ESPN Snowboarding

Robbie Sell

Late comer to the crew Lucas Debari, going slash-to-slash and getting his own barrel.

Fresh off a trip in an area near Yellowstone with People producer Justin Eeles, I continued on with the People crew out to the Sierra Nevadas. And this is how it went down.

When we arrived, it had just snowed, and in typical Tahoe style it was warming fast, so we had to make moves. Our crew included Shaun Mckay, and People newcomers Eiki Helgason, Robbie Walker, and a last minute addition, Lucas Debari.

As soon as got out, we noted the rapidly changing temperature and the effect it was having on the snowpack's stability. Natural avalanches could be seen on a couple peaks—a warning to be careful, especially when moving 20 miles deep in the backcountry.

We played it safe, kept to familiar areas and slopes that were stable. We also had to keep an eye on Lucas Debari, who had a broken right hand--turning an easy sled run into a tough one. He kept having to reach over with his left hand to throttle it. (And you may remember his experience sledding documented in These Days.)

Robbie Sell

Eiki Helgason is more than just a rail guy: backside rodeo double cork 1080. What?!

Making our way over to another valley, scoping, we came upon a natural avy slab and realized it was fresh that day. Then I saw the sun shining off something, so I decided to go check it out. When pulling up I saw a group of near 10 people, turns out a fellow group of shreds—Matt Hammer, Gabe Taylor, Peter Benchetler, and others.

Turns out after already hitting a cliff jump five times, Hammer went again and on his sixth time his landing set off a small slab, which rumbled the ground setting off a larger slab above them. Three people were on top getting ready to jump and the ground slid out from under them, pulling one person off a cliff and luckily not smashing or burying them.

The video clip was on Vimeo for a few days (and was actually posted on ESPN Snowboarding for a day or two before it was removed), and I have to say it was pretty amazing nobody was killed. They deleted it probably for fear of hate comments.

The next day Robbie Walker and Eiki Helgason set up a massive jump, and it became a double cork party, both of them killing it and getting the shots. Walker had such a good day it was cause for a celebration that night: a bottle of champagne to himself.

Robbie Sell

Sled creek extraction featuring Lucas Debari, Robbie Walker, Eiki Helgason, and Shaun McKay.

Lucas Debari's late start had him scrambling for shots. But he's already logged more footage in these couple weeks than others have gotten all season. So he wasn't sweating.

Shaun Mckay added more to his part with his classic clean style. The entire crew was very productive, making my trip well worth all the struggles.

Robbie Sell

High speed gap method, Lucas Debari.

On another note, when in a state park boundary, which we were, Park Rangers roam as police. And they like to act like police, too.

Apparently snowboarders are the hoodlums of the backcountry and they ticketed the crew for not having filming permits. You know, like we're Hollywood and make millions off shooting on their land. Please.

Like in my younger skateboarding days... I ran! If you've ever snowmobiled in powder, you know that's not easy. But I managed to make an escape.

But rookies Walker and Helgason found out one of the snowmobile's magnets-- the creek bed (if not that, it's trees). At first their stuck-in-the-creek situation seemed mellow, but then it turned into the entire crew getting into the hole digging and pushing it out, some even standing in the freezing water. Luckily the motor still started after it was submerged fully in water.

They got lucky this time.

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