Friends of the TatsVan: Drew Tabke wins 2nd Backcountry.com Sickbird Buckle!
Drew Tabke is another friend of the TatsVan.  He is currently down in South America destroying freeskiing comps and bagging peaks after all-night, wine-fueled parties.  Recently, Drew became the third ever freeskier to win a second Backcountry.com Sickbird belt buckle for his impressive skiing in Las Lenas, Argentina. http://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg842/scaled.php?tn=0&server=842&filename=4dff.j...
Snowmass, again.
My friend Ed took this shot on my DROID.  Epic night in Snowmass Village.
Video: LINO’, an Animated Surf Flick
Check this video out...I've watched it ten times already. The music is super mellow, vibing well with the impressive stop-motion animation that makes those little Playmobil figurines look like they're just shredding some epic waves. Lino', made by Karim Rejeb of KarimRejeb-SurfArt.com, is a masterpiece fit for anyone who has played with plastic toys.  His vision of the world of surfing, a...
Friends of the TatsVan: Scott McBrayer – Bull Rider
Scott McBrayer, better known on the Freeskiing World Tour as McSlayer, just rode his third bull at the Carbondale Thursday night rodeo.  Known for tossing frontflips to a stomped landing off of 40 foot cliffs, it's his background as a hunting guide and cowboy that makes Scott really stand out.  He didn't make eight seconds (the minimum time for a score) in this ride, but as any cowpoke knows...
Mobile Lifestyle: The Mobile Office
I have found two activities to occupy my time, each of which helping to engage the frontal lobe or get my heart pumping hard.  On sunny days, the choice is easy: I grab my inflatable stand-up paddleboard (iSUP) and cruise with the bus and clients to the river put-in.  I help unload the boats, ditch the deflated iSUP board and paddle, drop the bus at the bottom of the Shoshone Rapids section ...

Desert Wind, Carry Us Onward

Posted By: Tats on June 16, 2010 in All New Posts - Comments: No Comments »

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Waking up in the dark this morning, I found myself fumbling around various parts of my girlfriend’s apartment looking for the last items for my trip to Tahoe. DROID phone? Check. Toothbrush? Check. PB&Honey sandwiches? Check. And, as is always the case with road trips of any sort, I forgot some things and brought way too much of others. It’s ok, a cheap pair of sunglasses at the next gas station will do just fine, but two paddleboards in the desert? Not much of an opportunity to use those!

Really though, I hopped into Jacqui Edgerly’s Subaru with Ashley Magnuson to make the 950 mile trip to Lake Tahoe so we can attend the memorial service for our good friend and skier, Arne Backstrom. Just following the posts on Twitter and Facebook, it seems as though a mass pilgrimage is in effect as people from every corner of the ski world are Tahoe bound to pay their respects to a fallen friend. I’m not quite sure what to expect, as memorial services tend to conjure up all sorts of heavy imagery. But, Arne’s life wasn’t ordinary, and it would be foolish to expect any different from a gathering of his family, closest friends, ski buddies, and travel partners. Squaw Valley, Arne’s most recent hometown, has seen its share of tragedy recently, and one can only think that these sorts of gatherings are becoming all too frequent.

But, I am not heading out there to mourn the loss of a friend’s life. Nay, this trip is of a different sort; the three of us are trekking across the desert West to join alongside a group of like-minded, outdoor oriented individuals to celebrate the passing of one of our own. We all know the risks of living the lifestyles we so unabashedly invest ourselves in; climbing mountains, scoping exotic surf breaks, thrashing bikes down singletrack trails, these are the moments which we have allowed to define our reality. To mourn the death of someone pursuing this unfettered reality is to exact an injustice to the raw, pure energy they poured into their craft. Celebration, then becomes the vessel through which that energy can be passed on to the next adventurer. It is then our charge to go and live life to its fullest potential.

So, what do I hope to take away from this trip, this voyage across barren oceans of sand to the alpine paradise which constitutes the Tahoe area? Well, I hope to hear all of those stories shared by people who spent time with this person of influence. Arne had an effect on everyone he came into contact with, and the collective story of his life told over the next few days will find root in inspiring us all to go out and seek our own next challenge, only to look it square in the eye and give it that wry smile Arne made so famous.

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