Rookies

As the 2011 winter season approaches, Orage is stoked to announce our strongest am squad in recent history. From Canada to the 'States to Europe, you’ll be seeing some new blood representing Orage across the map this winter. One of the more compelling stories is that of Dale Talkington, Ian Compton, and Chris Logan. All three of these guys have roots planted in sleepy southern Vermont, but have since moved to various destinations out west as they chase the dream of life as pro skiers.

Compton leans a tail press to spine shrinker // Photo: Max Webb

With three unique styles, three unique crews, and three unique personalities, you’d never guess that these guys all lived only minutes away from each other back East. What’s more, they are hungry as Hell approaching the coming season, so keep an eye out whether you’re surfin' the web, watching a major competition on TV, or flipping through the pages of your favorite mag, because you can bet you’ll be seeing these names more and more once the snow starts falling.



Dale Talkington was previously holding it down over at Okemo, VT. At just 18 years old, Dale graduated from high school and has moved west to join up with the 4bi9 crew in Salt Lake City, UT and get learned at the University of Utah. After dropping a couple game-changing edits late last season and getting some mind-blowing shots in 4bi9’s film, “Gunnie Season”, Dale will be taking the spring semester off so he can spend more time behind the lens and nipping at the heels of the top dogs at the biggest events in 2011.

“I competed against Dale growing up when he was riding at Okemo and our teams’ always got along from day one. They had a really good team over there ran by Chris Marks and we would always be hanging out with them during and after events.” – Chris Logan

“It’s definately a change moving from a small town in Vermont, to a big city like Salt Lake. I have seen Dale around a bunch and he seems to love it. Only words of wisdom I have [for Dale] is don’t get too wrapped up in gang violence.” – Compton

Chris Logan makin' it look eaaaazy. // Photo: Sean Logan

Pillowz. // Photo:  Sean Logan

We’ve had Chris Logan on our radar for a while now, and following his domination at the Mount Snow Open back in March, we had no choice but to get him on the program. After transplanting to Mammoth, California, and skiing with the Montage-Inc. crew, where Chris is known for his buttery smooth style, aggressive carved spins, durrrty shifties, and overly tweaked tail grabs. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones stoked on “Dahkness” because he was invited to some late-season park shoots with the boys at Level 1 Productions and logged some serious hammers in their new film, Eye Trip. Chris is going to have a busy season in front of him with plans to make an impact at the big events, spend more time progressing in the backcountry, and throwing down in front of the cameras of Level 1.

“I was lucky enough to grow up skiing with Chris Logan. Seeing him ski even at a young age was unreal. I was the new kid on the team and remember how much of an influence he had on me. We were all lucky enough to have the best coaches in the game at the time. Most of them starred in the hit movie “Wicked” which to this day is the most profound movie in my life.” – Compton


Ian Compton Ft. John Compton from ian compton on Vimeo.

Ian Compton has been getting loads of fan-mail and love letters as of late after spending a good deal of time with the Traveling Circus crew. His deep bag of tricks and effortless style makes him a standout on any given day in the park or in the streets. Compton is a character to say the least, and anybody that gets to spend a few minutes with him will soon realize that he is all about having good times and making any situation as fun as possible. Some people think he’s insane, some people think he’s a genius, we just think he’s one of the best people to make a chairlift ride a memorable occasion. If you run into Compton while he’s touring the country this season, say hi and take in the Ian Compton experience.

“I have competed a lot against Logan, and done a bunch of rail jams with Compton all over the east. Ridding with Compton and Logan always was so fun, progressed a lot and had a good time.” – Dale

“Growing up and riding at Mt.Snow with Compton and the rest of the $ki block crew was a lot of fun. It was just a bunch of friends who skied together and pushed one another. We would film all the time in the park and go hit handrails around the area. We were always just having fun, laughing, and loving what we were doing.” – Chris Logan

Introducing Eliel Hindert

I had the pleasure of first meeting Orage BC Regional Skier Eliel Hindert at SIA in Denver a few months ago.  Even though he's been flying under the radar the past few seasons, Eliel is on the up- part of the new breed of skiers who can take down massive backcountry lines, send it off natural features, and ski the entire mountain with fluidity.  His passion for skiing and all around enthusiasm for the sport is embellished by his casual, unique style.

Eliel doing some roof maintenance in Kicking Horse, BC // Photo: Andrew Strain

Originally a Salt Lake City local, Eliel packed up and headed north to frosty B.C. to get learned. He enrolled at the University of British Columbia with aspirations of attaining more than a typical classroom education and decided to take the winter semester off to pursue his passion for the mountains.

Mystery Man Eliel Hindert

Perspectives #6 - Ten Years from Dendrite Studios on Vimeo.

Eliel wasn’t always a two-planker... Long before the freeski gold rush of the 21^st century, his dad put him on a split board at the age of 6. He was a pure snowboarder until he was 12 and got his first pair of skis. Fast forward 8 years and now, at the age of 20, he’s charging the whole mountain from the park to the backcountry. Drawing inspiration from his local friends on the Surface team in Salt Lake to pro snowboarder Devun Walsh, Eliel’s skiing is defined by smooth style, an unconventional approach to lines, and a fun factor that’s through the roof.

Pow slashin' // Photo: Andrew Strain

A casual flat 5 over a backcountry stepdown

Yeah he can slay park as well... // Photo: Andrew Strain

Eliel is a very good skier.

Massive rodeo 7 in the Whistler backcountry.  //  Photo: Dagan Beach

When asked about his favorite aspect of skiing, Eliel had this to say: “Wow, only one thing? I'd have to say the freedom, freedom to be creative, freedom to meet new people, go new places, and in the end simply escape the everyday and find yourself having some fun times with good people.”

Two Days in Whis from Eliel Saarinen on Vimeo.

A few shots from Whistler this season. Look for his full segment from Dendrite Studios this fall.

 Welcome to the Orage family, Eliel.  //  Photo: Andrew Strain

Eliel skis for Orage, Surface Skis, Smith Optics, Joystick Poles, the Levitation Project, and North Shore Ski and Board.

Photos:  Andrew Strain + Dagan Beach + Adam Clark

Win a trip to the Masters!

That's right boys and squirrels, Orage, Evo, and Freeskier Magazine have teamed up to give you the chance to win the weekend getaway of a lifetime to the 7th annual Orage Masters at the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler, British Columbia!  This is an all-inclusive trip- meaning you're gonna get the hook-up with a flight to Seattle, a round-trip VIP shuttle with the Evo crew to Whistler, 2 nights of accommodation in Whistler Village, a lift ticket, party passes, Orage gear, and all the shenanigans that go along with the the biggest ski resort party in North America.  More information on how to win can be found on the Orage Masters contest page.

For more information on the Orage Masters aka skiing's "anti-comp", check out www.oragemasters.com

Introducing Dale Talkington

For those of you who aren't in the loop, Orage regional rider and all around homeboy Dale Talkington has been straight up KILLING it this season.  Between filming projects with the 4bi9 crew, Stept productions, and Meat Head Films, Dale has been putting in some serious work, and it shows...


St. Sauveur Coors Light Challenge - Dale Talkington filmed by Connor Scofield (Stept Productions)

One of the styliest kids in the park on any given day, Dale is influenced by veteran pros Liam Downey and Tanner Hall.  While he calls Okemo his home mountain, he can be found traveling up and down the East coast attending comps like the Mount Snow Freeski Open and the Mont St. Sauveur Coors Challenge.  He has also taken some trips out west this year to ski and film with the 4bi9 crew in Utah and shred the park at Keystone.



Dale Talkington Spring Edit from Evan Williams on Vimeo.

As the season begins to wind down, Dale is going to be finishing up his high school career at Burr and Burton Academy.  He'll be attending a shoot at Stratton Mountain with the 4bi9 crew, as well as some other East coast shoots with Meat Head Films.  After highschool graduation, Dale is going to be pointing it west and heading out to Mt. Hood where he'll be training and filming this summer.

Props to Dale for putting together a solid season thus far--- we're stoked to see your upcoming film segments and future world domination.

Stay tuned as we will be introducing more of our regional athletes throughout the week....

"So if you don't know, now you know!" - Biggie

Orage team falls victim to voodoo curse

This year has been a rough year for most members of team Orage. Granted, we did bag some high profile podiums, slayed some urban features, and got more shots than Joey Baggadonuts on spring break in Atlantic City. Regardless, I'm pretty sure that there was some sort of voo-doo hex cast on the team, because damn near everybody ended up getting injured. Here's a rundown of all the carnage that was inflicted on the team over the past few months.

Phil Casabon - Some rumors have surfaced suggesting that Phil hyperextended his leg while hitting an urban rail in Finland with the Level 1 crew resulting in an injured tibia plateau. These rumors are of course false, because everybody knows that there are no handrails in Finland.

Photo courtesy Finnish National Ice-Fishery Archives

In reality, Phil was in Finland to embark on an ice fishing trip with his partner in crime Henrik Harlaut. According to Harlaut, "Aw man me 'n Phil was jus' gillin' around on that ice 'n Phil got bit by a pike. I was jus' gonna let beef slide but then that pike started moufin' off so I had to kick that sucka back to Latvia or wherever he came from yaddaddamean?"

Phil is currently rehabbing by spending a lot of time on the stationary bike and in the pool, and is hoping to get back on skis by next week. He'll be spending the rest of the season shooting with Level 1 Productions and the Blackout Project.  Despite this minor setback, Phil is still poised to have one of his best film segments yet with Level 1.  Stay tuned!

Jess Cumming -"I got injured the first night of X Games practice in the pipe.  I had learned right 5's earlier in the week and I knew that I needed to get them bigger and contest-ready that night.  I started setting them really corked and about 3/4 of the way through practice came down on one with my leg kind of straight and my ski twisted and then I ended up landing forward hunched over my knee.  I pretty much knew I had torn something because I did my left leg 6 years prior at US Open and knew how it felt.  I went back to Vail and got an MRI the next day and found out I blew my ACL with partial tears to my MCL.  (During surgery the doctors found out that I also tore my meniscus.)"

Jess's gory surgery photos... Clockwise from top left:  Weird fleshy stuff, probably not healthy // Looks like a closeup of the rings of Saturn // Poking through with what appears to be a Bic pen // More rings of Saturn

Jess had her surgery in the 2nd week of February (see photos above) and has been on a long and arduous road to recovery since.  So far her regimen includes physio 5-6 days a week, and she's hoping to get her full range of motion back soon.  Jess will be hanging out up at the Orage Masters in Whistler in late April, and is hoping to be back on skis in September.

Max Hill - "The ghost town of Clearwater, the god awful place I told myself I would never return to film again, was forced upon me stopping for a couple handrails on our way from Vancouver to Edmonton with Voleurz. We had hit a downbar all day at an elementary school with a garbage can chained to the end to get some tap out combos.  After I had greased it a couple times, I noticed a gap from the school roof, over the road over a 5 foot high fence.We used a banshee bungee tied from the fence across the road up onto the school roof to pull me in.I didn't have enough speed the first two speed checks, so we just pulled the bungee another 10 feet back and started rolling tape..."

Fractured Tibial Plateau on the left...  Not to be confused with the Tibetan Plateau on the right.

"Instantly as I let go of the bungee pulling me in I regretted committing so damn hard.  I had dropped 25 feet to the fence with an extended knee, fractured my tibial plateau on impact, and hung my chest up on the fence just coming up short.  I instantly started coughing as I peeled my body off the fence and started stumbling off to the car saying I cant believe im going to walk away from this.  My adrenaline had completely hit rock bottom within 5 seconds, and as I took another step I just started screaming.  2 months in bed, and now I am back.  I leave to california tomorrow for a Line shoot in Big Bear, then back to vancouver to film with voleurz.  Hopefully get Hot Lunch 2 rolling a documentary with the Anthony Boronowski and the joystick crew.  The Orage masters and wsi,and a couple shoots here and there in the states with voleurz.  Theres an SBC photo shoot for a wekk somewhere in the mix,wow. just writing this i never noticed how busy my next 2 months are looking." - Max Hill

Matt Margetts' battle scar would be pretty disgusting if it wasn't so damn adorable.  "Look!  It's smiling!  It must like you!"

Matt Margetts - A couple weeks ago at the European Open, Matt was in the Laax public park learning tails-first switch 270s onto urban set up rails.  One botched attempt left Matt with his knee sliced wide open.  Marge was pretty stoked on his new gash, which looked like a big ol' smile, and also served as a great place to stash his chapstick.  After 23 stitches, his knee is repaired and he'll be laid up for a couple more weeks.  Marge will be back on snow for the Orage Masters, some spring photo shoots, and he'll be coaching at the Camp of Champions.

Kaya summons the shamanistic powers of her Arapaho beach blanket to help heal her knee

Kaya Turski - Last week at the European X Games Kaya was building off the momentum of her recent X Games gold to put together rock solid runs.  In the finals, she laid down a picture perfect first run topped off with a huge cab 7 which landed her comfortably in first place.  Always the true competitor, Kaya decided to one-up her previous run by going for a cab 9 in her final run.  Kaya had the trick dialed, but landed slightly back seat and felt something give out in her knee.  She's scheduled to have an MRI today and will know to what extent she is injured, but she is in remarkable spirits and is able to walk.  We'll keep you posted with the details on Kaya as we get them.

Taylor  Seaton's dislocated + swollen ankle.

Taylor Seaton - Taylor had some rough luck this year.  He was sidelined for most of the season after dislocating his ankle at Woodward at Copper over the summer.  After a few long months of healing, Taylor was back on snow and hungry at the X Games.  During practice, he took a rare spill and caught the grip of his pole directly in his stomach, resulting in a lacerated liver and a severe hematoma.  Taylor is hoping to get back on snow for some mellow cruising by the end of the season.  He'll be up at the Orage Masters as a guest judge, and then it's off to Windell's where he'll be coaching and getting his feet back under him as he makes his way back to the top of the game.

Keep your eyes peeled as the Orage team makes their comeback over the next few months.  While they might have been down, they're definitely not out, and it's safe to say team Orage is hungrier than ever.

Kaya Turski Repeats Winter X Games Gold in Tignes!

The final day of competition at the ESPN Winter X Games Europe kicked off bright and early in Tignes this morning with an 8:30am start for the womens ski slopestyle finals.  Eight of skiing's finest were slated to do battle but one lady wanted the top spot in a bad way and not even injury would keep her from getting what she wanted.  Kaya Turski had her eyes squarely set on winning two Winter X Games gold medals in the same season.  What Kevin Rolland accomplished in the men's superpipe finals two nights ago was Kaya's one and only mission... and she came dressed to impress.

Kaya Turski

In a best of three format, Kaya closed out the first two heats with insanely solid runs reminiscent of her gold medal run at Winter X Games 14 in Aspen and was well on her way to fulfilling her goal.

Ashley Battersby

Three ladies stood out amongst the pack today.  Slopestyle veteran Ashley Battersby threw down a consistently smooth run spinning 5's both ways with buttery smooth metal work on the rails, and finished things off with a switch 7 taken two thirds of the way down the landing on her second run.  With the bronze on lock down, Ashley was stoked beyond belief to have finally claimed an X Games medal... her first.

Keri Herman

Also following on Kaya's repeat train was Keri Herman who stomped solid runs all day putting Kaya to the test.  Corking out nearly all her spins and adding in one of the only double grabs known to female slope skiers, Keri took home her second Winter X Games silver medal of the season leaving some breathing room for Kaya to do what she came to do.

Kaya

On a course that was plagued with speed issues and less than perfect trannies earlier in the week, the course kinks were worked out for the finals and Kaya showed Tignes who was boss.  Kaya started things off with a 270 on/off the first box into a switch 3, switch onto the flat bar, a big 720, right 5, switch 5, effortless style over the rainbow rail, and then took it home stomping a switch 7 mute off the money booter like it was her job... go figure.

Kaya

Already having the gold medal on lock down after her first run Kaya was comfortably ahead of the field, but in true competitive fashion Kaya wasn't going to settle for a victory based on her first two runs... she was determined to throw down a run that would beat out her own top score.

Kaya

Prior to her final drop in Kaya claimed her final hit to be a cab 9; and up through the second to last feature she was smoother than all her previous runs.  Coming in to the final hit she had plenty of speed, plenty of pop and plenty of rotation.  But a second gold medal would not come without a price.  Kaya sat back seat on her landing and instantly felt that unmistakable strain that every athletes fears.  She came into the finish coral gingerly and quietly mouthed "I just did my knee". The crash looked more like a slide out than a crash but in the end, Kaya would leave Tignes with a repeat gold medal and an earlier flight home to get her knee checked out.  It's uncertain what the exact details are but for now, it seems Kaya may be sitting out for a bit.

Despite a bitter sweet victory she's in good spirits, celebrating a well deserved gold medal and a killer season.  She'll be back and when she is, she'll undoubtedly be back on top of her game.

Bon chance Schmuck!


Photos: Felix Rioux

Xav Kev Fandom!

After sharing the podium at three major events this season and a never ending series of fun & games antics in followus.tv Xavier Bertoni and Kevin Rolland have unintentionally started their own Xav Kev fandom in France.

Equipped with giant flags, horns, bells, face paint, and plenty of good natured home town pride the fans of Xav and Kev raised the bar for audience hype level during the superpipe final at the European X Games in Tignes.

Charles Spina as le Yeti

We already know who has the #1 halfpipe run, so we sent our Yeti to the front lines to find out who has the #1 fan club, team Xavier or team Kevin?

Regardless of your favorite, it's a pretty big accomplishment for freeskiing when we see a crowd of 17,000+ people cheering on a halfpipe competition as if their home team had just won the World Cup!