The pipe at Buttermilk is one of the best pipes out. It hosts the X Games, the Aspen/Snowmass Open and last night, it hosted a solo Grete Eliassen as she worked to bag some shots for the third annual Freeskier Women’s Issue dropping this November. For those of you unaware, G-Baby has had one hell of a season. She podiumed at this years X Games slope competition, has been shooting non-stop for her movie “Say My Name”, and last week she set the world record for a female hit on a pipe boosting 31 feet into the Utah air.

With a 2010 resume like that, we thought it prudent to invite her to Aspen to shoot for this year’s women’s annual.

The Roaring Fork Valley was recently hit with a massive dust storm turning the snow that is left a pretty drab shade of brown. The terrain park had to work extra hard to turn the pipe white and make it shot worthy. Driving down the road, we were nervous, but approaching the hill, the pipe stood out as a sliver of glimmering white amongst the dirty snow. Stoked.

Grete stoked on her pipe.

Scaffolding was set up for photographer Mike Basher to look down on Grete’s first hit where she did alley-oop after alley-oop to bag the perfect shot. The scaffolding was rather sketchy and Basher was mildly scared for his life, but didn’t let that get in the way of him leaning way out over the flat bottom , thirty feet below, to snap Grete at the apex of her hit.

The sun was setting allowing for the perfect combination of ambient lighting and flashes above and across the pipe creating shadows and a unique feel to the shoot.

Getting some practice hits in.

In addition to the pipe shoot, Grete was in front of a video camera explaining her set-up, running through her favorite skis of her new sponsor, Volkl, and explaining the new QR Code technology you’ll find in many issues of this years Freeskiers.

Scope the new QR Code technology coming soon.

Stay tuned to the November issue of Freeskier and freeskier.com for the final shots and the behind the scenes video of Grete in Aspen.