News:
3/4/12
Everything that we need to make skis is now is Bozeman! Ski production will resume and hopefully a new pair of skis will be done in the next few weeks.
The following is an essay that I (Tucker Colvin) wrote for a writing competition. Sadly I did not win, but it is still a pretty sweet essay!
The rising sun shines down on freshly fallen pancake sized flakes. Stretching as I a wake up from lodging at Whitefish, I feel my blood racing as I know I am about to have the best day skiing in my life. Through the frosty window pane I look out upon the gift Mother Nature has delivered. Today I am going to go skiing, but I am not taking a chairlift and I am not hiking. I am going uphill on a snowcat. We crank the throttle as we make large slow turns in the ocean of snow. Riding next to me are my newfangled Epic Plank handmade powder skis, tactfully crafted for euphoric days like today. We get to the top of a majestically glorious mountain with the sun finally rising high in the sky. As we equip ourselves with gear, my anticipation is driving me to the point of emotional exhaustion. Usually when I am backcountry skiing I am fatigued from skinning up the mountain, but this time I am rested and good to go. I ski over off a ridge and quickly drop my knee for a Sondre Norheim signature telemark turn. Turn after turn the snow flies up into my face as I breathe the fresh Montana air. I feel like Tarzan letting out whoops and hollers as I swing through a jungle of face shots and cliffs. I see all the snow ghosted trees in my peripherals as I make deep slaying turns around them. Running on pure adrenaline, I don’t feel any soreness as I keep pounding out my line. Nearing the bottom I feel somewhat disappointed my run is coming to an end, but I know the next one will be just as exhilarating. Like a chairlift located on my own untracked private powder stash, a snowcat ride to the top awaits me near the bottom. As we travel back up the mountain, I share stories about my previous run with fellow riders: a couple of old friends and a few I just met. A guide says, “We are gonna work our way into some more gnarly terrain, that is, if you and your friends are up for it?” Feeling confident, I say, “Oh yeah, we’re down for that!” The snowcat’s engine revs as it downshifts, and we climb a steeper part of the mountain. The starting point for this run is even more beautiful than the first. I take a moment to admire the desolate and undisturbed feeling that the backcountry provides. I have no hesitation as I drop into the second run with more intense terrain. The guide had mentioned the numerous cliffs and other hectic features that make this run seem like an enormous snow covered obstacle course. It doesn’t scare me as I free-fall off one cliff, land on a pillow, and am suddenly in the air again as I launch off a cliff with a waterfall of snow. I imagine I am Ty Dayberry in a Powderwhore video segment tearing up the run everyone watching only dream of making. Suddenly one of my skis drops too deep in the snow and I am sent into furious tomahawk. My body turns into a hyperactive slinky as I plummet down the mountain; I don’t know if I will ever stop. The snow is so deep and soft it doesn’t hurt as I tumble into oblivion. Unable to control the rest of my body direction and speed, all I can do is laugh until I come to a disoriented stop where normal physics and logic apply. The only harm done is that my beard is caked in snow; how it should be after a day of amazing skiing. Once I regroup with the rest of this half-ragtag half-professional bunch they all have something clever to say about the unbelievable crash I have just endured. We all float down the rest of the mountain to the base where the snowcat is waiting. A little overwhelmed, I sit in the cab of the snowcat trying to make sense out how truly awesome this day has been. I know that there is even more vertical to be captured today, and we have another whole day to look forward to tomorrow. Due to my inability to express in words how grateful I am for this Montana cat skiing adventure, I will simply express my gratitude with a grin of a five year old at Disneyland.
Carl Anderberg holding the first pair of Epik Skis ever sold.
Check out the Epik Skis videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJZoVhXUvGA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92ZfMbi4sKk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IAYJrh8PWk
To see more picture and other news check out the facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Epik-Skis/92225429856?ref=ts