NSMB.com Team
Mason in New Zealand - Part III
Posted by Mason Mashon on 2012-03-07
Quick motivational read.
Another classic case of knowing someone who knows someone, and there I am stood upon a platform 110 metres above a canyon. I’ve got a hardtail strapped to my waist, and 16 inches of platform in front of me to roll the bike off of. After a few minutes of rigging and gaining composure, I threw a quarter of a pedal stroke before initiating the biggest front flip I’ve ever done.
I plummeted freefall for 60m before the rope of the giant swing gained tension and I continued my acceleration into the canyon below. I’m not going to lie, it was nerve-racking just trying to get the bike off the platform, but once you’re gone, it’s a pure adrenaline rush. They pulled me back to the platform after my swing had come to a stop, and then asked if I’d like to have another go. Obvious answer. This time I tee’d it up without a bike, and just threw a classic gainer into the chasm that is the Shotover River canyon. It was nothing short of awesome, and if you’re ever in the region, a jump on this swing is highly recommendable.
My exploration of the trails and tracks around Queenstown continued, but on this particular occasion a reunion. I met up with McGazza on the last few days of my stay in New Zealand. Kelly was in town helping out with the Wide Open product launch, and doing some filming, so we felt it would be appropriate to snag a couple shots together. We cruised up the one of the local downhill tracks over on Coronet peak. With the snowlines still lingering, we stuck to the lower reaches. Zoots track is a fairly popular shuttle trail, with high-speed turns, and lots of creative little line options. Though it’s fairly short, it only takes two minutes to rally the shuttle back to the top. Queenstown Bike Taxi runs a regular shuttle out there, so for a couple of bucks you can get your fix for cheap. The Bike Taxi not only runs on Zoots, but a variety of different locations in the region most days of the week including Wynyard in town, and Dirt park which is near Wanaka (~40 km’s from QT).
A few clicks down the road from Queenstown are a couple of designated mountain bike trail centers. Offering up a cool collection of fun tracks that all connect really well, you can put together some fun combos. Maxime and I ventured out to a spot called ‘12 mile’ one afternoon, as he insisted that this spot he knew would be perfect for some all mountain shots. It certainly lived up to my expectations. Traversing the shores of Wakitipu, we were able to get some wicked views. The trails aren’t incredibly challenging to ride, but the surroundings are what make this place special.
The last day of riding and shooting in QT couldn’t have been more perfect, with temps sitting around 20 degrees warm and sunny, making for ideal tacky trail conditions. I met up with the Wide Open crew at Skyline to tag along and grab some shots with their crew. Brook MacDonald and McGazza were in attendance as well as one of NZ’s up and coming talents Connor MacFarlane. We spent some time shooting in the deep woods of the bike park, and on a few of their beautifully manicured turns.
Brook MacDonald
After a couple of hot laps without the pack, we loaded up and headed over to Wynyard to session at Mini-Dream. Ideal conditions and perfectly buffed jumps and landings, the boys started to throw down some moves. We shot a couple more turns at the bottom of Wynyard and then called it a day.
Kelly McGarry
Brook getting full whipped.
Brett Frew – Met this guy my first year in Whistler. Him and his roommates didn’t like our sound system. Good to catch up with him while I was there.
Tire folding traction.
Kelly
Eventually Kelly roosted his tire right off the rim.
Connor MacFarlane
To be honest, I feel that I only scratched the surface of what NZ has to offer. But at the same time, I think that this little sample I had will be enough to pull me back there in the future. I couldn’t have asked for much more given my short stay. Seeing old friends, meeting new friends, exploring new places, watching the All Blacks win the world cup with the locals, and most importantly riding bikes made this trip what it was. Great.
Special thanks go out to the Canadian Freestyle ski team, and the Wells family in Wanaka. Tom Hey, Jo Boyer, and Ryan Purcell for their awesome hospitality. Fraser Gordon and Indri Clendon for lining up sweet activities. Kuwaru Jet Boats, Shotover Canyon Swing, Queenstown Bike Taxi. Brad Rowe at Skyline for getting me into their wicked bike park. Caleb Smith at Spoke Magazine for his amazing moustache. Maxime and Florent (the frenchies) for always being down to ride.
Next stop, Indonesia.
Well, that's a wrap on Mason's escape to New Zealand for the shoulder season – but it seems he didn't stop there. Any words for Mason? Drop him a line below...
A Long Overdue Recon Mission
Posted by Stephen Matthews on 2012-02-14
Have you ever lost something special? Or been at the end of pointing fingers to a devastating mistake? April 2nd, 2011 marked the day I lost Joe Schwartz’ hand pump. A tool he had bought 15 years ago, before the days of Kranked, New World Disorder, and a successful mountain bike career.
The trip last year was a kickoff road trip to the Sunshine Coast, where we would have the pace for 2011 set for us by The Coastal Crew on their home tracks. After an unbelievable day of shuttles, a jump jam in The Backyard, and a beach bonfire, it wouldn’t be until we reached Horseshoe Bay that Joe realized we were missing his pump, the one I had last used to inflate a tire in Dunkerton’s yard.
Photographer Reuben Krabbe looks like he has his dukes up and ready to rumble with Joe. Maybe Reuben wanted to check out a camera Joe bought 20 years ago...
A few somber weeks passed, until one day was brightened with positive news from Dylan. The pump was there, perched safely outside the Dunkerton workshop. Immediately we began talk of a recon trip... as if we really needed an excuse to go back. Our schedules conflicted, and planning fell through, but it would be in February of this year, that our entire group managed to board the ferry for Langdale again, with Sunshine in the forecast.
Keith White and Joe Schwartz showing me that moss covered stunts doesn’t rule them out.
Seb Kemp and I watched the sun set and the waves roll in over speciality coffees from Park Royal, oh his lovely girlfriend was there too.
My first real time riding Cypress, Cam McRae showed me what Mystery DH was all about. Nice weather for February, thanks the tour Cam!
The Sunshine Coast came at the latter half of a spur of the moment road trip for me. I boarded a plane Sunday morning and managed to fit in rides in Port Moody, SFU, Seymour, Cypress, and a night in Whistler before we boarded the ferry Tuesday morning at 9:30am. Busy schedule to say the least, but that’s how to make the most of life. Once over on the Coast, we found ourselves with perfect riding conditions, a great group riders, and cozy accommodation. I thought to myself, is this place always this awesome?
Up the Creek Hostel in Roberts Creek is a mountain bikers paradise. The owner, Martin loves riders, and his more than willing to accommodate to our breed of derelicts.
Paul Stevens gives thumbs up to some shuttle engineering and a shining sun.
By day 2, we had completely forgot about the recon mission for Joe’s pump. With countless laps out of the Roberts Creek area under our belt, and catching up with our Coastal friends, we were distracted and completely ok with it. As we loaded up for another lap of loam explosion, the calm quiet air was broken with the roaring sound from a motor. With a crack and a bang, Dylan Dunkerton came flying out of the bushes, mounted on his bright yellow steed. The valiant ginger knight had determination in his eyes, and was in pursuit of the completion of our quest. He promptly pulled up to the group and nobly presented Joe with a gift. It was his prized pump.
Here’s the magical moment.
The joyous occasion was celebrated with Cariboo beers and reflections of this weeks trail rides. As we de-constructed our bikes to fit inside vehicles, Joe lent me a set of allen keys to remove my front wheel. The set was all loose, and the Giant Bicycles logo was nearly worn away. As I turned the Boxxer maxle, he boasted about owning this particular set for over 10 years. Can you believe this guy? I returned them immediately.
Everyone loves the last gap to berm. I could shuttle this trail all day.
Well that's it for my west coast escape this February. Check out some videos below. Thank you NSMB and all my friends who made the logistics of the trip happen, it was incredible!
Last year we had an incredible session in The Backyard with The Coastal Crew, Mike Hopkins, Joe Schwartz, Peter Matthews, and myself. Video ~ David Peacock
Absolutely getting slayed by a hiding tree stump. Thank you Contour for sponsoring NSMB in our embarrassing moments!
Here’s Paulo capturing some of the moments with myself and my brother Peter Matthews through his Contour Cam!
Stephen's a humble man for putting his crash vid in at the end there. What even happened? Speculation, thoughts about lending tools and pumps, or any other words for Stephen below...
Story+Photos: Mason Mashon's Deep Winter
Posted by Mason Mashon on 2012-01-29
NSMB Team member Mason Mashon rides Whistler all year long. This year he was invited to participate in the Deep Winter photo contest. Three days of shooting, a flurry of editing and compiling, and on to the screening. While a winner was crowned on the final night of Deep Winter, the People's Choice award is still up for grabs. Show your support for Mason by voting for him HERE. Read on for Mason's recap of the his experience and a pile of wicked shots.
Accepting the invite to the Deep Winter Photo Challenge had me ecstatic. I’ve been patiently waiting for my opportunity to partake in this 3-day saga of bell-to-bell shooting and editing. This would be my time to shine.
In the days prior to the contest, it became apparent that this year the contest wouldn’t live up to it’s name. Dry conditions and no snow in the forecast meant that an extra level of creativity would be summoned to barter with. Little did I know that this would throw my brain into overdrive and turn me into a full-blown insomniac. I was running ideas through my head, over and over, then a new idea would slide in, and the cycle continued. I started the contest with a 2-hour sleep. It was on, and the clock was ticking.
Sunshine hasn’t really been an option in the past for this contest. This year however, it opened opportunities to utilize natural light, and draw a lot more color from the characteristic black and white pallette we’re used to. I exercised my experience, and got right down to business with my esteemed team of skiers and snowboarders.
We worked tirelessly around the clock, chasing the sun’s overlay on the terrain, and scraped the mountain dry of what snow was left lingering. We worked efficiently under the umbrella of my loosely organized day plans. Each day on the hill was a success.
I wanted to incorporate some lifestyle moments that a dry spell opens opportunity for, so I included a series of shots where the riders were using different methods of ground transportation (namely bicycles and skateboards). Using a few tools of the trade, we pulled off the shots I had envisioned. The other lifestyle I wanted to show was hockey. We set the stage at a local pop up ice rink, and played shinny for a few hours to wind down the final hours of shooting. The casual nature of the final shoot only temporized the daunting task that lay before me.
I had fifteen hours to compile and edit my photo choices from a 2600 deep selection, I had to hastily chose the right ones that would best fit the story I wanted to tell. Narrowed down to a handful over a hundred, I fired up final cut with just over four hours until it had to be handed in. It was 10 a.m., I hadn’t properly slept all week, and my eyes were glazed over from a sleepless night of touching photos. The anxiety was redlining.
Planning ahead would be my saving grace, as I had pre-marked all the slide changes on my Final Cut time line. It was just a matter of smashing the photos together in the proper sequence. Sparing no time for revision, I moved like a robot. I felt as if I hadn’t blinked in hours. Maybe I didn’t. I rubbed my eye sockets and pressed on into the dying minutes.
I made it to the venue to hand in my show with not a minute to spare. Zombie-like but freakishly awake, I sat and tried to relax for a brief moment. It was done.
With only a few hours between handing in the project and the night’s screening, I managed to close my eyes for a couple of hours. I thought the anxiety had disappeared, but it was only a temporary digression. Thankfully I didn’t have to go first.
Six photographers and their teams lined up one by one, and unleashed a visual stimulus that is often hard to digest at first glance. Strong narratives and stunning images were displayed for the sold out audience. Each team had put together such amazing works. It was humbling to be appreciated beside this amazing group of talent. What I like most is that an event like this brings together our community and really shows the everyday beauty of this place we all love. It’s inspiring, and I loved every minute of it.
Though my body had suffered some serious degradation over those four days, if I had the opportunity to do it again, I would. It’s a real test of your creative integrity, and even though I didn’t find the crown on top of my head, it was a learning experience of epic proportions. Maybe I’ll get that email again, and fall into that stream of consciousness that doesn’t let you sleep for an entire week. I’m up for the challenge.
- Mason
Vote Mason for the Peoples Choice award HERE. Any words for our year round Whistler loc? Shoot below.
Flying By The Seat...
Posted by Paul Stevens on 2011-10-02
Interior road trip - Flying by the seat of our pants
Part 1: Peter Matthews and the exploding berms:
I unzipped my sleeping bag to reach out and read a text message at 6.30 on Sunday morning, which was to set the tone for the whole trip. “Bit of a minor problem, call me when you're up”. And so before we had even put five tens to pedals, the flying by the seat of our pants had begun. Our compadre's “minor problem” had soon developed into a 12 hour delay. It was a long story, involving the police, a pretentious bank manager and the making of a film in Chile, and had resulted in a few setbacks. But the long and short of it was, it looked like Revelstoke was going to have to wait.
Silver star was pumping. Peter Matthews off the lip in double over hedge conditions.
We were already away from Whistler and on the road as Plan A hastily disintegrated. We found ourselves in Vernon, and decided it would surely be rude not to gain some altitude and hit some dusty berms, jumps and rocks at Silver Star, while waiting for team Squamish (comprised of Kevin Landry, Taylor Loughran and Mathieu Notargiovanni Preville) to play catch up.
Paulo, not content with just three points of contact to throw up dust, tries to make his handlebars the fourth
With Stephen Matthews off galavanting around the Swiss Alps, we had fished his gene pool and got a bite from his brother Peter, who would be standing in on berm demolition duty. It soon became apparent that whatever radioactive, kryptonite loaded, spider venom-based serum mama and papa Matthews had put into Stephen's baby bottle, Peter had got the same medicine. The berm (and Mason, behind the lens, capturing the action) cowered in fear as Peter came rumbling in like a semi truck...
Peter decided that there was far too much dust in this berm, and not nearly enough on the trees
The view from the front line -mortar or Peter? you decide.
Vvvrrraaaaap! Peters tires emptied the dust from the berm in a land mine-esque explosion, sending shards of rock and dirt shrapnel flying into the air, showering Mason and his camera gear. As the dust settled, he emerged looking at his LCD monitor, grinning, so I joined the demolition squad, and proceeded to help Peter empty the berm into Mason's face, until there was more dust in his teeth than there was on the trail!
Paulo doing his best to obscure the view
Mason towels down after a refreshing dirt shower
There is a reason that we return to Silverstar for AIRprentice every year; it is one of the best and most progressive bike parks there is. We checked out the Pro-Star extension “PS-Walk the line” which is looking really impressive -think dirt jumps for downhill bikes - big jumps with not much space between them, no stand alone features, so to hit one you pretty much have to hit them all!
Too much dust on this lip as well - should probably scrub that off.
Sessioning Silver Star in the sun.
Peter never usually runs eclipse
The afternoon was wrapped up by railing more dusty berms, scrubbing jumps, kicking up roost, and sessioning features as the sun crept towards the horizon. We ripped a couple of warp speed laps of comet trail, and left the dust hanging as we drove back down the mountain, to blast off the dirt with a much needed “lake shower” off the cliffs of Kalamalka lake.
The aftermath, dust still hanging in the sun beams as we rode away
Mason en route to lake shower
Day one was complete, and it sounded like the second half of our crew had almost caught up, which meant that Revelstoke would be next...or would it?
I already miss summer. A bad sign in October. Anything to say about Paulo's words or Mason's images? Say it here...
Backcountry North Shore Styles
Posted by Eamonn Duignan on 2011-09-16
There are many reasons why I love living in North Vancouver-the riding, the people, and of course, the unlimited access to a world class outdoor play ground. The simple fact that I can pedal from my front door, and within minutes, be shredding one some of the world’s best single track, DH runs, and all around gnarly trails, truly embodies why I love the Shore.
With that in mind, Trevor (or the Bone) and I set out to explore of some of North Vancouver’s epic backcountry, and we were stoked with what we found. Buckle up and enjoy a few pictures from our little backcountry adventure, North Van styles …
Post climb with the Bone on a beautiful North Shore day. Our particular route started with an hour and a quarter pedal up, followed by a 40 minute hike with our bikes on our backs while scaling some very steep and rugged terrain. It’s a hell of a work out!
Not sure what animal this was from, but rest assured it was bigger than I, and by the looks of it well feed.
What’s a 40 minute hike with the bike on your back without rope pull section?
Bone leading the charge through some remote North Shore terrain.
This picture is a testament to the late and unusually harsh spring we had this year. This was taken in mid-August and there was no shortage of the devils dandruff impeding our way.
Bike Mag eat your heart out. I’m going to submit this shot of Bone to the North Shore Seniors Digest Weekly. Bone will be the envy of our North Shore seniors population!
When I look at this picture a classic scene from Rocky comes to mind. Mr. Rocky Balboa is running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in his matching grey circa 1982 tracksuit and upon reaching the summit he raises his hands in victory. Just sub Bone for Rocky, and the North Van backcountry for Philly, and we basically recreated true cinematic gold.
The end game-a few thousand feet above sea level in North Vancouver's backcountry. Again, this is why I love the North Shore of Vancouver!
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