Chris Davenport on steepskiing.hookit.com

Eastern Sierra's 14'er Mission

Hey Everyone,
This spring my friend and pro-photographer, Christian Pondella and I hit up the Eastern Sierra's for some spring skiing and peak bagging. After nearly two weeks of touring, climbing and skiing I returned home with only two 14'ers left in my quest to ski all the 14'ers in the lower 48 states. Check out part one of a short during our time in Cali. Enjoy.

Chris Davenport | Skiing Eastern Sierra's 14ers [Part1]

Add Comment posted 7/22/2010 3:28:04 PM | Ski

New Ski Camp in Antarctica

Last year my crew and I explored some insane first descents throughout the Antarctic Peninsula. Next November I'll be returning for some of the finest ski-mountaineering and touring the world has to offer as a ski guide. Yep, you and your crew can join me on the Clipper Adventurer boat and ski some of the terrain we filmed for Australis. You should be aware that THIS TRIP WILL SELL OUT.

Australis: An Antarctic Ski Odyssey from Granite Films Jim Surette on Vimeo.

Here is the breakdown of the trip - hope to see you there.

November 8, 2011-November 20, 2011

These dates are not confirmed and are very likely subject to shift by a day or two, although the length of the expedition will not change. Please do not book your flights until you have confirmed with our office the dates.

Pricing for berths aboard the CLIPPER ADVENTURER*
Lower Deck Twin: $6,990 per guest
Main Deck Twin (porthole): $7,690 per guest
Main Deck Twin (window): $8,290 per guest
Main Deck Single: $12,435
Upper Deck Superior: $8,990 per guest
Upper Deck Deluxe: $9,690
Captain's Deck Deluxe: $9,690
Suite: $10,690 per guest
Captain’s Suite:$12, 690

Photos of the accommodations and ship are available on the website HERE *airfare not included*all pricing per person*

How do I reserve my trip?

For new bookings:
*Complete the attached Registration Form and Terms and Conditions of Sale. Return to our office via email at karyn@iceaxe.tv or Fax at +1 530-582-1279.
*Please Note; a 50% deposit is required upon booking to reserve your place. You may place your deposit with Visa or MasterCard credit card. There is a 5% credit card processing charge. You can also mail a check after you submit trip application or submit a wire transfer to place your deposit. Berths will be reserved on a first-come, first served basis depending on when we receive your completed Registration application and Terms and Conditions of Sale.
*All credit cards will begin to be processed on July 20th.
*The final balance is payable 95 days prior to your departure. Final Payment must be paid by Check, Wire, or Cash.
*Contact Ice Axe Expeditions at 530-582-1246 or contact us via email at Karyn@iceaxe.tv for more information about the trip or if you have any questions.

Before you send in your Completed Registration Form and Terms and Conditions of Sale, we strongly encourage you to visit the client section of our website to review the orientation materials and gear list.

You can access the client area of our website by visiting HERE: The password is: penguins

Please note, due to the capacity of the ship, we unfortunately we not be offering kayaking on this expedition. Trekking and skiing will continue to be offered daily.

We look forward to meeting you all in Ushuaia in 2011!

Add Comment posted 7/12/2010 2:34:38 PM | Ski

Ski season is on in South America

SKI PORTILLO OPENS SOUTH AMERICAN SKI SEASON
2010 Season Runs from June 26 through October 2

The South American ski season has officially begun with an impressive number of early season storms dropping nearly six feet of snow on Ski Portillo, South America’s premier ski resort. Last night, the resort received 16 inches of fresh snow, which will make for an incredible opening weekend, as Ski Portillo loads chairlifts on Saturday, June 26th.

The 2010 Portillo season runs from June 26 – Oct. 2, 2010. Prices begin at $1,590 for a ski week at Hotel Portillo or $990 at the Octagon Lodge, located steps from Hotel Portillo. For reservations, call 1.800.829.5325, or email reservas@skiportillo.com. More information on Ski Portillo is also available at www.SkiPortillo.com.

Located approximately two hours from Chile’s capital, Santiago, and accessible via direct flights from numerous North American cities, Portillo is the perfect South American ski destination. Combining breathtaking views of the Laguna del Inca in the shadows of the Andes highest peaks, world-class skiing and snowboarding, and excellent service with a 1:1 guest to employee ratio, Portillo delivers an unsurpassed experience, rich in cultural, athletic and community spirit.

Portillo is a all-inclusive resort, with ski weeks including the following: seven nights lodging, four meals per day (breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner), lift tickets, and access to everything the resort has to offer. Often compared to a “cruise ship high in the Andes,” the resort accommodates only 450 guests per week, effectively avoiding overcrowding and lift lines while affording guests the feeling they’re skiing at their own private Andean resort.

Ski Portillo features 14 lifts and the terrain caters to skiers of all abilities. For beginners and first-time skiers or snowboarders, Portillo’s ski and snowboard school features the world’s finest instructors – nearly 100 percent instruct year-round. While less-experienced guests will find wide-open and uncrowded beginner slopes, Portillo is famed for its steeps, and the area is surrounded by easily accessible backcountry terrain.

Accommodations at Ski Portillo are myriad, and each lodging option offers different advantages for couples, families with children and groups of friends. The famous yellow-hued Hotel Portillo offers the ultimate in South American luxury and convenience. Guests can choose from valley-view or lake-view double units, or family apartments accommodating up to six guests. The Octagon Lodge offers rooms with two bunk beds (four guests) and a private bathroom, and the no-frills Inca Lodge offers smaller rooms consisting of two sets of bunk beds with communal bathrooms.

Portillo’s all-inclusive complimentary offerings also include use of the pool and hot tubs overlooking the Laguna del Inca, the fitness center, gymnasium, aerobics and yoga classes, cinema, game room, children’s activities, the daycare center (complimentary for children three to seven years old), the disco bar, ski and boot check and timed race courses.

Special Weeks
Throughout the ski season Portillo offers numerous specially themed weeks, many of which are offered at no additional cost to guests. The annual Chilean Wine Fest (Aug. 28 – Sept. 5) which still has availability, is offered at no additional cost and brings Chile’s finest winemakers directly to guests, offering personally crafted tastings and educational sessions in the comfort of Hotel Portillo.

In addition, renowned athletes offer special weeks, including extreme skiing champion Chris Davenport.   He offers his annual Ski with the Superstars Week, taking place Aug. 14-21, 2010, where participants learn from some of the most decorated extreme skiers on Portillo’s steep terrain. From July 24-31, 2010, the Portillo Big Mountain Telemark Camp takes place at Ski Portillo.

Former U.S. Ski Team member Kim Reichhelm will again offer her “Kim Reichhelm Ski Adventure at Portillo”, occurring Aug. 7-14, 2010. Other on-mountain learning opportunities include the NASTC (North American Ski Training Center) camp, celebrating its 17th season at Portillo, and taking place Aug. 14-21, 2010. The eighth annual Clendenin Ski Method Portillo Camp will take place Sept. 4-11, 2010.

Kids Ski Free Weeks
As a special offer for the 2010 season, Ski Portillo is offering ‘Children Ski Free Weeks,’ where parents may bring a child between the ages of four and 12 and receive a free week for their children. The dates for the ‘Children Ski Free Weeks’ are June 19-26, September 4-11, Sept. 11-18 and Sept. 18-25. Offer is valid for a maximum of one child per family. From Sept. 25-Oct. 2, Ski Portillo is offering the ‘Two Children Ski Free Week,’ where families are able to bring two children at no additional cost. The same conditions and restrictions apply.

For reservations, call toll-free 1.800.829.5325, or email reservas@skiportillo.com. More information on Ski Portillo is also available at www.SkiPortillo.com. Follow Portillo on Twitter (@skiportillo) or Facebook, or check out the Portillo YouTube channel.

Ski Portillo also owns and operates an adventure spa, Tierra Atacama, located in northern Chile in the Atacama Desert. For more information on Tierra Atacama and trips between the two resorts, visit www.TierraAtacama.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Maureen Poschman: maureen@promoinc.net   (+01.970.925.8480)
Campbell Levy: Campbell@promoinc.net
Tess Weaver: Tess@Promoinc.net

Add Comment posted 6/24/2010 3:11:26 PM | Ski

Epic Summer Training

Hey Everyone,
I've been doing alot of core training this summer with the guys at RIP - COREFX. This is some of the most intense training I have ever done - it's really good. Take a look.

Add Comment posted 6/22/2010 1:53:43 PM | Ski

Ski With The Superstars is Sold Out

For another year in a row, the Ski With The Superstars camp in Portillo, Chile is sold out. This will be my tenth year going to ski in Portillo and the place is just as stunning as the first time I visited. With coaches Ingrid Backstrom, Wendy Fisher, Chris Anthony, Mike Douglas and myself leading the charge, we push our clients to find new heights in their skiing, tackling steep lines, couloirs, airs, and almost too deep powder. Check out the details at Ski Portillo.

Add Comment posted 6/21/2010 4:02:05 PM | Ski

The East Couloir of Mt. Muir

April 19, 2010

We skied Sierra 14er #8 of this trip, Mt. Muir. Muir is really is sub-peak of the greater Mt. Whitney massif, but since it's on most Cali 14er lists, I wanted to give it a go anyway. The problem with Muir is there is really no obvious ski line- unless one wanted to descend the Mt. Whitney hiking trail. But the recent aerial recon that my partner Christian Pondella had done revealed something possible on the massive East Face- a steep, narrow couloir with technical difficulties.

So once again we drove down to Lone Pine and up to the Whitney Portal TH to prepare for an early morning departure. We left the car at 4 a.m. and made quick time up the south fork of Lone Pine Creek- arriving at the base of the face as the sun bathed the gorgeous granite cirque in golden light.

Christian and I were joined today by local Mammoth skier/ climber/ alpinist Ryan Boyer, a hard-charging tele skier with an appetite for steep lines and adventures. the three of us made a good team and worked our way up the lower slopes of the couloir. This couloir, which we are calling the East Couloir, doesn't appear in any climbing or hiking guidebooks, and we saw no signs of a previous ascent or descent (rap stations or slings or pro). The couloir has three skiable sections and two rappels between the ski sections and generally is between 45 and 50 degrees in steepness, with the bottom section easing off to 40 degrees.

Christian Pondella half way up the lower section of the East Couloir

Dropping into the couloir after the first rappel. STEEP!

Well, that's it from the Sierra Nevada of California. 8 14ers in 10 days out here for me. Russell, Tyndall, White, Thunderbolt, North Palisade, Sill, Polemonium, and Muir. I'm sunburned and tired but totally satisfied with our effort. We skied 41,000' vertical during this trip and got lots of great snow on the descents. Big thanks go out to my partners, especially Christian Pondella, but also Jim Barnes, Tahoe Mike, John Morrison, Ryan Barnes, and Hans Ludwig- all first- class guys and fantastic partners.

I'm headed home for a couple days then off to Canada for a fun trip to a couple lodges in the Selkirks. Thanks for reading.

Chris

Add Comment posted 4/20/2010 7:01:50 AM | Ski

Sierra Update #3

April 16, 2010

What an amazing last three days we have had here in the Sierra Nevada. After our earlier success on Mt. Russell and Mt. Tyndall we had a good sized storm role through leaving anywhere from one to two feet of new snow in the mountains. Christian and I, along with a few more friends skied White Mountain on Tuesday and then drove over Westgard Pass to Big Pine in the Owens Valley, where we spent the night and organized gear for the next mission: Te Palisades.

On Wednesday morning we drove up to the Glacier Lodge TH and hiked in to the Palisades Glacier Zone. We dropped our gear at Third Lake and continued up the Valley to Thunderbolt Peak and the beautiful Northeast Couloir.

John & Christian approaching the NE Couloir on Thunderbolt (far right)

On a crystal clear afternoon we were able to skin up the entire couloir, with the help of John Morrison's insane steep skinning skills:

Skinning up the NE Couloir

John Morrison skiing the NE Couloir-Thunderbolt

We topped out at 5 pm and took in the incredible views of the back of the ridge: looking south along the immensity of the Sierra. The ski descent was amazing, deep powder with a little wind skin here and there. It was 4000' of great skiing later we were back in camp and ready for a good night's sleep.

Camp at Third Lake, where we ran into Jim and Mike who we had skied White Mtn. with the day before

The next day (Thursday the 15th) was truly an epic day in the mountains. We first skinned up from camp and skied the U-Notch couloir on North Palisade, then we wrapped around and climbed the V-Notch Couloir on Polemonium Peak. Instead of turning around and skiing the V-Notch, we continued south East and Climbed to the summit of Mt. Sill. On top of Sill we contemplated the day and enjoyed a wind-less, flat summit experience. Next we dropped in and skied the SouthWest Chutes of Sill to the valley floor. The snow in this gully was a little more sun and wind effected; but still made for a fun and safe descent. From the valley we put the skins on for the third time and climbed back up to the top of the V-Notch. With five pairs of tired legs, Christian, John Morrison, Jim Barnes, Tahoe Mike and my own we skied the steep and narrow V-Notch. This is an intimidating descent when you're fresh, and when your tired you must take additional care not to make any mistakes, otherwise you'll end up on the Palisade Glacier 1000' below. We all made it down safely and once again descended back to camp at Third Lake. Christian and John and I packed up our things and made our way down the valley, back to the truck; in time to high-tail it to Bishop for some well deserved Mexican food and a beer.

Climbing into the upper U-Notch Couloir

Near the top of the U-Notch

The team skiing out of the U-Notch, right after I kicked off a small wind-slab avalanche

The SW Chutes on Mt. Sill

Summit of Mt. Sill, Norman ClydePeak, Middle Palisade and Split Mtn. in the background

John and I in the V-Notch Couloir

Me skiing the lower V-Notch

So now I'm left with one "official" 14er, Middle Palisade, and two peaks that are really just bumps on a ridge but lie above 14,000', Mt. Muir and Starlight Peak. Middle Palisade is a very tough descent that has maybe been skied less the three or four times ever if that. And the only ski line on it, the NE Couloir, looks in rough shape right now. Starlight has no natural ski line, but the Clyde Couloir has some spots where you could make tracks between rappels. And Mt. Muir, which is a little sub-bump of Whitney, really only has the Whitney trail to ski, a flat hiker trail. So what to do now? Comments anyone?

All-in-all this has been a super-productive trip with great friends and some really good ski mountaineering. I have 4 days left to try and pull off a couple more lines. Stay tuned folks. And thanks for reading.....Chris

Add Comment posted 4/16/2010 2:17:49 PM | Ski

Two Down, Five To Go.

Hello Everyone,

Over the past few years, after finishing skiing the Colorado 14ers, I have been slowly picking off the other high peaks in the USA. Now I’m out in California trying to finish the California 14ers. I only had seven left prior to this trip, and have skied two more over the last few days. So with five more 14ers left to go in the USA (outside of AK), I’m holed up at my friend and ski partner Christian Pondella’s house in Mammoth taking a couple rest days while Mother Nature drapes a new coat of paint on the Sierra.

This project is more of a personal goal than a ski project like the Colorado 14er's were. I love finding new experiences in the mountains, and every day that we climb and ski the beautiful Sierra I’m inspired by what I see out there. Some of these mountains are hard, and all of them are long days. And often the skiing isn’t great. But that’s what ski mountaineering is all about- just getting out there and giving it a go, and having fun no matter what the conditions.

A black and white image of Keeler Needle, Crooks Peak, and Third Needle reveals timeless beauty

Mt. Russell- 14,086’ April 9, 2010

Christian and I started from the Whitney Portal trailhead at 5 a.m. and made out way up to the base of Mt. Whitney and the Mountaineers Route. This is one of the most beautiful mountain locations anywhere in the world, with the soaring granite towers of Whitney, Keeler Needle, and Crooks Peak looming above you, bathed in orange morning light. We crossed a small col and walked over to the base of the South Face of Mt. Russell. Snow conditions were lean on Russell, but tolerable. We climbed up the face and then through the steep notch to the summit ridge. For me this was the most fun part of the day- steep climbing on perfect rock to a sharp summit ridge. Here is a cool video of Christian climbing through this crux.

The ski back down was rugged- firm, refrozen snow that had been wind-effected. So not great skiing on the South Face, but once we crossed over to the Whitney side we hit 5-star corn and enjoyed wonderful skiing all the way back to the car. 9:50 round trip and 6200’ Vert.

Mt. Tyndall- 14,015’ April 10, 2010

Tyndall is a massive day. Most parties attempting to climb or ski this mountain will take two days to complete the trip, camping at one of several spots below Shepherd Pass on the approach. While I love to camp in the mountains, I’m more a fan of the fast and light approach, so Christian and I went light and attempted the peak in a day. You start low for this peak, around 6400’ at the parking lot. We left at 4:20 a.m. and made quick progress in tennis shoes up the trail to the snow. By 9 a.m. we were below Shepherd Pass, and at 2:20 we were on the summit. We climbed the North Face proper, just climbers right of the North Rib (or Sierra Crest Rib) on hard sastrugi snow. After a brief moment on top we reversed our course and began skiing more than 9000’ back down the mountain and out to the car. We were both exhausted by the effort on Tyndall, but happy and satisfied to have skied two big California 14ers in two days. The reward for the effort is simply the satisfaction of knowing that you set a goal for yourself and put in the hard-work to pull it off. 13:42 Round Trip and 9600’ Vert.

It’s snowing hard right now in Mammoth and we are taking two rest days before moving on to some more fun skiing on California’s biggest mountains.

Chris

Add Comment posted 4/12/2010 12:52:48 PM | Ski

What makes a good Apres Ski party?

The Spyder crew kicked off Aspen Fashion Week with a killer Apres Ski party at the base of Aspen Mountain. Check it out here.

In the mean time, I've been in California's Eastern Sierra mountains, climbing and skiing the few remaining 14'ers I have left in the lower 48 states. More to come on that...

Add Comment posted 4/12/2010 9:01:02 AM | Ski

Ski With the Superstars :: Portillo, Chile

Check out this video made by ShineLine Productions from our annual "Ski With The Superstars Camp" in Portillo, Chile. We still have spots open for this years camp, August 14-21. Enjoy!