gets alot sillier after mulitple chug fests. Of course there are judges!
Josh says "If your resort doesn’t have this, you’re missing out."
The entire Faction "Collective" was proud to be invited to this great event set up by a magazine which stills manages to help define freesking in America and elsewhere. Look forward to hearing more about Faction and Powder Magazine.....
2009-03-05
Yvan Metrailler wins the Foksa Fly comp in Nendaz
While getting ready for the upcoming Orage Freeski EU Open in Laax, Switzerland, Faction team rider Yvan Metrailler competed last weekend in Nendaz at the Foksa Fly comp. The park was well shaped including the 20 meter hit which Yvan had dialled in on his home turf at Thyon's park next to Nendaz
Yvan made his way through the field and the judges were happy with all the corked spins and fancy rails he was able to link up on his new Kennedy's, Faction's 09/10 park dedicated freestyle ski. He finished in 1st place taking home a sweet little bonus check after a weekend of good times.
The competition will be thick and heated atthe upcoming Orage Freeski EU Open in Laax but Yvan says " I am ready and better prepared than ever". Follow the event and other Faction riders in the event including invite Kristi Leskinen and Bastien Brouqueyre of France.
http://www.laax.com/freeskiopen/
2009-03-02
Faction get the front cover of russian ski magazine...SKI.
YEAH! thats right RUSSIA! Here at Faction when someone mentions Russia we immediatly get the taste for a vodka and coke, but recently thats been changing. National team rider for Russia, Alex Voitsehovsky has been out and about getting some decent pictures and magazine articles.
it turns out there is quite an active scene in Russia. which, makes scence when you think about how big Russia actually is! we are pretty stoked with Russia and wanted to share our newest Team rider with you. keep an eye out, because no doubt there will be more news coming from Russia soon. Plus, we are hoping Alex can send us over a proper bottle of vodka....!!
2009-03-01
SEVEN SPRINGS MOUNTAIN RESORT HOSTS MONSTER ENERGY’S HOMECOMING, KRISTI LESKINEN’S INVITATIONAL SKI AND SNOWBOARD EVENT
courtesy of Stanton-company - 2/26/09
Kristi Leskinen, a pioneer in women’s freeskiing and native of Uniontown, Pa., took home a bronze medal at the Winter X Games IX in the Women’s Superpipe. Her career highlights also include: second place Slopestyle at the 2009 Aspen Open, second place Slopestyle at the 2008 North American Open, third place Slopestyle at the 2007 US and Japan Opens, first place Halfpipe in the 2005 Gravity Games, second place Halfpipe in the 2005 World Championships and in 1999 she was the first female to compete in the US Open.
“After traveling around the world to international competitions for the past 10 years, I’m thrilled to bring this contest to the resort where I grew up,” said Leskinen, “We have an amazing group of athletes coming and Seven Springs is pulling out all the stops to make this event a huge success.”
Top female skiers and snowboarders, including three-time Winter X Games gold medalist skier Sarah Burke; Tara Dakides, four-time Winter X Games gold medalist and two-time silver medalist; and Hana Beaman, three-time Winter X Games silver medalist, will join Leskinen at Seven Springs for the all-girls ski and snowboard slopestyle event and rail jam. The contest will be an opportunity for the girls to push themselves, progress the sport and raise awareness and interest in the sport among young girls and women.
Snow Park Technologies (SPT) will make a stop at Seven Springs on its way to the Burton US Open to build the course for the first annual event. The course will be created specifically for the purpose of showcasing the girls’ abilities and the sport. The event will be a rider-judged jam format encouraging the girls to go for their biggest tricks. The prize purse for the ski and snowboard contests will be $20,000.
Monster Energy’s Homecoming will be working with the Women’s Sports Foundation to promote healthy, active lifestyles for women and girls, and any proceeds from Sunday’s Ride with a pro session will be contributed to the organization.
“The Women’s Sports Foundation is excited by new events that give women’s sports greater visibility and give girls additional opportunities to play and become active,” said Women’s Sports Foundation CEO Karen Durkin. “In creating this event, Kristi Leskinen is not only expanding her own sport, but has once again demonstrated that she is a wonderful role model for girls and a great ambassador for women’s sports.”
For more info go to:
or straight to Kristi's blog on go211.com
http://www.go211.com/u/kristileskinen/blogs/
2009-02-28
Kristi Leskinen gears up for her own homecoming comp in Seven Springs after competing this month in Aspen and Japan
Faction team rider Kristi Leskinen has had a busy month. After a difficult X-Games due to weather and visibilty, Kristi returned to Aspen a couple of weeks later to take on the same course at the Aspen/Snowmass Open presented by Audi. This time the course was better and everyone could see. Kristi and the other Faction riders took on the crowd and judges with style throwing down an admirable performance
Photo courtesy of Shay Williams - Freeskier Magazine
She was joined by fellow team riders Mike Mertion and SImon Dartois. Here Simon gets out of the pipe like the big guys, showing he is in the running for a spot in the X-Games sometime in his bright future.
Photo courtesy of Yuki Tsubota
Kristi finished the weekend on the podium, securing her place in next year's X-Games edition 14 again in Aspen, with smooth and flowing 360°s and 720°s.
Photo courtesy of Shay Williams - Freeskier Magazine
No time was lost when she left last week to go to the Nippon Open in Japan among a field of strong riders. Keep an eye out for details as results and images come in or check out the Nippon Open official website at:
The long journeys and intense timing of holding a professional athletes competition schedule have led Kristi to the next level where she is ready to start organizing her own events with a special female twist to highlight the skills and abilities of girls on courses designed by women and for women. This chance to share an event with her friends and colleagues in the winter sports of skiing and snowboarding has not come overnight. We wish her the best of luck and support this great effort to charge with no apologies!!
Stay tuned for a full press release and event description
2009-02-26
The Faction Team takes on the 2009 Fernie Smith Optics Freeski Comp
The first day of the Smith Optics Freeski Competion at Fernie was run last week on firm conditions. The competitors made short work of the challenging conditions on "Big Bang" in Timber Bowl. Representing Faction was Alex Wall, a contingent in any big mtn or freestyle comp, coming in 2nd after the opening runs. Also Martha Burley, a telemarker, always a force to be reckoned with for the lowly alpiner was also in 2nd for the Women. Even team manager Ross Janzen was getting in the act in 15th place; a hairier ride than his run in with Gene Simmons at SIA Las Vegas
Day two of the comp was a raging success. Under sunny skies and good conditions with the snow softening up considerably, the remaining 40 skiers attacked Polar Peak shown above. The field of competitors suprised all by skiing far more difficult lines and hucking bigger cliffs than thought possible with the low snow pack. After two days of competition Faction was still well positioned. Alex Wall had another good run and hung on to 2nd place while Martha Burley slipped slightly back to 3rd place. Their team manager Ross Janzen showed he still has a few tricks up his sleeve, moving into 10th place, advancing to the finals the following day.
The show then moved to "Richard's Run", a venue which has never before been used for competition. Sounds among the riders were, "hmm a very intimidating, long and commiting area of the mountain.
So after the smoke cleared, experience seemed to win the battle over youth and unharnessed energy. Alex Wall slid into the finish at 4th place after an impressive high speed and fluid run. Martha Burley showed once again she has what it takes and took 2nd place overall among a competitive field.
So even if we don't want to toot his often large horn the rider deserving the props is old dog Ross Janzen. He moved through the field with an impressive air on his final run finishing first for the day and ending the weekend at 3rd overall.
For more information and a full list of results check out:
http://www.biglines.com/blarticles/4439/Fernie_Freeski_Comp_-_Day_3_Finals_-_vid
2009-02-24
Photo credit: Travis Steeger at Fernie Freeski Competition by Robin Siggers
2009-02-23
Japan! Beanie Milne-Home heads to the land of powder... and rain. PART 1.
when we think of Japan we think of all that waist deep, endless powder. it would appear thats not always the case..... here is Beanies travel stories so far.
I am having an epic and surreal time over in Japan. I got here at the start of February with photographer Camilla Stoddart. We spent a couple of days in Kyoto doing some extreme sightseeing, checking out the temples, shrines, geisha and vending machines of the old capital.
We then headed for the Nagano region, where we are skiing for the trip, as the south of Japan is much steeper than the northern fields. It is the worst snow season since the war apparently and we arrive into Nozawa Onsen with no snow banks lining the road and a lot of bare earth showing, not what I was expecting!
We spend three days in Nozawa Onsen, and discover the conditions are good despite initial impressions. Finding steep open lines of untracked snow in the trees. We also take advantage of the natural onsens to relieve muscles and have our breakfast eggs boiled. A kiwi friend lives out here, and we tour the area in her 660cc bus, although space is a little tight in the Minibus and she is overloaded, we still manage to break the speed limit on the freeway, a whopping 50km/ph!
Camilla and I move onto the Hakuba region, where there seems to be less snow. We have a few days checking out the area, for when the rest of the group arrive; two more skiers and a filmer. There are over 100 resorts in the Nagano region, all seem to be within throwing distance but don’t link up. There is a good crew of kiwis and we ski numerous resorts, ducking ropes and playing cat and mouse with ski patrol. It is fairly obvious we are not here to ski the piste and even got checked for transceivers, to try and prove we are breaking rules.
Birthday celebrations on Wednesday, which got fairly out of hand and somehow in the sleepy town of Hakuba we found a big drum and bass club. This was followed by the most surreal hangover day. We were taken to Nagano city, dressed in amazing Kimono and given a tour of the Zenkoujii temple.
Then shown a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, fed a full vegetarian Buddhist meal, half an hour of zen meditation and more tours. All filmed for Japanese tv, which was later shown on the news.
The rest of the group, have now arrived, the weather has warmed up and it has started raining. So checked out the massive faux tudor mansion resort of Cortina and found some skidoos to get out on. The forecast for next week is a hell load of snow and no wind, so we are hoping we will still get the fabled Japanese pow, otherwise Sake is calling!!
Keep an eye out for PART 2 coming very soon for more stories and shots of the Faction Royale doing what it does best!
2009-02-17
National Team rider Andy Matthew goes on a road trip to poland
Faction National Team rider Andy Matthew from the UK went on a road trip recently to poland for the Polish Freesking Open. He decided to send us a little story from his quite frankly bizarre sounding road trip. To keep things short we have had to edit out some of the details but things included beer, billboards, grave yards, scary back roads in random countries and a camper van! read on...
Web video team Unity Productions were meant to arrive in Mayrhofen around 8 o'clock in the morning so that we could get an early start for our 14-hour drive to Poland, but it was 12 hours later that they showed up, not the best start.
During the day there wasn't much to do other than drink and try not to die on a snow skate, not the best idea before travelling to a competition! We had a quick pasta and pesto, and James Woods and I indulged in just a few more beers before we packed up and set out.
Our first stop was a whole 2 minutes outside our house, we needed to fill up the car and woodsy had a craving for Laberkaussen (lovely manly chunks of left over meat munched up into Burger form, sounds horrible tastes unbelievably good!)
5 hours later we stopped in either Austria or Germany, I just remember they spoke German. We all had a little bite to eat and drink before back to the car for another long leg. Next time we stopped we were just over the border into Slovakia, land of the billboards. Everywhere I looked there were billboards advertising everything you could ever want and things you didn't!
Other than that the country was flat and fairly boring until we hit Bratislava, which brightened up things for about 10 minutes. I decided it was a good time to get some shuteye.
When I woke up we were on a sketchy Slovakian back road that had some trees and some pretty cool castle's to look at which was a change from the night before. There was a bit of traffic build up due to some road works and we were stuck for about 20 minutes before we were allowed to start moving again, only to find the section of road they we working on was about 10m long which pissed us all off.
Slovakia turned a little creepy after that, there was a lot of ghost towns, where we saw 1 or 2 people but a lot more buildings and houses. There was also a hell of a lot of graveyards lining the roads which freaked Woodsy out as he was already convinced everyone in Slovakia was from the movie 'Hostel'.
A couple of hours later we crossed into Poland and only had a 15-minute drive to Zakopane, where the Polish Freeski Open was being held. We got lost trying to find the campsite and eventually asked a parking attendant for directions. Driving through downtown Zakopane with a full caravan and car wasn't the easiest thing. When we got to the campsite everything was super hassle free, our key was given to us and the caravan could go anywhere, and we were allowed to pay at the end of the week.
It was soon competition day and we arrived a little late so only got a couple of warm up runs, but we had had so many the day before it didn't make that much difference.
Qualifications went quickly and so did the rail jam. I stomped all my qualification runs so I was stoked and just had fun on the rails not really expecting to do much in them. The scores were all tallied up and the qualifiers were read out, I had managed to qualify for rails and big air.
The next day we were up fairly early and had a couple of practise runs and found our exact qualification places, I had managed to qualify in 4th place. We chilled out for a bit and then when the semi finals started I tried to fire off my runs as close together as possible. Once it was over we had a 5-minute wait before they read out the results, I had qualified again! There was about an hour before the finals started and they had set criteria for it. 5 hits - 1 style, 1 spin up to a 540 and 3 free hits (of which best 2 counted). I wasn't really happy with that but I dealt with it and rode as well as I could.
photo: Tomek Gola | PFO | fikcja.pl
My overall result was 10th, which I was pretty happy with. The after party rocked, I got totally rat arsed and danced far too much and got lost on the way home which is interesting being from the UK and walking around the streets of Poland, but i had an amazing time and i wouldn't have done things any other way!
The competition was so good for all the tiny budget that they had due to cuts from sponsors, so hopefully next year with a little more money the competition will be even better!
2009-02-10
Design Contest Submissions to be online soon!
Thanks for everyones submissions - we had over 100 people send their designs in which was a fantastic response!... Due to all the extra designs put in at the last minute, and due to the fact we've had so much work to do leading up to SIA in Vegas and ISPO in Munich, we've had to hold off on putting up all the designs we received.
As soon as we can, we'll put all the designs online so everyone can see them! Check back soon...
Thanks!
2009-02-08
Mark Dvorak takes 1st in the second round of the Oregon Cup at Mt Bachelor
With $2000 in cash at stake, The Oregon Cup Open Class Bachy Solo Slope Style Comp went off!
Saturday's event was held under the Pine Marten chair. The music was bumping and participants were seen flipping and flying through the air, as covered by the Bend Bulletin. The course was freshly groomed and included three medium jumps, and a choice of either a 25 foot tall wall ride or a flat down rail at the bottom. The jam format allowed competitors to each get 5 or more runs in the alloted 2 hours, then each run was scored by our accredited judges, with the top 3 runs determining placement.
Saturday, January 24, 2009 - Open Class
Men Ski - 1st: ($500) Mark Dvorak, 2nd: ($250) Ari Delashmutt, 3rd:Dan Bruton
.Women Snowboard/Ski - 1st: ($300) Ashley Thornton - snwbrd, 2nd: ($200) Katie Williams - snwbrd, 3rd: Tori Koski - snwbrd.
Men Snowboard - 1st: ($500) Colin Clarke, 2nd: ($250) Josh Dodson, 3rd: JD Dennis
1st Annual Red Bull Wrangle The Chute comp at Kicking Horse this weekend.
This coming weekend at Kicking Horse Mt resort hold on to your hats as the first annual "Wrangle the Chute" gets under way. A big mt slopstyle event with a bucking bronco finish line. Faction will be there in full force with Ryan Oakden and Alex Wall fresh off winning a rail jam in the nelson area and local hero Tavis "meatsaw" Menzies. Tavis when asked about the interesting makeup of the event said "...finally a comp that includes dropping cliffs getting rad and drinking fast!"
The showdown combines skiers and snowboarders into a single 'chute out' down KHMR's signature runs off the CPR ridge. The runs will be layered with numerous rodeo style jib features and a buckaroo 'step-up' at the bottom of the course. Athletes will finish their run by saddling up and holding on as their friends and foe try to buck them off the bungee activated bronco.
For more info check out: www.kickinghorseresort.com/activities/events/special/event.asp?ID=78.
Mike Mertion & Simon Dartois represent at the Aspen Snowmass Open
Now in it's fourth year, the Aspen Snowmass Open is one of the key stepping stones to the US Open and X-Games. International team rider Mike Mertion and development team rider Simon Dartois headed on down to check it out.
In the Superpipe Qualifying Simon did well posting a respectable 60.33 points to come 7th in his heat, unfortunately not getting enough in his second heat to get through... while Mike threw down to come first in his heat with 81 points, and an 83.5 in the semi-final to move on into the finals that day. Sadly Mike had a bad run in the finals and ended up coming 10th - however it shows how much talent the kid has got and we look forward to seeing him up there over the coming years.
Final results - Ski Superpipe:
1. David Wise. 90.16
2. Taylor Seaton. 87.83
3. Evan Schwartz. 81
4. Derek Spong. 78.33
5. Matthew Philippi. 75.5
6. Nathan Wood. 74.83
7. Patrick Baskins. 73.66
8. John Strenio. 73.33
9. Gus Kenworthy. 67.5
10. Mike Mertion. 38.5
Mike has also qualified for the semi-finals of the Slopestyle - for more information goto: http://www.aspensnowmass.com/travelinfo/events/detail.cfm?&eventID=10
2009-02-07
ISPO, Munich – a week of the infamous Hofbrahaus and calls from the New York Times!
After the frankly bizarre happenings at SIA in Vegas with Gene Simmons turning up at our stand to see his own stage-makeup likeness staring back at him from the samples of our 09/10 Thirteens and the following calls with trademark lawyers and attorneys, when we hopped in the car for the seven hour drive to Munchen from Verbier we were hoping that things would be a little bit…well… calmer…
Photo Yves Garneau
L-R: Jack Shaw, Tero Repo, Jesse Cohan, Ingemar Falk. Photo Yves Garneau
Day 2:
Day 3:
After a quiet night on Wednesday we packed up and headed home Thursday morning... a week of hard work and play...
Added by Tony McWilliam, CEO and co-founder
2009-01-30
Gene Simmons passes the Faction stand at SIA during its last year in Las Vegas
The Faction Collective attended the SIA 09 show for the first time this week. Let's just say it was far from uneventful. For year's people have been asking "Why Las Vegas?" and this year we got a taste of what it was all about. A fantastic venue in the Mandalay Bay, all the players in the ski industry, great new products and exciting after parties. During the first day the Faction crew generated a great level of interest from retailers and distributors checking out the new lineup for 09/10 of skis, poles, and bindings. After the show the industry converged on the Palms Casino for parties sponsored by Freeskier and SIA with legendary singer Perry Farrell.
The next day still relatively fresh after the first 24 hours in Las Vegas the temperature quickly elevated. During the summer, Faction co-founder and lead designer Tony McWilliam, decided to make a potential graphic for the 09/10 Big-mountain Thirteen depicting an image of Gene Simmons during his makeup years with the group KISS. Tony made several attempts to reach people in charge of trademark licensing and there was no response. After speaking to his agent Melissa on Wednesday she mentioned "oh I remember seeing something about that,". Rest assured this graphic will not go into production in order to be available for sale until a licensing agreement has been reached between Gene Simmons people and Faction IP attorney Darren Jones who worked for years at K2 where he dealt with similar issues.
Legal issues aside, no one can take away the pure genius of this circumstance. Gene Simmons was attending SIA relating to work he does with another SIA exhibiting member and for his A&E reality show "Family Jewels". Whether it was staged or not, Mr.Simmons appeared to have randomly passed the Faction stand and noticed the Thirteen displayed with its likeness to his highly publicized image as lead singer for KISS back in the day. Faction North American team manger Ross Janzen was on hand and had the brief and let's say not less than awkward conversation with Gene SImmons.
Ross said, " He has an intimidating personality with a larger than life persona." later he continued, " As a long time KISS fan Ross summarized it with, "It was mind boggling!" Gene Simmons was professional and curtious despite all the hype happening around him and his entourage of cameras and slightly clad women. It was suprising to him as it was to Ross but Faction really looks forward to reaching an agreement with Gene and seeing him on the pair of Thirteens from SIA which will be sent to him to ski on during one his frequent ski trips to powder mecca Whistler, B.C. Watch out for more media coverage on this funny and exciting event for Faction even as far as the New York Times. Updates on their way.......
The night of celebrities was not finished and The Faction Collective crew including all of us working at the stand and Faction rider Tavis "The Meatsaw" Menzies went back to The Palms Casino for another night of partying. This time the volume got turned up with an appearance by Snoop Dogg sponsored by Skull Candy. The crew got splintered and we had to regroup in the morning at our stand but not too late to meet up with our newest team member Kristi Leskinen who came by to check out her Faction signature model for 09/10 called the "Aria". Kristi proved herself to be the true professional we expected and Faction really looks forward to seeing this icon in the world of womens freestyle developing with us.......
So big thanks to all of those who came by our stand at SIA to check out the new line and get ready for 09/10 orders early in the spring. A big shout out to The Soze Group, one of our North American distributors whom we shared our stand with and last but not least the Snowsports Industries of America group who makes it all happen. See you next year in Denver! Stay tuned for more news and excitement when The Faction Collective shows next year's lineup at ISPO Munich from Feb 1st till the 4th...
2009-01-26
Kristi Leskinen joins The Faction Collective!
We love skiing at Faction. It’s the top of our ‘things we love most’ list.. of course, beer makes an appearance on that list and it would be no surprise to you that woman are very much on that list too. We are good at making big, fast, fat and park skis and very good at drinking beer but we felt we needed some help with women… so we’re stoked to announce that one of skiings most prominent female athletes Kristi Leskinen has joined the Collective to show us a thing or two about skiing.
Kristi has been an inspiration to thousands of young female and male skiers across the globe for many years, and has been a super star of the ski world since her apperance in the Poor Boyz now classic ski movie ‘Happy Dayz’ back in 2002. Kristi has helped develop the sport of freesking as we know it today. We are looking forward to see how she can continue to grow and develop with us at The Faction Collective. Kristi herself says, "The manufacturer I represent is critical to me. Faction combines innovative thinking with products of the best quality and design available today. It is the perfect fit for me and I'm really excited to be part of the Collective."
Kristi will still be competing and travelling the globe as a professional skier – however off the slopes Kristi will be in the driving seat leading product development for our female-specific range of skis and accessories…stay tuned and see you in the bar…ur, sorry I meant to say, see you up the mountain!
2009-01-06
The 08/09 Faction Collective Design Contest is coming to an end. Don' wait any longer for your chance to design a topsheet for one of Faction's 09/10 park skis!!
We have received lots of great designs from all corners of the world. Entrants will still be accepted until the 15th of January but voting will begin soon. The winner will get $500 cash, keep the copyright on the design, and see their design printed on a limited edition Faction park ski in 09/10. So pull that old painting off the wall, transfer that design you always wanted to apply to something and send us an electronic file with your best impression of an artist.
If you really lack the confidence in your skills feel free to judge the designs of the others on www.thefactioncollective.com or at www.newschoolers.com when voting begins next week. All designs will be displayed and voted on as well at the two major trade shows happening this month, SIA Las Vegas from the 27th to the 31st of Jan and ISPO Munich from the 1st to the 4th of Feb.
Don't worry we'll keep you posted!!!
2008-12-24
Happy Holidays from Faction - What a winter so far!
Tis the season to be Jolly! - is on most peoples minds this week while getting those last minute presents an sending cards to those who they left off the first list. At The Faction Collective we need to take a minute to look back on how good the winter has been so far. New skis, a new website, and new ideas. Snow in the Alps and new team riders in France and Switzerland. Photographer Pierre Augier, who pops up consistently in France's Skieur magazine and Skieur.com is skiing on the 08/09 Royale saying " I can't wait to drop a cliff in powder and land switch on these things!"
Pierre will have plenty of opportunity to try at least, travelling around the Alps following the boys to contests such as the SFR Slopestyle Tour where in its first edition in Val Thorens, French Pro rider Bastien Brouqueyre went a little too big for his britches! Check it out at: http://www.skipass.com/news/31666-sfr-tour-slopestyle-val-thorens.html
Things started a bit slower on the other side of the pond with alot of anxious skiers not feeling bad about getting a little more into the partying than the snow. Luckily there were alot of great movies to check out and some things happening around town such as the the Faction - Glacier Shop party in Whistler with Rage Film's "Such is Life" showing on the big screen.
http://www.doglotion.com/faction-skis-winter-kick-off-party
This didn't stop the sledneck Faction team riders such as Mark Dvorak heading into the Oregon backcountry to see what they could find. Mark is passionate about BC kickers but the snow was just not there yet. No worries Mark in the Pacific Northwest you never have to wait too long and the big dumps are never to far between! Still life isn't too bad when you can head out on your gas guzzling machine and hit some terrain like this with Mt. Bachelor shining in the background.
Strangely enough even in BC the snow was just starting to fall closer to the Holidays. Faction Am Team skier Alex Hall and his friends went out to make a film for a Nelson born online film contest saying "Now that the snow is falling we better go out and see what we can do with what we have!". The boys did alot with school yard rails and fences before one took the arm of a mate and he was broken for the season.
Vote for their effort at http://www.superu.ca/contestant/669/43
So have a great holiday; eat, drink and be merry! Those of us who have an additional need for snow will throw some great holiday skiing in there as well. The U.S is catching up to Canada and North America will certainly catch up to Europe. Go out, try something new like French team rider Cyril Reygnier who normally does BC freestyle and freeride kinda like this........
...but changed it up at Pierre's command to go for a trick old schoolers have yet to figure out. Cyril says "This is the first rail I ever tried!". Not too bad Cyril for a first attempt!
So wherever you are, enjoy all the holidays however you choose to celebrate and keep in touch with The Faction Collective for the rest of 2008 and see how we roll into 2009. There is lots left to do this winter and who really knows what will happen!
2008-12-19
Yvan Metrailler places 2nd in the first edition of the Swiss R project 2009
Faction Collective Team Rider Yvan Metrailler continued his strong finishes in the first edition of the Swiss-R project on the Glacier 3000 in Les Diablerets, Switzerland.
Last year Yvan won the largest and final stage of the Swiss-R in one of his local stomping grounds of Crans-Montana. Winter is in full swing and the kickers are getting bigger so The Faction Collective looks forward to seeing Yvan on more podiums during the three remaining stages spread over the whole winter.
Keep up with Yvan's results and all the other Swiss and French rider's progress during the season long Swiss-R at: http://www.swiss-r-project.ch/swiss0809/
Yvan launching into the mist of the high Alps of Valais, Switzerland. Check out more images and video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VeBOgMQr38&eurl=http://www.swiss-r-project.ch/swiss0809/
2008-12-10
Rage Film’s star Mike Mertion steps on board The Faction Collective Pro Team in North America…
2008-12-08