It's a rough life.
The athletes on the Backcountry.com Pro Team pretty much define the phrase ‘living the dream.’ From heli trips to big-mountain freeskiing comps to remote expeditions, these guys and girls have it made. So where does this army of powder junkies retreat to when the snow melts and flip flops take the place of ski boots? We called up a few to find out what they’re up to until the lifts fire up and the skin track is in.
Erik Roner
Skier, BASE jumper, and co-star of Nitro Circus, Erik Roner has his hands full even after the skis get put away. He sent us the following update:
Once winter comes to an end I usually go through a period of post winter depression. After I have come to terms that winter is actually over I take some time to relax and decompress. That time is usually short as I jump right into Nitro Circus action. This summer I spent six weeks in Australia performing live Nitro Circus shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne. My role in the show included hitting a 50-foot mega ramp on a BMX bike, a big wheel and roller skis along with other Nitro style stunts.
In between Nitro shoots, sponsor appearances and other events I work at keeping myself in shape on my mountain bike, hiking, water skiing, and working out. I try to spend as much time at home in Tahoe as possible to enjoy the lake and my friends. I also find time to progress my skydiving and BASE jumping disciplines. I am headed to Europe in late July on a BASE jumping trip before I return to summer X games for some appearances and other sponsor obligations. I usually try to have at least one trip to South America or New Zealand to ski but the past two summers my schedule has not allowed me too. Towards the end of the summer I ramp up my training and begin planning the upcoming winter. Summer has always been an important time to me but seems to get shorter every year.
Erik's a nutter.
Grete Eliassen
Grete Eliassen kicking it lakeside
After stomping a massive, record-setting 31-foot hip jump at the Canyons, UT this past April, Grete Eliassen is back in Minnesota soaking up some sun and enjoying water in its un-crystallized state. Until the powder starts to pile up back here in Utah, she’ll be water-skiing, wakeboarding, sailing, and continuing to inspire envy in all of us.
Grete also has a sick new film coming out this fall highlighting some of the biggest names in female freeskiing. Check out the trailer:
Stephen Koch
Is your summer fitness routine not producing the results that late-night informercial promised? Take a cue from snowboard mountaineer, Jackson, Wyo. local, and Backcountry athlete Stephen Koch on one of the key exercises he uses for a quick, full-body workout.
Jenn Berg
When the mercury tops 90 and the rest of us in Salt Lake City are out climbing, biking, and generally cowering in the shade, our own Jenn Berg who, in addition to being a badass member of our pro team, also happens to work in our marketing department, is still clicking into her skis. Check out this video of her farming turns on Baldy’s Main Chute in late June:
Jenn also crushes it on bikes of both the motorized and human-powered varieties, and she’s planning a mid-summer return to the southern hemisphere for a taste of winter in Las Lenas, Argentina. Here’s a clip from her Las Lenas trip last year:
Ingrid Backstrom
From Ingrid:
Funny that they should call the injury recovery process “rehab,” because at times so far this summer, coming back from Achilles tendon repair surgery at the end of March, it’s felt like the other sort of rehab—the kind where you’re trying to quit something. In this case, it would be adrenaline. My normal summer program of scaring myself witless trying to mountain bike and climb (I’m not very good at either), and running myself into the ground on local trails has been replaced with one of borderline puritanical moderation. I’ve been doing sensible things like hiking, road biking, going to the gym, swimming in the lakes, stretching; being utterly prudent. And it’s actually sort of cool to take a step back, get a new perspective, and celebrate the little victories. I biked for an hour today! And stuff like that. It’s sort of like being a tourist for awhile in your own life. I’ve discovered there are other ways of getting a rush, like riding the Gravitron at the Reno Rodeo, or shooting an AR-15 at an indoor rifle range. I’ve also realized how much that little rush means to me, and how strange it is to go for a time without it. Not being able to do my go-to activities has forced me to look around more, explore other options, and appreciate what I do have and what I can do more than ever. Go summer!
Ingrid Backstrom - summer season hiking
Noah Howell
Right now I’m spending long hours at the computer editing and promoting our new ski flick ‘Television’ from Powderwhore Productions. This is a lengthy process, but it’s a good way to stay out of the heat and watching skiing is about the next best thing to actually doing it. We’re planning the tour as well, where we take the film on the road to over 40 cities in the fall. It’s cool to travel around the mountain towns of the West and get folks fired up for the upcoming season!
Fitness is a big part of summertime. I’ve been mixing up the training sessions with trail running/scambling, yoga, gym, HIIT, and mtn biking. And for adventure, I’m packing up the motorcycle for off road camping excursions around the state of Utah. This is also a good time to start planning for the winter to come and researching expeditions for next spring.
Noah Howell living it up
Jess McMillan
Jess McMillan
For Jess, melting snow means gushing rivers across the West, which means whitewater kayaking. She follows up her annual river pilgrimages by packing in the adventure near Jackson Hole—climbing, mountain biking, hiking, and running with her dogs are the usual options (rough life, huh?). This summer, Jess also plans to attempt the Grand Traverse, which traverses all the major Teton summits in one shot—a serious feat for even the most accomplished climbers. And later on, she’ll head down to Las Lenas, Argentina to make some turns and get prepared for another big winter. But at the end of it all, Jess is content to just sit on her front porch in Kelly and watch the epic sunsets over the Tetons.
Jess biking
Jess: Yoga in the Tetons
Other Athletes
And finally, our own Sam Peters caught up with a few of our other athletes at a recent photo shoot:
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Tags: pro athletes, summer