Chason Photography

Verbier, Switzerland

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 04:18:44 +0000

Anther short drive through a long tunnel brought Lance and I to Verbier, Switzerland!

Meeting up with some fellow Telluride friends we took advantage of clear skies and new snow…

setting the boot pack

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Harold getting some fresh turns

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Harold getting some more fresh turns in Verb

La Thuile, Italy

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:20:03 +0000

A short drive through a long tunnel burrowing through the Mont Blanc massif from the socked in valley of Chamonix brought us to partly cloudy skies and fresh snow in Italy!

Les Alpes

Tunnel from France to Italy

Party cloudy on the the Italian side.

Lance on the first pow run of the day

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Lance skiing La Thuile, Italy

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Many lifts, very few freeriders

Tignes, France

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:11:36 +0000

As a skier, the Alps have held majestic intrigue for many years. With few expectations, an open itinerary, and some friends in the right places, the time has finally come to experience the legendary skiing of the Alps. Driving toward the mountains with darkness approaching and engulfed in clouds it was impossible to comprehend the grandness of such infamous mountains.

For three days the our view of the mountains were obscured by clouds, snow and fog. The skiing was marginal at best and it was tricky skiing from one lift to the next.

After the three days of sifting around the piste and village of Tignes with basically zero visibility, the clouds broke and we were treated to half a meter of new snow and stunning views! Eager to make some turns in the high alpine we called a longtime friend and resident of the valley Drake Taylor to join up for a tour.

Enlightened by good visibility we embarked on a tour from the lifts of Val d’Isere to the Pointe de Mean Martin!

Some of the best turns of the season off the Pointe de Mean Martin!

Thanks Drake for sharing your zone here in the Alps with us!

A Day in AK on Vimeo

admin — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:54:19 +0000

Dropping in on Titos

Click on the photo to check out a short POV on Vimeo

AK coastal range

admin — Thu, 19 May 2011 05:57:03 +0000

9 days driving, 3 days skiing, many fuel stops and classic diners later we arrived in Haines, AK. Rendezvousing with the rest of our crew from Southwest Colorado within hours of driving into Haines we began scheming our adventure deep into the Coastal Mountains of Alaska.

Flying over the Chillkat range near Haines, AK

Four days of sub par weather allowed us to shuffle through our gear over and over, purchasing more supplies and food. But after seemingly long days of sifting the Fort Seward lodge, the skies cleared and we were geared to go.

Drake making his final approach into base camp

Taking a little advice from our pilot Drake and local Haines skier Will Wacker we headed east over the canal to the upper reaches of the Mead Glacier. On the first scouting flight, a zone was established and our first drop a success. Flying toward the largest mountains on the horizon the zone we were approaching was looking prime time. We set out to establish a legit base camp that would shelter us for the next 10 days. We dug out our camp and set up our tents as dark and cold encroached.

Our fist full day of clear skies allowed us to pursue a towering peak that caught all of our attention on the approach flight. After a most successful and fun ski descent we referred to the line as ‘Proj. A’

Proj A on the right lit by the sun, seen from our approach flight to the Glacier.

Incredible days and stunning evenings. Couldn’t help but feel fortunate to be in Alaska.

Full moon rise over Tito's Couloir

Perfect weather and ideal conditions….

Climbing Proj A

…led to days of skiing incredible lines.

Will Wacker dropping in on Proj A

Setting the trend for the next 4 days we would have the opportunity to ski several impressive lines from camp.

Approaching the Peruvian Face

Long days allowed us to exhaust ourselves hiking and skiing until late in the day.

Third lap of the day on Tito's Coulor

Jo Eppler Skiing Chaz's

After five days of skiing lines throughout the zone, climbing and skiing until our hearts content, the weather moved in and the skiing frenzy came to a halt. Our days became consumed with shoveling out tents, melting snow, and consuming absorbent amounts of food.

Keeping the tents dug out in the 'milk bowl'

When the weather broke after 4 days of intensifying storm we defied the skier within, and called in Drake to escape the glacier back to civilization.

2011 Classic ski descents

admin — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 05:48:23 +0000

GRAND DAD COULOIR

Grand Daddy

Light winds, cool temps and clear skies led to ideal skiing conditions in this San Juan classic. “Thin but in” was the theme for this day. Reaching the summit of Little Wasatch with a party of 6, only Himay and I opted that it was the day to ski this line. Approaching the couloir from the top was an adventure of its own. There are several ways to navigate into the main line. We were stoked to find soft stable conditions and a maze of hidden couloirs that lead to the main gut. We were pleasantly surprised to find enough snow to down climb (with skis on of course) through what can sometimes be a rappel. Total pleasure to be in there with you Himay.

Himay above the Choke in the Grand Dad couloir

SAN JOAQUINE CHUTE

The San Joaquine is an all time classic! First skied this line when I was 14 sometime in May.

San Joaquine

Back then conditions were a bit grim with frozen bed surface from repetitive slides, blue ice through the choke and frozen avalanche debris in the apron. These days the approach is much easier, conditions often much better and it’s not uncommon for 10 or more people to descent this line when the day is right.

This time around we were stoked to be the first to the summit and even more stoked for the soft, chalky, stable conditions we found in the chute.

Skiing the San Joaquine couloir

One great ski deserves another…. We were lucky to have the conditions to pair up the San Joaquine with the Y couloir on this most spectacular day of ski touring.

THE “Y” COULOIR

Kim Havel skiing the Y couloir

S-4

S-4 stands for: Super gnarly couloir in the Sneffels Wilderness. This line caught my eye years ago when I got my first look at it from the massif

S-4 seen from Sneffels Peak

of Mount Sneffels. No doubt the tight, steep, spider like couloirs that descend from peak S.4 in the Sneffels range hardly look possible. Timing is finicky and the approach rather long. We left Telluride some time around 5am and returned around 10:30pm. It only took us about 14 hours from the time we started skinning until we returned to the beer waiting for us in the vehicle. Seems like we might have spent some three hours descending through this crack. We were met with a variety of ski conditions and not much for anchor possibilities above the two rappels. This one goes down as a true ski mountaineering adventure.

Approaching the top of the S4 line

Jo Eppler on the first rappel

Sneffels from S4

Grand Self Support

admin — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 20:56:51 +0000

On November 8th, 2010 seven kayakers depart Durango, Co for a quick seven day trip down the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. In total we would cover 226 river miles, blazing by hiking attractions and rapid scouts that cause most trips to take 16 days or more. Our days consisted of eating, paddling, stretching, over indulging, and sleeping. Our creek kayaks held all of our provisions, and were perfect for charging into the meat of the rapids and gliding though the many miles of swirly flat water.

GrandKayakWeb

Paddle, eat, sleep... repeat

Powder Magazine

admin — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 04:03:34 +0000

Chason Russell photo in Powder Magazine

Telluride Feature in Powder Magazine!

Though I have had photos published in Powder Magazine before, a feature on Telluride was a great opportunity to get a few more photos into print.

During the winter I also had the opportunity to ski for the lens of photographer Lee Cohen. The result is a 6 page spread in the October 2010 issue of Powder with words by Porter Fox

I am honored to have four of my photos published next to those of other great photographers like Lee Cohen, Greg Von Doersten, and Brett Schrekenghost.

Though my favorite aspect of the article is that it features a photo of my brother Garrett, my house mate Brad, and a photo of myself.

Photo of my bro Garrett going big in our back yard

Chason Russell in Powder Mag

Filming with Warren Miller Entertainment

admin — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 03:27:34 +0000

Film Crew on Palmyra

This past spring I had the fortunate opportunity to ski for the camera’s of Warren Miller Entertainment. The film crew descended on Telluride to document a segment for the 2010 film, Wintervention. I joined local skiers Hillary and Brian O’Neill along with Galena Gleason for early access and the pursuit of good light and soft snow.

Unfortunately, the film crew missed one of the better snow cycles by a few days. High wind and changing temperatures transformed the snow into a wide range of variable snow. We spent a few days doing what we could to make marginal conditions look good, being on my Wagner skis helped. As soon as the flat light rolled in the film crew rescheduled and pulled out. Conditions got down right challenging until the next storm gifted the San Juan Mountains.

Brian O'Neill in Bear Creek

Returning later in season the film crew found conditions a bit more favorable. We did what we could to expose the new terrain Telluride has recently opened. As with most film shoots there was plenty of time spent standing around, waiting for the light, or the cameras. I took a few of these opportunities to capture a few images of my own.

sierra sampler

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 07:57:49 +0000

10 days, ____ miles?, ____ gallons of diesel fuel? Three days of kayaking, three days of skiing, 3 days of climbing later….Oh yeah and the classic Diners and Couloirs too!

Anneka preparing for the trip

First stop. Virgin river, UT Stan prichard in the chocolate flow

Crack of noon sherwood tour. Mammoth lakes, CA

Ryan Copenhagen on the sketchy down climb. Sierra Mountains, CA

The down climb, oops.

The Y couloir instead. Stan finding the goods in the Sierra Mountains, CA

Anneka climbing in the wind. Whitney Portal in the Sierra's

Brush Creek, CA

Low water brush creek, CA

Some how missed getting the classic diner photos……