Summer is upon us and that means that ski camps are kicking off. With that comes a plethora of ski footage from the slushy slopes of the best summertime shred destinations. Windells, atop Mount Hood, OR, is well-known for producing the high-quality weekly edits that have become a staple of summer ski media.
This week, we took it upon ourselves to re-watch all eight of the session recap videos to find our favorite tricks of the 2014 summer season. After compiling the list, it was distributed among the FREESKIER office, with each staff member ranking their top ten tricks. The complete list is available below for your enjoyment.
10. Karl Fostvedt – Camp lane line
It’s only right that Karl Fostvedt kicks off this list in the number ten spot, considering his footage produced some of the most memorable highlights from the 2014 summer at Windells. This line was pulled out of his “ON3P Requiem” edit that dropped in late 2014. While the individual tricks aren’t among the most mind-boggling that went down atop Mount Hood, each hit combines into one impressive line, woven across the entirety of the camp lane. Equally impressive is the camera work on the part of Jasper Newton. Big ups, boys.
9. Ross Imburgia – Lincoln loop
I’m not sure what to call this one. It’s basically a rail stall, 90, lincoln loop 90. Trick-naming aside, this one is the type of stunt that has made Ross a popular member of the Line Traveling Circus crew. Again, it isn’t the most technically difficult maneuver, or even the most elegant, but you can’t stop watching, can you?
8. Karl Fostvedt – Rodeo 900
Get used to seeing Karl on this list, folks. He was basically the mayor of the Windells terrain park last summer, constantly thinking up new and creative ways to jib the setup. This one makes the cut thanks to the massive cojones it took to not only launch the gap but also huck a rodeo 9 over it. It’s not the prettiest rodeo I’ve ever seen Crazy Karl do—his boot tap barely counts as a grab—but you know nobody else was even thinking about that trick, which adds to its allure.
7. ABM – Bio 900 octograb
An octograb takes a lot of skill and flexibility to pull off. As such, the grab sometimes lacks style because the skier is so focused on just getting the grab. That’s not the case in this instance. ABM sets it and forgets it, holding on for a nice portion of his rotation and landing with smooth conviction.
6. Jonah Williams – Cork 360
After seeing impressive footage from Jonah throughout the summer of 2014, it’s no wonder the 20-year-old Utah native won this year’s Superunknown contest. While he showed off many maneuvers that could’ve easily made this list, this cork 3 stood out because he made it look so damn easy.
5. Nicky Keefer – Cork 540 tail
The summer of 2014 at Windells was all about tranny-finding, and Nicky Keefer was one of the lead detectives. Here, he pops off the jump of the flat tube, launches over the up tube and perfectly onto the landing of the big jump, all while poppin’ a nice cork 5 tail with that signature Keefer style. Calm down ladies; he’s married.
4. Will Berman – Switch dub 900 safety
Will Berman grew up in the parks of Summit County, so it’s not surprising that he permeates style on jumps. After putting down a solid 2013-14 shred season with Level 1 Productions, Berman let loose in the lane at Windells with plenty of impressive stunts like this one.
3. Noah Wallace – Rodeo 540 tail tap
Noah Wallace had himself quite a 2014-15 contest season, and you could attribute some of that success to his summer-long shred-venture atop Mount Hood. There’s no better venue for learning new tricks than the soft, slushy summertime snow of glaciers. In addition to cementing him in the third place position on this list, this shot also showed up in his 2014 Summer Edit and was a standout clip in his TNF Park and Pipe Open Series submission, for which he took top honors. It’s all in a day’s work for Mr. Wallace.
2. Karl Fostvedt – 450 swap
Spoiler alert: Crazy Karl takes home the top two positions on this list. The kid just sets his sights on his goal, puts his head down and gets it done. It’s safe to assume that this trick—a 450 swap from the flat rail to a perpindicular down tube—took him at least a handful of tries. It appears that speed was one of the biggest factors, with his balancing act on the flat bar suggesting that he’s going a little slower than he’d prefer.
1. Karl Fostvedt – 540 swap
When we posted this clip to our Instagram account (follow us!) last summer, it got like a million comments. Obviously, you guys were as impressed as we were. “That’s some video game sh*t,” remarked one user. “Pretty unbelievable,” said another. The über-difficult 540 swap is insane, but when you realize that he’s gapping to the end of the down tube and also falling six-plus feet out of the sky, it’s enough to make your head explode. Keep up the good work, Carlos.
Did we miss any tricks? Is this list bologna? Let us know in the comments below.
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