Updates from Chris Davenport

Antarctica redux- or Version 2.0... Here we come!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:19:57 GMT

Hey Everyone,
Finally the day has arrived. After being fairly stressed out all week packing and organizing this trip (and life) we are so close to getting on the plane that there is not much else I can do. Right now I'm sitting at my friend and cameraman Jim Surette's kitchen table in New Hampshire downloading software upgrades for our satellite uplink (BGAN) terminal, drinking strong coffee, and listening to the rain pelt the roof.

This trip is the culmination of almost eight months of planning. Greg Von Doersten and I tossed the idea around in Jackson Hole last March. I had the opportunity to ski the Antarctic Peninsula last fall and was totally psyched to get back down there with more time, and more agile vessel, and a crack crew of climbers, skiers, and filmers to try and tell the story of this amazing place. While the Peninsula is not the easiest place to get to in the world, it is also far from the most difficult.

Over the next three weeks I'll be blogging about the trip on this site, as well as on the following websites:
www.blackdiamond.com
www.kastleskis.com
www.redbullskiing.com
www.backcountry.com
www.smithoptics.com

There will be great photos, hopefully videos, and updates every other day or so from the expedition. so sign on and stay tuned. This is going to be a great ride!

Chris

Packing for a month long film trip to the Antarcti...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:10:56 GMT

Packing for a month long film trip to the Antarctic Peninsula

Full Price Is Dead!

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:12:20 GMT

Starting today, the era of settling for shoddy gear in questionable colors and awkward sizes has passed. Today, the Department of Goods, a new online gear megastore, opens its e-doors — to the lucky few, that is.

The Department of Goods, another new store from the team at Backcountry.com, sells the latest and finest outdoor, surf, skate, bike, and mountain equipment from more than 400 pinnacle brands. The selection; the deep, in-stock inventory; the ability to find what you’re looking for fast; community reviews and Q+A; and the bend-over-backwards customer service you’ve come to expect from Backcountry.com, mean, simply, that you’ve stumbled upon the promised land of premium gear.

But there’s a catch. Not everyone can get in. Not yet, at least. The grand opening/beta launch is VIP only. To get past the velvet rope for the first shot at the goods inside the Department, you need to get yourself an invitation — or use your wily resourcefulness to track down a key code.

The lucky ones will receive an email invitation. Others will get in because they “know people.” But if you just show up at the door without an invite, the Department’s doorman will shut you down. You can politely ask for a code, but you’ll, politely, have to wait.

Once you’re in, you’re in. You’ll have immediate access to insane deals on amazing gear. And it’s worth your while to shop, because during the beta roll out, the Department of Goods will be giving away $150,000 in gear. A set number of first comers will be matched with a surprise prize from a bona fide grab bag of swag, with gifts ranging from socks, t-shirts, and multi-tools to kayaks, skis, and bikes.

On top of that goodness, one in 10 purchases will be comped at random for a limited time. Fully comped. So if you’re not beside-yourself-ecstatic because you’ve just paid pennies on the dollar for your dream cart, you’re completely blown away because you just scored that gear for free.

To keep up on the deals, to try to score a code fast, or for the inside scoop on what the in-crowd is taking away for free, check out the Department of Goods’ Facebook page.

Share your Stoke

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:40:27 GMT

It's dumping in the Aspen Valley! Tell me what's getting you stoked for the season. I'll pick a winner from the comments on Friday and send 2 tickets to any of the upcoming Warren Miller Dynasty shows: http://www.skinet.com/warrenmiller/articles/dynasty-film-tour-calendar

Vote and come ski with me in Aspen

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:55:53 GMT

Voting is now live for the 10th annual Powder Video Awards and Reader Poll. Go to http://www.powderawards.com right now to vote for your favorite 10 male and five female skiers--vote for your friends, yourself, whomever.
Post it on your Facebook, Tweet it on Twitter, or, better yet, talk about it to real live people. In fact, if you vote, you and a friend are eligible for a free, all expense paid four-day trip to Aspen to ski Aspen pow while attending The Coolest Show Not On Snow or something like that...
Thanks for your vote and hope all is well.
Cheers,
Chris

Report from Papua

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:32:36 GMT

Oct 12, 11:00 a.m.

Hey Guys,
We have been waiting and waiting for things to happen down here in West Papua, but as you tend to learn real quick when in a third world country, things don't happen fast. The helicopter we thought we had contracted is out of commission... would have been nice to know that couple weeks ago when it actually went down. We hoped it would be fixed in time but that situation has some political overtones that we can barely understand. so we have another heli lined up- this time a
Russian Kamov design that looks pretty reliable. We are just ironing out some insurance issues and waiting on better weather and we should be off to Carstensz Pyramid for our climb. But anything could happen here and my confidence level in this thing actually turning out in our favor is not the highest.

In the meantime our Mountain Trip crew is holed up in Nabire, Papua, a small town of 10,000 on the north coast of the island. Although this place is very poor, the people are incredibly happy and greet us always with huge smiles, handshakes, and conversation. I hooked up with a group of kids and have been playing soccer with them each
afternoon in the 90+ degree heat and high humidity. So from a cultural point of view this trip has already been really amazing.
Hopefully we can get into Carstensz and cap it off with a summit climb!

Map of Papua- Nabire is at bottom of big bay on north side. Carstensz Pyramid is peak with white summit.
-Dav

Outside Magazine, October 2009

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:09:50 GMT

Memorial Plaque for Shane McConkey

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:37:44 GMT

During my trip to Portillo, Chile last month, we mounted a memorial plaque for our fallen brother and fellow Superstars Camp coach Shane McConkey. Shane and I spent 6 years skiing together in Portillo and we all wanted to leave a lasting memory of him on the mountains that he loved so much there. So we decided to leave a part of Shane in the mountains in Portillo, a bronze plaque bolted into the ancient rocks (and some of his ashes carried by the wind across the Lake of the Incas). Next time your there, check out his memorial under the cliffs of the Plateau! Photos by @ingridbackstrom

ALL SKIS CONSIDERED IN CHILE

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:55:17 GMT

Chris Davenport and Mike Douglas Talk Portillo, Shane, and Future Plans

Ski With The Superstars: 70-Plus Inches At Portill...

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:34:26 GMT

Another incredible week is almost over at South America's hippest ski area. I have been coming to Portillo for nine years now and this place just keeps getting better and better. This year I had 29 clients for my 6th annual Superstars Ski Camp and Mother Nature once again obliged with over seven feet of new snow in the days leading up to the camp. With coaches Ingrid Backstrom, Wendy Fisher, Chris Anthony, Mike Douglas and myself leading the charge, we pushed our clients to find new heights in their skiing, tackling steep lines, couloirs, airs, and almost too deep powder.

This week is always viewed as a progression and by the end of the camp everyone felt as if they had lifted their game beyond what they had ever experienced. The most gratifying thing for me with this camp is the comments I get at the end of the week; "My best ski vacation ever, lines of my life, and I will definitely be back year" are just a few examples that highlight the stoke of the group.And for myself and the rest of the coaches we leave with the satisfaction of sharing our passion for skiing with new friends and inspiring them to keep pushing themselves on and off the hill.

Chris Davenport

Headed to Denali

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:48:48 GMT

Today I'm getting on a plane here i aspen and flying up to anchorage for a climbing trip to Denali. I; really excited about this trip because it's been two seasons since I've been to the Alaska Range, and a trip up North America's highest peak is one of the world's great adventures. I'll be guiding a client this time, so our objectives are simply to get up and down the West Buttress Route. We plan on being on the mountain for around 18 days if all goes well, but it can always be longer if Mother Nature plays her usual games. Many of you might remember the amazing trip I did up there in 2007 with a great group of friends, where we were able to ski 9 different lines on the mountain in a 14 day period. Here is a shot of our ski lines from 07:
And here is an image of two friends climbing up the West Rib:

Also in the news.... My "Ski With The Superstars" Camp in Portillo, Chile this August is officially sold out. Congrats to those of you who are signed up, it's going to be an awesome week.

The crew at backcountry.com is at it again with a super sale going on. Get hooked up over there with this discount on pretty much everything for climbing, camping, cycling, running, ect....

Mid-May Update

Thu, 21 May 2009 11:20:09 GMT

Hey Everyone... what's up out there. I have a bit of time off right now after an awesome weekend at the Volvo Ocean Race in Boston (www.volvooceanrace.org ) and then some meetings in Dallas with Red Bull. Working around the house and trying to get some riding, climbing, hiking in as well.

BTW you gotta check this out. Bumped it from my friend Jonny Atencio. Totally rad site for mountain bikers:

Huck and Roll!

PARK CITY, UTAH (May 21, 2009) — Starting today, there’s HuckNroll.com, a store dedicated to dirt riders and our take-your-personal-best-and-shove-it-up-your-ass, meat-hucking, scab-picking habit known as mountain biking.

HuckNroll.com is an online mountain bike shop. You heard right. Online. And we wouldn’t be putting it lightly to say that the bike industry didn’t want us. The consensus when we first approached suppliers about launching a high-end online mountain bike shop was, “It will never work, the bike industry is different.” Our response? “Damn right, it’s different. It’s the last industry in existence to accept the Internet as a viable sales channel.”

So we went for it. And along the way we’ve made friends with the industry’s best. In fact, the raddest brands in the biz are snubbing the status quo to team up with us. (They mentioned something about Specialized and Trek pushing them out of bike shops…) We’re stocking more than 6,000 products from 130 high-end bike-specific brands. We have components from Shimano, Race Face, Truvativ, Avid, Easton, and Gravity; apparel and accessories from Fox Racing, Troy Lee Designs, POC, Sombrio, Dakine, Endura, and Zoic; and complete bikes from Santa Cruz, Intense, Titus, Look and Rocky Mountain. (We’re the only authorized online dealer of Rocky Mountain in the U.S.)

HucknRoll.com is staffed by mountain bike gear freaks (including that dude who rambles on about the frame geometry of the 1993 Fat Chance Yo Eddy every time he laces a wheel). Only USA Cycling race-certified bike mechanics will touch your bikes, and only fully trained customer service gearheads will take your calls and answer your live chats. Our goal is to provide, hands down, the best customer lovin’ in the industry.

HucknRoll is community-powered, with gear reviews, Q&A, and images all submitted by you and other riders on the site. That means you get the god’s honest truth on the goods, whether the guys that make the bikes like it or not.

We mentioned our friends. As more proof that we have some, log on to HuckNroll.com/sweepstakes to check out the vid of pros and bros who at least humored us enough to say our name on camera. If you can ID all 15 in order, you’ll get the chance to win $2.9k-worth of gear, including an Intense Tracer VP frame, a Giro helmet and gloves, and an ass-load of Cutter swag.

HuckNroll.com is another store from Backcountry.com, who pretty much realized that skiers and climbers don’t know jack shit about mountain biking. Probably against their better judgment, they gave us some room to do what we do, the way we want to do it. We are proudly related to Chainlove.com, as well as the two shave-your-legs-to-your-scrawny-buttocks roadie sites: RealCyclist.com and Bonktown.com.

So here we go, y’all. It’s a whole new day in the bike world. We don’t give a rat’s ass if you love us or hate us, but we’re here and we’re open for business.

About Backcountry.com:
HuckNroll.com is owned by Backcountry.com—an online retailer of high-end outdoor gear and center for gear knowledge online. Backcountry.com carries more than 400 brands in various categories, including backpacking, camping, cycling, hiking, climbing, trail running, paddling, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and adventure travel. Backcountry also operates RealCyclist.com, Bonktown.com, Chainlove.com, SteepandCheap.com, Dogfunk.com, Tramdock.com, Brociety.com and WhiskeyMilitia.com. Backcountry.com is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Interactive Group (Nasdaq: LINTA).

Update from 70 Degress North

Fri, 01 May 2009 08:12:25 GMT

We have had two epic blue sky days for filming here in the Lyngen Alps, and were able to make the most of those days for shooting ski and lifestyle shots for Warren Miller's new film. Today the weather returned so we are sitting it out at the beautiful Lyngen Lodge. We have one more day on our schedule then it's home sweet home for me. A well deserved rest from skiing and traveling is on tap and i plan to take full advantage.

Here are some photos from yesterday:

Checking In From the Lyngen Alps of Northern Norwa...

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 07:59:51 GMT

I am very fortunate that I get to bounce around from one beautifukl mountain location to another throughout the year, climbing and skiing dream peaks with friends. Having just left the insane scenery of Alaska's coast mountains left my spirit energized and ready for more. I arrived two days ago here in the Lyngen Alps of Norway to join a Warren Miller film crew for eight days of shooting and adventure. Having never been this far north before, I was excited to see what the mountains up here had to offer. As per usual, I am not dissapointed.

The latitude here is 70 degrees north. If we were in the southern hemisphere we would be on the Antarctic continent. The sun is going down right now at ten at night and rising at three in the morning, and it never gets dark. The peaks rise deirectly out of the deep blue fjords and offer myriad possibilities for ski touring and steep descents. On the east shore of the Lyngen Fjord lies the gorgeous new Lyngen Lodge, a home away from home for ski tourers from around the world and one of the nicest lodges i have ever stayed at. Owners Graham and Elizabeth have seen to it that every amenity is first class, from the food to the rooms to the amazing selection of mountaineering literature in the library. Today is a weather day and I have busied myself cathing up on world mountaineering photo books and guidebooks to some of the world's classic climbing destinations. This is the kind of place where plans are hatched and dreams are thought up.

Our crew here consists of Kastle Pro Team skiers Karine Falck-Pederson myself, and Lorraine Huber, cameramen Tom Day, Colin Witherall, and Josh Haskins, and photographer Peter Mathis, who was with me on my "Alps Project" last spring. Graham is guiding us and we kicked it all off yesterday with a 12 hour day ski touring on a mellow peak up the fjord from the lodge. We access the peaks with a speedboat, and have a heli coming in for some easy access film shots later in the week.

Until then, here are some images from the trip so far

Final Alaska Update

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:11:38 GMT

Hey Everyone,
I left Haines last night after a very successful Matchstick Productions film shoot where we were able to get seven sunny days of flying and filming in. Although I ha a couple bad crashes during the trip that left me bruised and sore, I toughed it out and kept my attitude positive. Hanging with the crew there was amazing, and my fellow skiers Henrik Windsted and Daron Rahlves totally killed it with some great airs and crazy straightlines down near vertical couloirs. Watch for those two to have outstanding segments in the film this fall. And thanks to our awesome guides Ted and Seth and the entire crew at Alaska Heliskiing. First rate all the way!

I'm in the airport in Seattle right now headed to Norway to hook up with the Warren Miller crew for some filming in the Lyngen Alps- up north of the Arctic Circle! Stay tuned for more updates from Norway!

Here are some images from our trip...

Shane McConkey- 1969-2009

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:47:47 GMT

As most of you know now, the world lost a true Superhero last week. Shane McConkey was a true hero, and wonderful friend, and an inspiration. I could tell a million stories about one of my closest friends, but I'm not quite ready to do that yet. Until that time please visit www.shanemcconkey.org a site set up in tribute and to benefit his beautiful family, Ayla and Sherrie.

March 12 update- sorry for the long dark period

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:21:45 GMT

Hi everyone,
Well It's been a crazy busy winter for me so far... tons of road time and flying all over the place.

So here's a look a what I have been up to the last couple months:

January: Epic skiing in Aspen early in the month;
              9-11 Slideshow and Helly Hansen Photoshoot in Silverton
              13-18 Raced in the Weisse Ring race in Lech Austria, 1000 people. came in 50th
              22-25 ESPN Winter X Games in Aspen. I announce for ABC and ESPN for Skier X and Boarder X. Also Powder Award
              27-29 SIA Trade show in Vegas. Hosting an RSN TV show and working for Kastle Skis
February:
              1-4 ISPO Trade show in Munich. There for Garmont Boots, Kastle Skis, and to check out the massive trade show
              6 Corporate group ski day in Vail
              7-8 Spoke at Hedge Fund company meeting in Vegas... yes, back in Vegas again.
              10-12 Keystone on-snow Ski Show. All the brands come and buyers can try all the new skis. Kastle killed it!
              13-17 Hit Squaw Valley, Steven's Pass, and Sun Peaks, BC for Helly Hansen Big Mountain Battle course setting
               20-22 Corporate Group ski event in Aspen
              23-27 Powder Magazine Ski Week in Jackson Hole. Skiing was SWEET!
              28 Black Diamond and Backcountry.com "Big Lepowski" clinic event at Brighton. So fun
March:
             2-4 Skiing Magazine Ski test at Snowbird. got to ski the Y Couloir on the 1st also.
             5-9 RSN TV shoot on "backcountry tips" in Aspen. 4 days of cat skiing on the backside of Aspen Mountain
            10 First day off snow in 17 days. man that was sweet!
             11 Epic ski tour from Snowmass ski area to Maroon Creek with a great group of friends!

So that's what I have been up to lately. coming up next is a trip to the Selkirk Wilderness Lodge in BC with MAtchstick Productions and Helly Hansen. Really looking forward to that one.

I'll get some new photos from these trips up on the site soon.

DAV

Final Antarctic Ski Update

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:08:49 GMT

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for checking back in. Sorry I wasn't able to update the site more often from the bottom of the world, but communication is pricey and sparse down there, and everything has to upload through a satellite connection.

After the unfortunate cancellation of Ski Cruise 2008, I was resiliant and committed to somehow making a trip work, so we were lucky enough to find room on another boat, the Akademik Sergey Vavilov. The Vavilov is a Finnish built, Russian operated research vessel that spends much of it's time doing hydrosonic and hydro-geographic research on the world's oceans (and apparently searching for submarines) The boat was super comfortable and pretty ideal for activities like skiing and kayaking with it's large decks and cranes. Check it out...

Once we crossed the Drake Passage in mellow seas we had 6 days to explore the coast of the Peninsula. Because the cruise was intended for the tourists on board, and not really planed for skiers like our Ski Cruise was, we were under the impression that we might be able to ski 2 or 3 days, or maybe 4 if we were lucky. Well the Expedition Leader, Woody, and his crew were so accomodating and helpful that we actually skied 5 days, which was beyond our expectations and really generous of them. The locations were The Argentine Islands, Port Lockroy, Paradise Harbour, the mainland near Cuverville Island, and Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Island chain. Here is a shot of a sweet looking zone on the mainland near the Lemaire Channel:

Being as it was still early in the season on the Peninsula for sailing, we were forced out of certain zones due to heavy sea ice and icebergs, and had to at times navigate through pretty dense brash ice and icebergs. Our Captain did a great job getting the ship in position so that we could get the zodiacs in the water each day for excursions to the shore to ski, check out wildlife, or just cruise the ice shelfs. For me one of the highlights was certainly the penguins. They are such an amazing species of bird; they are unafraid of humans, curious, funny, and playfull. Once could spend hours just observing there movements. Watching them swim is pretty incredible, as they are very swift and adept in the water. We saw three species of penguins, Gentoos, Adelies, and Chinstraps. Here are some Gentoos doing what they do.....

The skiing itself was pretty spectacular, if not super rad. We concentrated on maximizing our time on shore and touring into the best zones we could find. While my friends Kipp, Ingrid, Andrew, Robin, Glen, Thor, Kellie, and Dave (two other groups would do there thing as well) would head off in search of the goods, Jordan and I were searching for cool zones to shoot photos in. Jordan Manley is a solid up and coming photographer from Vancouver who has had some great covers of magazines like Powder and Skiing this fall. I was fired up to work with him and he was really creative when it came to getting interesting angles and lighting on all his shots. Here are a couple examples of the terrain and Jordan's work....

So that is just a small sample of some of the great images that we got along the way. We had a pretty easy sail back across the Drake Passage, with only about ten or twelve foot seas, not the "Drake shake" Jordan and I were secretly hoping for. Lucky for all of us it looks like the original Ski Cruise will happen in 2009 around the same dates. Doug Stoup and his team worked for over a year to make this opportunity happen, and a lifetime ski opportunity it is. Keep checking out www.iceaxe.tv this winter for more updates on this trip and come join me and the rest of the crew for what is truly an incredible skiing experience. I will be back there for sure, and look forward to skiing with many of you on that trip.

Chris

Antarctica Trip Update- Thursday Nov. 13

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:16:31 GMT

Hi Everyone and thanks for checking in. Sorry I haven't been updating the website from Antarctica. I have just managed to get a sat email uplink going so am firing this off after a tremendous day of skiing. All in all the trip has been incredible. We have skied four days already and I am absolutely blown away by the immensity and scale of this place. The beautiful combination of ocean, glaciers, and mountains makes for perhaps the must stunning environment I have ever visited (and this is my 7th and final continent). Throw a few thousand Gentoo Penguins and the odd Weddell Seal and Humpback Whale into the mix and it is even more impressive. The penguins themselves have been without a doubt one of the highlights of our trip. They are so docile and unafriad of humans, and are funny to watch swim and walk. I have captured some great videos of penguin sex! (it's mating season) Our team has skied four days already, which is a success unto itself. When our previous trip aboard the Orlova was cancelled, we weren't sure if we would be ableto ski on this new boat, the Vavilov, but the Expedition Leader and his staff have been very accomodating to our overflowing desires to make turns, so everything has worked out perfectly for us. The mountains remind me quite a bit of the Alaska Range, or perhaps the Wrangalls, but with even heavier glaciation. There are ridiculous ski lines to be had everywhere you look. Today we climbed and skied a super steep couloir across from Cuverville Island near the Gerlach Straight (Google Earth it!) Jordan Manly and I have been shooting photos every day, whether we are on the boat or off, and he has put together quite an amazing collection of images from this trip. His time lapses are awesome, and his use of artificial lighting in certain scenes is super creative. Jordan himself thinks it's the most photogenic zone he has ever shot.

I'm using a new Kastle ski for the first time on this trip, hot off the press in Austria, the FX 84 came to me just days before I left. It's a superlight ski mountaineering ski with a freeride soul that has been a true pleasure to test in such an environment, so thanks to Sigi and the boys for getting those to me, they have been awesome. I am also rocking a 09/10 Helly Hansen Verglass pant and Jacket that is my favorite outfit from those guys. Again, that arrived right before I left so thanks Mike and Oyvind for getting that into my hands. And props to Charlie at Black Diamond for the sweet new Outlaw Avalung pack. No avalanche danger on this trip so far, but the pack is perfect for glisse alpinism.

Tonight we are leaving the Antarctica Peninsula and crossing the Bransfield Straight, headed to the South Shetland Islands for a day, before beginning the two day crossing of the Drake Passage back to Ushuaia. Our crossing on the way down here was super mellow, which was nice for helping us get our sea legs. But I'm secretly hoping for the "Drake Shake" on the way back, just to experience a little full force Mother Nature at work. So I will update the site with pictures as soon as I get home to Aspen on the 18th.

The ski crew here on the Vavilov is having a blast in one of the world's most special and beautiful places. Hellos go out to all of you from Kipp, Ingrid, Andrew, Robin, Glenn, Thor, American Dave, Rick, Stan, Kellie, Jordan, Sean, Mike, Christian, Walter and the rest of the gang here on the Vavilov. This has been a trip of a lifetime and I definitely am looking forward to coming back next year for Ski Cruise 2009 with the Ice Axe Expeditions team (fingers crossed)

Chris

Leaving tomorrow for Antarctica- Game On!

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 06:58:17 GMT

Ok, so here is the deal. We are getting on this new boat, The Sergey Vavalov, tomorrow. The team is fired up... the weathe rin the Drake Passage looks OK for our crossing, not as gnarly as it was going to be last week. check out the ship below.

And here is a photo from a sweet couloir we climbed and skied yesterday above Ushuaia! I'm using the brand new Kastle FX 84- a special ski mountaineering ski that is super lightweight yet has the full blown performance of a true alpine ski. i'm impressed with it's performance so far in steet terrain and in deep powder and corn conditions. I think it wil be the perfect ski for n Antarctic ski mission.

Wait... Wait... I'm not dead yet!

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:45:07 GMT

The saga and drama continues here in Ushuaia, with more ups and downs in the last 72 hours than a see-saw. This roller-coaster ride of emotional highs and lows is something none of us has ever experienced before, and this group has some hard core travelers and adventurers among it.
When the trip was cancelled I was one of the first to come forward to the company and attempt to organize ourselves to get on another boat,a nd it appears as if it might be working. Quark Expeditions, the company which runs the Antarctic cruises, has another boat leaving for the Peninsula on the 7th, and we are close to being confirmed on that boat, so there is hope after all.

Unfortunately the Warren Miller shoot has been caled off. With just to many variables and tight schedules it became logistically and financially to risky to try and go forward with our planned film shoot, so cameramen Tom and Colin are heading back to the States today. Jordan Manly (photographer) and I are still planning on going to the continent and skiing and shooting photos, along with friends Kip, Ingrid, Robin, Andrew, Thor, Dave, and Al. So we still have a chance to salvage a great trip.

I should know later tonight whether or not we will be officially going on this trip or coming home with our tails cut off!

Chris

Terrible News- Antarctic Trip Cancelled!!!!!

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:19:26 GMT

OMG I can't even believe I am writing this, but our boat, the Orlova has had a major engine problem and the trip of a lifetime has just been cancelled due to the repair work needed. There are 103 very disappointed clients walking around looking as if they are about to cry, including myself. In my entire career I have never had such a massive letdown as this one. This trip had the most incredible potential, the team was absolutely first class, and the destination amazing, but we have been let down by a leaky coolant pipe in the engine.

I am at a loss for words to describe how I feel right now. From the sponsors Kastle and Helly Hansen, to our film and photo crew from Warren Miller, to the great team at Ice Axe Expeditions that spent the last year and a half putting this together, everyone is just shattered. I was so looking forward to sending all of you updates from the Antarctic Peninsula, but now it looks as if it might be a year away. We'll see.

Sorry,
Chris

Stuck In Ushuaia. update 1

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 06:14:28 GMT

Just a quick update from Ushuaia. We are having problems with the ship. There is an issue in the engine room so we have been delayed for 48 hours. They hope to have the problem fixed so we can get underway sailing across the Drake Passage to Antarctica. Everyone is very anxious to get going and even a little frustrated. We had a raging Halloween party on board last night, which served as a nice distraction from our problems with the Orlova.

I am not sure how often I will be able to update the site on board, but check back in a few days and I will try and send an update from the ship.

Chris

In Ushuaia, ready to depart for Antarctica

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:42:24 GMT

Well I finally made it to Ushuaia after a terrible 48 hour travel down from the States. Cancelled and delayed flight all over the place. what a pain in the ass flying is these days.

Here are few shots from Ushuaia and our welcome BBQ with the entire group:

Chris Davenport En route to Antarctica!

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:23:35 GMT

I have always considered my self very fortunate to have had all the amazing travel opportunities that my career as a pro skier has offered. I'll be the first to admit that I have experienced more than my share of epic trips and "trips of a lifetime". In fact the coolest part of my job has been all the great destinations I have been able to visit, climb, explore and ski. But this trip to Antarctica definitely ranks right up there with the best of the best, and I'm not even there yet. This is the last of the seven continents that I have yet to visit, so it will be cool to cross it off my list.

I'm sitting in the airport in Denver after the first leg of a long couple days of flying. Next in Denver-Dulles, then Dulles-Buenos Aires, and finally BA-Ushuaia, where I will meet the rest of the crew and board the Russian flagged ship Orlova. The plan is to sail across the Drake Passage (two days) towards the Antarctic Peninsula and put into bays and inlets and islands that afford good anchorage and skiing opportunities. Having never been there I'm really not sure what to expect, but I've done a bunch of research and the peaks look amazing, not to different than certain parts of the coast of BC or AK. Elevations range from several thousand feet all the way up to 10,000'+ Mt. Andrew Jackson, and that comes right out of the water, so serious alpine environments rise straight out of the southern ocean and are battered by a maritime climate.

We have 10 days to explore the peninsula and I'm crossing my fingers as always for stable weather and favorable snow conditions. A dream of mine has been to make turns on an iceberg, a "first and only" descent, but that may not be possible... we'll see.

So stay tuned to chrisdavenport.com for updates from the continent, if I can get them out.

Thanks,
chris