Pure mountain STOKE....Alaska Peak 7601 video

[Alaskan Rover]

This has got to be absolutely the craziest descent I have ever seen....or probably ever WILL see. And acomplished by perhaps the best living freerider to ever see a board, Terje Haakonsen. I say "living", only because Craig kelly no longer is...Craig proved that unfortunately some gods ARE mortal (RIP). I somehow believe, though, that Craig's spirit was riding along with Terje as Terje did his OWN following amazing ride: Peak 7601

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imau7BG7Zu0

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Yes, we were impressed. Four years ago!

These links will help you get caught up.

http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulleti...ighlight=Terje

http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulleti...ighlight=Terje

http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulleti...ighlight=Terje

[Alaskan Rover]

Yes, we were impressed. Four years ago!

No kidding. I know it happened in 2006 or '07....I didn't present it like it just happened yesterday. Four years is a LONG time, though. There might be some on here that haven't seen the vid. I realize many have...that's why I added Peak 7601 to the title.

This descent was so stellar and magnificent that that a rewind of it isn't exactly drudgery.

To me, that descent was both a luscious symphony of powder and the poetry of a mountain that became everyone's for a day.

Old stoke, to be sure...but still good stoke.

[Loc]

I still watch this at the beginning of each season with my friends. Then we go hit some easy blues at a resort

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Yes, I think it is a perfect example.

Of how to change the title of something we have seen years ago into something we have seen years ago that YOU discovered only recently yet are clever enough to fool everyone into being stoked about it again under a new name. Perfect!! Really.

I appreciate your ability to see into the future, not everyone can do that with such certainty.

Most of all, it is your stamp of approval of the greatest snowboarder of all time that endears me to you.

Once again, I am so glad you returned from your comma to enlighten us all.

[carvedog]

So Jeremy Jones must just be chopped liver.

Huge Terje fan too, but ........

[Alaskan Rover]

....//....Once again, I am so glad you returned from your comma to enlighten us all.

Well...the 'comma' was getting a little tight, so I'm going to try an apostrophe, or at least a semicolin. I think that would give me a little more living space. If I was rich, I might be able to afford an ampersand, but that's WAY out of my budget. I'm sure Liberace had one. That's more his style, anyway.

I DID, however, see to it to do a little editing, as I'm not totally omniscient (like, is there such a thing as "partially OMNIscient, though?)

I wouldn't sweat the "all time" thing, though, as time isn't a linear function, anyway.

[bjvircks]

someone having a period?

[Alaskan Rover]

So Jeremy Jones must just be chopped liver.

Huge Terje fan too, but ........

Carvedog:
No...Jeremy Jones is DEFINITELY Prime Grade 'A' Filet Mignon in my book.
I'm a BIG fan of Jeremy...especially after he has recently vowed to discontinue using helicopters and lifts, snocats, etc for ascents...hence a big reason for his trials of the new and improved Spark splitboard binding.

But as of yet, I haven't seen him do a descent QUITE as hairy as the one in this video. That's not to say he can't...or won't. But so far he hasn't.

I have a sneaking suspicion, though that SOME of the steepness in that vid was camera-derived. I mean, it looks steeper than hell, yet Terje rides it with easy aplomb. Something just doesn't mesh.

Peak 7601 is very difficult to get hard data on. Ever since Terje's ride...Peak 7601 has apparently become a synonym of Terje, for that vid takes up almost ALL of the search hits. If I were still at the Institute of Arctic Biology or next door at the Geophysical Institute, I would definitely be able to look it up, as they have a HUGE Ak mountain catalog database. I would love to look up some topos of that peak or sat-imgs, but need the coordinates for that. So far I have been able to pull NO lats/longs!! Oh well...not that I am going to ride that one, anyway! But still, would like to find out if it is really as steep as it looks in that crazy vid.

Below is a peak that I DEFINITELY would NOT be riding or skiing!! Ha ha. Gnarly looking overhangs throughout! No way down except back down the narrow ridgeline from which you came. Mt. Cook, New Zealand.





This next one below is one I am DEFINITELY looking into for descent either by board or AT skis. Mt Sanford, Wrangell Mountains, Ak. The right side definitely looks quite do-able. Looks smooth, doesn't it? Well, I can asure you it's NOT. It'll be lots of crud and small ridges that don't show up. And because it is over 16,000 feet, there will be sublimation crust. If you end up in the wrong section during descent, you risk going over one of the 90 foot glacial lips, and if you end up in another wrong section, you end up with quite a bit of very sketchy, crevasse-laden icefield to traverse. Plus there are virtually no good shelter points for bivy during ascent. But still quite do-able, nontheless.




The BAD side of the mountain for boards/skis....stay away.







Best side! This side entails a FAR longer approach, but is FAR more do-able. Best choice.


So I guess Terje can have his Peak 7601 to himself. I am going to seriously study Mt. Sanford for a board descent. It's been skied before. And whether it's been boarded before, I don't know. Doesn't matter to me. This side just looks plain do-able. Anybody want to join?

Mt Sanford...Wrangell Mountains, Ak Coordinates:

62°12′50″N 144°07′44″W / 62.2138889°N 144.1288889°W / 62.2138889; -144.1288889Coordinates: 62°12′50″N 144°07′44″W / 62.2138889°N 144.1288889°W / 62.2138889; -144.1288889 ^[2]

[Buell]

That video of 7601 is compressed from wide screen to full screen. It looks much steeper than it is. Look at much of Terje's riding on the upper face. Except for one part where he takes bit of a free slide, he is actually turning and going quite a bit slower than if it was as absurdly steep as it looks.

Not saying it is not extremely steep and worthy of tremendous respect but I am sure Terje has done steeper lines.

That's not to say he can't...or won't. But so far he hasn't.

Damn dude, you really know your stuff to say JJ hasn't done anything steeper or more extreme than that. Try saying that to JJ's face and see the reaction you get.

I have seen video of him doing stuff crazier than that compressed video of Terje. Where much his line is partly controlled free slide and he can't even see because it is one continuous face shot.

I'm a BIG fan of Jeremy...especially after he has recently vowed to discontinue using helicopters and lifts, snocats, etc for ascents...hence a big reason for his trials of the new and improved Spark splitboard binding.

WTF are you even talking about here? Using a small airplane to get to his base camps and scout lines is alright though? I don't think he has given any any powered stuff up (maybe you have a link), he is just exploring human powdered ascents on a much different level. Huge props to him.

"hence a big reason for his trials of the new and improved Spark splitboard binding."

What does that even mean?

[Alaskan Rover]

Buell:

Dang...now I'm going to have to figure out how to do multiple quotes! Until then, I'll just do it my own way, as the following home-made script suggests:

Quote from Buell:
"That video of 7601 is compressed from wide screen to full screen. It looks much steeper than it is. Look at much of Terje's riding on the upper face. Except for one part where he takes bit of a free slide, he is actually turning and going quite a bit slower than if it was as absurdly steep as it looks.
Not saying it is not extremely steep and worthy of tremendous respect but I am sure Terje has done steeper lines."

Yeah, as I said here: "I have a sneaking suspicion, though that SOME of the steepness in that vid was camera-derived. I mean, it looks steeper than hell, yet Terje rides it with easy aplomb. Something just doesn't mesh." I didn't know about the wide-screen to full-screen change. But I knew something wasn't right about...for the very same reasons you've also noted. Nor was the snow sitting correctly for that implied "mega-steepness", but dew-point and local snow adhesion changes.


Quoted by Buell:
"Damn dude, you really know your stuff to say JJ hasn't done anything steeper or more extreme than that. Try saying that to JJ's face and see the reaction you get."

My comment was in reference to said video WITHOUT knowing 100% categorically that there was some sort of video manipulation, either intended or accidental. I mean, I knew there was something weird about the physics of that video...(the guy would have been in almost a freefall state in places, if vid accurate. But unless I knew quantitatively, I gave some benefit of the doubt to the vid. Granted, I should have given JJ equal benefit of the doubt, but I referenced his vids versus Terjes on a vid basis alone without topo data. In reference to this discrepency and lack of hard data, I went on to say:
"Peak 7601 is very difficult to get hard data on. Ever since Terje's ride...Peak 7601 has apparently become a synonym of Terje, for that vid takes up almost ALL of the search hits. If I were still at the Institute of Arctic Biology or next door at the Geophysical Institute, I would definitely be able to look it up, as they have a HUGE Ak mountain catalog database. I would love to look up some topos of that peak or sat-imgs, but need the coordinates for that. So far I have been able to pull NO lats/longs!! Oh well...not that I am going to ride that one, anyway! But still, would like to find out if it is really as steep as it looks in that crazy vid."






Quoted by Buell:
" Originally Posted by Alaskan Rover: "I'm a BIG fan of Jeremy...especially after he has recently vowed to discontinue using helicopters and lifts, snocats, etc for ascents...hence a big reason for his trials of the new and improved Spark splitboard binding."

WTF are you even talking about here? Using a small airplane to get to his base camps and scout lines is alright though? I don't think he has given any any powered stuff up (maybe you have a link), he is just exploring human powdered ascents on a much different level. Huge props to him."

Yeah...I have to admit, that AFTER I posted that reply to Carvedog, I was in no small way chagrined to find that his most recent blog post was a shot of him using a ski-plane to access a base camp instead of a foot approach. The passage I remember, stemming from his new "Protect Our Winters" initiative was: "As a testament to Jones' commitment to the environment, he has recently decided to forego the use of helicopters and lifts when snowboarding, opting instead to hike as his sole means of transportation on the slopes." That was from his wikipedia article, but no quoatations were in evidence. Juxtapose that with what he said in his 02 April 2010 blog: "Now the dream is about taking a plane deep into unridden mountains, setting up a base camp and hiking and riding first descents on foot. It is a much more intimate experience with the mountains because I am not retreating back to our hotel rooms when nightfall comes." I guess nowhere in any quote or post does he say he is going to discontinue "Ski-Plane" use. So I guess he IS still being true to his original word. Can you imagine how much more intensive it would be if EVERY forthcoming descent entailed a 100% foot approach to base camp? But I guess he is serious about foregoing helicopter use...accolades to him. Helo companies like Evergreen are going to miss him. Oh well, he just became a friend to a lot of glacier pilots. I know Cliff Hudson's son pretty well...Hudson's Air Service, Talkeetna Ak. Jay Hudson would love to take some of Jeremy's business. His dad was amongst the BEST mountain fliers in the business.


Quoted by Buell:
""hence a big reason for his trials of the new and improved Spark splitboard binding."
What does that even mean?"

This was strictly in reference to Jeremy Jones regarding his testing of the new Spark Fuse binding..."I was hoping I would be able to get a 5-10% improvement out of the system. It was more like 20-30. I will be able to achieve more in the mountains because (of these)." Quoted from the Sparkrrand webpage. Note: these bindings aren't in any way competition for anything Fin might be doing, as it is for a different application. So I don't know why you question that.

I would like to try out that board "Jones" that Jeremy is coming out with for this year.


I see some definite route potentials on that Mt. Sanford. It has seen a lot of climbing, of course. And certainly quite a bit of skiing. I would like to try it with splitboards. Previously, I have always preferred AT equipment for long duration descents, but am itching to try out splitboards via my Scarpa Denali hardboots. Mt. Sanford would be a perfect venue, as I have never enjoyed not being able to kick steps with softboots. I hear SOMETIMES (very rarely), the smooth side of Sanford has some GREAT snow conditions...but this also happens to cover signs of potential crevasses as you get further down towards the icefields. I would like to retrace Moore and Washburn's first ascent route from Chistochina. Once to a certain mid-point, the ascent is supposed to be fairly hassle-free with no walls to deal with. Moore and Washburn were originally going to try to dogsled to the summit (???), but they soon dispatched with THAT endeavor! That was 1938.

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Gravity IS Life.