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.

Up here in Revelstoke, BC, the Freeskiing World Tour (FWT) competition has ended and athletes are making their way down to the US for the next stop. The 2010 inaugural event here in Revy saw everything from blue skies and sun to blistering wind and snow. But, the organizers saw to it that it went off in style, and the finals were spectacular.

The much anticipated helicopter ride for the athletes to the top of the final day venue took off just as planned, and with a bit of a weather delay the athletes had a big task ahead of them. When the skies cleared enough and the fog lifted, everything went into full comp mode and the ladies started charging down the steep hill. Rocks, cliffs, chutes and big moves in hang time kept the crowd charged up as athletes delivered line upon mindfreakin’ line.

Notables of the day went to Jacqui Edgerly with her fast fluid style arcing turns down highly exposed terrain and finding the sweet air at the bottom. Julien Lopez hit his bottom air at 110km an hour and flew a million feet straight out into the stratosphere, landing close to 18m back on the snow below.

Winning runs were turned in like clockwork by Jess McMillan over the course of the weekend, with the Jackson local claiming her trophy like the true professional she is. What a great presence to have on the FWT! The ladies are definitely amping up the game, and spectators were left wondering who was who on those burly lines up in Revelstoke’s MacKenzie face.

The real treat for me this week was in watching fellow POC athlete Arne Backstrom put down some solid, consistently impressive skiing on the way to the top of the podium. He came out of the gate strong and sent it hard down terrifying terrain, all while carving turns through rocky cliffs and landing in greasy turns on each air. The game is on, and Arne has set the bar for the 2010 FWT.

Justin brought out the camera in the rare bits of sunshine during this last week, and we’ll be dropping an edit soon. It’s been storming up a bit around here in Revy, and we met up with the Trew Crew in their bright blue and purple bus to get some pow turns and check out their rippin’ athletes tearing it up. Chuck Mumford, Mike McCabe, Will Dujardin, Colter Hinchliffe, Sonja Lercher, and Craig Garbiel definitely turned some heads while flipping, spinning, slashing and laughing all around Revy’s lengthy terrain. The trewth has been spread.

With a few more days in Revy ahead, and a sweet drive up and over Roger’s Pass to Kicking Horse, a ski bum can only wonder what lay on the road to Golden…??

What a trip!