Showing posts with label Ski The East. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ski The East. Show all posts

Friday, August 14, 2015

Eastern Unicorns


Eastern Unicorns from Louise Lintilhac on Vimeo.

It has been a few months since Unicorn Picnic Productions released the webisode I have been working on called "Eastern Unicorns." It has been shared around Facebook but I wanted to share it again with the Mammut community because I am so very proud of what we have put together. It was my first experience with film production and was quite humbling. Mammut played a huge role in making this video come to life and I am eternally grateful for all of the support. Mammut is a company that understands the importance of adventure and camaraderie and because of this, I was able to finish a project that I am proud as an eastern female skier to have been a part of. The community of snow shredders here on the East Coast is tight knit and full of energy, and I am proud and honored to be able to ski with such amazing athletes and call Vermont my home. Some winters are good, some winters are bad, but we always have a blast and it is that essence of fun and dedication that I tried to capture in this piece I did for U.P. TV. Thanks again to everyone who was a part of this project and helped make it happen.

Credits for UPTV: Eastern Unicorns

Louise LintilhacPaige Fitzgerald, and Carla von Trapp Hunter go in search of Big Mountain lines and powder on the east coast. They visit locations such as Stowe, Jay Peak, Mt. Washington, and the Chic Choc mountains of Quebec to try and illustrate the beauty and adventure eastern mountains can offer for this adventurous group of women.

Athletes: 
Louise Lintilhac
Paige Fitzgerald
Carla von Trapp Hunter

Cinematographers:
Brent Harrewyn - Hoverfly Photography
Dana Allen - Dana Allen Photo
Meathead Films - Skitheeast.net
Matt Kiedaisch - Outsider Media
Jim Surette - Granite Films

Shot on location at:
Stowe, Vermont
Jay Peak, Vermont
The Chic Choc Mountains, Quebec
Mount Washington, New Hampshire

Editing:
Brent Harrewyn - Hoverfly Photography

Music:
ODESZA - "Koto"
www.odesza.com

Thanks to our "Eastern Unicorn" project sponsors:
Ski Vermont: skivermont.com
Mammut North America: mammut.ch
The Outdoor Gear Exchange: gearx.com


Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Working for the Weekend, Season 2


One of my favorite experiences each winter since I have moved back to Vermont is skiing with Ben Leoni for the Working for the Weekend series that Ski The East has been producing for the past few years. I get to wander around the woods of New England and explore places that are truly breathtaking. For this episode, the first installment of season 2, Ben and I skied in my own backyard so to speak. While the snow was not ideal, we found a pretty sick little line and made the best of some true Vermont weather. The shots in the video capture the pain and agony of breaking trail on this particular day, due to the gloppy consistency of the snow. Looking back, all that work was worth it because I got to hang out with some great people on a beautiful day in the Vermont backcountry.




I hope you enjoy! I know I did!

Until next time,

Louise Lintilhac
a.k.a. Steezy Weezie

Friday, January 9, 2015

Spectral- a Ski The East Series

It is almost time again for an amazing webisode series from Meathead Films based out of the Big East. Spectral is their new endeavor and I was lucky enough to participate in some of the ski action that will be taking place. Time and time again Ski The East's Meathead Films shows that skiing on the east coast is radical and nothing to sneer at. With big blower pow days,  big mountain adventure and great park scenes, these guys really know how to capture what it is to live in New England during the winter. The following clip is the trailer and I am excited to see the first installment coming soon!




 Until next time!
~Louise Lintilhac
a.k.a Steezy Weezie

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Pretty Faces Revolution

 
Welcome to the Pretty Faces revolution. There have been all female ski movies in the past, and many of them have been great films. What happened when Pretty Faces, the new Unicorn Picnic Production film came out was more of a paradigm shift than a shred fest. Pretty Faces has been getting a lot of press over the past few weeks and continues to gain momentum as it travels around the country and internationally. If I were to put a finger on why this film has been so well received, I would have to say that it is because of the great skiing, but it is also because of the relatable story it tells. We have all struggled to make it at some point in life, and Pretty Faces is a testament to the fact that if you stick with it for long enough, good things will come. For many of the women in the movie, this meant being able to ski amazing lines in stunning landscapes around the world. For me it meant showing the world that the east coast is not a barren wasteland of skiing, it is a beautiful peaceful, rugged, powdery, good time that deserves far more respect than it often gets. It is my motivation for waking up in the morning because I am always excited to see what the beautiful Vermont landscape has to offer.

Friday, May 16, 2014

SheJumps Alpine Finishing School



Something that I have always regretted is not becoming a proficient climber. As a skier, I shrugged off learning rope skills and picked up mountain biking as the summer counterpart to my winter endeavors. When I was about 23 years old, I spent a winter in Courmayeur, Italy skiing on the Mont Blanc Massif and dabbled in crevasse rescue and basic glacier travel skills, but I was inexperienced and my nervousness made it hard for me to absorb the information that I was taught. When I lived in Colorado, I spent many days in the backcountry, but I never really found the need to apply any of those skills that I had learned that winter in Europe.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

East Coast Lovin'

Me laying some turns down on a day of filming, Stowe backcountry, Photographer: Dana Allen


What does it mean to ski backcountry on the east coast?

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

A Powder Magazine realization

Shredding Smuggler's Notch near Stowe in Powder Magazine. Photo taken by Dana Allen
I remember as a kid, going to Warren Miller films or reading ski magazines and thinking to myself that I would never be able to lead the lifestyle of the ski bum, living in Vermont. All photos and videos were of men, usually shot in Jackson Hole or somewhere else far away, and it was hard for me to relate to that image of skiing.  I went through the race program at the Mount Mansfield Winter Academy here in the green mountain state, and kind of forgot about my dream of “extreme skiing,” or freeskiing as we call it now. It was not until after college, when I moved out to Crested Butte, Colorado that I started to consider signing up for a competition. I dedicated my time for the next few seasons to training hard and working on my progression in the sport, and I was happily encouraged by decent standings in the events. At the end of the day, however, I still felt like I was far away from what I had imagined being a ski bum would be. There was a lot of work and not enough play.          

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Pretty Faces, an all women's ski film!


It is not often in life that you have an amazing opportunity to be a part of a project that could be industry changing. As a woman I am constantly trying to advocate for myself and my fellow female athletes and carve a place in the action sports world for all of the young girls out there who dream of outdoor adventure. It is difficult to battle the stigma that women are not as good at sports, that we are weaker, that we are not as adventurous. All of these preconceived notions make it that much harder for the next generation to be secure in their abilities and push their personal boundaries and the boundaries of their sport of choice.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Cogs and Slogs


There is a common misconception that there are no big ski lines on the east coast. As a Vermonter I know this to be untrue. While the Green Mountains are rolling and treed, the White Mountains next door in New Hampshire have some gnarly peaks with pretty radical descents if you are willing to work a little. This winter I had the pleasure of filming with a group of skiers and Meathead Film athletes who are looking for the Big Mountain experience in New England. We have primarily stayed within the confines of the New Hampshire border, but there has been plenty of powder slaying with a dash of crust and ice thrown in the mix to keep us all on our toes.




While the weather was not always bluebird, we got some good photos and footage, and I got a great workout on the 4-6 mile approaches and the skinner up the Mt. Washington cog railway we tackled every weekend. Needless to say I broke my new ski boots in quickly. I was also surprised that in the past few months, I managed to get out and explore more than I ever did living out west over the course of a winter. There is an inspiration in the community here to experience the outdoors no matter how bad the weather is and no matter how inaccessible the line is. I have learned terms like “shwacky” and “sniggledy wiggledy” which refer to how awful and thick the hobblebush is. I have also trained myself not to close my eyes when I ski through said “shwack.” This has improved my chances of avoiding facial scarring.





All said, the couloirs we skied were aesthetic and Mt. Washington is as majestic as ever. I am excited to see what comes of these days in the Whites and I know there will be plenty more adventuring to come. 


By Louise Lintilhac
A.K.A. Steezy Weezie

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Time to rock Les Chic Choc



 As a Vermonter, Quebec sometimes seems like a bizarre alter ego to the north. We are not sure exactly what goes on up there in the frozen north, but what we do know is that their beer is unbelievably good and they know cheese curd better than anyone else. For these two reasons alone I like to travel in this remote portion of Canada, but I am especially drawn to the Gaspe Peninsula where the mountains rise from the shore of the Saint Lawrence sea way like giant breaching whales. This range, known as the Chic Chocs, is an incongruity in the flat agricultural expanse that makes up the majority of Quebec. They are not spiny peaks, but more rounded like some of their pacific counterparts, the Monashee and Selkirk mountain ranges. Despite this softer geometry, the Chic Chocs provide some serious descents for the interested skier. All the skiing is backcountry, but most approaches are just a few hours and can be accessed directly from the road that cuts through Park National de la Gaspesie. We had set out to ski a new region in the park that just opened to backcountry skiing this year. What we found atop these coastal mountains was a series of open ridge lines, spacious forests, and around 4+ ft. of new fresh snow to shred at will.

In the distance, Mt. Albert reigned over the park, always in our view. We were blessed with an unprecedented number of bluebird days and squeezed every once of ski potential out of each one. Once we were too tired for another lap, we headed back to our Chalet at the Gite du Mont-Albert. We also toured the local town of St. Anne des Monts where we took in the local sites and tried a few regional dishes.

I was not prepared for the quantity of pig product that I got at L'Express, the most popular breakfast joint in town (even the cops were there eating). Skiing was no easy task after putting down bacon, sausage, ham, eggs, potatoes, beans, crepes with maple syrup (not real syrup sadly), toast, fruit, and a piece of something resembling breakfast pate, although I am not sure exactly what it was and I lost steam before getting to that particular item on my plate. I guess I will have to go back and try it next time.

When we packed up the car after the final tour, I was already planning my next trip and lines that I did not get to ski. This Chic will definitely be in the Chocs again soon!!!!!!
~Louise Lintilhac
a.k.a Steezy Weezie

Saturday, January 19, 2013

"No Matter When"

As a recent addition to the Mammut team I should introduce myslef. My name is Louise Lintilhac, but most people call me Weeze. I am a Vermonter by birth. Raised in the land of ice and mud. Because of this I have a fairly high tolerance for bad weather, but last year put my patience to the test. The winter of 2011-2012 was my first winter back in the east since moving to Crested Butte, Colorado after college. I was spoiled during this absence with bluebird powder days and epic terrain. I knew that the transition from being a ski bum out west to going to grad school and competing on the Freeskiing World Tour from the east was going to be hard, but hard as it turns out, was an understatement. First it did not snow, then it rained and rained, and I thought I was going to lose my mind. I was about to make a lounge chair out of my skis when, on a fateful weekend in February of last year, the skies let loose with an unbelievable amount of snow. People think I am insane for saying this, but I really don't think I have ever skied snow that felt so deep. Maybe it was the withdrawal, maybe it was the beauty of the eastern woods coated in a sheet of white, but whatever it was, it was one of the most memorable weekends of skiing I have ever had. To top things off, I got a call from Chris James, a.k.a "Rooster," co-owner of Meathead Films asking me if I was interested in filming for their movie that was released this September called "No Matter What." I of course was ecstatic and agreed with no hesitation. Isn't this every girl's dream? To shred the gnar on film? Well, it is mine anyways. The film was a great success despite the crappy winter and I am happy to say "No Matter What" just won an award for Best Powder Segment in the 2013 Powder Awards.To top things off, a brand new webisode from Meathead Films was just released with unseen footage, and while I was not an official member of the Mammut team at the time, I believe I was in spirit and so thought I would share the powder karma of that weekend in February one last time. One thing I remember as an eastern skier is that "no matter when" I am skiing, I am always having a good time, but man, a good powder day is better even than a large serving of maple syrup.




"No Matter When" Webisode from Meathead Films