Of course, different
slopesters have different off-
season approaches. Take last
summer for example: Craig
Kelly and Jeff Davis were on
the big stick almost every day.
Craig coached his own camp
while Jeff spent eight weeks
coaching Camp Karol on Mt.
Hood. Damian Saunders and
Don Szabo spent time in the
soft stuff, but logged more
masonite hours than anything
else (ramp owner Damian
actually ranks snowboarding,
his bread and butter, a close
second to skating). Sean
Palmer, at the far end of the
spectrum, never stepped into
a binding. He was too busy
pro motocross racing (he won
two races in the 250cc class),
barefoot waterskiing and
skating wicked vert.
Despite the varying
amounts of time and energy
snow pros devote to their
sport, they all seem to have
one common goal: AIR. These
ballsy Mt. Baker tag players
(right) would certainly agree.
NOL Ent
Air is the be all, the end all and the yeah
y'all for every pipe jockey or hill hound
worth his (or her-as in Brinette
Battaglia's bomb drop, below) P-tex.
Double-digit sky time becomes a brain-
searing reality when you deal with forty-
plus mph velocity, a mondo board that's
bonded to your feet, ultra-maleable jump
making material and a landing surface that
won't erase your face. Progressively punk
pop-outs like George Pappas invert
(above), j-tear airs, method back flips.