WSU Longboarding Continued...

Here is a follow-up on our recent video post with more information and videos about longboarding at WSU:

WSU Longboarding Facebook page...
This group has more than 50 members and is still growing. The page stays current by posting new pictures and videos of students riding on campus.

Gary Saavedra Wakesurf's Panama Canal

National Surfing champ Gary Saavedra stood on his board for more than four hours wakesurfing the entire length of the Panama Canal. In turn, Saavedra set the Guiness World Records for the longest time and distance riding a wave. Here is a video cataloging his amazing feat of talent.

Quadcopters Allow Extreme Sport Footage

Here are a few videos showing some of the epic footage a quadcopter can capture:

Radio-Controlled Helicopters Allow For Footage of Extreme Sports


Recording extreme sports has not always been easy because most occur in locations that are not exactly camera-friendly. Snowboarders and skiers seemed to have found a solution to this problem; this winter it seemed almost all of the boarders were wearing helmet cams. But what about other sports like rock climbing, surfing and even hang gliding?

Radio controlled Helicopters, or quadcopters have become more advanced and easy to use, allowing for more people to use them to record their extreme sport adventures. 

WSU Longboarding Interviews

Here is the latest video production from Wood Surfer; bringing you a small inside look at the longboarding culture at Washington State University.

Tony’s Twitter Treasure Hunt

Tony Hawk in the Easter Spirit

This weekend, Tony Hawk is having his third annual treasure hunt. Hawk’s twitter has more than 200,000 followers and he began tweeting them clues Friday abut where he has hid his boxes of different kinds of goodies. There are 100 boxes filled with prizes from helmets to video games. Boxes are hidden in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa and across Continental Europe.

The rules are simple; find the location of a box based off of Hawk’s tweets, then tweet him a picture of you with the prize.

If you are not yet a follower of Tony’s Twitter, here it is:

Tony Hawk's Twitter

Good luck treasure hunting.

Sharma Does First Ascent Of First Round First Minute

One of climbing's most respected athletes Chris Sharma has supposedly accomplished his first ascent of his First Round First Minute project in Margalef, Spain according to his girlfriends blog. Being one of the foremost rock climbers in the world this new production will most likely be an amazing feat of his talent and the progression of the sport. Here is a video compilation of material taken from his production called King Lines, which more than showcases Sharma's amazing talent and discusses some of the different aspects of rock climbing.

Major Avalanches Kill Three

Avalanches Kill Three and Leave Others Injured - WA, WY, UT, CO

As winter turns to spring, avalanches have become a major threat. Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Washington have had some major avalanches through this transition. These incidences have left 3 dead and multiple injured.

Most of the avalanches occurred in out-of-bounds areas.  A lot of groups were prepared by checking daytime highs and purposely creating avalanches before venturing to potentially dangerous areas, but with all of the snow that has fallen late this winter, it is difficult to predict when an avalanche will occur.

ESPN's Coverage

Rope Ducking Illegal in the State of Washington

Rope-Ducking can now Cost up to $1000 in Washington:

Crossing from a ski area to a roped-off or out-of-bounds area will no longer just get your pass pulled in the state of Washington, it can cost you money and gain you a criminal record. Bill 5186 was passed April 6 making rope-ducking a misdemeanor and up to a $1000 penalty.

The vote passed with 43 in favor, 5 opposed and 1 not voting.

John Kircher, president and general manager of Crystal Mountain, and Paul Baugher of the Northwest Avalanche Institute, brought the bill to senate. Kircher and Baugher did so out of safety concerns for skiers and snowboarders.

Currently, legal action on ski hills is limited to civil action, but ski patrol might soon have the ability to hand these tickets out.

Oakley Targets Female Riders In New Campaign

Oakley Encourages Female Skiers and Snowboarders With Progression Sessions:

Over the past five years Oakley has a professional staff take women on two-day terrain park camps as part of a win-win marketing campaign for female riders as well as the company.

Not only do women represent a major opportunity for the ski/snowboarding industry, the lack of female gear and company support may be a reason why women make up a small minority found on the mountain.

It portion of women snowboarding has grown in the last decade, but it has stayed around 24 percent for the last few years, according to Transworld Business. (Business Transworld's Story on Progression Session)

The two-day camps focus on the terrain park and helping already established female shredders take that next step. Some of the pros that make up the staff include, Marie-Frances Roy, Chanelle Sladics and Kristi Leskinen. 

Locations:

1.“Droppin In” at Loon Mountain, NH (March 5th–6th) SOLD OUT

Coaches: Grete Eliassen, Chanelle Sladics & Silvia Mittermuller

2. Canyons, UT (March 12th–13th)

Coaches: Grete Eliassen, Marie-France Roy & Dominique Vallee

3. Winter Park, CO (March 19th–20th)
 Coaches: Chanelle Sladics, Kristi Leskinen & Marie-France Roy


4. Northstar-at-Tahoe, CA (March 26th–27th)
 Coaches: Gretchen Bleiler, Kristi Leskinen, Silvia Mittermuller & Dominique Vallee


Triple Cork 1440 Landed by Freeskier Bobby Brown!!!

Progression cannot be stopped...
During a training session at the private redbull park at Squaw Valley, CA Bobby Brown attempted and landed freeskiing's first triple cork 1440. With Sebastien Toutant landing snowboarding's second triple cork 1440 just a week earlier it is no wonder that a skier would step up and finally crush the spin. Brown was quoted saying that he had not planned on attempting the trick, but just went for it as a spur of the moment decision last saturday. Here is a video which shows Bobby Browns Cork 1440. Enjoy!

Holy Oly Revival at The Summit of Snoqualmie

The Holy Oly Revival in Washington. What a wondrous event....

Check out some of the riders and events on Quiksilver.

Check out the video.

Tom Curren, Bruno Santos, Dean Brady, and others Discover New Kind of Wave

Freshwater Surfing

  

These ‘river waves’ can be found around the world, but the Amazon's Pororoca has become most famous. In 2010, some of the first of these waves were ridden and have become a new destination for surfing revolutionaries.

Last March, Rip Curl sent a crew to get a better feel of the waves from the Pororoca, and managed to capture some epic footage. Expect more footage from this trip to come out later this Spring or early this Summer.  

Don’t believe us? – Check out this video from ESPN: 

TransWorld Announces New Wakeskate Event

TransWorld Wakeboarding has just announced that it will hold its first-ever Devise and Conquer event. Modeled after several other TransWorld events such as TransWorld’s Skate and Create project, this event will pit teams against each other in a battle to produce the best photos and video in a controlled setting. Multiple wakeskate teams will compete in this controlled setting and the winner, chosen by voters, will get the July cover of TransWorld Wakeboarding.which we’ll be giving away leading up to the event.
On May 11, 2001, you can got to http://www.wakeboardingmag.com/ to watch Devise and Conquer videos from each team and vote for your favorite.

If you really enjoy watching wakeskate videos that shred the gnar here is the link to a new movie with Matt Hooker, Nick Taylor, Austin Pastura, Ben Horan, and Andrew Pastura called "More Than Machines". This movie is available online as a digital download for $10 here. This film shows the continued progression that is taking place in the insane world of wakeskating. Below is the trailer to "More Than Machines".

Holy Oly at The Summit of Snoqualmie

The eighth annual Holy Oly Revival was hosted last Saturday at Hyak, the eastern summit of Snoqualmie.

"It started because I didn't think kids knew who paved the way," Krush Kaluza, event manager of the Holy Oly. "We just wanted to create an event that was an ode to the past, while looking to the future, happening now," says Kaluza. "How deep is that?"

The Holy Oly Revival is one of the oldest quarter-pipe competitions in the Northwest. It has become more of a staple to the ski/snowboarding community.

Please check out the photo gallery and the rest of the article on EXPN.

Austrialian Wakeboarder: Harley Clifford

There is a lot of hype that surrounds this young wakeboarding phenom.

Check out his 2011 practice session with Oakley and Liquid Force near his home river by the Gold Coast.



Warrior Dash - Extreme Running

Not Your Typical Extreme Sport - Warrior Dash 

The warrior dash puts an extreme twist on traditional 5k races by adding multiple obstacles, including mud-crawling and fire-leaping. There are 31 locations for the Warrior Dash this year, and will take place in our home state, Washington, July 16 and 17.   During and after each race, participants and spectators celebrate with music and beer. In addition to the intense nature of the race, awards are giving to the best warrior beard and most ridiculous costume, making the Warrior Dash an epic race for runners looking for something a bit more exciting.  

Warrior Dash Info.